Anela Deen

In the Jaded Grove by Anela Deen was a charming New Adult portal fantasy with a strong cast of diverse characters, clean romance, and a refreshing twist on fairy lore. Anela succeeded in covering heavy topics, including grief, PTSD, and depression, in a candid yet compassionate way. I consider this work New Adult because Jessa was twenty-two, but it's also suitable for mature young adults. Anela wrote this book using alternating points of view, which provided me a better understanding of both Jessa and Simith. I identified well with the main characters and enjoyed their development. I also loved the supporting characters, and I appreciated that none of the romance was rushed or bogged down with lust.

While I enjoyed the author's concise, crisp writing style, I did wish for a little more detail when it came to world-building. There were some beautiful descriptions of various settings, but I still had a hard time envisioning the world. Furthermore, some passages felt a bit clipped. The author had a way of jumping right to the chase, cutting out many details of the characters' adventure. Most of the time, I was thankful for this because it quickened the pace. There were times, however, when it simply made the story feel rushed, especially at the end. It was great that the author wrapped the story up so neatly, but the resolution seemed glossed over. That said, I adored In the Jaded Grove and I'd love to read more from Anela Deen.

(Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book from Storytellers On Tour for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own and are honest and unbiased.)

Trigger Warning: This story contains themes of violence, trauma, torture, grief, and mentions of the death of a loved one (in the past, not on page)… (lisätietoja)

This Fae, Fairy, Pixie, Troll, Human Fantasy was exactly the book I was looking for to jump back into the genre after a brief hiatus... it surely hit the spot. It commanded my attention the entire time and before I knew it BAM, it's 4:00 a.m. and I had blown right through it. I don't want to jinx things but I have been super lucky with my biblio-choices of late and this one met my expectations.

In The Jaded Grove ticked all the right Fantasy boxes. There was action and a slow burn. It had a simple Magic System, decent world building, solid writing plus cool characters. Yes there was a central insta-love BUT the book had a valid explanation for it so that annoying fauxpas gets a pass... this time. The Magic System was a hierarchy of magical power divied up amongst the different species which seems like pretty standard fare but it did have a few one-off aspects of its own like where their power came from, how it was wielded and who possessed the lion's share of it. The story's path was fairly easy to suss out ahead of time in certain areas but it was still fun watching it all play out. There was an easy plot manipulator that helped move the plot along at an accelerated pace requiring little effort from our MCs while allowing the characters to easily traverse some sticky spots... THAT always niggles.

Overall:

This book was a rather tame (for a book mostly taking place in the middle of a war zone), quick, Fae Fantasy with fun characters, a slightly excusable insta-love, detailed world building and proficient writing.

All in all this read is a solid 3.5 Stars.

~ Enjoy… (lisätietoja)

This book, unlike the last book, was something that was right up my alley, and something I knew I was going to love from the moment I started it. In a time where humans haven't lived outside a computer for many, many generations, their world is claustrophobic and dangerous. Outside of their settlements live drones that shoot to kill on site, and although they can grow their own food, they can barely grow enough for everyone, especially now when the supplies have stopped being delivered.

Check out my full review here!

https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com/2020/08/05/failsafe-failsafe-1-by-a...… (lisätietoja)