Today I want to share the exciting things that have graced my mail box recently from a variety of places. Some of them are books I purchased for myself for my birthday, and they arrived a little earlier than expected.
Elise Kova
Book Review: Failed Future by Elise Kova – Post Ten of Stay Home Order
Paperback, 356 pages
Published July 20th 2019 by Silver Wing Press
I received an ebook from the author but have also purchased a signed copy for my collection, so my opinions are my own. Thanks, Elise Kova!
The original plan was to have this read and reviewed by March 31, 2020, but then the pandemic happened and I was unable to focus on reading. But I’m happy to report that once I found my reading mojo, I was able to devour this book in three days while playing Animal Crossing! The story was quite compelling and the pacing was rather good. I was definitely speed reading, so I may have missed a few things hidden in the descriptions, but I enjoyed the dialogue.
Warning: you will want to have book four on hand when you finish this one as the ending makes some giant changes to the assumptions you may have been building. I am looking forward to seeing where the author takes the story and may wait until my copy of book five arrives so I can read those two back to back.
The side characters that Elise crafts are great, and I love them almost more than the main characters! Please check out this series if you love well crafted adventures peppered with romance and betrayal as well as familial bonds. It is technically a sequel series to Air Awakens, but you don’t need to have read it first. I’m actually looking forward to going back and reading that series once I finish this one as I hadn’t gotten past the first book!
Summary:
When worlds collide, and things are rarely what they seem, there may be no one Vi can trust.
Having forsaken her crown for a chance to save her family, and the world, Vi Solaris washes up on the shores of Meru. She’s wounded and barely alive. But Vi’s fight for survival is only just beginning.
As a princess in a foreign land, everyone is after her.
The pirate queen Adela wants to sell her to the evil elfin’ra. The Twilight King wants to use her to settle an old score. And, perhaps most dangerous, is the scheming Lord of the Faithful who sees her as an opportunity to further consolidate his power.
The only path for Vi is forward. But she doesn’t yet know if she’s running toward salvation… or a brutal end to everything she loves.
Vi’s journey continues with even more betrayal, romance, magic, and a twist you never saw coming that leaves readers begging for the next book.
Audiobook Review: Chosen Champion by Elise Kova
Audible Audio, Unabridged
Published July 8th 2019 by Silver Wing Press
I received an audio copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thanks, Elise!
I finally finished it! And I think I know why it took so long. The narrator. I liked the story and couldn’t find much fault there (although I suspected who the betrayer was in book 1!), but I wasn’t looking forward to listening to the audiobook as much as I usually do. I even sped up the reading, which helped a little bit. The narrator’s voice was lovely, but I think she was giving a lot of care to pronunciation of each individual word. Which is good for understanding, but not so great for my enjoyment. I think to finish the series, which I definitely want to do, I will buy the paperback books to read.
Now that I’ve tackled why it took me so long to finish this one, I want to talk a little bit about the story itself. I liked the character growth in our protagonist, Vi. And the family reunion was a treat with all the posturing and learning how to interact with people who are your family but you really haven’t seen in person. Elise does a great job with characterization and emotions. I also thought the pacing was done well. Like I stated above, the betrayal hinted at in the synopsis was something I had seen in coming all the way back in book one, but I definitely felt all the emotions poured into that scene.
There are a few things that jumped out at me as possible call backs to the original Air Awakens series, but I can’t confirm that until I read that series all the way. And I think I might wait until I’m done with Vi’s story before starting that project. What I’m trying to say is, you should definitely read this series even if you haven’t read Air Awakens yet! Totally worth your time 🙂
Summary:
A princess on the run, with enemies on all sides…
Vi Solaris is on the eve of getting everything she’s ever wanted—her family, her home, her throne—and to save the world she’s going to have to give it all up.
The Empire sees her as their Crown Princess, returning at long last. But Vi only sees visions of fate guiding her to the world’s gruesome end. Across the sea is a man who holds the keys to deciphering her premonitions and thwarting the ancient evil ravaging their world. But to get to him, Vi will have to contend with enemies of the crown, romance she didn’t expect, sorcerer pirates, and a betrayal she never saw coming.
She will learn the hard way that some evils never die… They only bide their time…
Return to Solaris in the second book of Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles, a young adult epic fantasy filled with even more magic, adventure, and romance. Get ready for twists you never saw coming that will keep you up all night reading!
PennedCon Recap and Haul & Weekend Book Haul
This past weekend, I was able to experience a new convention, Penned Con!, thanks to the lovely author, Elise Kova, who shared some free tickets to the event, which is how I found out about it! Great big thanks to Elise! I’m so glad I could attend and hope to go back next year 🙂
As this was my first time going, I wrangled a friend into going with me and we drove a little over two hours to arrive for Friday’s afternoon session of signing. We were able to find parking pretty easy and check-in was super quick. We even had a few minutes to scour the swag tables before they reopened the doors to where the author tables were all set up.
Earlier this week, I tried to do as much recon and research as possible to find out how this works and who was planning to attend. The above picture shows all the books that were already on my shelves that I took with me to get signed by attending authors. Obviously, that included all my (not yet signed) Elise Kova books as well as a couple for Kel Carpenter, and I saw that Shannon Mayer was able to attend!
There were so many people in such an enclosed space that it was really hard for me to hear anything for most of my time exploring, so I didn’t do much talking. However, I did pick up my preorders and a few impulse buys (only a few due to budget reasons!) as well as lots of information to look up later.
My preorders are along the bottom, the two newest from Elise Kova and the first two from Audrey Grey’s new series. Across the top, you’ll see two of my impulse purchases, The Fire Prophecy by Megan Linski and Alicia Rades and Or Dreams and Dragons by Karpov Kinrade (which has been on my Amazon wishlist for awhile and I hadn’t realized this author would be here). Shannon Mayer was giving away copies of the second book in her Rylee Adamson series for free and is definitely a good reason to locate a copy of book one.
And the last one I picked up will actually be mailed to me because the author was hit by the Amazon Disaster (Amazon had a printing/printer issue and wasn’t able to deliver product to many of the authors in time for the convention). But I am excited to receive it in the mail soon!
After we were done flitting between the two stuffed ballrooms of people, my friend and I decided that we were all peopled out and would not come back for the free evening dance. However, we did have a couple other things we wanted to do while in St. Louis, so off we went!
After spending a bunch of money on books, we sold your old books to Half Price Books, where I found the third I’ve Been Killing Slimes light novel and four books in the Otherworld series (on clearance), which I decided meant that I should reread the books I have and continue the series. Because my TBR isn’t long enough 🙂
Then on Saturday, I was shopping with my mom at our local used bookstore, where I found a bunch of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire, which I haven’t started yet but I love her Toby series, and a book I had just added to my wishlist, Black Blade Blues.
What a wonderful book-filled weekend!
Book Mail Haul July 2019
I have a few more awesome mail stuffs to share with you this week! I’m so excited for these amazing books for review and gifts from a friend as a late birthday present!
Series Sunday: Loom Saga by Elise Kova
I finally finished an Elise Kova series!! I don’t know what took so long, but I’m happy to say that I loved the Loom Saga and hope the author revisits someday. But the characters, storyline, world, and pacing were wonderful. There may be spoilers in the short reviews down below, but I’ll try to avoid them as much as possible. Check this series out if you like dragons, magic, and/or floating islands.
Cover Reveal! Chosen Champion by Elise Kova
Coming on May 1, 2019
The sequel to Vortex Visions:
Chosen Champions by Elise Kova
Synopsis:
A princess on the run, with enemies on all sides…
Vi Solaris is on the eve of getting everything she’s ever wanted—her family, her home, her throne—and to save the world she’s going to have to give it all up.
The Empire sees her as their Crown Princess, returning at long last. But Vi only sees visions of fate guiding her to the world’s gruesome end. Across the sea is a man who holds the keys to deciphering her premonitions and thwarting the ancient evil ravaging their world. But to get to him, Vi will have to contend with enemies of the crown, romance she didn’t expect, sorcerer pirates, and a betrayal she never saw coming.
She will learn the hard way that some evils never die… They only bide their time…
Book Review: Vortex Visions by Elise Kova
I want to start this review by saying that I have only read Air Awakens of the previous 5 book series, and that was a couple of years ago already. But I have been following the author on Facebook for years, and recently finished (Finally!) reading the Loom Saga (look for that review very soon), which led me to request a digital ARC of the follow-up sequel series. And I’m very glad to report that it was excellent!!
I wanted to pick this book up before catching up on the original series so that my review might convince new readers less hesitant to pick it up. The situation almost reminds me of how I read the Tortall world out of chronological order. Having started with The Immortals I was ecstatic to discover that there were more stories that covered some “side” characters set in the same world. I was happy to go back and learn more about them and their adventures!
Anyway, what you need to know about this book:
- You don’t need to have read any of the Air Awakens series
- The cover art is gorgeous!
- There’s at least 3 books planned in this series
- If you like plucky heroines beating the odds to save the world, you’ll love this one 🙂
Summary:
A desperate princess, a magical traveler, and a watch that binds them together with the fate of a dying world.
Vi Solaris is the heir to an Empire she’s barely seen. Her parents sacrificed a life with her to quell a rebellion and secure peace with a political alliance. Now, three years past when her wardship should’ve ended, Vi will do anything to be reunited with her family.
The Empire is faltering beneath the burden of political infighting and a deadly plague. Yet, Vi can’t help but wonder if her inability to control her magic is the true reason her parents haven’t brought her home. Suspicion becomes reality when she unleashes powers she’s not supposed to have.
Powers that might well cost her the throne.
As Vi fights to get her magic under control, a mysterious stranger appears from across the world. He holds the keys to unlocking her full potential, but the knowledge has an unspeakable price — some truths, once seen, cannot be ignored.
All eyes are on her and Vi must make the hardest choice of her life: Play by the rules and claim her throne. Or, break them and save the world.
Waiting on Wednesday: The Dragons of Nova by Elise Kova
Hardcover, 488 pages
Expected publication: July 11th 2017 by Keymaster Press
I plan on reading the first book during my upcoming vacation, so that when I get back, I’ll be ready to read my pre-order of this one!! I’m also excited about the pre-order swag/incentives that the author is offering here. Also, the cover art for both books are absolutely gorgeous!
Summary:
Cvareh returns home to his sky world of Nova with the genius crafter Arianna as his temperamental guest. The mercurial inventor possesses all the Xin family needs to turn the tides of a centuries-old power struggle, but the secrets she harbors must be earned with trust — hard to come by for Ari, especially when it comes to Dragons. On Nova, Ari finds herself closer to exacting vengeance against the traitor who killed everything — and everyone – she once loved. But before Ari can complete her campaign of revenge, the Crimson Court exposes her shadowed past and reveals something even more dangerous sparking between her and Cvareh.
While Nova is embroiled in blood sport and political games, the rebels on Loom prepare for an all-out assault on their Dragon oppressors. Florence unexpectedly finds herself at the forefront of change, as her unique blend of skills — and quick-shooting accuracy — makes her a force to be reckoned with. For the future of her world, she vows vengeance against the Dragons.
Before the rebellion can rise, though, the Guilds must fall.
Redd's Reads 