Of Cages and Crowns by Brianna Joy Crump ARC Review!

 

Title: Of Cages and Crowns (The Culled Crown #1)
Author: Brianna Joy Crump
Publish Date: November 22nd, 2022
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for review!

For goddess-touched girls, there is only one destiny: the Culling

From the moment Monroe Benson is born with a mark on her hand and the ability to summon fire from her fingertips, her life will never be her own. She’s goddess-touched, which means she’s destined to participate in the Culling, an age-old competition to determine the next queen of Erydia. For most of her seventeen years, her family has managed to keep Monroe--and her powers--hidden. But now, as Queen Viera calls for the Culling to start, and war looms on the horizon, Monroe can no longer hide. She must face her destiny whether she wants to or not.

For the ten goddess-touched girls, all with different powers, the inevitably of this fight to the death has always ruled their lives. The tradition is both barbaric and cruel, but to make matters worse--Monroe isn’t prepared. She hasn’t trained her whole life for this day. She doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. She doesn’t want the crown.

While Monroe struggles with her fate, a rebellion is brewing in the castle and in the country. A group called the Culled are banding together; their goal--to topple the monarchy. And the more they rise, the more merciless Viera is with her kingdom, recruiting younger and younger people from poorer and poorer places to fight in a war no one wants to be waging.

When Monroe finds herself on the front lines of the rebellion’s inner circle, only one thing stands in her way: Cohen. The queen’s son and the man who will be king. The pair grows close, yet Cohen’s dedication to duty, to family, to tradition stands in stark contrast to the boy Monroe sees at night in the kitchens, secretly making the two of them a snack.

As the fight crescendos around them, and the death of innocents is a force to bear, the choices Monroe makes will reverberate through the kingdom . . . and her heart forever.

Penelope's Review

I absolutely love competition-style books with fights to the death so this was a no-brainer for me! I know it's probably going to be referred to in like every review lol, but if you love The Hunger Games, grab this one! You won't be disappointed!

Our main female lead is Monroe Benson, and unfortunately for her, one of our goddess-touched girls. She wants nothing to do with this competition or being queen, but is thrust into it nonetheless. I liked how Monroe was unassumingly confident. She's quiet until she needs to stand up to someone, and then she's able to do so with ease. Her character development is slow, but I like the qualities she gains by the end of the book.

While I liked Cohen, I found that he was a bit too timid and weak for my tastes. Too much of a pushover... I would have preferred a stronger character BUT I liked his sweet side and felt that it worked with Monroe's character. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next book does with their relationship after that ending. They both have things to sort through and deal with and I'm curious to see if it will push them apart or bring them closer together. 

Thanks to a brutally evil queen, we also have a rebellion on the rise! The people are tired of her tyrannical ways and have banded together to fight back. Monroe is pulled into the Culled's plans and even though she believes in what they're fighting for, she can't help but question what this would mean for Cohen. 

The world-building in this book is excellent. I really like this author's writing style, and I think she handled her characters arcs well. Overall, I found it to be quite an enjoyable read with some great action and I'm looking forward to what comes next after such an explosive ending!

Rating: 4/5 Devils!

The Crimson Fathers by J. Todd Kingrea ARC Review!

 

Title: The Crimson Fathers (The Deiparian Saga #2)
Author: J. Todd Kingrea
Publish Date: November 1st, 2022
Publisher: BHC Press
Source: Huge thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC for review!

In a post-apocalyptic world where tyranny and medieval torture reign supreme and witch burnings are an everyday occurrence, a top Witchfinder must confront the very Church he serves when he learns of its dark past and twisted plans for the future.

With the Fifth Order in complete control of the Church of the Deiparous, Malachi Thorne and his friends must find "The Flame," a powerful weapon which may be the only chance they have of halting the evil of the Crimson Fathers.

Penelope's Review

I was so excited to see where this book would take us after the ending of The Witchfinder. The book starts a little while after the ending of the first book, and we've got different groups in different locations. 

Malachi Thorne is now the leader of the resistance and Teska Vaun is coming to terms with her place in the Communion as a Nahoru'brexia. Together, the two of them have a very rocky road ahead filled with danger and adventure. We also have the return of some of my favorite supporting characters - Dario, Cabbott, Hawkes, and Warner to name a few! The Fifth Order has taken control of the Church, and there's a price on Malachi's head... things are heating up to say the least!

This book gives everything you would expect from a well-written fantasy novel. It has great characters with some excellent development and fantastic world-building as we go along. Since this is a post-apocalyptic Earth, there's a bunch of clever location references thrown in that I absolutely loved!

I also really enjoyed the parallels - while this book is fantasy, we see a lot of power and corruption that can easily be seen in today's world. The fight for freedom is one that we have seen so many times throughout history and you can't help but root for Thorne and his friends to come out of all of this victorious. 

I really like when an author is able to tell more than one story and bring them together seamlessly and that's exactly what happens in The Crimson Fathers. We have Malachi, Teska, Amelia and Tua'Ahtaki on one path, and Hawkes, Warner, and Dario on another path. And then we have some brief looks into the goings on of The Crimson Fathers. We get to see how each of these paths converge and it made for a really enjoyable experience putting it all together!

The only thing that sort of threw me out of the reading experience was that we would switch from one point of view to another with no warning. Now I'm not sure if this is just an ARC issue, and that the final copy will have some indication when we're switching POV's but for me, it made some chapters a bit difficult. There were times when it would change even from one paragraph to the next so something to keep in mind!

Overall though, this was a great addition to the series and it looks like we have much to look forward to in the next installment. I'm excited to see where Malachi Thorne and his friends end up in their fight for freedom! 

Rating: 4/5 Devils!

Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert ARC Review!

 

Title: Court of the Vampire Queen
Author: Katee Robert
Publish Date: September 6th, 2022
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for review! 

Three Powerfully Alluring Vampire Men

And One Queen to Rule Them All

All Mina ever wanted was to escape her father's control. Half human, half vampire, she lived eternally torn between two worlds, never fully experiencing the pleasures of either—until her father chose her as the pawn in his latest political move, gifting her to the darkly powerful and dangerously seductive Malachi Zion.

Malachi is not a vampire to be trifled with. He rules with an iron fist and has a reputation for the darkest of sins. But the longer Mina spends with him, the more she realizes he's not the monster she first thought—and as fear bleeds into lust, then trust, then something more, Malachi opens Mina up to a world she never knew could be hers for the taking: including the love of Malachi's two closest friends and companions.

Now surrounded by all three men, the center of their shockingly seductive world, Mina may finally have the power to face down her father and take back the life—and crown—that by all rights should be hers.

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN.

Penelope's Review

Ooohhh I love me some vampires! And this book has not 1, not 2, but 3!! THREE SEXY VAMPIRES! We start with one, then move into a threesome and eventually into a foursome and damn. Just damn. If you're into reverse harem, this one's for you!

Mina is a dhampir, so half-vampire half-human, and she's been sent by her father to Malachi to basically be a blood bag/sexual servant. We get off on a sexy note right from the beginning and we never really look back! Yes, there is a plot. And it's actually a decent plot! But if you came for the sex, you won't be disappointed. 

Our three vamps each have their own personality and I grew to love every one of them in their own way. They all brought a different perspective, and it made everything that much better. 

Could the plot have been fleshed out a bit more? Sure. Did I really care all that much because I was getting all of the steamy scenes my heart could imagine? Nope! Not a bit lol! 

Overall, it really was a decent read. I liked the characters, I liked the storyline, I liked the sex. It's a fun read! Dive in, you won't be disappointed if you know what you're getting into!

Rating: 4/5 Devils!