YA Book Review: The Princess Who Flew With Dragons by Stephanie Burgis

The Princess Who Flew With Dragons
Author: Stephanie Burgis
Publication: Bloomsbury Children's Books (August 8, 2019)

Description: Sofia is the other princess. Not the crown princess - that's her perfect big sister, Katrin. Sofia is the princess who always says the wrong thing; who hates going to parties; who doesn't like people; who just wants to sit and read her books. So when Sofia is shipped off on a stomach-churning dragon flight to make another royal visit, she decides it's time for this princess to take a little break. In disguise, Sofia soon finds herself discovering a magical city of learning, new friends and freedom. In short, everything is going wonderfully . right up until it goes horribly wrong. And that's before the ice giants show up.

From the author of The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart comes a magical third adventure about acceptance, family and friendship, perfect for fans of Cressida Cowell and Cornelia Funke.

My Thoughts: This story was an excellent middle grade adventure with a heroine to root for. Princess Sofia is the other princess in Drackenheim. Her older sister is the perfect heir who keeps manipulating Sofia into dangerous situations. Sofia would much rather stay in her room sipping hot chocolate and reading philosophy books by Gert van Heidecker.

Sofia's sister decides to sent her on a diplomatic mission to Vallenne to view the Diamond Exhibition and hobnob with other Royals from other kingdoms. However, Sofia arrives after three days of motion sickness in a carriage carried by a dragon and makes a totally awful first impression. She's exiled to a distant house. But Sofia is determined to find her way around the city and meet people. She is especially eager to sit in on a lecture by her favorite philosopher. She doesn't expect to meet and become friends with goblins and see Gert van Heidecker arrested for his revolutionary views.

She also doesn't expect the finally meet her friend Jasper who is a young dragon who has run away from home to come and share adventures with her in Vallenne. Nor does she expect her perfect sister Katrin and Jasper's mother to come chasing after them. And she really doesn't expect the find herself the only Royal left after an attack by Ice Giants who freeze all the other Royals into blocks of ice and take them off to their frozen kingdom.

Sofia is determined to find a way to free her sister and Jasper's mother. She has Jasper as her companion and Fedolia, a kobold girl with her own goals in mind. They face hardships along the way to find the kidnapped Royals but Sofia learns a lot about herself. And her actions with the Ice giants give her a chance to show strengths she didn't know she had.

I loved the setting and Sofia. I liked that she underestimated her talents until she had to show them all. I liked that she learned about friendship and loyalty and learned her place in her family.

Favorite Quote:

So that was how I entered the fabled city of Vallenne on my first-ever diplomatic mission: hanging halfway out the open door of my carriage, with dried dragon spittle covering my hair and skin and my two guards gripping tightly to my legs as I dangled a heavy Drachenheim flag in midair.

It was a good thing I'd never expected to be the perfect princess for this mission...because this had to be the most embarrassing first impression ever. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey

Arrows of the Queen
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Series: Heralds of Valdemar (Book 1)
Publication: DAW (March 3, 1987)

Description: Follows the adventures of Talia as she trains to become a Herald of Valdemar in the first book in the classic epic fantasy Arrows trilogy

Chosen by the Companion Rolan, a mystical horse-like being with powers beyond imagining, Talia, once a runaway, has now become a trainee Herald, destined to become one of the Queen’s own elite guard. For Talia has certain awakening talents of the mind that only a Companion like Rolan can truly sense.

But as Talia struggles to master her unique abilities, time is running out. For conspiracy is brewing in Valdemar, a deadly treason that could destroy Queen and kingdom. Opposed by unknown enemies capable of both diabolical magic and treacherous assassination, the Queen must turn to Talia and the Heralds for aid in protecting the realm and insuring the future of the Queen’s heir, a child already in danger of becoming bespelled by the Queen’s own foes.

My Thoughts: This is the first Valdemar book. I must have read it first more than twenty years ago and began to read it again with some trepidation, wondering if it could be as emotionally engaging as it was when I first read it. If anything, it was even better this time.

Talia is a thirteen-year-old girl who was raised in a very restrictive sect on the border of Valdemar. Her life was bound and restricted. Reading was discouraged and any disobedience was harshly punished. When she is told on her thirteenth birthday that it was time for her to marry a man chosen for her by her father, she runs away but really doesn't know where she might be going.

She is picked up by Rolan who was the Companion of the previous Queen's Own Herald. Talia doesn't know what is going on. She's certain that she'll be punished for stealing the Companion. When she arrives at the Palace and the Collegium, she finds herself in a life she couldn't possibly have imagined. Now, she is in training to become a Herald and the Queen's Own to Queen Selenay. One of her first tasks is to befriend the Queen's Heir who has become thoroughly spoiled and is in danger of never being Chosen by a Companion of her own.

But the spoiled Heir is just one thread of a bigger conspiracy that caused the murder of the previous Queen's Own and the death of a number of other Heralds. Talia is also in danger of being a victim of that conspiracy and would have except for the friendships she's made among the other Heralds and Trainees at the Collegium.

I enjoyed the seamless way the world building was built into the story in the form of stories told Talia whose past upbringing made her ignorant of the world she is now living in. I liked Talia's common sense and compassion. I could understand her fear of trusting which has her keeping secrets from those who would be able to help her if only she could open up to them.

There is an engaging cast of characters who surround Talia and make the story even richer. I can't wait to read the rest of this trilogy again to watch Talia grow into the Herald she becomes.

Favorite Quote:

Yes - at last - you. I Choose you. Out of all the work, out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again will there be loneliness --

It was a feeling more than words; a shock and a delight. A breathless joy so deep it was almost pain; a joining. A losing and a finding; a loosing and a binding. Flight and freedom. And love and acceptance past all words to tell of the wonder of it - and she answered that love with all her soul.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Jan. 13, 2020)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Other Than Reading...

This has been another quiet week. We did have a few sunny days where me we made some electricity. A friend has come to visit. She arrived Thursday evening and will leave Sunday afternoon. We have been catching up on all the news and mostly been couch potatoes. We both play a number of computer games. When she gets tired of that, she crochets all sorts of cute toys. I read.

My brother is still trying to get clearance to begin an exercise routine but I've gotten to the gym a few days without him. I also have a nagging cough that is sapping my energy and keeping me close to home.

This weekend will be full of football on TV. I'm watching the Vikings as I'm preparing this so please forgive weird transitions and possible spelling errors. Right now they are behind but I still have hopes that they will be able to upset the heavily favored opposition.

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

• Boundary Broken by Melissa F. Olson (Mine) - Urban fantasy and 4th in a series. Great main character and well-built world. My review will be posted on Jan. 18.
• Boundary Haunted by Melissa F. Olson (Mine) - 5th in the series and also an excellent adventure. My review will be posted on Jan. 22. 

• Felicity Carrol and the Perilous Pursuit by Patricia Marcantonio (Mine) - Historical mystery set in Victorian period. It had an intriguing main character and an interesting plot. My review will be posted on Jan. 25.
• An Everyday Hero by Laura Trentham (Review; Feb. 4) - Excellent contemporary romance. My review will be posted on Jan. 28.

Currently

• A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (Review; Feb. 4)
• Golden in Death by J. D. Robb (Review; Feb. 4)

Next Week

• Belle Revolte by Linsey Miller (Review; Feb. 4)
• Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace by Patricia Marcantonio (Review; Feb. 4) 

• Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong (Review; Feb. 4)
• Breaking Silence by Mercedes Lackey & Cody Martin (Review; Feb. 4)

Reviews Posted

• Spitfire by M. L. Huie
• A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris 

• The Last Sister by Kendra Elliot
• Sebastian by Anne Bishop

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

• Penric's Progress by Lois McMaster Bujold - print collection of some the Penric stories I've already read in ebook form.
• Sybil Ingram Victorian Mysteries Collection by Amanda DeWees - Kindle deal
• One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus - Daily Deal for a book I've been wanting to read.  

• Cross Breed by Lora Leigh - Kindle Daily Deal
• Bearly in Control by Milly Taiden - Kindle paranormal
• Fur Fox's Sake by Milly Taiden - Kindle paranormal

What was your week like?

ARC Review: The Last Sister by Kendra Elliot

The Last Sister
Author: Kendra Elliot
Series: Columbia River (Book 1)
Publication: Montlake (January 14, 2020)

Description: Three sisters’ secrets collide in a shocking novel of suspense by the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Mercy Kilpatrick series.

Twenty years ago Emily Mills’s father was murdered, and she found his body hanging in the backyard. Her younger sister, Madison, claims she was asleep in her room. Her older sister, Tara, claims she was out with friends. The tragedy drove their mother to suicide and Tara to leave town forever. The killer was caught. The case closed.

Ever since, Emily and Madison have tried to forget what happened that night—until an eerily similar murder brings it all back. It also brings FBI special agent Zander Wells to the Oregon logging town. As eager as he is to solve the brutal double slaying, he is just as intrigued with the mystery of Emily’s and her sisters’ past.

When more blood is shed, Zander suspects there’s a secret buried in this town no one wants unearthed. Is it something Emily and Madison don’t know? Or aren’t telling? And Tara? Maybe Emily can’t bear to find her. Because when Tara disappeared, she took a secret of her own with her.

My Thoughts: When Emily Mills goes to an employee's home to see why she is late for work, she isn't expecting to find her employee murdered and her black husband also murdered and hanging from a tree in their backyard. This brings backs horrible memories for Emily whose own father was hanged twenty years earlier. When the local sheriff looks like he's going to call it a murder-suicide, Emily decides to call in the FBI.

Zander Wells and his partner Ava McLane come to begin their investigation since it could be a hate crime. Zander and Ava find themselves investigating in a town filled with secrets. Emily has secrets of her own because she has never told anyone what happened when her father died and her older sister disappeared.

Emily has her hands full running the diner that supports her family including the three great-aunts who took Emily and her sister Madison in when her father died and her mother committed suicide. She is also dealing with an ex-husband who just can't seem to accept that their relationship is over. It certainly isn't time to fall for one of the FBI agents who have come to work on the case.

Zander isn't looking for a new relationship either. He is still grieving the loss of his wife and unborn daughter. Falling for a witness, or possibly a suspect, isn't anywhere in the FBI manual.

I enjoyed this story which talks about Oregon's racists past which might not be as far in the past as most people would like.

Favorite Quote:

"I heard the first responder screwed up the scene. Some of those young deputies are as sharp as a  mashed potato sandwich," Thea continued, her blue eyes challenging. "Is that true? People around town are saying it was a drug deal done bad. Really bad?"

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Last Sister by Kendra Elliot

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

She wrapped her shaking fingers in the hem of her sweater to avoid damaging any fingerprints as she slid open the rear patio door, following the trail of blood.

Friday 56:

"Do you have beer for breakfast?" Ava asked the examiner.

"Nope. Sounds disgusting."

Ava snorted. "So there's a good chance the GHB was in the beer."

This week I am spotlighting The Last Sister by Kendra Elliot. I got this eARC from NetGalley. Here is the description from Amazon:

Three sisters’ secrets collide in a shocking novel of suspense by the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Mercy Kilpatrick series.

Twenty years ago Emily Mills’s father was murdered, and she found his body hanging in the backyard. Her younger sister, Madison, claims she was asleep in her room. Her older sister, Tara, claims she was out with friends. The tragedy drove their mother to suicide and Tara to leave town forever. The killer was caught. The case closed.

Ever since, Emily and Madison have tried to forget what happened that night—until an eerily similar murder brings it all back. It also brings FBI special agent Zander Wells to the Oregon logging town. As eager as he is to solve the brutal double slaying, he is just as intrigued with the mystery of Emily’s and her sisters’ past.

When more blood is shed, Zander suspects there’s a secret buried in this town no one wants unearthed. Is it something Emily and Madison don’t know? Or aren’t telling? And Tara? Maybe Emily can’t bear to find her. Because when Tara disappeared, she took a secret of her own with her.

Book Review: Sebastian by Anne Bishop

Sebastian
Author: Anne Bishop
Series: Ephemera (Book 1)
Publication: Roc (February 7, 2006)

Description: Long ago, Ephemera was split into a dizzying number of magical lands—connected only by bridges that may take you where you truly belong, rather than where you had intended to go. In one such land, where night reigns and demons dwell, the half-incubus Sebastian revels in dark delights. But in dreams she calls to him: a woman who wants only to be safe and loved—a woman he hungers for while knowing he may destroy her. And an even more devastating destiny awaits him, for an ancient evil is stirring—and Sebastian’s realm may be the first to fall...

My Thoughts: The main character in this story is Sebastian. He is the child of a wizard and a succubus whose mother gave him to his father to raise. His father hates him because he is the living proof of the mistake he made sleeping with a succubus. Luckily, he has an aunt and cousins who try to make up for his father's abuses.

Sebastian's cousins are a Landscaper named Belladonna and a Bridge named Lee. His cousin Belladonna runs afoul of the wizards by being too powerful and also for creating a landscape that is perfect for Sebastian and is exiled. However, she is the only one who might be able to combat an old evil that has escaped its imprisonment and now wants to conquer Ephemera.

Meanwhile, Sebastian meets a young woman named Lynnea who has undergone her own kind of abuse at the hands of a woman who found her wandering as a child and took her home to be a servant and her whipping boy. When Lynnea throws a hard-earned penny into a wishing well, all she wants is to find a place where she can be safe and be loved which leads her to Sebastian's landscape even though Sebastian isn't at all sure that he's right for her.

When the evil entity called It convinces the wizard to find Belladonna so that she can be destroyed, Sebastian is chosen as the bait to draw her in. Only Sebastian and Lynnea's love for each other can save them and Belladonna from the wizards and It's horrible plan.

I enjoyed the world building in this story. The idea of shattered landscapes that can only be reached by bridges that may or may not take you to your intended destination but often take you to the land your heart desires was intriguing.

This is the first book of a trilogy. One advantage of catching up on an author's earlier works is that I don't need to wait for the next book or books to be published. They are waiting for me on my Kindle. I can't wait to read them.

Favorite Quote:

Sweet. Warm. He hadn't been this excited about a closemouthed kiss since...All right. He'd never been this excited about a closemouthed kiss. And when her hands curbed around the back of his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair, he didn't see any reason for either of them to move until they fell over from exhaustion or starvation.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris

A Longer Fall
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: Gunnie Rose (Book 2)
Publication: Gallery / Saga Press (January 14, 2020)

Description: #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns with the second of the Gunnie Rose series, in which Lizbeth is hired onto a new crew, transporting a crate into Dixie, the self-exiled southeast territory of the former United States. What the crate contains is something so powerful, that forces from across three territories want to possess it.

In this second thrilling installment of the Gunnie Rose series, Lizbeth Rose is hired onto a new crew for a seemingly easy protection job, transporting a crate into Dixie, just about the last part of the former United States of America she wants to visit. But what seemed like a straight-forward job turns into a massacre as the crate is stolen. Up against a wall in Dixie, where social norms have stepped back into the last century, Lizbeth has to go undercover with an old friend to retrieve the crate as what’s inside can spark a rebellion, if she can get it back in time.

New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse mysteries and Midnight, Texas trilogy) is at her best here, building the world of this alternate history of the United States, where magic is an acknowledged but despised power.

My Thoughts: The second Gunnie Rose book has Lizbeth hiring on with a new crew who has the job of delivering a crate into Dixie. Lizbeth doesn't want to go into Dixie which has reverted back to an earlier time period in its culture where women are only valued if they are married and dress appropriately and Blacks aren't valued at all.

Problems start right away when the train they are on is derailed and hired gunmen attack to steal the crate. Lizabeth is about the only one of her crew who survives mostly unhurt. It is up to her to find the crate and deliver it to its destination even though she doesn't know who hired the crew.

Lizbeth runs into Prince Ilya Savarov who she met in the first book and discovers that he is also on Bthe trail of the missing crate. After the events of the first book which left Eli and his family in disgrace, completing this mission is his only hope for salvaging his family's reputation. However, some of the grigori don't want his mission to be successful. Neither do some of the powerful white residents of Dixie.

I really liked this story. Lizbeth is an intriguing character - practical and pragmatic and intensely loyal to her own values. Because the story is told from her point of view, we don't have quite as clear a picture of what Eli wants and thinks which makes interpreting their relationship less clear. Lizbeth does love Eli but believes that they don't have any sort of a future because their lives are so different. She tries to convince herself to live in the present and not make plans for a future that has them together.

The world building is excellent in this story which tells of a fragmented United States with the Holy Russian Empire complete with its magicians controlling what used to be California and Oregon. Lizbeth's region of Texoma, Dixie being composed of the Southern States mostly east of the Mississippi, and Britannia which is the Northeast part of the former United States.

Fans of alternate history with magic and with an intrepid main character will want to read this series.

Favorite Quote:

"Eli, we judge every day. We decide that person is bad and this one is good." It was a struggle for me to talke about what  felt. I wasn't used to it.

"There is a difference. We have to fight people who are trying to kill us, to block our path to the goal we have promised to reach."

***

"But that's different from picking people out of a crowd and deciding that person isn't worthy of live," Eli said.

"What makes it different?" When Eli didn't answer right away, I went on. "What's the difference between deciding someone has to die because they're shooting at me, and me deciding someone has to die because they don't believe people different from them are human?"

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.