Book Review: Majesty by Katharine McGee

Majesty (American Royals #2) by Katharine McGee
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Alternate History / Romance)
Date Published: September 1, 2020
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Is America ready for its first queen?

Power is intoxicating. Like first love, it can leave you breathless. Princess Beatrice was born with it. Princess Samantha was born with less. Some, like Nina Gonzalez, are pulled into it. And a few will claw their way in. Ahem, we're looking at you Daphne Deighton.

As America adjusts to the idea of a queen on the throne, Beatrice grapples with everything she lost when she gained the ultimate crown. Samantha is busy living up to her "party princess" persona...and maybe adding a party prince by her side. Nina is trying to avoid the palace--and Prince Jefferson--at all costs. And a dangerous secret threatens to undo all of Daphne's carefully laid "marry Prince Jefferson" plans.

A new reign has begun....

Majesty is the second book in the American Royals series by Katharine McGee. Beatrice, Samantha, and Nina are really coming into their own this time around. I’m over Daphne. Some people are finally starting to see her for who she is… or isn’t. But the ones that really matter are still blinded or realize when it’s too late. I feel like she’s been pretty obvious, so that's frustrating as a reader. 

I like where the rest of the story is going though. In fact, this is one of the few series where the second book was better than the first.

 

Check out other books in this series!

Katharine McGee is the New York Times bestselling author of American Royals and The Thousandth Floor trilogy. She studied English and French literature at Princeton University and has an MBA from Stanford. She lives in her hometown of Houston, TX with her husband.

To learn more about Katharine McGee and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads and Twitter.

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Book Review: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3) by Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: June 17, 2014
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Ruin and Riding of the last book in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. I have to say, The Darkling is one of the best villains I’ve read about in a while.. maybe ever. He’s got so many layers. Not all bad, but still overwhelmingly bad. He was interesting too, and a villain really needs to be interesting to carry a story. He did so in this trilogy. Of course, I enjoyed Alina and all the characters. There was a large cast, and they all had important roles. They had meaning.  I was pleased with how it all played out. I was definitely expecting something different. But, I’m pleased with this conclusion.

 

Check out the previous books in this trilogy! 

Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more.  Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University. 

To learn more about Leigh Bardugo and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Book Review: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows

My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Historical Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: June 7, 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins

This comical, fantastical, romantical, New York Times bestselling, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey is “an uproarious historical fantasy that’s not to be missed” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.

Like that could go wrong.

My Lady Jane is the first book in the My Lady Janies series by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. This book was so much fun to read, and I much prefer it to how things really went down. If only life could be like a book, right? This story is told from multiple perspectives, and you fully get to know these characters along with the world around them. This book is not about being historically accurate. The authors are very honest about that, and you can just tell they had a blast writing this book. I highly recommend the audio version as well. The narrator truly brought these characters to life and knocked my enjoyment of this book up even more! It was such a clever and fun story, and I'm anxious to get my hands on the next book.

Check out the next book in this series!

We're the authors of the young adult novels MY LADY JANE, MY PLAIN JANE, MY CALAMITY JANE, MY CONTRARY MARY, MY IMAGINARY MARY, and MY SALTY MARY. 

Our group is made up of Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows—all authors of our own separate young adult books. We met on a group book tour back in 2012, became fast friends, and initially came up with idea for the Lady Janies books as a way for us to be able to spend more time hanging out and traveling together. 

Between the three of us we've written thirty novels, a bunch of novellas, a handful of short stories, and a couple of really bad poems, but we have the most fun working on our books together. 

We're friends. We're writers. We're fixing history by rewriting one sad story at a time.

To learn more about The Lady Janies and their books, visit their website. You can also find them on Facebook, and Instagram.

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Book Review: RoseBlood by A.G. Howard

RoseBlood by A.G. Howard
Genre: Young Adult Fiction (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: January 10, 2017
Publisher: Amulet Books

Rune Germaine moves to a boarding school outside of Paris, only to discover that at this opera-house-turned-music-conservatory, phantoms really do exist. RoseBlood is a Phantom of the Opera–inspired retelling in which Rune’s biggest talent—her voice—is also her biggest curse.

 

Rune, whose voice has been compared to that of an angel, has a mysterious affliction linked to her talent that leaves her sick and drained at the end of every performance. Convinced creative direction will cure her, her mother ships her off to a French boarding school for the arts, rumored to have a haunted past.

 

Shortly after arriving at RoseBlood conservatory, Rune starts to believe something otherworldly is indeed afoot. The mystery boy she’s seen frequenting the graveyard beside the opera house doesn’t have any classes at the school, and vanishes almost as quickly as he appears. When Rune begins to develop a secret friendship with the elusive Thorn, who dresses in clothing straight out of the 19th century, she realizes that in his presence she feels cured. Thorn may be falling for Rune, but the phantom haunting RoseBlood wants her for a very specific and dangerous purpose. As their love continues to grow, Thorn is faced with an impossible choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or save her and face the wrath of the phantom, the only father he’s ever known.

RoseBlood by A.G. Howard is a well told story taking place in the world of the Phantom of the Opera. I've seen it called a retelling, but to me it’s a continuation of that story. It takes place well into the future, and the setting was hauntingly, fitting and at times familiar, as it should be. I enjoyed the main characters tremendously. They showed significant growth, and their story was surprisingly unique. I found them both to be interesting, as well as the characters that surrounded them. This was a well thought out story, and I’m so glad I picked it up.

 

Check out my reviews of other books by this author!

A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. Her pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

SPLINTERED & UNHINGED, books 1 & 2 of her urbanized /gothic Alice in Wonderland series, are now available from Amulet Books. Book 3, ENSNARED, launches 2015.

Author photo by pamlaryphotography.com

To learn more about A.G. Howard and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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