An unforgettable alternative history fairytale series from the author of The Bone Witch trilogy about found family, modern day magic, and finding the place you belong.
Many years ago, the magical Kingdom of Avalon was left desolate and encased in ice when the evil Snow Queen waged war on the powerful country. Its former citizens are now refugees in a world mostly devoid of magic. Which is why the crown prince and his protectors are stuck in…Arizona.
Prince Alexei, the sole survivor of the Avalon royal family, is in hiding in a town so boring, magic doesn’t even work there. Few know his secret identity, but his friend Tala is one of them. Tala doesn’t mind—she has secrets of her own. Namely, that she’s a spellbreaker, someone who negates magic.
Then hope for their abandoned homeland reignites when a famous creature of legend, and Avalon’s most powerful weapon, the Firebird, appears for the first time in decades. Alex and Tala unite with a ragtag group of new friends to journey back to Avalon for a showdown that will change the world as they know it.
It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is:characters I’d follow on social media! This fun and creative prompt was submitted by Tilly @thebiblioshelf
Wow, this is such a great prompt–following my favourites on social media is something that I would’ve have even thought of but that doesn’t mean that a few names didn’t immediately pop into my head! I loved a lot of these characters because they had me laughing endlessly with their witty banter and cheeky humour. I think following any of them on social media would be so much fun!
We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
Today I spent the day in bed with Paper and Fire (The Great Library #2) by Rachel Caine. This is a fast paced sequel! I’m enjoying it and it has answered some of the questions I had earlier, although I’m still noticing certain inconsistencies. This series is quite entertaining though!
LET THE WORLD BURN
With an iron fist, the Great Library ruthlessly controls the knowledge of the world, forbidding the personal ownership of books in the name of the greater good.
Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but his life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered for ever. Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library’s deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria.
But Jess’s home isn’t safe any more. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon Jess must choose between his friends, his family, or a Library willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control . . .
Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time. In 48 AD, a fire set by the troops of Julius Caesar destroyed much of the Great Library of Alexandria. It was the first of several disasters that resulted in the destruction of the accumulated knowledge of the ancient world. But what if the fire had been stopped? What would the Library have become? Fast forward: the Great Library is now a separate country, protected by its own standing army. It has grown into a vast power, with unquestioned and unrivalled supremacy. Jess Brightwell, seventeen and very smart, with a gift for mechanical engineering, has been sent into the Great Library as a spy for his criminal family. Magical spells and riots abound in this epic new YA series.
How could my interest not be piqued after reading this blurb? Caine presents such a fascinating retold history wherein The Great Library of Alexandria is the most powerful entity in the world and knowledge is highly regulated. I admit to having a difficult time getting into the story initially. The pacing was slow and I found myself getting lost in the details of this alternate world, but I kept on reading because I was hoping that it would pick up and I wasn’t disappointed!
“There are three parts to learning: information, knowledge and wisdom, A mere accumulation of information is not knowledge, and a treasure of knowledge is not in itself, wisdom.”
Goodreads: The Queen of Nothing Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Romance Panda Rating:
He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.
Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.
Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.
Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics.
And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity…
WELL. I closed this book with a lot of new, mixed and surprising feelings for many characters that I honestly didn’t care all that much about to start with. This was a pretty good conclusion although it was really nothing mind-blowing. Honestly, if I had been more invested in the characters from book one, I might even go so far as to say that I might’ve been disappointed with this ending. But if you like clean happy endings (and I mean who doesn’t?), then I think that The Queen of Nothing will tick all your boxes and leave you feeling satisfied.
Goodreads: The Wicked King Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Romance Panda Rating:
You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.
The first lesson is to make yourself strong.
After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.
When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.
3.5 stars for that pre-epilogue ending! And just when I thought that things were turning around and I’d like this newly established alliance, that ending had to go and happen! I’m shook but also angry? But also, I get it too? This seems to have really messed with my feelings (of which I thought I didn’t have many of for this series) 🤣
The Cruel Prince: ★★★½ – ★★★★☆ The Wicked King: ★★★½ The Queen of Nothing: ???
It’s time for another Friday Favorites hosted by Kibby @ Something of the Book! This weekly meme is where you get to share a list of all your favorites based on the list of prompts on Kibby’s page. Sounds fun, right? This week’s prompt is: favorite urban fantasy books. Okay, I have to be honest and say that I had a bit of trouble with this week’s prompt because I’m not really sure what constitutes “urban fantasy”. I love a good fantasy read, but I’m not very discerning with the different sub-genres; I basically just read what I like! So when asked what my favorite urban fantasy is, I had to scratch my head a little to figure out which books I’ve read that qualify as such. Looking at my read shelves, it seems that I apparently don’t read a lot of this sub-genre, so I’m not sure if the five below count, but I think so!
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. This book is making another appearance because this was honestly the first book that I could think of when thinking of urban fantasy! Also, I won’t stop recommending this book because imho everyone needs to read it.
The Dark Artifices Series by Cassandra Clare. Don’t shoot me, but I haven’t read The Mortal Instruments series yet, and after watching the movie and cringing so hard, I wasn’t really pulled to pick it up. But when I saw the cover of Lady Midnight I wanted to try reading it and, while it started off lukewarm for me, I ended up really enjoying Lord of Shadows. I still haven’t read Queen of Air and Darkness though because I don’t want this series to end!
A Dark Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V. E. Schwab. Does this count as an urban fantasy? Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m making it count. Time and again I’ve said it, and I’ll say it again, this is such a fantastic series set in three different Londons, that are completely different (and yet not) to modern day London. Please read it.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone Series by Laini Taylor. I’m also unsure whether this counts as urban fantasy, but big chunks of the series is set in modern city settings, but also, fantastical city settings. It’s beautiful. Who doesn’t love angels, demons, forbidden love and star-crossed lovers? As far as I know, this book doesn’t get a lot of hype (and tbh the other covers for the books in this series are hideous, no offense to anyone who loves them) but I remember thoroughly enjoying this series.
All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. I remember discovering this series in the library in 2012 and I was shocked to find that only the first book had come out. I was completely taken by the idea of vampires and witches in modern-day Oxford and New York, without it being overly creepy. I absolutely loved this series when I read it years ago, but I think I need to re-read it because it was before the time I actively recorded my thoughts and ratings down on Goodreads. I wonder if I’ll still enjoy it!
Are you a big urban fantasy reader? What are your favorite urban fantasies? Any recommendations are welcome!Let me know in the comments below and let’s chat books 🙂
dinipandareads 