Book Review: Cursed Angel (Dragon's Gift: The Storm #3)

 

Cursed Angel

Veronica Douglas and Linsey Hall

Overall: 3/5

Plot and themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing style: 3/5

Attention-grabbing: 3/5

This is the third book in the Storm series, part of the Dragon's Gift universe. It follows the adventures of Neve, a half-djinn, and Damien, a fallen angel/FireHeart. Their powers are confusing and poorly defined and the reasoning behind holding back on their romance? Even more so. Matthias, basically the only character who was not introduced as a clear protagonist, is the villain and he's set to capture enough djinn to take over the world. Not only does Neve have to stop him but she has to resist the possibility of being trapped into granting his wishes for all of eternity. 

Again, this is part of a greater universe so maybe I'm just missing out on the magical components because I haven't read all of the other installments. But there are a lot of things that I just didn't follow. It wasn't even following more like understand the relevance of. It's like, it wasn't a bad story or anything and it was mildly entertaining it just wasn't something that I was super involved in the whole time I was reading it. 

I've finished reading the series so I felt bad rating it much lower than three, it was interesting enough for me to make it to the end and not hate them all. But it also could have been a lot more interesting. 

Book Review: Dark Storm (Dragon's Gift: The Storm #2)

 

Dark Storm

Veronica Douglas and Linsey Hall

Overall: 3/5

Plot and themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing style: 3/5

Attention-grabbing: 3/5

I am once again way behind on reviews so I read this a couple weeks and I'm just going to provide a brief overview. Neve risked her life to capture a powerful djinn, only for him to be stolen less than a week later. The skill set of the thief leads her back to Damien Malek's doorstep. When she determines he's not at fault, they team up to find the thief and save the world.

It's fine albeit very convenient. We've switched it up and added Damien's POV to the mix and he seems as though he has... obsessive tendencies. The entire secret mystery leading up to his big reveal is annoying too because like get over it why do we have to hear him talk about how broken he is and how nothing between him and Neve would ever work. I would much rather get the tragic backstory about why he's broken. 

I've already read the other two books at this point so my review is obviously a little biased but yeah it's an addicting kind of thing to read so you'll probably get to the end though I'm not really recommending it.

 

Book Review: Wicked Wish (Dragon's Gift: The Storm #1)

Wicked Wish

Veronica Douglas and Linsey Hall

Overall: 3/5

Plot and themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing style: 3/5

Attention-grabbing: 3/5

Wicked Wish is the first book in the Dragon's Gift series that follows Nevaeh as she tries to figure out her powers and her past while saving her randomly kidnapped best friend. She works for the supernatural division of the FBI but she doesn't have much upward mobility because she's been hiding her superpowers and apparently you're promoted based on magic rather than detective merit. It's not a very well-defined system but she's always been one to color inside the lines. That is until her friend is kidnapped and she teams up with a bounty hunter (who's also a criminal I don't know if that's a side thing or a misinterpretation of what a bounty hunter is) and breaks all the rules to save her. 

It was fairly average across the board. I wasn't super excited by it but I finished it quickly because it held my attention. I think the characters went back and forth a lot more than what I typically like but because the book went so fast it really wasn't that big of an issue. The authors held out a lot on giving us what we really want to know- her heritage and her magic abilities- so I'll definitely be reading the sequel just to satisfy that. 

The romance was eh. I don't know we really don't know enough about either of the protagonists for me to feel especially motivated to ship them with each other. I guess it has potential in the same way that every dark and angsty protagonist has potential to be the standard love interest. It's weird cause I don't want to read unless there's a romance but I don't particularly care that much about the romance here despite that being at the center. I don't know, I'm hoping that in the next book everything clicks a little better.

Book Review: An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)

An Ember in the Ashes

Sabaa Tahir

4/5

When nearly Laia's entire family is ruined by the violence and oppression of the Martial Empire, she risks everything in an attempt to save her last remaining piece of family. Elias has been studying to be a Mask for the last fifteen years but all he really wants to do is run away. Both are struggling to do the right thing in a world when there aren't that many great decisions available. 

I think the best way to describe it is Star Wars meets Attack on Titan but also kind of reminiscent of the Winner's Curse trilogy. There are a lot of middle eastern legends that are altered and magnified, it hasn't gotten into the magic of the universe all that much yet but I'm sure that it'll be a bigger theme later on through the series. I started this book years ago and then DNFed it, or put it on hold for a couple years. I promise it got a lot more exciting after the first like fifty pages. I don't think I would call it a romance, there are potential romances coming up but I don't think they're central motivators to the plot. 

My biggest complaint was probably just on the description of the divide between the Scholars and the Masks. I wasn't entirely sure what defined the two groups, that's definitely something that could be fleshed out in later books. I didn't like the way some of the more shocking punishments for the Scholars were just kind of thrown out there, there wasn't a lot of justification on all of it so it was a little jarring. Not anything that should detract from reading it but just something that felt a little cheap. 

I'd still recommend though, I understand where all the hype is coming from. I'm invested in where it's going and excited to get into the sequel.

Book Review: Princess of Smoke (Desert Nights Novels #3)

Princess of Smoke

Elm Vince and Helena Rookwood

4/5

Another great book in this series! I was questioning its status as a fantasy romance, but I feel like the relationship between Kassim and Zadie was finally validated in this one! After two books of struggling and doubt, their wedding is finally here and they've never been closer. Unfortunately, their rivals are eager to exploit the wedding as a distraction.

I think that the conflicts are a little weak, like especially towards the end it moved a little quickly. I'm not super mad about it, it's still a fun and action-packed read. I just feel as though some of the political concepts could have been explored a little deeper. I also don't know how I feel about the introduction of her sister, since it feels like she was introduced solely as a new female "rival" for Zadie. We'll see how it all pans out in the finale, but I'm hoping for a little more balance! Would still 100% recommend this series!

Book Review: Palace of Wishes (Desert Nights Novels #2)

Palace of Wishes

Elm Vince and Helena Rookwood

5/5

I liked this book even more than I liked the last one! Most of the questions that I had were answered and there's major potential for further exposition in the third book. Zadie is a strong heroine, not without her faults but also not without people looking out for her and waiting to correct her on those faults.

I know that this is a fantasy romance and I liked the romance element a lot more in this one, but I'm still waiting for more! I was right on the border between 4 and 5 stars here because of a couple lapses in the flow of the character progression. Overall though, I'm seeing a lot of growth and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Would recommend this series if you have Kindle Unlimited, it's super quick and the characters are all very endearing.

Book Review: Throne of Sand (Desert Nights Novels #1)

Throne of Sand

Elm Vince and Helena Rookwood

4/5

I really enjoyed this book! Kind of reminded me of Rebels of the Sand because djinni and all. I really love djinni as fantasy characters and there really aren't enough books with them in it. As the middle child, Zadie's never had grand ambitions. When her older sister wants to run away and marry for love, Zadie helps her and takes the role future Sultana to a neighboring Sultan. The best part is the way she embraces the responsibility, she wants to be a Sultana because she wants to help people and she puts the work in to do so.

It was almost a five star read, but I would've liked a little more background into her history. Maybe a couple flashbacks of interactions with her sister? Maybe that's just me looking for a tragic backstory, she has a pretty average life other than that. It would make her seem more selfless and heroic- she isn't shallow she just hasn't had a lot of outside interactions.

I would also like some more interactions between her and Kassim, it's advertised as a fantasy romance but I'm not really feeling it yet as they haven't talked much. I like that the Vizier is a woman in power, but it's interesting how problematic she's being. It's pretty reflective of a constant theme of people who have risen in power, the need to hold back those coming from the same position as them. I'd like to go a little deeper into that rather than just framing her as a typical mean girl.

Looking forward to the next book and totally recommending it thus far!