Tag Archives: fantasy romance

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Audioboo Review: The Knight and the Moth, by Rachel Gillig

I borrowed a copy of Rachel Gillig‘s The Knight and the Moth through Libby for a road trip.

the knight and the moth audio cover

Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming of having no dreams at all. Like the other foundling girls who traded a decade of service for a home in the great cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur, and lords and common folk alike travel across the kingdom of Traum’s windswept moors to learn their futures by her dreams.

Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil’s visions. But when Sybil’s fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral’s cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she’d rather avoid Rodrick’s dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god.

my review

I really enjoyed this. The heroine was kind, strong, and determined to save herself and everyone else. There were some serious elder daughter vibes going on there. But I did find that she triumphed in ways and moments that she really shouldn’t have. The MMC was wonderful, loyal, and interesting. A little less so after he and the FMC pair up, though. He morphed into a generic perfect boyfriend. Maude and the bat-winged gargoyle were marvelous side characters, the gargoyle especially. He added the humor and comic relief that the story needed. And the world was intriguing, with a subtle kind of magic.

There is a lot to appreciate, but I did find almost everything, even the twist at the end, pretty predictable, and it ends on a cliffhanger. But the narrator,  Samantha Hydeson, did a marvelous job with the narration. It was a pleasure to listen to. 


Other Reviews:

🎧 The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

 

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Book Review: Escaping Wonderland, by Tiffany Roberts

I received a copy of Tiffany Roberts’ Escaping Wonderland in a monthly Renegade Romance book box.

escaping wonderland coverAlice knows Wonderland is just a virtual world operated inside an asylum to which she’s been wrongfully committed, but she can’t find her way out—can’t find her way back to the life she lived before she woke beneath titanic trees and towering flowers. With the terrifying Red King searching for her and chaos all around, her only hope of escape lies in Shadow, a tall, mysterious being with glowing eyes, sharp claws, and a haunting grin who may be the maddest of them all.

But even if Wonderland isn’t real, her growing feelings for Shadow—and his desire for her—are. Can Alice and Shadow escape Wonderland together, or will she succumb to the madness like everyone else?

my review

Meh, it was merely ok. Shadow was marvelous in all of the ways: noble, loyal, fiercely protective, and brokenly sweet. But everything (and everyone) else in the book was mediocre. The villains were incredibly shallow and cliched, with no discernible motivation beyond being men and therefore power-hungry sexual predators; all played at exactly the same note. There basically weren’t any other women beyond in passing, and it’s inferred that they were all “dollies,” faceless victims, or sex slaves. (As I said, cliched.) Worst of all, Alice was absolutely useless. She just floated through the book, going with the flow and displaying no meaningful agency of her own. Other than inspiring the hero to an act of heroism, she didn’t even participate in her own rescue. I continued reading for Shadow. I was intensely bored by every other aspect of the book.
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@thebiblioaddict ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🍄 #thebiblioaddict #fyp #booktok #bookrecommendations #bookreview #escapingwonderland #tiffanyroberts #indieauthorsoftiktok ♬ Blackbird – Acoustic Guitar Revival

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Book Review: Enchanting the Fae Queen, by Stephanie Burgis

I borrowed a copy of Stephanie BurgisEnchanting the Fae Queen from the local library. I read and reviewed the first book in the series last year.

enchanting the fae queen cover

Queen Lorelei is a notorious fae seductress, with a trail of broken hearts in her wake. But behind her glamorous lifestyle and sparkling mask lurks a dangerously intelligent woman who’d do anything to keep her people safe, including kidnap the empire’s most famous hero.

The virtuous high general Gerard de Moireul represents all that is moral and true. He has to, after his parents were executed for treason. The last thing he needs is the Queen of Balravia, who showers glitter and rainbow-colored sparkles everywhere she goes without the slightest regard for good taste, decorum, or royal dignity.

They’re opposites in every way, but when they’re swept up together in a grand–and deadly–fae tournament, they discover all of each other’s most hidden truths–and how perfectly they might be suited for each other after all.

my review

I found this an enjoyable cozy fantasy. Gerard is honorable and good in all the best ways. Lorelei is cliched, but purposefully so. She uses people’s expectations for her own ends, and it makes what might otherwise have been a grating personality bearable. Both have tragic, believable backstories that are incorporated into the plot in meaningful ways. They make a lovely couple whom I liked spending time with.

I also find some of Burgis’ dry humor really engaging and had fun with the narrative. I did think once they had decided to be together, things wrapped up a little too quickly, with too many of the “but how is that going to work” threads left open. I’m trusting Burgis to tie them off in the next book.

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Other Reviews:

Expect the Unexpected in “Enchanting the Fae Queen”