May 2020 – OneReadingNurse.com

Book Review (and tour stop!): Gisela’s Passion by Astrid V.J.

Title: Gisela’s Passion
Series: Elisabeth and Edvard – prequel. Reads fine as a standalone.
Author: Astrid V.J.
Publisher & release: New Wings Press, November 2019
Length: 312 pages
Rate & Recommend: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ more than likely

Today is my Instagram tour stop!! Thank you to the author and BookFox tours for the electronic copy to share with you guys! If you head on over to http://www.instagram.con/onereadingnurse you can find my entry point to the giveaway for a signed copy.

Here is the synopsis from GoodReads:

Ever since she can remember, 18-year-old Gisela Winry has wanted to dance. Her strict father sees dancing as the path to immorality, licentiousness and debauchery. Devastated at his wrath after she secretly auditions and wins the title harvest queen of Ylvaton, Gisela turns to her best friend, Hilarion, who proposes a path she cannot take. With their friendship broken, Hilarion retreats to the solace of the forest where he lets his hatred and jealousy fester.

Meanwhile, Gisela meets Vincent, a young nobleman seeking to escape his dead brother’s shadow. Will Gisela be able to uphold her family honour and get to do the one thing she’s always been passionate about? Will Vincent’s chance encounter with the lovely harvest queen from a tiny village become more meaningful than earning his father’s approval? And will Hilarion fight for the love of his life or give in to the darkness within him.

Immerse yourself in the life of the common people of Vendale in this prequel to the Siblings’ Tale. Gisela’s Passion is the retelling of a lesser-known Slavic folk tale which is better known in its incarnation as a French ballet.

Romances in any form are usually not my go-to reads, but Giselle (the folktale and ballet) is a tragedy above all else. I’m glad that I gave it a shot!

Gisela loves to dance and is otherworldly in her talent. All she wants is to be the harvest queen at the festival, to have one chance to do something of her own before settling into domestic life. Her father has a hatred of debauchery though and is more concerned about choosing her husband and having the vineyard tended. Women were property in that era and not much more.

The writing felt like a stage play at times. It is vividly descriptive of the sun and sights and scenery, as well as people’s actions. I am sure this was intentional and very well done. Other than one (pretty cringey) sex scene the book is clean and pretty straightforward.

If you have read the Elisabeth and Edvard books and read this as a prequel, the ending makes sense I think. I hadn’t read them and found myself confused at the sudden mention of elves, mages and magic at all at the end of the book. I knew there were spirits involved but the magic hadn’t been mentioned prior to the ending and it came as a shock.

At the end I wish Gisela would have quit making excuses for the men, even in the old world I think women deserved a LOT better. This is a gorgeous retelling of the ballet / folk tale. Whether you like romance, tragedy, theatre or ghosts, I would recommend this to pretty much anyone.

Here is the link to the book on Amazon:

ARC Review: Dark Skies by Danielle Jensen

Title: Dark Skies
Series: Dark Shores #2 (can be read first)
Author: Danielle Jensen
Length: 480 pages
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release: May 5th 2020
Rate & recommend: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ yes

Thank you so much to Tor Teen for the advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

Here is the description from Amazon:

A RUNAWAY WITH A HIDDEN PAST
Lydia is a scholar, but books are her downfall when she meddles in the plots of the most powerful man in the Celendor Empire. Her life in danger, she flees west to the far side of the Endless Seas and finds herself entangled in a foreign war where her burgeoning powers are sought by both sides.

A COMMANDER IN DISGRACE
Killian is Marked by the God of War, but his gifts fail him when the realm under the dominion of the Corrupter invades Mudamora. Disgraced, he swears his sword to the kingdom’s only hope: the crown princess. But the choice sees him caught up in a web of political intrigue that will put his oath – and his heart – to the test.

A KINGDOM UNDER SIEGE
With Mudamora falling beneath the armies of the Corrupter, Lydia and Killian strike a bargain to save those they love most—but it is a bargain with unintended and disastrous consequences. Truths are revealed, birthrights claimed, and loyalties questioned—all while a menace deadlier and more far-reaching than they realize sweeps across the world.

I will have to find my review of Dark Shores and post that too. The two books occur at the same time and can be read in either order, although I enjoyed publication order. Here is a quick spoiler-free recap: In Shores we read about Teriana and the Maarin traders, Marcus and the Cel legion, and the initial exploration and conquer of the Dark Shores. Remember the puppet king of the Raiders and some larger threat that is revealed at the end? In Dark Skies, we follow Teriana’s friend Lydia who we briefly met before. We learn the truth of the betrayal, see Lydia take another route to Mudamora, and meet Killian who leads the King’s forces. This book starts in Cel but we learn a lot more about the Gods, the mystical forces, and the people of the Dark Shores. The third book is going to be an amazing meeting of the two plot lines.

The pace is incredible. I read the first 300 pages kind of slowly but ended up taking the last half in a crazed four hour sitting where I don’t think I breathed or blinked. The intrigue, assassinations, BLIGHT ZOMBIES, reckless chases, magical evil army leaders, more scheming, and a race against a huge deadly clock just made it impossible to stop.

The magic of the world was hinted at in Shores, but in Skies we learn all about it. The God-Marked people each have an ability like strength, healing, growing/restoring, water breathing, and it seems they were meant to create teams of people. A great theme this is, and I appreciate the idea that healing is a drain on someones life force. The triage they use is so interesting. The seventh god’s power is just terrifying and that will continue in book 3.

All I will say about the additional world building is that the desperation and fear are real, the hurt is real, and the darkness is real. The feelings of the people and the world seeping through the pages into the reader is what separates exquisite world building from the rest.

I 100% liked Lydia and Killian both a LOT more than Marcus and Teriana. They have flawed but endlessly brave personalities, are good problem solvers, and are both loyal to no end. I even liked princess Malahi for the most part, she had some admirable moments and the banter was hilarious between her and Killian and the female guards. It’s hard not to root for every single character in the book, including Killian’s mother who is a rare gem.

The combination of great characters, more shippable romantic pairings, breakneck pace, magic, and the intrigue of plots to end all plots make Dark Skies (and Dark Shores) a series that I absolutely 100% recommend to anyone with even the slightest interest in fantasy. Thank you so much again to Tor Teen for the advanced copy