Review--Carving Shadows Into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer

 

Dangerous magic. Fateful choices. Broken promises.

The King's Courier Tycho has made a treacherous bargain. Now beholden to the magical scraver who saved King Gray's life, one false move could end everything.

Jax escaped his life in Briarlock and traveled with Tycho to Emberfall. But life outside his small village brings unexpected challenges--and unlikely adversaries.

After years of hating the royal family and their magic, Callyn never expected to be at the Queen's side, with magic on her fingertips. But at the royal court, she can't trust anyone--including the man she thought she loved.

Cast apart, Tycho, Jax, and Callyn must learn to wield the magic that is dividing their kingdom. As the magical scravers attack from the north and the king's rivals gain strength, time is running out.

War is looming. Love is tested. And magic could be the only answer. . .

It's always treacherous to pick up a sequel many years after you read the first book and that's the danger I encountered with Carving Shadows Into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer. I had my notes and summaries, but it's still been over three years since the first book released and I know it was because she was writing her Defy the Night trilogy and that's all fine and good, seriously, it is! Loved that one! But for me it became a struggle to dive back into this one and remember all the minuet details that I didn't quite note and just readjusting to this world.

Tycho and Jax are in a new relationship and things are fresh and budding and all that new romance jazz. But then Tycho is being sent to Rhen's kingdom and thus putting the young couple into a kind of jeopardy. I don't know if it was because these two were pretty much separated the entire book, I found I couldn't really get into their romance. I found their chapters to be a bit boring because it really became them missing the other amid other bits of chaos.

Then we have Callyn, along with her sister Nora who are ladies to Queen Lia Mara and are basically her daughter's caretakers. This is a somewhat fun job for Nora and Callyn doesn't mind it either. Callyn is struggling to cope with that she may in fact have magical abilities, while working in a kingdom that abhors magic. Trying to keep that a secret is harder than she thought it would be.

I'll admit other parts of this book kind of dragged for me. I don't know what it is about fantasy reads and why they must always be super long. You just know a few 100 of those hundreds of pages are going to be nonsense and have nothing really happen at all. I felt like we had too much downtime with Tycho and downtime with Jax. Like there wasn't anything really happening where they were at. Yes, stuff did happen, but I felt like 80% of it might have just been downtime and nothing was really helping to move forward.

I felt like there was more going on with Callyn and her part of the world, but yet, we rarely spent time with her. I found her chapters to be the most interesting and the tension that continued to grow between her and Alek. It was intense! Not sure if it was because we got to see these two interact more than we did Tycho and Jax, but yeah. I lived for Callyn's chapters!

There were still spots of romance for the characters as well. Things kept getting intense for Tycho and Jax in their respective kingdoms, and since they were apart, that's saying something! I kept wondering what sort of love shape we'd be entering and well, I'll let you formulate your own opinions on that! Meanwhile, Callyn and Alek continue their dance of "will they, won't they?" And it was entertaining to say the least and things are left in a dicey predicament.

I felt like pacing wise things were really bogged down in this one. There didn't feel like much was happening for most of the book. Every once in awhile, something exciting popped up but that was about it. This really felt like that dreaded "middle book" of a trilogy that gives us mixed emotions. The ending once again leaves things up in the air for all the concerned characters and what it's leading to is the grand finale we've been waiting for! Truly hoping the third book will be more exciting like the first book was. 

All in all, Carving Shadows Into Gold was just an okay read, I feel like. To me, it just felt very middle like. The pacing was slower than I would've liked and it just felt hard to get back into between the starting and stopping. But it was still enjoyable at times and I definitely plan to read the next book to see how it all ends. I just kind of had higher hopes for this one.

Overall Rating 2.5/5 stars--again, I want to point out that on my rating system I am saying this book was slightly better than just okay. I hate how we somehow just live by the Zon's standards when it comes to ratings. This one was okay, but had moments of greatness, but I can't fully say that I "liked" it full-heartedly.

 

Books from the Backlog #147

 

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!

You are cordially invited to participate in a game of thrills and dares. Tell no one, and come alone. If you dare.

Hope is sick of everyone treating her like she’s breakable. Sure, she has cystic fibrosis (basically really bad lungs), but she’s tired of being babied by her mom and her overprotective best friend, Ethan, not to mention worrying about paying for her expensive medication and how she’s going to afford college. And she’s bored with life in her run-down New Orleans suburb.

When an invitation arrives from a mysterious group that calls itself the Society, Hope jumps at the chance for some excitement. This could be her ticket out. All she has to do is complete a few dares and she just might win some real money.

But the Society isn’t all that it seems…and soon Hope finds that playing the game isn’t a choice—it’s a requirement.

I added Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys to my TBR pile in October of 2016! It sounded like an intriguing mystery read and I remember it had really cool preorder swag--that I totally cannot remember what it was but is likely in my swag box still, lol--and yet the book still remains unread! It still sounds interesting to me so hopefully one day I will read it!

Can't Wait Wednesday #208

 

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.

For fans of Midsommar, Catriona Ward, and Sarah Gailey, this addictively readable modern horror novel unfolds like a movie with a climax you’ll never see coming.

When Jen Monroe hears her father's remains have been found, she returns home to disprove his death, only to find the forests of rural Washington are hiding unimaginable horrors.

Seven years ago Jen Monroe left behind her hometown of Barrow, Washington after her father, a forest ranger passionate about protecting old trees from the aggressive logging business, vanished. She vowed never to return. Then she gets a text from her estranged mother: Her father's remains have been found.

It seems impossible to Jen, who had always believed her father was alive, and she returns home determined to find out what happened. When her ex-boyfriend suggests a camping trip in the woods in her father's memory, it feels like the opportunity Jen has been hoping for: to find her father. To find the truth. But what she finds in the ancient, impenetrable forest may be deeper, darker and deadlier than she could have imagined—and it has no intention of letting her leave.

SUPER excited for Gretchen's adult debut! I've loved her YA thrillers over the years and just can't wait to see her tackle this new "genre" so to speak--age level wise!

TITLE: They Fear Not Men in the Woods
AUTHOR: Gretchen McNeil
PUBLISHER: DAW
GENRE: Thriller
RELEASE DATE: September 9, 2025

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken comes a dark fantasy about a girl who will do anything to find her sister, including posing as a maid to infiltrate the mysterious House of Quiet.

To save her sister, she must enter the House.

In the middle of a deadly bog sits the House of Quiet. It’s a place for children whose Procedure triggered powers too terrible to be lived with—their last hope for treatment. No one knows how they’re healed or where they go afterward.

Birdie has begged, bargained, and blackmailed her way inside as a maid, determined to find her missing sister, Magpie. But what she discovers is more mysteries. Instead of the destitute children who undergo the Procedure in hopes of social advancement, the house brims with aristocratic teens wielding strange powers they never should have been burdened with.

Though Birdie wants to ignore them, she can’t help being drawn to stoic and silent Forest, charmed by clever River, and concerned for the youngest residents. And with fellow maid Minnow keeping tabs on everything Birdie does, danger is everywhere.

In her desperate search for Magpie, Birdie unearths terrifying threats and devastating truths, forcing her to confront just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to save her own sister. Because in the House of Quiet, if you find what’s lurking beneath . . . you lose everything.

Unravel the mystery. Ignite the rebellion.

SOOO cannot wait for Kiersten's next YA creepy book or mysterious I guess! The cover gives creepy vibes but the blurb is just very mysterious! Can't wait either way!

TITLE: House of Quiet
AUTHOR: Kiersten White
PUBLISHER: Delacorte Press
GENRE: YA Thriller
RELEASE DATE: September 9, 2025

Let's Discuss: Author Collaborations

 

Hoping to get back into the swing of this challenge! The last few months have been brutal. It's like my brain was done thinking of bizarre bookish things to talk about! But then last week I saw something that reminded me of something I felt like talking about! Lol.

Author Collaborations

So we've all seen when two authors (or maybe more) come together to write a book together! Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff, Kristin Cast & P.C. Cast, etc. There are so many duos! But then the other day I was seeing a new title that literally had me doing a double take because I was like, is this legit?

Apparently Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan came together and wrote a book. The big time Romance writer and the big time Horror moviemaker came together and wrote a book. What even is this? Lol. Is this the horroromance that we've been asking for? I mean I really don't know! I started reading a bit of what it was about and it's definitely something like a supernatural mystery with life issues. Goodreads' contest was down to the last 10 hours and I thought, what the heck and entered. 

But a collaboration like this is definitely a head scratcher. I mean, did they really come together? Or did Shyamalan offer like suggestions or advice? I'm really intrigued by this collaboration more than the story itself, lol.

It made me think of other collaboration like books where you see that BIG author name and maybe a not so big one or even a newbie. Sometimes you see them on the media tie in books. So with those I'm wondering if the media person even offered consultation or if it was more of the acknowledgement that this writer got their permission to write about their TV show or movie. I'm betting more on the latter on that type.

But when you see those other big author names next to the debut ones or just "fresh" names, it still makes me wonder. How deep does the collaboration go? Are they trading chapters? Do they write for a certain set of characters? I've listened to other author duos talk before and I love hearing their methods, but when you involve the BIG names...I'm wondering if there's more to it than that and that BIG name is just to help the new name get some eyes on them.

So what's your take on these BIG name author collaborations? Do you think it's more of a "publicity" maneuver to help the newbie author or do you think there's actual collaboration going on? 

Or what's your take on this Sparks and Shyamalan collaboration? This seriously has me boggled! 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.

"But my breath hitches, and she breaks off with a sigh. She hugs me back, pressing her face into my shoulder for longer than I expect.

Eventually she whispers, 'It's your monthly time, hmm?'" p 114

TITLE: Carving Shadows Into Gold
AUTHOR: Brigid Kemmerer
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury YA
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: January 28, 2025

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: GENRE FREEBIE: Top 10 Fantasy Books with Rose in the Title

*in no particular order
**not sure how I came up with this topic, but I wanted to do something other than just favorite reads from X genre!

10. A FORGERY OF ROSES by Jessica S. Olson--this is in my TBR pile somewhere...I think it was an Owl Crate choice in 2022? Really can't remember how I obtained it but it sounds amazing!
9. SIX SCORCHED ROSES by Carissa Broadbent--this one I read! A nice novella set in The Crowns of Nyaxia series!
8. BRIAR ROSE by Jana Oliver--a long ago YA title I read and loved that's a twist on The Sleeping Beauty tale!

7. THE ROSE BRIDE by Nancy Holder--a very dusty TBR book that's a retelling of The White Bride and the Black Bride. Definitely need to read that fairy tale again as I so don't remember it!
6. A REIGN OF ROSE by Kate Golden--I keep meaning to cycle back to this trilogy that I need to finish, but I'm still caught up in event books and I need to get going on review books too! Of course, this is the third book of the trilogy, so don't start here!
5. ROSE IN CHAINS by Julie Soto--there's been some controversy over this one lately, but the storyline still intrigues me and I'd really like to give it a try!

4. THE ROSE & THE DAGGER by Renee Ahdieh--the second in a duology that's a retelling of 1000 and 1 Nights tale. Another, don't start with this title one! Still a fun retelling that I loved!
3. THE ROSE SOCIETY by Marie Lu--another classic and another book 2/3! Lol. This was a tale of villainy and I loved it!
2. ROSE & THORN by Sarah Prineas--another one I haven't read yet and it was a book 2, but I don't know if it's a duology two or two connected stories. So yeah, maybe don't start with this one either! Lol.

1. ROSEBLOOD by A.G. Howard--this is a Phantom of the Opera inspired story! Standalone, so you're good here! Lol.

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:

Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer (ARC) (4 stars)

Currently Reading:

Carving Shadows Into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer

What I Plan to Read Next:

Bitten by Jordan Stephanie Gray (ARC)

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Can't Wait Wednesday #207
Books from the Backlog #146
Book Blogger Hop #369
Challenges Monthly Wrap-up: July
Stacking the Shelves: The BIG One

Stacking the Shelves--The BIG One

 

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.

This was an okay week all things considered. Work is picking up steadily which does make the day go by quicker! Last Saturday I had a blast at Anderson's YAM Event! A Young Adult author event held in the Midwest, hence YAM! It's about a 4 hour drive give or take a handful of minutes and I spent the whole day there! The high school they hold it in is super nice! It's huge. I once again found myself hanging around the publisher tables more so than the panels as this time around there were book giveaway drops sort of during the panel times and I thought I'd rather have some books than sit down again after my long drive! Lol. I'll be sharing that stack below here today! I got back at a halfway decent hour, but then stubbornness had me running a few errands since it was still daylight out and the stores were open! Knocked a few things off my to do list to make Sunday easier! But I was still kind of tired when I did finally come back home and just didn't have the mental capacity to add the picture and words into my post that was already scheduled! So far my August is looking pretty quiet for signings! I do have one scheduled in two weeks and then another one towards the end of the month so those will be fun! Trying to get caught up on my Brigid Kemmerer titles since she's who I will see in 2 weeks!

Onto my haul! Here's what I got this week and last Saturday:

These were all ARCs! A few I think are out already or they were in the bookstore on site, so possibly we had early access to them but these are ARCs!

A Beautiful and Terrible Murder by Claire M. Andrews 
The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni
The Crimson Throne by Sarah Raasch & Beth Revis
Dream by the Shadows by Logan Karlie
Bitten by Jordan Stephanie Gray
Never Ever by Sue Lynn Tan
Death in the Dark by Bryce Moore
Now She's Dead by Roselyn Clarke
 Secrets of the Blue Hand Girls by Rowana Miller

Then I picked up some swag! Some of it was exclusive swag from The Novl who would release a password on Instagram and you had to be quick to get it in to obtain the prize! Another reason I hung out near the publisher tables! Lol.

lots of stickers
some bookmarks
a few pins off to the right

Then this week, I received some of my B&N preorders:

Heartbroken by Serena Valentino
Forged in Blood by Said Kincaid
We Won't All Survive by Kate Alice Marshall
Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell

Of Rime and Ruin by Liesl West--SIGNED! This a The Beauty and the Beast retelling with a mermaid twist!

Shadow by Kara Swanson--I'd been meaning to buy this one for ages so I could binge the duology. Recently I could've sworn I saw her name listed at an upcoming event but cannot remember where it was and found no answers on her site. I'll remember eventually...hopefully! Lol.

Then I got my Fairy Loot version of The Deathly Grimm! When it comes to duologies, it's hard not to buy the matching set!

The Deathly Grimm by Kathryn Purdie

And finally, one of my errands had me at TJ Maxx and in that dreaded checkout line where you find all those last minute goodies, I saw this and I couldn't pass it up...even though I rarely use mugs! I will find a drink for it at some point!

And that was it for me this week! What did you all get?

Challenges Monthly Wrap-up: July

CHALLENGE 1: 2025 Discussion Challenge

Favorite Edges Feature
Mid Year Freak Out Book Tag
Dream Library

It's official, the summer heat has fried my brain! I've not been doing good with discussions these last two months! I'm probably being too hard on myself, but after seeing how awesome I did January-May, I'm pretty disappointed in my June and July! Still on track with my goal of 41 though, I'm only 4 more posts away!

CHALLENGE 2: Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge 2025

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten (4/9/24)
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (7/9/24)
Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor (4/5/22)

Not quite sure what happened this month either! I know I did read a few new (2025) books, so that's likely what I am looking at! I decided to just leave my goal as is, at least for now again. I knew as we got to the end of the year my review books I need to get to would be yelling for me and then there's other events to plan for, so my pre-2025 releases might be waiting a while more! But still doing good I'm at 35/30 for the year so far!

ARC Review--Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer

 

New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer makes her adult debut with this irresistible and steamy fantasy about three characters whose paths will collide in surprising ways – two royals pushed into a political engagement, and the assassin tasked with hunting them down.

WARRIOR. King Maddox Kyronan’s fire magic has earned him a ruthless reputation on the battlefield, but now his kingdom is slowly burning. Ky’s only chance to save his people is to enter a marriage alliance with the neighboring nation of Astranza, and hope that the royal family’s power to manipulate the weather will help his land flourish once more. He just needs to ensure no one finds out how the blaze began.

PRINCESS. With war looming on the horizon, Princess Jory’s home needs the protection of the fearsome warrior king, but she is hiding a dangerous her family’s magic is fading. Tempting as it is to reject her duties and run away with her childhood friend, Asher, Jory knows that she is the kingdom’s last hope. When she meets her intended, Jory is surprised to discover that beneath Ky’s daunting exterior is a compassionate and sharp-witted man who sets her heart aflame. But what will he do when he realizes she's deceiving him?

ASSASSIN. Asher’s done what he must to survive, even if that means getting his hands dirty. Once a young nobleman in Astranza’s palace, where he and Jory caused mischief together, now he’s part of the Hunter’s Guild, employing much darker skills. When a lucrative job comes his way, Asher can’t say no—until he discovers the targets. Someone wants Ky and Jory dead. With the Guild watching, Asher must decide what he’s willing to do to protect the woman he loves.

A tale of three complex characters torn between chasing, betraying, and falling in love with each other, Warrior Princess Assassin marks the beginning of a thrilling new fantasy trilogy filled with enchantment, adventure, and passionate romance.

I received this ARC in a Goodreads contest that I won. My review is still completely honest and voluntary.

Brigid Kemmerer's adult debut, Warrior Princess Assassin is a fantasy romance novel that will keep you on your toes and having some very tough decision to make. This was a read I was very excited to read and it pretty much hit all the marks I was hoping for!

Told in three points of view from our title characters, we are given your typical fantasy setup with a princess being forced into an arranged marriage for the betterment of her kingdom and people. There's a best friend from childhood who she secretly loves and who loves her back but knows they can't be together. But that's pretty much where the typicality ends.

Our assassin, Asher picks up a new assignment but when he sees it's to kill the incoming king and his best friend, Princess Jory, he hesitates. He has no compunctions about killing the man Jory is being forced to marry but h can't kill his best friend. When he tries to whisk her away to safety she demands that they take her fiance, Ky along as well. And that's when things get complicated for kidnapping a warrior king is anything but easy.

This book was a bit of a mystery almost in terms of direction. You kept thinking where are things heading? While some things seemed clear you knew there was still an underlying mystery at hand: who ordered the hits on Jory and Ky? Who wants them dead and why? This really doesn't come to the fore right away as the characters are once again sent off in another direction.

While the plot may have seemed a little muddled at times, it was really the characters that kept me going. They were all pretty complex, from the outside you saw them as they presented themselves to others but once you got to their point of view, you got a whole other side to them.

Now you're probably wondering about the romance and boy was this one intense! I will admit that for the most part we mainly got teases and stolen kisses throughout the story at large. But by the end we get the much more intimate scene readers were craving! And yet, I feel like it was still only the preview to more things to come! I believe I heard that this book was being called a "why choose?" in terms to romance, so I will just leave it at that!

In the end, much is revealed about the threats to Jory and Ky's lives. I felt like this part was pretty obvious in the long run, but then I've been reading books with twisted mysteries like this for ages. I feel like the more seasoned you are, the harder it is to be taken by surprise. It can still happen though, I will admit that! The ending to this one leaves you with the sense that things are just getting started and I cannot wait to see what this trio will accomplish!

Warrior Princess Assassin was a fantasy read that hit all the right notes! There was action, romance, just a hint of magic, and a mystery to keep things interesting. The character dynamic though was very impactful and was definitely my favorite part of the story. Be sure to add this amazing fantasy read to your shelves in all its splendid glory!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars

Book Blogger Hop #369

 

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

This week's question is: What book are you currently reading? What made you choose this title to read? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

MY ANSWER: Currently I am reading Carving Shadows Into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer! Brigid is coming to my library in two weeks so I wanted to have this read before then! She's touring for her adult book, but just wanted to avoid spoilers for "just in case" reasons! Lol.