Book Review: A Forgery of Fate

Published on by Erica

A breathtaking romantic fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast about a girl who paints the future and a cursed dragon lord, bound by love and deception in a plot to bring down the gods.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes!

“Everything I love in a story—danger, complex characters, romance, betrayal and gorgeous writing.” —Mary E. Pearson, New York Times bestselling author of Dance of Thieves

Truyan Saigas didn’t choose to become a con artist, but after her father is lost at sea, it’s up to her to support her mother and two younger sisters. A gifted art forger, Tru has the unique ability to paint the future, but even such magic is not enough to put her family back together again, or stave off the gangsters demanding payment in blood for her mother’s gambling debts.

Left with few options, Tru agrees to a marriage contract with a mysterious dragon lord. He offers a fresh start for her mother and sisters and elusive answers about her father’s disappearance, but in exchange, she must join him in his desolate undersea palace. And she must assist him in a plot to infiltrate the tyrannical Dragon King’s inner circle, painting a future so treasonous, it could upend both the mortal and immortal realms. . . .

My Review:

This book was beautiful. From the set up to the finale, I couldn’t ask for a better journey. Loved it.
First off, Elizabeth Lim is a master storyteller. She captures sibling relationships so well. I love the dynamics she writes. You can feel the love in the family unit. And the sweet and clean romances are heartwarming and just perfect.
It was fun being back in Ai’long and seeing a familiar half dragon.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

Book Review: The Light that Shines Forever

Published on by Erica

The inspiring, true story of Sir Nicholas Winton, who ingeniously rescued hundreds of children before Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia.

The shadow of war was spreading across Europe. Hitler’s armies had marched into the borderlands of Czechoslovakia, forcing Jewish families, among others, to flee their homes and seek refuge in any location that would accept them.

When Nicholas Winton, the son of Jewish-German immigrants, traveled from London to Czechoslovakia to help the refugee families huddled in tents in sprawling encampments, an ingenious plan began to formulate in his head. By special waiver, children could leave the country without their parents, as long as host families abroad took them in. As word of his plan spread, parents lined the hallways and staircases of Winton’s hotel, begging for help. If Nicholas could get their children out of the country safely, the families would find a way to join them. Three weeks later, when Winton returned to London, he carried with him the names and photographs of hundreds of children—even babies—entrusted to him by their parents.

With the assistance of his mother and a growing circle of helpers, Winton began recruiting host families, raising funds, and securing visas. For nine months, he arranged for children to travel by train and ferry to England. Then war was declared, and the Czech border closed.

Fifty years later, Nicholas’s wife, Grete, discovered a long-forgotten scrapbook in their attic containing the names and documentation of 669 children. It was the only record of her husband’s remarkable rescue efforts. What followed was a series of equally remarkable events that allowed this heroic story to be told and for millions to learn the fate of these rescued children, all on live television.

The Light That Shines Forever is a beautifully illustrated picture book, with primary source documents and photographs, that brings to life a remarkable wartime rescue. Its lesson and message invite readers to ask the questions: What light will we bring to others? What stories will fill the scrapbooks of our lives?

My Review:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

While I read this short book I realized I had seen a documententary where many adults that stood up in recognition of a man who had saved him. This added an emotional level to this book for me when I made the connection. I’m grateful for men like him who saved others. This book includes a short biography with beautiful illustrations and is definitely a must read. Be prepared to be moved. I could not read this with a dry eye.

I recieved an ARC from the publisher via Net Galley.

Book Review: Immortal

Published on by Erica

Synopsis:

A stunning, standalone romantic fantasy filled with dangerous secrets, forbidden magic, and passion, of a young ruler who fights to protect her kingdom, from bestselling author Sue Lynn Tan and set in the breathtaking world of Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

“What the gods did not give us, I would take.”

As the heir to Tianxia, Liyen knows she must ascend the throne and renew her kingdom’s pledge to serve the immortals who once protected them from a vicious enemy. But when she is poisoned, Liyen’s grandfather steals an enchanted lotus to save her life. Enraged at his betrayal, the immortal queen commands the powerful God of War to attack Tianxia.

Upon her grandfather’s death, Liyen ascends a precarious throne, vowing to end her kingdom’s obligation to the immortals. When she is summoned to the Immortal Realm, she seizes the opportunity to learn their secrets and to form a tenuous alliance to safeguard her people, all with the one she should fear and mistrust the most: the ruthless God of War. As they are drawn together, a treacherous attraction ignites between them—one she has to resist, to not endanger all she is fighting for.

But with darker forces closing in around them, and her kingdom plunged into peril, Liyen must risk everything to save her people from an unspeakable fate, even if it means forging a dangerous bond with the immortal… even if it means losing her heart.

My Review:

A beautifully written, heavy on descriptions, tale of love and longing. I love xianxia style fantasy romance, so this was right up my ally.

That said, there’s a couple of things. The FMC Liyen annoyed me fof a chunk of the book. I understood her in the beginning. But just when we are supposed to believe she is falling in love with Zhangwei and trusting him, she takes a dozen steps back. Of course, after several times of tricking him, she finally allows herself to be vulnerable. Zhangwei is obviously keeping secrets, but he’s plead with her to trust him. To really trust him. And with how powerful he is as an immortal, Liyen should have. I really liked how he didn’t give upon her.

I loved the twists and how Liyen ends up connected to it all. (And I won’t spoil it.)

I said the prose was beautiful. The other problem is that it is soo heavy on the descriptions that it was almost to the point of distraction. Especially in a first person story.

This story also has some spicy scenes that fade to black.

That said, I did enjoy this story, so that’s the bottom line. Sue Lynn Tan is one of my favorite authors.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC. I’m so happy I got to read this early.