First a quick explanation!
Due to some severe health issues over the last few years, and a lingering chronic condition, my planned review schedule went right out of the window and I have been scrabbling ever since to get it back on track.
In an attempt to try to regain some lost ground, I have been scrunching some of my (overdue) NetGalley reviews together into one or two posts each week: shorter reviews, but still covering all of the points I intended to.
That's the plan anyway, so let's see if we can find any summer beach reads packed on my TBR shelves…!
Title: Bride of the Shadow King
Author: Sylvia Mercedes
Publisher: Daphne Press
Blurb: For fans of The Bridge Kingdom and A Deal with the Elf King, this sweeping tale of love and betrayal is equal blends sweet and spice.
A SHUNNED PRINCESS.
A RELUCTANT KING.
A MARRIAGE THAT COULD SAVE BOTH THEIR KINGDOMS . . .
BUT DESTROY THEIR HEARTS.
Though she is the eldest daughter, Princess Faraine lives in the background, shunned from court and kept out of sight. Her chronic illness makes her a liability to the crown, and she has learned to give place to her beautiful, favored younger sister in all things.
When the handsome and enigmatic Shadow King comes seeking a bride, Faraine is not surprised that her sister is his choice.
Though not eager to take a human bride, King Vor is willing to do what is necessary for the sake of his people. When he meets the lively Princess Ilsevel, he quickly agrees to a marriage arrangement.
So why can't he get the haunting eyes of her older sister out of his head?
Review: I am obsessed with finding chronic illness represented in fiction, so had to check out this romantasy!
Main character Faraine has the 'gift' of empathy which constantly leaves her sensorily overwhelmed and suffering from chronic headaches. I love how this is handled realistically and sensitively, so was a little disappointed to find that she just needed to find her soulmate to be 'cured' of the debilitating effects of her condition... I wish that worked in real life too!
Both Faraine and Vor are really sympathetic main characters, as they are bowed down by self-doubt and heavy responsibilities and both focused on doing the right thing at great personal cost to themselves. Clearly a perfect match! So it's really unfortunate when their respective duties get right in the way of true-love-at-first-sight and put a dampener on some sizzling hot chemistry and sweetly thoughtful courtship.
Aside from the relationship issues, the story is packed full of action and intrigue - the trolldefolk plagued by wild animal attacks and terrible poisonings; the human realm ravaged by fae marauders; political machinations on both sides; and, of course, our situation-crossed lovers, Faraine and Vor (and Sul, and Hael, and Lyria!). I really enjoyed getting to see both of the main character viewpoints in alternating chapters and was rooting for them to figure it all out as soon as possible so they could finally get it together. Sadly though - or happily, depending on your viewpoint - we will have to read on to find out as the book ends with something of a cliffhanger situation all round, leaving Faraine, Vor and the reader all wanting more!
Title: Never a Hero
Author: Vanessa Len
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton | Hodderscape
Blurb: The sequel to the unmissable and hugely romantic young adult fantasy Only a Monster, set in London, will take Joan deeper into the monster world, where treacherous secrets and danger await.
Not every fight is won by heroes. Sometimes, you need a monster.
Joan has achieved the impossible. She reset the timeline, saved her family - and destroyed the hero.
But success has come at a terrible cost. She alone remembers what happened. Aaron, her hard-won friend - and maybe more-- is now her enemy. And Nick, the boy she loved, doesn't even know her name.
Then an attack forces Joan back into the monster world as a fugitive, where she discovers a secret that threatens everyone she loves. Now Joan must re-gather her allies to face down a deadly enemy, and save the timeline itself . . .
Review: I adored Only a Monster and so was waiting eagerly for this sequel and it didn't disappoint!
The monster family lore and mythology is as fascinating and engaging as ever and I loved finding out more about the different kinds of magic each monster family carries. The worldbuilding feels really believable and yet keeps me wanting to know more constantly - I want every detail of who can do what! We do get some new perspectives on time travel and the morality involved in monster-magic, focused more on brain/will manipulation rather than life-stealing this time round. And there is a pervasive theme about consequences, seen and unexpected, of one's actions.
Joan is still a very empathetic main character but I am getting a little bit tired of the soulmates storyline she has going on with Nick and would much rather have had more Aaron - he and Joan have such great chemistry together - but this is definitely a personal preference and not a criticism of the book.
This was one of those read-all-nighter, down-in-one books for me and I audibly groaned when it ended on a cliffhanger and a frantic Google proved that Book 3 isn't out yet. This whole series is packed with suspense and intrigue, complicated relationships and grey morality, and I am very here for it.
Having been utterly hooked in for the second time in a row, I am waiting breathlessly to be swept away by Only a Monster book 3... and I'll be right back here to tell you more!
Title: The Beast Keepers
Author: Julie Fudge Smith
Publisher: Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op | Boyle & Dalton
Blurb: The Beast Keepers is the story of Jonathan F. St. Roche, a young veterinarian who takes a job in the rural Ohio town of Carrollton. He soon discovers it is a safe haven for a menagerie of mythical creatures (including a pregnant pegasus, a flying monkey with a sprained wing, a centaur with Cushing's disease, and a unicorn with a sweet tooth) who rely on him for their medical care and shelter from the outside world. When a deadly basilisk threatens the town, Jonathan and his new friends must balance the dangerous creature's needs against the risk to the community.
Review: From the cover, I kept expecting this to be a children's book, but it is actually a gentle adult book that tweens upwards could happily read.
I was reminded of a cross between Gerald Durrell's The Talking Parcel (which is my all-time favourite children's book from my own youth), James Herriot's veterinary adventure series and Dr Dolittle - a heady combination of adult moral dilemmas and relationships mixed with a fantastic sprinkling of mythological creatures.
The book follows main character Jonathan St. Roche as he narrates his veterinary training and subsequent engagement as a qualified vet to a very unique community in Ohio. There are plenty of interesting fictional fantasy-vet anecdotes, some humorous and some touching; some cosy fantasy and clean romance and a surprising dash of tragedy.
Jonathan is a brilliantly drawn and nuanced main character but the 'ordinary' side characters do get a bit lost and pushed aside here in favour of the mythological animals, which I can't really blame the author for, as they were what I was most interested in too! The book works as a standalone story but also makes a great scene-setter for a potential series set in Carrollton among the unicorns and flying monkeys.
Adult readers looking for a light, easy fantasy read will enjoy this twist on the more traditional veterinary memoir books and precocious younger readers will likely enjoy it too. I can tell you that while I liked this as an adult reader, I would have LOVED this as a middle-grader - animals, mythology and humour - all my childhood favourites in one story!
Title: I DIdn't Sign Up For This
Author: Tracy Dalgleish, CPsych
Publisher: PESI Publishing
Blurb: What happens when your relationship no longer feels like the one you said "yes" to?
Couples therapist Dr. Tracy Dalgleish has spent the last seventeen years dedicated to helping hundreds of couples in distress find hope and healing, sometimes by staying together and other times not. Breakdowns in communication, lack of intimacy, infidelity, overbearing in-laws and exes (to name a few)—she's seen it all.
Shortly after the birth of her first child, Dr. Tracy suddenly began to see herself in her clients' narratives. Despite the overwhelming joy she felt as a new mother, she also found herself welling up with anger and resentment toward her partner as she began shouldering more than half the domestic load and childcare labor in their marriage. In time, she found herself uttering the very words she'd heard countless times in her office from her clients: I didn't sign up for this.
Part memoir, part self-help, Dr. Tracy Dalgleish's debut book provides a rare look inside real therapy sessions with four couples—and into her own marriage. With unflinching candor and heartfelt empathy, she digs to the root of the issues that fuel our day-to-day relationship conflicts and illuminates the common struggle of what it means to be human: the incredible difficulty of showing up wholly and authentically in our most intimate relationship with others and with ourselves.
Review: In this memoir/self-help book, therapist Dr Tracy Dalgliesh offers insights from her experiences as a couples counsellor, using a small number of case studies (including her own marriage) to illustrate some of the common issues that crop up in long-term relationships.
Personally, I found something familiar in nearly all of the examples discussed, including the sections relating to the author's own relationship challenges, but then that's probably unsurprising as I have been married for nearly thirteen years now and the issues explored are definitely common stumbling blocks, even if to a lesser extent than for the couples exemplified here. I highlighted large chunks of the book to share and discuss with my husband and to re-read for my own improvement!
While none of the issues discussed or the tips and solutions presented were new to me - I regularly read relationship books as I am a fan of both continuous development and reading generally! - something in the book certainly resonated with me and had an immediate positive, practical effect on me and my own relationship. I found I could stand back from my usual self-righteous positions of accusation, blame and judgement and look instead to my own behaviour and how I could bring a better self to my marriage by working on my own issues and taking more accountability for my part in any conflicts that arose. Not only did marital communication and harmony improve, but the drive for self-improvement stuck and encouraged me to re-spark some joy in my life (e.g. picking up my long-silent guitar), which I found then spread to the rest of my household naturally.
Plus, the anecdotes were interesting and alternating between the different couples for each chapter kept me eagerly reading to find out what would develop between them: would the over-spending continue, or the dismissive attitude towards a partner's feelings? Would they stay together and keep trying, or decide to move on separately? Can a relationship still be saved once crisis point is reached for one or both partners? Obviously you will have to read the book yourself to find out - I'm not going to spoil it for you, especially as there is so much good advice to uncover between the stories.
I have always been a proponent of individual and couples counselling, even for those who aren't facing large life problems, and now I will be recommending this book to everyone too!
Title: A Market of Dreams and Destiny
Author: Trip Galey
Publisher: Titan Books
Blurb: Enter the bazaar of the bizarre where fate and fortunes are for sale in this high-stakes magical adventure across a London not quite like our own, perfect for fans of Neverwhere and The Night Circus.
Below Covent Garden lies the Under Market, where anything and everything has a price: a lover's first blush, a month of honesty, five minutes of strength, a wisp of luck and fortune. As a child, Deri was sold to one of the most powerful merchants of the Under Market as a human apprentice. Now, after seventeen years of servitude and stealing his master's secrets, Deri spots a chance to buy not only his freedom but his place amongst the Under Market's elite.
A runaway princess escapes to the market, looking to sell her destiny. Deri knows an opportunity when he sees it and makes the bargain of the century. If Deri can sell it on, he'll be made for life, but if he's caught with the goods, it will cost him his freedom forever. Now that Deri has met a charming and distractingly handsome young man, and persuaded him that three dates are a suitable price for his advice and guidance, Deri realises he has more to lose than ever.
News of the princess spreads quickly and with the royal enforcers closing in, Deri finds himself the centre of his master's unwanted attention. He'll have to pull out all the stops to outmanoeuvre the Master Merchant, save the man he loves, make a name for himself, and possibly change the destiny of London forever.
Review: At heart this is a sweet, LGBTQIA love story with an impressive backdrop that really caught my attention and left me wanting more of the world uncovered in the Undermarkt.
I fell in love with the characters - not just Deri and Owain and friends, but all of the creepy, beautiful or surprising magical merchants that populate the 'Goblin Market'. And I loved the market itself, with its subtle sentience, curious fog, chattering bells and petulant tents.
There is an element of almost-horror running through the plot too - not only in the more nightmarish of the merchants but in the concept of 'the machine' and what it can do. And if romance, fantasy and horror isn't enough, the excitement of Deri's constant dancing on wisps of chance and blades of reckless risk in search of his perfect trades had my adrenaline pumping and my stomach churning throughout, as much as any action thriller.
The romance was wholesome and heartwarming, but honestly I was in this for the worldbuilding, the fantasy, the twists and turns of the trades and the frequent references to familiar stories or characters but from entirely new perspectives.
This was a 5* read for me and I would definitely read as many 'Market' stories as the author would be willing to write!
Apart from the one therapeutic outlier, this is a fantasy-heavy batch but I would never complain about that as it is such a varied genre and - as you already know - one of my favourites.
Whether you are looking for romantic intrigue, heroes and monsters, mythological creatures or a pocket miracle, you should find something here to suit. And if you simply want to be a better partner or work on your real-life relationship, I've got that covered too!
Keep shining - come sunshine or rain clouds - and happy reading! 🙂
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