Friday Freebie #39 Before Midnight (Blood Prince #1) by Jennifer Blackstream

Tags

fairytale retelling, fantasy, friday freebie, jennifer blackstream, mg, new adult, paranormal romance, werewolf, ya, young adult

This week I have for you a werewolf/Cinderella retelling that is glaring incriminatingly unread from the depths of my Kindle.

Loupe always dreamed of getting married. She yearned for a caring husband who would take her away from her servant-like existence at home with her stepmother and two stepsisters, a man who would love her forever. Those dreams ended the day she was bitten by a werewolf. Now she’s a mindless beast on the night of the full moon—a condition that forever prevents her from sharing a marriage bed. Not even the attentions of a handsome and endearingly strong prince can convince her that the life she wants is still possible.

Etienne is a prince in need of a werewolf. A werewolf himself from birth, Etienne and his family have protected their kingdom with tooth and claw—literally—for thousands of years. Unfortunately, the spell of a well-meaning witch is slowly turning him human. Only the bite of a cursed werewolf, one who was not born with the beast inside, can save him from becoming human. He has no time for anything that will not lead him to a cure for the curse. Not even the beautiful maiden whose gentle nature soothes his soul can take his mind from his goal.

Love cares little for the best laid plans or the impossible. A grand ball. The stroke of twelve. A magic “slipper.” All kinds of things can happen when you don’t leave the ball…Before Midnight.

Blurb and cover from Goodreads

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Friday Freebie #37 Land of Shadows (The Legend of the Gate Keeper #1) by Jeff Gunzel

Tags

epic fantasy, fantasy, friday freebie, jeff gunzel, mg, new adult, swordsand sorcery, ya, young adult

The gorgeous lands of Tarmerria are full of magic and beauty. But the virtually lawless cities contain no shortage of darkness and greed. A land where daily survival in the harsh realm takes priority over all else. But the world is about to change. The ancient prophecies, written during a time long forgotten, just might be true after all.

Join in as unlikely companions from completely different worlds set out on the adventure of a lifetime. A search for answers. A search for the truth.

This book is intended for mature audiences

Blurb and cover from Goodreads

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Friday Freebie #36 The Island (The Island #1) by Jen Minkman

Tags

dystopia, friday freebie, jen minkman, mg, middle grade, novella, the island, ya, young adult

I walk toward the sea. The endless surface of the water extends to the horizon, whichever way I look.

Our world is small. We are on our own, and we only have ourselves to depend on. We rely on the Force deep within us, as taught to us by our forefathers.

If I were to walk westward from here, I would come across a barrier – the Wall. Behind it, there are Fools. At least, that’s what everyone says.

I have never seen one.

Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors.

But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?

Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?

Also available in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Afrikaans!

 

Blurb and cover from Goodreads

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Review: Witch Song (Witch Song, #1) by Amber Argyle @amberargyle

Tags

amber argyle, epic fantasy, indie author, indie published, mg, middle grade, witch song, ya, young adult

The Witch Hunters have come for Brusenna, for she is the last. All the others have been captured by the Dark Witch. And without their magical songs to control nature, the world is dying.

Though young and untrained, Brusenna must succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the Dark Witch. Fight her. Defeat her. If Brusenna fails, there will be nothing left to save—for the Witches, for mankind, or for the young Guardian who has committed his life to protecting hers.

Blurb and cover from Goodreads

5 out of 5 stars

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a fantasy novel like this—a young hero raised in ignorance of their true power leaving on a quest to defeat a great evil. In some ways it felt like going home, back to where my passion for swords and sorcery began. Lots of danger, suspense, a dash of mystery, and some sweet romance—this is the kind of book that made me fall in love with the genre.

The plot:

At a little over 320 pages printed length, it took me little over a day to finish. Despite the length, I can’t think of any portion or area where the story dragged or there was a plot hole. There’s a one year gap in the timeline somewhere around the 30% mark and while that might normally get a star reduction, it was more or less necessary to the storyline and so I’ll take it.

I think I would have liked to see less of the multiple perspectives. There were certain parts from the POV of the bad guy and a few other characters that I thought should have been cut, maybe not all, but most of them.

The characters:

Amber Argyle pulled of a HUGE amount of character development. Senna goes from being a naïve, brash, slightly bratty fifteen year old to a mature, brave, and astute leader. It really was amazing how well that was pulled off. If only we could all master character development so well. *sigh*

Joshen was the other main character who undergoes a total 360 transformation. They mature so much over the course of the story it was like watching them grow up. They were so sweet together and I did get angry at Senna’s mother, almost as much as she did. Particularly when the woman went and was getting upset over Senna not getting the permission of the Keepers before making this one big decision. Never mind that Senna didn’t know because her mother neglected to teach her or that the Keepers were kind of dead at the time. *tosses arms in the air with frustration*

At the 70% mark, I was panicking a bit. Things were going way too smoothly and I knew something big and bad was about to happen and I was right. Thankfully, while this book does have an open ending, it does not have a cliffhanger.

An excellent MG/lower YA fantasy I would recommend to fans of Intisar Khanani and Shannon Hale.

Find Witch Song on Goodreads

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Find Witch Song on BN.com