Book Review: Dragon Age: Blue Wraith by Nunzio DeFilippis

Dragon Age: Blue Wraith by Nunzio DeFilippis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This will be my last read of 2021, mostly because I had a really good reading year and all, and I wanted to read some books that I’ve been dying to read until now-and I can’t wait to read more in 2022. That being said, I truly enjoyed Blue Wraith, mostly because I miss my beloved Fenris. On top of that, I truly loved reading this comic so much, because one, you get to read Dragon Age from a comic’s perspective, and even though I love the game so much, just reading it in comic form makes it so much better.

Blue Wraith is about a group of warriors trying to stop the Tevinter Imperium and the Qunari from getting their hands on a sarcophagus made of gold that was once used by Denarius a long time ago-the same one that gave Fenris his lyrium markings. A rogue elf and a sorceress from the Tevinter who were actually really nice, along with a mabari warhound went to find Fenris, aka the Blue Wraith, to try and get him to help them.

At first, he says no, and the girls pursue him. Then as they found the Qunari and they brought up the lyrium, Fenris’s rage took over and he killed some of them, not all of them-the rest were killed by a blue phantom that blew up in people’s faces. Shockingly, it came from Fenris’s partner, a daelish elf who snuck in to pretend to be an elvish slave. I have no idea how he got the power to make blue people bombs, but it was shocking, and yet I was worried about him, mostly because I felt like I know what’s going to happen to him when I remembered the Dragon Age comic I read this year.

But other than that, this was a really good comic that I truly enjoyed and I can’t wait to read more into the next year.

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Bok Review: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was a bit of a whirlwind, with all the teenage drama and fallen angels and people trying to come back to life and tying people together. Basically, the fourth book of the Mortal Instruments had me on the edge of my seat as I read every single word and every single page. I loved every bit of it, and I know next year Cassandra Clare will have me in a chokehold as I try and finish off the Mortal Instrument series (two more books to go!) and then The Dark Artifices series, The Last Hours, Ghosts of the Shadow Market and The Eldest Curses.

But before I go down the Cassandra Clare hole I know I’m going to be in next year once I put City of Lost Souls on hold at my local library, let’s get started on the book review…

So the book opens up with Simon going through his life because now, thanks to drinking Jace’s blood, is a Daylighter. He’s dating two girls-Isabelle Lightwood, a Shadowhunter, and Maia Roberts, a werewolf in Luke’s pack. He meets up with Isabelle at a restaurant later that night since he can’t eat anything, and two men came up to him, asking him to meet up their master…which turns out to be none other than Camille Belcourt, former leader of the vampires of New York and ex-lover of Magnus Bane. Camille basically gave Simon a deal about partnering up with her to get rid of Raphael Santiago and put her back as the leader of the vampires. Even though Simon said she’ll think about it, the next time he’ll meet up with Camille, he’d made a deal with the Shadowhunters to capture her when she has been killing shadowhunters left and right lately.

Clary is training with Jace to be a Shadowhunter, and she kept wondering what’s wrong with Jace-after all, he’s been acting very weird lately around her. Even when she’s focusing on her mom and Luke’s wedding day, she kept thinking about Jace as if he was the only thing on her mind. One day, when she and Jace was alone, he pulled a knife out and tried to harm her, and Jace explained what he’d been dreaming about. So, Clary decided that Jace can go to the Silent Brothers, to see if they can help. They could help him, once they found out that Jace died and they can put the wards back on him. Unfortunately…he was being controlled by a Greater Demon…that Greater Demon who happens to be Lilith.

On top of that, Clary did investigate a cult that was doing terrible things to babies, thanks to someone finding a baby near Beth Israel hospital, and had overheard her mother on the phone with Catarina Loss, who turned out to be a warlock with blue skin. Clary was kinda shocked, I think, when she saw through Catarina’s shimmer, but the worst thing she saw was the dead baby, which she guessed that it reminded her of her brother, Sebastian, who died in City of Glass. The baby’s fingers had claws at the end of them, and she was given a scrap of something from the baby, to find out where the mother came from when she dropped the baby off.

She found an address and went to go, texting Isabelle. The address went to a Cult of Taltos, where a hydra demon with three heads attacked her, but thanks to Isabelle showing up and killing the demon, they discovered that someone is trying to make more babies like Sebastian, which would be terrible as hell.

Oh yeah…I forgot to mention that Clary raised the dead with a rune that came to her, that told her and Luke and Brother Zachariah (I think) that Camille killed said shadowhunter, Simon compelled his mother to forget what she saw after she found blood in his room, and also Simon was living with Maia’s ex.

Back to the Ironworks party…

Clary found Jace and they reunited, but he put some weird rune on her that knocked her out. Simon followed Maureen, whom he fed on and thought killed, to the same place where the Cult of Taltos was, where it was revealed that the Greater Demon Lilith was there, and she wanted Simon to bring Sebastian, her “son” back. If he didn’t, she’ll tell Jace, who was under her command, to kill Clary. Even though he was hesitant to do it, he decided to do it anyway, nearly dying. Then Lilith and Jace got into a fight after Clary disrupted the rune Lilith placed on him, not even knowing that it was a bond before Simon pointed it out, and Jace was close to losing before Simon killed Lilith thanks to the Mark of Cain Clary put on him.

Now everything is back to normal…or is it???

Jace was forced to complete the ritual that brought Sebastian back to life, in which I went WTF. But it was a good book, five out of five stars for me.

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Book Review: What He Wants for Christmas by Brenda Jackson

What He Wants for Christmas: A Westmoreland holiday reunion romance by Brenda Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ve never read a Brenda Jackson novel, and I’m glad I’ve read this one, because now I’m a fan. I love Sloan and how much of a himbo he is to Leslie, and how they worked out their problems after what happened in college between them and a girl named Sarah Olsen. I also liked how they decided to become partners first when Longshire started coming after Leslie’s business and acting like a total ass when he tried to take over with all of that huffin’ and puffin’ and being all money hungry, reminding me of J.R. Ewing…

But the trip to Alaska and that kiss under the northern lights was the most magical thing I’ve ever read in my life. Now I wish I was kissed under the northern lights. But I think the most heartwarming thing I’ve read in this book was when they went to visit the Yules and toured their toy shop. It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever read, and also they talk about the past when they get to the cabin to spend the week in.

I think that part that got me the most in this book, was when Sloan got hurt and Leslie took care of him. That was the good part in all of this, to me. It was really cute and adorable of how she did it, and then when they made love it was almost magical…until Leslie left, which hurted my soul, all the way down to the ground, and I don’t think it’ll come back once I’m done. But when Sloan went after her, it was the piece de resistance to me, because he went after his woman and told her everything that happened, and they got engaged.

THEN THEY GOT MARRIED. It was a really good wedding, and I liked the warning Leslie gave to her friend Carmen about Redford. I also liked the little theme of family weaved in the book. All in all, this was a really good book and I would read it again all the time when Christmas comes around.

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Book Review: Once Upon a Winter's Eve by Tessa Dare

Once Upon a Winter's Eve by Tessa Dare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my second Tessa Dare novel, even though it was a novella, and I really enjoyed it. I loved how strong Violet was when she tried to help Christian leave Spindle Cove and go back to his little farm in Breton, to continue being a spy for the British army. I loved every bit of it, and there were some parts where I thought Violent would actually fall in bed with Christian, but she resisted, even had a gun to his chest to make sure he was away from her as she helped him run away from Spindle Cove.

I think I loved Violet’s character, and how she and Christian worked together. I felt like it showed her character-from being the woman in the corner at balls to becoming constructive and finding ways to hide her lover, whom she called the Disappointment because of what he did before he left, and even making up excuses to whomever found her. I got a bit worried when she took Christian to this shop, and she tried to come up with an excuse, but the store owner was drunk and grabbed her, but thank god Christian kicked the door and knocked Nellie down to knock out the drunk store owner and went to the house.

Christian, in the beginning, I really didn't like. At all. All because he hurt Violet. But the more I read the novella, the more he kept making promises to her, the more I actually??? Started?? To like him??? Like a lot??? And when he got on the boat and started making promises to Violet that he’ll return…and then she slapped and punched him in the face…just so he can go back to speaking Breton so no one can find him.

The ending was really cute, when Christian came back and danced with Violet, promising to take her this time with him to France, and they shared that cute kiss…it was so cuteeee I loved every bit of it. I’m sad that it’s over, but it made me wonder if they’re okay right now, wherever they are. I really enjoyed this book and even though I wished it wasn’t a novella, it was a really good one and I loved it.

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Book Review: A Holiday in Gaslight by Mimi Matthews

A Holiday By Gaslight by Mimi Matthews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Holiday by Gaslight is a very cute and sweet Victorian novella that was pretty good. Ned and Sophie breaking up and then coming back together at the Christmas Ball was really sweet. They had some really flustered moments between them, and when they kissed in little secret places was really cute as well.

I have this problem when it comes to books with parents: I either don’t like them or they get on my nerves. Well Sophie’s father was acting sus throughout the novel, talking about the gaslights in his house and showing them around to anyone that’ll listen. Then you learned that he spent ALL of his daughter’s dowry, and is looking for someone to help finish up Appersett House.

What…and I cannot stress this enough…THE FUCK, MY GUY?!

Sophie, Ned and I think Emily was shocked that their father would do that, but honestly, Emily’s getting married, and Walter thine idiot (He is, this isn’t me judging his character, but the decision he made) is going to help support the refurbish of the Appersett House. Emily told Sophie that ‘she found a way to free her’ since Sophie is always taking care of the family.

But the conversations between Sophie and Ned were very sweet and adorable, along with the kisses. But I really liked how Sophie had just straight up asked Ned to marry her, catching him completely off guard with it, but he said yes anyway and gave her a ring. I wish we knew more about Sophie and Ned and the others, but it was such a good Christmas novella that I really enjoyed it so much.

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Book Review: Crowned for His Christmas Baby by Maisey Yates

Crowned for His Christmas Baby by Maisey Yates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First time reading a Maisey Yates novel, and I have to say, I really liked it. Even though I gave it a four of a five stars, it was actually really good. Friends to lovers, accidental pregnancy? I’ve never read an accidental pregnancy trope type story, and when I read it, I was honestly shocked-I…really…like it??? A lot?? Especially when they got their HEA and live happily ever after.

This book is about a prince named Vincenzo who really hates his father with a vengeance for all the horrible shit he pulled in Arista, and he wants to put all of it to a stop. He decided to go and ask Eloise, a woman who also was in the castle with Vincenzo and going to pretend to be his mistress so they can take down his father and her mother, who was really terrible to Eloise.

I really liked how powerful Eloise was, for standing up to her mother and the King. It shows that she was tired of them doing what they were doing, and they needed to be stopped. It also shocked Vincenzo from learning the truth about what really happened that night, when Eloise was eighteen and went into his room and kissed him. He thought really bad about her, and learning the truth shocked him. That night, they made love for the first time, and after that…Eloise left Arista.

For months-seven months, to be exact-Vincenzo has been working to take down every toxic thing his father has ever done to Arista, only to learn from his friends that Eloise was pregnant with the heir, thus breaking his own promise to himself and his father that he will never continue the Moretti line. Rafael, Jag, and Zeus told him to bring her back to Arista and marry her, even got on him like boys do about having safe sex and using a condom. After talking to his boys, he got off and went to Virginia to get Eloise back.

Eloise, shocked to see Vincenzo at her doorstep again after the first time he came over, tells Vincenzo that she’ll come back, if he can give her a Christmas at the palace. Vincenzo agreed, and they go back to Arista, and they have a pretty good Christmas. They rode on the troika and they made love in front of the fire. But then things changed when Vincenzo saw his son, his heir, on the monitor.

This idiot told Eloise to leave, and she was shocked, because she told him that she loved him, and he couldn’t even say it. So with her cat Skerret, she left to go back to Virginia. Vincenzo got drunk and his friends found him. They talked to him (well, he went to the spot where he showed Eloise after they talked to him), and all of them went to Virginia, where Vincenzo and Eloise got married. I’m so glad that they got married and became figureheads to the people of Arista. I just didn’t like parents, so they moved the stars down from five to four.

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Book Review: Just for the Holidays...by Adriana Herrera

Just for the Holidays... by Adriana Herrera
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was a surprise to me. I’ve never read a second chance romance before ever, and I enjoyed reading it. Gael and Perla were SO GOOD, even as Perla tried to resist Gael, she found herself falling in love with him while pretending to be in a relationship with him at the same time, to please his mother and grandmother. I’m glad she did that, because I was waiting for the whole relationship to drop and Perla and Gael had to tell the truth to his mother. But at least the relationship lasted long enough, until Manolo ruined it.

BUT THE YEARING IN THE BEGINNING. Holy crap, the yearning in the beginning. It was SO GOOD. They were in the study doing a reading for a movie, and the sparks, the bloody YEARNING between the two, I was hella obsessed, and as I kept reading I wanted them more. Like, good lord, they were inspiring me more and more to actually try my hand in writing a second chance romance.

But then…I read the sex scene…

When Adriana Herrera writes a sex scene, she can write a sex scene. Because good lord it was so steamy that I fanned myself (ha ha). But in all honesty, it was really good and I enjoyed it…till the end. When Manolo showed up and tried to ruin GaelxPerla, but Gael snapped at his uncle, even finding out the name of the producer that was doing another movie, that, turns out, was known as a sexual predator. When Gael found out, he was furious, and ran out the door to go get Perla back.

In Punta Cana, Esmerelda and Gael pretty much tricked Perla when she was sad, thinking that Gael had left her again. When he surprised her at the yacht, Perla couldn’t believe it, and a year later they were engaged and walking down the red carpet for the movie that had a lot of awards for awards season, and I couldn’t be happier for my favorite couple. 10/10 stars from me, I loved every bit of it.

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Book Review: Gingerbread Kisses by Lucy Eden

Gingerbread Kisses by Lucy Eden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holy shit.

This novella though.

Holy shit.

This was a really good novella. I was honestly blown away at how really good this short was. I fell in love with Elizabeth, Mark, and Maya, and how both Elizabeth and Mark fell in love in a few short weeks. I also loved how motherly Elizabeth was and how protective she was with Maya, even though Maya helped them get together. Even though at the end she shut her heart after what Mark’s ex did, I'm glad, at the end, that they got together-even how they got back together was so good.

This novella can be described as Hallmark Channel movie goodness, but with a side of dirty, and I agree with this one hundred percent. I fell in love with this book the moment I read the first sentence. It was funny, short, and sweet. I want to read more of this author, this was SO GOOD.

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Book Review: Belle Morte by Bella Higgin

Belle Morte by Bella Higgin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you so much NetGalley for the chance for me to review the ARC.

I tried to like this book. Truly, I did. But honestly...I cannot, for the love of god, get through this book without nearly screaming at Renie. I felt like all Renie cared about was finding out what happened to her sister, ignoring the vampires, breaking the rules, and says up and down that she’s not here for the vampires, she hates vampires, she can’t get into a relationship with the vampire, all she cares about is her sister and getting her out of here.

It annoyed me as I kept reading this book how much Renie says a million times that she hates vampires, but yet when it comes to Edmond, its totally different. I felt like Renie was in the background for me and I cared about the rest of the characters in the book, like Edmond, Ysanne, Roux, and the others. I wanted to know more about them than I wanted to know about Renie, and that’s sad. I even wanted to know more about Edmond and Ysanne’s relationship, and I also wanted to know about Ysanne and Isabelle’s relationship. Renie...I just don’t care about her. At all.

And when she found out that her sister was turned into a vampire, oh no, she hated them then, and even tried to get through to her sister, June, but nothing. Until someone let her out and let her feed and kill whoever she want. But honestly, seeing June all locked up and snarling and reaching for Renie or whoever reminded me so much of Nezuko in the beginning of Demon Slayer, where she attacked Tanjiro. But then, at the end...she was betrayed by her sister and Etienne...who turned her.

That betrayal hurts my very soul, and I wanted to jump in the book and beat the shit out of Etienne, but then, June attacked Renie and nearly killed her, thus making Edmond turn Renie into a vampire.

I’m glad I finished it, and the writing is really good, but Renie just annoyed me throughout the book and I wish it was about the other characters instead of just Renie and Edmond. Because then we can figure out what was going on in the other’s heads while everything was going on. A three out of five stars for me, really good book, just didn’t like Renie.

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Book Review: Starless Night (Legend of Drizzt, #8) by R.A. Salvatore

Starless Night by R.A. Salvatore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hello folks, and welcome to another book review with our favorite dark elf ranger, Drizzt. This time, Drizzt is leaving Mithral Hall to go back to Menzoberranzan to stop the dark elves from attacking Mithral Hall again. He does give Guenhwyvar to Regis, and told him to tell Cattie-Brie and Bueneor in tendays-if he didn’t come back. I felt a bit hurt when Drizzt did this, because he’s not letting his friends help him with his journey. He even went to Cattie-Brie’s DOOR and stood there, wanting to say goodbye, but he didn’t. Just stood at the door, hand poised to knock and say that he’s leaving, and didn’t say a damn thing, but left.

When Cattie-Brie went to Regis and asked him where Drizzt went, he lied, but then, after a near-death attempt (jacking him up, slapping him) Regis finally told her were poor Drizzt went. Shocked and destroyed her room, Cattie-Brie, taking Guenhwyar with her, went down to Menzoberranzan. She first went to Silverymoon and met the beautiful Alustriel, who didn’t know where Drizzt was, but she did help Cattie-Brie by giving her horses with magical horseshoes and made a dwarven houseservant named Fret go with her. Even though it was funny to read when Cattie-Brie sniffed Alustrel’s perfumes and nearly choked herself to death, I find it really cute that she did that.

Drizzt, meanwhile, goes to a forest where he meets several surface elves, including one that he saved during a surface raid party, where he hid said girl underneath her mother’s dead body, pretending to kill her. She attacked him before she cried in his arms, then he and another elf named Tarathiel left and went to the grove of Montolio, where they saw a unicorn. Drizzt went over and pet it, slowly, and he took it as a sign from the goddess Mielikki that she approves of what he was doing, his sacrifice. Then he goes into the underdark, not even knowing that Cattie-Brie and Guenhwyvar went down two days after him.

First, Drizzt went to Blingenstone, where he stayed for several day after he got hit really bad by some machine, I can’t remember what it was, before he left and went back down to Menzoberranzan, where he disguised himself as a slave driver for a bit in the Island of Rothé before he was caught and was taken to Matron Baenere. Cattie-Brie, on the other hand, was right next to him before she got caught by Jarlaxle and the Bregan D’arthe.

The most surprising thing out of this whole book was Enteri, who was SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD, but he survived, thanks to Jarlaxle. He was down there, healing and learning the ways of the drow, thanks to Jarlaxle, even going far as to making a deal with Cattie-Brie to help her get out of Menzoberranzan and save Drizzt from the clutches of Matron Banere while she’s doing a ceremony. While all of that was happening, Drizzt was getting tortured by one of Matron Banere’s daughter, Vendres, and once Cattie-brie and Enteri found him, they helped free him and Drizzt killed his torturer before getting out of his cell.

While they were escaping, Drizzt fought Dantrag Banere and won, killing him and getting his braces. Cattie-Brie grabbed Dantrag’s evil sword, Khazid’hea, which turned into a weapon from Mielikki, tricking the two of them as they left to go back to Mithral Hall. They did stop where Wulfgar died before they were nearly attacked by dwarves, only to find out that Regis became Commander, which shocks the both of them, but they were back home nonetheless.
I truly enjoyed this book. It made me mad, gasp, almost cry, and was on the edge of my seat. I loved every bit of it and I can’t to read the next book, to see how this arc, I guess I can call it, goes. I hope they can protect Mithral Hall from Matron Banere, because I really like Mithral Hall, and hope they do Wulfgar justice I guess?

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