Review--The Shadows Rule All by Abigail Owen

 

King Eidolon has taken everything.

My throne, my Shadowraith, and even my kingdom. I am a queen with no one to rule, and a tattered army that's not even mine. And hope is fading fast.

Now the shadows who once tormented Reven live with me, hissing and wheedling--and enticing me to betray my friends. Which could be deadly for us all. Because without the guy I fell for, without Reven, I am all shadows...and no light.

And the Alignment is almost upon us--the culmination of centuries that have fueled a vengeful king's festering rage.

We're outnumbered. We're underpowered. And even if we could unleash the trapped goddesses, they would destroy the kingdom and everything in it.

At long last I have finally read Abigail Owen's The Shadows Rule All! Remind me to never start a highly anticipated series finale over the week of holiday! Lol. Needless to say that this one starts with a bang and ends with one too! This was a read that captivated me from start to finish, never letting up on the danger or action! From beginning to end, this was a read that held my attention!

Meren and her friends are in dire straits. Ever since Eidolon drew Reven back into himself, things have not been going well for them at all. But Meren is determined more than ever to find the remaining stone that holds a trapped goddess and put the odds back in her favor. She has Reven's shadows, all of the dark and evil parts of Eidolon and she's determined to make sure they never reunite with Eidolon at all. She's determined to stop the evil king once and for all.

In order to find the last remaining trapped goddess stone, Meren and her friends must venture into a dangerous maze filled with evil creatures that would be more than happy to kill them all. And of course, the biggest and baddest of them all sits at the center of the maze where the rumored trapped goddess is said to be. Fun times are had all around!

There was quite a bit that had to be done before we even got close to the climax of this story. At over 500 pages I worried that would mean things get bogged down somewhere, but surprisingly that was not the case at all For within the first 100 pages we get an interesting plot twist. I debated heavily about getting into this or not and have decided to allude to it as best as I can! Needless to say that this twist is a game changer! While I had expected something along these lines to occur, the magnitude of it went far beyond my expectations! Kudos Owen!

The majority of the book deals with the aftermath of said twist and continuing the path to stopping Eidolon and keeping the goddesses from escaping and reining terror on the world once and for all! I'll admit, that I did forget some of these other side characters who we met up with once again, that's on me more than anything as I apparently forgot to write little notes about them down. Needless to say, it wasn't too hard getting caught up with the whole who's who. For the most part it was just accepting said characters are friend or foe, though it was pretty much all friend!

Owen continued to keep me on my toes as I read with the occasional jaw-dropping reveal or plot twist! She pulls no punches in this book! She really wrecked with all my emotions in this one! Just as I recover from one feeling another one takes over! It was a wild ride!

You can still expect all the same emotional feels and pulls you had in the first two books here as well. If you really think things through, you get a sense of what's to come once you start it and get to that one epic moment within the first 100 pages! And despite that, we still get all the same intense and emotional pulls we received in the first two books as well! So that's pretty much all I will say to that matter. I know I am being vague, or maybe not quite vague enough, but since I haven't read any reviews or sought them out, I am not sure how much to divulge on that matter. Less is best in my opinion, but again, I suspected something like this to happen to present a smaller conflict that would need resolving before the grand finale!

And like all series finales, The Shadows Rule All was definitely grand! There were many emotions over the course of this book and while not all were happy emotions, my overall feeling after finishing it is one of peace and happiness and just all the love! It's the kind of ending you'd expect from a fantasy rife with magic and battling evil! We're left with just the right amount of closure and hope for a brighter future, even if it's one we will never see! I love knowing that my favorite characters are happy and are living their lives in the best possible way after all the hardships they went through to get to that happy moment! Truly the best way to end a series!

Abigail Owen fast became a favorite author of mine after reading The Liar's Crown and will now likely be forever cemented as one from her incredible worlds she has created! I plan to read some of her other tiles one day soon but I can pretty much guarantee any fantasy book of hers will make it to the top of my TBR pile! If you have yet to read the Dominions trilogy, I highly recommend it if you're looking for an action packed fantasy read filled with magic and a tantalizing enemies to lovers romance!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

 

Book Blogger Hop #334

 

This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!

This week's question is: How do you deal with reading slumps or moments when you can't get into a book? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

MY ANSWER: Oh reading slumps? I'm pretty much always wanting to read. I never really have to convince myself to read. It's more I need time to do the reading which is hard to find sometimes. But if for some reason I am not feeling the book, I will just stop, set it aside and pick up something else. Whether I go back to that book or not is the question. But it is sometimes pretty rare that I don't enjoy what I have chosen for myself. I want to say maybe like 1 every 100 books or so I find one that I am just not feeling and will either force myself to finish it or I will do "skim reading."

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

However you choose to spend today, I hope it is happy and filled with good food and people! I am truly, truly thankful for each and every one of you who continues to visit my little blog in this growing bookiverse of people talking about books on various channels!

Books from the Backlog #111

 

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks. This is a fun meme hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books!

Burn is the thrilling companion to Elissa Sussman’s masterful and original fairy tale, Stray. This engaging and imaginative continuation of the original fairy tale begun in Stray will appeal to readers of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and fans of the musicals Wicked and Into the Woods.

After helping to rescue Princess Aislynn, Elanor has finally rejoined the rebel camp she calls home. Stolen from her parents at a young age and forced into service by the Wicked Queen, Elanor now wants nothing more than to see the queen removed from power. But Elanor has secrets, mistakes she’s spent years trying to forget, and the closer the rebels get to the throne, the harder it is for Elanor to keep her past hidden away. Booklist said of Stray, “Sussman delightfully mixes dystopian tension with retold fairy tales, and the result is something wholly original.” Includes a map.

 

 

I added Elissa Sussman's Burn to my TBR pile in February of 2016 shortly after I got the first book of the duology, I think? I figured it had a fairy tale fantasy vibe and you know, better to have the duology in hand before starting it and somehow I have not read it yet. I do still want to read it as I do with nearly all of my TBR books. Lol.

Can't Wait Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

A teen girl moves to a small town and discovers a mysterious wishing well possessed by La Cegua, a vengeful female spirit with the face of a horse skull, in Vanessa Montalban’s new YA fantasy standalone.

When her stepfather is arrested, aspiring artist Ceci moves back to her mother’s hometown of Santa Aguas, an eccentric small town steeped in the legend of La Cegua, the specter of a wronged witch who appears on lonely roads at night, luring untrustworthy men to their deaths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one came on my radar not too long ago and it sounds amaaaaazing! I love a good spooky read and this one sounds like it will be mysterious and creepy!!!

TITLE: These Vengeful Wishes
AUTHOR: Vanessa Montalban
PUBLISHER: Zando Young Readers
GENRE: YA Paranormal
RELEASE DATE: February 4, 2025

Let's Discuss: Annual Goodreads Choice Awards Rant

 

It's that time of year again on Goodreads where the Goodreads Choice Awards is live! Where all the books that released from January-September are put into categories of genres and only 1 will be the winner...and though I ended up voting again, I am still enraged that all the books I loved or have yet to love that released in October-December are automatically disqualified but we call this the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards. 

Annual Goodreads Choice Awards Rant

I believe this year they even took away the "Write in" nominees unless that was last year because they added a whopping TWO genre categories but yet still leave out a TON for the YA categories. I mean seriously, just SciFi/Fantasy and Fiction? That's it? You lump Paranormal, SciFi, Fantasy, Dystopian all into one category and then "the rest" goes into another? When adults get a "contemporary" and its own thriller, horror, SciFi, Fantasy, "Romantasy" categories? It's ridiculous!

Then my MOST ANTICIPATED release of the year is automatically disqualified because it was an October release! Like we only focus on the books probably up to September as they are the ones with the most ratings or whatever BS qualifying factors that they look for. It's no surprise that the usual authors are in their same categories again. I mean really, why do we have any other books in the "Romantasy" category after Maas and Armentrout? I will be legit surprised if someone else wins because I feel like it's usually always one or the other.

What they need to do is have that Number 1 NYT Bestseller category...encompass ALL genres because we already know GR doesn't care about the genres themselves like the readers do and then have one winner BUT these NYT Bestsellers CANNOT be in any other category! There should be limits. And honestly, I think these ought to be held like in March of the following year, that way ALL of that year's releases get a chance of being nominated in the way GR does this award show.

But alas, I feel like we will never truly see a grand award show to honor the ENTIRE year's worth of books. It will always be the select months and the winner will likely always be the same as that big #1 author will likely always win or the other one will. So really, is it even worth voting anymore? I still do it for whatever reason. Even when I might not have read the book, I saw several TBR books in the usual categories. Lol. So then I just vote for the one that I am most excited to read!

But yes. I fear these things will never change as GR will never listen to their readers. They will just stick to their old ways to let the same authors win again and again. Really the only category that changes its winner is the Debut Author one. So I feel like since they have a debut category that encompasses ALL genres, they should have the #1 NYT Bestseller and pit all those usual winners against one another. And they can ONLY be in that category! Leave the categories to authors who don't always get a chance to shine because they are shadowed by that #1 author.

End of yearly rant. What are your thoughts on the Goodreads Choice Awards? Would you like to rant with me in the comments? Lol.

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Purple Princess of The Purple Booker. 

Here are the rules:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.

"Wonderful. The ground has come alive and is going to eat us." p 54

TITLE: The Shadows Rule All
AUTHOR: Abigail Owen
PUBLISHER: Entangled Teen
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: November 12, 2024

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

This week's topic is: THANKSGIVING FREEBIE: Top Ten Authors I am Thankful For

*in no particular order
**I didn't look back, but pretty sure my 10 probably hasn't changed much over the years! Lol. Oh well! Guess it just means I am REALLY thankful for them! <3

10. KELLEY ARMSTRONG--loved Kelley's books and I was happy to find a series early on that could be a series that wasn't always following just one character around!
9. L.J. SMITH--the OG one! Looooved her books! I read most of them and still have to tackle the Night World series but her stories were always so spooky and fun!
8. KIM HARRISON--one of my first "adult" authors I read! I was so happy to find a paranormal story that didn't focus solely on the romance!

7. JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT--the woman who does it all! Lol. I love her books, still have so many to read! I kind of wish her fantasy series weren't all 600+ pages since I read soooo slowly! But one day I will get caught up...hopefully!
6. JEANIENE FROST--one of the authors who taught me that though Borders shelves the books in romance they won't necessarily be so heavily focused on the romance! Love her books and am so excited for her secret upcoming project! No idea what it is, but she wrote it so I want it!
5. RICHELLE MEAD--the author who brought me back to reading YA! I had nearly given up on the age group as it was pretty much all contemporary at that time but a friend from a discussion board told me about Vampire Academy and I've been reading YA again ever since!

4. MARIANNE CURLEY--finding that rare YA Paranormal book as a preteen was SWEET! Found Old Magic back then and it was everything I could've hoped for in a book without vampires! Lol! Witches, sorcerers, curses, and time-traveling all made for a good second place tie! I still need to go back and re-read her Guardians of Time series as she added a 4th book awhile back and promises a 5th one very soon!!
3. MARIA V. SNYDER--when Amazon of old foolishly recommended me her second book, but not her first, I at least caught on right away that there was a book to read now instead of waiting til the March release date of the recommended one! Lol. Soon this spawned a correspondence and friendship with Maria and it's been the best thing ever!
2. AMELIA ATWATER-RHODES--of course I go with the author who started it all! I read my first vampire book with her and never wanted to look back afterwards! I was soooo grateful that I got to meet her at one of the last Boston Teen Book Festival events! THAT had been an awesome trip! I remember meeting so many faves at the event that it was sooo worth the travel costs!

 1. STEPHANIE GARBER--and of course I surprise no one with this one! You can't have a world series you're obsessed with without being every so thankful for the writer who created it!

ARC Review--Chasing Eternity by Alyson Noel

 

At Gray Wolf Academy, time is the ultimate weapon…if you know how to use it. Step into the breathtakingly imaginative third book in New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël’s incredible Stealing Infinity series

I’m about to break one of the biggest rules of all.

But I need to find my dad. And if that means going back to New York City in 1998 to find him—before I’m even born—then that’s what I have to do. Because I need someone I trust to teach me what it means to be a Timekeeper.

Now I’m in the land of post-grunge, low-rise jeans, baby doll tees, chunky boots…and risking my own existence in the process. Awesome.

This is no ordinary trip. Just about anything can go wrong, and if I get found out, I’ll lose not only my home and school…but Braxton, too. Because there might not be enough forgiveness in the world for what I’ve done—and what I am about to do.

Because the secrets are more terrible than I thought. The reality is even more horrifying. And I’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth about Gray Wolf Academy, the strange billionaire who runs it, and not only why he’s so invested in traveling—or “Tripping”—through time, but what his real plans are.

And time’s almost up.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

I dove back into Alyson Noel's Stolen Beauty trilogy with gusto as soon as Chasing Eternity landed in my lap! It was a longer wait to get this one, but it was definitely worth it as Noel brings us an exciting conclusion to this smashing time-traveling series!

Time-traveling books can always be a bit of hit or miss for me as it largely depends on how the time-traveling is explained. Is it magical, is it science...how complex is the process. Noel seems to have a but of both going on here but might rely more on the science aspect. It's been awhile since I read the first two books of the series, and the time-traveling aspect wasn't explained in great detail this time around, but I followed along well enough. 

In this installment, we have Natasha trying to work against Arthur as she learns the enigmatic professor of Gray Wolf Academy isn't all what he led her to believe. He's harboring his own secrets and they concern the true reason why he wants the Antikythera Mechanism restored to its former glory.

Natasha has decided to take an unsolicited trip back to 1998 in New York to meet her father, the one Killian murdered not that long ago. She's hoping that he can help her harness her new Timekeeper abilities. Joining her, surprisingly, is Elodie, who had made the last minute jump with her. Natasha is hesitant to trust Elodie's motives as she is steadfastly loyal to Arthur for reasons Natasha isn't too sure of just yet.

Although, it's not long before the two head back home when they learn Arthur has returned early from his own trip and also waiting there is Killian, who apparently helped cover for Natasha's absence. Arthur reveals he knows where the last piece of the Antikythera Mechanism is and he wants Natasha to go back in time to retrieve it for him. He plans on sending either Killian or Elodie with her and Natasha isn't sure who she'd prefer since both of them are loyal to Arthur as it seems Arthur knows Natasha's loyalty is wavering.

This book was one wild ride. I'll admit the delay between books muddled my memory a bit, but thankfully I took some notes so I had an idea of what had happened! Lol. Despite the overwhelming amount of pages--or perhaps I found it overwhelming as I just finished two other books that were in the 500s for page count--the pacing to this one was surprisingly good. I'll admit, the beginning was a bit rough with Natasha training and talking to her dad in the past. As things just seemed to move in slow motion almost, but pretty much the moment she went back to her current timeline, things moved at a steady pace with quite a few pick me ups of action of some kind!

That being said, the romance of this book was positively swoony! I had forgotten how much I loved Natasha and Braxton! They had a rough start at the beginning but eventually found some peace and worked through their issues. There were more romantic interludes than I expected in this one and it was a sweet kind of break from all the seriousness happening around them.

We also finally learn more about Arthur's true intentions with the Antikythera Mechanism and why he wants it fully restored. It was pretty shocking! And the shocks did not stop there as we'd learn several new jaw-dropping bits of information before the story ends and what an ending it was! I wasn't expecting this kind of shock factor. Generally with series finales, I always hope for that HEA ending where we see the characters get their peace and happiness and the possibility of more adventures to come, even if we never see it. While we get that in a sense here, it was far different from what I had anticipated and it left me discombobulated, to say the least! Lol.

All in all, Chasing Eternity was an exciting conclusion to the Stolen Beauty trilogy! Noel has a knack for writing compelling characters in impossible situations! While I am sad to see this series come to an end, it does feel like it's in the right place...but then there's always that little crack in the back door that gets left open. One that will always make you wonder...but I digress! If you're looking for an exciting time-traveling series with suspense, secrets, and romance, then look no further than this!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars 

Chasing Eternity releases December 3, 2024

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.

Last Week I Read:

Chasing Eternity by Alyson Noel (ARC)--Review to come later today!

Currently Reading:

The Shadows Rule All by Abigail Owen

What I Plan to Read Next:

Cold Hearted by Serena Valentino

Other Posts of Interest:

Let's Discuss: Authors Trying New Genres
Top Ten Tuesday
Can't Wait Wednesday
Books from the Backlog #110
Book Blogger Hop #333
Stacking the Shelves--Sadness & Tears

Stacking the Shelves--Sadness & Tears

 

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks! The meme is now hosted by Reading Reality.

Another week has come and gone. And my copy of Spectacular has been deemed lost. I am gutted. Absolutely gutted. I had Blackwell's send another one out and hopefully the first print run is still going, I usually hear otherwise when it's up. I'm hoping because it's a novella the allure wasn't as strong so I can hopefully get one more hidden cover. Yes, I technically have all 4 but I had 3 Waterstones and 1 Standard, my OCD is demanding 2 & 2. So here's hoping I don't get a duplicate of the one Standard I already have! Lol. So yes, it's going to be another stressful three weeks--pending that I get it in the 10-15 business days. My trip to the city PO was fruitless as they didn't have it and they told me a completely different PO was said to have it last, which is the one the first postal worker told me had it, but the second and latest one I talked to was all "oh, no. It's at this location." I knew I should not have trusted that Grumpy Gus! He was a grumpy sort that's for sure! I wish I had Friendly Fred helping me that second time around. Lol. But the highlight of my week though was Wednesday night when I got to meet Carissa Broadbent! It was a very packed signing as 200+ showed up! Luckily I was early enough to be in group 1 for that one, but then I took the next two days off as I still got home pretty late, plus I have days to burn or lose! I'll now be obsessively checking my email for tracking and then obsessively checking the tracking for when it hits the dead zone where my mail goes to hide or die! (and yes, I realize that last comment was a bit of a derailment from the previous one, I'm a bit scattered-brain over this loss!)

Here's what did come successfully in the mail--and by that I mean this sorting center didn't just shove it aside somewhere to be forgotten with the rest of the mail crate where my lost book resides. Yes, I am still a bit bitter and hurt over this and likely will be as USPS did the UNTHINKABLE...losing a precious international Stephanie Garber book!

The Whispering Night by Susan Dennard--keeper copy
The Half King by Melissa Landers

The Songbird & The Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent--SIGNED!

Then back in...September I think...J. Elle came to St. Louis on tour and I gave her the secret password for a secret surprise and that arrived in the mail this week! I almost forgot about it until I saw it in the mail and got excited!

It's a cute little golden knife charm with rhinestones on it!

THANK YOU J!

Then I got my preorder goodies for Seasons of Flesh and Flame! I had just started to think they weren't going to show and they arrived!

I got an orange flower pin
a SIGNED bookplate
a character card

THANK YOU Bloomsbury YA!

And then lastly, I bought a replica dagger letter-opener of Violet's dagger from Fourth Wing! I'm a sucker for the replicas and thought this looked too cool! Lol. This was from Iridescent Fairytale!

And that was it for me this week! Much sadness and tears--seriously, the only reason I didn't end up baking away my sorrows was because Thanksgiving is next week and there will be plenty of pie then--and now I'm filled with anxiety over whether my replacement copy will be a first print run. It just goes to show you that preordering is NOT a guaranteed way to get a hidden cover. :(

What did you get this week?

Book Blogger Hop #333

This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!

This week's question is: Are there any novels set on or near Thanksgiving that you love rereading or recommend as a heartwarming November read? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

MY ANSWER: Honestly, I do not. Generally speaking the books I read never really focus on the the holidays. If it happens to be a holiday, it won't play much of a role in the story. It's just Christmastime or it's just Thanksgiving time. The author might spend a few pages with holiday celebrations, but that's it. Then it's back to the actual story.

 

Books from the Backlog #110

 

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks. This is a fun meme hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books!

The next Otherworld anthology from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong...

More than a decade after Kelley Armstrong first opened the doors to the Otherworld, fans are still clamoring for more. In response to their demands—and to coincide with the Syfy Network show based on the series—Plume has signed up three Otherworld anthologies, each of which revolves around a different theme. The second in the trilogy, Otherworld Secrets, features fan-favorites such as Cassandra, Savannah, and Adam in rare and neverbefore- published short stories—plus a brand new novella. Fans old and new will flock to this mystery-themed volume to discover the deepest secrets of this captivating world.

I'm happy to say that the original book I wrote down for today I actually READ! Yes, I had one planned in my planner but I managed to read it before I got to this date, so I had a backup ready! Lol. I added Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld Secrets to my TBR in January of 2016! I LOOOVED Kelley's Otherworld series and I wasn't ready for goodbye so when she started compiling her short stories and novellas into these companion bindups, I bought them as I only every caught one or two here and there and I was ready for more glimpses of my favorite strong willed, kickass women! Plus there was always the promise of a new story too in these!

Can't Wait Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret—and that she’s been there before, by the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods.

A whirlwind romance.
When Theodora Scott met Connor—wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family—she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives.

Stay away from Connor Dalton.
Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.

I’ve been here before.
Theo has almost no recollection of her earliest years, but now she begins to piece together the fragments of her memories. Someone here has a shocking secret that they will do anything to keep hidden, and Theo is in terrible danger. Because the Daltons do not lose, and discovering what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.

I still need to read one of Marshall's other adult novels, but luckily they are all standalones! I did read her newest one from this year when I was sent a review copy and I enjoyed it! Her YA thrillers are always amazing so I do enjoy her spin on the adult version even if they are without the supernatural thrill!

TITLE: A Killing Cold
AUTHOR: Kate Alice Marshall
PUBLISHER: Flatiron Books
GENRE: Thriller
RELEASE DATE: February 4, 2025