BLOOD JUSTICE By Terry J. Benton-Walker

April 20, 2024 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

BLOOD JUSTICE By Terry J. Benton-WalkerBlood Justice by Terry J. Benton-Walker
Series: Blood Debts #2
Published by Tor Teen on 4/23/24
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, LGBT, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 463
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Cristina and Clement Trudeau have conjured the impossible: justice.

They took back their family’s stolen throne to lead New Orleans’ magical community into the brighter future they all deserve.

But when Cris and Clem restored their family power, Valentina Savant lost everything. Her beloved grandparents are gone and her sovereignty has been revoked—she will never be Queen. Unless, of course, someone dethrones the Trudeaus again. And lucky for her, she’s not the only one trying to take them down.

Cris and Clem have enemies coming at them from all directions: Hateful anti-magic protesters sabotage their reign at every turn. A ruthless detective with a personal vendetta against magical crime is hot on their tail just as Cris has discovered her thirst for revenge. And a brutal god, hunting from the shadows, is summoned by the very power Clem needs to protect the boy he loves.

Cris’s hunger for vengeance and Clem’s desire for love could prove to be their family’s downfall, all while new murders, shocking disappearances, and impossible alliances are changing the game forever.

Welcome back to New Orleans, where gods walk among us and justice isn’t served, it’s taken.

Short and Sweet Review

Blood Justice takes place nine months after the events of Blood Debts. Now that Clem and Cris have gotten justice for their family they realize that things aren’t going to be easier only more difficult because people are still coming for them. Clem is trying to figure out how to restore Yves back to his former self with very little luck, and Cris is out there trying to get blood justice and go after everyone who hurt her family. When the mayor ends up murdered and their mom gets the blame for it Cris and Clem get to work on trying to prove her innocence while also learning they have a lot of enemies in the city of New Orleans.

When I read Blood Debts I didn’t like it so I thought I was a bit crazy for requesting the sequel but this book exceeded my expectations. One of my biggest problems with the first book was the amount of different character POVs but I think in this book because I knew who the characters were it wasn’t too much of a problem. Clem and Cris are on different paths in this book, Clem is still trying to figure out how to fix Yves, and Cris has a lot of anger and she’s using it to get revenge. The thing that brings the siblings together is when they have to prove that their mom is innocent and find out who is actually causing all of the trouble. We also see Valentina who is still dealing with her grandparents death and she’s trying to figure out how to become the queen. There’s some new Gods in this book and one of them is not one to be messed with but he’s drawn to Clem and Cris. There’s a lot going on in this book but in a good way. I liked seeing Cris express her anger but also in the end she has a realization that she’s gone too far and someone who loves her pulls her back. Clem makes some sacrifices in this book. Out of the two siblings I think that Clem is the one who thinks more about how his actions will effect others, while Cris currently sees red. There was a lot of character development for both characters and I’m glad there was more to them in this book that I connected with. I will add that I enjoyed the mystery aspect in this book, we had murder, missing people, murdered peoples bodies being moved, it was great.

Overall, I loved this book. Blood Justice made me rethink how I feel about this series this was a redeeming book and now I can’t wait until the third book is released. The way this book ended just leaves you ready to see what will happen next and I’m excited to see what will happen to our characters and how they’re going to deal with the war that’s coming their way. I would definitely recommend Blood Justice, so go get it when it’s released!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE HUNTING MOON By Susan Dennard

January 19, 2024 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE HUNTING MOON By Susan DennardThe Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard
Series: The Luminaries #2
Published by Tor Teen on 11/7/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 292
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Winnie Wednesday has gotten everything she thought she wanted. She passed the deadly hunter trials, her family has been welcomed back into the Luminaries, and overnight, she has become a local celebrity.

The Girl Who Jumped. The Girl Who Got Bitten.

Unfortunately, it all feels wrong. For one, nobody will believe her about the new nightmare called the Whisperer that's killing hunters each night. Everyone blames the werewolf, even though Winnie is certain the wolf is innocent.

On top of that, following her dad's convoluted clues about the Dianas, their magic, and what happened in Hemlock Falls four years ago is leaving her with more questions than answers.

Then to complicate it all, there is still only one person who can help her: Jay Friday, the boy with plenty of problems all his own.

As bodies and secrets pile up around town, Winnie finds herself questioning what it means to be a true Wednesday and a true Luminary—and also where her fierce-hearted loyalties might ultimately have to lie.

Short and Sweet Review

After the events of the last book Winnie Wednesday is basically a local celebrity in Hemlock Falls. She’s known as the girl who jumped or the girl who got bitten. But Winnie doesn’t have time to think about that because the whisperer is still out there killing hunters, but everyone thinks it’s the werewolf and Winnie knows they’re wrong. She’s also dealing with the fact that her dad left her clues about what happened to him and things about the Dianas. Winnie is dealing with a lot but she doesn’t really have anyone she can trust except for Jay, even then she’s wondering if everything she did to become a luminary was worth it.

We’re back in Hemlock Falls and we follow Winnie try to adjust to everything happening around her. Winnie tries to put it past her that everyone seems to want to talk to her now because she has bigger issues to deal with. One of the lead hunters was recently killed and the people in Hemlock seem to think the werewolf did it but Winnie knows there’s something more dangerous out in the forest. Winnie also starts to find things her dad left behind and she needs someone she can trust so she confides in Jay. In this book we get a bit more history about Hemlock Falls and what it actually means to be a Luminary. I did like that we got to learn more about the Dianas but of course I wanted more I feel like we just got to the surface layer and there’s way more at stake than what we saw. The relationships in this book are great. We don’t see much of Winnie’s mom or Darian because they’re trying to make sure that they can keep from being outcasts again. Winnie’s friendships with Fatima, Bretta, and Emma really shine in this book, they’re there for Winnie and are like her support system. We also have Jay who is a romantic interest and he’s also a big support system. I love Jay, he’s making up for not being around the past four years but you can tell he’ll do anything to keep Winnie safe. The ending leaves you wanting more, because there’s more questions that have to be answered. We see Winnie discover that another character has ties to the Dianas and I’m ready to find out what they know.

The Hunting Moon, was a good sequel. This book had more investigating and I feel like because of Winnie’s new status she was able to do the investigating that she needed to do. I’m just looking forward to the next book to see what will happen next and to have more questions answered!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE LUMINARIES By Susan Dennard

January 12, 2024 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE LUMINARIES By Susan DennardThe Luminaries by Susan Dennard
Series: The Luminaries #1
Published by Tor Teen on 11/1/22
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 291
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

Short and Sweet Review

Winnie Wednesday lives in Hemlock Falls, an interesting town you won’t find on the maps and where the forest surrounding the town is filled with nightmares. After Winnie’s dad was found doing spells and associating with witches, Winnie, her brother Darian, and her mom have been exiled by the town. Now that Winnie is 16 she’s allowed to partake in the hunter trials and she’s hoping that this will be the first step in restoring her family’s status. Unfortunately, Winnie learns pretty fast that the forest is filled with a new kind of nightmare that no one is prepared for.

Winnie Wednesday has been exiled for the past four years, and now she has the chance to make up for her father’s mistakes by entering the hunter trials which consists of three different tasks. Winnie goes to the first trial and she ends up seeing a new kind of nightmare in the forest that most of the other hunters don’t know about. They end up calling this nightmare the whisperer and it has the ability to kill other nightmares in its vicinity, on that first trial it ends up killing a banshee and Winnie gets the credit for it. Winnie knows she should come clean but she just rolls with it and she also knows that if the whisperer is what she’s going to be dealing with she needs some serious help. Winnie asks Jay Friday her ex to help tutor her in everything she needs to know about killing nightmares and staying alive in the forest.

This is a fun world. I like that we follow Winnie through each of her trials and she’s an unlikely hero. Winnie isn’t someone who should be traversing the forest but she is. She’s also one of the few people who knows about the whisperer and is trying to make the other hunters aware which is harder said than done. I like how close knit Winnie and her brother and mom are, we also get an insight on how hard it was for all of them to be exiled. I liked learning about the forest and that the nightmares only come out when the sun goes down and are gone are sunrise. The atmosphere is creepy and it’s just strange that they all live in this town surrounded by this forest and they seem fine with it. Anyway I wanted to learn more about Winnie’s dad and his affiliation with the Dianas which are the witches. I feel like more things will be answered in the next book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found myself wanting more. I loved the short chapters and the pacing of the book. Winnie is a heroine who knows her strengths and she also knows that she shouldn’t be hunting nightmares but she’ll do it to keep people safe. I’m excited to see what will happen in the sequel!

Filed Under: Reviews

ALL OF OUR DEMISE By Amanda Foody and C.L. Herman

August 4, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

ALL OF OUR DEMISE By Amanda Foody and C.L. HermanAll of Our Demise by Amanda Foody, C.L. Herman
Series: All of Us Villains #2
Published by Tor Teen on 8/30/22
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, LGBT, Young Adult
Pages: 474
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

For the first time in this ancient, bloodstained story, the tournament is breaking. The boundaries between the city of Ilvernath and the arena have fallen. Reporters swarm the historic battlegrounds. A dead boy now lives again. And a new champion has entered the fray, one who seeks to break the curse for good... no matter how many lives are sacrificed in the process.

As the curse teeters closer and closer to collapse, the surviving champions each face a choice: dismantle the tournament piece by piece, or fight to the death as this story was always intended.

Long-held alliances will be severed. Hearts will break. Lives will end. Because a tale as wicked as this one was never destined for happily ever after.

Short and Sweet Review

In All of Us Villains we saw that the tournament was breaking and in All of Our Demise we pick up right where the last book ended. Briony, Finley, and Isobel are trying to end the tournament by bringing the relics to the landmarks and destroying them. Gavin and Alistair aren’t convinced and are still playing the tournament with the intentions of winning on their minds.

All of Our Demise felt like a race against the clock. We have one group racing to take down the blood veil and the other two teaming up to try to take them down. Even though we had everyone’s POVs I feel like Briony and Alistair were the main characters and the others were kind of secondary. There was a lot of character development in this book which I appreciated. Each of our characters are complex and have their own problems they’re trying to solve through the course of this book and through that we see how they’ve grown and are continuing to grow. Alistair learns that he’s worth loving, Briony that she is worth saving, Gavin learned that people care about him. I did like seeing the romance between the different characters, it didn’t feel like instalove but something that has been naturally working its way to the surface. The Magick system is still unique and its interesting watching the characters use it and learning about their curse rings and the different spells. The story gets a little more complicated because the press is more involved and there’s also some news about a conspiracy with some of the families involvement with the government. I thought this book was a little long and at some points lagged but it did pick up in the end and I did like when both groups came together and realized that they have a common goal.

Overall, this duology was exciting and filled with action and magick. I did like the characters but I wish it wasn’t as slow as it was. The ending was good and everything was wrapped up nicely, I would recommend this book especially if you enjoy high stakes competitions but with a twist of magic.

Filed Under: Reviews

BLOOD DEBTS By Terry J. Benton-Walker

July 21, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

BLOOD DEBTS By Terry J. Benton-WalkerBlood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker
Series: Blood Debts #1
Published by Tor Teen on 4/4/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, LGBT, Mystery & Detective, Young Adult
Pages: 404
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Thirty years ago, a young woman was murdered, a family was lynched, and New Orleans saw the greatest magical massacre in its history. In the days that followed, a throne was stolen from a queen.

On the anniversary of these brutal events, Clement and Cristina Trudeau—the sixteen-year-old twin heirs to the powerful, magical, dethroned family—are mourning their father and caring for their sick mother. Until, by chance, they discover their mother isn’t sick—she’s cursed. Cursed by someone on the very magic council their family used to rule. Someone who will come for them next.

Cristina, once a talented and dedicated practitioner of Generational magic, has given up magic for good. An ancient spell is what killed their father and she was the one who cast it. For Clement, magic is his lifeline. A distraction from his anger and pain. Even better than the random guys he hooks up with.

Cristina and Clement used to be each other’s most trusted confidant and friend, now they barely speak. But if they have any hope of discovering who is coming after their family, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other and their family's magic, all while solving the decades-old murder that sparked the still-rising tensions between the city’s magical and non-magical communities. And if they don't succeed, New Orleans may see another massacre. Or worse.

Short and Sweet Review

Thirty years ago, a young woman was murdered and the person blamed ended up being lynched and in the process her daughter lost the throne to the magical council. Now Clement and Cristina are mourning their father and taking care of their sick mother, but after they do a spell they realize their mother isn’t sick someone put a curse on her. Cristina used to do magic but after casting a spell and thinking it backfired, she’s given it up. Clement on the other hand uses magic as a distraction from the things going on in his life. Cristina and Clem used to have a good relationship but as of late they barely speak, but now that they know someone is after their family, they have to put their differences aside and work together.

I expected a lot from this book, I wanted more mystery aspects and more magic taking place in the great city of New Orleans, what I got instead was a whole lot of petty fighting and too many characters. Now that I’m thinking about characters I remember a POV of one who I don’t even think was important in this book. Anyway Cristina and Clem are always at each others throats and even though they’re supposed to be working together its like pulling teeth to get them to get over what happened in the past and move on to save their family’s legacy. After finding out that their mother has been cursed, Cristina and Clement have to get the rest of the family together to cast a protection spell, unfortunately all of their aunts are also distant from each other and have petty arguments which means it just runs in the family. Cristina is determined to find out who did this to her mom and starts investigating but she knows she has to get Clem to help her. I was excited about trying to find out who hexed their mother and we get to see the murder from 30 years ago get solved. All of this was fine, my biggest problem was how many characters there were and how petty they all were. I think there was too much fighting and it took away from what the synopsis said the book would be about. We have characters trying to kill each other for power and others who are just pawns. Lenora is the queen of the magical council and she’s ruthless and her granddaughter Valentina is just as awful and has it out for Cristina. I don’t really want to talk about the romance because it all just seemed forced and nothing too genuine. We see the family reunite at the end and it also seemed too little too late.

It took me longer to read this book than I thought it would and I will attribute that to feeling duped by the synopsis. There were a lot of loose ends in this book and although this book didn’t convince me I should read the next book I’m interested to see what will happen next and I’m hoping for A LOT of character development.

Filed Under: Reviews

ALL OF US VILLAINS By Amanda Foody and C.L. Herman

September 9, 2022 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

ALL OF US VILLAINS By Amanda Foody and C.L. HermanAll of Us Villains by Amanda Foody, C.L. Herman
Series: All of Us Villains #1
Published by Tor Teen on 11/9/21
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 393
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

The Blood Moon rises. The Blood Veil falls. The Tournament begins.

Every generation, at the coming of the Blood Moon, seven families in the remote city of Ilvernath each name a champion to compete in a tournament to the death.

The prize? Exclusive control over a secret wellspring of high magick, the most powerful resource in the world—one thought long depleted.

But this year a scandalous tell-all book has exposed the tournament and thrust the seven new champions into the worldwide spotlight. The book also granted them valuable information previous champions never had—insight into the other families’ strategies, secrets, and weaknesses. And most important, it gave them a choice: accept their fate or rewrite their legacy.

Either way, this is a story that must be penned in blood.

When the blood moon rises the blood veil falls and that means its time for the tournament to begin. Seven families choose a champion to compete in the tournament and the prize is the family gets control of the magick supply. But this year is different because a tell all book has been released sharing insights into each family, the book has also put a spotlight on Ilvernath bring tourist from all over to see the tournament.

Even though there’s seven competitors we only get the POV of four of them, Alistair, Gavin, Briony, and Isobel. They’re all very interesting in their own way. Alistair was raised believing that his family are monsters actual villains and most Lowes win the competition and he’s expected to win this years. Briony has always wanted to be a champion and represent her family so she’s pretty upset when her sister is picked instead of her, but after that she decides that she wants to end the competition instead of winning it. Isobel has never wanted to be a champion so she tries to find a way to avoid it but her dad is having none of that, so she goes into the tournament determined to win and not disappoint her dad even though she really wants to be anywhere else. Gavin is pretty much seen as weak and the other competitors don’t like him because the tell all book was written by someone in his family. Most of Gavins chapters are pretty short so I felt like he wasn’t as important as the other three characters.

The tournament was different there’s relics and landmarks for the competitors to go to and also its a tournament to the death so we see them throwing curses at each other. It was fun to see what they would curse each other with and how the magic system in this book worked. We also see a few alliances form and we read about why alliances don’t work for this kind of tournament, there can only be one winner. There’s also excerpts from the tell all book at the start of each chapter that gives us an insight to how each family goes about their strategies.

This was a good book and it’ll keep you entertained. The characters, the magick, the plot twists, all worked and it’ll keep you reading until the very end. I’m excited to see how everything is going to end in the next book!

Filed Under: Reviews

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD By Kendare Blake

March 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD By Kendare BlakeAnna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #1
Published by Tor Teen on 7/3/2012
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

ReviewedbyDani

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

Yet she spares Cas's life.


Short and Sweet Review

Cas’s job is to kill the dead and that’s what he’ll do no matter the danger that’s involved. His job takes Cas and his mother to Canada, and this time his job is to kill Anna Korlov. Anna dressed in blood. Anna is different than any other ghost Cas has had to kill. Anna is powerful and she knows she’s dead. Cas won’t stop until he finds out is making Anna so powerful, and in the process he falls in love with her. In the end Anna isn’t the one Cas had to worry about. Cas and Anna really make this book. Cas has this creepy job of killing the dead and has to deal with all of the danger that comes with having to do that. And Anna has two sides to her the girl she was before she died and a girl who kills anyone who walks into her house. I loved this book, I couldn’t put it down I just needed to know what was going to happen next. The ending has a huge twist which I wasn’t ready for. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal, horror, and romance. I’m definitely going to get the second book which is Girl of Nightmares.

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Filed Under: Reviews