Review: Heart of Time (Ruined Hearts #1)

Book: Heart of Time (Ruined Hearts #1)

Author: Skye MacKinnon

Page Count: 231

Amazon

My Rating: 4 TURTLES: A great read, I definitely recommend

Description:

What would you do if you could control time?

In a world where magic is outlawed, Eona has been hiding her true nature all her life, only using it to make her circus performances even more spectacular. She's always known that her ability to manipulate time could make her a target, but she couldn't have prepared for being kidnapped, manipulated and imprisoned.

After weeks in prison, the Royal sorcerer Lassadar offers her a way out by training her. But can she trust the King's right hand man?


In order to figure out what he wants from her, she needs to explore her own magic, the bond she feels with a mythical creature, and the feelings she has for a beautiful elven woman.


This book is the first in the Ruined Heart series, a reverse harem fantasy trilogy. There is no cliffhanger, and it can be read as a stand-alone. 

Review:

First of all, I’d like to thank the author for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this book – anything that combines medieval fantasy and LGBTQ+ representation catches my eye. And after finishing this book, I think Skye MacKinnon is kicking off a very entertaining and compelling series. My biggest concerns with this book are that it started off a little slow for me and I’m worried this series may be an abandoned project.

The beginning, for me, was a bit slow. The prologue that introduces us to the main character and the first few years of her life are written like a fairy tale, and it felt very disjointed compared with the style of the rest of the book. Even after the main narration takes over, I didn’t feel that the pace really picked up until around half way through.

After that point, though, I was hooked. The world-building is very imaginative and well planned. I liked the little excerpts from historical documents of that world that were placed throughout the novel to continue building the world beyond what the characters might see. I also really appreciated how the story ended with a good closing point, but left me wanting more.

The characters were also very well-drawn and distinct. Each new person added to the story brought with them a new dimension to the book. I especially loved the peryton! This half dragon half deer creature is both adorable and mysterious and I want to know more about it!

After I finished this book I went looking for the sequel to add it to my to-read list on Goodreads and saw something concerning. According to Goodreads, the sequel should have already come out, but I can’t find the sequel available for sale anywhere. Hopefully it is still coming but was delayed for some reason, but I’m a little bit worried this is an abandoned project. I hope not, because I’d love to read the sequel, but it’s something to be aware of before you fully invest in this story as part of a series.

Disclosure: this post contains links to an affiliate program (Amazon), for which I receive a few cents if you make purchases. 

Hiatus Ending Soon!

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry about the unexplained hiatus. I got busy with my last semester of college and haven't had time to do much reading or blogging! I'll be back soon though and have plans for a review to come out within the next week.

I also have some plans in the works for changes to this blog that I will be rolling out in the next six months likely, so stay tuned for that!

I hope you're all enjoying the first day of May!

~ Larissa

Review: Adam

Book: Adam (Perfect World 1.5)
Author: Shari Sakurai
Page Count: 243
Amazon
My Rating: 4 TURTLES: A great read, I definitely recommend.

Description:
Adam Larimore is on a mission of self-destruct. After learning that he was genetically engineered for the sole purpose of inheriting his father’s empire, Adam has been determined to ruin his father’s life and in the process his own. When Ivan Williams, the man soon to become the Head of the London Security Agency (L.S.A), approaches Adam with the offer of a business partnership, Adam discovers the appalling truth behind the technological and genetic advancements that have come to shape England. His relationship with his father is at breaking point and when events take a devastating turn, Adam finds himself pushed further than perhaps he wanted to go.

Review:
First of all, thank you to the author for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I spent several late nights reading this book - Adam is such a compelling character and I kept wanting to know what happened next! The book begins several years before Perfect World takes place, back when Adam Larimore was just the misbehaving, wayward son of the head of a powerful tech company. The novel follows his life through the events leading up to the government smearing him as the "supervillain" that he is painted to be in the first book in the series.

I loved getting a chance to see events from Adam's perspective in this book. Even though we do learn a bit about his past in Perfect World, he is still such an enigma that it is hard to tell exactly where he's coming from. This book not only shows Adam's past in more detail, but delves into what he is thinking and feeling as all these events take place. It makes his actions in Perfect World all the more understandable. I love how complex of a character Adam is, and how all his motivations have layers to them. I think this is part of why I enjoyed Adam a bit more than Perfect World. It's not that I dislike Eric and things being told from his perspective, he's certainly a very sympathetic character, but his naivete sort of got on my nerves after a while, even if it was completely warranted.

Reading Adam gives me a new perspective going into the last book in the series - so now I'm even more excited to read it than I was before! 



Disclosure: this post contains links to an affiliate program (Amazon), for which I receive a few cents if you make purchases.