On My Bookish BS

I love me some fantasy/romantasy but I was utterly unprepared for the world created by N.E. Davenport in Our Vicious Oaths.  Malachi and Kadeesha are two of the best written MCs I have come across in a fantasy in a while. He is devious, deadly, and DELICIOUS in the best of ways. She is cunning, caring, and freaking brilliant and also FREAKING DELICIOUS. The two of them together? I have no words.  The complexity of their relationships, to each other, to their families, to their friends, to the courts which they serve, to the wider universe in which they exist is just mind blowing. Davenport did an incredible job creating this all-encompassing world that I just wanted to get lost in. I wanted to know more about every single character; there were relationships growing and changing in the wings that I wanted to know more about. The main story line was so satisfying, each twist and turn made me go OH! YES! OOOO I didn't see that coming! OF COURSE! I just loved the ride, and the pay...

When it comes to fantasy, my favorite flavor has always been post-apocalyptic, sacrifice/entrust your children to "the powers", don't trust "them" because they never tell you everything, let's gamble with everyones lives, and burn it all to the ground for what's right stories - Hunger Games, Divergent, Potter, Maze Runner. You know the books...  The Trials of the Elysian by Reese Sherron is VERY MUCH that vibe. And I am so here for the journey!  In a world where children are sent off to the City from their villages when they turn 18 in search of their soul mates and put through a series of trials to ensure they are mentally and physically strong enough to serve the City ... well... maybe those who run the City aren't all that great to begin with. What are they hiding? What is really going on behind the polished walls of City and would they really be better off perishing in the Wastelands?  Following the journey of Faye as she leaves her village to t...

What if the story of Cinderella was real and was the basis for the system of law? What if it was responsible for the way women were expected to act and the way people were expected to interact with the royalty? What if every year young girls did everything they could do hoping to curry favor with a fairy godmother so they would be chosen at the ball they were required to attend in hopes they would be chosen and married off at the age of 16? And if they weren't they had 2 more chances before basically being sold into slavery? That's the set up of the incredible book Cinderella is Dead by Kaylnn Bayron.  Sophia, who is now 16 and being sent to the ball, is less than happy with the way things are in Lille. All she wants is to be free to love as she chooses and be done with living under the weight of some stupid fairy tale. People don't like that idea very much. In fact, every time she talks to her best friend, or her mom, or well ... anyone... there's kind of "stop t...

What would happen if you blended black, southern traditions and Arthurian legends? The Legendborn Cycle by Tracy Deonn.  Sixteen year old Bree Matthews is starting the early college program at UNC Chapel Hill with her best friend, dealing with the memories of her deceased mother who was a student here years ago, dealing with being home sick, and ALSO being a hormonal teenager. It's enough to destroy anyone. She begins to see things that can't really be there.  The weird things she sees brings her into the world of the Legendborn and a secret society of students that track down and keep the weird creatures at bay. Also, the heads of the secret society are the descendants of KING ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. So... yeah, that's a thing. Along the way Bree begins to get in touch with her own ancestors, her history, and the mystical force known as 'root' which is a mystical-life-force-energy that the Legendborn also call 'ether.'  Bree also gets cl...