Audio: The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

By: Charlotte Nicole Davis

Narrated by: Jeanette Illidge

Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 10-01-19

Language: English

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Fantasy

Most review seems to be user gentler words, but, no. This is dark world.

This is a shitty world. I do not really learn much about it and I would have liked more. War came. Now there are ghosts and evil men eating ghosts around. There are the rich and those without shadows (why, how?!). And poor people sell their daughters to brothels, there they are marked and used up until thrown out when they are too old. Some parents think they are better off, some just need money. But they are still made into whores.

And one day 5 run away after one of them kills a customer on her first night on the job.

Oh and there are these guys that mentally torture you too cos it is not enough you have to whore, but you are also mentally tortured cos they find it funny.

Yes, I would have liked to learn more about this world. And yes, I did feel they were too lucky. Everyone and their grandma was after them. Their pics were everywhere. They could not even go outside without covering their faces cos they were branded, but still they manage to stay away from the law. A bit too far fetched for me.

They also go all banditas and start to rob people. And sure the people have it coming, but it does change from women escaping to more let's rob people and rich people suck.

The end is actually a semi good one, I was worried when I saw that it is a series. But you can leave them sort of for now, but yes they are not actually safe, just sort of. I like that. Cliffhangers are just so evil.

As for the girls, we are in Aster's head and she is angsty. I wish there was more Clem, cos she does not seem to dwell that much and she should. Violet was mean girl not mean girl at all, and I find myself liking her. Tansy and Mellow are just there.

An interesting start. I do wish more explanations, but more books are to come.

Narration.

A good narration, she made distinct voices of the girls and their voices fit them.

The country of Arketta calls them Good Luck Girls—they know their luck is anything but. Sold to a “welcome house” as children and branded with cursed markings. Trapped in a life they would never have chosen.

When Clementine accidentally murders a man, the girls risk a dangerous escape and harrowing journey to find freedom, justice, and revenge in a country that wants them to have none of those things. Pursued by Arketta’s most vicious and powerful forces, both human and inhuman, their only hope lies in a bedtime story passed from one Good Luck Girl to another, a story that only the youngest or most desperate would ever believe.

It’s going to take more than luck for them all to survive.

Down among the sticks and bones by Seanan McGuire

Kindle Edition, 190 pages
Published June 13th 2017 by Tor.com
Series: Wayward Children #2
Fantasy novella
Own

Wohoo, free!! Thak you TOR.

I Liked book 1, and I liked this one. This one happens before book 1, and I had honestly forgotten what happened in that novella.

Jacqueline grows up a princess, Jillian grows up a tomboy, and they both start to chafe at the roles given by their parents. They are twins, yet so different.

Jack and Jill went up a hill, and all fell apart...

I liked where they ended up, it was dark. There are doors, and all those lost children around the world, might have fallen through those doors. And the other side is not always or ever pleasant.

Great novella! I need more

Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

Audio: Warrior of the Altaii - Robert Jordan

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 10-08-19

Language: English

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Fantasy

For review

My phone never messes up, but this time, sigh, this audio listen was a mess.

See it started with a torture scene, and I thought, well this is strange, but ok it was Jordan's first book. maybe he meant to throw us in in the middle of things. Throughout I did feel that I had missed something, but it worked.

Then there came a foreword, and chapter 1 forward. And I realised that something had gone horrible wrong. And now I did not do it all over, I already had gotten my impressions. To actually do it from the beginning actually made me think less of the main character! Weird right!

So, maybe I will review the Second Part first:

Second part (my bad!)

This is not WoT level, but I can see how he honed his skill with this one and tried a few things.

I am not sure I like Wolfgar having a little harem or whatever, what is the deal with that?

Jordan has the best battle scenes, wow, I mean the best part of this book were the battle scenes!

This book would have been better as a series, now it worked, but everything happened fast and I was all, but then what? 

First part

Ok, so Wulfghar is an idiot, I am glad I read this last. First he just lets that stuff go, ok so everyone lets that stuff go, but this new slave, who is then free is still beaten for days to get to know the culture or something like that. A beaten slave is someone who might turn on you in the end, and they should all rise up.

Which leads me to, I do not like the Altaii. "Wipe them out, all of them." Yup, that is how I feel about them. These are not good guys.

Also he is a idiot, who mouths off like that? Omg, man, calm down! He is not a leader.

Final thoughts.

I have such mixed feelings, I liked the book so much more when I had not read the first 30% or something.

But it was interesting to try to spot things that would later evolve into WoT.

Narrator.

His female voices, just no, they were not that good. He made them very dark, His male voices were obviously better then.

Draw near and listen, or else time is at an end. The watering holes of the Plain are drying up, the fearsome fanghorn grow more numerous, and bad omens abound. Wulfgar, a leader of the Altaii people, must contend with twin queens, warlords, prophets, and magic in hopes of protecting his people and securing their future. Elspeth, a visitor from another world, holds the answers, but first Wulfgar must learn to ask the right questions.   

But what if the knowledge that saves the Altaii will also destroy them?  

Ravencry by Ed McDonald

Paperback, 384 pages
Published June 28th 2018 by Orion
Series: Raven's Mark #2
Fantasy
own

I have been having a bit of reader's block. I have wanted to read, but at the same time not. Not even with this good book. But tonight I buckled down and got it done!

Better make it short and start a new book while I have my groove back.

Ryhalt is a captain at the edge of a crappy place. He lost someone he cared for in the last book, and that person seems to be a ghost around town.

The city is going to hell.

His boss is on his case.

This is a grey, shitty place. I like it. Things happen here and well, I do fear for him in the next book. Nice series.

Four years have passed since Nall’s Engine drove the Deep Kings back across the Misery, but as they hurl fire from the sky, darker forces plots against the republic.

A new power is rising: a ghost in the light known only as the Bright Lady manifests in visions across the city, and the cult that worship her grasp for power even as the city burns around them.

When Crowfoot’s arcane vault is breached, an object of terrible power is stolen, and Galharrow and his Blackwings must once find out which of Valengrad’s enemies is responsible before they have a chance to use it.

To save Valengrad, Galharrow, Nenn and Tnota must venture to a darker, more twisted and more dangerous place than any they’ve walked before: the very heart of the Misery.

Soundless by Richelle Mead

Hardcover, 267 pages

Published November 10th 2015 by Razorbill

Ya Fantasy

Own

Well, this was boring. So very very boring. I ended up skimming.

The premise was so interesting. Chinese Lore inspired. People on a mountain and all are deaf.

What I got was the only Chinese thing was the names.

Fei was dull, her lover was dull.

The lead up was long

The climb took a page. I mean come on, no one else tried this?

The resolution was put together really quickly and was just stupid. Oh please. All these people should be dead.

It felt like a series put together into one book. Also one very boring book.

Though considering I have not liked anything else by the author then srsly, what was I expecting? ;)

For as long as Fei can remember, no one in her village has been able to hear. Rocky terrain and frequent avalanches make it impossible to leave the village, so Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink. Many go hungry. Fei and all the people she loves are plunged into crisis, with nothing to look forward to but darkness and starvation.

One girl hears a call to action…

Until one night, Fei is awoken by a searing noise. Sound becomes her weapon.

She sets out to uncover what’s happened to her and to fight the dangers threatening her village. A handsome miner with a revolutionary spirit accompanies Fei on her quest, bringing with him new risks and the possibility of romance. They embark on a majestic journey from the peak of their jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiguo, where a startling truth will change their lives forever…

Audio: Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly

Narrated by: LuLu Lam

Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 09-03-19

Language: English

Publisher: HarperAudio

When it comes to fantasy then MG works so well, they are always nicer, not angsty, and it is always the ordinary ones that save the day.

Lalani is an ordinary girl, not braver, not faster or anything else. She loves her mum, she loves stories and her friends.

She lives on an island and all those on the island dream of another island that is better than theirs. So they send ships so find it, but no ships ever come back.

The author draws from Filipino mythology, and that is a real treat. The book does have a Moana feel as the whole young girl goes on a trip to save an island, but there it ends.

I liked Lalani, I liked that she was nothing more, she was just a normal girl that wants to save her mother. She is as brave as we al can be if we just try.

It is quite the adventure she has, and all in all this was a book that I enjoyed. 

Narration

She did a great job with voices and the feel of the place.

The audio was great listening at.

When Lalani Sarita’s mother falls ill with an incurable disease, Lalani embarks on a dangerous journey across the sea in the hope of safeguarding her own future. Inspired by Filipino folklore, this engrossing fantasy is for listeners who loved Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Disney’s Moana. 

Life is difficult on the island of Sanlagita. To the west looms a vengeful mountain, one that threatens to collapse and bury the village at any moment. To the north, a dangerous fog swallows sailors who dare to venture out, looking for a more hospitable land. And what does the future hold for young girls? Chores and more chores.

When Lalani Sarita’s mother falls gravely ill, 12-year-old Lalani faces an impossible task - she must leave Sanlagita and find the riches of the legendary Mount Isa, which towers on an island to the north. But generations of men and boys have died on the same quest - how can an ordinary girl survive the epic tests of the archipelago? And how will she manage without Veyda, her best friend? 

Audio. Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan

Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik, Raphael Corkhill

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 08-20-19

Language: English

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Fantasy

In exchange for an honest review

I would not say it felt like the previous series. That one was about exploring, and it had this other feel to it. This one is even more scholarly as most of it takes place when Audrey is translating clay tablets.

Audrey is Lady Trent's granddaughter (read the books to find out who Trent is.) She wants to prove her worth as her grand parents are famous, her parents are famous and she has not had her turn yet. So she spends month translating.

Helping her she has Kudshayn, a well I will just say dragonman so you get the point. Their benefactor is an Earl who she does not really know what his endgame is.

There is more but that just comes into spoiler territory.

I liked Audrey. I did want more dragons, and got none, so that is sad. In a way not a lot happens either, it really is hard to explain this one. But it is a fascinating world she has created.

Narrator

She did a good job. I liked her epic clay tablet voice. You have to read it to get that ;)  

The book is a lot more than just a story. There are letters, articles and more. In comes this other narrator for that.

It worked in audio too with all these different formats 

As the renowned granddaughter of Isabella Camherst (Lady Trent, of the riveting and daring Draconic adventure memoirs), Audrey Camherst has always known she, too, would want to make her scholarly mark upon a chosen field of study. 

When Lord Gleinheigh recruits Audrey to decipher a series of ancient tablets holding the secrets of the ancient Draconean civilization, she has no idea that her research will plunge her into an intricate conspiracy, one meant to incite rebellion and invoke war. Alongside dearest childhood friend and fellow archeologist Kudshayn, must find proof of the conspiracy before it’s too late.

Early Review: The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Expected publication: September 24th 2019 by St. Martin's Press

Series: Forgotten Empires #1

Fantasy

In exchange for an honest review

My Thoughts

An evil emperor has taken power and by doing that he took control of the world, one slaughter at a time. He might actually be my favorite character, cos he was so evil. And then this thing he says he will do at the end, dang, that is a well written baddie. I loved to hate him. And the thing is, we never even meet him! All we get are letters.

Ok so I spent the first paragraph talking about the man who will get killed in whatever book finishes this. Ha, funny.

Anyway, Lia, queen of Calanthe is trying her best to keep the evil emperor away from their shores. they rolled over and played nice and was spared the massacre. I did like that she played a part all day. There was so much more to her. But the thing that came out at the end was the part that interested me the most, intriguing.

Con, oh I do not know, I think he was an ass. I get that you have been a slave, but still, I kind of want to kick you in the nuts for the things you thought. Maybe he will grow on me.

I enjoyed it, even if I had some Con issues, and the fact that I remember the baddie that we did not evn meet the most. I hope he has a gruesome death

The end, well all is well for now. But tomorrow everyone might die

As Queen of the island kingdom of Calanthe, Euthalia will do anything to keep her people free—and her secrets safe—from the mad tyrant who rules the mainland. Guided by a magic ring of her father’s, Lia plays the political game with the cronies the emperor sends to her island. In her heart, she knows that it’s up to her to save herself from her fate as the emperor’s bride. But in her dreams, she sees a man, one with the power to build a better world—a man whose spirit is as strong, and whose passion is as fierce as her own…

A PRINCE AMONG MEN

Conrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, has built an army to overthrow the emperor. But he needs the fabled Abiding Ring to succeed. The ring that Euthalia holds so dear to her heart. When the two banished rulers meet face to face, neither can deny the flames of rebellion that flicker in their eyes—nor the fires of desire that draw them together. But in this broken world of shattered kingdoms, can they ever really trust each other? Can their fiery alliance defeat the shadows of evil that threaten to engulf their hearts and souls? 

Joint Discussion: Murder of Crows

Hello all! Blodeuedd and I will be discussing "Murder of Crows" by Anne Bishop. I am in red and Carole is in black. 

Author: Anne Bishop

Narrator: Alexandra Harris

Title: Murder of Crows

(The Others #2)

Genre: Paranormal, UF, Fantasy, & romance

Published: March 4th 2014

Pages: Audiobook

After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murder of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard - Lakeside’s shape-shifting leader - wonders if their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now, the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet - and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

SO so so!! Did it get better? :D

Yesss, it did. Much, much better! Not sure if it was the story, the audio aspect, or both. But I enjoyed it much more. Still some issues especially with having some more questions about this world. BUT I got a lot answered in this one. 

Let’s say audio. I mean yes I know the world now, but when I looked back at my old review I had issues, while now I seem to like the characters more. Alexandra Harris is just that good.

I adore that narrator! She has voices for everyone and she sticks to it. I never get confused. There are a LOT of characters running around and she made it easy to follow. 

Yes, I never have to wonder who is speaking, I love her voices for everyone. She is fantastic! I am a total Harris fangirl.

I want more by the narrator! And the author is getting better and I’m warming up to the author! LOL

I have only listened to her with these books, but yes I want more too! And good that Bishop is growing on you ;D SO I guess I should ask about issues that you still have

The ending made me mad. I also am not a huge fan of Simon...but I’m warming up to him. Meg still annoys me. Again...I warmed up a tiny, tiny bit to her. And this world confuses me. Just kill the humans and call it good. Little rats. 

I have grown to like Meg now. I feel like I get her now and then she does not annoy me anymore. I am also in love with Simon *cough cough* I freaking love him, there I said it.

And yes, DEATH to most humans. DEATH! Let them be eaten those mofos.

There is something so grating about Meg. She is still adjusting...I know...so I don’t hate her. Just annoyed. And Simon is getting under my wall. LOL He was very sweet in this. I like that Henry guy and the vamp. They are fun. UGGHHH HATE THE HUMANS! Just get rid of them and be done with it. 

 Simon!!!! And I love Vlad and Henry too. Tess is awesome, let her take everyone down. So many great characters that you just have to care about.

Yesss, there are a couple that I do have my worries about. I feel like someone is going to betray someone. Just a feeling I’m having. LOL

Can you spoil it? I want to know *wiggles eyebrows*

Sorry..you shoulda been here when I did my psychic reading ;) hehehehe. 

Oh you are EVIL! Lol. But I am glad that the series won you over. Aren’t you curious to see if the world will burn and humans will be burnt meat`?

I am cheering for the humans to be taken down. Sure there are a few good ones...but they are so dumb. SOOOOO dumb. C’mon. There are more of these supernatural creatures and they rule the roost. Just be thankful they are not eating you. 

I do like that she made it like that, cos humans are fucking stupid. SO effing stupid. We get slapped in the face with the truth time after time and still when something happens we are so what happened?!?! HOW!?!?

WHY ARE YOU KILLING US!? Well...idiots...you killed innocents sooooo. *shrugs* SMH. Those poor dumb crow shifters. I would hate to be a crow shifter. I would wanna be a wolf or bear or tiger. 

Hey, do not call them dumb! I love Jenny :/ They can’t help that they love the shiny. And I would be an elemental. All the way

LOLL i say dumb with affection ;) But I wanted to smack ‘em! Like you are being targeted bros! RESIST TEMPTATION OF THE TRASH! RESIST!

Shinies!!!!!

BAD SHINIES! BAD! *shakes fist* And being an elemental would be cool. But I want to be something fuzzy. 

I am sure you would make a great, hmm, what are you, sorry Carole, not a wolf, not a bear, maybe a cat of a sort? What do you guys have there? Pumas, cougars,...tricky. Lol, what are you

If we’re going based on the location I would be a bobcat...short and stubby. BAHAHAHA

Awww you look adorable, and fierce.

Little and fierce. Sounds like me. Haha

I do not know if I have the actual temper of an elemental, I am sure to be an animal too.

Mhmmmm. If not an elemental….what furry thing would you be? Maybe a lynx?

I’d love to be a cat, but you know what, I am a wolverine, elusive, but fierce. No one minds me and then boom. Though lynxes are So much cuter. Scratch that I wanna be a fox

We would be great. Grr Humans! Ok so we got so out of track. Anything more to add?

 I say they should have said f all humans and done more. They are being too nice, and nice gets you killed.

Yep. Especially with dealing with idiots like humans. 

On to the next on then! YAY

Onward! :D 

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging a long while now. The last couple of years the epic duo have been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.

The waking land by Callie Bates

Lady Elanna Valtai is fiercely devoted to the King who raised her like a daughter. But when he dies under mysterious circumstances, Elanna is accused of his murder and must flee for her life. 

Returning to the homeland of magical legends she has forsaken, Elanna is forced to reckon with her despised, estranged father, branded a traitor long ago. Feeling a strange, deep connection to the natural world, she also must face the truth about the forces she has always denied or disdained as superstition powers that suddenly stir within her. 

But an all-too-human threat is drawing near, determined to exact vengeance. Now Elanna has no choice but to lead a rebellion against the kingdom to which she once gave her allegiance. Trapped between divided loyalties, she must summon the courage to confront a destiny that could tear her apart. 

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published June 27th 2017 by Del Rey Books

Fantasy

Own

I did feel it started of fairly good (sure she annoyed me at the start, but I could work with it.)

But at the middle I was just...meh. Everything that had annoyed me still did and I just do not know.

When she is 5 her nurse is killed, she is helt at gunpoint and she is taken as a hostage.

14 years later she loves the man who took her hostage as a father.

She hates her parents for abandoning her.

She hates her people and think they are filthy peasants.

I get Stockholm syndrome, but still.

She continues to feel this way, you are a grown woman! What could your parents have done?!

The whole deal with the declaring war was over and with too easily.

I want more of her magic. And stop her whining.

She sure did not care for her friends.

OK I am changing this to not like, sigh. Just so YA in the end

Beneath the Crimson Cloak by Jill Ramsower

Author: Jill Ramsower

Title: Beneath the Crimson Cloak

(Fae Games #4.5)

Genre: Fantasy & short story

Pages: ebook

Published: August 3, 2019

Where I Got It: My shelf (Amazon freebie)

Morgan Le Fay awakes from her capture in the one place she doubted she’d ever see again—Seelie Lands. Only problem? She’s a prisoner on a vast forested estate. After a month of isolation and frustration, she makes an uneasy alliance with a new furry friend only to discover her canine bed-mate is much more than he seems. The classic tale of Little Red and her Big Bad told with a delightfully wicked Fae twist in this Fae Games short story!

A random pick up from Amazon. Ya'll know how much I love my freebies ;) But yes, a freebie but an intriguing one. 

This is a short tale about Morgan who was kidnapped and taken to the Seelie Lands. After a month of isolation and a burning hatred she decides to make an uneasy relationship. 

This is book 4.5 but it was for sure good as a standalone. I believe it is a prequel to this character in the next book. Not 100% sure there. However, it did make me curious about book 1 now. This short did it's job alright! I want more from Morgan and I want more from this world. 

This cover is beauttttiffuuuullllllllllllllllllllll! SO striking. 

I felt so bad for Morgan especially when we get the backstory and her kidnapping tale. Her poor mom. 

This was merely a sip and I want more. I recommend this if you want to get your toe wet before trying the first book in the series . 5 stars for me. Intriguing world!

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Paperback, 506 pages

Published September 7th 2010 by Disney-Hyperion (first published October 6th 2009)

Series: Seven Realms #1

YA fantasy

Own

I should just stop reading YA fantasy. I thought it would be good, but then it just got worse and worse, and boring and then I skimmed.

The thing is, it had lots of promise, interesting world, but the characters!

Raisa is all why do I have to wear a dress and sit still?! She has been away for 3 years, relax girl, you can sit still for a dinner. She is supposed to become queen one day and I fear for the Queendom.

There seems to be a lot if wars at the border, she knows nothing about that.

I am not slutshaming, but why these hookups? And then we get told oh no you can't be in the presence of a boy your rep will be ruined...right, and no one else has noticed her sneaking around? What are her guards doing?! Aren't they you know, supposed to keep an eye on her?

Her chapters were so dull. And she was TSTL, I do not know how she was not murdered and raped, the things she thought of, mindboggling.

Han, he had promise, but sigh, he was the stereotypical YA Character. Super awesome! *eyeroll* AT 17 he has retired from a life of crime. He was the best, he was a gangleader, he is talked about, and sure if you were ruthless and smart I could believe it, but that this 17 year old has been a boss I do not believe. He also does not have a single cent to his name.

Evil wizards cackling in the background.

I did like her dad! The 5 pages he was in it, lol.

ALso the queen, srsly, does she know anything about her country?

It was close to ok, if it had not become boring, and yeah I just do not like Raisa. It needed stronger characters, not so obvious cliches and better world building.

One day Han Alister catches three young wizard setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet away from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to ensure the boy won't use it against him. The amulet once belonged to the Demon King, who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece so powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana'Marianna has her own battle to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of riding and hunting with her father's family. Raia aspires to be like Hanalea, the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But it seems that her mother has other plans for her-plans that include a suitor who goes against everything the Queendom stands for.

Carole's Monday: The King's Trial by ML Farb

Author: M. L. Farb 

Title: The King's Trial

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: ebook

Published:   June 27th 2019 

Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

In a land where stories of the Shadow Demon keep children shivering in bed and tales of the Yorel bring hope to the commoner, Yosyph is both the reason for their fear and their hope. 

By day Yosyph appears nothing more than a mute tavern-hand. By night he plans a revolution and slips through shadow, rescuing those marked for death by the xenophobic queen.

When he learns that thousands of his people will be sent as slaves to the mines, he must choose—fight the royal army with an ill-prepared rebellion or journey to the land of his ancestors through the deadly King's Trial. If he succeeds, he'll win his kins' loyalty and their help.

His journey grows complicated when he rescues a maiden and enrages a prince, but if he doesn't return with help in time, the people he's loved and secretly served will be gone. 

I was a little iffy going into this one since I've had such meh luck with YA fantasies lately. I was worried for sure. But this gave me hope for the genre!

The story follows Yosyph who seems to be just a mute tavern-hand that people do not notice. However, he is planning the revolt against the evil, xenophobic queen. Things get a touch complicated as his journey goes on. Should he fight head on with his ill-prepared rebellion or attempt the deadly King's Trial and earn his kins' loyalty and their aid in his rebellion. 

I was hooked from page one. I finished this in two sittings! I simply could not put this down. Sooooo good. 

Yosyph was a fun character even though there were times I wanted to shake him. His POV was the best. The rest were okay and necessary to moving the plot along, but eh. I want more of him! 

The world building was okay. I wanted more of this too. I still have some questions about the world. Hopefully more will be answered in the upcoming book. This was a lot of character-building and getting the story going. A lot more story to come, so hopefully we get more world-building in the next. 

Oooooo that ending! AAAAH! I need to know what is going to happen next. I have some worries that I won't share since I don't wanna give away spoilers. But I am a touch worried especially with that twist there. We shall have to wait and see I suppose. I can't wait to get my hands on book 2. 

Overall, a good story and good characters. I liked Yosyph a lot. The world-building was lacking a touch for me. I am hopeful we'll get more in the next book. If you need a breath of fresh air of the YA fantasy genre, this is the book for you. It gave me hope for the series. A quick read for sure, but I was so invested in everyone here. I can't wait for book 2! Soon I hope! I'll give this 4 stars.