Read wRite Run
The first thing that drew my attention to Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer was actually the gorgeous cover. Reading the synopsis only further convinced me this was a book I had to get my hands on. A huge thanks to the author, Helen Scheuerer for the advanced copy because I am super grateful I didn’t end up having to wait in agony for the release date.
The Luminaries by Susan Dennard has been one of my most anticipated reads for 2022. The minute I saw it being compared to The Witcher I knew I had to get my hands on this one as soon as it came out. It’s been a long wait having to go until a November release date but finally this book is out in the world and I had my chance to give it a read. A huge thanks to Raincoast books for providing me with a review copy!
A Kingdom of Frost and Fear by Whitney Dean is the second in the series, and it was quite the wild ride. I don’t find this to be the case often, but I have to say this second book was actually even better than the first in my opinion. There was a lot more significant plot happening in this one, so it was more fast paced and answers set up from the first book could be answered or at least expanded upon here. Though a massive book, I found myself not ready for it to end because I was so invested in the story and the characters and everything happening to them.
A Kingdom of Flame and Fury by Whitney Dean was such a rollercoaster of emotions I’m having a hard time figuring out where to start with this. I enjoyed it immensely after some initial uncertainty about where the story was going when I first started. Now to clarify, this isn’t because it had a weak start by any means, it’s more that it wasn’t quite going in the direction I anticipated from what I had gleaned about the book. But this was actually very much a concern that was removed throughout the course of this book for many reasons.
Holy moly when I tell you this book was a wild ride. Here’s the thing about second books, I find in so many cases they don’t QUITE live up to the first book when it’s one that I find incredible. This is a typical occurrence, otherwise known as second book syndrome. Blood Solace by Vela Roth did not suffer from this affliction. I loved it just as much as the first and never felt like it lacked.