Down with the Shine by Kate Karyus Quinn

Down with the Shine by Kate Karyus Quinn
"When Lennie brings a few jars of her uncles’ moonshine to Michaela Gordon’s house party, she has everyone who drinks it make a wish. It’s tradition. So is the toast her uncles taught her: “May all your wishes come true, or at least just this one.”

The thing is, those words aren’t just a tradition. The next morning, every wish—no matter how crazy—comes true. And most of them turn out bad. But once granted, a wish can’t be unmade . . ."- summary from Amazon

Oh my goodness, this was such a good book!! It was very funny with lots of twists and turns, and extremely compelling which made it hard to put down. I loved following along on Lennie's crazy journey and everything she has to deal with over the course of the novel. There's some great emotional depth in regards to the sections of the book where she has to deal with her absentee father and how selfish and devious he is.

Overall, a highly recommended read. This was my first book by Quinn and it's making me want to go back and read her others now!

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Banished by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Banished by Kimberley Griffiths Little
"Jayden thought she had lost everything. After months of traveling in the desert, she discovers her beloved Kadesh is injured but still alive. However, the two must flee immediately, for the vengeful and jealous Horeb is on their trail, desperate to take Jayden back to be his bride.

The trek to the southern lands comes with heartache and danger, and as Jayden and Kadesh draw closer to their destination, she realizes that even he has been keeping secrets from her . . . ones that will change everything."- summary from Amazon

I absolutely loved this second book in the Forbidden trilogy and was so happy to finally read it- it took forever to come out! Little's prose draws you in so effortlessly and makes it hard to put the book down. Jayden's treacherous journey is compelling and full of twists and reveals. The romance between her and Kadesh is also beautiful to read. I cannot wait to read the final book in this series!

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Hope and Red by Jon Skovron

Hope and Red by Jon Skovron
"Hope, the lone survivor when her village is massacred by the emperor's forces is secretly trained by a master Vinchen warrior as an instrument of vengeance.

Red, an orphan adopted by a notorious matriarch of the criminal underworld, learns to be an expert thief and con artist.

TOGETHER THEY WILL TAKE DOWN AN EMPIRE."- summary from Amazon

Holy crap, Skovron's adult fantasy debut is fantastic, compelling, and utterly fascinating. The book was a great read from the beginning but it just kept getting better and better the further I made it into the book, and I am dying to get the second book in my hands. Red and Hope are such wonderfully fully realized characters and I loved the dynamic between them once they meet and the characters and friends they meet along the way.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
"Kell is one of the last Travelers-magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes, connected by one magical city.

There's Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, and with one mad king-George III. Red London, where life and magic are revered-and where Kell was raised alongside Rhys Maresh, the rougish heir to a flourishing empire. White London-a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, ambassador of the Maresh empire, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive."- summary from Amazon

Schwab's second adult fantasy book (and start to a new series) is fantastic, engrossing, and introduces readers to several awesome characters and beautifully written world-building. I loved bouncing around from character to character, getting to know Kell, Rhys, and Delilah on their own as well as their interactions with each other as their stories intertwine. I had such trouble putting this book down whenever I was reading it and so I went through it way more quickly than I thought I would. Schwab is an extremely gifted writer and I am so happy to see her continue writing such fantastic novels, and I am so eager to spend two more books with these characters.

Overall, a fantastic follow-up to Vicious and I cannot wait to get started on the sequel, A Gathering of Shadows!

FTC: Bought book at author's book signing. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace

Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace
"When seventeen-year-old Breezy Lin wakes up in a shallow grave one year after her death, she doesn’t remember who killed her or why. All she knows is that she’s somehow conscious—and not only that, she’s able to sense who around her is hiding a murderous past. In life, Breezy was always drawn to the elegance of the universe and the mystery of the stars. Now she must set out to find answers and discover what is to become of her in the gritty, dangerous world to which she now belongs—where killers hide in plain sight, and a sinister cult is hunting for strange creatures like her. What she finds is at once empowering, redemptive, and dangerous."- summary from Amazon

Slow start, but got very interesting and suspenseful in the second half.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.