Vesselless by Cortney L. Winn

Title: Vesselless

Author: Cortney L. Winn

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Merciless Realms # 1

Ebook, 494 pages 

Publication: March 23, 2024

Source: Kindle Unlimited
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She’s heiress to the throne. The throne her father stole from him.

Nizzara has always been able to perceive spirits better than the average caster. When she enters a deadly tournament to end her betrothal, she's determined to win without succumbing to the addictive spirit magic she channels or taking a life in the duel ring. Finding herself outmatched, Nizzara must face her fear of power and team up with Dagen—an enemy who is half-ghost and all charm—to survive the tournament.

Dagen, the last King of Zarr, was killed by Nizzara’s father ten years ago. Now a half-ghost—able to phase between his human and spirit form—he is stuck in another realm, hunting wretched souls. When his keeper offers him a chance to reclaim his freedom in exchange for Nizzara’s soul, Dagen takes the deal.

There’s only one catch: she must freely give it to him by the tournament’s end or his own soul is forfeit.

MY THOUGHTS

Vesselless has been taking the book world by storm, and I am so glad I read it! When I heard this book featured ghosts, I was intrigued, though I was also a bit skeptical about how everything would work, given that one of the main characters is a ghost. However, Winn weaves everything together perfectly.

Vesselless incorporates many tropes that readers have come to either love or hate, such as the morally grey/shadow daddy, trials and competitions, and an arranged marriage. Yet, Winn puts her own spin on these elements, offering a refreshing new take. What truly sets Vesselless apart from other books in its genre is its magical world-building and richly developed characters.

In the world of Vesselless, three main kingdoms are vying for dominance. Readers can expect political intrigue and godly influences shaping the lives of the people of Zarr, Zo, and Zem. Adding to the complexity, the nobility and their people wear vessel rings that bond the user with a spirit. These spirits not only offer protection but also grant magical abilities. Meanwhile, the infantry and guards are tied to their rulers through these rings, compelling them to obey every command.

I absolutely loved the world and characters. Without a doubt, I haven't read any book quite like Vesselless. The author skillfully integrated many elements I enjoy, with perfect pacing and writing. I immediately connected with Nizzara and Dagen, and I loved their chemistry and banter. Many readers described this as a slow burn, but in my opinion, I wish it had been even slower—I would have preferred if the leads didn't get together in the first book. Nevertheless, I enjoyed every aspect of their relationship.

While the ending was somewhat predictable, I am still excited to see what happens next. I thoroughly enjoyed Vesselless and highly recommend it to fans of Romantasy.

Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews

Title: Sanctuary 

Author: Ilona Andrews

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Roman’s Chronicles # 1

Paperback, 152 pages 

Publication: July 30, 2024

Source: Personal Library
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It’s not easy serving the Chernobog, the God of Destruction, Darkness and Death…especially during the holidays; and especially when you’re out of eggnog and one of your pesky, freeloading mythic creatures has eaten your last cookie.

Roman would like nothing more than to be left alone, but when a wounded boy stumbles into his yard and begs for sanctuary, Roman takes him in. Now elite mercenaries are camped out on his property, combat mages are dousing the house with fire, and strange priests are unleashing arcane magic. They thought Roman was easy pickings, just a hermit in the woods, but they chose the wrong dark priest to annoy. For while Roman might be patient, he is the Black Volhv, filled with the love of his terrible god. For his adversaries, it's a fight to the death, but for him, it's just another day in the neighborhood.

MY THOUGHTS

I would like to preface this review by saying that I am one of Ilona Andrews biggest fan (says all of the BDH lol). I literally reread the Kate Daniels series every. single. year. It's my favorite comfort series. With that said, I like many others were counting down the days until Roman's novella was released. Roman has been one of main side characters in the Kate Daniels series and have grown to be one of the readers beloved side characters. But it saddens me to say, this novella was a letdown. 

Sanctuary is a fairly decent sized novella with approximately 150 pages but boy, did it feel like a dense read. There was barely any plot or character development. And before anyone says "This is a novella!"; I know! I've read plenty of novellas, some also by Andrews but this was just mediocre. Instead, readers were bombarded with info-dumping page after page...from beginning to end. I felt like I was getting a history lecture versus reading a story. Don't get me wrong I love history and mythology, but this was just not palatable, nor did it come across as interesting.  

There were a few good scenes but overall, I didn't connect to any of the characters. Oddly, Roman was more intriguing as a tertiary character in the Kate Daniel novels than here in his own story. Sanctuary was not enjoyable, and I felt like I had to push through to finish the novella. I am unlikely to continue with Roman's Chronicles. There may be a possible romance in future novellas, but from what I've seen of Andora...I just don't care. I wished the authors' put more focus on key novels than us getting anymore of Roman's novellas. I don't feel like this novella brought anything to the Kate Daniels world. To be honest, we could live without it. 

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Title: Wicked Lovely

Author: Melissa Marr

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Wicked Lovely #1

Hardcover, 437 pages 

Publication: June 12, 2007

Source: Personal Library
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Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty - especially if they learn of her Sight - and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.

Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King, who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost — regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

MY THOUGHTS

Wicked Lovely was one of the most well-known and loved Young Adult series back in the day. If you were reading Young Adult or Fantasy back in the mid-2000s, chances are you've read it or have heard about it. I owned the series back then but never got around to reading it until now.

In Wicked Lovely, the Faerie Realm exist, and Faeries roam around alongside humans. The more powerful Faeries could glamour themselves as human. Which brings us to our main characters, Aislinn, who has the sight and could see Faeries. She has known about them her whole life and made it her purpose to avoid them and stay under the radar. Until the Summer King, Keenan has Aislinn in his sight. It's been centuries that he's been looking for his Queen. And he believes that person is Aislinn. 

Wicked Lovely was a solid and well-written young adult. While it's aimed at a younger audience, I thought the subjects and themes tackled were very adult and mature. There were some adult things I've never seen in YA books and Marr incorporated it flawlessly. I thought the overall plot was okay, there wasn't as much action as I expected. However, the ending and turn of events took me by surprise. Especially when it came to the main male and female characters. As I've mentioned before, Keenan is looking for his Queen and normally, with most books we'd assume XYZ will happen...that if Aislinn is the Summer Queen, she must automatically end up with Keenan. Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. 

For the most part I enjoyed Wicked Lovely but the story didn't make a long-lasting impression. I don't feel compelled to pick up the rest of the series. The sequel features different characters we met in the first book and then it goes back to the main couple...but with how things ended, I'm not left wanting or curious enough to know what happens next with the characters. which is unfortunate.