Review: A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab

This book has been all OVER my social media feed for months but especially the last few weeks with the upcoming release of the second book in the series.

So I decided on a whim to try it out. The cover is totally eye catching and the premise for the story sounds intriguing, plus I haven’t read a really good fantasy in a while so I picked this book up.

Kell is one of the last Travelers, which is a rare magician who choose a parallel universe to visit. Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered (also home of Kell), and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London—but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Lila Bard, a thief with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her ‘proper adventure’.

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Review: Frozen Tides (Falling Kingdoms #4) by Morgan Rhodes

This book was one of the first books I’ve put on pre-order in a long time! I was originally only lukewarm with this series after the first book, but then things started getting really interesting in the following books!

So needless to say I was greatly anticipating the release of this novel!

The last time we were in Mytica, a lot of things were up in the air. Cleo and Magnus are in Limeros trying to figure out what to do now that Magnus has basically committed treason to save Cleo.

Felix and Jonas have parted ways and Felix is back working for the King of Blood while Jonas is fighting to stay alive and keep the rebellion going. Lucia has run off with the fire god and leaving a path of destruction in her wake. And Amara is back in Kreashia coming up with a plan to rule the world.

So basically there is a lot going on and a lot of people to catch up with in this installment. With so many characters to follow up on, for me the beginning of the novel started a little slower than expected.

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Review: The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials #1) by Philip Pullman

After reading Up To This Pointe earlier this month, I was dying to read something else set in the ‘north’ or in the ‘cold’.

The Golden Compass has been on my TBR shelf forever and now seemed like the perfect time to read it since it features the Northern Lights and the north pole as well as a host of other things!

Lyra Belacqua has been raised at Oxford’s, Jordan College, most of her young life. It is here that two very important people come to visit. the first is her uncle, Lord Asriel, who is an explorer and who has just returned from the north with some dangerous findings.

Lord Asriel suspects that there is an alternative universe on the Northern Lights which he believes he can access. Lord Asriel intends to venture back to the north to continue his research, immediately.

The other visitor is Mrs Coulter, who is put in charge of Lyra. Mrs Coulter is cultured, rich, and charismatic…..she too is an explorer and has a scientific operation in the north. Mrs Coulter intends to take Lyra to the north with her but not before she ‘grooms’ Lyra and gets her accustom to London society.

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Review: Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

This novel has literally been all over my social media feed for what feels like years. Every time a new Lunar Chronicles book comes out it’s like it’s everywhere!

So when the last book Winter came out, I saw this whole series clogging my social media feeds with rave reviews. So that settled it, it was time to read this book!

Cinder’s life isn’t terribly exciting…she’s a lowly mechanic and a cyborg to boot.

She works on androids all day and caters to her step mother and step sisters by night. Well when the crown prince, Kai, comes into her little market cart shop seeking help repairing his android, Cinder is completely speechless.

What could the crown prince want with her? Just help repairing his android? Well of course that’s all he wants from her….he’s the prince for crying out loud!

Cinder agrees to repair his android as soon as she can….but then an outbreak of plague, ‘blue fever’ or otherwise known as Letumosis. It’s a deadly disease that the citizens of New Beijing are desperately trying to find a cure for. Cinder’s life is directly effected by the Letumosis and it forces her right into the path of prince Kai once more.

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Special Feature and Excerpt: THE ORACLE (The Sarah Weston Chronicles #3) by D.J. Niko

02_The Oracle_CoverThe Oracle (The Sarah Weston Chronicles, Book Three)
by D.J Niko

Publication Date: November 10, 2015
Medallion Press
Paperback; 456p
ISBN-13: 978-1605426273

Genre: Historical/Archaeological Adventure

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In Delphi, the mountain city deemed by the Greek gods to be the center of the Earth, a cult of neo-pagans re-create with painstaking authenticity ancient rituals to glorify the god Apollo and deliver oracles to seekers from around the world.

When antiquities are stolen from a museum in nearby Thebes, British archaeologist Sarah Weston and her American partner, Daniel Madigan, are drawn into a plot that goes beyond harmless role-playing: someone’s using the Delphian oracle as a smoke screen for an information exchange, with devastating consequences for the Western world.

Pitted against each other by the cult’s mastermind, Sarah and Daniel race against time and their own personal demons to uncover clues left behind by the ancients. Their mission: to find the original navel stone marked with a lost Pythagorean formula detailing the natural events that led to the collapse of the Minoan Empire.

But will they find it in time to stop the ultimate terrorist act?

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | INDIE BOUND

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