Posts Tagged: clean read

Blade of Ash by C.F.E. Black Tour

14 Apr, 2022 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

Blade of Ash by C.F.E. Black Tour

Blade of Ash

on January 25th 2022
Format: Hardcover
four-stars
Buy the Book • Goodreads
The only way to beat death is to chase it.
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Newly crowned, Red blames one person for his father’s murder: the secret sorceress sworn to protect the king.
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Alyana Barron, Royal Sorcerer to the throne of Tandera, fears her magic is weakening.
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When Red is cursed, his life entwines with Aly’s in ways neither of them expected. Together, they chase after a cure that will heal the king and restore her magic, but the closer they get to a cure, the nearer they step toward death, for the path to the cure is as dangerous as the curse itself.
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Blade of Ash is the first in a new, epic YA fantasy series perfect for fans of enemies-to-lovers romance packed full of royal intrigue, legends, and plenty of ballgowns. If you like female bodyguards and forced proximity with life-and-death stakes... this story is for you!

Review

Red has inherited the kingdom after his father is killed by a curse. His royal protector Aly has remained invisible in his life until now, and Red feels she is to blame. There are new responsibilities to take on, the king and sorceress are grieving, and both of their magic seems to be weakening. The source of the magic is a truthwell. Lies and distorted truth weakens the power while truth feeds it. I loved this unique system. There were several moments through the storyline where both Red and Aly have to learn to put aside what their brain is telling them to instead rely on hope, and on the magic they can strengthen by working together.

Blade of Ash is a clean YA fantasy adventure with an underlying theme of putting aside fear and relying on another. There were moments in the world building that reminded me of the Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. I’m a fan and now that I know there’s a prequel, as well as a series, there’s more to add to my pile of future reads. This is a series I will be watching as it has a positive message and a wonderful set of strong characters.

Thanks to Prism Book Tours and the author for the complimentary copy for the tour.

Content: clean, mild violence, grief

About the Author

C. F. E. Black loves to get swept away in books, both reading and writing them. When she’s not writing or chasing her son, she’s teaching high schoolers and trying her best to be a light in their lives. She lives in beautiful north Alabama with her superhero husband, sons, and fur-family. Connect with her and find free stories at http://www.cfeblack.com.

Book Review- The Fairy Godmother Dilemma: Catspell

08 May, 2012 by in middle grade, The Fairy Godmother Dilemma: Catspell Leave a comment

The Fairy Godmother Dilemma: Catspell
by Danyelle Leafty
Ebook
Publication Date: October 22, 2011
Book Source: author
3.5 stars
Book Summary from Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Breena never thought anything could be worse than being forced to leave the faerie realm. Then she got stuck with a fairy godmother. But if she has to choose between the two, she’d leave the Faerie Realm over getting bossed about by a faerie with a pointed stick any day. Unfortunately, her attempt to evade her fairy godmother gives her growing pains in the form of fur, whiskers, and a tail.



Turning into a cat is the least of her worries, though. The potion wasn’t meant to bring out her inner feline, it was meant to put her to sleep. Forever. If Breena wants to make it to her Happily Ever After, she’ll have to accept that sometimes a fairy godmother really does come in handy, after all.

Cathy’s Review: Nerissa is a fairy godmother who feels as though she needs a break. The fairy queen has just had her taking care of one Damsel in Distress (DID) and now she’s sent her flaming lizard to tell her of another, she’s also got a terrible cold that makes her even more irritated at the crazy flaming lizard! But she can’t really tell the fairy queen no, so she’ll be taking on her newest DID right away. Enter Breena, she’s a teenage human princess who’s been raised by fairies. She really wants nothing to do with having a fairy godmother, she’d far rather run away, but Nerissa has told her that they now have a bond that makes it so Nerissa always knows just where Breena is. Through some crazy events and really no fault of her own, Breena is turned into a small white cat. Uncertain of just how she got that way, she can’t explain it to Nerissa, and Nerissa can’t change her back. So Nerissa whisks her away to a castle, a castle full of wind servants that she promptly turns into talking cats and leaves Breena in their care, so that she can plan for Breena’s happily ever after, but first Breena must figure out what her Happily Ever After will be! This book has a fairy tale quality with all of the talking animals and fairy godmother, not to mention the dragon. I liked the story, but found some of the characters and magic to be a bit confusing. I do think this story could make a great series, maybe with some extra explanations about what some of the magical characters are supposed to be and be able to do.

Content: Clean, nothing offensive

About the Author: Danyelle Leafty doesn’t exactly believe in fairies, but her skepticism hasn’t stopped an odd assortment of imaginary people from bullying her into writing their stories. This is the place in which she details her journey, talks about frogs, and harnesses the occasional dragon. When she isn’t rescuing dragons from evil princes, she blogs for QueryTracker.Net and is an editor for Underneath the Juniper Tree–an online kidlit magazine.
Find out more about author Danyelle Leafty: Goodreads/ Website/ Blog
Read Castpell now for 3.99