#FreeInKU - Queen Takes Knights

Read if you like: women who can hold their own, alpha males in HEALTHY relationships, and hot-as-hell romance.

Queen Takes Knights | Joely Sue Bukhart

Series: Their Vampire Queen

Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance, Reverse Harem
Released: October 17th 2017
Pages: 190
Format: Ebook
Source: Kindle Unlimited

A lost virgin vampire queen. Two vampire knights sworn to protect her.
It’s about to get very hot… and bloody…

Ever since her mother was murdered by monsters five years ago, Shara Isador has been on the run. Alone, scared, and exhausted, she’s finally cornered in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Out of hope with nowhere else to turn, she’s ready to end it all when two men come to her rescue.

They say she’s a lost queen descended from Isis, and they’re her Blood, vampire knights sworn to protect her. It all seems like a crazy nightmare, until the alpha offers his blood. Then she realizes she’s never wanted anything more. Except maybe his body… and his friend’s, too.

But they’re not the only ones searching for a lost queen. Shara must learn how to wield her new powers quickly and conquer her fears if she intends to keep them all alive.

Paranormal romance with not one but TWO alphas who aren't domineering, controlling, or problematic. This book is awesome. Steamy, awesomely dangerous, and a story that is genuinely interesting with a plot twist. And consent is SO important in this. I love it so much and need the next book!

5 stars

Review: The Marked Girl

Read if you like: stories that take a well-loved genre and mix it up, character-driven books, and so much awesome squeezed into one book.

The Marked Girl | Lindsey Klingele

Series: Marked Girl

Genre: YA Fantasy
Released: August 1st 2017
Pages: 416
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

Worlds collide in Lindsey Klingele’s young adult novel The Marked Girl, an exciting fantasy tale turned upside down.

Elissa Sussman, author of Stray, calls The Marked Girl “a magical debut with a big heart.”

When Cedric, crowned prince of Caelum, and his fellow royal friends (including his betrothed, Kat) find themselves stranded in modern-day L.A. via a magical portal and an evil traitor named Malquin, all they want to do is get home to Caelum—soon. Then they meet Liv, a filmmaker foster girl who just wants to get out of the system and on with her life. As she and Cedric bond, they’ll discover that she’s more connected to his world than they ever could’ve imagined…and that finding home is no easy task…

The Marked Girl has humor, heart, and harrowing adventures, perfect for fantasy lovers and reluctant fantasy readers alike. The paperback includes a teaser to the sequel, The Broken World. 

This book is so different to anything I've read.  Part urban fantasy, part secondary world fantasy, part something new. Pure awesome.

I love how normal Liv is, and how utterly abnormal a world she's thrown into: people from another world, near superheroes, killer Knights, and a hoarde of monsters. There's nothing missing from this book; it has great, memorable characters, fantasy world people struggling to cope with modern day (Kat trying to fathom Uber is my favourite thing), interesting dangers, some plot twists, a relatable MC, and a snarky, grumpy bae I want to keep. He's not the love interest (that's perfect, bland Cedric) but I hope he's more the focus in the next book.

Great from page one, this book takes surprising turn after surprising turn and I loved it. Will definitely continue this series!

4.5 stars

Review: Wild Embers

Read if you like: poetry that will touch your heart and heal your weary soul.

Wild Embers | Nikita Gill

Genre: Poetry
Released: November 16th 2017
Pages: 160
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

They have lightning in their souls, thunder in their hearts, chaos in their bones.

Nikita Gill's poetry has captured hearts and minds all over the world; her inspirational words have been shared hundreds of thousands of times online, been plastered across placards on international women's marches and even transformed into tattoos. This collection will showcase mostly unseen poetry and prose, delving into ideas about passion, identity, empowerment and femininity.

Equal parts haunting and inspiring. I love these poems of self love, healing, and trauma. This is an essential book for anyone who has ever been broken or bruised. It will mend your heart and help you rebuild yourself

4 stars

Review: The Last Namsara

Read if you like: secondary fantasy with interesting magic systems and beliefs, characters you can root for, and dragons.

The Last Namsara | Kristen Ciccarelli

Series: Iskari

Genre: YA High Fantasy
Released: October 3rd 2017
Pages: 432
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.

These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her. 

This was not what I expected at all. I really like how the main character journeys from villain to hero, from dragon hunter to dragon rider. I could have done without the romance and I didn't love the rebel camp but there were elements I really liked. Character development is amazing, and I like the main character, as well as her cousin. The dragons were pretty awesome, too, though I wish they were more characters than they actually were.

I enjoyed the action and suspense, and this was a really good fantasy book with some memorable moments. The world didn't stand out but I think it'll be expanded on in later books. I liked it.

4.5 stars

Review: The Girl From Everywhere

Read if you like: awesome female characters, high-stakes stories, and irresistible romances (heavy on the snark.)

The Girl From Everywhere | Heidi Heilig

Series: The Girl From Everywhere

Genre: Fantasy, Time Travel, Historical
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.

As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.

But the end to it all looms closer every day.

Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.

For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.

She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.

Or she could disappear.

Why did I take so long to read this? It's SO good! Epic, snarky characters, incredible world building, and writing that's just GORGEOUS. I fell in love with this lush, sweeping story of maps and sailing and love.

Nix is SO COOL, I love her, but Kashmir really hooked me into this book, my sarcastic thief prince. I'm still not sure about the rest of the characters, even though Slate, Nix's dad, has some WILD character development. The world and writing and imagination is where this book stands out, from Hawaii to New York to TERRACOTTA WARRIORS. Just full of awesome (but also sadness and heartbreak and beware this one, it'll sneak up on you!)

5 stars