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The Poppy War
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang is $1.99! This is a Kindle Daily Deal, which features a ton of awesome scifi and fantasy! I will warn that this fantasy novel is very graphic: sexual violence, atrocious warcrimes, self-harm, etc. If you’re able to read about those things, I highly recommend picking this one up. It’s a fantastic debut.
When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.
But surprises aren’t always good.
Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.
For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .
Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.
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The Queen’s Wings
The Queen’s Wings by Jamie K. Schmidt is 99c! Sarah was reading this on a previous Whatcha Reading and here’s what she had to say:
There are dragons! Dragons all over the place. And the women are being confined by a curse so there are five total female dragons in the world, who are worshipped like queens and get to have sex with whomever they want though they are expected to birth dragons to continue the species and all. It’s first person, so there’s sarcasm and goofiness, and it’s not dark and emotional and scary, which is exactly what I need.
Long ago, the Cult of Humanity sacrificed the Dragon Queen, crippling the breeding process. But now Carolyn hears the voice of that long dead queen telling her that she holds the key to breaking the spell that will free all the female dragons.
FBI dragon Reed’s disdain for humans can’t mask the magnetic attraction he has for Carolyn, but when she tells him she’s going to shift into a dragon he thinks she’s crazy. A female hasn’t been hatched, or shape shifted, in over a thousand years.
He’s proven wrong after Carolyn shifts and is named the new Queen on the block. A never-ending line of suitors forms, but she only wants Reed. Too bad he doesn’t want in on the competition. But when the Cult kidnaps Carolyn to sacrifice her in an effort to make the curse against the female dragons permanent, Reed must face his fears—and feelings, racing to save the woman he realizes he can’t live without.
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She Walks in Shadows
RECOMMENDED: She Walks in Shadows is $2.99 at Amazon and $3.99 elsewhere! Carrie loved this Lovecraftian anthology, but definitely warns there is no romance. She gave it an A-:
This collection has adventure and horror, sex, violence, and some very dark humor. The one thing missing from this anthology is any romance – that’s not surprising, since the Lovecraft style is not terribly conducive to romance.
They emerge from the shadows, to claim the night ….
Women from around the world delve into Lovecraftian depths, penning and illustrating a variety of Weird horrors. The pale and secretive Lavinia wanders through the woods, Asenath is a precocious teenager with an attitude, and the Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Nitocris has found a new body in distant America. And do you have time to hear a word from our beloved mother Shub-Niggurath?
Defiant, destructive, terrifying, and harrowing, the women in She Walks in Shadows are monsters and mothers, heroes and devourers. Observe them in all their glory. Iä! Iä!
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The Hookup
The Hookup by Kristen Ashley is $1.99! This is the first book in her Moonlight and Motor Oil contemporary romance series. Fans of Ashley say this might be one of the best books she’s written. However, others found the heroine too twee and perfect. Have you read this one?
When the new girl in town, Eliza “Izzy” Forrester decides to hit the local drinking hole, she’s not ready to meet the town’s good, solid guy. She’s definitely not prepared to engage in her very first hookup with him.
Then Izzy wakes up the next morning in Johnny Gamble’s bed and good girl Izzy finds she likes being bad for Johnny.
Even so, Izzy feels Johnny holding her at arm’s length. But Johnny makes it clear he wants more and Izzy already knows she wants as much of hot-in-bed, sweet-out-of-it Johnny Gamble.
Floating on air thinking this is going somewhere, Izzy quickly learns why Johnny holds distant.
He’s in love with someone else. Someone who left him and did it leaving him broken. Whoever was up next would be runner up, second best. Knowing the stakes, Izzy will take what she can get from the gentleman that’s Johnny Gamble. And even knowing his heart might never mend, Johnny can’t seem to stay away from Izzy.
Until out of nowhere, his lost love comes back to town. He’s not going back, but Johnny still knows the right thing to do is let Izzy go.
And Izzy knew the stakes, so she makes it easy and slips though his fingers.
But that’s before Johnny realizes Eliza moved to town to escape danger that’s been swirling around her.
And that’s why Johnny decides to wade in.
That and the fact Eliza Forrester makes breakfast with a canary singing on her shoulder and fills out tight dresses in a way Johnny Gamble cannot get out of his head.
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*stares at hardcover copy of The Poppy War she bought a couple of weeks ago and grumbles*
Ooh. Looking forward to The Poppy War.
I’ve read The Hookup. It’s good—and perhaps a more tightly constructed read than older KA titles. She also is moving away from the toxic exes trope—the exes in her last several titles are increasingly sympathetic and understandable.
I might get crucified for this but….I didn’t like The Poppy War. For several reasons. I gave it 2 stars. It had an abundance of characters with a chopped up narrative….first a school and learning part, followed by a distinct war part. The worst though was that it ended on a cliffhanger. 544 pages and an undisclosed cliffhanger. Grrr. If you want an excellent military/political fantasy I’d go with “The Thief” by M.W.Turner. Tightly paced, brilliantly plotted etc. I did buy the Ashley because I heard good things but it’s been awhile since I’ve really liked anything new by her so fingers crossed.
Dreams in the Witch House is a great anthology!
I like the Queen’s Wings but, as a knitter, the second in the series is my favorite. The third is okay but I hate the prequel because any book that casts Byron as the romantic lead gets automatic hate from me. Byron was a dick.
@JudyW I love The Thief too, but calling it a military/political fantasy is a little misleading. It’s usually shelved as YA! (I’d agree more on the later books, but I still think people would read that description and think A Song of Ice and Fire, Malazan, or The Black Company)
@Hope
Thanks to your comment, I have read the entire series. It packed in approximately everything I have ever loved into a single series. (It was just short spaceships) Thankyou for dissolving my brain into a into pure happiness.
I didn’t like “The Poppy War,” either. It started off strong, I was rooting for the underdog heroine. But after about 1/3 of the book, the heroine gives up her humanity, some magical bullshit happens, and then the heroine does something horrible and irrevocable. I understand the plot echoes real wartime events, so be forewarned for violence, Also, not really a romance.