This is installment three of this series, where I review magic and fantasy books! Check out installments one and two, and enjoy these reviews of my favorite genre!
The Crimson Moth Series – Kristen Ciccarelli – 4 Stars
This is a two book completed romantasy series starring Rune, a vigilante witch, and Gideon, a witch hunter, as they enter a fake romance to try and get information out of the other. As a whole, this series was pretty fun, with romantic antics and a decent plot that gave proper time to both the romance and the politics.
The series starts after a rebellion overthrows a trio of evil witch queens, and witches are declared enemies of the state. Rune, a young witch who needed to turn in her adoptive grandmother to remain hidden, now uses her noble influence and secret identity to learn information about captured witches so she can free them and smuggle them to safety. Gideon, another noble and member of the new republic’s guard, is a known witch hunter, and he begins to suspect rune of being the infamous Crimson Moth, or at least in league with her. They begin a fake relationship, fully planning on using the other to gain information, until, surprise surprise, they start to fall in love.
While this wasn’t extraordinary by any means, and there were moments over both books I was mentally kicking myself over some of the decisions the characters make, it was overall enjoyable and worth the read. Especially if you like the fake lovers trope or want to see unique take on witchcraft, which is powered by runes drawn in blood. The romance had a lot of fun back and forth, both characters have good motivations and clear chemistry, and the world building was well done.
Half a Soul – Olivia Atwater – 4.5 Stars
If you like regency tales and tricky fae shenanigans, check out Olivia Atwater’s Half a Soul. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, liking the romance, the mystery, and the humor sprinkled throughout. The main character, Theodora Ettings, was a victim of a faerie curse as a child. In his attempt to whisk her away to faerie, he winds up only taking half of her soul with him, leaving her with many of her emotions dulled or missing entirely.
When Dora’s cousin begins her season in London, Dora is determined to stay out of the way and not ruin her cousin’s chances, only to become entangled with Elias Wilder, the Lord Sorcier, who becomes interested in her affliction. To make matters worse, her aunt insists she begins courting Elias’s friend, Albert Lowe, to clear the way for her cousin to court another man. Romantic antics, eschewed manners and morals, and a genuine and touching relationship ensues, as Dora navigates her own addled emotions, her relationships with the two men, and discovers what she truly wants for herself.
This book has been described as Bridgerton meets Howl’s Moving Castle, and I think that’s fairly apt. An onery wizard, a woman who is not aware of her impact and charm, and a touching genuine relationship that feels magical. I really enjoyed this one, especially the included short story The Lord Sorcier, which contains the backstories for Albert and Elias. Do check this one out!
The Bane Witch – Ava Morgyn – 3.5 Stars
Content warning for this review: Discussions of domestic abuse, murder, and rape
I’ll be honest, I almost DNFed this one. It starts off with an interesting premise: A woman who fakes her death to escape her abusive husband who has fantasies of killing her. She goes on to discover that she’s a bane witch, a member of a family of witches who can ingest dangerous plants and repurpose their venom to kill men who deserve it. An interesting premise.
This book did a few things well. I like they mythos surrounding the bane witches and think it’s cool to see modern day magic. I like the morally gray vigilantism of the witches, as they seek out those who would do harm to others. And I think the idea of being able to safely eat poisonous plants and mushrooms, only to be a vessel for their toxins, is pretty damn cool. Like a blue dragon sea slug. But other than the main concept, I have several gripes with this book.
Firstly, the way it handles the amount of violence and sucky men present. Look. I’m not the kind to say “not all men” and pretend like we don’t have a problem in society. But I like to think that a majority of the men out there are at least decent people, if not the perfect male specimen. But in this book, there is so much violence and abuse and rape that’s shoved down your throat, as description of shitty man after shitty man is dumped on you. I get it, the goal of the bane witches is to kill awful men. But it just didn’t sit well with me, and was way too heavy all at once (and without a content warning, at least for the audio copy I used). The book is supposed to feel like a girl power, Midsommar type of narrative where a woman finally gets control, but I just didn’t get that. Basically every man but three are horrible, trying to do awful things to the protagonist like strangle and rape her. It’s later revealed that she has an allure, where her magic calls bad men too her so she can kill them, but still. And of the three good guys, two are cops!
Again, I’m not out here to condemn all cops. I will eagerly critique the system and call for reforms like the nest guy. But it just didn’t like that two male police officers were the ‘good guys’ in a book about domestic violence, when domestic violence is 2-4 times more likely in police families. I think it would have been one thing if this was addressed, but it was never mentioned. Instead, the two cops are good, sympathetic people because they have tragic pasts that make them good people. I’m all for a sexy sheriff character, but I think it would have been nice for this to be acknowledged in a book where the whole point is taking down shitty men.
And lastly, what really got to me, was that this book was not about stopping these crimes before they happen, or fixing the world as a whole for the better, but rather it focuses on getting rid of men after they have done awful things. And while I can admit that it’s more of a good thing than a bad thing, I just wish that there was more emphasis on improving the world as a whole, and preventing these crimes from the get-go. If you have a magical allure that lets you kill bad men after they do awful things, why can’t there be a magical allure that lets you give therapy to men before they’re driven to commit awful acts? Or at least put them in prison before they can act? Sure, they’re saving future people from being harmed, and getting ‘vengeance’ for those now gone, but I think we’d be better off putting a stop to violence as a whole. That’s what I’d want to use magic powers for.
I dunno. Maybe I wasn’t the target demographic. If you want a book where a woman takes control of her life and gets vengeance on some real bad dudes, or if you really want to go down on the sexy sheriff of a small town, check this one out.
Legends and Lattes – Travis Baldree – 4.5 Stars
You know when people love something so much that it makes you not want to watch/read it? That’s been me with Legends and Lattes. It’s probably THE book when it comes to cozy fantasy right now. Everyone, from Ava, to Goodreads, to the Dragonsteel panelists talking about cozy fiction were hyping this book up. And I stood firm for so long.
I finally caved in after Morning Star killed me and I needed something light and quick. And this book was at the top of my Libby holds. And it was only seven hours. And I knew that it would be good.
And it really really was. This book is everything you need from cozy fantasy. A fun, vibrant world akin to Faerun (the main DnD setting). A plot that was easy but fun to follow. A colorful cast of main and supporting characters. And lots of great food and drink. I really need an iced mocha and a chocolate croissant about now.
Viv is an orc with dreams of hanging up her blade and starting a new chapter of her life. Armed with a purse full of coin, the new delight of gnomish coffee, and a magical stone fabled to bring good fortune, she sets up shop and learns what it means to lay down roots and find something you love to do.
I love when a book is everything it promised to be, and Legends and Lattes is certainly one of those books. If you need a quick pick-me-up or a fun fast read, seriously, don’t be like me and pick this one up.
The Enchanted Greenhouse – Sarah Beth Durst – 4 Stars
This is a somewhat-sequel to The Spellshop, which I reviewed a few months ago, and quite enjoyed. For both of these books, the premise is quite simple, but very enjoyable. I highly recommend both for any fans of cozy fantasy out there.
This book has very direct ties to the first one, without being wholly intertwined. In The Spellshop, one of the characters is a sentient spider plant named Kaz. Kaz was created by a librarian who performed magic illegally to do so, citing her loneliness and need for a friend. She was turned into a statue for her crimes.
The Enchanted Greenhouse is about this very same librarian, Terlu, who wakes up on a mostly abandoned island covered in magical enchanted greenhouses. She meets the one resident, a man named Yarrow, who tells her he had requested the help of a sorcerer to aid in saving the greenhouses, which are failing. Terlu, with extreme hesitance and worry about getting caught, agrees to do her best to help.
The premise of this book is pretty simple (save the greenhouses), but it’s done well, and both Terlu and Yarrow have good character development and a natural feeling relationship. Terlu needs to overcome her fear of being alone and being turned back into a statue, and Yarrow needs to overcome his reluctance to receive help and let people in. They worked nicely together.
Perhaps my favorite part of this book was how it actually answered many of the questions I was left with after The Spellshop. We learn more about the rebellion that launches both of these books, and get more hints about how magic is being returned to the people. In the last few chapters of the book, Terlu even gets a spellbook written and published by the protagonist of the first book, which I thought was a really neat touch. It was a great and organic way to connect the two without being cheesy or overdone. I’m excited to see how the upcoming third book, Sea of Charms, furthers the world Durst has created.
Once again, a great collection of magical books for fans of the genre. I like that this one had a good mix of cozy and romantasy going on. Maybe I’ll write an article talking about my thoughts on the two genres…
Until next time, dear readers!
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