fantasy

Book Review: Witchlings

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Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega

Witchlings (Witchlings, #1)
by Claribel A. Ortega (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars

Seven is worried that when she is sorted into her witches coven she might not be in the same coven with her best friend. However, she never imagined that she would be a Spare, a witch without a coven at all. Seven and the other two Spares are set an impossible task to defeat a horrific Nightbeast. They must complete the task, or they will lose their magic forever, or worse, be turned into toads!

This book has everything I was looking for! There’s a great magic system and interesting world-building. I really liked that the witches’ world has a distant past that must be reckoned with. You really get a sense of the depth of the history behind their laws and the way their everyday lives are ordered.

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Book Review: The Sisters of Luna Island

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The Sisters of Luna Island by Stacy Hackney

The Sisters of Luna Island
by Stacy Hackney (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

Marigold is the youngest of three sisters in the magical Lafleur family. They are aromages, brewing up charms using aromas. But all magic has a price, and sometimes their magic has severe consequences if they try to change fate. Ever since a terrible accident, Marigold and her sisters have given up aromagic, and their family seems to be falling apart. Marigold discovers that all their bad luck could be because of an ancient curse, and she is determined to find a way to break the curse and save her sisters!

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Book Review: The Wizard in the Wood

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The Wizard in the Wood by Louie Stowell

The Wizard in the Wood (The Dragon in the Library, #3)
by Louie Stowell

4 out of 5 stars

Kit, Josh, and Alita are privileged to witness the birth of a new baby dragon along with their new school library! But dark wizards are sneaking around the new library, and it is up to Kit to protect the baby dragon. Josh and Alita want to help too, but Kit is the one with the magical abilities. She tries to take on all the responsibility, but finds that it is too much for her to handle alone.

I loved this book from start to finish! The characters, the plot, the world-building, the magic; everything is wonderful! The writing style is absolutely hilarious! There are so many cute bits of dialogue and funny scenes that had me laughing.

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Book Review: Healer and Witch

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Healer and Witch by Nancy Werlin

Healer and Witch
by Nancy Werlin (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

This YA fantasy takes place in the Middle Ages, and Sylvie is terrified that an Inquisitor from the Holy Catholic Church could denounce her as a witch. She has a special ability to heal which she believes is from God, but being a good Christian won’t save her from being killed as a witch if the wrong people find out about what she can do.
Sylvie tries to heal her mother, but when it goes terribly wrong, Sylvie leaves her quiet French village searching for someone who might be able to teach her how to control her powers. Her little friend, Martin, tags along eager to travel and see the wide world.

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Book Review: Hunters of the Lost City

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Hunters of the Lost City by Kali Wallace

Hunters of the Lost City
by Kali Wallace (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

Octavia has lived all her life within the walls of her city, the last refuge for humanity in a world that has been destroyed by war and plague. The only living things outside the walls were monsters. There was no human life left anywhere except in Octavia’s city…. or so she believed. Octavia meets a mysterious girl who claims to be from another city. Together they could destroy everything the town believes and bring healing to a society drowning in lies.

I loved this book so much! The adventure, the magic, the world building, the character growth; this book has it all! I got emotionally attached to the characters very quickly, and it was so wonderful to see how Octavia grows and heals and changes as the story progresses. There are so many big revelations and plot twists as Octavia learns just how deep the lies really go. Every time she discovers something new in her world, the reader discovers it along with her.

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Book Review: A Dragon Used to Live Here

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A Dragon Used to Live Here by Annette LeBlanc Cate

A Dragon Used to Live Here
by Annette LeBlanc Cate

5 out of 5 stars

Thomas and Emily are the children of a knight and lady. They live in a castle, take archery lessons, and learn courtly manners and knightly conduct. They meet Meg, a scribe, who used to know their mother when she was a child. Meg tells them stories about the dragon who used to live in the castle and how their mother became involved in a terrifying adventure. But is Meg telling the truth? Or is she just weaving a tall tale?

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Book Review: The Last Mapmaker

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The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

The Last Mapmaker
by Christina Soontornvat (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

Sai pretends to be from a wealthy family in order to get an apprenticeship with a mapmaker. She hides that her father is a criminal, and uses her skills as a forger to help the mapmaker copy maps and documents. When the mapmaker goes on a sea voyage to explore new regions of the world, Sai is eager to leave her past behind and start a new life. There are tales of dragons and dangerous seas in the South, but the riches and rewards could be immense.

I loved this story! It’s so exciting as they travel further and further from Sai’s home, and the people on board the ship begin to divide into groups with very different goals. Both the adventure and the emotional journey have a lot of tension and suspense. There are so many great twists in the plot!

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Book Review: The Monster in the Lake

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The Monster in the Lake by Louie Stowell

The Monster in the Lake (The Dragon in the Library, #2)
by Louie Stowell, Davide Ortu (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Kit and her friends are flabbergasted by a recent surge of wild magic that is making random things happen. Kit’s magic spells are going haywire. Animals in the park are talking to humans, and something magical is bubbling up from the depths of the lake. This new adventure will take Kit all the way to Scotland to solve the mystery of the unpredictable wild magic.

I loved this book from start to finish! The characters, the plot, the world-building, the magic; everything is wonderful! The writing style is absolutely hilarious! There are so many cute bits of dialogue and funny scenes that had me laughing.

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Book Review: Shadow of the Spider

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Shadow of the Spider by Marianne E. Burgess

Shadow of the Spider: A Quest to Save A Queen
by Marianne E. Burgess (Goodreads Author)

A set of triplets are separated as babies to protect them from a danger that lurks around their family. Two of them are sent to the modern world and they grow up leading normal lives. As teenagers, they are magically transported back to the land of their birth- a fantasy world where people have magical abilities, and satyrs, elves, and dwarves populate the land. A mysterious wizard launches them on a quest to save their mother.

The main plot of this book looks like it’s pretty good, but the writing got on my nerves so badly that I DNF’d the book at page 76. Multiple POVs is already one of my pet peeves, but this book took head-hopping to a whole different level of annoyance. Sometimes there are multiple POVs in the same paragraph!

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Book Review: Dragon Rain

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Dragon Rain by Vonnie Winslow Crist

Dragon Rain
by Vonnie Winslow Crist (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

Each short story in this collection features dragons; some benevolent, some dangerous, and all of them mysterious and magical. There are dragons with mystical powers. Some dragons will bargain with humans, exchanging magic for goods. Baby dragons just out of the egg need protection. Dragons in captivity will exact their revenge. And there are some dragons who are looking for their soulmate.

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