Books and Prejudice

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Audiobook Review: Double Life

Title: Double Life
Author: S. Usher Evans
Publisher: Suns Golden Ray Publishing
Release Date: June 12, 2014

Piracy is a game. How much are you worth?

Since she was a little girl, everyone - from her father to the Great Creator himself - told Lyssa Peate the same thing: she's worthless. But when she becomes the pirate bounty hunter Razia, she can see the price tag on her own head. Employed by one of the four pirate syndicates, she uses bank transactions and her considerable wits to capture rival members. At least, she would be if Razia's boss ever gave her a chance. It's a man’s world, and all she’s allowed to hunt are purse snatchers while she languishes on probation.

To pay the bills, she's stuck in her old life as Lyssa, discovering and analyzing distant planets and selling them for cash. She's doing just enough to stay out of trouble, pretending to be continuing her father's mysterious research while away for long periods of time. Her slimy boss is always asking questions and even assigns one of her younger brothers, Vel, to intern with her. Already struggling to keep the balance between her double lives, she tries everything to rid herself of the kid...

...until the universal police mistake Lyssa’s intern for Razia's hostage.

Review: Nyxia

Title: Nyxia

Author: Scott Reintgen

Publisher: Crown BFYR

Release Date: September 12, 2017

Emmett Atwater isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family.

Forever.

Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden—a planet that Babel has kept hidden—where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe.

But Babel’s ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won’t forever compromise what it means to be human.

Amazon|B&N|Goodreads|Kobo|TBD

Review: Roar

Title: Roar

Author: Cora Carmack

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: June 13, 2017

In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.

I first picked up a copy of Roar at ALA midwinter back in January, because I've read some of Cora Carmack's NA romances, and I've loved them. Lucky for me, Ya fantasy is my favorite genre. So while I may have been surprised when I read the jacket copy, I wasn't disappointed.

Months went by and I never got a chance to read it. In fact, it wasn't until a couple months after I bought a finished copy that I finally dove into it. And all I can say is wow. Just wow.

I absolutely love the characters in this book. Roar is Princess Aurora of Pavan. She also goes by Rora. So to keep things straight, I'll just call her Roar. When she starts out, she's very accepting of her fate to marry the prince of Locke, Cassius. But when she hears him say something to his brother, she's determined she's never going to marry him. The only problem is that she doesn't possess any of the storm magic her family is known for to keep her kingdom safe from the incredibly deadly storms.

Roar goes through such an incredible journey throughout the entire book. I cannot wait to see how things play out in the next book.

Cassius. Oh Cassius. He's a great character. He would be terrible as a love interest. He's manipulative and cunning, but these make him a very compelling character. He has so many secrets, that I'm certain we haven't seen the last of them. I can't wait to see how his character might develop and to see what more he's hiding.

The worldbuilding was incredible. Deadly and violent storms with a mind all their own, intent on destroying people? Yep. Not to mention all different kinds of magic. I could talk a lot longer, but unfortunately, I don't have the time.

Overall
I'm glad I finally read this one. The next book is going to be one of my most anticipated reads of 2018.

5 stars

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Mini Reviews: A Goodreads Cross-Post Part 2

You may have noticed a theme in my last Cross-Post over here. That theme being the fake-relationship trope. Yes, I have read enough of these lately to create a fake relationship goodreads shelf. And I need morrrrreee! So if you have recommendations, please just comment. Or email me. Or message me on twitter. Just, you know, give me all the fake relationship recs.

In the spirit of how I did my last post, I will not be giving the synopsis or buy links. Click on the cover picture to go to the goodreads page.

Review: Rebel Rising

Title: Rebel Rising

Author: Amanda J Clay

Release Date: September 18, 2017

A princess with nothing left to lose is a dangerous thing.

Princess Elyra Ballantyne has lost everything important to her—her father, her position, her freedom, and the one she loves. As rebellion festers beneath the city walls, and corruption spreads throughout the palace, she’s left with two choices: accept Minister General Pantone’s rule or rise up, learn to fight, and take back her country.

Rebel Rising is the second book in the top-selling Rebel Song series.

Amazon|Goodreads

Updates Ahoy!

It feels like most of what I've posted lately are life updates. So it goes.

But I swear I'm getting back into things. I even have a review written and at least three more in the works. Go me!

Okay, so for those of you who know that I am located in Florida, I did want to tell you that I'm okay and my house is okay after Hurricane Irma. I did have the unfortunate experience of coming home after evacuating to find that my home had been broken into. So that's an ongoing thing now.

The other bit of news I have is that I decided (instead of beginning to query) to post Spy Project up on Swoon Reads. I don't think it's 100% there, but I'm not completely sure what to do with it. So I'd love feedback.

I've talked a lot about Spy Project over the last year or so. It's one of my favorite manuscripts. So you guys can officially know now that my working title for this one is Cloak & Dagger. I hope that if it ever does get published, it gets something that stands out more lol.

Anyway, if you're at all curious, you can find Cloak & Dagger over on Swoon Reads (right here). I'll also be adding it to the menu at top, much like Iron Curse was there.

I will be back on Monday with a new review!