ARC Review: The Trial of Magdelena Overmorrow by Catriona Moran

The Trial of Magdelena Overmorrow
Author: Catriona Moran
Publication: G. P. Putnam's (November 3, 2026)

Description: Perfect for readers of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden, The Trial of Magdalena Overmorrow is a sweeping enemies-to-lovers debut epic for romantasy-curious fantasy readers, fantasy-curious romantasy readers, and all lovers of slowburn romance.

Scholar. Healer. Harlot.

In her house, the villainy is her.

Magdalena Overmorrow has been called a scholar, a healer, a harlot. She carves out some measure of freedom for the women of Astoleyn, risking capture and death by caring for them and performing forbidden abortions. When she’s betrayed by a close confidante, she faces banishment to the realm’s desolate northernmost city as an accused witch. There, she must await her trial and possible doom under the watchful aegis of the Lord Proctor of Cair Gramora, a man so pious and humorless it is rumored that he has never once laughed in his life.

When she arrives, though, Magda is surprised to find that the Lord Proctor isn’t the grizzled old priest she expected but a man barely older than she is. As cold and mysterious and beautiful as the mountains at the cair’s northern border, he holds her life in his hands. One word from him could send her to the stake or worse, but she can’t help her fascination with a man and fellow scholar who is more than he appears to be, and the dangerous secrets he is clearly keeping. As her trial draws closer and the intrigue of the isolated cair threatens them both, she and the Lord Proctor must form an uneasy alliance that could either save her life or lead her to martyrdom and ruin.

My Thoughts: Magdalena Overmorrow has run afoul of the religious hierarchy of her city. She is a scholar and a healer who is known for helping women in a society that routinely abuses them. She is also a magic user and can enhance her herbal concoctions. She has been performing forbidden abortions. 

Magdalena is arrested and sent to the far north until it is time for her trial which will likely result in her burning at the stake. In the north, she is put under the care of the Lord Proctor who is noted for his piety. She finds that he is a man of secrets and she falls in love with him. He seems to return her feelings until they are caught in a compromising position and he betrays her. 

This was a huge complex fantasy which centers on Magdalena. While she is away, her friend Jula who is a lawyer is fighting to build a case to keep her from being burned. Correspondence from women Magdalena helped let the reader know more about her past actions and more about the culture she lives in. 

I liked the magic. I liked Magdalena. I didn't like the rigidly religious society in the story.

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

Book Review: The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

The House Saphir
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication: Feiwel & Friends (November 4, 2025)

Description: The "Queen of Fairytale Retellings" is back! #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer weaves the tale of Bluebeard as it's never been told before. This is a thrilling romantasy and murder mystery, perfect for fans Meyer's Cinder and Heartless.

Mallory Fontaine is a fraud. Though she comes from a long line of witches, the only magic she possesses is the ability to see ghosts, which is rarely as useful as one would think. She and her sister have maintained the family business, eking out a paltry living by selling bogus spells to gullible buyers and conducting tours of the infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place.

Mallory is a self-proclaimed expert on Count Bastien Saphir—otherwise known as Monsieur Le Bleu—who brutally killed three of his wives more than a century ago. But she never expected to meet Bastien's great-great grandson and heir to the Saphir estate. Armand is handsome, wealthy, and convinced that the Fontaine Sisters are as talented as they claim. The perfect mark. When he offers Mallory a large sum of money to rid his ancestral home of Le Bleu's ghost, she can’t resist. A paid vacation at Armand’s country manor? It’s practically a dream come true, never mind the ghosts of murdered wives and the monsters that are as common as household pests.

But when murder again comes to the House Saphir, Mallory finds herself at the center of the investigation—and she is almost certain the killer is mortal. If she has any hope of cashing in on the payment she was promised, she’ll have to solve the murder and banish the ghost, all while upholding the illusion of witchcraft.

But that all sounds relatively easy compared to her biggest challenge: learning to trust her heart. Especially when the person her heart wants the most might be a murderer himself.

My Thoughts: THE HOUSE SAPHIR is a reimagining of the Bluebeard fairy tale. It is set in a lush fantasy world complete with monsters and ghosts.

Mallory Fontaine is a con woman having lost her magic when doing a spell to help out her older sister. She and her sister Anais are trying to survive with fake spells, bogus card readings, and ghost tours. Mallory is a self-proclaimed expert on Count Bastien Saphir who became known as Monsieur Le Bleu when he murdered three of his wives and was bested by the fourth a hundred years earlier.

Mallory gives tours of his townhouse in Morant. She has all the stories and the assistance of Saphir's ghostly first wife Triphine who is a bit of a hypochondriac. But her tour goes wrong one night when two of her clients turn out to be investigators investigating rumors of fraud. Luckily, the third client turns out to be the great-great grandson of Monsieur Le Bleu and wants to hire Mallory to remove his ghost from their country estate. 

Mallory quickly agrees in order to get away from the investigators despite her total lack of magic. She and her sister travel to the estate now fallen on very hard times. Mallory has to fake attempts to get rid of a very real and evil spirit. Along the way, she's falling in love with young Armand who isn't interested in his family's historic wine business but prefers working with medical herbs and other plants. 

When a young housemaid is murdered in the same manner as Le Bleu's wives, Mallory and Anais have to really find a way to defeat Le Bleu. They aren't quite alone. They are assisted by a pair of adventurers on a quest of their own. 

The worldbuilding in this story was intriguing. The characters well drawn and the setting elaborate. I enjoyed this retelling. 

I bought this one March 8, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Magelight by Kasey Ezell

Magelight
Author: Kasey Ezell

Narrator: Jennifer Jill Araya
Series: Magelight (Book 1)
Publication: Baen (May 6, 2025), Podium Audio (September 16, 2025)

Length: 16 hours and 6 minutes

Description: Fleeing her sheltered life, a noblewoman must trust a warrior, a forester, and a thief to unlock her true power and face her destiny.

Embrace Your Power and Forge Your Destiny

All her life, Aelys of Brionne had been weak. As the noble daughter of one of the empire’s most powerful magic-wielding families, it should have been easy for her to live her dream of bonding with a warrior protector and joining the Imperial Battlemage Corps. But when her weakness robs her of her dreams, her best friend, and the man she loves, Aelys makes the only choice she can see: she takes her fate into her own hands and she runs, leaving her safe, protected world behind.

Now she must find a way to work with three dangerous strangers—a warrior, a forester, and a thief—to escape the bandits stalking her, fight through the dangers of the untamed forest, and make her way back home, where her family and her destiny await.

Only . . . her violent protectors might be the key to the power and freedom she’s always craved. Can Aelys find the strength to choose her own destiny and become the sorceress she was born to be? Or lose herself on the path to power?

My Thoughts: MAGELIGHT is the first book in an epic fantasy series. Aelys of Brionne is the daughter of a powerful family. She has the dream of using her magical talent to become a Battlemage for the Empire. However, her weak magic makes that dream impossible. Even though she graduates from the academy, she isn't chosen by the man she wants who picks her best friend instead. The betrayal sends Aelys fleeing for home.

Meanwhile, three men who were best friends as boys, but whose lives have taken different paths after their village was destroyed meet again. Romik was first an arena fighter who bought his way out to be a mercenary soldier before growing disenchanted with the life. Daen had become a Forester even though his low birth should have made that career impossible. While he is an exceptional archer, he has never been accepted by his highborn "brothers." Vil has been sold into prostitution in the city but murdered his first customer and escaped. He has made his life as thief in that same city. 

The three men meet at a country inn and swear their brotherhood just before Aelys arrives pursued by bandits. They rescue her but find themselves in an inn that has been set on fire by the same bandits. They survive because Aelys is able to form bonds with all three of them which increases her magical power enough to save them. Needless to say, none of the three men are happy or comfortable with the concept of being bound to her. 

The story concerns their adventures while bringing Aelys back to her home and with dealing with their new bonds. For the first third of the book, I didn't like Aelys at all. She spent it crying, apologizing, and feeling guilty. However, the men recognized her deep inferiority complex and bolstered her each in their own different ways. They couldn't do much about the guilt though since she knew she should not have bound them to her. 

I enjoyed the worldbuilding in the story and the personalities of the main characters. I look forward to reading their further adventures. 

I bought this one February 2, 2026. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Fateless by Julie Kagawa

Fateless
Author: Julie Kagawa

Series: Fateless (Book 1)
Publication: HarperCollins (July 15, 2025)

Description: Deep in the forgotten city of the Deathless Kings, an ancient relic of untold power waits—for one bold enough to steal it.

When seventeen-year-old Sparrow joined the Thieves Guild she made a vow of binding loyalty to their cause. So when a mission comes along from The Circle, a group of mysterious, dangerous beings who control the Thieves Guild from the shadows, Sparrow is determined to cement her place in the guild.

What ensues is a death-defying adventure that has Sparrow and her band of thieves venturing into the heart of the forgotten city of the Deathless King. The fate of Sparrow, her companions, and Raithe, the enigmatic yet alluring assassin Sparrow is forced to join forces with during their quest, all hang in the balance as they find themselves battling ancient forces within the tombs and facing the unwavering hold of fate.

Perfect for fans of Alexandra Bracken and Sabaa Tahir, this new fantasy trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Julie Kagawa will sweep readers into a bold and exciting new world, where a twisted game of destiny has far-reaching consequences.

My Thoughts: FATELESS is the first book in a new epic fantasy series. It introduces Sparrow who is a seventeen-year-old member of the Thieves Guild. She was found as an infant by the guildmaster and raised in the guild. She is a very talented thief. 

She is given a mission by the Circle to travel to a buried city and retrieve an artifact. She'll either die on the quest or retrieve the artifact if she wants her mentor to survive. But what she doesn't know is that the artifact can be used to resurrect the Deathless King who wants to take over all life.

With the help of a fatechaser named Halek and despite the interference of the iylvaahn assassin Raithe, Sparrow does find the artifact and make it back to the surface. A former friend and fellow member of the guild steals the artifact from her and when she goes to the Circle to retrieve it, she is just in time to see him sacrificed and see the resurrection of the Deathless King. 

She manages to flee the city as it is being destroyed along with Halek and Raithe but the Deathless King isn't willing to let her go. Apparently, she is fateless, her life's threads aren't tangled in the web that hold all other lives. That makes her the only one who can possibly defeat the Deathless King. 

But what can one young woman who has known no future but that of the thieves guild manage to defeat a Deathless King? As Sparrow travels with Halek and Raithe to find answers, they are being pursued by agents of the Deathless King, chief among them being her mentor from the Thieves Guild so has been secretly engineering the return of the Deathless King. Sparrow needs to gather colleagues and allies if she will ever be able to triumph.

This story was packed with adventure. The world building was intriguing and the characters engaging. The only fault I can find with the book is the first in a trilogy. There is still so much adventure and growth that the reader will have to wait for in the rest of the trilogy. 

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

Audiobook Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Narrator: Rebecca Soler & Teddy Hamilton
Series: Empyrean (Book 1)
Publication: Recorded Book (May 2, 2023)
Length: 21 hours and 22 minutes

Description: Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away … because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

My Thoughts: Violet Sorrengail's life is changed when her mother who is a general in the army demands that she enter the Riders Quadrant instead of the Scribe Quadrant. Fragile since birth, Violet has been educated to be a scribe. Now, out of depth and with very little of the right training, Violet has to survive the brutal training to become a dragon rider. 

Luckily, Violet is very smart and has the written advice of her older brother Brennan who, along with his dragon, perished in the Tyrrish rebellion some five years earlier. Her older sister Mira who is also a dragon rider passed the book along to her to help her survive. 

Survival will be an issue. Not only are there not enough dragons willing to partner with all the candidates who are willing to kill to better their odds of securing a dragon, but the quadrant is also the home of the children of losers of the last rebellion who will do anything to kill the daughter of the general they blame for their parents' deaths. 

She should have a friend in the place. Her childhood friend Dain Aetos is a year ahead of her. But he is so busy trying to protect her and encourage her to flee to the Scribes Quadrant that he is stifling her growth. Then there is the wingleader, third year Xaden Riorson whose father led the revolt and who would really like her dead. Or would he?

I enjoyed the worldbuilding in this one. I thought it was a great adventure filled with romance and political intrigue. I liked the way Violet found a way to survive in a brutal environment. I also liked the way the mostly unlikely of romances between Xaden and Violet grew. I loved the dragons including the unprecedented two who lay claim to Violet.

Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton did a great job narrating this one. I liked the way they built the suspense and depicted the difficult relationship between Violet and Xaden. I liked the two additional chapters retold from Xaden's point of view that ended this audiobook.

I bought and read the Kindle July 8, 2023. I added the Audible copy February 13, 2025. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Dragonshadow by Elle Katharine White

Dragonshadow
Author: Elle Katharine White
Series: Heartstone (Book 2)
Publication: Harper Voyager (November 20, 2018)

Description: The author of Heartstone once again infuses elements of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with her own brand of magic in this addictive fantasy that brings back sparring lovers Aliza and Alastair: fierce warriors who match wits, charm, and swords as they fight an epic war to save their world.

The Battle of North Fields is over—or so Aliza Bentaine, now a Daired, fervently wants to believe. But rumors are spreading of an unseen monster ravaging the isolated Castle Selwyn on the northern border of the kingdom. When she and Alastair are summoned from their honeymoon by the mysterious Lord Selwyn, they must travel with their dragon Akarra through the Tekari-infested Old Wilds of Arle to answer his call.

And they are not alone on this treacherous journey. Shadowing the dragonriders is an ancient evil, a harbinger of a dark danger of which the Worm was only a foretaste. And soon Aliza realizes the terrible truth: the real war is only beginning.

My Thoughts: This middle book in the Heartstone trilogy sees Aliza and her husband Alastair traveling to the far north on a contract to find and kill monsters plaguing the area. 

They find a strange situation with Lord Selwyn who hired them reluctant to share the needed information with them and the castle housekeeper encouraging them to leave as soon as possible. The find that they are facing two enemies. One is an ancient evil intent on vengeance and the other is an old enemy long thought to be defeated. 

It takes both Alastair and Aliza's different skills to work their way through the secrets and lies. And they are facing a personal problem too when Aliza suffers a miscarriage.

This book was filled with lots of strange creatures, most of whom are enemies of humans, and lots of secrets. While some plot points are resolved, a number are left dangling for book three. 

Favorite Quote:

"Meddlesome old bastard."

"Conscientious civil servant," I said.

"You'd be surprised how often those lines cross, my lady."

I bought this one September 7, 2022. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Claws and Contrivances by Stephanie Burgis

Claws and Contrivances
Author: Stephanie Burgis
Series: Regency Dragons (Book 2)
Publication: Self-Published (July 10, 2023)

Description: Passionate, idealistic Rose Tregarth may have been invited into her uncle's remote home in the heart of Wales as an act of kindness to a poor relation, but it doesn't take her long to realize that her newly-met family members are eccentric, creative, deeply lovable - and in need of all the help they can get. If the crumbling medieval walls of Gogodd Abbey aren't to collapse around their heads at any moment, someone will have to step up and take charge of the situation. Fortunately for all of them, Rose has never lacked in determination.

Add in more and more mysteriously appearing little dragons and a threatening new neighbor who could easily star as the villain in one of her aunt’s fabulous Gothic novels, and Rose is soon up to her ears in plots and schemes to save all the people and beasts she’s come to love…with the help of a sweet, baffled dragon scholar whom Rose has swept into a fake betrothal - for purely practical purposes, of course.

With her fierce, loyal heart, Rose is more than ready to take care of everyone around her, dragons and humans alike. However, it may take an act of true magic to clear her eyes to the future - and the gentleman - she desires for herself.

Claws and Contrivances is the second book in a series of standalone fantasy rom-coms that can be read in any order.

My Thoughts: After the deaths of their parents the three Tregarth sisters are farmed out to distant relatives who agree to take them in. This is the second daughter Rose's story. Rose is a passionate dreamer who is always coming up with some sort of plot. She has an intense desire to take care of others around her. Her new family in a falling down manor in Wales is no exception. 

Rose is finally coming out of the deep haze that has surrounded her since the unexpected deaths of her parents. She was heartbroken to learn that the imaginative, loving father she adored had invested all he could free up, including his daughters' dowries, into a fraudulent investment scheme. She is determined not to be such an impractical dreamer herself.

When she discovers a small dragon hidden in the buttery, she is determined to take care of it. In her quest to discover where the dragon came from, she meets Cornelius Aubrey who is a noted scholar of dragon lore and, in a scheme that could have been better thought out, tells the near neighbor she is going to visit that she is engaged to him. 

The neighbor is a blackhearted villain, which immediately attracts her drama-loving cousin Serena, who is smuggling and mistreating dragons. He is also taking advantage of his orphaned niece's inheritance and keeping her in ignorance about all of it. 

As Rose develops a scheme to save the dragons and the niece, Mr. Aubrey is right there with her since he is finding her more fascinating even than his study of dragons. But Rose is so used to putting everyone else first that she can't believe that he is falling in love with her. Nor can she believe that her love for him would be good for him.

This story was filled with wonderful characters. Her new family is filled with eccentrics from drama-loving Serena to cross-dressing Georgie to her gothic-novel writing "aunt" and her scholarly "uncle." The dragons are also well drawn characters with distinct personalities. 

I really enjoyed this romantic comedy and look forward to more. 

Favorite Quote:

"I am aware," he ground out, "that my memory for practicalities is not always the best. But surely -- surely! -- I would at least recall having proposed marriage to you at some point in our earlier conversations?"

"Oh, that!" Shaking her head, Rose relaxed back into her seat. "You've no need to worry, Mr. Aubrey, You haven't forgotten anything."

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

Friday Memes: Claws and Contrivances by Stephanie Burgis

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is 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:

Miss Rose Tregarth had never in her life been accused of lacking in confidence or a fiery sense of purpose. Even her late mother, who had organized her father's parish with unstoppable determination, had sighed over Rose's more grandiose and implausible plans...

Friday 56:

"Fiancé?" Serena's eyes widened.

"Fiancé?" Georgie grinned. "I say, coz..."

Their mother spoke over them both, her voice suddenly high-pitched with tension. "What -- Rose, dear, I must -- what --?"

Before Aunt Parry could finish forming her question, the door slammed open with a crash.

This week I am spotlighting Claws and Contrivances by Stephanie Burgis. This is the second in her Regency Dragons series. Here is the description from Amazon:

Passionate, idealistic Rose Tregarth may have been invited into her uncle's remote home in the heart of Wales as an act of kindness to a poor relation, but it doesn't take her long to realize that her newly-met family members are eccentric, creative, deeply lovable - and in need of all the help they can get. If the crumbling medieval walls of Gogodd Abbey aren't to collapse around their heads at any moment, someone will have to step up and take charge of the situation. Fortunately for all of them, Rose has never lacked in determination.

Add in more and more mysteriously appearing little dragons and a threatening new neighbor who could easily star as the villain in one of her aunt’s fabulous Gothic novels, and Rose is soon up to her ears in plots and schemes to save all the people and beasts she’s come to love…with the help of a sweet, baffled dragon scholar whom Rose has swept into a fake betrothal - for purely practical purposes, of course.

With her fierce, loyal heart, Rose is more than ready to take care of everyone around her, dragons and humans alike. However, it may take an act of true magic to clear her eyes to the future - and the gentleman - she desires for herself.

Claws and Contrivances is the second book in a series of standalone fantasy rom-coms that can be read in any order.

Audiobook Review: Calling by Molly Harper

Calling
Author: Molly Harper
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Series: Sorcery and Society (Book 3)
Publication: NYLA (March 8, 2022); Audible Studios (March 8, 2022)
Length: 236 p.; 7 hours and 27 minutes

Description: Now that Sarah has found more Changelings just like her, will they, along with her best friends, Alicia and Ivy, finally defeat Miss Morton and her ever-growing revenant army? Only if they all learn how to work together...easier said than done!

My Thoughts: The finale of the Sorcery and Society trilogy has Sarah and her confederates trying to triumph over the evil Miss Morton and save their magical society.

The girls search for a magical weapon that can be used against Miss Morton and go through great difficulties to find it. They have to battle a manticore among other things.

When they come to the final battle, they have to put together everything they have learned in these three books in order to work together to defeat their great enemy. And once defeated, they all have to deal with the new world that has been created. 

This was an engaging story which was filled with interesting characters who grow and mature through the course of the books. Sarah is greatly changed from a sickly servant girl to a young woman who is ready to build a new world. 

I bought the Kindle book and Audiobook. You can buy your copy here.

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Book & Audio Review: Fledgling by Molly Harper

Fledgling
Author: Molly Harper
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Series: Sorcery and Society Book 2
Publication: NYLA (July 23, 2019); Audible Studios (July 23, 2019)
Length: 256 p.; 7 hours and 42 minutes

Description: Days away from completing her first year at Miss Castwell’s Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies, Changeling-born Sarah Smith might just get away with posing as an upper-class Guardian girl named Cassandra Reed.

But strange visions of a Lightbourne destroyed by Miss Morton’s revenant army keep Sarah from enjoying her achievement. Plus, the Mother Book, Sarah’s one secret advantage and the ultimate entrée in Guardian society, suddenly stops revealing itself to her…putting her in a precarious position with the Guild. On top of all that, her former lady’s maid left Miss Castwell’s, and the new hire is, well, taking some getting used to.

If it weren’t for her two best friends, Alicia McCray and Ivy Cowel, who will do anything to protect her secret, Sarah doesn’t know if she’ll make it another year. When the three girls take summer holiday with Alicia’s family (chaperoned by an exacting and very disapproving Mrs. McCray), a relaxing vacation in Scotland is the last thing they’ll find.

Mrs. Winter is thrilled that Sarah is spending time with the influential McCray family, but Sarah can’t help but feel that her real purpose is to find other Changeling children like her, and free them to realize their own magic. Can she find genuine satisfaction in her accomplishments when she knows there are others like her out there who need her help? Will the three girls uncover the deeply-held secrets they’re looking for in the mysterious mountains of Scotland? Will the Mother Book finally start talking to her again? And will Sarah come to understand the importance of her connection with Ivy and Alicia, and the true nature of her own power…before it’s too late?

My Thoughts: This second book in the series continues with Sarah Smith/Cassandra Reed's adventures as she continues her education at a school for magic and tries to find her role in life. She wants to find and help other changelings like herself. She has heard that there might be an enclave in the Scottish mountains where some changelings can be found.

When she is invited to spend the summer with her friend Alicia in Scotland, they all think it would be a great time to search for changelings. However, Mrs. McCray isn't very welcoming to the girl her son Gavin has taken a fancy to. She wants to keep Gavin all to herself. 

The girls do manage to elude their very persistent chaperon and discover where the changelings are being held, but that doesn't mean they have a plan to rescue them or any idea what to do with them once they have freed them.

Also, Mr. Crenshaw is still determined to wrest the Mother Book from Sarah's hands and place it with a more worthy candidate. So the girls aren't surprised to discover that Mr. Crenshaw is behind this school for changelings. He has plans for them. But someone has their own plans for Mr. Crenshaw and an old enemy makes a reappearance.

This was an engaging story filled with magical devices and magical spells. It is also a coming of age story and a great story of friendship.

Favorite Quote:

"Remember, ladies do not perspire. We glow with the dew of our exertions."

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

Book & Audio Review: Changeling by Molly Harper

Changeling
Author: Molly Harper
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Series: Sorcery and Society (Book 1)
Publication: NYLA; 1st edition (August 22, 2018); Audible Studios (August 22, 2018)
Length: 278 p.; 8 hours and 21 minutes

Description: Sorcery and Society Book 1 “Witty and classic, Changeling had everything I wanted from a coming of age story: friendship, scandal, and a heroine learning to flex her magical muscles. If you liked Harry Potter, you will love CHANGELING!” — Kristen Simmons, critically acclaimed author of the Article 5 series

If 14-year-old Cassandra Reed makes it through her first day at Miss Castwell’s Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies without anyone discovering her secret, maybe, just maybe, she’ll let herself believe that she really does belong at Miss Castwell’s.

Except Cassandra Reed’s real name is Sarah Smith and up until now, she lived her whole life in the Warren, serving a magical family, the Winters, as all non-magical “Snipes” are bound by magical Guardian law to do. That is, until one day, Sarah accidentally levitates Mrs. Winter’s favorite vase in the parlor... But Snipes aren’t supposed to have magical powers…and the existence of a magical Snipe threatens the world order dictated during the Guardians’ Restoration years ago. If she wants to keep her family safe and protect her own skin, Sarah must figure out how to fit into posh Guardian society, master her newfound magical powers and discover the truth about how an ordinary girl can become magical.

My Thoughts: Sarah Smith has lived all of her fourteen years as a servant to the magical Winter family along with her parents and sister. She's been the sickly one, taking a daily pill, which leaves her weak. But she starts skipping the pills and learns that she has magic when she levitates a vase her employer particularly treasures.

With her secret out, her mistress Mrs. Winters decides to make use of Saran, now renamed Cassandra Reed, by sending her to the exclusive Miss Castwell's School for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies. 

Cassandra has a lot of trouble there. She's behind on her magical education; she attracts the attention of a group of mean girls. Then she opens a previously sealed magical book and becomes the focus of a lot of attention she'd rather avoid. She's also afraid that her real background will be discovered. 

But Cassandra makes some friends and even attracts a boy or two and life gets good. Until the revenants start arriving.

This was a fun coming of age story with both magic and adventure. It is also the first book of a trilogy. I listened to the audiobook of this one and enjoyed the narration. 

Favorite Quote:

"For future reference, my dear, whenever you can't find a proper of polite response to something, you simply say, 'How lovely' until you can determine the best course of conversation."

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

Book Review: Beyond by Mercedes Lackey

Beyond
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Series: The Founding of Valdemar (Book 1)
Publication: DAW (June 15, 2021)

Description: The long-awaited founding of Valdemar comes to life in this new series from a New York Times bestselling author and beloved fantasist.

Within the Eastern Empire, Duke Kordas Valdemar rules a tiny, bucolic Duchy that focuses mostly on horse breeding. Anticipating the day when the Empire’s exploitative and militant leaders would not be content to leave them alone, Korda’s father set out to gather magicians in the hopes of one day finding a way to escape and protect the people of the Duchy from tyranny.

Kordas has lived his life looking over his shoulder. The signs in the Empire are increasingly dire. Under the direction of the Emperor, mages have begun to harness the power of dark magics, including blood magic, the powers of the Abyssal Planes, and the binding and "milking" of Elemental creatures.

But then one of the Duchy’s mages has a breakthrough. There is a way to place a Gate at a distance so far from the Empire that it is unlikely the Emperor can find or follow them as they evacuate everyone that is willing to leave.

But time is running out, and Kordas has been summoned to the Emperor's Court.

Can his reputation as a country bumpkin and his acting skills buy him and his people the time they need to flee?  Or will the Emperor lose patience, invade to strip Valdemar of everything of worth, and send its conscripted people into the front lines of the Imperial wars?

My Thoughts: I have been reading the Valdemar books for years and years. So I was excited to find that Mercedes Lackey has chosen to write the story of how Valdemar came to be.

Duke Kordas Valdemar rules a small, rural duchy famous for breeding horses and making and selling rafts. He is proud of his reputation as a country bumpkin who lives in an uninteresting place. Staying out of the Emperor's mind is his goal.

Kordas was taken hostage for five years as a teen and lived in the Emperor's palace. He had a chance to see the way the empire worked and the way people were shaped to fit into it. He decided not to be brainwashed.

He is also keeping a major secret: his family has been planning a way to flee the empire with their people and goods for a couple of generations. They were waiting for mages who live secretly in Valdemar to find a way to gate them to a place far outside the Empire. Now that discovery has been made and it is time to put the plans into motion.

But, just as plans are getting underway, Kordas is called to the capitol to present his annual tribute of horses to the Emperor. He finds that things are not only worse than they were when he was a hostage but getting worse each day. He also finds new allies and the need for a bigger rescue than he could have imagined.

I enjoyed the world building in this story. I also enjoyed getting to know Kordas, his wife Isla, and his young sister-in-law Delia. There were many other characters who were well-developed and interesting people. The story was filled with action, adventure, and lots of moral dilemmas. 

I can't wait to see where this series goes next. 

Favorite Quote:

"Do what you can, do everything you can, do it to the best of your ability, and leave the rest to fate. Or the gods. Or random luck. Your choice," he advised. "By the time you get to be my age, you've learned to let a lot go."

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

Book and Audio Review: Cast in Deception by Michelle Sagara

Cast in Deception
Author: Michelle Sagara
Narrator: Khristine Hvam
Series: Chronicles of Elantra (Book 13)
Publication: MIRA; Original edition (January 23, 2018); Harlequin Audio (January 23, 2018)
Length: 452 p.; 16 hours and 9 minutes

Description: WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?

Private Kaylin Neya thought her home couldn’t possibly get more crowded. But when one of her housemates, Annarion, decides to undertake the Barrani Test of Name, his friends refuse to let him face his task alone—and Kaylin’s sentient home, Helen, is the only structure capable of shielding the rest of Elantra from the magnitude of their power.

Annarion and Mandoran almost caused the destruction of the High Halls once already. Add nine of their closest friends, and the danger is astronomically higher—especially since these guests are at the heart of a political firestorm. Imprisoned almost a millennium ago, their recent freedom threatens the rulership of several prominent Barrani families, and the machinations of those Lords make it almost impossible to tell friend from foe.

As political tensions ramp up, the shadows beneath the High Halls are seeking a freedom that has never been possible before. Kaylin must find a way to keep those shadows from escaping, or that freedom will destroy her city, the empire and everything she holds dear.

My Thoughts: This episode of the Chronicles on Elantra focuses on the Barrani. It especially focuses on the cohort of young people who were sent, millennia ago, to take part in a ceremony that would give them great power or kill them. They didn't die but they didn't return either. Kaylin's friend Teela was the only one who made it home at the time of the ceremony. Two others made it back to Elantra more recently and have taken refuge in Kaylin's home because their time away changed them greatly.

Now, one of the two is determined to take the Barrani Test of Names and the rest of his cohort are determined to come to Elantra to take it with him. If this happens, it will greatly disrupt the political landscape of the Barrani since at least three of them are the rightful heirs to their family holding. Getting them home isn't going to be an easy task nor are they the people who left.

Kaylin is the last person that anyone would choose for a political task but she is dropped in the middle because she has invited them to be her house guests too. Since she already shares her home with a dragon - Lord Bellusdeo - and dragons and Barrani were ancient enemies, the political consequences are real.

While the complications of this plot would be enough to keep Kaylin busy, it is not the only concern. It is learned that someone in the High Court of the Barrani is dealing with Shadow which is the ancient enemy of all the races of Elantra.

This story takes place in a complex world. There are a variety of different races of beings with the humans like Kaylin being one of the least. The Empire is controlled by dragons with the Emperor considering the whole Empire as his hoard. Bellusdeo is an orphan dragon out of time who is of great interest to the Emperor because she happens to be the only female dragon. The Barrani are immortal and live in a caste system defined by politics. There are Leontines and other races too. The elements - earth, air, fire and water - have a sort of sentience and are kept in control by the Keeper. The world contains ancient sentient buildings like Kaylin's house Helen. Kaylin herself is the Chosen who has a number of marks all over her body that are words of power. She also has an acute sensitivity to magic.

Around the complex political plot are woven discussions of friendship and family, loneliness and loss, love and treachery. Each of the races has their own definitions of these and Kaylin, whose own basis for decision making is the law, struggles to understand the beings she considers her friends.

This was an excellent story that demands a sequel. I can hardly wait to read it.

Favorite Quote:

"I'd tell you to mind your own business. I have, however, lived with you, and what you define as your own business is almost criminally broad." 

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

ARC Review: Beneath the Keep by Erika Johansen

Beneath the Keep 
Author: Erika Johansen
Series: The Queen of the Tearling (Book 4)
Publication: Dutton (February 2, 2021)

Description: As a kingdom descends into darkness and new alliances are forged under fire, a battle begins over a prophecy that will change the course of history in this much-anticipated stand-alone prequel to the bestselling Queen of the Tearling trilogy. 

The Tearling, founded as a utopia, has collapsed and reverted to feudalism. As the gap between rich and poor widens and famine threatens the land, rumors of a prophecy begin to spread: a great hope, a True Queen who will ascend and save the kingdom.

But rumors will not help Lazarus, a boy on the verge of manhood, trapped in the clandestine underworld known as the Creche. Enlisted from his earliest days to kill without mercy, he has never seen sun or sky, not until a quest for vengeance propels him aboveground. There he finds a calling amid a royal court rife with intrigue and danger, where he meets Niya, Princess Elyssa’s handmaid, who is not what she appears to be and whose true identity will spell death if revealed.

With a righteous rebellion gathering inside her kingdom, Princess Elyssa finds herself torn between duty to the throne and her growing loyalty to the Blue Horizon, a group of fierce idealists who promise radical change. Elyssa must choose quickly, for threats beset her on all sides, and the powers wielded by an uncanny seer and her shadowy master are preparing to decide the Princess’s fate for her. It is only a matter of time before Lazarus, Niya, and Elyssa will be called into the service of something greater than they have ever imagined: the fight for a better world.

My Thoughts: This prequel to the Tearling trilogy was a dark fantasy filled with intriguing characters. The story is told from multiple viewpoints including a young boy who was sold into the Creche as an infant and trained as a cage fighter in death matches and a lady-in-waiting to the Crown Princess who is an agent for the Blue Horizon group that wants social justice. The Crown Princess Elyssa also has a viewpoint role.

The story talks about a feudal world that is in the process of a revolution. Continuing drought has convinced some of the peasants chained to their land that they have to revolt. Led by Aislinn Martin who had seen her family killed by the bailiffs of Lady Andrews who owns the land after Aislinn caught her attention, the peasants take over a number of the estates on their way to the city to lay their case before the Queen.

Princess Elyssa sees that her mother is a tyrant much more concerned with her own comfort and holding on to her authoritarian grip on her country than caring for her people. Elyssa was raised by a secret member of Blue Horizon and wants to make things better for her people. But she is taken over by a man from the Creche with a grudge against the Royal Family and his witch Brenna who has magical powers.

Our cage fighter who knows himself as Christian but has earned the fighting name of Lazarus has one friend. She was sold into prostitution when she was a child and has taken to using the poppy to cope with her life. When she disappears into the land above, Christian is determined to find her which leads him to work his way into the Royal Guard as a guard for Princess Elyssa.

The story is dark and complicated and each character has to face all sorts of trials. The worldbuilding was interesting. I especially liked the chapter headings which feature quotes from books written about the time period where our characters are living their lives. 

This was an interesting and exciting story whether or not you were already familiar with the trilogy. It has made me want to read the trilogy again with better understanding of what led to the events there.

Favorite Quote:

"No," Elyssa whispered, turning away from the wall and moving back to the window to stare out across her kingdom, this damnable, maddening kingdom that had once had such potential to be great. Everyone seemed content to accept the fall...everyone except the Blue Horizon, with their better world.

It doesn't matter that they don't know how to get there, Elyssa realized suddenly. It doesn't even matter if we never do. The important thing is to die trying. 

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

ARC Review: The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier

The Harp of Kings
Author: Juliet Marillier
Series: Warrior Bards (Book 1)
Publication: Ace (September 3, 2019)

Description: A young woman is both a bard—and a warrior—in this thrilling historical fantasy from the author of the Sevenwaters novels.

Eighteen-year-old Liobhan is a powerful singer and an expert whistle player. Her brother has a voice to melt the hardest heart, and is a rare talent on the harp. But Liobhan's burning ambition is to join the elite warrior band on Swan Island. She and her brother train there to compete for places, and find themselves joining a mission while still candidates. Their unusual blend of skills makes them ideal for this particular job, which requires going undercover as traveling minstrels. For Swan Island trains both warriors and spies.

Their mission: to find and retrieve a precious harp, an ancient symbol of kingship, which has gone missing. If the instrument is not played at the upcoming coronation, the candidate will not be accepted and the kingdom will be thrown into disarray. Faced with plotting courtiers and tight-lipped druids, an insightful storyteller, and a boorish Crown Prince, Liobhan soon realizes an Otherworld power may be meddling in the affairs of the kingdom. When ambition clashes with conscience, Liobhan must make a bold decision—and the consequences may break her heart.

My Thoughts: This is a pretty standard start to an epic fantasy well-told by a master of the genre. It takes three young people - Liobhan, Brocc, and Dau - who are students at an elite academy where they are training in weaponry and other skills in the hopes of being chosen to join the company. Liobhan is a warrior who also has skills and a musician and singer. She is talented and tricky. Her brother Brocc is the more gifted musician but is also a smart and skilled warrior. Dau is their competitive rival who is determined to be the finest warrior so that he will be chosen to stay with the company.

The three are chosen to go along with two elders to find a missing harp that is needed for the coronation of the new king of Breifne. They will be going undercover, complete with new, fabricated identities, to locate the harp and restore it before midsummer when the coronation will be held. All of the roles are difficult but Liobhan, who has to become shy and diffident, and Dau, who has to play the role of a mute stable hand, have the hardest time.

They learn rather quickly that the presumed heir - Rodan - is a cowardly bully who feels entitled to whatever he wants when he wants it. He has been abusive to his younger sister and his sister's nursemaid. When his attempted assault on Liobhan is thwarted, she is the one who is forced to make a public apology. Worst of all, Rodan will make a terrible king because he doesn't have any respect for the Fair Folk who also inhabit his land. In fact, he doesn't believe in them.

Each chapter is the story is told from the viewpoint of one of the three young people. In each we not only advance the plot but learn about each one's past and the reasons for their behavior. It was an enjoyable story that is the first in a new series.

Favorite Quote:

I've taught myself to joke about such matters -- the lusts of the flesh, the games men and women play -- in order to be accepted as a man among men. But the future I plan for myself has no room for such things. The forbidden door must stay closed. Locked and bolted forever. I learned my lesson early. To open your heart is to invite pain. It is to lose yourself. 

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

Book Review: The Hills Have Spies by Mercedes Lackey

The Hills Have Spies
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Series: Valdemar: Family Spies (Book 1)
Publication: DAW (June 5, 2018)

Description: In this new series, set in the bestselling world of Valdemar, Heralds Mags and Amily must continue to protect the realm of Valdemar while raising their children and preparing them to follow in their footsteps.

Mags, Herald Spy of Valdemar, and his wife, Amily, the King’s Own Herald, are happily married with three kids. The oldest, Peregrine, has the Gift of Animal Mindspeech—he can talk to animals and persuade them to act as he wishes. Perry's dream is to follow in his father's footsteps as a Herald Spy, but he has yet to be Chosen by a Companion.

Mags is more than happy to teach Perry all he knows. He regularly trains his children, including Perry, with tests and exercises, preparing them for the complicated and dangerous lives they will likely lead. Perry has already held positions in the Royal Palace as a runner and in the kitchen, useful places where he can learn to listen and collect information.

But there is growing rural unrest in a community on the border of Valdemar. A report filled with tales of strange disappearances and missing peddlers is sent to Haven by a Herald from the Pelagirs. To let Perry experience life away from home and out in the world, Mags proposes that his son accompany him on an expedition to discover what is really going on.

During their travels, Perry’s Animal Mindspeech allows him to communicate with the local wildlife of the Pelagirs, whose connection to the land aids in their investigation. But the details he gleans from the creatures only deepen the mystery. As Perry, Mags, and their animal companions draw closer to the heart of the danger, they must discover the truth behind the disappearances at the border—before those disappearances turn deadly.

My Thoughts: This new Valdemar story takes place after Mags and Amily have married and had three children. Mags is a Herald spy and Amily is the King's Own herald. They have three children. This story talks about a trip Mags takes with his oldest son, thirteen-year-old Perry.

All of Mags and Amily's children have been taught to take care of themselves and to be spy-like. It is likely that they will all choose to serve Valdemar whether or not they are chosen by Companions and become Heralds themselves. Perry has animal mindspeech which allows him to talk to most kinds of animals. He can see through their eyes which is a great advantage for a budding spy. He can also direct them to do things for him.

When a retired herald sends a message about a large number of people going missing around his area, Mags decides to investigate and decides to take Perry along for a chance at some training outside the city. This herald's village is on the edge of the Pelagirs which has long been known for strange events and beings.

They soon find themselves involved in a situation that is much more complex and dangerous than Mags would have wanted for a training mission. Someone is kidnapping lone travelers and taking them somewhere unknown. When they discover that the kidnapper has mindspeech powerful enough to control a whole troop of mercenaries, Mags is all for sending information back to the King and keeping out of the way. But Perry feels the need to do something NOW.

Perry and his new companion Larral who is a kyree go to the kidnapper's fortress in the guise of a Dog-Boy to take care of the mastiff pack that is there. Perry puts on the persona of a simple-minded kid which, along with his shields, helps him conceal his mindspeech from the kidnapper. The only problem is that he doesn't have a way back out of the fortress and things are getting more and more dangerous as the kidnapper tries to enhance his mindspeech with blood magic and gets more insane all the time. He even awakens the spirit of the fortress and creates another enemy for himself.

There was all sorts of tension in this story as Perry and Larral investigate inside and Mags tries to figure out how to rescue his son and neutralize the kidnapper before he gets the idea of invading Valdemar.

I enjoyed this coming of age story. Perry's experiences give him a new point of view on his father and his decisions mature him. I can't wait to read more in this new series to learn more about Mags and Amily's other children.

Favorite Quote:

Suddenly...his father wasn't all-knowing and all-seeing. Suddenly he realized that as smart and observant and clever as his father was, there were still things he didn't know.

And what was more, his father was willing to admit that he didn't know them.

And that unsettling understanding made him feel a little as if he had been struck by lightning. 

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