Tag: fantasy

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Charm School (The Demon’s Apprentice 4) Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

Once again another great addition to The Demon’s Apprentice series. Just like all of the others, I can’t get enough of this book’s brand of magic. For some reason, it feels more “magical” than other books I’ve read and I love that. What I love even more is Chance, there are not many MCs that make me as emotional as Chance does. Every time he mentions his trauma so casually I just want to hug him and tell him that pain shouldn’t be his norm. While I want to comfort him I’m also constantly impressed with his strength and his ability to be more than his past.

Now as much as I love this book as a whole I was disappointed with one thing. I wished there were way more magic classes. That seems strange but I was really looking forward to seeing Chance show all of the snobby bluebloods how smart he can be. I was also hoping there would be one of those scenes where the asshole teacher realize that “hey this kid’s smart and not at all like I thought they were.” I also just plain love classes in books because it’s a perfect way for me to learn more about the book’s world in a fun way. This lack of classes is actually a big factor for me so I have to give this book 7.5 out of 10.

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Dance of Thieves Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

Time to add another flawless addition to my collection!!! Everything in this book was to die for, and I can’t wait to read the next one. I don’t even know where to start since I loved it all, so this is going to be in a very random order. Oh, first off loved the maps every book should include maps if it’s a fantasy world(especially if it’s beautifully done and detailed like this one). But the map was a small fry compared to the amazingness of Jase and Kazi. They were amazing separate but even better together. That’s because they are the perfect example of a couple that challenges each other, which in turn makes them both better people. This book is also another remarkable example of how I prefer to consume romance books. That way is that all the other intrigue, action, and plot twist make the romance seem like a happy prize at the end and not the only focus. I just like it better when a book’s only focus isn’t just romance and Dance of Thieves excelled at the perfectly.

I even had an almost sadomasochistic relationship with the pain of not knowing if Jase and Kazi would end up together. It was soooooo fucking stressful, hoping against all hope that everything will work out but not seeing how it possibly could. At one point, it was so bad that I did something I try to never do, I skimmed the last page just to see if they were talking nicely together. I know I’m terrible, but even when I had that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to look out for it was still stressful. And I loved every painful second of it! (Although I do hope I never have to go through that again in the next book.)

There are even more minor details that I was extremely fond of, such as the riddles, the repetition of certain thoughts, and of course the tattoos. I am a humongous sucker for characters with tattoos, especially huge cool-ass tattoos. Basically, I couldn’t get enough of this book and think it 100% gets a 10 out of 10.

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One Dark Window Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

This book is going straight into the I can’t wait to read the sequel pile! There are so many parts of this book that I loved, so let us go ahead and jump right in on my favorite parts. My third favorite part of this book had the perfect combination of action and romance; as a reader who usually prefers the romance as a subplot and not the main plot, it was perfect. The second one is of course the type of magic this book has created. I’m always a sucker for a new type of magic that I haven’t come across before, it gives my imagination something new to think about. And my all-time favorite part of One Dark Window is the main characters and their relationship.

I feel like when many books try to make a strong female lead, she tends to be arrogant or the epitome of “I don’t need your help, can do it myself”. Which is fine sometimes, but I prefer when she is confident but is 100% willing to have help. Another thing I enjoyed about the couple was that in terms of power whether magically or physically they were equal in my eyes. The relationship didn’t feel unbalanced at all which I love to see. I can’t get enough of this book and am eagerly waiting for the sequel, 9 out of 10.

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The Queen’s Assassin Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

I decided to take a break from my Kindle recently and read some physical books for a change, wild I know! Before I get into the nitty-gritty of the book, I do have to say that I think I liked this book as a whole but was pretty disappointed/annoyed with certain parts. I also do think that I’ll enjoy the sequel a lot more when/if I ever read it.

So, there are 3 things, tropes, clichés, whatever you call them, that kept me from loving this book. While Cal is a bit guilty of them, most of the problems revolve around Shadow. First and foremost is how Shadow acts when she first meets Cal, specifically thinking he’s arrogant and trying to tell him what to do, and getting mad when he doesn’t listen to her. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking, “bitch, he doesn’t know you, and you’re the one that wanted to be his apprentice. Why are you trying to tell him what to do?”. It’s like she has no clue what being someone’s apprentice entails, aka doing what the mentor says and; not getting mad when they say they know more than you because they do!

The second and third things that really really really annoyed me both dealt with romance cliches. First was how Shadow (and Cal to a much lesser extent) got jealous when the other flirted/kissed the marks. I’m fine with jealousy in books when it’s more playful/not serious, but I got super aggravated when Shadow got unreasonably jealous when Cal had to kiss the duchess. I was just like, “girl, what do you expect. Trying to seduce the targets is part of the job of being an assassin/spy.”. I would have loved it if instead of getting jealous, they both joked and teased each other about the flirting instead. The second cliche that got to me was how they both assumed the other didn’t like them till the end. This one wasn’t as bad, but it’s just an overdone plot device in my mind, so I would have preferred it if it didn’t happen in the first place.

Even though I am interested in reading the next book I have to only give this one a 5.5 out of 10.

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Vision Quest (The Demon’s Apprentice 3) Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

Slowly making my way through this series and so far it hasn’t disappointed. As always I’m loving the characters and the magic but I noticed something that I really like about this series after reading this one. What I realized is that to me this series toes the line perfectly between being considered an adult fantasy book and a YA fantasy. It has that feeling that it could be a great book for all ages, which I love. Another thing that I’m a big fan of is Chance being the type of character that both does it on his own but also uses any help he can get. It always leads to the bad guy being fucked because they don’t expect the MC to bring help which is always entertaining.

While I’m loving this series so far there was one thing that annoyed me in this book. That, of course, is my disappointment that Winthrop didn’t stay a massive douche the whole time! I was looking forward to having that one character who’s a douche but not an asshole(there’s a difference). You know, the type of character that everyone loves to hate but still doesn’t want to see die? That’s what I was hoping Winthrop was going to be, but sadly he had to go and be a semi-decent person. But in all seriousness, I give this book an 8 out of 10 and I can’t wait to see what else happens, especially when Chance goes to magic school.

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Page of Swords (The Demon’s Apprentice #2) Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

As of right now, I’m only on the second book but I am really loving it so far. I’m really enjoying everything this book has to offer but my favorite parts so far are the type of magic this book’s world uses and how the author writes trauma. As someone who reads a shit ton of urban fantasy (like I’m not kidding half of my kindle is just urban fantasy), I would say I’m fairly experienced with the different types of magic in urban fantasy books. I would be comfortable saying that right now a lot of urban fantasy “magic” is much closer to superpowers than magic in my opinion. This is why I like this series so much, it has that feel of going back to the roots of magic. You know, more ritualistic magic, where everything from the crystal used to the position of the stars matter. It’s just a really nice breath of fresh air to have a type of magic that needs more then just will power.

Now, the magic is a great part of this book but the part that really gets to me with the excellent writing depicting trauma(especially in a teenager). The way Chance is written is perfect for me. The way he tries to ignore his traumatic past and only lets stuff slip occasionally is super impactful to me. Multiple times throughout the book a single line can make me cry. I’ll just be enjoying the magic and then bang tears! Especially every single mention of Chance not being able to sleep on his bed! It just makes me feel so sad and I just want to hug Chance and make everything safe for him. All in all, I’d give this book an 8 out of 10 and I can’t wait to get to the next one.

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The Heartstone Blade Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

Here’s the next installment of The Dark Ability series review. I am still loving it! One thing that really surprised me is the fact that I think I am way more invested in Rsiran’s blacksmithing ability than his Sliding. Every new skill/ability he learns just makes him more awesome which might be my favorite thing about this book. Sure having an OP main character right off the bat is great but I think it’s even better when the character slowly learns new “powers” over time to everyone’s shock. I just love those “oh shit he’s not a weakling” moments.

On the other hand, I have a love/hate relationship with those “I must keep secrets to protect you only for all of that to backfire and fuck everything up” moments which this book is a shining example of. So, I’m glad that part is over with and I can only hope the cast has learned their lesson on keeping secrets. While that part of the book is pretty frustrating there really only one thing I had trouble with in this book. That is Rsiran’s relationship with Jessa, specifically how quick it evolved into a real relationship. I guess as someone who’s used to a character pining after the love interest for at least 2 books before anything happens between them it was kind of shocking for them to all of a sudden be together with no preamble. That was the only thing I wished was different for this book. I wish there was a bit more build-up in their relationship. But even with this, I would still give the book an 8.5 out of 10 and I can’t wait till I finish the next one.

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The Dark Ability Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

I’ve been reading a lot of urban fantasy recently so I wanted to take a break and read some high fantasy. With a little scrolling on my kindle, I found The Dark Ability by DK Holmberg and decided to give it a try. All I need to say is that I started it earlier this week and I’m already on the second one(lucky me I thought it was a standalone for some reason at first)! So far I am loving this series. I will say this though I was a little disappointed at first because I thought Rsiran’s ability was going to be controlling shadows(which is my all-time favorite magic power) but teleporting is a good substitute for me.

Now back to the stuff I love. I wasn’t expecting to love the blacksmithing parts so much but that might be my favorite part. I also can’t get enough of thieves/burgeoning criminals in a fantasy setting and this book is satisfying that need. Especially since I keep coming across books about reformed thieves but that’s boring, I want sneaky boys who steal things! So, I can only hope that Rsiran keeps growing into the perfect criminal in the rest of the books. Besides Rsiran being an ideal character, the mystery in this story keeps me very intrigued. I can’t wait for all of the pieces to come together. I can keep talking about each separate part of this book that I love, but I’m just going to boil it down and say that this book is a 9 out of 10. And I can’t wait to see where it’s going!

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Fallen Apostle: Leonidas Review

Posted on by kimberlyheskett

Leonidas is the combination of some of my favorite character traits/tropes rolled into one. Let’s list them out sharp teeth, red eyes, tail, non-human in a human-majority town, and best of all a super strong intelligent badass who everyone underestimates. I love when a main character gets to put assholes in their place. Besides the awesome main character, I was also very intrigued by the whole world. I said this last book review I wrote but I’m saying it again, as a big fan of fantasy I enjoy every new take on a fantasy world. And this book gave me that.

As much as I loved this book, I just have one problem with it, and that’s how Blessings were described. At a certain point, it felt more like someone was giving instructions for a D&D game instead of something that is supposed to be special from a God. That’s the reason I think I was having trouble with how Blessings worked in the book. Blessings have that underlying connotation of being something holy and special but this book treated them like currency. I think I wouldn’t have had a problem with it if the author called the Blessings by some other word. But besides this one complaint, I can’t wait to see Leonidas reach his goals and would give this book a 7 out of 10.