simonlorden's reviews
1230 reviews

By far my favorite in the series is this closing book. The pairing matches my tastes perfectly, but also this book had everyone from the previous ones working together and had a much stronger found family feel than the previous two. We also learn more about the two types of magic, and magic society is changed forever, etc. I kinda cried at the epilogue because wow, we've come so far.

Jack and Alan couldn't be more different as far as their statuses go. Alan is a poor working man who is supporting his family by illegal deeds to keep them clean and safe, and he has revolutionary ideas about the class war - but since sexual fantasy doesn't care about politics, he also really wants to be spanked by Baron Hawthorn. Their sexual roleplay in this book was incredibly hot, and so good for them.

A worthy second book in the trilogy. I still love the magic worldbuilding, the little things like magicians using the motions of their cradles to communicate, like a kind of sign language. And of course, there's more erotica mixed with magic.

Violet and Maud are both interesting and loveable, but I admit I'm weak and I'm in love with Hawthorn most of all. He was so Done through the whole thing and yet still cares despite his protests, even if the women made it seem like he was regularly holding orgies on the ship.

A short but very sweet holiday short.

Well, a lot happened in this one. There were some events I liked, but more that I didn't. The Endicott twins were so extreme in their behavior that they didn't really feel like real people, and likewise, Whyborne's behavior was so extreme for most of the book that I was waiting for a reveal that he's been bespelled all along, which never came. Poor Whyborne also loses several people close to him, one way or another, which wasn't fun.

We're visiting Egypt, where Christine is in her element, and it's also her turn to get some family drama. Whyborne still doesn't understand what series he's in. Griffin is still waiting for his brothers. Iskander is neat, I hope we keep him.

At times far too slow for my tastes, and then suddenly exciting. The last few chapters were especially good.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jonara, a tinker's daughter who is used to traveling around with her father, is sacrificed to a dragon. But she doesn't get eaten, and instead gets to help the dragon regain his memories and his identity, while also fighting an evil villain.

Here's the thing: I feel mislead by this blurb and the presentation. To me, a cozy fantasy is low stakes, more everyday matters, like retiring to open a magical coffee shop. Gathering an army to help your dragon boyfriend defeat the evil sorcerer who wants to be king is like... the opposite of cozy.

That doesn't mean this book was bad, but I don't think it is accurate to call it cozy fantasy, and I also didn't feel it was really unique in the fantasy genre. I hadn't read the other books in the series, so I didn't know about the framing story that was revealed towards the end, but it definitely explained some of the happenings and fairytale tropes used. I have mixed feelings about this twist: Dragon's jokes were kind of forced and cringy, but I liked the tinker's backstory.

Overall, this was a funny, charming fairytale story. Not bad, but not particularly great either, just okay. And not what I'd describe as cozy fantasy.

Nehéz ezt így "utólag" olvasni, főleg az utolsó fejezetet, mert önkéntelenül is megsiratja az ember. Pedig ez annyira nem tetszett mint az előző, néha már kicsit sok volt Erzsi humora, meg szerintem a hörcsög és madarak gyilkolászása inkább felelőtlenség mint vicces, így itt nem annyira jött be a macskaszemszög. De azért Erzsi for President.

A short but good story about a haunted carousel, missing children, and Griffin's family.