Modern Faerie Tales Book 3: Ironside by Holly Black

Modern Faerie Tales Book 3

In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing -- her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can't see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn't exist: a faerie who can tell a lie.

Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth -- that she is a changeling left in place of the human daughter stolen long ago. Her mother's shock and horror sends Kaye back to the world of Faerie to find her human counterpart and return her to Ironside. But once back in the faerie courts, Kaye finds herself a pawn in the games of Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she will use Kaye, and any means necessary, to get it. In this game of wits and weapons, can a pixie outplay a queen?

Holly Black spins a seductive tale at once achingly real and chillingly enchanted, set in a dangerous world where pleasure mingles with pain and nothing is exactly as it appears.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/283494.Ironside

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

Definitely the best of the trilogy! A lot happens in this book. The Unseelie and Seelie Courts are courting one another in war. A war Roiben desperately wants to prevent and win in order to have peace with no lives lost. Kaye gets tricked by some faeries that she must declare her love forr Roiben and ask for a quest in order to stay by her side. And to protect Kaye, Roiben gives her an impossible task to keep her away from courts. And if that wasn't enough, Kaye tells her mother the truth about her being a changeling. So yes, a lot. And from the second book, Luis makes an appearance to help Kaye and Corny as they continue to be involved in faerie problems. I really liked this story the best of the three. And I have to say I LOVED the solution to Roiben's impossible quest. Brilliant on Kaye's part for coming up with that answer. I laughed really hard on that final page when she tells Roiben how she pulled it off. And also now that I read these books, I can understand Roiben and Kaye better from the Folk of the Air trilogy, which also means I am about to do a re-read to keep up the momentum and because they were just really good!

Modern Faerie Tales Book 2: Valiant by Holly Black

Modern Faerie Tales Book 2

When seventeen-year-old Valerie runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.

But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. And when one talks Val into tracking down the lair of a mysterious creature with whom they are all involved, Val finds herself torn between her newfound affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/266607.Valiant

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My Review: 4/5 Stars

Book two of the Modern Faerie Tales series and I gotta say it took me a little longer to get into the story. I was waiting for more action and adventure with faeries, though they were pretty present. But Val's story was pretty crazy, I gotta say. Even before the introductions of faeries. After a completely insane revelation, Val runs away and finds herself with homeless kids who run errands for faeries or one particular faerie, Ravus. She ends up striking a deal with him to help him run errands but she learns that faeries are getting killed and Ravus is trying to figure out by whom, despite the fact that the other faeries believe he is the murderer. Val sees more to Ravus and the fact that he is a troll. Back in the world of faeries and there is one more book left in this series. I know Kaye is the main character in the final book, but will Val make an appearance? I look forward to finding out!

Lochguard Highland Dragons Book 7: The Dragon's Pursuit by Jessie Donovan

Lochguard Highland Dragons Book 7

When Dr. Layla MacFie realizes someone is stealing much-needed medical supplies, she doesn't know who to trust inside her surgery. Determined to find the culprit herself, she reaches out to Lochguard's electrician, Chase, who just happens to be the younger male who's been trying to woo her for months. But since there's no one else to help install the security cameras, she can't avoid him any longer and ends up being alone with him far more than she wants. If only the life of a dragon-shifter doctor wasn't so complicated, she would be tempted to give in and sleep with the male.

Chase McFarland has known for the last two years, ever since the day after his twentieth birthday, that Layla is his true mate. While he tried to resist his dragon's badgering, it didn't take long for Chase to realize how amazing Layla is and that he wants to take care of her and claim her for himself. His initial attempts to win her all fail, but when she asks for his help with a secret project, he decides to change tactics and prove he's a worthy male. The more time they spend together, the more Layla gives in, until he's ready to tell her the truth and face the consequences.

As the pair dance around each other and discover each others' secrets, they learn of the thief and must decide what to do. Will Chase finally be able to prove he's mature enough for the much older Layla, or will she forever be chained to her work and deny what both she and her dragon crave?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50005476-the-dragon-s-pursuit

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

I always love visiting Lochguard! When we met Layla and Chase in previous books, I was so excited to read their story. And this one did not disappoint. There were so many twists and turns in this one, I of course ended up reading it in one sitting. What starts as Layla and Chase finding out who is stealing medical supplies, turns into something neither saw coming. And that isn't even about the fact that they are true mates. Their discovery will start a chain reaction of events that keep you on your toes. A lot was jammed packed into this story and I loved every moment of it. And of course, I loved Layla and Chase's love story. Definitely a favorite of mine! And I cannot wait for more future books to come!  

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Modern Faerie Tales Book 1: Tithe by Holly Black

Modern Faerie Tales Book 1

Welcome to the realm of very scary faeries!

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms - a struggle that could very well mean her death.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46777.Tithe

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My Review: 4/5 Stars

For me this was the perfect example of needing to be in the right mood and mindset to read a particular book. I had tried to read Tithe a long time ago and could not get into it. So I figured that was it. It just wasn't going to be interesting to me. But, later on I had come across Holly Black's The Cruel Prince and I absolutely loved it. And Kaye and Roiben were mentioned and were in a bonus chapter at the end of that story. And I was like aw man I really need to read their story. Because I am a firm believer that you can appreciate a series more when you have everything that came before it read. Especially again when I read The Wicked Prince and then not too long ago The Queen of Nothing. How could I keep reading these and see these two characters and not go back and try to read Modern Faerie Tales one more time? So, though I am late to the game (and by the time I finish this trilogy, I will probably feel the need to re-read the Folk of the Air trilogy. Which isn't a hardship since they were amazing!), I finally made it through Tithe. Because I figured I liked the sequel series, I am sure I will like the first series, I just need to give it a real chance and stick with it. So glad I did because it was really great! Knowing small bits of future Kaye from the Folk and Air trilogy, I can see how Kaye will reach that point. In Tithe, she is discovering the life she had is a lie and all the times she communicated with faeries, she wasn't crazy. It was real. And after helping Roiben, she is dragged into Faerie and the world is so different than her own. I enjoyed this first book and I look forward to seeing what the other two stories will tell and how the Unseelie Court will turn into the one I saw in the Folk and Air series.

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh pivots in a new direction with her first mainstream thriller that will be sure to keep readers on their toes.

Anahera Rawiri left New Zealand at twenty-one, fleeing small-town poverty and the ghosts of her childhood with no plans to look back. But eight years later, she returns, seeking familiarity as respite from the shattered remains of her new life. And despite the changes brought on by a bump in tourism--the shiny new welcome sign at the town line and a decidedly less shiny new police presence--Golden Cove appears much as it ever was: a small settlement on the savage West Coast of the South Island, populated by all the remembered faces and set against a backdrop of lush greenery, jagged cliffs, and crashing waves.

Detective Will Gallagher knows all about ghosts; his own chased him out of a promising career in Christchurch, landing him as the sole cop in a quaint town where his most pressing concerns are petty theft and the occasional drunk. When Golden Cove resident Miri Hinewai goes out for a run and fails to return, Will finds himself heading up a missing person's search that rapidly escalates into an official investigation after this case is connected with similar ones from the past. As an outsider, Will begins to rely on Anahera's knowledge of the area and its residents to help him delve into Golden Cove's secrets, and to determine whether it shelters something far more dangerous than just an unforgiving landscape.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44525771-a-madness-of-sunshine

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My Review: 4/5 Stars

Different from what we usually get from Nalini Singh, but still a great story to read. Nalini's writing is great and for her to step out a write something different, she still did a great job. Though suspense. mystery, and thrillers aren't my go to, I have read some and this was definitely one of the better. To me, what makes this genre good is that it has to keep you guessing the entire way. You don't want the obvious person to the be the killer for obvious reasons. You have to piece the clues together and want to have a satisfying end where you are surprised and the motive is surprising. And I think we got that here. Anahera and Will are definitely two characters that were suited to tell this story as they work together to bring to light what happened to Miri. It's hard to put the book down when you want to find the answers. And when they are so many possible suspects and motives. Great book!