Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

Title: Two Twisted Crowns

Author: Rachel Gillig

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Shepherd King # 2

Paperback, 437 pages 

Publication: October 17, 2023

Source: Personal Library
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Elspeth and Ravyn have gathered most of the twelve Providence Cards, but the last, and most important one remains to be found: The Twin Alders.

If they are going to find it before the Solstice and cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it, they will need to journey beyond the dangerous mist-cloaked forest that surrounds their kingdom.

And the only one who can lead them there is the monster that shares Elspeth's head. The Nightmare. And he's not eager to share any longer.

MY THOUGHTS

One Dark Window was one of my favorite reads last year. I was so excited for the sequel. And it saddens me to say that Two Twisted Crown suffered from second book syndrome. I had to force myself to finish the book because it was so, so disappointing. 

The first issue I had with Two Twisted Crowns was the change in leads and focus. The first book was solely from Elspeth's perspective, and it focused on Elspeth relationship with The Sheperd King and Ravyn. In the sequel, we had Ravyn, Elspeth and Elm's POVs...with the relationship focused on Elm and Ione. And THAT is where the issue stems from. In Two Twisted Crowns, Ravyn was mopping 90% of the time. He felt like a totally different character than who readers met in the previous book. Elspeth's appearance, or lack thereof was ironic considering how important her role is in the series took a backseat. We maybe heard from her 10% of the time in the book...and it was little lines scattered here and there. The worst offense that I was subjected to was Elm and Ione's relationship and storyline. Don't get me wrong, I adored Elm in the first book BUT that didn't mean I wanted to read his POV. And sadly, any adoration I had in the previous novel disappeared in Two Twisted Crowns.

Elm and Ione's relationship came out of nowhere. I HATED reading about them and unfortunately it was the main focus of the book. It felt like finding the providence cards and ridding the mist was left on the back burner for their romance. I could care less about it. Elm was a boring lovesick puppy; woe is me and Ione's non-feeling personality due to the Maiden card was just terrible. I didn't like her before, and I definitely didn't like her now. I don't understand why the author went this route, especially when she knew everyone loved Ravyn and Elspeth...only to turn them into nonconsequential characters in the sequel. What an absolute travesty. 

When the big revelation came...I was not surprised. Bennett's eye color was mentioned WAY earlier in the book. The author must've missed it herself if she thought it was going to come across as a shock factor. I honestly hated majority of the book, but I read so much to give up but in reality, I really wanted to DNF it. The story didn't get interesting until the LAST 20%! Only for the revelations to save Elspeth and the Kingdom of Blunder to be anticlimactic and sorry to say...simply stupid. 

It feels like the two books in the duology were written by two completely different people. Two Twisted Crowns was one of my most anticipated sequel and it was as I said disappointing, and utterly boring. I do not recommend.

The Mist Thief by L.J .Andrews

Title: The Mist Thief

Author: L.J. Andrews

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Ever Seas #3

Paperback, 454 pages 

Publication: June 30, 2024

Source: Personal Library
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She tried to kill him, so he made her his wife.

Skadi first met her husband-to-be with blades in hand on the opposite side of a battle. She lost, and he claimed his prize.

To her horror, the king of the shadow elven agrees to marry her off to Jonas, a prince in the fae realms, as a way to unite their kingdoms against a shared enemy—the light elves. Skadi knows the marriage is nothing but a political game. Feelings won’t come into play.

Except her new husband makes not falling in love . . . challenging.

When new threats arise, Skadi must decide to either love her enemy, or keep him alive by betraying him to another.

MY THOUGHTS

To be frank, I had no interest in reading The Mist Thief. The couple, Jonas and Skadi seemed like a poor choice and are polar opposite and yes, I am familiar with the term 'opposite attracts'. And of all the characters in the Ever Seas series, I couldn't care less about Skadi. The only reason I read The Mist Thief was because of the following book, book 4 features Tate and Mira...and I don't want to miss any detail, so of course I read the third installment in the Ever Seas series. And I must say the title was poorly chosen. Skadi isn't a thief in any capacity. And while I've read both The Ever King and The Ever Queen books...when I got to this book, I had no idea who was chosen based on that title alone. Odd choice. 

The Mist Thief follows the popular trope, marriage of convenience between the Elven Princess Skadi and Alver Prince Jonas. Jonas is one of Livie's best friends whom reader met in the first book, The Ever King and we met Skadi in the last book, The Ever Queen. There wasn't much going on in this installment. Skadi and Jonas spent half the book fighting their attraction to each other which involved a lot of miscommunications (a trope I hate). During this time, we also saw them spending their time in Jonas's kingdom and Skadi's kingdom. What irked me the most about the entire story was the marriage contract and Skadi's grandfather scheming and trying to make and break contracts throwing Skadi around like a pawn. The entire situation was preventable, but of course...there would be no story without it. I didn't care about Jonas or Skadi's relationship. Skadi's personality at the beginning and the end were essentially the same to me. Her character development could've been better written but, in my opinion, she didn't have any qualities that stood out. Jonas was a cookie-cutter hero that I've seen countless of time. Unoriginal and boring. The only characters that stood out and surprised me at how much I enjoyed reading about them were Jonas's parents' Kase and Mal (Yes, also aware they have their own story in the original series. I haven't read it.)

So far I've read three novels in The Ever Sea Series by Andrews...and while her writing is good, the plot points are ALL the same. It's following a template or formula that makes it predictable. The author follows certain beats to the story which seems to always concludes with a ''battle'' in the last 20% of the novel and ends up being poorly done and rushed. It literally happened in all three novels. I prefer books that surprises me. Because I saw everything in this book miles away.

I am glad I pushed myself to finish this book, so I can get to Tate and Mira's novel. But all in all, I won't be picking up any other books by Andrews in the future after The Stolen Crown releases. The quality isn't there and that's something I can clearly see now with how many novels are published within the world/spinoff books. Quality over quantity. 

Threaded by Tay Rose

Title: Threaded

Author: Tay Rose

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Solstice Cycle # 1

Paperback, 600 pages 

Publication: May 1, 2024

Source: Personal Library
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In a world where magic means servitude, being giftless is a blessing.

Mariah’s twenty-first birthday was supposed to bring freedom: from expectation, from scrutiny, from the oppressive lord reigning over her hometown. When a summons from the Queen puts those dreams at risk, she has no choice but to follow through—even if it means a future she doesn’t want or deserve.

Thrust into a world of cutthroat politics, secret rituals, and ruthless power grabs, Mariah is forced to come to terms with her new position as terrifying hidden magic begins to awaken in her veins. Meanwhile, the brooding, disgraced royal heir selected to serve in her sworn guard inexplicably hates her, yet he can’t seem to stay away. As the kingdom’s delicate balance shifts and crumbles, Mariah’s freedom seems further away than ever.

Relationships blossom, schemes are unearthed, and gods are awakened… yet her heart may be the biggest threat of all.

Love is a weakness. But will fate weave a different thread?

MY THOUGHTS

Threaded was a pleasant surprise. I honestly haven't heard much about the novel, but a sub was featuring the book; so, I thought I would give it a go. Like most Romantasy-Fantasy novels these days with the Chosen One Trope, Threaded centers around a young woman on the brink of turning twenty-one. All her life she dreamt of escaping the everyday norm, to travel the world. But on her twenty-first birthday, The Queen requests all those of age to present themselves before her and one will be chosen as the newest Queen Apparent. Our Heroine Mariah is of course chosen and thus begins her journey to becoming Queen.

If anyone has read The Legacy series by Melissa E. Roehrich, then you'd enjoy this as well. Because the two series are very, very similar. Especially with the involvement of Gods and Goddess and how the Heroine is written. I thought the world-building and magic system was interesting. Mariah's first task as the Queen Apparent necessitate that she chooses seven men to form her guards and seven women to be her ladies in waiting. For the men, she has to bond to them magically and is only breakable in death. 

Overall, I thought Mariah was a good heroine, but I've been seeing a pattern in most Fantasy Novel: Feminine Rage. Half the time Mariah was either raging at the world about her situation or repeatedly telling the reader how much she never asked to be Queen and the other half; she actually steps up to the task and acts like a Queen worthy of her people. But it was constantly a whiplash, hot and cold when it came to Mariah's emotions. And speaking of hot and cold, Mariah's love interest is practically the same. One minute he acts very caring and the next he treats her badly. It goes on like this for majority of the book. It was tiring to read. And the love interest, isn't really likable nor has any redeeming qualities. 

Despite these slight criticisms, I do plan on picking up the sequel when it comes out, but I won't be rushing to read it. I am curious as to what will happen next. I hope Mariah leans more to becoming the powerful Queen that she could be and less an angry petulant child. I am also tired of all the feminine rage and rollercoaster emotions I've been seeing in books...unless someone can write it better. 

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Title: The Spellshop

Author: Sarah Beth Durst

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Standalone

Hardcover, 374 pages 

Publication: July 9, 2024

Source: Personal Library
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Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz—a magically sentient spider plant—have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite.

When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home.

In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries.

But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop.

MY THOUGHTS

Cottagecore Cozy Fantasy seem to have taken over the book world recently and I've yet to read one until now. What initially drew my attention to The Spellshop was the beautiful painted cover; it screamed cozy, cute and whimsical. And it certainly delivered. The author said she wanted to write a novel that felt like drinking a warm hot chocolate, a novel that embodied kindness and that is exactly what The Spellshop was. 

I adored the world building and characters. Our heroine, Kiela, is a librarian. She spends all her times with and around books, so much so, she neglects the outside world and interaction with people and society. I mean, her only friend is a sentient spider plant name Caz. So, when chaos breaks out on her island and the library is raided, Kiela flees with Caz and a few ancient spell books back to her homeland. However, new obstacles appear as she doesn't know the first thing to do or how to interact with the islanders. And what transpires throughout the book is both a little endearing and vexing situation. Because Kiela has been sheltered most of her life, she is oblivious to social cues. There were scenes that were so awkward that it came across cringy...I mean even Caz, a plant understood more than Kiela! 

Since this was a Cozy Fantasy, you can imagine the stakes are low. The main premise involved stolen spell books, but the likelihood of discovery was truly little to none. The theme of the book was pretty much; community, family and being kind which I appreciated. We need more kindness in the world today and to be honest it was nice to read a book where for once the heroine didn't need to know everything, fight, or involved chaos or death. 

I enjoyed The Spellshop way more than I anticipated and has opened a new subgenre for me. I look forward to reading more Cozy Fantasy or something similar in the future. Overall, I do recommend checking The Spellshop out, it's a standalone where we get a nice conclusion with a HEA.