Month: November 2024

The Prison Healer (Book one in the Prison Healer)

The Prison Healer (The Prison Healer, #1)

The Prison Healer

Lynette Noni

Published April 13, 2021

Read November 27-28, 2024

1 out of 5 stars

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.

When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.

Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.

But no one has ever survived.

With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.

My Review: I don’t really have anything against this book, it just reminded me too much of another book I hated and I couldn’t push myself to read it.

I think without that past thought it would have come off much better. Just not the book for me!

-Nina

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Heartless Hunter (Book one in The Crimson Moth)

Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth, #1)

Heartless Hunter

Kristen Ciccarelli

Published Febuary 20, 2024

Read November 24-26, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

Summary: On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.

Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe – a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution – who she can’t help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

My Review: Holy. Shit. Adding to list of books to pull me out of reading slumps! When I tell you I couldn’t put this book down. I woke up and started reading and barely stopped when I went to bed.

Gideon was such a character! And so was Rune! When I tell you I thought they were mediocre at best but from beginning to end, that changed! There wasn’t a part of this book that wasn’t perfection.

-Nina

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Defy the Night (Book one in the Defy the Night series)

Defy the Night (Defy the Night, #1)

Defy the Night

Brigid Kemmerer

Published September 14, 2021

Read November 20-22, 2024

1 out of 5 stars

Summary: The kingdom of Kandala is on the brink of disaster. Rifts between sectors have only worsened since a sickness began ravaging the land, and within the Royal Palace, the king holds a tenuous peace with a ruthless hand.

King Harristan was thrust into power after his parents’ shocking assassination, leaving the younger Prince Corrick to take on the brutal role of the King’s Justice. The brothers have learned to react mercilessly to any sign of rebellion–it’s the only way to maintain order when the sickness can strike anywhere, and the only known cure, an elixir made from delicate Moonflower petals, is severely limited.

Out in the Wilds, apothecary apprentice Tessa Cade is tired of seeing her neighbors die, their suffering ignored by the unyielding royals. Every night, she and her best friend Wes risk their lives to steal Moonflower petals and distribute the elixir to those who need it most–but it’s still not enough.

As rumors spread that the cure no longer works and sparks of rebellion begin to flare, a particularly cruel act from the King’s Justice makes Tessa desperate enough to try the impossible: sneaking into the palace. But what she finds upon her arrival makes her wonder if it’s even possible to fix Kandala without destroying it first.

My Review: I don’t think the book was that bad, it had a good plot. But it was so incredibly slow. I kept waiting for something to happen. Almost 1/3 of the way through it and I was still waiting.

I think Kemmerer wrote this with a long term goal of multiple books and it made it super difficult to stick out.

With a faster pace it could have been fantastic.

-Nina

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The Tower of Nero (Book five in the Trials of Apollo series)

The Tower of Nero (The Trials of Apollo, #5)

The Tower of Nero

Rick Riordan

Published October 6, 2020

Read November 10-19, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

Summary: At last, the breathtaking, action-packed finale of the #1 bestselling Trials of Apollo series is here! Will the Greek god Apollo, cast down to earth in the pathetic moral form of a teenager named Lester Papadopoulos, finally regain his place on Mount Olympus? Lester’s demigod friends at Camp Jupiter just helped him survive attacks from bloodthirsty ghouls, an evil Roman king and his army of the undead, and the lethal emperors Caligula and Commodus. Now the former god and his demigod master Meg must follow a prophecy uncovered by Ella the harpy. Lester’s final challenge will be at the Tower of Nero, back in New York. Will Meg have a last showdown with her father? Will this helpless form of Apollo have to face his arch nemesis, Python? Who will be on hand at Camp Half-Blood to assist? These questions and more will be answered in this book that all demigods are eagerly awaiting.

My Review: What a way to end a book, to end a series! Wow! Just wow! Uncle Rick, truly a masterpiece!

-Nina

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Additional Notes: I have been keeping TOA short and sweet with my reviews, mainly because I have already read these books and written these reviews (just not on this site) but also so I can save time to get to new books and give you better reviews. Hope this is all cool!

The Tyrants Tomb (Book 4 in Trials of Apollo)

The Tyrants Tomb

Rick Riordan

Published September 24, 2024

Read November 1-8, 2024

5 out of 5 stars

Summary: It’s not easy being Apollo, especially when you’ve been turned into a human and banished from Olympus. On his path to restoring five ancient oracles and reclaiming his godly powers, Apollo (aka Lester Papadopoulos) has faced both triumphs and tragedies. Now his journey takes him to Camp Jupiter in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the Roman demigods are preparing for a desperate last stand against the evil Triumvirate of Roman emperors. Hazel, Reyna, Frank, Tyson, Ella, and many other old friends will need Apollo’s aid to survive the onslaught. Unfortunately, the answer to their salvation lies in the forgotten tomb of a Roman ruler . . . someone even worse than the emperors Apollo has already faced.

My Review: I forgot how much Apollo changes during this series. I put off reading it because I thought he remained a jerk. And the funny part is, I’ve read this series before! I’m not sure why I didn’t remember!

but it was also fantastic to hear from old Camp Jupiter friends!

-Nina

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The Burning Maze (Book three in the Trials of Apollo)

The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo, #3)

The Burning Maze

Rick Riordan

Published May 1, 2018

Read October 21 – November 1, 2024

Summary: The formerly glorious god Apollo, cast down to earth in punishment by Zeus, is now an awkward mortal teenager named Lester Papadopoulos. In order to regain his place on Mount Olympus, Lester must restore five Oracles that have gone dark. But he has to achieve this impossible task without having any godly powers and while being duty-bound to a confounding young daughter of Demeter named Meg. Thanks a lot, Dad.

With the help of some demigod friends, Lester managed to survive his first two trials, one at Camp Half-Blood, and one in Indianapolis, where Meg received the Dark Prophecy. The words she uttered while seated on the Throne of Memory revealed that an evil triumvirate of Roman emperors plans to attack Camp Jupiter. While Leo flies ahead on Festus to warn the Roman camp, Lester and Meg must go through the Labyrinth to find the third emperor–and an Oracle who speaks in word puzzles–somewhere in the American Southwest. There is one glimmer of hope in the gloom-filled prophecy: The cloven guide alone the way does know. They will have a satyr companion, and Meg knows just who to call upon. . . .

My Review: This book truly kills me everytime. And Rick foreshadowed it with his dedication. The first time I read this book I wasn’t this time.

But my favorite part about this book is seeing the change in Apollo. He is understanding. He is changing.

-Nina

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