Reseña de ARC: Song of Blood & STone (Earthsinger Chronicles, #1)

 +eARC gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

Song of Blood & Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles, #1)

by 

L. Penelope

 372 pages

Published May 1st 2018 by St. Martin's Press (first published January 8th 2015)

ISBN: 1250148073 (ISBN13: 9781250148070)

Edition Language: English

Series: Earthsinger Chronicles #1

BLURB:  Orphaned and alone, Jasminda lives in a land where cold whispers of invasion and war linger on the wind. Jasminda herself is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where her gift of Earthsong is feared. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive--an injured spy who threatens to steal her heart.
Jack's mission behind enemy lines to prove that the Mantle between Elsira and Lagamiri is about to fall nearly cost him his life, but he is saved by the healing Song of a mysterious young woman. Now he must do whatever it takes to save Elsira and it's people from the True Father and he needs Jasminda's Earthsong to do it. They escape their ruthless captors and together they embark on a perilous journey to save Elsira and to uncover the secrets of The Queen Who Sleeps.
The fates of two nations hang in the balance as Jasminda and Jack must choose between love and duty to fulfill their destinies and end the war.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“To rule is dangerous. To love the act of ruling is tyranny.”

This is a fantasy blender mashup book. There are horses, axes, guns, smiths (very frontier style); and then airships, pilots, and four-wheelers. And there are magical users called "singers". Cults to gods and saints. Monarchy. Fantasy romance too.

Not YA, btw. There are at least two attempted rapes, one of them a detailed almost too-close rape . Plus sex scenes.

Large part of the plot is about racism , prejudice and xenophobia.

The story? Elsira and Lagrimar have been in war for centuries divided by a magical barrier. When there is a breach in the Mantle , Lagrimari try to invade and open war followed. Lagrimari are hated and feared because of Eathsong, the power to change enviroment and heal, there are called 'witches'. Jasminda ul-Sarifor is a goat farmer , the last survivor of her family, a mix-raced woman daughter of a Lagrimari settler and a Elsiran. She lives ostracized in her own country because of her dark skin color and litle earthsong power gift . Jack has been infiltrated spying after enemy lines, but has been discovered and after him arrive soldiers of the tyrant Lagrimari. Jasminda and Jack have to join forces to flee and try to prevent a bloody war from breaking out again.

Reseñ: The Shadow Queen (Black Jewels 7)

The Shadow Queen (Black Jewels 7)

by  

Anne Bishop

429 pages

(first published January 1st 2009)

ISBN: 0451462548 (ISBN13: 9780451462541)

Edition Language:English

Series:The Black Jewels #7

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

bookshelves: re-lectura, fantasy, dark-fantasy, adult-mature, beware-of-the-queen, alpha-males, plain-heroine, second-chances, magia, warriors, psychic-powers, mental-issues, warlords

2009: 2 stars

2011: 3 stars

2018: 4 stars - Made me cry. I'm getting attached with this one.

Mucho PSTD en este libro.

The Shadow Queen is part of the Black Jewels 'verse. Two years after the cleansing storm to get rid of the wicked witches er the bad Blood: bad queens and badder priestess, Terreille is almost in ruins. The population were wipe out for the aformenthioned and the posterior war between Blood and landens (not magical jeweled people) sick of the abuses. Now, Theran Greyhaven of Dena Nehele, the last survival Warlord Prince of his house , saved by many others as last hope, get the idea of bring back a new Queen of the Old Ways to rule and prosper again.

Meanwhile, Cassidy is a Rose Jewel Queen. Not beautiful, not very strong in Craft. (No. I mean it, is not a 'she is not pretty nor powerful but...'; she really isn't. Imagine that!!) And she is without a court b/c ... reasons. She is really insecure, and don't trust very much in herself because of that. Guess who Witch is sending.

This is a SECOND CHANCE kind of plot. And how you could use or not.

Oh, and Theran? she is total moron, and a jerk. And I really really mean it. Thank the Lady he is notthe main interest. +

Reseña: The White Lily (Vampire Blood #3)

 +Digital arc gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

The White Lily (Vampire Blood #3)

by 

Juliette Cross

 326 pages

Published October 23rd 2017 by Entangled Publishing, Amara

ISBN13:9781640631984

Edition Language:English

Series Vampire Blood #3

 

 FROM THE BLURB: To the north of the Varis empire, a mysterious faction spreads propaganda against the vampire monarchy. Friedrich Volya, the Duke of Winter Hill, seeks to discover who they are before his uncle finds them first. King Dominik will punish the traitors with brutal force.

Local schoolteacher, the raven-haired Brennalyn, is on her own mission—to spy on the duke and discover what she can for the Black Lily. She longs to help the commonwealth and bring justice to the many orphans left behind from the ravages of the blood madness, like the children she lovingly keeps in her care. What she doesn’t plan for is the heart-pounding attraction she feels for the duke, enemy to the Black Lily. But when Brennalyn’s secret puts her life and the life of her children in danger, Friedrich steps in as her protector, she finds out there’s more to the duke than she thought.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is some kind of romance fantasy where exist a Vampire Monarchy, you know, with your average oh-so-handsome evil vampires with pleasure bites and 'elixir' to thrall into obedience and pain. Only the Varis royalty vampires can make more vampires from their blood, and of course if you are born from them (?!). Going into the third book of the series, a discension had started between the peasants and some members of the nobility that abjure of the cruelty and bad practices b/c they are not protecting their sheep humans. And yeah the King is really mad with some chick called Black Lily who is the symbol for the rebellion.

But in the North there is also a dissident spreading bad propaganda with pamphlets - the White Lily (roll eyes), and the Duke Friedrich wants to find the fool before the King does it.

Well that's the idea.