Author: megs14malloy

NOW AVAILABLE: Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

~ megs14malloy

Hey bookworms! Welcome to my own personal gush fest, hosted by yours truly, party of 1, honoring the recent release of WICKED SAINTS by Emily A. Duncan. This is the first book in an all new YA Fantasy trilogy called, Something Dark and Holy. This is a debut novel for this author and guys, WOW. If this is Duncan’s debut, she is definitely an author to watch.

I picked this up on Monday, the day before release as I was generously provided a copy by the publisher, Wednesday Books, in exchange for an honest review, and I am hella obsessed with this story.

The tone of this is very grimdark and we all know, I live for that. Basically, in this world, there is a holy war that has been raging for centuries between two kingdoms: Kalyazin and Tranavia. We follow three main characters: Nadya, Serefin and Malachiasz.

The world is vast and complex, yet feels like nothing to learn. Last week I reviewed another YA Fantasy book, I won’t name here, but I mentioned how I felt like I needed to be taking notes as the town the characters lived in was being explained.

That shook me out of the story and made it hard for me to connect. With this book, even though this is a vastly more complex world, I have never felt that. When reading Wicked Saints, I feel like I am living these events along with the characters and have never felt like I didn’t understand what was going on or how the world worked.

This, to me, is a sign of a great fantasy construct; well thought out and balanced. Even though this story takes place in a world that is being created from scratch, although clearly based on Russian/Eastern European lore, culture, etc., it never feels overwhelming and in my opinion, does not suffer at all from the dreaded ‘first book in a series’ syndrome.

Nadya, the main female protagonist, is the most fascinating to me. She was raised in a monastery in the mountains of Kalyazin where the clerics and others can commune with their pantheon of gods. Nadya is very special as she is able to commune with all the gods and she can gain magical powers from them.

Even more interesting is the fact that the gods talk back! She wears a necklace around her neck with a different bead representing each of the different gods. Depending on the situation, and what powers she may need, she holds that bead and asks that god for help. The gods are all developed with their own personality and they can offer up guidance, a friendly chat or just be silent.

I love this aspect! It makes me think of the Disney animated movie, Hercules, all the different gods you meet in that and their personalities; so much fun. It is a very unique element. I have never read anything quite like this in a YA Fantasy before.

So, due to circumstances I won’t get into here, Nadya is forced to flee the monastery, fearing for her life, and once on the road bumps into a traveling trio that includes another of our main characters, Malachiasz.

Now, Malachiasz is a complex character and one that would be a little difficult to explain without going into too much of the story. Let’s just say he was once part of a very dangerous and secretive order of powerful blood mages in the kingdom of Tranavia called the Vultures.

Yep. The Vultures are hella creepy masked guys and gals with the most murderous of intentions. They are so scary in fact, they are referred to as ‘monsters’ by people outside the sect. Malachiasz didn’t like what they had going on so he defected. The only person known to have done so. Needless to say, he now finds himself on the wrong side of the law in Tranavia.

Our final main character is Serefin, the crown Prince of Tranavia. He has been leading armies for the past few years in the never-ending war with Kalyazin but has recently been summoned home by his father, the King. Serefin is convinced his father has one goal in mind, to take him out. Is he just paranoid or does his father really want to kill him? It is clear the King isn’t playing with a full deck and he is quite volatile and secretive; whispering around with the Vultures.

When Nadya, Malachiasz and their traveling companions arrive in the capital city, set on stopping the war, whatever the cost, they come into contact with Serefin and begin to wonder, exactly whose side is he on?

The writing in this is so delicious. Dark and gothic from the very start! If you love that kind of story, set in a harsh and unforgiving world, you need to pick this book up.

I have about 1/4 left to go and there is no way that I am not giving this 5-stars. I am already planning a reread — no joke. Most of all I am looking forward to discussing this with other readers. This is so compelling, I just know there is going to be a huge fandom for this story, this world, these characters and this author!

Click the link below for more info from the publisher:

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

I will have my full review up once I finish this book, most likely tonight! I am so excited to see how Duncan is going to wrap this up. I just can’t even imagine what ultimately is going to happen. There are so many ways it could go, all of them bloody. So, stay tuned for that, guys, and make sure you go get a copy of this for yourself!

Cheers & Happy Reading~

Blog Tour Announcement: The Last Hope (The Raging Ones #2)

~ megs14malloy

The Last Hope (The Raging Ones, #2)The Last Hope by Krista Ritchie

I GOT IT! I GOT IT!! I GOT IT!!!!

Thank you, Wednesday Books!!!

I will be participating in the Blog Tour for this release!!
Stay tuned for date and more details. It will be at some point in August.

If you haven’t read The Raging Ones yet and you like scifi, I definitely recommend you pick it up before this one releases.

Me to the cover of this book:

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Review: Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward

~ megs14malloy

Beautiful BadBeautiful Bad by Annie Ward
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Hey now!
This really came around at the end with a delightfully twisted finish. This being said, there were parts of this that definitely dragged for me. Upon reflection, I honestly think 50- to 100-pages could have been cut from this.

The setting of this was definitely unique. Beginning in Kansas, then shifting back in time and taking us over to Eastern Europe, Iraq and back to the United States, this was one of my favorite aspects of this book. It’s not often you read an Adult Thriller that has Macedonia and the Balkans as a backdrop.

Maddie, working as a Travel Writer, meets Ian while visiting her best friend, Joanna, in Macedonia. Joanna is working for a relief agency at the time and Ian is in private security. Along with some other Brits and Americans living there at the time, they chum around, drinking and getting to know one another.

Maddie is quite taken with Ian from the very beginning and despite Joanna’s warnings, she ends up with major heart eyes for him. Jo and Maddie have a huge falling out because of this and don’t speak for many years after…but she ends up marrying Ian, so there you go.

The story begins with a murder. That was exciting right off the bat! Then Maddie is seeking help for her depression and anxiety. Her meetings with her new psychologist, also interesting. Then the history begins…

…sometimes interesting, occasionally not. Also, at times, not super believable. The fact that Joanna and Maddie call each other ‘best friends’ is astounding. They are pretty terrible to each other. With friends like this, who needs enemies?

Slowly, we piece together Maddie and Ian’s courtship and marriage, as well as the birth of their only child, Charlie. Their relationship is also terrible. It’s never great. The fact that they are trying to sell this story as a beautiful marriage gone south is laughable.

The pace definitely picks up towards the end and although I managed to piece it together prior to the reveal, I did hella enjoy the ending. So, props to you, Annie Ward! I was satisfied with this and happy I read it. I would recommend this to people who enjoy literary fiction with a mysterious or thrilling twist. Avid Adult Thriller readers may be slightly underwhelmed.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Park Row Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. As always, I appreciate the opportunity!

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March Wrap-Up 2019

~ megs14malloy

Hey bookworms! Another month come and gone…

I had quite a successful reading month in March. I completed 16-books which seems extraordinary. My record is 17 in a month, which I actually set this past January. Although I didn’t beat that record, I am still proud of being able to get to that many things.

The books I completed, along with their star ratings, are as follows:

  1. For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt   |   2.5-stars
  2. A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice & Virtue by Mackenzie Lee (audiobook)   |   4.5-stars
  3. Pet Sematary (re-read) by Stephen King   |   5-stars
  4. The Everlasting Rose (Belles #2) by Dhonielle Clayton   |   3.5-stars
  5. The Daughter of Moloka’i by Alan Brennert   |   5-stars
  6. The Anomaly  by Michael Rutger |   4-stars
  7. Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez   |   5-stars
  8. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder & Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe   |   5-stars
  9. Too Much is Not Enough by Andrew Rannells   |   5-stars
  10. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (audiobook)   |   5-stars
  11. The Nightmare Girl by Jonanthan Janz   |   4-stars
  12. Mirror, Mirror: A Twisted Tale by Jen Calonita   |   3.5-stars
  13. Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward   |   3.5-stars
  14. The Child Finder (Naomi Cottles #1) (audiobook)   |   5-stars
  15. One Day in December by Josie Silver   |   5-stars
  16. The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman   |   3.5-stars

As far as my monthly TBR-challenge is concerned, I completed all 5 tasks this month as follows:

  • New Release from 2018: For Better and Worse released on December 11, 2018.
  • New Release from current month: Sal & Gabi Break the Universe – ARC received from Rick Riordan Presents, thank you!
  • New Release from next month: Mirror, Mirror – ARC received from Disney Book Group, thank you!
  • A Sequel: The Everlasting Rose (The Belles #2) – ARC received from Disney book Group, again, thank you!!!
  • TBR Jar Picks: The Cruel Prince & One Day in December which were both 5-star reads. My TBR Jar was very kind to me this month.

I have big plans for April. After not participating in any reading events in March, I am actually going to be participating in three reading events this month: The Dragons & Tea Book Club read of When The Moon Was Ours by Anna Marie-McLemore, Fantasy-A-Thon and the month-long OWLS Magical Readathon!

I actually haven’t set my TBR for Fantasy-A-Thon or the OWLS, I will be working on that today. Luckily, I can overlap with all of these so I am really looking forward to it. We’ll see how it goes. Goal is to read at least 15-books this month.

How did you March go? What was your favorite book of the month? What was your least favorite? I want to know! Leave me a comment here or contact me through any of my social media links.

Cheers & Happy April!

 

Review: The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman

~ megs14malloy ~ 2 Comments

The Devouring GrayThe Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**


Sawkill Girls meets Strange Grace…

BRANCHES, STONES, DAGGERS, BONES…

Welcome to Four Paths, New York, are words Violet Saunders could have done without. Riddled with grief after the loss of her sister, Rosie, Violet is forced to move to Four Paths at the start of her senior year. Not great.

It quickly becomes clear that Violet’s mom, Juniper, has a very strong connection to Four Paths. In fact, she is a member of one of the founding families. The founders are treated like royalty in town — quite literally worshipped as deities.

Why, you may ask?
Because they were the ones to capture the monster, trap it in the gray and continue to protect the townsfolk from it.

There are a lot of details that go into this story. The history of the town, the history of the founding families, the rituals, the powers, the secrets, the betrayals. It’s a lot.

Basically, the monster trapped in ‘the gray’ is no longer as dormant as he used to be and teens that are each a part of one of the four founding families come together to fight back. There are familial and friendship dramas, secrets and investigations, love gone awry — all the stuff. It’s in here.

At times, I felt like I should have been taking notes, which decreased my ability to relax into the story. Additionally, there were a lot of rapid perspective shifts that tended to knock me out of it as well. While the content was quite interesting, the flow seemed a little off for me.

It was definitely dark, which is one of my favorite things, and the characters and history of the town were compelling. I loved the ending. It gave me chills and I will definitely read the next book in the duology.

I even feel that I could reread this one. It may be easier the second time round as I have a better handle on what is going on.
For a debut, this is impressive and I hope a lot of readers pick it up!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Book Group, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to hearing what other readers think of this one.

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Review: One Day in December by Josie Silver

~ megs14malloy

One Day in DecemberOne Day in December by Josie Silver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you TBR jar for selecting this bloody brilliant book for me!

I am not a romance reader and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that I opened this one up with a fair amount of trepidation. I actually believe one of my comments upon starting was that I thought chances were 50/50 that I would DNF it. The thought of that now — utterly ridiculous!

I am floored by how much I loved this story.
The humor was perfect for me, I loved the pace and I fully appreciated how it was messy and frustrating and never easy — so is life, am I right?

It’s a long book but upon finishing I feel that it couldn’t have been any shorter. To get the full impact of missed chances requires a long scope and that is exactly what this book delivers.

I feel like past-Meg who watched Bridget Jones Diary for the first time and felt, yes, there, a character whose love life I can relate to…

I am so impressed with Ms. Josie Silver and thoroughly look forward to reading more by her in future!

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Review: The Child Finder (Naomi Cottle #1) by Rene Denfeld

~ megs14malloy

The Child Finder (Naomi Cottle, #1)The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m speechless.
Those last couple of lines gave me the deepest chill.

Naomi was once a missing child.
Now as an adult, her solitary focus is finding others who need to be found.
She remembers nothing of her life prior to being ‘found’. The only thing that is clear is that she escaped from a horrific situation.

Her current case is to try to discover what happened to little Madison, who went missing in the mountains while hunting for a family Christmas tree. Long thought dead, as how could a little girl survive alone in deep snow and freezing temperatures, Madison’s parents hold out hope that she is still alive.

What struck me most about this story is the overall tone of the writing. Obviously, Naomi is experiencing lasting effects from her early trauma. She is plagued with strange dreams and over time more and more pieces become available in her memory. We learn about her foster mother, Mary, and adoptive brother, Jerome, and their relationships.

There is a lot about this book that is heartbreaking but it is told in such a magical, whimsical way. It’s like all of the horrors of the real world packaged into a old-time fairy tale.

I can see how some people may not enjoy this as much as I did. It is a slow-burn and there is nothing about it that will keep you on the edge of your seat. However, if you love to sink your teeth into some good, solid writing with engaging characters, this book is for you.

There is a second book set to release later this year following Naomi and I absolutely will be reading it. This one leaves off in a perfect place to continue on with Naomi’s personal story and I am really looking forward to reading about what she ultimately finds.

Well done!

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Review: The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

~ megs14malloy

The AnomalyThe Anomaly by Michael Rutger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Splendid!

I was so excited when I first heard about this book. Explained as a mix of The X-Files meets Indiana Jones — how could you not be excited by that?

This story follows rogue archaeologist, Nolan Moore, whose main profession is hosting an obscure web docuseries called, The Anomaly Files. Mostly watched by conspiracy theorists and people just searching for odd videos, Nolan holds fast to his belief that the truth is out there.

When we meet Nolan and his rag-tag crew, they are following in the steps of an intrepid explorer who in 1909 discovered a cave deep in the heart of the Grand Canyon. The descriptions he left lead Nolan to believe that the cave holds great mysteries and he is dying to get to the bottom of it.

Before too long, Nolan and his crew find what they seek and that is when the real fun begins…

Due to super unfortunate, Indiana Jones-esque circumstances the crew finds themselves trapped. The cave seems to come to life around them and become a character in its own right. Is it out to get them? Maybe. It’s a heck of a good time finding out.

This book is quietly creepy in the best way, playing to inherent fears such as claustrophobia and nyctophobia. It got under my skin, I can tell you that.

The second half gets deeper into some interesting sci-fi elements that were fairly well done. The pace did really speed up towards the end as well and I was satisfied with the ending. I would definitely read more from this author. There are a lot of creative ideas woven throughout this story and I enjoyed the characters quite a bit, even the unsavory ones.

I would recommend this to people who like a mix of horror and sci-fi, as well as to anyone who is into archaeology and unexplained history. The fact that this involved a crew for a web show was also unique and pretty fun. Well done!

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Review: The Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz

~ megs14malloy

The Nightmare GirlThe Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

That was a delightful little gore fest!
My first Janz but certainly not my last.

Originally published in 2015, The Nightmare Girl was recently re-released by Flame Tree Press. Thank you so much to them for sending me a copy to read and review.

As mentioned above, this is my first Jonathan Janz novel and I really wasn’t sure what to expect going in. I had a lot of fun reading this and definitely plan to pick up his other works.

This story follows our protagonist, Joe Crawford, a contractor and family-man who frequently loses out on jobs because he is too honest with his customers. Joe is an every man and I was drawn to him immediately.

When he witnesses a young mother abusing her toddler in a gas station parking lot, he can’t stand by and watch. He steps in and does something about it. Once the police are called, and the child ultimately removed from the mother’s home however, his fate is sealed, and it isn’t good.

Before you know it, Joe and his family are on the receiving end of threats and acts of violence from the young mother, Angie’s, family and friends. A pagan fire cult. Yeah, her family and friends are all members of a local pagan fire cult…

I really enjoyed the pacing and plot development of this one. One of my favorite aspects, Joe’s best bud, Officer Darrel Copeland. He was just such a fantastic addition to this story. I loved their time spent together. There was some great banter, humor and loyalty and while a lot of the plot elements were dark, I felt this relationship added a nice contrast.

There were some great fight scenes, a lot of gore that made me cringe and a satisfying ending. The descriptive text was so solid that I could picture these scenes playing out in my head like a movie. I would highly recommend this to any horror fan. Give it a shot, I don’t think you will be disappointed!

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Review: Mirror, Mirror (A Twisted Tale) by Jen Calonita

~ megs14malloy

Mirror, Mirror (Twisted Tales, #6)Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonita
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Ahhhh, Snow White. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for this story but let’s be honest, we all know my favorite character is the Evil Queen.

Jen Calonita’s retelling is perfect for Snow White fans, no matter your favorite character, as it is told from alternating perspectives of Snow and the Evil Queen, named within these pages, Ingrid.

There are multiple small twists to the Disney version, most of us are familiar with, and it was just enough to give it a new and exciting feel. While paying homage to the original story, you still feel compelled to keep turning the pages to find out what is going to happen.

There is nothing super ground-breaking about this but I think if you go into it just looking for a fun, quick read — an escape from the world — you can have a heck of an enjoyable time with Mirror, Mirror. That was what I was hoping for when I picked this up and I got it.

I would have liked a bit more depth to the characters, Snow and the Evil Queen both, but I do think they had enough nuance to keep you engaged with them. I also feel like this reads more on the younger end of the YA-spectrum, maybe even verging on Middle Grade, so just know that going in.

Overall, I would recommend this to any Disney fan, especially people who like to get the villains perspective every once in a while. This is the second book I have read in the Twisted Tales series and you better believe I am going to keep reading them as long as they are putting them out!

Thank you to the publisher, Disney Book Group, for providing me a copy to read and review! As always, I appreciate the opportunity and am excited to discuss this with other readers.

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