Book Review: Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sooo...this book was fun, painful, and also shocking. The ending was so painful that I was gasping and had to reread it repeatedly to ensure I was reading it correctly. Once I realized that I was, I also screamed into the void because it was just...so painful. Even though I didn't like the character that died, I still felt so bad about it. The splitting up the party thing was something I wasn't even expecting but at the same time it worked out for them, mostly because it became really funny, and reading about Raistlin becoming a show magician and Goldmoon singing that beautiful song...it was a fun time.

The first half of the book was about the dragon orb and taking it back to Sancrist so some order can look at it and discuss it. But when they go into a forest they meet this wilder elf named Silvara and she takes them through the forest, where the Qualinsti and the Kaganesti elves live and Gilthanas and Laurana reunited with their family again, which was kind of cute but at the same time stupid because the father was like, "The orb belongs to the elves, the humans don't need it, the humans don't need any help with what's going on," and all that good stuff. Laurana, even though split up from Tanis to go to Sancrist so they could meet up and see each other again, really didn't want to stay and be treated as if she was a child again, having no say and do what her elders and her father wanted her to do. So after talking about it with everyone, she left her people, along with her brother, who was in love with Silvara, not even knowing that she was a dragon.

Tanis and the others took the Dragon Orb from Silvara and took it far away from the forest and everyone else, and before they went to the forest and followed Silvara, they were attacked by a Dragon Highlord and they were fleeing and tried to run, but they did meet Alhana Starbreeze, and yes, Strum fell in love with her but they couldn't be together, which sucked but at the same time it's okay, because something TERRIBLE AND REALLY BAD HAPPENS TO STRUM. But before I get into that, Strum had to face the Knights of Solamnia all thanks to frickin' Lord Derek Crownguard slandering him one thousand times in front of the Knights, and it took almost a long time to come up with a punishment for Strum.

The punishment?

-Strip him of his titles and such
-Make sure he doesn't borrow any money from the Knights' fund
-He can't wear his father's armor anymore

The reparations because of Lord Derek Crowguard slandering him?
-He's the commander of the Knights of the Crown

Which I'm happy about, and Strum took it all in grace. But I think the funniest part of the book, even though I'm giving Raistlin the BIGGEST side eye ever, is Tasslefoot and Fizban trying to figure out the second dragon's orb and how to use it and all that good stuff. It is a fun time, and going to see the gnomes and how they operate was a fun time and I really enjoyed myself reading that.

Then the whole...dream thing was confusing, Tanis and Kitiara was the most oddest couple pairing I've read because even though they knew each other, Tanis was trying very hard not to fall for her, but then a moment later they're smashing and she's bringing up her brothers, Raistlin interacting with the dragon orb and starts to act VERY weird, Gilthanas falling in love, and at the same time once he realizes that she's a dragon, he starts to spiral and doesn't know what he wants, and Tika and Caramon...I...I have no thoughts on them. Honestly. I really don't.

I really did enjoy it, I am very glad to read this book and to also finally go to the last and final book in this series so I can finally read the next one, which is War of the Twins...yay.

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Book Review: The Whisperwicks: The Labyrinth of Lost and Found by Jordan Lees

The Labyrinth of Lost and Found by Jordan Lees
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was so good that I read it in a day. This book made me smile, gasp, feel all of the emotions when I was reading it. I wasn't prepared for how hard this story would hit me, and honestly, I was ready to rock and roll and join Benjamiah Creek and his adventures with Elizabella, trying to find her brother. This does deal with the topic of death, but it is dealt with so well that I was close to crying.

Benjamiah Creek doesn't believe in magic. He believes in facts and what is real. One day, he receives a doll that he assumes is from his parents, and when he goes to sleep, the doll comes to live as a bird one night and a monkey another night. Benjamiah doesn't believe that this doll is magic, but one night when he goes to sleep, it wakes him up and takes him to a Victorian-era world, filled with promises that are on coins, magic, and dolls that look like his.

Benjamiah meets Hansel and Elizabella; at first, Elizabella doesn't like him. She was upset that her brother was missing and no one was doing anything about it. Then she has an idea that makes her leave her house to go and find her. Benjamiah wakes up and decides to help her, even though she doesn't want him to go. The two go to a forest and find a box with a string in it, named Ariadne, but before that they find a whisperwick that gives them a fragment of a poem that leads them on this adventure of finding Elizabella's brother.

They break into a woman called the Viper's house to find a whisperwick, they meet her daughter and good lord this girl is a terrible person, and then they get caught, go to the mapmakers place to find information about the Minotaur and also find out that they were looking for Ariadne. The shocking discovery that The Minotaur is just a man and not like the famed mythological beast, and all he does is drink and go to sleep, and the betrayal thanks to the evil magus who wanted it so he could reunite with his love.

When they found out what happened to Edwid, Elizabella's brother, it did hurt so, so much. I wasn't expecting it, like I normally would when I read these books, but finding out what he was, how he died....ow. It was so painful that I actually did wanna cry.

This was such a good book, even though it is a middle-grade novel. It was fun, the pictures were fantastic, and I wanna read more of this book series, because this was such a really good book.

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Book Review: A Queen this Fierce and Deadly by Stacia Stark

A Queen this Fierce and Deadly by Stacia Stark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

WELL.

This book was more painful than Kingdom of Ash--and that's saying something if you know how that book went. This was a really fun time, but at the same time, it was also kind of painful to read when you read what each character went through, like Lorian dying and then coming back to life, Prisca feeling like she's going through hell without the lovely reminder that she's at war with King Renger, and oh at the same time the Queen Kaliera is also planning on killing her so she and her son Jamic can take the throne.

Like...eww, brother, ewww!

And reading Asinia's POV and seeing her and Demos fall in love is cool, but I did get scared when she took the orb from Madinia and did the thing. I thought she died, and that Mrs. Stark wasn't going to do that. But then the more I kept reading, the more I got excited when Asinia was brought back to life thanks to the white light, and the fact that she had the "pure of heart" when she took it from Madinia and destroyed the evil mirror.

I did cheer a bit when Prisca stopped time and she killed Regner, and I was also glad that Zathrian told her that the Queen was up to something, but what happened to her when she was close to killing the king? Painful. I really didn't like how the queen went--I wanted her to live long enough to try and get through the stupid plan of killing Regner, turning around and killing Prisca, and then taking the throne with her son, but it didn't work and she had to die that way.

Lorian felt a tiny bit like Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing a little bit--he's focused on what he has to do, he doesn't care how he does it, and at the same time, he reminds me of Prince Carsilie from The Age of Arrogance and how he cuts down his enemies and is actually sometimes a smartass when he's in a fight. The wedding he and Prisca had was very cute and adorable, and like at all weddings, I almost cried.

But the beginning was the one that nearly killed me. I hated the way Cavis died--I wanted him to live on with his brothers and see Prisca and Lorian become the Hybrid King and Queen. I wanted Taelean to see it as well, but then it didn't go down that way, and I was sad about that. To me, this book had a mixture of Throne of Glass mixed with a tiny bit of World of Warcraft and I enjoyed myself IMMENSELY and I'm so glad I read this series.

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Book Review: A Crown This Cold and Heavy by Stacia Stark

A Crown This Cold and Heavy by Stacia Stark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Crown This Cold and Heavy might be my favorite book out of the series because that ending was just...shocking. Very, very surprising. Why? It came out of left field for me, and I wasn't expecting it. The battle on the sea was very explosive and The Queen is once again a character I'm very confused about. Does she really want to get rid of the king? Does she really want to put her son on the throne after all this time? What is the Queen's angle in this war?

I think Prisca grew a tiny bit in the book, even though she's holding on to the guilt and pain as we've seen her in the earlier books. When her friend died she tried to get revenge on him, only to reunite with Lorian and her friends to try to get allies for this huge war coming up. We do deal with Conreth, Lorian's brother, and how Conreth just starts bossing Lorien around again, even when he talks to Prisca as if she's nothing more than dirt beneath his feet. I did like how she got the Drakoryx and how it would follow her around, and now it's with Asinia and Demos her brother, which was cool.

Lorian was just happy to be with Prisca and protect her, even when that thing happened and she did the thing she wasn't supposed to do. Even after he talked to his brother, who told him that he had three weeks to find the third faerie gem after finding the second one on Regner's son, Jamic, who was all too happy to help them take down his father so he could rule. Even though no one trusted Jamic because he was the king's son, Jamic really didn't care. All he wanted was to be free and give the power's back.

Reading Madinia's POV was very interesting. She comes off as Nesta-coded, but at the same time, she's trying her best to help Prisca get allies and win this war against Regner. Even though she was one of the Queen's ladies, she feels like her own person with her fire magic and her hiding and getting messages from the Queen so she can help Prisca. And just like me, she's wondering what's the Queen's endgame is, because it's like she's doing what she's doing in book two, but more careful for some reason.

Hopefully we find out what it is that the Queen wants, what are the consequences of Prisca's thing that happened at the end, and will this family come back together to finally kill Renger? Those are the questions in my mind as I start the next book in the series.

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Book Review: A Kingdom this Cursed and Empty by Stacia Stark

A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty by Stacia Stark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty made me feel hollow inside and excited for the multi-POVs I was NOT expecting as soon as I opened this book. I thought that this would still be in Prisca and Lorian's POV, but adding the Queen's POV? In this book? Hi yes hello I was LOCKED IN for that, darling. LOCKED. IN. Therefore, I have to split this review into three points and explain my reasons why I loved each POV.

The Queen: The Queen's POV was the one I'm so glad I read. We don't normally get any POV from the villain in romantasies, but reading the Queen's POV makes you think for a minute: is she part of the rebellion, does she want to use the rebellion for her gain, does she really wanna lie to her dumbass husband and try so hard to find her son so he can take the throne before something really bad happens to him? What is the Queen's motive? What is it? Those are the questions I kept asking as I kept reading her POV because she's helping Prisca in one stance, then turning around and thinking of herself and her gains. Is she doing this for herself, is she helping Prisca, what is going on inside that brain of hers? I need to know.

Prisca: So Prisca is at the hybrid camp with her two brothers, her bestie, and a couple of other people. Is she pissed off at Lorian after finding out he's the Bloodthirsty Prince? Oh yes, she is. She wants nothing to do with him, but then after hating him and trying to find out where the Hourglass is so she can use it and protect her people from the evil king, she also tries to find allies in the fae lords, but after meeting Conreth and him telling her that Lorian will forever be loyal to him and his family, she gets mad a bit and leaves his tent, while at the same time worries about everything about trying to get allies so she can attack Renger as hard as she could. When she gets clues about where the Hourglass is, she goes after her, and after nearly getting killed by the iron guards and also by the many traps in the cave, she finally finds it, thanks to Lorian's help. But THAT ENDING. NO. WHY. WHY MUST YOU HURT ME, STACIA STARK, WHY.

Lorian: Lorian's POV was about him almost fighting his brother while also helping his wildcat find what she's looking for so she could lead her people and become queen. Even though the hybrids and the humans don't trust him one bit, he still helps anyway, even with Prisca's training. There were some flashbacks in the book titled "The Boy" when it talks about his past when he was a boy and how his brother took him in, and also how that shaped him into the person he is today. Also thanks to Renger, he was given the title The Bloodthirsty Prince and he let that title and the reputation take over him, and he is sorry for not telling Prisca about it. When they finally found the Hourglass, he helped Prisca get it before THE TERRIBLE THING happened, and it broke my heart when it happened. I wanted him to stop his friend, but he couldn't bless him. Hopefully in the next book he can because this was the most painful book I've read so far this year.

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Book Review: A Court This Cruel and Lovely by Stacia Stark

A Court This Cruel and Lovely by Stacia Stark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Court This Cruel and Lovely was lovely alright....lovely and so bloody CRUEL indeed. I wasn't expecting mercenaries in this book, but when I saw them, my little fantasy heart skipped a few beats. The FMC of our story, Prisca, is a girl who can stop time, but she had to hide it from her village and her kingdom for some reason, and she lives in fear of the guards and them taking her power and then finding out that she still has it, and they kill her and her whole family for it. One night, her mother has a vision about her and she tells her to run, and Prisca does, but not after her mama pushes her off a cliff right before the guards get her.

After surviving a couple of nights alone, she meets some mercenaries and she thinks she could escape from them by using time. Turns out one of them notices it and decides to train her on her magic and in return she helps them get inside the city so they can meet a contact or something like that. Prisca agrees, and she travels with the mercs and trains with them on how to use her magic and how to defend herself.

Enemies to Lovers was huge here throughout the book, and I was eating it up. Lorcan or Thorcan or Lorien whatever his name is? Had me on my knees until THE ENDING. THAT ENDING. Why? Why though? I wasn't prepared for it AT ALL, and when it was revealed WHAT he was....my boy. But why? Why did you choose right then and there to hurt me? But Prisca's secret was the one that shocked me the most--one, because I wasn't even prepared for it, and two, because it felt like a really huge secret that needed to be in the dark but when it came out to the light I was shocked AF about it.

As for the romance part of this book...sadly, for me, it was on the ground. I'm learning that in most romantasies, the romance is a second plot and I really don't give a damn about it, and if it's good then it's off the ground. For the first twenty or so chapters, as we read mostly from Prisca's POV and then sometimes Lorien, Thorien, whatever his name is, and seeing them work together and then try to work together when they're in the King's castle was fun, even seeing them falling in love.

BUT SIR. THORIEN. LORIEN. WHATEVER.

WHEN WERE YOU GONNA TELL ME AND PRISCA THAT YOU ARE:
-Fae
-Nicknamed "The Bloodthirsty Prince"
-You be tall. Because I like tall men.

I cannot wait to read book two because I need to know more, I want the 'why' questions answered, and also because in the beginning, seeing Lorien, Thorien (I'm gonna get his name right one of these days) making a deal with stone hags made my fantasy heart happy AF.

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Book Review: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was originally supposed to be a book I finished in 2024, but I think I should finish it now because it was so much fun to read. I have never had this much fun with a book until now, and I liked the rival-to-lovers part of the book, it made it more fun and interesting as they team up to solve the disappearance of a beloved author.

Maggie Chase hates Ethan Wyatt. Downright hates him. He calls her Marcie and he wears leather jackets he writes "leather jacket books", and one of them is being turned into a movie. At a holiday party at Killhaven Books, Maggie's agent tells her that one of her biggest fans wants to invite her to her manor in England, and even though she doesn't want to go, she decides to say yes when she overhears Ethan saying something along the lines of "She's better than him." or something like that.

When she reaches the plane, she runs into Ethan, and it turns out he was also invited to England to their fan's house. Even though she doesn't want to spend Christmas with him, she deals with it as they go to England and meet their biggest fan, who turns out to be Eleanor Ashley, a famed mystery writer also known as The Duchess of Death. Eleanor is an eighty-year-old woman who is home for the holidays and is writing her one-hundredth book. Along with Ethan and Maggie are an elective group of people to spend the holidays with, and when Eleanor goes missing, almost all of hell breaks loose.

Ethan and Maggie team up and the two start to solve the murder or disappearance of Eleanor Ashley, while they trying to solve the disappearance, they fall in love, and you get to learn more about both Ethan and Maggie while they trying to solve the mystery of Eleanor Ashley. I thought I wasn't going to like how Ethan and Maggie fall in love, but as we get these flashbacks of Maggie's life of when she met her best friend and ex-husband Emily and Colin and how they got divorced and how she found them in bed together, and then how she met Ethan and how she started to hate him. Ethan, on the other hand, fell in love with her the moment she saw her, and has told her, even tried to guess her whole name, which I found pretty darn cute. Watching them solve the murder and then falling in love, and watching Ethan go "Who did this to you" and "If you touch her I'll kill you?" BRUH MY HEART I LOVED THAT. Ate it all up.

I loved reading this book so much, even though I wish it wasn't so short, I still loved it very much.

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