Friday, October 20, 2023

On Thin Ice by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey Release Blitz

Sorry can be a difficult word to believe, but trusting your heart is everything.

A young adult hockey romance filled with making amends, family, friends, and discovering the real person inside while juggling the crazy, upside-down world of high school.

Jonah Robinson has really messed up. He’s spent the last year hanging out with someone who wasn’t leading him in a good direction. Now that Felix has seen the light, perhaps it’s time for Jonah to do the same. Making amends is not going to be easy when he’s not exactly been the nicest guy at Chesterford. With the help of his family and a special friend at the school, Jonah is ready to try to make things right with those he wronged. The first person on that long redemption list is Tyler, the brightest player on the Coyotes, at least in Jonah’s eyes. He’s taken a thousand pictures of Tyler for the school paper, but he’s going to have to learn how to develop more than just negatives if he wants to grow close to Tyler.

Tyler Corrigan’s dad has left, his mom is terrified he’ll come back, and it’s Tyler who’s left to keep his little family in one piece. The only respite from real life is playing hockey, and he’s an important part of the Chesterford Coyotes. Despite not being the biggest person on the ice, speed is his superpower, and the team has his back during the worst of the bullying he’s had to endure. His friends make him feel safe when his real world is full of fear, but no one can protect his heart when an awkward and messed up Jonah—one of the worst of his bullies—is suddenly around every corner, wanting to make things right.

Sorry can be a difficult word to believe, but trusting your heart is everything.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Chesterford Coyotes series!
For book one, Off the Ice, click HERE.

 

Add to Goodreads.

 

On Thin Ice by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Kobo  ~  Smashwords
Paperback (US)

 

 

Excerpt



A shadow fell across my books, and I sighed, hoping to hell it wasn’t someone who wanted to talk to me because this essay on evolutionary principles wouldn’t write itself. I waited for the shadow to leave, or move, or something, but it seemed like I was waiting in vain, and finally, when I couldn’t ignore it any more, I glanced up.

Jonah.

My flight instinct kicked in, but eased almost immediately when I realized it was just Jonah and there was no sign of Miles. Talk about a Pavlov’s dog-type reaction.

Jonah was mostly okay when it was just him, a bit of a dick for watching things go down, but okay when he was solo. Not that we talked, because if we were on our own, he would move away to avoid me, and then scurry off in any direction he could find. Only, here he was standing in the light and staring down at me, and I could see his mouth moving.

All I could hear was the chorus of Defying Gravity, and I gestured to my ears to indicate the buds under my layered pink hair.

He nodded and indicated I take them out. Fuck. If I removed them, I’d have to talk to him, and I didn’t have it in me to have a heated chat about whatever made Jonah look so determined.

He stared at me.

I stared back.

Then, with a sigh, I pulled out the buds and the song stopped.

“Hi,” he said after a pause. I glanced past him, making sure Miles hadn’t in fact made his way into the study room and was waiting to pounce on me. He’d already threatened me with payback for turning him in and said that in the less than thirty seconds he’d had before his father pushed him out of the main door.

I’ll get you for doing this. That was what Miles had snarled at me. It didn’t help that Miles’ dad had sneered, snorted in disgust, and then, shoved his son in the back. The parting words from his dad were just as nasty as Miles were—the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

You couldn’t take that kid out? Didn’t raise you to be a freaking loser.

I knew all about shitty fathers, and for a moment, I recognized the hate in his father that meant maybe Miles never stood a chance. I knew how hard it was to fight out from under all the hate, but I’d had Mom, and she’d been my guiding light every single day of my life.

Maybe Miles’ mom was as much of a loser as his dad?

He couldn’t be more wrong about me making the complaint—nothing good came from involving outside parties after threats of intimidation—just ask my mom. I had no idea who’d accused the two boys of bullying, given it was anonymous, but it definitely hadn’t been me. If I thought it was worth bothering with, I would have reported things long ago, but I had knowledge of bigger bullies than Miles, and had terrifying firsthand experience of what happened when an aggressor was backed into a corner.

“And?” I prompted Jonah, who was bouncing on his toes a little, as if he couldn’t stay still. I waited patiently, and when he opened his mouth a couple of times, just to shut it again, I was about done with waiting for him to talk and picked up the buds to continue my research.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted, his dark eyes shining with emotion.

I could feel the gaze of all the students in the study room focused on whatever was going on here. I should have gone to the library—no one goes there to study except the kids who actually had to try really hard to do well in subjects. Now was the perfect time for me to make a big thing of him standing there; humiliate him, shout at him, rail at him for all the times he could have done more than just watch.

Instead, because I was so torn between understanding and the hateful need for revenge, I deliberately replaced my earbuds and bent my head to the book open on the desk. He was still there. Still bouncing.

Then, he placed something on the corner of the desk and walked away. I refused to watch him leave.

He’d left me a candy bar, my favorite—Snickers—right there with a Post-it note stuck to the front. It held one word. Sorry.

Only then did I glance the way he’d gone, to find him watching me through the glass of the door, a hopeful expression demanding I acknowledge the weird-ass gift.

I nodded.

Then immediately pretended to go back to studying.

It was safer not to engage.

 

 

Reviews


Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Shannan☆☆☆☆
On Thin Ice is the second book in the Chesterford Coyotes series. It can be read as a standalone, but I think it would read better if you read in the order the authors intended. On Thin Ice is a young adult, high school hockey, teen-angst, enemies-to-friends-to-boyfriends read.

Jonah is newer to Chesterford and is there on a scholarship. He was shy and somehow got in with Felix and Miles. He hated the bullying Miles did but stood by while he did it. So he was as much to blame as Miles was. Jonah wants to be a better, kinder human and the best way to do that is to distance himself from Miles and make amends to those he hurt, starting with Tyler. Tyler happens to be best friends with Soren, who is now dating Felix, and Felix and Jonah have a lot to work out between them.

On Thin Ice is a super cute at moments very heavy read. I loved how Tyler made Jonah work for his forgiveness. I can't wait to see what's next for this series! I am not a usual young adult reader but I am so invested in these characters!

 

 

Author Bio


RJ Scott

USA Today bestselling author RJ SCOTT has written over one hundred and fifty romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their lives, always with a happy ever after.

She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week’s break from writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of chocolates she couldn’t defeat.

Connect with RJ Scott

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  TikTok  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: RJ Scott – Special Secret Group
Facebook Group: MM Hockey Romance

 



V.L. LOCEY loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.)

She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted fowl, and two Jersey steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand.


Connect with V.L. Locey

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: V.L. Locey – Vixens Reading Group
Facebook Group: MM Hockey Romance

 
 

Hosted by

Love Lane Books Promotions.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of On Thin Ice (Chesterford Coyotes #2) by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey to read and review.

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Off the Ice by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey

Fighting is easy, friendship is hard, but love is everything.

A coming-of-age love story with high school, hockey rivalry, friendship, family, and coming out.

Soren’s life changes in an instant when he and his younger brother are adopted by hockey royalty. Making sense of his new life is hard enough, but when he’s enrolled in a private school it means facing a whole new set of problems. Navigating friendship, family, and hockey is one thing, but being attracted to the boy who vexes him is a whole new thing.

Felix has a reputation to protect. He's the kid who seems to have everything but looks can be deceiving. Spinning lies about his perfect life, he’s created a fantasy world that even he has started to believe. Only, it’s not long before everything crumbles, all of his pretty lies are revealed, and only his closest rival sees through his pain and stands by him.

Fighting is easy, friendship is hard, but love is everything.

 

Add to Goodreads.

 

Off the Ice by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Kobo  ~  Smashwords
Paperback (US)

 

 

Excerpt



Just as I was thinking of Felix’s face meeting a fist, he shot to his feet, gave Tyler a shove, and jumped on the smaller guy when Tyler fell off the bench to the floor. I reacted instantly, and was into the fray in a second, rolling Felix off Tyler with a body check that would have cleared any of the Railers off their skates. Not really, but it sounded boss. Tyler was smaller than most, a speed demon on ice, but we protected him—I protected him.

“Get the fuck off me!” Felix snarled, swinging at me as we grappled for control. He was strong, about my height and weight, but I had the advantage. Or I thought I did. He swung back in a flash, clocking me in the mouth. My front teeth dug into my lower lip, and I tasted blood, which kind of pissed me off. We wrestled around amid shouts from our teammates until I managed to get him under control. Mostly.

He was splayed out on the floor, his face pressed into a pair of wet sneakers lying in front of a locker. I put my knee into his back while the other guys scrambled to get Tyler on his feet.

“What the hell, Sinclair?” I barked down at Felix. We never used our full last names, not since he’d decided that having gay dads meant I didn’t deserve to inherit both last names. Whatever. He hated that I responded in kind and that was just one more point against the freaking idiot.

“Get off my back, Rowe!” he snarled, adding something else to the comment, which was hard to make out since his face was jammed into a skanky, soggy grey and black Nike belonging to one of the guys who had run here across the sodden field hockey field. Caleb had kicked them off to wring out his socks but had yet to dress his smelly feet yet. Caleb liked to hear us complain about his foot stink for some reason. Dude was weird.

It sounded like Felix might have used a queer slur, but I couldn’t be sure it was the F-word although I’d heard him use it before. He’d should think twice about using that in front of me. My new family was all kinds of queer, as was I and a few other players. Coach also did not put up with any racist, sexist, or queer slurs. I’d already hit him once, way back, when he started shit about my dads, but that had ended up with me in an office with my new dads and wondering if they were going to send me back in the system.

Of course they hadn’t—they loved me and Milo and wanted us as their sons, along side their daughter. We were family and it was all official and everything. Still the thought that I’d disappoint my dads meant I genuinely tried not to rise to Felix and hit him again.

But he’d jumped Tyler, and that wasn’t right.

 

 

Reviews


Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Shannan☆☆☆☆
Off the Ice is the first book in the Chesterford Coyotes series. It is a coming of age, young adult, enemies-to-boyfriends, hockey read full of teen drama and I'm here for it!

Soren hasn't had the easiest childhood. He was adopted with his brother by two hockey gods. He's extremely protective of his family and his friends. Felix, on the other hand, plays the part of the snobby rich kid with a chip on his shoulder. As you learn about his family dynamic you understand why he's so angry all the time.

Felix is just figuring out who he is, and Soren is bringing up feelings in him he's not used to. Soren takes the time to actually get to know the real Felix instead of the bully he pretends to be. I was so invested in this quick read. I loved seeing the way Felix gave his dad a chance and his dad finally put him first. Not a huge young adult reader but I can't wait to see where this series goes!

 

 

Author Bio


RJ Scott

USA Today bestselling author RJ SCOTT has written over one hundred and fifty romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their lives, always with a happy ever after.

She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week’s break from writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of chocolates she couldn’t defeat.

Connect with RJ Scott

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  TikTok  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: RJ Scott – Special Secret Group
Facebook Group: MM Hockey Romance

 



V.L. LOCEY loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.)

She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted fowl, and two Jersey steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand.


Connect with V.L. Locey

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: V.L. Locey – Vixens Reading Group
Facebook Group: MM Hockey Romance

 
 

ARC provided by

Love Lane Books Promotions.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Off the Ice (Chesterford Coyotes #1) by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey to read and review.

Friday, May 12, 2023

This Is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde

A little party never killed nobody…

Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Hazel Wood are cordially invited to spend one fateful night surviving an elite private school’s epic masquerade ball in Jen Wilde’s debut thriller, This Is the Way the World Ends.

As an autistic scholarship student at the prestigious Webber Academy in New York City, Waverly is used to masking to fit in—in more ways than one. While her classmates are the children of the one percent, Waverly is getting by on tutoring gigs and the generosity of the school’s charming and enigmatic dean. So when her tutoring student and resident “it girl” asks Waverly to attend the school’s annual fundraising Masquerade disguised as her, Waverly jumps at the chance—especially once she finds out that Ash, the dean’s daughter and her secret ex-girlfriend, will be there.

The Masquerade is everything Waverly dreamed of, complete with extravagant gowns, wealthy parents writing checks, and flowing champagne. Most importantly, there’s Ash. All Waverly wants to do is shed her mask and be with her, but the evening takes a sinister turn when Waverly stumbles into a secret meeting between the dean and the school’s top donors—and witnesses a brutal murder. This gala is harboring far more malevolent plots than just opening parents’ pocketbooks. Before she can escape or contact the authorities, a mysterious global blackout puts the entire party on lockdown. Waverly’s fairy tale has turned into a nightmare, and she, Ash, and her friends must navigate through a dizzying maze of freight elevators, secret passageways, and back rooms if they’re going to survive the night.

And even if they manage to escape the Masquerade, with technology wiped out all over the planet, what kind of world will they find waiting for them beyond the doors?

 

Add to Goodreads.

 

This Is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde

Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Hardcover (US)
Wednesday Books (Macmillan)

 

 

Reviews


Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Veronica☆☆☆☆
I love a good story about the end of the world, and I was really looking forward to reading This Is the Way the World Ends. This story of Waverly, an autistic, queer teen from Queens, who attends the prestigious Webber Academy. Waverly agrees to go to the school’s yearly masquerade ball, pretending to be the very popular student, Caroline, in the hopes of getting to see her ex, Ash.

We learn about Waverley and her life and family and friends. The story felt like it took a bit to get going but it may just have been me being eager to learn more about what was going on. There were even a few scenes that took us back to Waverly’s past and her romance with Ash. While the young love was sweet, I confess I was a little annoyed, because I was more interested in what was going on in the here and now.

I needed to be patient because when the big night of the ball arrives, the story absolutely takes off. Tension ramps up along with the action and danger. I was excited to soak up the action as Waverly and her friends fight for their lives. I was rooting for them. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat, and I was even shocked at one point because something happened that I did not see coming.

Once it got going, I had a blast reading This Is the Way the World Ends. This is a book I’d definitely recommend if you enjoy young adult apocalyptic stories.

 

 

Author Bio

JEN WILDE (she/they) is the queer, disabled author of Queens of Geek, The Brightsiders and Going Off Script. They write unapologetically queer stories about unlikely heroes, awkward romantics and chosen families. Jen’s books have been praised in Teen Vogue, Buzzfeed, Autostraddle, Vulture and Bustle. Their debut, Queens of Geek, made the 2018 Rainbow Book List and the Amelia Bloomer List. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Jen lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her wife, where she collects books, candles and foster cats. When she isn’t writing, Jen spends her time shouting about queer books on TikTok. Connect with her online or visit her website.

Connect with Jen Wilde

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  TikTok  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 
 

ARC provided by

Wednesday Books.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided with a free copy of This Is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde to read and review.

Friday, November 18, 2022

The Serpent in Heaven by Charlaine Harris

Only Felicia's courage will keep her alive.

#1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns to her alternate history of the United States where magic is an acknowledged but despised power in this fourth installment of the Gunnie Rose series.

Felicia, Lizbeth Rose’s half-sister and a student at the Grigori Rasputin school in San Diego—capital of the Holy Russian Empire—is caught between her own secrets and powerful family struggles. As a granddaughter of Rasputin, she provides an essential service to the hemophiliac Tsar Alexei, providing him the blood transfusions that keep him alive. Felicia is treated like a nonentity at the bedside of the tsar, and at the school she's seen as a charity case with no magical ability. But when Felicia is snatched outside the school, the facts of her heritage begin to surface. Felicia turns out to be far more than the Russian-Mexican Lizbeth rescued. As Felicia’s history unravels and her true abilities become known, she becomes under attack from all directions. Only her courage will keep her alive.

Don’t miss our reviews of other books in the Gunnie Rose series!
For book two, A Longer Fall, click HERE.
For book three, The Russian Cage, click HERE.

 

Add to Goodreads.

 

The Serpent in Heaven by Charlaine Harris

Book 4
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Hardcover (US)
Saga Press (Simon & Schuster)

 

 

Reviews


Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Erica☆☆☆☆☆
The Serpent in Heaven is the fourth installment in the Gunnie Rose series. The first three narrated by Lizbeth. The novel (and I assume going forth) is narrated by our gunnie's little sister, Felicia. This cannot be read as a standalone without massive confusion, start with An Easy Death.

Gunnie Rose is such a unique series, across the board. From the dystopian setting, in an alternate early twentieth century, the inventive world building, and intriguing magical and political system. I've never read anything like this before. The Gunnie Rose series is truly one of a kind.

Felicia is in a precarious situation. She is seen as little else than a blood donor for the tsar, as well as a scholarship student at the school, with little to no magic. Since she has been keeping her magic under wraps, I understood the bias when it came to students at a magical school not accepting her. What I don't understand is the bias when it comes to being the blood donor. In order to be of aid to the tsar, that means Felicia is a direct descendant of the tsar himself (his niece and lifeline). Felicia is of royal blood, keeping their precious tsar alive, and they can't even give her an allowance. I felt this was a bizarre mindset. She ought to be one of the highest paid members in the kingdom, not the lowliest.

From the streets of Mexico, Felicia is still shouldering the burdens of her past. Her drunk father and cruel uncle using her for their own gains, while suppressing her natural age and shape for her supposed protection.

Now a year later, the effects of her father's spell are finally dissipating, Felicia growing into the shape and size of a young woman of fifteen. Not that Felicia is sure of her age. Felicia's excitement was easily relatable, as was her worry. Now that she is considered a fully grown woman, everyone is plotting the best way to marry her off for their own gains, no differently than her father treated her.

The girl is lonely, no friends and only a sister far away, which makes her vulnerable. She would do anything to have a support system and family. This is where I'm confused. In order to be a blood donor, she must be a blood relative to the tsar. Why doesn't his family see her as his family? They're her uncle and aunt, and their children are her cousins. The other donors are her father's siblings and her cousins. Yet the entire system is in place to see her only as a cow – cows that keep being slaughtered to eradicate the tsar's blood source.

Action-packed from the first page, Felicia is being hit from all sides. As an orphan who has been thrust into her father's family as a donor, she never gave thought to her mother's family, who shows up out of nowhere to attempt to kidnap and kill those all around her. At the same time, someone is still offing her donor relatives. Added in with the constant need to marry her off.

Eli (Lizbeth's husband, Felicia's brother-in-law), his family takes to Felicia, his sisters and brother; Eli's brother, Paul, he takes to Felicia too much as she grows into her womanliness. This draws a wedge between Felicia and the matriarch of the family, which makes Felicia rightfully insulted. I appreciated Felicia's setting of boundaries and not just accepting those unkind words from someone she felt loved her.

There is also hesitancy in Felicia when it comes to Paul, which I appreciated. Even though she is far beyond her years in life experience, after struggling to survive day to day, she has not yet grown into her body. While kind and supportive, Felicia senses Paul is a Nice Guy. Hopefully he grows out of those toxic tendencies.

Just as with Lizbeth, Felicia is a strong character, and I adored looking at the world through her lens. She is a fighter and a survivor, but also kind, selfless, compassionate, protective, and empathetic. She does the right thing, especially when it's hard. She stands up for herself and others. She doesn't resist authority, but she does speak up when she recognizes they're on the wrong path. A leader who knows when to follow someone worthy. A good role model.

Highly recommended to Charlaine Harris fans. I look forward to watching Felicia grow into womanhood and into her magical power. I cannot wait to see what is in store for her in the next installment and the next.

 

 

Author Bio

CHARLAINE HARRIS is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing for over thirty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area. She has written four series, and two stand-alone novels, in addition to numerous short stories, novellas, and graphic novels (cowritten with Christopher Golden). Her Sookie Stackhouse books have appeared in twenty-five different languages and on many bestseller lists. They’re also the basis of the HBO series True Blood. Harris now lives in Texas, and when she is not writing her own books, she reads omnivorously. Her house is full of rescue dogs.

Connect with Charlaine Harris

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 
 

ARC provided by

Saga Press.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose #4) by Charlaine Harris to read and review.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

House of Curses by K.A. Linde Release Blitz

Available Now. House of Curses by K.A. Linde. Amazon. Apple Books. Nook. Google Books. Kobo.

USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde returns to the Royal Houses series with House of Curses: the story of Kerrigan Argon, a half-Fae, half-human as she seeks her place in an unforgiving world filled with magic, mayhem, and romance. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Holly Black, and V.E. Schwab.

Against all odds, Kerrigan Argon passed her dragon training. She’s now an official member of the Society. Everything should be well. But somehow, nothing is.

Her dark prince, Fordham Ollivier, has disappeared in hopes to beak his curse.

An unwanted wedding looms in her future.

And the council election draws ever nearer. An election that she’s been unceremoniously nominated for.

If all of that wasn’t enough, the Red Masks, an anti-half Fae, anti-human terrorist organization, are gaining ground. All because they have a spy inside the mountain, inside the Society itself.

Someone is leading these monsters.

And Kerrigan is determined to stop them at all costs.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Royal Houses series!
For book one, House of Dragons, click HERE.
For book two, House of Shadows, click HERE.

 

Add to Goodreads.

 

House of Curses by K.A. Linde

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Paperback (US)

 

 

Reviews


Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Erica☆☆☆☆
House of Curses is the third installment in the Royal Houses series. I strongly recommend against reading as a standalone or out of series order. The entire series is told from Kerrigan's point of view. There are also mentions of a previous series, Ascension, which I somehow completely overlooked and will remedy that shortly. Honestly, I thought I had read it, but Goodreads says my recollection isn't true.

Let me preface this review by stating how the House of Curses ends on the mother of all cliffhangers, with Kerrigan left devastated. Had I not read this for review, I would have waited to read this novel once I had both books in my greedy little hands. I'm not the most patient of readers.

The first thought that popped into my head when I started on the first page was to wonder if I should have reread House of Shadows or at least hunted down my review for a refresher, as I had digested hundreds upon hundreds of books since I was immersed in this series.

K.A. Linde does an amazing job of coaxing the reader into remembering events in the previous novels without weighing down the pacing with info-dumps. Mad props to Linde for flawlessly pinging my memory.

With Ford MIA, Kerrigan is plunged into fearing for her soulmate's safety as well as her own. There is no way out of her betrothal with March. By day, Kerrigan is plagued with social engagements with her fiancé, and by night, she awakens in a panic to nightmares of what lies ahead in the future.

With the help of her nearest and dearest, as she works to regain the trust and adoration she once had for the father who abandoned her for her own good, as she strengthens her knowledge of her own abilities, as she runs for a seat in the Society, Kerrigan's plate is overloaded. But all she can think about is Ford, whether he is safe or if he is ever coming back to her. All the while, she is trying to take down the Red Masks.

House of Curses reveals how the fairytales are real. Adventurous treks through impassable cold landscapes, with a soulmate at her side, attempting to reach the witch's cottage. Political intrigue plaguing their world, forming factions of fae, human, and half-human/half-fae. As well as entering the spirit plane to commune with a being from another world altogether. Kerrigan's life and those she loves hinges in the balance of whether or not they can stop the Red Masks from decimating life as they know it. The novel packs a fast-paced punch.

The reason I couldn't give five stars versus four is simply a matter of taste. I'm not a fan of reading passages from the villains of the tale. Not only are the passages short, therefore I have zero emotional investment in the character, I find they spoil the pacing and delivery of information. I'm locked into Kerrigan, as I have for three books – I wish to learn beside her as I have for the entire journey. The reader knowing who the villains are while watching the heroine flounder is not something I find enjoyable nor intriguing. The switch in narration jars me from the story, gets me out of Kerrigan's head, to the point I tend to skip these passages, no matter the author or the series. Added with the fact that there were multiple villains, as well as from her friend's point of view.

Highly recommend this novel and series to fans of the author, as well as those who enjoy epic fantasy, fantasy, dragons, and fae. What I wouldn't do to get my greedy hands on the next installment, mind spinning as I have theories to a few revelations revealed and wish to be proven right. Since I've discovered my memory is faulty, I will be diving into Ascension soon.

 

 

Author Bio

K.A. LINDE is the USA Today bestselling author of the Avoiding series, Wrights, and more than thirty other novels. She has a master’s degree in political science from the University of Georgia, was the head campaign worker for the 2012 presidential campaign at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and served as the head coach of the Duke University dance team. She loves reading fantasy novels, binge-watching Supernatural, traveling, and dancing in her spare time.

She currently lives in Lubbock, Texas, with her husband and two super-adorable puppies.

Connect with K.A. Linde

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: K.A. Linde Books

 

 

Only you would find a way to reach me just so you could be mad at me.

 

Hosted by

Wildfire Marketing Solutions.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of House of Curses (Royal Houses #3) by K.A. Linde to read and review.