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[katara]

Kingdom of Blood and Salt by Alexis Calder

Genre:
Fantasy, Romance, Shape Shifters, Vampires, the Fae, Werewolves, Enemies to Lovers, Spicy Romance

Publication Date:
March 30, 2023

Rating:
4.2 out of 5

Blurb:

An epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout, Raven Kennedy, and Sarah J Maas.

After spending years training to defend my people from our enemies, I never expected that my enemy would be the one keeping me alive.

Athos is the last human city. A treaty with the Fae keeps the fae, the vampires, and the wolf shifters at bay, while we fight against the dragons at our border. Being a human in this world is dangerous and we all make sacrifices to survive.

When the delegation sent by the Fae King arrives to claim the human tributes required by our treaty, I never expected to forge a connection with their leader.

Ryvin is as dangerous as he is handsome. I know he’s my enemy, and I know I’m supposed to hate him, but with each passing day, he’s more difficult to resist.

But things are changing in Athos. Humans no longer want to bend to the Fae King.

Alliances blur and centuries of lies begin to unravel.

And I’m faced with a choice.

No matter how much I hate him, Ryvin might be the key to preventing war.

But it may mean sacrificing everything….

Kingdom of Blood and Salt is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy with fae, vampires, and shifters. This enemies to lovers series contains violence, mature language, and spice. This is a NA/adult fantasy romance and steam level will increase as the series progresses. Mind the cliff.

Review:

With dragons being kept at bay by a wall and a treaty in place with a Fae King, Arthos is the last human city. Ara, our female lead, is the illegitimate daughter of the king and has been training most of her life to join her aunt Katerina at the wall. That is until the Fae King's delegation comes to collect the human tributes from the kingdom. Ara is tasked with entertaining the delegation including Ambassador Ryvin. She has no desire to do any sort of entertaining of Ryvin and she wants him to stay far, far away from her as possible, but her father wants her to keep him busy while they search for other ways to get rid of the delegation.

Ara really annoyed me as a character. She never seems to grow in character and only grows more annoying throughout the entire story. I tried on numerous occasions to connect with her throughout the story and I could not. I could find anything I liked about her. She claims to want to protect her people, but we see that she finally takes off those rose-colored glasses and sees that the city is much worse off than she realized. It takes Ryvin to show her that her family does not seem to care at all for their people.

Another thing about Ara that annoyed me is the way she treats Ryvin. He is nothing but kind to her. Never says anything horrible about her and yet she calls him all sorts of names until the sun. She doesn't try to get to know him and does not even bother to spend time with him. It's only when her father asks she "entertains" him that she does.

The only redemption she has is the way she loves her sisters. She will do anything to protect them and that shows even toward the end of the book. You see that she loves them and although she does question their love, she believes in them.

Ryvin is the Ambassador of the Fae King. His powers come from the dark and shadows. From Ara's view, he is the bad guy. He has come to take the hundred human tributes back with him and yet he does not do anyone harm. He saves Ara a few times and yet, she still treats him horribly. I could not understand what he saw in her at all. I don't understand why he continued to bother to pursue her.

This book is the first in a series. Currently, this one I am still struggling to decide its rating. There were some hits to this book and then there was a miss - the female lead. This book has potential and I am excited to see how the next book connects and explains some things. I would like to know more about Ryvin and I hope we do.

[ 450 ]

[katara]

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

Genre:
Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, BiPoC author, Young Adult, High School, Dark, Academia, Racism

Publication Date:
January 31, 2023

Rating:
4.9 out of 5

Blurb:

A blockbuster, dark academia mystery about three teens of color who must investigate their principal’s murder to clear their own names―this page-turning thriller is perfect for fans of Karen McManus, Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Holly Jackson .

"Thrilling, captivating, and blade-sharp." ―Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying

"A brilliant pulls-no-punches mystery." ―Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End

The prestigious Urban Promise Prep school might look pristine on the outside, but deadly secrets lurk within. When the principal ends up murdered on school premises and the cops come sniffing around, a trio of students―J.B., Ramón, and Trey―emerge as the prime suspects. They had the means, they had the motive―and they may have had the murder weapon. But with all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. Or is the true culprit hiding among them?

Find out who killed Principal Moore in Nick Brooks's murder mystery, Promise Boys ― The Hate U Give meets One of Us Is Lying.

Review:

Hiding behind its pristine walls and sparkling reputation, Urban Promise Prep is considered the cornerstone of taking the underprivileged from their neighborhoods and getting them college-bound ready. Funded by an affluent donor and run by Principal Kenneth Moore, the elite school is seen as more of a prison than a place that prepares students for the future. Demerits and discipline tactics keep students in order and out of trouble. But when Kenneth Moore is murdered, three students stand out as accused - Trey Jackson, Ramon Zambrano, and J.B. Williamson. All three boys are troubled and bullies among their peers and the three who had the most beef against the principal prior to his death.

Made up of newspaper clippings, police interviews, and first-handed accounts, this story connects every chapter to create a timeline of events that led up to the murder. You find that not everything about the school is perfect. The inside of the school was more of a prison to the students with demerit and discipline tactics keeping each student in line. A missing piece of the uniform, and a step out of order all cause a student to be sent to detention. Each boy had a reason to kill off their principal.

When I picked up this book, I was iffy about reading it. I had seen both sides of the aisle talk about this book and I think that is what made this book - it made people talk, made people think, and brought up subjects that normally were avoided in conversations. This is the type of book people should sit down to read and talk about. There should be conversations on racism and communities. I can see why this book had a lot of great responses and I am hoping to read more of this author's work in the future.