I’m so glad to be coming to you with another three books reviews the day after posting three others so we can all pretend like I didn’t disappear for the entire month of March because I started playing Pokopia and forgot that I have other hobbies. Anyway, I received e-ARCs of The Starseekers and Silver & Blood and then a twelve chapter sampler of Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line from their respective publishers via Netgalley. I wound up reading The Starseekers via an audiobook I got from my library, Silver & Blood with the actual physical version (and yes, I’m very proud of my eyeball reading) that I purchased myself, and Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line from the audiobook that I purchased myself. Anyway, let’s talk about these three shall we?
The Starseekers by Nicole Glover
So, this book is technically a standalone, but it’s also a part of a series Murder and Magic and I probably should not have picked it up. However, do you see that cover? It’s absolutely stunning. I was so drawn in immediately. The yellow dress on Cynthia and then the comp to Indiana Jones, I don’t know how I was supposed to resist. And I didn’t. Unfortunately, I should have because I have no idea what was happening. This book seems to be playing with a magic system that I assume is discussed in the earlier books in the series and I just could not grasp it. And when the romance of a book is more important than the world-building, it’s usually fine for me to not understand what’s going on. Unfortunately, this book is a fantasy mystery with a romance thrown in later and so not understanding the world was actually not good. My usual hand waving away at the world-building did not do me any favors. So, I would recommend this book to you if (a) you’re up to date in the series or (b) you’re actually good at comprehending world-building. I wish I were. Truly. But alas, not my skill set.
Anyway, I did like the characters in this though! The romance was intriguing and I think it would have made a really excellent movie. So if Hollywood could get on that, I would love to watch it, please and thank you.
Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik
I am so thrilled to report that I loved this book! And I read it with my eyeballs! Mihalik’s writing style is so easy for me to read and that paired with this story, I was deeply invested. For someone who doesn’t like nature, I really like books where characters wind up in a house in the middle of nowhere and describe the scenery to me without going overboard. I loved the house. I loved the romance. This book feels a little gothic (the magic house) with a more traditional style of fae, but it also feels new. I have been reading so much romantasy this year, more than normal by a lot, and this really did just feel so different than anything else that I’ve been reading. I already can’t wait for book two.
I hate that sometimes when I love a book, I don’t have the words to explain to you why I loved it or why I think that you will love it. But that’s me with this one. It just scratched an itch in my brain and every time I was like, “Ugh, I know where this is going,” there would be a slight twist and it turned out I didn’t know where this was going. I hope you’ll give Silver & Blood a try!
Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line
by Elle Cosimano
I would love to be able to just review the first twelve chapters that Netgalley gave me access to, but the second I realized that it was a chapter sampler, I said, I’ll wait. And I’m glad I did because I devoured this audiobook like I have every other installment in the series. Finlay and Vero are so wonderful and this one somehow managed to give me less anxiety than the others in the series. I think because it took so long for Finlay to commit a felony, I was like, “Solid, we can get out of this,” once she went big. In case you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a rule follower with intense anxiety who reads a book with hijinks like this, sometimes I can handle it and sometimes I really can’t. I’m so relieved that Finlay has always been on the side where I can handle it. Also, I’m absolutely obsessed with the relationship between Finlay and Nick. Anyway, this book is great, the series is great, and I am so glad this was another successful installment.
Closing Thoughts
A sort of mixed bag, but mostly successes! How do you feel about chapter samplers? Have you read any of these books? Let me know!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 