Sophie Reads YA

Stacking the Shelves: September 19th 2020

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2019 Beat the Backlist challenge

Review: Say Yes to the Marquess (Castles Ever After #2) by Tessa Dare

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Say Yes to the Marquess
Series: Castles Ever After #2
Author: Tessa Dare
Published December 30th 2014 by Avon

Goodreads Synopsis
Your presence is requested at romantic Twill Castle for the wedding of Miss Clio Whitmore and... and... ?

After eight years of waiting for Piers Brandon, the wandering Marquess of Granville, to set a wedding date, Clio Whitmore has had enough. She's inherited a castle, scraped together some pride, and made plans to break her engagement.

Not if Rafe Brandon can help it. A ruthless prizefighter and notorious rake, Rafe is determined that Clio will marry his brother—even if he has to plan the dratted wedding himself.

So how does a hardened fighter cure a reluctant bride's cold feet?

He starts with flowers. A wedding can't have too many flowers. Or harps. Or cakes.
He lets her know she'll make a beautiful, desirable bride—and tries not to picture her as his.
He doesn't kiss her.
If he kisses her, he definitely doesn't kiss her again.
When all else fails, he puts her in a stunning gown. And vows not to be nearby when the gown comes off.
And no matter what—he doesn't fall in disastrous, hopeless love with the one woman he can never call his own.

Goodreads

Review
Say Yes to the Marquess is the second book in the Castles Ever After series, and sees the lovely, and abandoned, Miss Clio Whitmore inherit Twill Castle. For eight years she has been engaged to Piers, Marquess of Granville, but any time there's opportunity for a wedding, something gets in the way. Now, she's had enough of all the jeering and ridicule, and is ready to break the engagement, especially when she has a castle belonging only to her. All she needs is for Piers' brother, Rafe, to consent to break the engagement, and she'll be on her merry way. Rafe, full of guilt and shame for how he is the black sheep of the Brandon family, will not do anything that could hurt his brother any more, and will plan the perfect wedding and make sure that Clio's cold feet warm right up. Can Rafe convince Clio to wait just a bit longer, or does she know what she wants, and Rafe looks exceedingly more like it?

Clio was a fantastic character, who I really felt for. Her younger sister, Daphne, is recently married, and treats her like rubbish, finding all the faults that she can and making Clio feel she's worthless. The youngest sister, Phoebe, is so sweet, and though it's not named, seems to be on the autistic spectrum to some extent, but with Clio and Rafe she's listened to, and treated as she should be. Rafe, being a prize fighter, would be expected to be rough and a bit of a brute, but he's secretly a puppy, especially when it comes to Clio. He's always had a soft spot for her, even loving her from afar but knowing that she's to be Piers' and he was the runt of the litter who didn't deserve love for 'killing' his mother in childbirth. His father, the late Marquess, treated him like something he had stepped in, and it's affected Rafe ever since. Both the main characters had their walls and issues, but together they manage to overcome them all, and I think they may be my favourite couple in this series. I just adore them, and hope we see them in the fourth book, which is about Piers.

Dates Read:
June 20, 2020

Rating
4 Stars

2019 New Release challenge

Review: All Is Fair by Dee Garretson

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All Is Fair
Series: None
Author: Dee Garretson
Published January 22nd 2019 by Swoon Reads

Goodreads Synopsis
Lady Mina Tretheway knows she's destined for greater things than her fancy boarding school, where she's being taught to be a proper English lady. It's 1918, and war is raging across Europe. Unlike her father and brother, who are able to assist in the war effort, Mina is stuck sorting out which fork should be used with which dinner course.

When Mina receives a telegram that's written in code, she finally has her chance to do something big. She returns to her childhood home of Hallington Manor, joined by a family friend, Lord Andrew Graham, and a dashing and mysterious young American, Lucas. The three of them must band together to work on a dangerous project that could turn the tide of the war.

Thrilled that she gets to contribute to the war effort at least, Mina jumps headfirst into the world of cryptic messages, spycraft, and international intrigue. She, Lucas, and Andrew have to work quickly, because if they don't succeed, more soldiers will disappear into the darkness of war.
Goodreads

Review
This book was one of the first ones I had read on SwoonReads, and when I found out it was being published traditionally, I knew I needed to get a copy, and re-read it. Set in 1918, as the war in Europe is still being fought, Lady Mina Tretheway goes home from her boarding school at the request of her father, and finds that childhood friend, Lord Andrew, and a young American, Lucas Mueller, will be visiting, and she needs to help them. This could be her only chance to help in the war effort, and she will stop at nothing to be useful, especially if it could turn the tide of the war, and stop so many people being killed. Mina, Andrew, and Lucas need to become spies, and may even need to go behind enemy lines in order to stop the senseless killing.

Mina was a fantastic character, and she really reminded me a bit of Lady Sybil from Downton Abbey. She wanted to be more than just a Lady, expected to marry well and know just want she needs to, and not too much. With both her father and brother being involved in the war effort, it having affected the country for nearly 4 years, and her not being able to do anything because she's a girl, any chance to help is one that she would jump at, and that's exactly what she does here. At first, she's not too sure how she can help, but the more she learns about what Andrew and Lucas have been up to, and the fact that she would be crucial to helping because of her language skills, she will stop at nothing to be there. The fact that she is growing closer to Lucas, and feels as if the attraction is mutually, doesn't hurt either. Their chemistry was fantastic, and I really was rooting for them from the start, but especially as the action and the stakes grew high.

Plot wise, it was a little slow at first, as it was setting the scene, but once we got to grips with the world Mina was living in, and the things she would have to do or help with, it definitely ramped up, and was a quick and enjoyable read. I can't wait to read Dee's next book, Gone by Nightfall.

Dates Read:

May 11-12, 2019

Rating
5 Stars

Kristen Simmons

Waiting On Wednesday: Set Fire to the Gods (Set Fire to the Gods #1) by Sara Raasch & Kristen Simmons

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2020 New Release challenge

ARC Review: Set Fire to the Gods (Set Fire to the Gods #1) by Sara Raasch & Kristen Simmons

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Set Fire to the Gods
Series: Set Fire to the Gods #1
Author: Sara Raasch & Kristen Simmons
Published August 4th 2020 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads Synopsis
Ash is descended from a long line of gladiators, and she knows the brutal nature of war firsthand. But after her mother dies in an arena, she vows to avenge her by overthrowing her fire god, whose temper has stripped her country of its resources.

Madoc grew up fighting on the streets to pay his family's taxes. But he hides a dangerous secret: he doesn't have the earth god’s powers like his opponents. His elemental gift is something else—something that hasn't been seen in centuries.

When an attempted revenge plot goes dangerously wrong, Ash inadvertently throws the fire and earth gods into a conflict that can only be settled by deadly, lavish gladiator games. The fights put Madoc in Ash's path, and she realizes that his powers are the weapon her rebellion needs—but Madoc won’t jeopardize his family, regardless of how intrigued he is by the beautiful warrior.

But when the gods force Madoc’s hand, he and Ash uncover an ancient war that will threaten more than one immortal—it will unravel the world.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Fighting is the name of the game in this series. In a world where the six gods rule, those who are descended from the deities find themselves involved in warfare more than you would expect. Becoming a god's chosen gladiator is such an honour, and Ash's family have been some of the best. As her mother is the current chosen gladiator of the Fire God, Ignitus, she has a more privileged lifestyle, but her fellow citizens, both with fire powers and without, are suffering, and Ignitus seems to be unable to stop declaring wars. After Ash's mother is killed by a gladiator of the Earth God, Geoxus, who cheated, Ash is the new gladiator, and will do anything she can to succeed, and stop Ignitus from destroying their country even more.

Madoc is different. He's descended from Geoxus, but has no Earth powers, and his father kicked him out for this. Living on the streets until he could be rescued by his best friend's family, he's used his own strength and skills to fight, and the inane sense of understanding of his opponents, which sometimes feel as if it's more magical that simply reading body language. When he finds himself chosen as a champion, he knows the jig will soon be up, and he just needs to survive enough to help his loved ones. Soon it seems that Ash and Madoc are the only ones who can stop the evil forces that are interfering, and it just might bring them all down.

As soon as I heard about this book, I was desperate for a copy! Sara has been one of my favourite authors since I first read Snow Like Ashes, and knowing this book took inspiration from Greco-Roman mythology, I simply needed it. Set Fire to the Gods has such a solid sense of world building and fantastic characters, and from the first page, you are invested in the story. Out of the two main characters, Ash is definitely my favourite, and I loved her feisty voice and temperament, and sheer determination to get revenge and fight for her people. Madoc was a little more aloof, and secretive, and his childhood had left inedible scar on his psyche that he needed to overcome as he progressed through the war. War in this book is not like you would expect. Instead it's two weeks of one-on-one combative fights between the gladiators of the warring gods, very much like Achilles and Hector's battle in the Iliad, and something which I was overjoyed to see, as it fully drew on the classical concept. There were so many moments in this book when I was simply blown away. I adored Madoc and Ash, individually, and together, and though they were 'enemies', they worked together when the time came, and the conclusion of this book, and it's epic cliffhanger, was both horrific and outstanding! If I thought I was desperate for this book, I'm even more so for it's sequel, and will be impatiently waiting until I get a hold of a copy!

Dates Read:
September 2-4, 2020

Rating
5 Stars

2020 New Release challenge

ARC Review: The Matter of a Marquess (The Duke's By-Blows #3) by Jess Michaels

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The Matter of a Marquess
Series: The Duke's By-Blows #3
Author: Jess Michaels
Published August 18th 2020 by The Passionate Pen LLC

Goodreads Synopsis
Viscountess Aurora Lovell has been in love with one man her entire life, but life intruded and never allowed her to be with him. She came to accept it, marrying for title rather than love. Now a widow, she’s busy trying to figure out how to manage a scandal about to destroy her world when she is invited to a country party. Desperate to escape the realities of her life, she accepts.

Nicholas Gillingham has always lived his life between two worlds. Raised by a servant, but secretly the bastard son of the infamous Duke of Roseford, he never felt he belonged. Injured saving others, he is now a war hero and improbably in line to be gifted a title for his service. A way to never feel so helpless as he did when he lost Aurora the first time. But to influence the right people, he needs his brother’s help and finds himself at a country party.

Time and distance mean nothing when Aurora and Nicholas meet again. But can they overcome a tangled past filled with bitter betrayal, a scandal that could ruin the future AND a very intrusive dog in order to find their way back to each other? Or will love be just as painful the second time around?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

The Matter of the Marquess is the story of another of the late Duke of Roseford's bastards, Nicholas Gillingham, who is up for a title, the defunct Marquess of Songstrum, after his bravery, and subsequent injuries, during the Napoleonic Wars. He needs the connections of his half-brother, the current Duke, to help him gain this title, which he needs in order to finally feel as though he has some power. As a youngster, he was raised by his step-father, the man of affairs to the Earl of Bramwell, and was educated alongside the Earl's children, including his beautiful daughter, Aurora. Both Nicholas and Aurora were in love, and wished to marry, but Bramwell completely refused him, because he had no title, and Aurora was to marry Viscount Lovell. Aurora never knew Nicholas had been refused, and always thought he abandoned her to a loveless marriage. She never forgot Nicholas, and wished him well during his long recovery, even when her own husband died, and left her in a difficult situation. With her and her best friend, Isobel, both widowed and penniless, they need to do whatever they can to survive, and this leaves Isobel falling into the clutches of brothels, and going missing. While searching for Isobel in the most notorious brothel of all, Aurora is seen, and the scandal is too much. She is invited to the Roseford's for a house party by the benevolent Duchess, and meets Nicholas again. Will they manage to talk through their past, and lost love, or will the nearly 10 years of anger be too much?

I think this might be my favourite of The Duke's By-Blows series. Both of the main characters were so intriguing, especially Nicholas who we had met before, and I was wholly invested in their love story from the get go. Perhaps their relationship as children and young adults was part of this, but their story felt the most natural and real of them all. Aurora was a character you couldn't help but love, who had been dealt a difficult hand in life, but was managing through it all. Her husband was not kind, and left her with nothing, and it was only the little help her family could give her that helped her survive more comfortably than her friend, Isobel. Aurora cared for all those in her life who she loved, and Nicholas was no different in this. She'd always, and would always love him, and when he was injured, it broke something inside of her. For Nicholas, it was very much the same, also. When the shell exploded, and he thought he would die, Aurora was his last thought, and the effort he put in to try and gain the title was in order to take back some of the control he sorely lacked when he first offered for Aurora. Together, throughout this book, they work through their past issues, and rekindle their lost love, once and for all. The introduction of the Roseford children as a true family was clearly evident too, and I'm really looking forward to the fourth book, The Redemption of a Rogue, which I think is about the eldest bastard, Oscar Fitzhugh and Isobel.

Dates Read:
July 28-29, 2020

Rating
4 Stars