ARC Review--Forging Silver Into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer

 

New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer expands the Cursebreaker world in an electrifying new series.

When ancient magic tests a newfound love, a dark fate beckons . . .

Magic has been banished in the land of Syhl Shallow for as long as best friends Jax and Callyn can remember. They once loved the stories of the powerful magesmiths and mythical scravers who could conjure fire or control ice, but now they’ve learned that magic only leads to danger: magic is what killed Callyn’s parents, leaving her alone to raise her younger sister. Magic never helped Jax, whose leg was crushed in an accident that his father has been punishing him for ever since. Magic won’t save either of them when the tax collector comes calling, threatening to take their homes if they can't pay what they owe.

Meanwhile, Jax and Callyn are astonished to learn magic has returned to Syhl Shallow -- in the form of a magesmith who's now married to their queen. Now, the people of Syhl Shallow are expected to allow dangerous magic in their midst, and no one is happy about it.

When a stranger rides into town offering Jax and Callyn silver in exchange for holding secret messages for an anti-magic faction, the choice is obvious -- even if it means they may be aiding in a plot to destroy their new king. It’s a risk they’re both willing to take. That is, until another visitor arrives: handsome Lord Tycho, the King’s Courier, the man who’s been tasked with discovering who’s conspiring against the throne.

Suddenly, Jax and Callyn find themselves embroiled in a world of shifting alliances, dangerous flirtations, and ancient magic . . . where even the deepest loyalties will be tested.

 

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

 

Brigid Kemmerer returns to the exciting world of the Cursebreakers with a brand new addition, Forging Silver Into Stars! We return four years after the great battle, time has passed, some wounds have healed, but not all. Our story is divided by three storytellers, Tycho, and newcomers, Callyan and Jax. This story was epic beyond proportions and it's only just getting started.

We all felt a little lost, I suppose is the right word, after the end of the Cursebreakers series. It felt like too much was left unsaid after all we learned and all that had occurred. While this new series picks up a few years later, it does seem to settle some of the lingering questions I might have had regarding certain characters. Though there are still plenty of other questions to be had with this new series!

Tycho is the King's Courier, he delivers the highly sensitive messages between Emberfall and Syhl Shallow. Things are not necessarily in the thick of Happily Ever After, nor are they necessarily dark and dismal times. Life is just returning to a sort of normal, though the people of Syhl Shallow are not necessarily thrilled that a magic user is now their king. In fact, there is still a lot of hatred towards magic and magic users among the people.

Jax is a blacksmith with a drunk and abusive father. Jax has an even rougher go of things as he lost a foot in accident when he was young, so he was never able to enlist and the day-to-day tasks of blacksmith present something of a challenge, but he manages. Then he learns his father has been spending their earnings on alcohol instead of paying their taxes and when a somewhat dangerous opportunity arises that could bring in funds to save the blacksmith. He simply holds secret messages between Lady Karyl and Alek, a pair of upperclassman you could say. They're not royalty but they have a high standing in society.

Callyn is Jax's best friend and a baker trying to save her bakery after her father died recently and now she too is in debt trying to pay taxes in order to save her livelihood and take care of her younger sister. She ends up helping Jax in a way with his messages and he shares in the wealth. Until they begin to question just what these messages are about. And that is when Tycho comes to town, merely by happenstance.

For a nearly 600 page book, a lot happens in this story and it's hard to give the highlights without diving into some backstory as well. With three points of view as well, we are all over the board when it comes to seeing just what is happening in this kingdom. Murder plots, conspiracy theories, treason...it's a lot to handle, yet Brigid is able to tell the story without it being overly slow. The story was well-paced, and while there were a few moments that felt a little too long, there was usually an uprising in the plot to make things speed up again.

As promised, all of our old Cursebreakers characters are here as they interact with the new characters. It was fun to still see them and to get to know these new people as well. Jax and Callyn are a great set of friends, though even that steadfast bond is about to be tested in this dangerous game they are playing.

Romance. Oh the romance. I'll admit, I was slightly worried a love triangle would form between these three characters...but luckily that was only ever a half-formed thought. While romantic tension runs high between Tycho and Jax, there was never a wavering doubt that Tycho might also feel for Callyn or her for him. Callyn does have a romantic interest in this one that was surprising as well, though it did leave me wondering about its authenticity. You wonder if they were being truthful with one another and the ending just left my mind in a tailspin.

While the book did seem to move a sedate pace for the most part, you always knew something was coming. Something indeed was building in the background and the ending was quite epic and action packed, much of what I wished could've been happening earlier. I understood for the slow buildup though, I just possibly wish it wasn't as long. The character development along the way was a pleasant way to spend the time until the plot got moving again.

Forging Silver Into Stars was an enjoyable read to the start of a new trilogy. I am sure even greater things are to come with this series and I cannot wait to see what happens next!

 

Overall Rating 4/5 stars

 

Forging Silver Into Stars releases June 7, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

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:

A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair (4 stars)

Review That Was Posted:

A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong (ARC) (4 stars)

Currently Reading:

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

What I Plan to Read Next:

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard (ARC)

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Can't Wait Wednesday
Random Thursday
Book Blogger Hop
Stacking the Shelves

 

 

 

 

Stacking the Shelves

 

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.

 

Did this week just move ever so slowly for everyone else? Friday was absolutely unbearable as the usual call I sit in on ran wayyyy over. We're lucky when the planned 90 minute call ends early, but this one ran over. By thirty minutes! Needless to say I was pretty much spent after that and still had over 2 hours left in the day. My brain was pretty much mush. So I know I have a few things waiting for me in the inbox when I get back, but hopefully tackling it after a nice long weekend should be easier!

I was also going through book mail hell this week! None of my B&N tracking numbers were updating since they shipped last Sunday! Legit checked one after delivery and they still never showed any updates. At all! I wonder if the processing whatever thing gave me the wrong tracking numbers because when I searched for them, UPS kept saying to use tracking numbers that weren't old or something. Which as a book lover, you can imagine how stressful it is to not be able to track where your preciouses are!

 

Anyway, here is what finally arrived to me this week...and the last two were bought at B&N yesterday with my wonderful coupon!

The War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout--my hardcover that was lost in limbo for all I knew finally arrived! And I totally forgot or just flat out didn't know that it was going to be SIGNED!! And the naked hardcover is even more amazing too!

 

Kiss of the Selkie by Tessonja Odette
Spark of Ash by Molly E. Lee--my keeper copy!

 

Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater--been meaning to pick this up all month and I finally got out to the bookstore yesterday!
Hide by Kiersten White--super excited for this thriller!

 

 

Then I got what I believe was my hardcover preorder goodie for The War of Two Queens. There was no note included, so I wasn't entirely sure what it was for! But after reading the comic strip I was gathering that that was what this was!

Then I got my most recent A Touch of Magic Designs order!

I got an Emilia and Wrath print, the middle freebie is from Crescent City, and then I got the Feyre mermaid and Rhys print!

I also got the special Magic Lives Inside Us pin, plus this month's cupcake pin, which was Nevernight!

Then I got my Fairy Loot deck of cards that was supposed to be in the March box I think?

And that was it for me this week! It was stressful both work and book wise, but it ended happy...book wise! Lol. What all did you get this week?

Book Blogger Hop

 

 

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

 

 

This week's question is: Do you use the Kindle app on your phone or iPad for reading e-books? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews) 

MY ANSWER: I use my kindle for the rare occasion I read an ebook. On the even rarer occasion if I am out and about and happen to be reading an ebook, I will pull it on my phone and (pending that I can find my place because it rarely syncs up correctly) I'll read if I happen to be bored or need something to do by an unexpected wait.

Random Thursday

Time for more fun facts that are strange but true regarding history and politics from Shane Carley in True Facts That Sound Like Bull$#*t! This book has been a ton of fun and there is still one more short chapter left after this one!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

In 2010, U.S. Congressman, Hank Johnson once asked whether Guam could become so overpopulated that it might "tip over and capsize?" He has been re-elected several times since this.

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

In the late 1800s, two paleontologists, Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope (respectively), batted each other for dinosaur bones in a fight that became known as "The Bone Wars." They would steal from each other, bribe officials for digging rights, and waged heated battles in the press.

Wow. In the 1800s?! That sounds like 21st century behavior!

(image borrowed from Criminal Element)

Did you know that at one time, people thought people who were suffering from tuberculosis were vampires?

I felt like I read this somewhere in my vampire history lessons! And you would not believe how much I struggled over which vampires to show you! Lol!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

Did you know Johnny Appleseed was a real person? His real name was John Chapman and he introduced people around America to apples.

Never would've guessed that!

(image borrowed from World Atlas)

Did you know that the U.S. bought Alaska from Russia for a price that equated to under .02 per acre?

If Google is to be believed, at 393,747 acres at .02 each that equals to $7,874.94...so less than that!

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 pulse-pounding new thriller from the bestselling author of Wherever She Goes and Every Step She Takes.


If someone was threatening your home, how far would you go to protect it?

Celeste Turner has a woman living in her shed. A woman who is definitely not supposed to be there. The local police, however, are ill-inclined to help. Celeste is a newcomer to a region of rural Florida. It doesn't matter that her family is originally from the area or that she returned to nurse her dying grandmother. All the locals see is a city girl who swooped in to secure her inheritance . . . a rundown house in need of extensive repairs. Celeste needs her new life to work, and this woman is a threat to that.

Then she meets her. To her surprise, she finds out that Daisy is polite and friendly; a backpacker who is just making her way through the area. Quickly, Celeste begins an unlikely and beneficial friendship with Daisy--she can't help herself and, besides, Daisy will be moving on to her next stop soon. Why not take advantage of the extra help?

Both women have secrets they want to keep buried, and when a body is discovered in the glades near Celeste's house, they must move quickly to prove their innocence and protect the lives they've built for themselves.

 

I still need to read Kelley's other thrillers she's been writing, but I still add them to my TBR! This is the first one she's written with a pen name, so I'll be curious to see the writing style of it! 

 

TITLE: The Life She Had
AUTHOR: K.L. Armstrong
PUBLISHER: Double Day Canada
GENRE: Thriller
RELEASE DATE: July 19, 2022

 

 

 

Review--A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair

 

Persephone's relationship with Hades has gone public and the resulting media storm disrupts her normal life and threatens to expose her as the Goddess of Spring.

Hades, God of the Dead, is burdened by a hellish past that everyone's eager to expose in an effort to warn Persephone away.

Things only get worse when a horrible tragedy leaves Persephone's heart in ruin and Hades refusing to help. Desperate, she takes matters into her own hands, striking bargains with severe consequences.

Faced with a side of Hades she never knew and crushing loss, Persephone wonders if she can truly become Hades' queen.

 

 

 

 

Scarlett St. Clair returns to the intensely heated relationship of Persephone and Hades in A Touch of Ruin. This book continues the couple's developing relationship and all the trials and tribulations that they are about to face in the coming weeks. Loyalties will be tested, feelings will be tested, let's just say, there's a lot of tests ahead and there's a lot threatening to tear the two apart. Will their love be strong enough to overcome it? Time will tell. 

This story pretty much picks up where the first book left off with Persephone and Hades pursuing a relationship with one another. And it seems all of New Athens is already made aware of Hades' new love interest as they are splashed all over the tabloids. It isn't long before Persephone finds herself questioning a lot of things about Hades and his past. Especially when a nymph, Louce appears who claims she's Hades' ex-lover and is making demands of him. Just how many women came before Persephone? She wonders if she's just another fleeting distraction for him. The secrets just seem to be piling up and Persephone finds herself questioning everything about their relationship.

Persephone's relationship drama isn't her only problem, her friend, Sybil has a major falling out with Apollo and she loses his favor along with her powers and everything else. Persephone gets into a rage and writes a scathing article about the god that pretty much puts a bullseye on her back and only Hades can protect her from the other god's wrath. If that wasn't enough, tragedy will strike once again and Persephone will find she will need Apollo's help and she will have to become indebted to the wrathful god in order to make things right once again.

I honestly thought when I started this book there would no longer be any strife between Persephone and Hades. After all they overcame in the first book, I thought their relationship would have more time to develop. Instead, they have a lot more to learn about each other, although, it's more Persephone learning more about Hades, who still remains very secretive. I'll be very interested to know what he was thinking and doing in his next book, which I plan to read before diving into Persephone's third book. It kind of amazes me that Hades is only now getting his side of the story, but I am enjoying it regardless! I almost wonder if a dual point of view story would've worked just as well, but perhaps not since Persephone continues to do a lot of growing on her own when Hades isn't around, but I would almost like to see how St. Clair would tackle that style of writing as well.

There was yet another small "conflict" you could say that popped up that I felt like wasn't given enough emphasis. I remember seeing the first sign but then it was there and gone and forgotten before we got a twist near the end. I guess I just don't understand how it fit since it wasn't given enough page time. When the connection is made at the end though, I guess you could say it was more prolonged than it was...it just felt weird to me. I don't quite understand how it fit into the story other than to add one more end problem. I know, I'm being vague but I don't want to spoil things. If there had been more buildup with this problem throughout the story it wouldn't have seem so off course, but yeah, it kind of threw me a bit. I wonder if this is something that will be more explored when we get to Hades' pov of this book or not. Time will tell I suppose!

I guess one thing that continues to nag at me regarding the romance in this series is how the lovemaking is referred to f***ing each and every time. I know this is a weird thing to get hung up on, but from all my reading over the years, I've pretty much associated "f***ing" as sex without the feelings and emotions behind it as that is how it's be written every time it's referred to as such. F***ing is pure physical, no emotions involved. But here, it seems to be the opposite as it's literally how the couple refers to their sexual activity. Legit at the end for one time only, "lovemaking" was used and it totally threw me when I read it. I know, I know! I need to let it go. It's just a word choice, but it nags at the romantic in me when one word refers to a physical act and the more flowery word--as cheesy as it is--feels a little more romantic on the emotional level. That when this word gets used, it really gets down to the nit and gritty of love where the other just sating a physical need for sex. Again, just my personal impressions or beliefs based on all the other romance books I've read all these years. So I'll get off my little soapbox here and end it.

I did enjoy the continuing growth of Persephone and Hades' relationship though. That it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows was refreshing, though oddly, I kind of thought they'd have that for most of the book before "the big problem" popped up. Since the third book is waiting for me soon, and I see that St. Clair plans to write another Hades' point of view book for the third "Persephone" book, I wonder again what problems will be coming between them to cause so much separation to warrant yet another book solely from the god's point of view. 

The ending was something of a surprise I guess you could say! I mean the last act, not so much, but the teeny tiny grand finale moment was very foreboding. I would have thought this meant for epic buildup to a grand finale, but I have since learned there will be a fourth Persephone book, so now I'm really curious as to what's going to happen next! I may be having a few personal issues here and there with this series to date, but I still find myself reading them! It's an addiction I guess! Lol. Scarlett St. Clair definitely puts a new spin on the Greek gods and since I've been a fan of Greek mythology since I was youth, I'm all for this passionate spin! I look forward to seeing what will happen next!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars