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A Forbidden Alchemy: Magic, Rules, and What Happens When You Break Both

Estimated Reading Time: 4min

Peaky Blinders meets a fantasy world of supernatural abilities and breaking down the class system… don’t forget the banter and second chances.

A Forbidden Alchemy

Nina Harrow and Patrick Colson are twelve years old when they are whisked away from the shadows of their disenfranchised mining towns to dazzling Belavere City to discover their magical potential. Those who pass Belavere’s test will become Artisans, wielders of powerful elemental magic destined to fulfill the city’s grand ambitions. For Nina, the Artisan School symbolizes a dream and an escape from her harsh reality, while Patrick yearns to return to his Craftsman family, whose extraordinary physical strength serves the idium mines keeping the city alive.
 
And then they uncover a devastating truth: Artisans aren’t born, they’re chosen. They part ways on very different paths, leaving them to carry the burden of this secret alone.

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual Content
Moderate: Toxic Relationship, Murder, War

My Review

If this book wasn’t open door it would have easily been five stars. I love the story, it was funny, it was interesting, the magic system was great. I loved every part about it, the banter between the main characters was so much fun (and the other characters also). All the characters were great, and the way they engaged with each other was great, I loved the setting and nods to different time periods – everything was stunning.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes, if you are alright with open door scenes, this was exciting and worth the read.

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • The Prison Healer (Lynette Noni)
  • Red Queen (Victoria Aveyard)
  • Dance of Thieves (Mary E Pearson)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

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Book Reviews Book Series Books

The Curious Realities Duology: A World That Feels More Fragile Than It Should

Estimated Reading Time: 3min

I didn’t think Alice In Wonderland could get any crazier… I was wrong. This was a trip, it was fascinating and it had so many twists and turns that I could barely keep up while keeping the original story and references in mind! Ready to fall down the rabbit hole?

The Wonderland Trials

All Alice Liddell wants is to escape her Normal life in Oxford and find the parents who abandoned her ten years ago. But she gets more than she bargained for when her older sister Charlotte is arrested for having the infamous Wonder Gene—the key to unlocking the curious Wonderland Reality.

Soon, Alice receives a rather cryptic invitation to play for Team Heart in this year’s annual—and often deadly—Wonderland Trials. Now she has less than twenty-four hours to find her way into Wonderland where nothing is impossible . . . or what it seems.

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of a Parent, Abandonment
Moderate: Injury

My Review

Thoroughly enjoyable.
Alice in Wonderland references with new twists and additional world building elements. It was interesting, exciting and as expected, full of nonsense.
The games were a fun touch, and I liked how the familiar characters were included.

The Looking Glass Illusion

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, War, Injury
Minor: Death

My Review

What a bunch of nonsense… intentionally so.
Lovely nonsense mixed together so you don’t know which way is up, or which way is down (or side to side for that matter).
The first book at least made a little More sense but this one was pretty chaotic. I still caught the train of thought (😜) and followed along. I still understood the twists and turns of the ultimate plot. I still followed the characters as they navigated the craziness.
All in all, I’m pretty tired… but I appreciate what the story did.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes, I would recommend but only if you are good at keeping a lot of threads in your mind at once.

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • Splintered (A.G. Howard)
  • Heartless (Marissa Meyer)
  • Red Queen (Victoria Aveyard)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Book Series Books

Wilder by Rebecca Yarros: A Romance Built on Risk, Healing, and Emotional Fallout

Estimated Reading Time: 5min

Xtreme sports meets Suite Life On Deck with Zach and Cody… oh, and don’t forget open door intimacy and a saboteur… okay, that sounds like a lot going on but really, there is!

Wilder

After two lost years, I’m forcing the wake-up call on my life with a nine-month work-study cruise. See the world, experience all of it to the fullest, and maybe (if I’m lucky) find the life I’ve lost.

I just wish I’d known what I was signing up for.

My scholarship depends on tutoring a student. But not just any student, oh no. That would be too easy. Instead I get Paxton Wilder, daredevil influencer and X Games champion. And wherever he goes, documentary cameras, groupies, and high-octane stunts will follow.

I want to hate him. I want to kick his arrogant ego right off this boat. But from the second we touch, my stomach does a full-on bungee jump and I know that Wilder is as much stay-away danger as he is addictive adrenaline.

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual Content
Moderate: Death, Car accident, Injury/Injury Detail

My Review

Took me by surprise, Reminded me of The Suite life on Deck if they were doing extreme sports. Outside of the Instant attraction these 2 people seemed to have 21 another, It didn’t really see why they would want to spend time together outside of when they had to. I don’t know how Realistic it felt for people to build a foundation based only on attraction.
I did like the trying to find the person sabotaging angle, I enjoyed the extreme sports and the way it tied into the cruise ship around the world and the university experience, And I thought the characters Made sense and their motivations and decisions also seem to lineup with who they were written as In general.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes. If you don’t mind open door scenes, the extreme sports angle was very interesting and the doing college on a cruise ship around the world was really fun.

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • Things We Never Got Over (Lucy Score)
  • Love and Other Words (Christina Lauren)
  • The Graham Effect (Elle Kennedy)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Book Series Books Booktok/Booktube

The Prison Healer Series: Survival, Secrets, and Why Power Never Feels Safe

Estimated Reading Time: 9min

Dark, grimy and elemental powers describes this one. If you want to see a dangerous prison, unexpected romance, ruling powers that have to be brought down (of course)… this is the one.

The Prison Healer

noni

When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals. 

Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom. 

 But no one has ever survived. With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun. 

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Violence (graphic), gore (moderate), self harm (moderate), sexual assault/harassment (moderate), Child abuse (moderate), torture (graphic), confinement (graphic)

My Review

I was surprised at how much I actually loved this book. The entire plot centres around the elemental trials and life in this crazy dangerous prison.
Our main characters are engaging, interesting and encircled by such an interesting world.
The ending……. I went out and got the next two books on almost that alone. I GOTSTA know what happens next!
Careful of content/trigger warnings (I will list below) but the author didn’t go tooooo far with those so just be aware.

The Gilded Cage

Content Warnings

Moderate violence/gore
Mild sexual content
Moderate kidnapping
Moderate drug use

My Review

I loved seeing Kiva outside of the Zalendov context in this story. Her battle between loyalties was interesting and played out quite well.
I was punched in the gut several times in this book – especially at the end.

The Blood Traitor

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug Use, Violence
Moderate: Suicidal Thoughts, Death, Drug Abuse
Minor: Death of a Parent, Torture, Domestic Abuse

My Review

Finally got some answers! Called some of it, didn’t call others.
Rushed ending “big bad level” moment/s but ending was really satisfying.
Characters were put through the ringer.
I didn’t mind where we went and ended up.
From a prison escape book, to a strategise overthrowing the throne book, to finally a quest book this series was really great and I’m almost sad to say goodbye to the characters.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes, so long as you have a good stomach for violence, some gore and some pretty dark topics and explorations.

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • Inheritance Games (Jennifer Lynn-Barnes)
  • The Shattered Realms (Tracy Higley)
  • The Songkeeper Chronicles (Gillian Bronte Adams)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Books Booktok/Booktube

Six of Crows Duology: Why the Crew Dynamic Carries Everything

Estimated Reading Time: 4min

A heist crew that has incredibly high stakes and a lot of enemies closing in around them… this surprised me with how much I was expecting NOT to like it… but I didn’t expect this.

Six of Crows

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . . 

A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.  A runaway with a privileged past.  A spy known as the Wraith.  A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. 

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction–if they don’t kill each other first. 

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood
Moderate: Slavery, Trafficking, Addiction
Minor: Sexual Assault, Death of a Parent, Sexual Violence

My Review

Having this many POV can sometimes be a bit messy, but I think this was really well done. It added such incredible drama to the story, I love to jump in and out of people’s perspectives, plus when everybody in a heist is in a different spot as part of the team layout like this is necessary. I liked everyone. All the characters in their own ways were fantastic, they interacted with each other really well, and the plot moved forward with these character dynamics in mind. The actual heist/prison break itself was really well done. I enjoyed the setup, the planning, the execution, and everything in between.
The magic system was quite good, it was a bit of a spin on the normal type of abilities you can see in people. I like the way that this particular system spun things, and I would love to see more.

Crooked Kingdom

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood
Moderate: Trafficking, Addiction, Torture
Minor: Sexual Assault, Slavery

My Review

I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first, but it was still a good story and conclusion after book one. I found it swayed a little and had less direction than the first book.
The characters were still great, and I enjoyed seeing where everything landed at the end.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes, I would recommend both books in the series. I don’t have much interest in the world that surrounds it as Leigh continues on, but this one.. if you like an Oceans 11 feel with some fantasy thrown in, this one’s for you!

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • The Spider Heist (Jason Kesper)
  • Thieves Gambit (Kayvion Lewis)
  • Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Books Booktok/Booktube

Heartless by Marissa Meyer: Why the Origin Story Hurts More Than You Think

Estimated Reading Time: 3min

Normally, villain origin stories feel like a pointless exercise – why can’t we just let bad guys be bad guys without trying to explain it away? This one, however, I actually found myself surprised and maybe considering that some stories might be interesting to tell…

Heartless

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Grief
Moderate: Body Shaming, Violence, Blood
Minor: War, Suicide, Kidnapping

My Review

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but honestly with the exception of the inclusion of the three “sisters” (I genuinely have no clue why people like writing about those hags…. Yes offence to the hags intended) there wasn’t a whole ton of creepy magic so that was nice. (Some of my dislike of that is personal taste for reading, but I was happy to see minimal)

The love story was fun and the banter was great. I know we are reading the origin story of a villain (another phenomenon that I don’t understand why people like so much, but here I am reading one so… yup) but it still felt like it wasn’t until the end.

I was rooting for characters, liking the story, then BAM they hit me with creepy and I was annoyed. Ultimately, these fairytale retellings always feel the need to lean more into the creepy/evil but I was impressed that majority of this story didn’t so that.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes, I would still recommend this book (even keeping in mind the three witches that unnecessarily made an appearance).

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • The Lunar Chronicles (Marissa Meyer)
  • To Kill a Kingdom (Alexandra Christo)
  • Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Book Series Books

The Whisper Duology by Lynette Noni: Secrets, Power, and the Weight of What’s Unsaid

Estimated Reading Time: 6min

If you thought Shatter Me was a good series, this duology will scratch the itch and even though it’s a little different, sometimes different can be better… right? I think so 😛

Whisper

noni

I’m different. I’m an anomaly. I’m a monster.

For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word.

As Jane’s resolve begins to crack under the influence of her new — and unexpectedly kind — evaluator, she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, discovering that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot … and one wrong move, one wrong word, could change the world.

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic Attacks, Confinement, Torture
Moderate: Death of a Parent, Medical Trauma, Gaslighting
Minor: Kidnapping, Blood, Violence

My Review

Wowie.
This was a way better executed and altered version of Shatter Me. Obsessed. I loved this one – the only thing I could have done without was some more specifically described torture type scenes.
Characters were great, development of those characters and how especially the main character, figured things out as we went was amazing.
Loved the power element, always fun. Can’t wait to see it a bit more in action in the second book.
Plot wise it was great. Similarities like I said above to Shatter Me, but with a much better execution. Enough differences to be it’s own story, and taking place in Sydney (nice touch), different dynamics and way less characters to keep track of. All that and more made this an action packed, easy to follow, quick to pace through and thoroughly enjoyable story.

Weapon

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of a Parent, Confinement, Violence
Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, Terminal Illness
Minor: Murder, Gun Violence, Torutre

My Review

Continuation of the story was great.
Blindsided but at the same time knew it in my bones!
There was a lot of internal dialogue and processing (sometimes of things that had already occurred… like we were rehashing things we had already not just witnessed but thought about as the reader) which was frustrating at times. A good deal of this book could easily be skimmed unlike the first one where everything was essential and riveting.
Happy with it overall though.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Yes, I thought this was a great series, particularly if you like Shatter Me.

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • Red Queen (Victoria Aveyard)
  • Divergent (Veronica Roth)
  • Shatter Me (Tahereh Mafi)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Books

Synapse by Steven James: The Idea That Tries to Hook You More Than the Execution

Estimated Reading Time: 3min

What happens when AI have bodies and a sort of autonomy and bad things start to happen? This explores that idea, and boy is it timely! I just had one problem with it… Almost everything.

Synapse

Soon after experiencing a personal tragedy, Kestrel witnesses a terrorist attack and is drawn into a world of conspiracies and lies that she and Jordan, her Artificial, have to untangle. With a second, more brutal attack looming on the horizon, their best chance of stopping it is teaming up with federal counterterrorism agent Nick Vernon. But the clock is ticking–and all the while, Jordan is asking questions Artificials were never meant to ask.

Grab the book Here

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child Death
Moderate: Abortion

My Review

When there was a small sliver of plot (amidst the long tedious info dumping or bible bashing preaching – I prefer a more subtle weaving), it was pretty a pretty interesting concept overall. Though there were clear problems with this story.
I don’t quite understand why there was any loss of Kestrels baby, and talk of abortions aside from giving her a “loss of faith” moment. It felt out of place, and was not handled very well in my opinion. The author would have done better to have a different kind of crisis of than these hot button issues. It felt more like it was included to cause controversy than actually advance the plot. Some pretty intense personal situations delved into in a triggering way and not very well done either.
There was potential in the bones for a good story – and it did peek through the curtains on occasion.
Reminiscent a little of Blade Runner (the book, not the movie), it unfortunately felt a little like a preachy copy cat story that fell short.
The idea that a human-created being could believe in God AND be saved in the same way is theologically shakey. A few theological points were questionable for me, but this one stood out the most. God came to save humanity, not their creations (free will or not for those creations).
Also, the violin…. It was such a random and useless part of the story. If you took it out, nothing would have been affected – not what you want from a story arc.
Overall this story had interesting bones, but was poorly fleshed out and handled in various ways.

Would I Recommend This Book?

Not really. I think similar things have been done better in other books (I LOVED The Last Christian by David Gregory for example), and this one fell flat. It’s not a book that I recommend, however the concepts explored in the story itself are worth discussing.

Similar Books You Might Like

If you are thinking what kind of books would have similar feel, themes or content, here is a list that you can consider:

  • Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
  • Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir)
  • The Last Christian (David Gregory)

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace