Blog Tour + Interview: Ironspark by C.M. McGuire

 Hi and welcome to my post for the Ironspark Blog Tour! I'm so excited to be able to share an interview with the author with you all today, as well as a link to listen to the first chapter of the book. And don't miss the other tour stops for more fun content, just follow this link. Without further ado, let's get to the fun stuff!

Diverse and relatable - Little Black Bird ARC Review

Little Black Bird 

by Anna Kirchner

My rating: 5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Publication date: June 20, 2020

Publisher: Gurt Dog Press

Synopsis:

Magic is dying out, but it will not disappear without a fight.

Wiktoria is a seventeen year old with a secret: she has psychic powers. Her uncontrollable telekinesis hurts her and others, setting fires and throwing objects in the air, no matter how hard she tries to hold it back. All she wants to have is a peaceful, average life, but it’s difficult when you’ve been cursed to destroy the magical world.

Her carefully maintained facade of normality starts to unravel when she’s hunted down by local sorcerers and their Guardian, and accused of unleashing banished demons back into the human realm. When a murder shakes up the magical community, everyone agrees that the only way to save the world is to kill Wiktoria.

Her only ally is a boy who can read her mind, shares her dreams and makes her question her sexuality. Together, they face mythical creatures and uncover ancient legends, and they soon realize that there is no such thing as simply good or evil. Whether they break the curse or allow it to fulfil its destiny, the magical world will be forever changed.

Little Black Bird is a tale of trust, friendship and family, and what it means to discover one’s true path.

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Surprise release! From Blood and Ash ARC Review

From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash #1)
Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 4.5 hearts
Genre: Upper Young Adult, High Fantasy, Romance
Publication date: March 31, 2020
Publisher: Blue Box Press

Synopsis:

Captivating and action-packed, From Blood and Ash is a sexy, addictive, and unexpected fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Laura Thalassa.

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

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Backlist Shelf Control: The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

Backlist Shelf Control is a weekly feature hosted by The Reading Faery which is dedicated to sharing backlist books that have been on your TBR for too long. Every Friday, you talk about a backlist book (any book published the previous year or earlier) that you're excited to read and why you want to read it. If you participate, don't forget to comment on my post and share your links so I can check out your posts!

Diverse fantasy - Belle Révolte ARC Review

Belle Révolte

by Linsey Miller

My rating: 4.5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication date: February 4, 2020

Synopsis:

Emilie des Marais is more at home holding scalpels than embroidery needles and is desperate to escape her noble roots to serve her country as a physician. But society dictates a noble lady cannot perform such gruesome work.

Annette Boucher, overlooked and overworked by her family, wants more from life than her humble beginnings and is desperate to be trained in magic. So when a strange noble girl offers Annette the chance of a lifetime, she accepts.

Emilie and Annette swap lives—Annette attends finishing school as a noble lady to be trained in the ways of divination, while Emilie enrolls to be a physician’s assistant, using her natural magical talent to save lives.

But when their nation instigates a frivolous war, Emilie and Annette must work together to help the rebellion end a war that is based on lies.

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WWW Wednesdays #1

Hi guys! I've decided to try a new weekly meme, WWW Wednesdays, hosted by Taking on a World of Words. For this meme, you answer three questions starting with W (hence the name). The questions are: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you'll read next?

Blog Tour + Review: Beyond the Shadowed Earth by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Beyond the Shadowed Earth (Beneath the Haunting Sea #2)
by Joanna Ruth Meyer
My rating: 3 hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pub. date: January 14, 2020
Publisher: Page Street

Synopsis:

It has always been Eda’s dream to become empress, no matter the cost. Haunted by her ambition and selfishness, she’s convinced that the only way to achieve her goal is to barter with the gods. But all requests come with a price and Eda bargains away the soul of her best friend in exchange for the crown.

Years later, her hold on the empire begins to crumble and her best friend unexpectedly grows sick and dies. Gnawed by guilt and betrayal, Eda embarks on a harrowing journey to confront the very god who gave her the kingdom in the first place. However, she soon discovers that he’s trapped at the center of an otherworldly labyrinth and that her bargain with him is more complex than she ever could have imagined.

Set in the same universe as Joanna’s debut, Beneath the Haunting Sea, Beyond the Shadowed Earth combines her incredible world building and lush prose with a new, villainous lead.

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Slow start but amazing end - Becoming Review

Becoming: The Balance Bringer (The Balance Bringer Chronicles #1)
by Debra Kristi
My rating: 3.5 hearts
Publication date: January, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

Ana still blames herself for her boyfriend's death two years prior. Now, what she thought were mere dreams are starting to enter her waking life.

As Eerie shadows hunt Ana, strange new abilities develop. Her dream guy becomes reality, and Ana is becoming something...other.

Ana feels like she's becoming something beyond human, or maybe she's just going crazy. But there's no one for her to turn to. Her mother and her best friend are keeping a dark secret about who Ana really is―a secret that could restore the balance between worlds or hurtle them deeper into darkness.

Ana is not only discovering the world is far stranger than she ever expected, but that its survival is dependent on her. But for there to even be a glimmer of a chance at salvation, she must make it alive to the home she's never known.

If you devoured the Mortal Instruments series you'll love this award-winning, action-packed, romance-touched, coming-of-age adventure told from the point-of-view of a confused and unreliable high-school senior.

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Blog Tour + Review: Taming Demons for Beginners

Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex: Demonized #1)
by Annette Marie
My rating: 4 hearts
Publisher: Dark Owl Fantasy Inc.
Publication date: September 11, 2019
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Rule one: Don't look at the demon.

When I arrived at my uncle's house, I expected my relatives to be like me—outcast sorcerers who don't practice magic. I was right about the sorcery, but wrong about everything else.

Rule two: Don't listen to the demon.

My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls creatures of darkness into our world, binds them into service contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I'm supposed to act like I don't know how illegal and dangerous it is.

Rule three: Don't talk to the demon.

All I had to do was keep my nose out of it. Pretend I didn't find the summoning circle in the basement. Pretend I didn't notice the shadowy being trapped inside it. Pretend I didn't break the rules.

But I did, and now it's too late.

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Middle Grade Blog Hop + Q&A With Amy Bearce

Hi guys! I'm really excited to participate in the Middle Grade Blog Hop hosted by Snowy Wings Publishing. Today, I'm hosting the author of the World of Aluvia series, Amy Bearce. Keep reading for information about her series, and my interview with her. Welcome to The Reading Faery, Amy!

Amy writes fantasy and light science fiction for young readers and the young at heart. She is the author of the World of Aluvia series (Fairy Keeper, Mer-Charmer, and Dragon Redeemer, 2019) through Snowy Wings Publishing and Shortcuts (CBAY Books, 2019), for grades 4 and up. She is also a former reading teacher and librarian.

As an Army kid, she moved eight times before she was eighteen, so she feels especially fortunate to be married to her high school sweetheart. Together they are raising two daughters in San Antonio.

A perfect day for Amy involves rain pattering on the windows, popcorn, and every member of her family curled up in one cozy room reading a good book.

Backlist Shelf Control: Akarnae by Lynette Noni

Backlist Shelf Control is a weekly feature hosted by The Reading Faery which is dedicated to sharing backlist books that have been on your TBR for too long. Every Friday, you talk about a backlist book (any book published the previous year or earlier) that you're excited to read and why you want to read it. If you participate, please comment on my post so that I can check out your post!

Suspenseful, intense & complex - Hexen's Binding ARC Review

Hexen's Binding (Hexen's Cross #2)
by J. Kowallis
My rating: 5 hearts
Publication date: September 23, 2019
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Bryden changed everything. History that once was, is no longer. And life doesn't exist as it once did. Hellia lurks in the shadows between worlds, but the specter of the once-powerful hexen is the least of Taran Grim's worries. Something happened that day in Bryden. Something Taran failed to see. And Coll might be the one paying the price.

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An intense roller-coaster - The Burning Shadow ARC Review

The Burning Shadow (Origin #2)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 hearts
Publisher: Thor Teen
Publication date: October 8, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

When Evelyn Dasher crossed paths with Luc, she was thrown headfirst into the world of the Lux—only to discover that she was already far more involved in their world than she ever suspected.

Because the Luxen aren’t the only ones with a hidden past. There’s a gap in Evie’s memory, lost months of her life and a lingering sense that something happened, something she can’t remember and nobody is willing to tell her. She needs to find out the truth about who she is—and who she was. But every answer she finds only brings up more questions.

Her search for the truth brings her ever closer to Luc, the Origin at the center of it all. He’s powerful, arrogant, inhumanly beautiful, extremely dangerous…and possibly in love with her. But even as Evie falls for him, she can’t help but wonder if his attraction is to her, or to the memory of a girl who no longer exists.

And all the while, a new threat looms: reports of a flu-like, fatal virus that the government insists is being spread by Luxen. A horrifying illness that changes whoever it touches, spreading panic across a country already at its breaking point.


#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the world of the Lux with this steamy, shocking second installment of the Origin series that will leave readers reeling.

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Blog Tour + Giveaway: Whispers of Shadow and Flame by L. Penelope

Whispers of Shadow and Flame (Earthsinger Chronicles #2)
by L. Penelope
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication date: October 1, 2019

Synopsis:

The Mantle that separates the kingdoms of Elsira and Lagrimar is about to fall. And life will drastically change for both kingdoms. 

Born with a deadly magic she cannot control, Kyara is forced to become an assassin. Known as the Poison Flame in the kingdom of Lagrimar, she is notorious and lethal, but secretly seeks freedom from both her untamed power and the blood spell that commands her. She is tasked with capturing the legendary rebel called the Shadowfox, but everything changes when she learns her target’s true identity.

Darvyn ol-Tahlyro may be the most powerful Earthsinger in generations, but guilt over those he couldn’t save tortures him daily. He isn’t sure he can trust the mysterious young woman who claims to need his help, but when he discovers Kyara can unlock the secrets of his past, he can’t stay away.

Kyara and Darvyn grapple with betrayal, old promises, and older prophecies—all while trying to stop a war. And when a new threat emerges, they must beat the odds to save both kingdoms.

Blog Tour + Review: Glow of the Fireflies by Lindsey Duga

Glow of the Fireflies
by Lindsey Duga
My rating: 4 hearts
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication date: October 1, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

Briony never planned to go back to the place she lost everything.

Firefly Valley, nestled deep within the Smoky Mountains, is better kept in her past. After an unexplained fire gave Briony amnesia, her mother disappeared and her dad moved them to Knoxville.

But now her grandmother needs a caretaker and Briony's dad volunteers her to help. The moment she returns, her whole world shifts. She feels a magical connection to this valley, as if it's literally part of her somehow.

And when she meets a hot guy who claims he was her childhood friend but now mysteriously keeps his distance, Briony starts piecing together her missing past...and discovers her mother didn't leave to start a new life somewhere. She's trapped in the hidden world within the valley.

Now, Briony will do whatever it takes to rescue her, even if it means standing up against dangerously powerful nature spirits. Even if it means giving up her first love.

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Great Romance but Disappointing Plot - The King ARC Review

The King (A Wicked Trilogy #3.6)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Publication date: July 23, 2019
Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

From #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes the next installment in her Wicked series.

As Caden and Brighton's attraction grows despite the odds stacked against a happily ever after, they must work together to stop an Ancient fae from releasing the Queen, who wants nothing more than to see Caden become the evil Prince once feared by fae and mortals alike.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
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Blog Tour + Interview: Shadow & Flame by Mindee Arnett

I'm so excited to share the blog tour of Shadow & Flame by Mindee Arnett with you all today. Keep reading for my interview with the author, and don't forget to check out the otger tour stops here!

Shadow & Flame (Rime Chronicles #2)
by Mindee Arnett
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication date: June 4, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

From acclaimed author Mindee Arnett comes the thrilling conclusion of thestunningly epic, action-packed, and romantic fantasy adventure about a powerful girlpossessed of strange magic, the outcast prince she loves, and the kingdom that hastorn them apart.Kate and Corwin are on the run, desperate for allies in a new world of war amongthe kingdoms of Rime. As the book opens, Kate suffers a massive loss, one that willshape the struggle for freedom of all wilders and magic folk—that is, if Kate canlearn to control her own power.

Backlist Shelf Control: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Backlist Shelf Control is a weekly feature hosted by The Reading Faery which is dedicated to sharing backlist books that have been on your TBR for too long. Every Friday, you talk about a backlist book (any book published the previous year or earlier) that you're excited to read and why you want to read it. If you participate, please comment on my post so that I can check out your post!

Blog Tour + Interview: A Soul Reclaimed by Shayna Grissom

A Soul Reclaimed
Shayna Grissom
Publication date: April 1st 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Hell is divided into seven regions. The first region is designated for the purest of souls, the seventh is for the evilest. There was once a king of Hell, but the steward family has ruled for centuries.
Nora, the stepdaughter of the steward is undone when her mother and step-father take away her beloved tutor, Peter. When Nora confronts the steward and her mother, the discussion is heated and ends with the steward in inexplicable pain.
Shortly after, Nora finds herself in the Starry Wood. Peter told her of the perils within the forest, and it’s not long before the inhabitants of the wood find her.
A giant hunter named Aegis comes to Nora’s aid. He is drawn to Nora, compelled to protect her from the steward’s assassins, the giants, and the evil souls who escape the seventh region.
Together, they travel the seven layers of Hell to discover why the steward is so threatened by a teenage girl.

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A Complex and Exhilarating Adventure - Storm and Fury ARC Review

Storm and Fury (The Harbinger #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Publication date: June 11, 2019

Synopsis:

Eighteen-year-old Trinity Marrow may be going blind, but she can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits. Her unique gift is part of a secret so dangerous that she’s been in hiding for years in an isolated compound fiercely guarded by Wardens—gargoyle shape-shifters who protect humankind from demons. If the demons discover the truth about Trinity, they’ll devour her, flesh and bone, to enhance their own powers.

When Wardens from another clan arrive with disturbing reports that something out there is killing both demons and Wardens, Trinity’s safe world implodes. Not the least because one of the outsiders is the most annoying and fascinating person she’s ever met. Zayne has secrets of his own that will upend her world yet again—but working together becomes imperative once demons breach the compound and Trinity’s secret comes to light. To save her family and maybe the world, she’ll have to put her trust in Zayne. But all bets are off as a supernatural war is unleashed…

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