Reading

A Hidden Werewolf Gem: The Alpha and Her Hunter

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Shifter romances probably outnumber all other romances on reading apps like Dreame, Readict, Radish, etc. And because of that, there are common and expected tropes and world building details within those stories. I often love it when an author “breaks the rules” for the genre they are writing in, especially when it’s done well and it’s not an obvious they-were-trying-to-be-different situation. 

The Alpha and Her Hunter by Lauren Rutherford falls into the well-done category of breaking the norm for shifter romances.

Willow is a wolf shifter in a world where the females are the strongest and the leaders. Garin is a Hunter, born into the most ruthless Hunter family in existence, the Red Hoods. Garin’s family has moved into Willow’s town with the purpose to stir up trouble. Despite their families’ feudal past, Garin and Willow can’t fight the attraction between them. They will face jealousy, bigotry, and death plots in order to earn the approval to love. In this enemies-to-lovers/Romeo & Juliette romance, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I fell in love with Willow and Garin and rooted for them until the last page.

The majority of what sets this shifter romance apart from others is the world building. In this world, female shifters are bigger and stronger than males when they are in their wolf form, and thus females are the Alphas of their families and clans. The Alpha is determined by the physical and mental/psychological strength of their wolf. Each pack or clan has an Alpha, and within that group, each family group has an Alpha.

There is a type of mate bond called imprinting (like in Twilight), but finding one’s true mate is rare, so most shifters settle for arranged marriages. Willow is betrothed to a male shifter who she is not feeling it for at all. 

Hunters are humans who hunt werewolves. Now, not just any human can be a Hunter. They have extra abilities: they are stronger than your average human, go to special schools to train, and they can smell werewolves. Because of this, Hunters also participate in arranged marriages in order to keep their bloodlines strong.

The unique world building changes are only part of why I loved this book so much. The characters are likable, and the pacing for their growth (as they transition from enemies to lovers) is believable and satisfactory. And if you prefer a clean romance, the heat level is sweet. 

While there is an official resolution to the plot, it’s clear a sequel should be coming, and I can’t wait to read it. 

I give The Alpha and Her Hunter 5 stars. It can be read on the following apps: WebNovel, Mangatoon, Tapas, Dreame, and AnyStories.

Meet the Characters of the Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you might have seen these skeletons floating around the internet:

Shortly after the second book, Death by Pins and Needles was released, it became apparent that the cover skeleton needed a name. Ms. Black put the naming in the hands of the readers and set up a contest. The winning name got a free digital copy of Death by Pins and Needles. 

As you can see by the cover for the third book, Death by Surfboard, Susie now has a male skeleton that needed a name. She created another contest with the same prize. Well, I helped name the male skeleton (Susie will be sharing the details of these two contests down below), and I got a free copy of Death by Surfboard! 

So, here is my review of Death by Surfboard:

Holly is a swimwear executive, and she has a new colleague who she does not trust. She tried to warn her boss about him, but she got shooed out of his office instead. Well, quickly into this new hire Holly is proved right. And who does her boss assign to clean up terrible-colleague’s mess? Holly, of course!

Lucky for Holly, and unlucky for terrible-colleague, his body is found on the beach, attached to his surfboard. But the issue is not over for Holly because the detective, who also happens to be Holly’s friend, accuses not one, but two innocent suspects. So, Holly, being the nosy do-gooder that she is, can’t just sit back and let the detective figure things out. She then spends page after page doing crazy things that risk her job and her life on her quest to discover the real murderer. 

This is my first time reading a cozy mystery, and I’m in love. Even though it’s the third book in the Holly Swimsuit series, I was able to jump in and figure out who everyone is and the layout of Holly’s world. Holly reminds me of a grown-up Hanna Marin (Pretty Little Liars): fashion forward, blunt, and she can’t pass up an opportunity to solve a mystery. I thought it was a great challenge for the victim to be such an unlikeable character. I mean, the reader is made to feel he deserves what he got, so why try to solve his murder? Because the two suspects the police are looking at Holly knows are innocent. So, it becomes less about justice for the victim and more about protecting the innocent from being framed. I was determined to figure it out before Holly did, and I’m proud to say, I was half right. I’ll definitely be reading the first two in the near future.

Reading a series out of order is not new for me. I do it all the time. So, I have teamed up with Susie Black herself to introduce the recurring characters of the Holly Swimsuit Mystery series. That way, no matter where you start in her books, you will know who is who.

Hello, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Susie Black, author of The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series. I’ve been asked to share what entails writing cozy mystery series.

Like the protagonist in my Holly Swimsuit Mystery series, I am a ladies’ swimwear sales exec. From the beginning of my career, I have kept a daily journal that chronicles the quirky, interesting, and often challenging people I’ve encountered as well as the crazy situations I’ve gotten myself into and out of. The journal entries are the foundation of all my writing.

As a sales exec, I am a people person. So, naturally, my primary focus is on character development. Once the characters are created, the plot easily falls into place because it reacts to the characters in the story, not the other way around. I chose to write my stories as part of a series, but because I like to give options, each book can be read on its own out of order without the reader getting lost. Pretty cool, huh? So, how in the world did I accomplish this? By making references to the background of the story setting and the main characters. I make each plot, the murder method, the victim, the murderer, and the minor characters different in each tale. But I anchor the continuing main characters with consistent and distinct histories, personalities, and quirks that readers invest in and root for because they appear real.

Here are some of the important continuing main characters who appear in every book and a bit about them:

HOLLY SCHLIVNIK: Wise-cracking, irreverent Holly is the protagonist of the series who is patterned after yours truly…Holly is the me I always wanted to be. Loyal to a fault and fearless, Holly is a ladies’ swimwear sales exec/nosy amateur sleuth who can’t mind her beeswax and sticks her nose everywhere it doesn’t belong. Holly has a quirky personality trait. She inherited her nana’s fear of death. They both respond to death by laughing.  And Holly does when she discovers a corpse. Holly is famous for this quirk and all her friends ask if she laughed whenever she has discovered a corpse. Holly’s pet phrases to describe her feelings are Yikes, Cripes, Holy Guacamole, and Merde.  

QUEENIE LEVINE: A compact dynamo equipped with a razor-sharp wit and sharper tongue, Queenie is Holly’s close friend and professional colleague…and her erstwhile crime-solving sidekick. Queenie has a distinctive habit of pushing her index finger up on the tip of her nose whenever she’s thinking out loud. When trying to flesh out the murderer, Queenie is always the one who asks “Who has the most to lose?”

JOAN BINDER: Quick-witted, sarcastic Joan is the oldest of the Yentas- four of Holly’s colleagues she meets with for coffee every workday morning at a coffee shop in the California Apparel Mart lobby to kibbitz and compare notes and opinions. Joan has a habit of looking over her eyeglasses perched on the tip of her nose in her “kindergarten teacher” disapproving pose whenever she delivers one of her acerbic zingers.

Dr. Sophie Cutler: Los Angeles County Assistant Medical Examiner Sophie Cutler is Holly Schlivnik’s lifelong friend and not your typical Coroner. For a medical doctor, “Snip,” as Holly calls Sophie, has atrocious eating habits. She is a pizza and cheeseburger lover as well as a desertaholic. Sophie refuses to share any of her cheesecake and is known to use a fork as a weapon to fight off Holly’s attempts to swipe a bite.

Smart Alec Snip has caller ID on her phone. When Sophie sees it is Holly calling, irreverent Snip answers the phone with hilarious greetings: such as “Good afternoon. This is Los Angeles County Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Sophie Cutler. You stab ‘em we slab ‘em.”

Sigmund Freud AKA Siggie: Introduced in book three of the series, lovable, nosy Siggie is Holly’s male standard-size Poodle/assistant sleuth, and Psychiatrist. Holly discusses everything with Siggie-her love life, her friends, how to deal with pain-in-the-patootie customers, as well as viable options to flesh out a killer with her four-legged companion. Siggie might not speak but he gets his points across just the same. If he likes Holly’s game plan, he barks his approval. He shows his disdain for some of Holly’s crazier sleuthing ploys by rolling his eyes or shaking his head from side to side.

The book cover Skeleton:  Whodathunk that a skeleton wearing a swimsuit would ever garner such a huge amount of attention? I’ve had countless numbers of readers tell me they found the book cover with the skeleton so intriguing; they bought the book to see what kind of story was inside! The skeleton on every book cover was so popular it took on a life of its own and became the face of The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series brand and became a successful marketing ploy.

Before the release of Death by Pins and Needles, the skeleton demanded she is given a name so I ran a contest to name the female skeleton and was inundated with hundreds of entries. So many great names were submitted that I ended up using several of them as a first name, middle name, and surname: Mizz Bone-ita Skelemina Bonz.

Before the release of Death by Surfboard, Mizz Bonz informed me she had a boyfriend and insisted he needed a name. So, to make our girl happy a second contest was launched and her boyfriend is now known as Mitzer Skeltor Bone-Jangles. Writing a standalone book requires a goodly amount of character development and plot planning. Writing a series requires the same. But by having a cast of long-term continuing characters an author must create one with distinctive histories, personalities, and quirks for them to keep readers interested enough so the series successfully continues.

The series continues in Holly’s next adventure, Death by Cutting Table, which publishes August 2, 2023.

Follow Susie Black and her journey at https://authorsusieblack.com/

What if a Global Pandemic Came from Space? An Interview with Lisa Wilkes

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Last time Lisa Wilkes was on my blog, she was talking about her first book Flight Path in preparation for the release of her next book, Mid-Flight. I recently read Mid-Flight and am pleased to announce that Lisa agreed to an in depth interview. 

Lexi Brennan is a flight attendant in the year 2037 when a meteor shower veers off course and strikes earth. The plane her best friend is on is hit by the falling space debris and all on board are incinerated immediately. Lexi feels extreme guilt because she was scheduled to be on that plane as well, but switched shifts. Jason Bresline is an airplane mechanic who is called in to do emergency fixes when the meteor shower hits. His mentor is also killed on one of the planes hit. Jason’s engagement falls apart shortly after. He and Lexi meet in Orlando, FL a year later for different training sessions for Skyline, the airline they both work for. They spend each night after classes together, getting to know each other and falling in love.

But all is not well in post-meteor America. The meteor shower brought a new disease that humans are struggling to combat. The fear of this disease, ContaCan, causes extremists to seize control of the government and implement totalitarian policies. Lexi, her brother, her friends, and Jason plan a way to secretly fight against the new policies. Jason and Lexi’s relationship is also one of healing and self-acceptance. Both have past traumas and hurt that they have to overcome in order to fully give themselves to one another.

I really enjoyed Ms. Wilkes’ world building. The connections between the fictional ContaCan and the real life Covid pandemics are very clear. She also expands upon very real fears that POCs and LGBTQ+ Americans face. Basically, Ms. Wilkes answered “What would America look like if the extremists gained control?” The technological advancements were also very intriguing.

So, let’s take a look at Ms. Wilkes’ world building. First, this is a Sci-Fi Romance, so technological advancements are expected. In American 2038, everyone has a chip implant called AutoScan which allows you to call, text, and receive information using brain waves. Text messages, news articles, and Internet searches show up across one’s cornea. The image my brain conjured when reading was a miniature screen constantly on your eyeball. People also use their thumbprint to pay for purchases and identify themselves. But this thumb scan is more than a driver’s license. All information has been made public – for national security, of course.

The disease brought on by the meteor shower is called Contagious Cancer – ContaCan for short. The world went into quarantine while scientists scrambled to find a cure (sound familiar?). Once a vaccine was made available, the world attempted to return to normal, but one problem emerged: the vaccine didn’t work on everyone. These people are labeled AR, or Antidote Resistant. ARs are forced to register as such by having their documentation readily available and get a government sanctioned tattoo on their left shoulder blade that reads “AR”. As the story progresses, Lexi and Jason watch via AutoScan how the government continues to pass more and more policies that chip away at human rights for ARs. The whole thing is very reminiscent of WWII. 

Another layer to the story is the diversity representation among the characters. Lexi is bisexual, Colin is gay and suffers from mental illness, Jorge is gay and Latino, Jason is Black, Colleen is lesbian, and Reggie is gay and Black. Each character has suffered discrimination due to their race and/or sexuality. 

I think my favorite thing about the above representation is Lexi and Jason’s relationship. Lexi is white and Jason is Black, but their racial and cultural differences don’t play into the tensions and struggles they are facing. It was really refreshing to see an interracial couple who could focus on things other than race. Not to say race is or should be ignored, because it’s not. Lexi and Jason do have conversations about his experience as the youngest Black airplane mechanic in the south; it’s just not the main plot point. And as someone who is in an interracial marriage, I really appreciate what Ms. Wilkes did with that part of the plot. 

And now, onto the interview portion with Lisa Wilkes!

Chelsey: What was your inspiration for Mid-Flight? How did you come up with this story?

Lisa: Mid-Flight was originally going to be an aviation-themed love story, similar to my first published novel, Flight Path. However, Mid-Flight’s plot (and setting) changed drastically as I witnessed a lot of wild things occurring in society. The book was written in 2019 and 2020. At that time, I was completing my graduate school internship in the behavioral health unit of a hospital. Many of my clients had endured horrible abuse and mistreatment, which deeply impacted their mental health. I decided my next book would address those injustices. I wanted to shed light on the iniquities rampant in modern society, so my readers would be inspired to address these issues and take a stance in favor of equality and inclusion.

Mid-Flight’s characters are very diverse. Lexi is a bisexual flight attendant, Jason is the youngest Black mechanic at SkyLine Airways, and Colin is a brilliant programmer battling mental illness. The story aims to remind readers that we all have so much to offer this world. It also seeks to demonstrate that our differences can unify—rather than divide—us, especially as we work toward building a better and brighter future for all of humanity. I felt the book would be more impactful if it was set in the future, since the hostility and antagonism we see in our current world might be greatly magnified over the years, unless we take deliberate steps to protect those facing oppression.

Chelsey: How did you come up with the technological advancements? Are these advancements something you would like to see in real life?

Lisa: Mid-Flight’s technological references were a combination of my wild imagination and real-life initiatives/developments within the tech sector. For example, there are actual programs similar to AutoScan, where electrodes can scan our scalp for impulses and assess what we are thinking. Of course, there’s still a long way to go before the technology is perfected and made available to the public, but it was really fun to imagine how that might look fourteen years in the future!

I also really enjoyed writing about solar-powered cars, tablets, and buildings. I’m a huge fan of sustainable energy, and I truly believe our planet deserves far better than the treatment we have given it thus far. So it was exciting to envision the ways energy could be harnessed to power our lives without negatively impacting the environment.

Chelsey: Off the top of my head, it appears the majority of your characters identify as LGBTQ+. Was that a conscious decision? Or did your characters tell you who they were as you created them?

Lisa: I’d like to hope the world is becoming more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, although recent legislation would indicate otherwise. I felt compelled to write a book that offered a positive alternative to the recent hostility we have witnessed from lots of folks in power. In my novel, I aimed to show the beauty of all these characters with different preferences, identities, and orientations. Lexi’s sexuality is nuanced and complex, so I really tried to capture that with sensitivity. Her best friend and her brother are gay. They are also amazing humans who deserve to be valued and appreciated. I guess it wasn’t really a conscious decision for me, as the author of Mid-Flight. But I am so glad these characters showed—and embraced—their authentic selves for the whole world to see.

Chelsey: I would like to applaud you for writing an interracial couple whose struggles have nothing to do with cultural differences. Same question as above. Did you consciously choose the race of each character or did they tell you who they were?

Lisa: This was a conscious decision. Lexi had experienced her own struggles; she was no stranger to exclusion or microaggressions. However, she didn’t know the full extent of  discrimination until she met Jason and learned all the nonsense he’d faced because of his skin color. Lexi and Jason fell in love easily, linked by their tragic losses as well as their triumphs…and their powerful desire to make a difference in a broken world. It was important for these characters to represent different ethnic backgrounds. This reinforced the idea that true, deep, meaningful love is accompanied by a sense of moral responsibility and an ongoing quest for justice.

Chelsey: There are obvious connections between Covid and ContaCon. But the treatment of ARs also reminded me of WWII Japanese Internment Camps and Jewish Concentration Camps. What other world events (if any) inspired the AR plot point? And did you do any historical research for this part of the story?

Lisa: Interestingly, I had a wealth of knowledge in this area since I was completing my Master’s in Social Work when I wrote Mid-Flight. There are countless historical references to exclusion and annihilation of groups who have been vilified by the dominant majority. There are also tons of modern references, sadly; as a social worker, I have witnessed the effects of systemic bigotry. Recent attacks on the trans community have left people without resources, protections, or hope. I needed Mid-Flight to portray the horrifying possibility that extremists will continue to assault anyone arbitrarily deemed “other,” unless we expose and reject that widely-accepted mistreatment. 

The ARs in Mid-Flight, a small subset of the population with a genetic anomaly, might be a new concept. Their plight, however, is a terrible tale that’s been replayed throughout history. It’s time we say enough is enough. Lexi and Jason found a creative way to do this within their airline and their sphere of influence.

Chelsey: Is Lexi and Jason’s story going to continue? What’s next for your writing career? 

Lisa: Originally, I said there would not be a sequel to Mid-Flight. But I’ve been known to break my own rules, so it’s definitely possible I’ll write a follow-up novel at some point! In the meantime, I am working on a different project. I’m approximately 70 pages into my next novel, a metaphysical thriller about a love powerful enough to transcend multiple dimensions.

Lisa is an author, flight attendant, licensed social worker, and animal rescuer. She lives in Florida with her spouse and several rescue furbabies. Lisa uses her royalties to donate to animal rescues. Follow Lisa at her website: Books By Lisa Wilkes

Silver Flames: Overcoming Toxicity

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Nesta Archeron is the Severus Snape of Sarah J. Maas’ ACOTAR series. Like Snape, the reader spends the first several books hating her as she tears down our heroine, Feyre. Unlike Snape, Nesta eventually acknowledges her shortcomings and works her way out of the toxic person she had become. 

The first four books are from Feyre’s point of view, so the reader’s view of Nesta is only outward: her words and body language. It isn’t until the fifth book, A Court of Silver Flames, that the reader gets to be inside Nesta’s head and learn about her memories, feelings, and interpretations of past events. 

As the oldest sister, Nesta has the most prominent memories of their mother before she died. Nesta was her mother’s favorite child, the family’s golden egg. She taught Nesta how to be cunning and aim for the best. She instilled in Nesta that she was better than everyone else and was one day going to marry very well. And so, Nesta became exactly who her mother raised her to be: arrogant, ambitious, and cruel. Their family losing their fortune crushed Nesta, and she was furious her father gave up and let them starve. Even in their poverty, Nesta still acted like a queen, expecting the rest of her family to figure out how to survive and serve her. She was especially cruel to Feyre, because Feyre was their mother’s least favorite. She protected Elain because their mother’s plan had been to use Elain’s natural beauty to snag a good marriage. Nesta is a product of her mother, and she is toxic. 

She is the toxic family member that today’s youth are encouraged by social media to cut out of their lives. I could not wait for Feyre to kick Nesta to the curb. As High Lady she could do it. But like other complicated plot points in the series, Sarah J. Maas decided to take me on a ride. 

Nesta’s journey to healing and redemption is a continuous one step forward two steps back path. And the first time the reader is fooled into thinking Nesta is progressing is halfway through Thorns and Roses. Feyre returned home for a couple weeks before she traveled to Under the Mountain to free Tamlin and his court. Tamlin had glamoured Feyre’s family into believing Feyre was off taking care of a sick aunt. Only, the glamor didn’t work on Nesta. She remembered everything and knew the truth. Nesta went so far as to try to get into Prythian on her own to find Feyre and save her, but she was unable to. Nesta encourages Feyre to go back to Prythian to get a second shot with Tamlin. But then her parting words are, “Don’t come back.” With that final statement, I realized Nesta still held resentment for her sister. 

In the Mist and Fury, Nesta refuses to allow Feyre and Rhysand to use the Archeron home as a meeting place to converse with the human queens. Nesta’s reasoning is that if anyone nearby finds out, they will all be in danger. Cassian promises Nesta that he will personally ensure that her property and the people who live on it will remain safe. When Elain wants to help, Nesta reluctantly agrees; but she isn’t going to do so quietly. She is incredibly rude to all of their guests, including the human queens (though, they deserved it). At the end of the book, when Nesta is forced into the Cauldron, she goes in fighting, and points a finger at the King of Hybern, a death promise. 

In Wings and Ruin, Nesta is so focused on protecting Elain, she fails to spend time accepting what happened to her. She wears a mask of judgment and arrogance to hide her pain. She continuously insults every character who tries to help or connect with her. She is especially nasty to Cassian. During the final battle, Nesta drops her mask and gets the reader’s hopes up that she is changing. She lies on top of Cassian, prepared to die with him, and Cassian kisses her; Nesta accepts the kiss. Frost and Starlight quickly shows us that we were wrong in hoping for improvement. She goes back to being angry and rude. 

At the beginning of Silver Flames, Nesta is cut off financially by Rhysand and Feyre. They end her lease on her apartment, and move her into the House of Wind. She is given two choices: 1. Live in the House of Wind, train with Cassian, and work in the library. 2. Return to the human lands, and take care of herself. There really isn’t much of a choice for Nesta. As High Fae, she wouldn’t survive the human lands, so she’s going to make option one incredibly difficult. 

Every morning of the first week, Cassian takes Nesta to the Illyrian war camp to train her. And every morning, Nesta sits on a rock and refuses to do anything, making Cassian the laughing stock among his warriors. Cassian is dumbfounded until he finally understands Nesta’s refusal: “I’m not going to train in this place.” The Illyrians are the most sexist species in Prythian. During the war they labeled Nesta a witch, and on her first day there to train with Cassian, they made comments about how any weapon she touches will have to be cleansed, especially if she is menstruating. So Cassian takes Nesta to the training grounds on the roof of the House of Wind, and she slowly starts to train and trust Cassian.

Nesta spends her afternoons working in the library that is below the House of Wind. This library is unique not only in the books housed there, but in the librarians who take care of it. The library is a sanctuary for high priestesses who are victims of abuse. Their trauma is so horrible, that they hide away from the world. Nesta becomes close to one high priestess librarian, Gwyn. She eventually convinces Gwyn to join in the training sessions, and they are joined by a female Illyrian, Emerie. Emerie’s wings were clipped by her father, prohibiting her from flying. She also battles her male uncles and cousins in proving she can run a business.   

Overtime, more priestesses brave the outside world to train with Nesta. Together, the small group of women decide they want to resurrect the training and creation of the centuries deceased Valkyrie warrior. Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn are the first to complete Valkyrie training and officially be named Valkyries. After that, Cassiand and Azriel set up a different obstacle course each day, that no female is able to complete. On the day that Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn finally complete it, two generals from the Illyrian army were invited to watch. The three females are then informed that they just completed the qualifying round that Illyrian males must complete in order to qualify for the Blood Rite – a yearly Hunger-Games-type of competition that warriors participate in. At the end of one week, the surviving warriors are ranked based on where on their sacred mountain they are found. 

During all of this training and friendship, Nesta has two other things going on. The first is using her Made powers to find three objects called the Dread Trove: the Crown, the Harp, and the Mask. They are sure that Queen Briallyn has the Crown. Which means they need to find the Mask and the Harp before she does. Nesta is a successful in getting both objects – a great risk to her and Cassian’s life. 

The second and hardest thing she is working on is her relationships with Cassian, Amren, Elain, and Feyre. Nesta is very attracted to Cassian, but she fights her attraction because she doesn’t feel worthy of love. (I also think she struggles with his friendship and loyalty to Rhysand because Nesta hates Rhysand.) She first gives in physically. The two engage in foreplay and eventually sex with the understanding that its “just sex”. Of course, it’s not. Both are crazy for one another, but Nesta thinks Cassian is just using her for pleasure and vice versa. They won’t admit feelings until it is almost too late. 

Back when Nesta was grieving, Amren was the only one who told the others to give her space. Nesta botched that compassion, and the two got into a big fight, causing Amren to walk away from their friendship. When Nesta accidentally imbues three blades with her Made powers, Amren votes to keep the information and the blades away from Nesta. Nesta is so furious when she learns of Amren’s distrust, she performs her biggest sin in the series.

Feyre is pregnant with a boy, and this boy has Illyrian wings. Feyre’s pelvis is High Fae and not shaped to safely deliver a winged baby. When it is time to deliver, she will die, and the baby will probably die as well. This information has been kept from Feyre so that she might have a peaceful pregnancy while everyone else scrambles behind the scenes to find a way to save her. 

When Nesta goes to confront Amren about her voting to keep Nesta in the dark about the magic blades, Feyre shows up to mediate. Nesta is so angry, she tells Feyre the truth about her pregnancy. Everyone is furious with Nesta: Rhysand, Cassian, and Amren. To be honest, this is the first time in the entire series I was on Nesta’s side. Feyre had a right to know what was happening inside her body. The whole thing felt like more a Tamlin thing to do than a Rhysand thing to do. Rhysand is ready to kill Nesta, so Cassian takes her camping in some distant Illyrian mountains. 

It is on this trip that Nesta cracks open all of her pain, trauma, and self-loathing. Cassian holds her, comforts her, and loves her. Upon their return trip, Nesta tries to do better with her family and friends. During the Winter Solstice she and Cassian spend the night together, and the bond finally solidifies. Nesta is scared of the bond, and her reaction upsets Cassian, causing him to say he didn’t ask to be shackled to her. Understandably, Nesta is hurt and commands Cassian to leave her alone until she reaches out to him, or a week has passed, whichever comes first. Nesta flees to Emerie’s cottage with Gwyn. The two help her accept her mate bond with Cassian, but before she can reach out to Cassian, the three females are captured by Illyrian generals and thrown into the Blood Rite. The only three females on a mountain full of misogynistic males who think females belong in the kitchen and rape is okay.

This final showdown is going to be the final test of love for Cassian and Nesta. They will have to make sacrifices for one another, for their friends, for their family, and for the greater good of keeping Prythian free from invading forces. In completing this final sacrifice, Nesta is going to atone for the sins she committed against Feyre since they were young girls. Nesta will overcome the toxic traits her mother had instilled in her and become a new person. 

Nesta’s redemption is beautiful. It doesn’t excuse her past misdeeds. She goes through an excruciating repentance process, and comes out white as snow. When I first started Silver Flames, I really did not believe that I would change my mind about Nesta in the end, but I did. A very well-earned 5 stars.

Silver Flames is the most recent published installment in the ACOTAR series. I have scoured the internet to find out if it’s the last one, because there are a lot of things left open at the end of this one. The only thing I was able to find is Sarah J. Maas’ website lists the series as an “ongoing series”. Silver Flames was published in 2021, so I’m crossing my fingers we’ll have an announcement about the next installment soon! I’m also crossing my fingers that the next book is Elain’s story. I really need to know if Lucien is going to step up and be a good mate or if Azriel is going to steal her away. 

Frost and Starlight: Diversity in Healing

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

A Court of Frost and Starlight is the bridge between Feyre’s story and Nesta’s story. It is much shorter than the rest of the series. To be honest, I think it was meant to be a holiday special. The entire plot surrounds the characters preparing for and celebrating the Winter Solstice. They are also all healing from the recent war against Hybern and the human queens. But each character doesn’t heal at the same pace, or even finish healing by the end of this 4th book. 

Rhysand literally died at the end of the war. The only reason he is back is because Feyre convinced the remaining six High Lords to help her bring him back by donating a piece of their own magic and life force. Whatever happened to Rhys’ spirit while he was dead greatly affected him, and he is struggling to differentiate between reality and his fears. Rhysand jumps back into being High Lord, rebuilding Velaris and other cities, and investigating contentions in the Illyrian army. But where he finds his true healing is in his relationship with Feyre. This is Feyre’s first Winter Solstice in the Night Court and it’s also her 21st birthday. Rhysand is determined to give her a celebration she will never forget. I do not believe Rhysand is fully healed by the end of the Winter Solstice – events of the fifth book show otherwise – but he is doing a lot better than some of the other characters.  

Feyre has a lot of pre-war and post-war trauma to sift through. Now that Nesta is living in the Night Court, Feyre has to find a way to overcome the emotional and verbal abuse she suffered from her older sister both during her human years and recently as a Made High Fae. She has to deal with Rhysand frequently visiting Tamlin. She witnessed her father die, her mate die, and countless others. And as the High Lady, she is helping the Night Court heal by getting involved in charity groups. But as the city heals on the outside, Feyre fails to heal on the inside. She feels tremendously guilty that so many people lost loved ones or lost their livelihood. Back in the very first book, the reader learned that Feyre likes to paint. She stopped painting after Hybern forced her to return to the Spring Court with Tamlin. Feyre cannot seem to bring herself to pick up a paintbrush, and she is invited to by some of the artists in the art section of Velaris. She finally does, and paints her true self – what she saw in the special mirror in the third book. She gives it to Rhysand as a Solstice gift; and they decide they are ready to begin their family. In trying to get pregnant, Feyre and Rhysand are moving forward from the war.   

Morrigan is like Feyre in that many of her traumas are from before the war. Around five hundred years ago, Mor was betrothed to the heir of the Autumn Court, Eris. She did not want to go through with the marriage because the males of the Autumn Court had terrible reputations, and Mor “prefers females” – that’s the terminology used in the series, “gay”, “lesbian”, etc. don’t seem to exist in High Fae language. Mor’s family is too traditional for her to confess her sexuality, so she ends her virginity by seducing Cassian. Her father beats her, and nails a letter to Eris on Mor’s stomach, abandoning her bruised and naked body on the border of the Autumn Court. Eris refuses to take on the responsibility of a soiled wife and leaves her there (though Eris has his own secrets that I may cover in a later post). Mor would have died if Azriel wouldn’t have found her. Understandably, More holds deep seeded hatred for her father and Eris. She is forced to see and work with both of them in preparations for the war. In order to keep her father’s loyalty, Rhysand promises him that he can visit Velaris when he wishes. Mor feels betrayed because Velaris is her sanctuary away from her sadistic family. To avoid her father, Mor spends a lot of time after the war in her estate away from Velaris. By the end of the fourth book, Mor is still in the stage of avoidance.    

Azriel’s scars go back centuries as well. His mother was a maid who was coerced into a relationship with the patriarch of the family she worked for. Azriel is the result of that union. His bastard status led to abuse from his half brothers and the Illyrian warriors he trained with when he joined the army. He hates the Illyrian race for what their traditional views on women and status did to him and his mom. Since he couldn’t save his mom, Azriel projects his mother’s damsel status on Elain. Elain is the meekest of Feyre’s and Rhysand’s family, and Azriel makes sure that Elain is not taken advantage of – both consciously and subconsciously – by the other members of the family. In doing so, Azriel seems to be the only one that Elain is comfortable around. Azriel is also deeply in love with Mor. He has no idea about her sexuality, and moons after her for centuries. While taking care of Elain seems to help heal him from his childhood, it remains to be seen if his heartache over Mor will be healed.   

Elain is also suffering from a broken heart. When she was human, she got engaged to the son of a wealthy human lord. Her fiancée’s family hates faeries and has an extensive collection of warriors and weapons to fight and kill faeries. When Elain was kidnapped and forced into the cauldron, she could not return to her human home and her human fiancée. Her wedding date comes and goes, and Elain is distraught. Her body becoming High Fae revealed that Lucien is her mate, but she wants nothing to do with him. She is still in love with her fiancée. When Rhysand seeks human allies in preparing for the war, Elain goes to her fiancée’s family. Her fiancée rejects her now that she is High Fae. Elain’s heart breaks even more, and she retreats further into herself. Lucien’s (to be honest pitiful) attempts to get her to accept the mate bond go ignored. By the end of Solstice, Azriel’s kindness seems to be warming Elain’s heart, which will continue into the fifth book. (To be honest, I’m rooting for an Azriel-Elain union, but Sarah J. Maas already surprised me by making Mor lesbian, so she’ll probably surprise me by putting Elain with someone else or with no one.)

Lucien has several levels of hurt. Some he has been holding onto for years: his father ordering the death of his lover because she was beneath him, the general hatred from his older brothers, and the loss of one of his eyes, resulting in a metal eye. His most recent struggles are the loss of his friendship with Tamlin, and Elain refusing to accept him as her mate. As a way to numb the pain Lucien creates an unlikely alliance with Jurian and Queen Vassa. The three of them live in the human lands in an abandoned mansion. He is nowhere close to being healed. He is using this new “friendship” to hide from his problems. Very few characters care to help him heal because they put some of the responsibility of Feyre’s abuse on him. He is Tamlin’s best friend and did nothing to stop the mistreatment of Feyre. And even when she saved him from being raped by Ianthe, he still was moody and ungrateful. 

Tamlin is probably one of the few characters who brought on his own pain. In the first book, Tamlin tells Feyre that Rhysand and his father killed Tamlin’s entire family, making Tamlin the unwilling High Lord of the Spring Court. In the second book, Rhysand tells Feyre it was an act of vengeance. Tamlin’s father desired to kill Rhysand. Rhysand had been friendly with Tamlin at previous High-Lord-and-family get-togethers, and he continued to correspond with Tamlin. So Tamlin told his father how he could get Rhysand alone: when Rhysand picked up his mother and sister on their way to visit him in the Illyrian war camp. On that particular trip, Rhysand was late to the meeting spot, and Tamlin, his brothers, and father killed Rhysand’s mother and sister. Rhysand and his father sneak into the Spring Court to exact revenge. Rhysand makes his father promise not to kill Tamlin or his mother. Rhysand’s father doesn’t listen and kills Tamlin’s mother along with his father while Rhysand kills Tamlin’s brothers. Tamlin then kills Rhysand’s father. The two spend the next several centuries hating each other. Tamlin blames Feyre for the destruction of his court and once again accepts no responsibility for his part in her pain that led to the vengeance. 

After the war, Rhysand visits Tamlin every once in a while to check in on him and make sure they have a strong enough alliance so that if the human queens move against Prythian, Rhysand can count on Tamlin for help. Tamlin lives in an empty and ruined castle, finally succumbing to the beast that Feyre thought him to be in the beginning of the first book. During an attempt at a heart-to-heart, Tamlin asks Rhysand if he has forgiven him for the deaths of Rhysand’s mother and sister. Rhysand says, “I haven’t received an apology yet.” Tamlin still in that moment refuses to apologize. Tamlin isn’t even trying to heal, and no one is willing to help him,   

Cassian is struggling with the fact that he survived when so many of his warriors didn’t; and as the top general, he has to answer to their families. During the war, The Cauldron shot an instant death huff of magic into a crowd of flying Illyrians. Nesta could feel it coming before it happened and called Cassian back, saving only him. Cassian has always struggled to convince the Illyrian warriors to respect him as their general because he is literally a bastard. The Illyrians are patriarchal and traditional to a fault. Cassian’s mother was unmarried when she became pregnant with him, placing the two of them at the bottom of the social ladder in their village. It didn’t matter that her pregnancy was a result of rape. It didn’t matter that everyone knew who her rapist was and that he was a married male with a family. Because males rule in this society, they can do whatever they want. So Cassian’s bastard status makes “legitimate” Illyrian warriors despise him. Things are worse after the war, and Cassian has to squash an attempt at rebellion among the warriors. All of this could be easier to handle if Cassian had Nesta at his side. But despite her actions in the war to save Cassian, and her willingness to die with him when all seemed lost; Nesta has returned to being the cold-hearted you-know-what she has been the entire series. On Winter Solstice she hurts him one too many times, and Cassian throws the gift he bought her in the river.  

Nesta is drowning in grief, but we won’t know the full extent until we get to the fifth book. At this point we know she is devastated over her father’s death and is still furious that she is no longer human. She chose to move out of Rhysand’s townhouse and now lives in a rundown apartment. Feyre and Rhysand pay for her rent and fund her lifestyle: spending each night in the pub. Feyre threatens to cut her off financially if she doesn’t come to Solstice. Nesta gives Elain a gift, and Elain gives Nesta a gift. Neither Feyre nor Nesta give each other gifts, showing that the hurt from their human lives is still strong. Nesta has a very long journey to healing that will be covered in the fifth book.

When I read through the book, I didn’t know it was a side story, and understandably felt the plot was weak and rushed compared to the previous three books, and my original rating was 3 stars. Then I jumped onto Goodreads to write my review and saw that it is considered book 3.1. So, now knowing that it is a side story meant to prepare the reader for the next book, I raise my rating to 4 stars. 

I’m about halfway through the fifth book and I have already been tempted to throw my Kindle across the room several times. My heart is slowly warming toward Nesta. I still think many of her past sins aren’t justified, but Sarah J. Maas seems to be good at redemption arcs, so I have an open mind.

Favorite Fictional Moms

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

For Mother’s Day each year, I’d like to highlight three amazing fictional moms/mother figures. This debut year I’ll be showcasing Molly Weasley, Linda Belcher, and Violet Bridgerton.

Molly Weasley comes from the Harry Potter series. On the surface, Molly appears to be the typical frumpy housewife. She’s popped out seven children on her quest to give birth to the coveted daughter. Her husband, Arthur, works a dead-end job while she runs their magical household. And their wild children are constantly getting into trouble. But underneath all that stereotype, Molly loves her family fiercely and will do anything for them. She is also kind and compassionate to those in need

Despite their poverty, the Weasleys never go hungry. Molly is an amazing cook, and her magical talents allow her to summon, transfigure, and multiply enough food to feed an army. She figuratively adopts Harry in the Chamber of Secrets when her sons bring Harry to their home in a flying car. From that book on, Molly makes sure that Harry has a place in her family.

Molly’s biggest flaw is her refusal to support Fred and George’s dream of opening a joke shop. In the Goblet of Fire, she does something that is very hard for many parents: she apologizes. She yells at the twins about their attempt to sneak joke supplies out of the house on their way to the Quidditch World Cup. Disaster strikes the World Cup, and fearing for her family’s safety, Molly feels guilty that the last thing she said to her boys was negative. When they get home safe and sound, Molly hugs them and apologizes. She still isn’t perfect as the Order of the Phoenix is full of drama, but she ultimately supports Fred and George dropping out of school and opening their joke shop.

Molly’s hidden strength is showcased in the Battle of Hogwarts in the Deathly Hallows. Up until that final battle, Molly has been the one staying home having a hot meal ready for the surviving warriors. Not this time. She is there fighting alongside her family for the survival of the wizarding world. It is Molly who vanquishes one of the most evil characters in the entire series, Bellatrix Lestrange. And what did Bellatrix do to earn Molly’s wrath? She threw the killing curse at Ginny, Molly’s daughter.

I could write several posts on Molly’s character alone, but I’ll leave it at this for now. To dive deeper into Molly’s character, read the books!

Linda Belcher is not a literary character, but I love her so much, I had to include her. She is one of the main characters on the TV show Bob’s Burgers. Linda and her husband, Bob, own a struggling burger restaurant somewhere on the east coast. They have three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise, who work in the restaurant after school. 

The reason why I love Linda so much is because she is so positive and supportive of everything her kids enjoy and want to do. She attends all of their extra curricular activities: capoeira classes, school musicals, and street bands. She showcases her children’s art during Art Crawl, defends their “abnormal” creative writing projects to the school counselor, and coaches their independent study swim class.

Even though Linda focuses on her kids the majority of the time, she also has her own passions and believes she deserves to be happy and fulfilled. Linda loves to sing, so she writes a short musical and gets her children and their neighbor to perform in it with her. The show is a disaster, but Linda has a blast and feels successful at the end of the episode. She also drags her family through an attempt to run a Bed and Breakfast, mother-daughter bonding, and the perfect Christmas party. 

Linda Belcher is my soul sister. The similarities between her marriage and mine have my husband and I cracking up every time we rewatch the series – which is often. She has moments where she goes overboard, but her energy and passion make her so likable.

Violet Bridgerton is the mother of eight energetic and cunning children. She is the dowager Viscountess Bridgerton. In the original eight books, she is already a widow, so we only know her in her later years. Her husband, the late Viscount, died from anaphylactic shock to a bee sting; but this was before allergies were understood so his death remains a mystery. Violet was pregnant with their eighth child, Hyacinth, when her husband died; making her oldest, eighteen-year-old Anthony the new Viscount.

The Bridgertons reside in London during the early eighteen hundreds, and upon reaching adulthood, participate each year in the courting culture called “the Season”. The purpose of the Season is to find a spouse by attending as many balls, musicals, and other parties as possible. With eight children to marry off, Violet is a very “determined mama”. However, unlike most of the other mamas of the ton, Violet is not as concerned about status and wealth in the spouse of her children. Kate’s meager dowry and bottom of the totem pole status does not prohibit Violet from accepting her as a daughter-in-law and the new Viscountess. Sophie’s unsavory parentage (her mother a servant and the mistress of her father) doesn’t even make Violet raise an eyebrow – though she is matter of fact with Benedict that he and Sophie will never be accepted by London society, so she supports their need to move to the country after they marry.  And though Hyacinth never tells, I am sure that Violet would not have cared that Gereth was the product of his mother’s affair with her brother-in-law.   

Because Violet’s marriage was a “love match”, she desires the same for all of her children. Even though she desires her children to find true love, her wish for them to find it quickly, and to give her grandchildren, causes her to sometimes jump the gun and encourage matches her children have no desire for. Though every once in a while she hits the mark – like her constant push for her sons to be nice to Penelope Featherington. 

Violet is loving, kind, and compassionate; but when her children mess up, she’ll let them know. She doesn’t raise her voice or demean them. But presents a loving sternness when they need a lecture or advice. Her children love her and know she loves them. The Bridgertons are a tight knit, loyal and protective family, with Violet at the center.  

Happy Mother’s Day! Give some love to the women in your life.

Wings and Ruin: The Cost of War

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

A pattern I have noticed in Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series is that the subplot from the previous book becomes the main plot of the next book. In A Court of Thorns and Roses, Feyre’s relationship with Rhysand is the subplot of the Under the Mountain part of the book. In A Court of Mist and Fury, Feyre’s relationship with Rhysand becomes the main plot, and preparing for war against Hybern is the subplot. We get to A Court of Wings and Ruin, and preparing for war becomes the main plot. And if Mist and Fury’s big theme is redemption, then Wings and Ruin’s big theme is the cost of war.

What are the costs that our favorite characters have to pay as they prepare and fight in war? The four main costs I saw were betrayal, desensitization, difficult alliances, and sacrifice. 

Betrayal

The betrayals start in Mist and Fury before the war even begins. There is an object called the Cauldron which is the creator of the universe. It can be welded by any being powerful enough, but it also has some form of awareness to it. A book of spells was ripped in half centuries before and separated. This book is needed to control the Cauldron. One half is at the Summer Court. Rhys and Feyre do not believe the High Lord of the Summer Court, Tarquin, will willingly hand it over; so Rhys distracts the guards, while Feyre sneaks into the room the book is hidden in. Their plan is successful, and they immediately feel guilty when they return to Velaris. Tarquin sends them blood rubies with their names engraved on them, announcing them as enemies to the Summer Court. 

The second half of the book is under the guardianship of the six human queens. The book has a protection spell on it that makes it so the book must be freely given. Five of the six queens refuse to give the book to Feyre and Rhysand. The sixth queen sneaks it to them, betraying her “sister” queens. In return, they betray her by handing her over to Hybern, who kills her. Another queen, who is on the fence about this whole thing is handed over to a sorcerer and a curse is placed on her and leaves her a prisoner to him. In fact, the human queens are just full of betrayal. In an effort to convince them that he is trustworthy, Rhysand shows them Velaris. They tell Hybern about Velaris and where it is; Hybern then attacks Velaris. Luckily, Feyre, Rhysand and their court are able to defend Velaris, but the damage is done. Velaris has been exposed to the rest of the world. 

The most heartbreaking betrayal between the two books is probably Tamlin’s betrayal. Shortly after Rhysand rescued Feyre from the Spring Court, Feyre sent a letter to Tamlin saying that she left willingly and she wasn’t coming back. Tamlin refuses to believe this and goes on a crusade to find Feyre and “free” her from Rhysand. Tamlin allies with Hybern in capturing Feyre and Rhysand and splitting them apart. His high priestess, Ianthe, takes the betrayal one step further and hands Feyre’s human sisters, Nesta and Elain, over to the King of Hybern. Hybern uses the Cauldron to change Nesta and Elain into High Fae. 

What’s a betrayal without revenge? Feyre’s about to dish it out. In Wings and Ruin, she pretends that Hybern was successful in breaking her mate bond with Rhysand and returns to the Spring Court with Tamlin. While there, Feyre spies on Tamlin’s alliance with Hybern and sends that information to Rhysand through their bond. She also breaks Ianthe’s hand beyond repair, plants false stories into Ianthe’s head and a few others, and kills Hybern’s visiting generals. By the time Feyre escapes the Spring Court, Tamlin doesn’t have much of a court left.  

Tamlin ends up being the poster boy for a turncoat. He switches sides so frequently that it gives the reader whiplash, and even at the end, it’s still hard to know whose side he is truly on. I personally think he’s on Tamlin’s side. Whatever is going to help him come out alive and still in power. Shortly after Feyre returns to the Night Court, Rhysand invites the other High Lords to a meeting to form alliances and create a game plan against Hybern. Tamlin is invited and he does show up. The next day, he goes running back to Hybern and discloses everything from the meeting! Then when Feyre has snuck into Hybern’s camp to rescue her sister, Tamlin is the one to help her get out when she is about to be caught by Hybern’s beasts. With that betrayal, the question remains, whose side will Tamlin fight on? At first, Tamlin doesn’t show up at all. When things get dire, he shows up with Beron (High Lord of the Autumn Court), and two more surprise armies.   

And our final betrayal is Jurian, the human from the original battle five hundred years previous, brought back to life by Hybern. Hybern underestimated how much Jurian hates faeries. While Hybern is focusing on ripping Feyre and Rhysand apart, Jurian sneaks off to the human lands and raises a human army under the queens’ noses! 

The examples of betrayal in A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Wings and Ruin are definitely complex and diverse. Some can be argued as justifiable, others may start out justified and end badly, while others are just downright nasty. And I’m willing to bet  the betrayals I justify could be different from yours. Ms. Maas does an excellent job of making the reader question everyone’s choices. 

Desensitization

Most of the violence that Feyre has participated in has been self defense. When she killed Hybern’s visiting generals, they were trying to prevent her from leaving the Spring Court. The battle of Velaris happened suddenly and Feyre was too pumped up on adrenaline – and revenge, because the Attor is there – to really take in the blood and gore that was flying around. The battle of Adriata is Feyre’s first time preparing and marching into battle. It is quite a different experience for her, and when the fighting is over, Feyre throws up. Mor tells her they were all like that after their first battle; showing that over time, soldiers become desensitized to the horrors of war – not that they necessarily enjoy it, but they are able to glaze over or at least put on a facade that they are. But we’ll learn in the fourth book that being desensitized on the battlefield does not equate to being desensitized once you return home. 

Difficult Alliances

When a war involves more than two nations, the right alliances are paramount to success.

Hybern wants to have access to and control of the human lands. To do so, he reaches out to some very desperate characters: the human queens and Tamlin. Hybern promises the human queens immortality and a promise not to invade the continent, if they step back and allow Hybern to take over the human section of Prythian. Hybern gives Feyre to Tamlin if Tamlin will allow Hybern’s army to use the Spring Court as their path into the human lands. The plot never gets around to showing it, but I firmly believe that Hybern was going to betray the human queens as soon as he had the human lands in his grasp; had he lived long enough to do so.  

The seven courts of Prythian stand between Hybern and the human lands. Rhysand is determined for all seven High Lords to ally together to stand against Hybern. He successfully gets the Day Court, Dawn Court, Summer Court, and Winter Court to agree – though it was not without difficulty. Big headed and powerful men who are used to being solely in charge? Yeah, it took a lot. The Autumn Court outright refuses, and Tamlin goes running off to Hybern as soon as the alliance meeting is over. Rhysand knows that they cannot beat Hybern without all seven courts on board, but he is determined to try.   

These shifty alliances are what lead to many of the betrayals discussed in the first section. 

Sacrifice

In my opinion, personal sacrifice is the biggest cost of war. Everyone who heads onto the battlefield knows there is a chance they won’t come home. And sacrificing one’s life is not the only form of sacrifice. 

Feyre believes that they need a powerful being called the Bone Carver to help. His price? A very special mirror. The only way to get the mirror is to look into it and master whatever you see. It has been centuries since the last time the mirror had been mastered. Most beings who try go mad. The night before the final battle, Feyre decides the risk is worth it; even if she goes mad, Amren can use her body to weld the Cauldron’s magic. Feyre does master the mirror, but she went in not knowing if she could. She was willing to sacrifice her mind for her friends and family.  

Also before the final battle, Azriel helps Feyre rescue Elain. They are viciously attacked, and Azriel’s wings are severely injured. Rhysand orders Azriel to stay behind in the final battle. This infuriates Azriel. Their forces are spread thin as it is, even his injured self is better than having a hole in the line. He obeys his high lord, but as the battle worsens, Azriel joins the fray. During the battle, Cassian is greatly injured to the point of being immobile. The King of Hybern descends upon him and Nesta tries to stop him with the power she stole from the Cauldron, it is not enough. Nesta throws her body on top of Cassian’s and they accept death together. Before the King of Hybern can deliver the fatal blow, Elain stabs him in the neck with Azriel’s favorite sword, Truth Teller. When Azriel had been ordered to not fight, he sacrificed his hold over his sword to Elain so she had something to defend herself with. Even then, Elain was too frail and innocent to weld it, and she accepted it begrudgingly. Elain sacrifices her innocence to save her sister from the King of Hybern.  

While the battle is raging on, Feyre and Amren sneak over to the Cauldron to use its magic to stop Hybern’s power. The only way to do this is to put Amren in the Cauldron and relieve her of her bound form. This is risky because Amren may not remember the love and loyalty she feels for the Night Court and she could accidentally attack everyone (she reminds me of Calypso from Pirates of the Caribbean). Feyre and Amren take the risk. Not only does Amren let go of her “humanity”, but she also sacrifices her life. She is not going to survive this transition once she is done fighting.   

And the final sacrifice comes from Rhysand himself. Amren’s exit from the Cauldron breaks it, creating a blackhole that is sucking everything in. The Cauldron created life, so its destruction ends life. Feyre is the only one powerful enough to fix it (she has all seven High Lord’s powers), but even then it’s not enough. Rhysand transfers all of his energy and power into Feyre so she can finish fixing the Cauldron. This transfer kills him, and even though it saved Prythian, Feyre is inconsolable. She demands that the remaining High Lords help bring Rhysand back like what they did for her when Amarantha killed her. At first they disagreed, saying the situation was different because Feyre had been human. She begs and pleads, and they give in. One by one, each High Lord sacrifices a bit of his life force and magic to bring Rhysand back. It works doubly well, and not only does Rhysand come back to life, but he brings Amren with him. 

No one walks away from this war unscathed. Everyone whether human or faerie, High Lord or lesser faerie has mountains of healing to do, which is what the next book is about. I rated A Court of Wings and Ruin 4 stars. I thought the war plot was excellent (if you can’t tell by the once again long blog post); though a little lengthy. Rhysand and Feyre’s relationship strengthened and Rhysand continued to trust Feyre and allow her room to make her own choices – and mistakes. The only thing I struggled with was the lack of character growth from Nesta and Elain. We are three books in and they are still the same selfish idiots they were in the first book. Though, I did just start the fifth book, which is Nesta’s and Cassian’s story; so I’m crossing my fingers that Nesta has an acceptable redemption arc, because I currently do not like her at all. 

But before we can dive into Nesta’s head, there is a Solstice celebration to attend in A Court of Frost and Starlight. Stay tuned for that post, coming soon!

Mist and Fury: A Perfect Redemption

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

In my post about A Court of Thorns and Roses, I said that I would not give away an important side plot. That’s because I was saving it for this post. Rhysand has a lot of sins to answer for when he reenters Feyre’s life in A Court of Mist and Fury; and I think his redemption arc is darn near perfect. But first, let’s review those sins from the first book. 

Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court meets Feyre twice before she ends up Under the Mountain – where their story really begins. Rhysand snuck into Tamlin’s court during an outside celebration. Neither the reader nor Feyre know this at the time, but Rhysand has been having dreams and visions about Feyre, and he came to see her during the commotion of the celebration. Feyre is being dragged into the woods by some unsavory characters, and Rhysand saves her. He invites her to spend the night with him, and she declines. Rhysand accepts Feyre’s rejection and disappears.

The next time Rhysand visits, he is there on Amarantha’s errand. He uses his powers to read Feyre’s mind and tells Tamlin “she has such delicious thoughts about you.” This turns Feyre off to him, and she believes him to be a villain. 

The next time they meet is Under the Mountain when all seven courts of Prythian are prisoners to Amarantha. While Feyre is waiting for her first challenge, the guards force her to do impossible cleaning tasks. One such task puts her in Rhysand’s room cleaning his fireplace. Rhysand shows up and cleans his fireplace and Feyre with the wave of his hand. He then “hypnotizes” the guards into stopping such nonsense.

During Feyre’s first challenge against the giant worm, only one High Fae bets in favor of Feyre winning: Rhysand. Even though Feyre beat the worm, she did not avoid injury. Her arm was cut during the fight, and it became infected in her prison cell. The infection is killing her when Rhysand shows up and offers to heal her, for a price. The price is that when Feyre breaks Amarantha’s curse, she will spend two weeks each month in Rhysand’s home. Feyre negotiates Rhysand down to one week out of each month. He heals her and she wakes up to a healed arm and a tattoo that covers her entire arm. The tattoo is proof of the deal she made with Rhysand.

For the next two months, Rhysand’s maids collect Feyre each night, wash her, paint temporary tattoos over every inch of exposed skin, dress her in revealing clothing, and deliver her to Rhysand (major Mummy vibes here). She serves as Rhysand’s companion for the evening activities at Amarantha’s court. Rhysand serves her a very strong wine that makes her forget everything each night – though she is able to deduce that she spends her nights sitting on Rhysand’s lap or dancing for his entertainment. So, on the surface, Rhysand is not looking like a good guy, but even so, there was something about him that I trusted. I just knew there were going to be deeper layers to him. 

The permanent tattoo from their deal has an eye in Feyre’s palm, and she can feel a second presence in her mind that she believes comes from the eye. In fact, the presence helps her pick the right answer to help her beat the second challenge. 

When Feyre beats Amarantha’s final challenge, Amarantha beats up Feyre. Rhysand is the only one who tries to physically stop Amarantha. Amarantha snaps Feyre’s neck right after Feyre solves the final riddle, freeing all High Fae from Amarantha’s curse. Feyre dies, and all 7 High Lords are at full strength. Tamlin kills Amarantha, and the 7 High Lords of Prythian give Feyre’s body a piece of their magic, bringing her back to life as a High Fae.    

And that’s how the first book ends. I’m so sorry to make this so long, but I just love Rhysand. He is possibly my favorite literary character, so I need to do him justice.

At the start of A Court of Mist and Fury, Feyre goes three months without Rhysand imposing the deal they made when he saved her life Under the Mountain. Feyre’s relationship with Tamlin is not going well. He wants to keep Feyre locked up in pretty dresses planning parties. She wants to be a warrior. The day of their wedding, Feyre panics and is about to call off the wedding. Before she can, Rhysand appears and announces it’s time for Feyre to keep her end of the bargain. He whisks her away to his castle at the Night Court. 

Feyre’s wedding to Tamlin is postponed indefinitely. For two months she returned to Rhysand’s for a week. During each of those weeks, Rhysand teaches Feyre how to read and write and how to close her mind from his – and anyone else who might have that power – invasions. Feyre also meets Rhysand’s female cousin Morrigan, who goes by Mor. Mor is friendly and welcoming and is determined to be Feyre’s friend. 

When Feyre is at the Spring Court, she can tell that Tamlin is keeping something from her. He keeps leaving on expeditions. On one such expedition, Feyre asks for Tamlin to take her with him. He refuses and goes so far as to place a spell around the palace, keeping Feyre inside. She can’t even stick her hand out the window. Feyre loses it and her magic explodes and implodes. Her engagement ring melts off her finger and she gets stuck in her own mind of darkness. Mor and Rhysand arrive, breaking Tamlin’s spell and taking Feyre home with them. 

When Feyre decides that she doesn’t want to return to Tamlin and the Spring Court, Rhysand takes her to his real home: Velaris. Velaris is a secret city in the Night Court. This city shows Rhysand’s true character: The Court of Dreams. To the rest of the world, Rhysand wears a mask of cool detachment and darkness. He does this because previous High Lords of the Night Court were like that, and the reputation they created for themselves prevented other courts from trying to take advantage of and harm the lands and citizens. Rhysand wears this mask to protect his people. Velaris was the only place in Prythian untouched by Amarantha. 

It is in Velaris that Feyre is healed. She gains back the weight she lost, she starts training, and she falls in love. She falls in love with the city, the citizens, and her new friends – Rhysand’s friends. Mor, Amren, Cassian, and Azriel seem like a band of misfits on the surface, but they are Rhysand’s chosen family full of acceptance. They love and support one another, and Feyre is now a part of their group. 

Rhysand does not keep any secrets from Feyre – except one, which we’ll get to eventually. He doesn’t prohibit her from doing whatever she wants to do. He trains her to strengthen her powers and his army general Cassian trains her in combat. Whenever they go on a mission, Feyre is allowed to come and participate. Often, Rhysand uses the mission to test Feyre’s abilities so that she can know for herself that she is capable.

Rhysand tells Feyre something very important that Tamlin is keeping from her: Prythian has a new enemy, a hundred times stronger than Amarantha. Her mentor, The King of Hybern. Rhysand and several other High Lords believe that he will go after Prythian now that Amarantha has failed. Rhysand believes that Feyre is their secret weapon since she has the same powers as all seven High Lords. 

As Rhysand shows that he is everything Tamlin is not, Feyre begins to fall for him; but she won’t admit it to him or herself. Honesty forces itself on the two when Rhysand is captured by a small band of Hybern’s soldiers and Feyre saves him. The creature Feyre calls on for help, the Suriel, only tells the truth. The Suriel tells Feyre that she is Rhysand’s mate. Up until this moment, fated mates haven’t been a key focus of the story. It was mentioned a few times in conversation, but it’s not something that happens to every faerie in Prythian.

Rhysand suspected that Feyre was his mate while she was human, and he knew for certain after he and the other High Lords brought her back to life. Feyre is furious that he kept that information secret, and after she heals him, she runs away – not forever, but she needs a few days in solitude. Mor takes her to a special cabin that’s a full-scale house version of the Room of Requirement, only this one can provide food. 

After a few days of painting and moping, Rhysand shows up and Feyre allows him in. She is ready to listen to his explanations. While Rhysand talks, Feyre serves him a bowl of soup – the traditional way to tell him that she accepts the mate bond and accepts Rhysand as her mate. Rhysand didn’t want to force Feyre to be with him. He wanted to respect her feelings for Tamlin, even though it killed him. Her panic on her wedding day called down the bond, and Rhysand took the opportunity to rescue her and begin a courtship. He wanted Feyre to fall in love with him without the bond telling her to. When Rhysand finishes his soup, he and Feyre finally consummate their bond. 

Rhysand’s redemption arc is my favorite to date. I think one of the main reasons his redemption works is because the purpose of his earlier sins was to protect the city and people he loved. Everything he did to Feyre Under the Mountain was to protect her, even though she couldn’t see it at the time. And I normally loathe the lie-to-protect trope, but this one is done so well. I knew right away there was more to Rhysand, I just didn’t know what. So every scene with him was so edge-of-my-seat as I tried to figure it out. I never did. Velaris was as big of a surprise to me as it was to Feyre. Rhysand’s past is heart-breakingly beautiful – I couldn’t even fit all of it into this already too long post. 

I look forward to the day that I write as wonderful of a redemption. 5 stars for A Court of Mist and Fury.

ACOTAR: Beauty and the Beast Meets the Goblet of Fire

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Across social media, I keep seeing this title pop up: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Then, my editor recommended that I read the full series to help with some of the ideas I pitched for the sequel to Bondwitch. And when your editor tells you to read something, you read it. So, I moved it up to the top of my to-read list. I finished the first book and am halfway through the second, A Court of Mist and Fury.

ACOTAR was published in 2015, so I think it’s been out long enough that I can discuss it in depth without being accused of spoilers. However, if you haven’t read it and you care about going in blind, stop reading now. But I can promise, I will not give away a very important side plot, and I will not give away the end. 

The story begins with our human protagonist, Feyre, hunting in the woods. I actually got strong Hunger Games vibes in that first chapter. Feyre is the narrator, and she introduces her world to the reader while she hunts a doe. Feyre’s family is dirt poor, and her hunting is what feeds and clothes them. They live on the edge of the human world  and faerie world. Faeries are not small Tinker-Bell-and-friends creatures. They are powerful, dangerous and evil. The doe Feyre is hunting gets killed by a wolf. Feyre kills the wolf – with the understanding that it could be a faerie in disguise – skins it, and takes the deer’s body back home with the wolf’s skin.

The next night a beast breaks into Feyre’s house – the way Maas describes this beast made me imagine the zouwu from Fantastic Beasts The Crimes of Grindelwald. The beast can talk, and the wolf Feyre killed was a faerie. According to the beast, the treaty between faeries and humans allows faeries to exact revenge if a human kills a faerie. The faerie decides that Feyre will pay for the life she took by returning to his home with him and living the rest of her life in Prythian, the faerie land. 

At this point, the Beauty and the Beast parallels begin.

The Beast is a High Fae named Tamlin, he is the High Lord of the Spring Court. In his faerie form he is large and attractive, except a gold masquerade mask covers most of his face. In fact, all of his subjects wear masquerade masks. About fifty years before, they were cursed during a masquerade party and the masks were stuck on their faces. Although Tamlin may be the physical beast, Feyre is the one with a hardened heart that Tamlin and the other faeries will slowly soften during her stay. 

“Lumier and Cogsworth” are combined into one character named Lucien. He is Tamlin’s best friend and right hand man. He’s not particularly fond of Feyre, and leads her to believe he would prefer her dead. The two eventually grow on each other and develop a teasing friendship. 

“Mrs. Potts” is a faerie servant named Alis. She is assigned to be Feyre’s personal maid in helping her dress, do her hair, etc. Alis is not warm and welcoming. Feyre is a job to her, and making Feyre accept and follow faerie culture and fashion is her goal – at least from what Feyre can see. Alis’ “Chip” are her two orphaned nephews, but we don’t get to meet them, just learn about them. 

Other Easter Eggs include Feyre getting attacked  in the surrounding forest by some unsavory creatures, and Tamlin comes to her rescue. Another time, Tamlin returns to the castle in the middle of the night with a bleeding and injured hand. Feyre cleans it and patches it up for him. And last, Feyre loves to paint. Tamlin unlocks the art gallery in the castle for Feyre and gives her a room full of canvas, paints, and brushes. 

Feyre and Tamlin develop feelings for each other, and right when things are going well, their first large hurdle arrives. Rhysand is the High Lord of the Night Court. Tamlin and Lucien do not like him at all. Rhysand serves a woman named Amarantha that everyone seems to fear. Tamlin doesn’t believe that Rhysand will keep Feyre’s existence a secret, and sends Feyre back to the human world. The Beast lets Belle go. Tamlin tells Feyre he loves her, but she is so hurt he is sending her away that she refuses to say it back. 

While Feyre was away, Tamlin had imprinted false memories into her family’s minds and gifted them with a fortune. She struggles to fit in back home, and after a couple weeks finds herself traveling back to Prythian to demand Tamlin take her back. She arrives at a desolate and nearly destroyed castle. Alis is the only one left. She tells Feyre everything.

The Spring Court had been cursed fifty years ago by Amarantha as punishment for Tamlin refusing her advances. The way to break the curse was for a human woman to kill a faerie with hate in her heart and then fall in love with Tamlin and agree to marry him. Tamlin sent Feyre away three days before the deadline to break the curse. And as soon as that deadline was up, Amarantha dragged Tamlin and his court back to her own: Under the Mountain.  

And now, the Goblet of Fire begins.

Feyre travels to Under the Mountain where she is thrown in front of Amarantha and Tamlin. Feyre confesses her love to Tamlin. Amarantha offers Feyre a deal: beat three challenges, and Tamlin and his court will be freed. 

Much like young Harry, Feyre’s first challenge is to survive a dangerous flesh eating creature. She is dropped into a maze of tunnels belonging to a giant worm with razor sharp teeth. Unlike Harry, Feyre can’t just get by the giant worm. She has to kill the giant worm before it kills her. This challenge is where Feyre will prove to Amarantha’s court that humans can be strong and brave.  

Feyre’s second challenge also involves a riddle and saving someone she cares for. And no it’s not Tamlin. Amarantha wouldn’t risk her desired toy. Feyre and Lucien are stuck in a pit, metal bars separating them. A ceiling of spikes is slowly lowering toward them. Carved on the wall is a riddle. The answer to the riddle tells Feyre which of three levers to pull to stop the lowering of the spikes. There’s one major problem: Feyre is illiterate. An unexpected ally will help Feyre through this challenge.  

The third challenge doesn’t match Harry’s third task in the Triwizard tournament. And in fact, I’m not sure if I want to tell you what it is. What I will say is it is the most heart wrenching of everything that has happened so far and will lead to the grand finale. The ending was very unexpected for me and I’m still recovering from it.

A Court of Thorns and Roses is one of the more interesting books I’ve read recently. If you want an emotional roller coaster set to a magical backdrop, this book is for you. I’m so glad my editor recommended it. 5 stars.

The Unique World Building of Julia Laque’s Tortured Series

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

One of the top things a paranormal/fantasy author does when world building is decide what to keep and what to change about the magical beings that exist in their world. When I came across Julia Laque’s Tortured series, I felt like I was relearning what makes a vampire, a werewolf, and a witch. It was really fun to be surprised by my favorite paranormal creatures. 

The first thing that jumps out is that vampires and werewolves are not in hiding. They openly live and work among humans. However, because of cultural and biological differences between the species, vampires and werewolves are not fully beholden to the U.S. Government. They have their own court system and doctors. Humans can become lawyers for these paranormal courts and doctors who perform house visits.  

Vampires cannot be exposed to the sun. There is no spell, potion, or special jewelry that can prevent them from burning up in the sun’s rays. They also cannot biologically procreate, they can only be turned through the exchange of blood. Vampires are completely loyal to their sire, because they share blood, there is an innate need to prioritize them. Their sire can call to them and they have to listen. For example, one newly turned vampire learns of a threat coming to their community. She abandons her mortal family to warn her sire first, then returns home to make preparations to protect everyone else. This loyalty also plays into the tension between her sire and her mortal lover.

Werewolves can shift at any time, but they must always shift during the full moon. They also have a monthly “heat” cycle – both males and females – that coincides with the phases of the moon as well. During this cycle, they become very horny and essentially can’t stop themselves from having sex with the first willing participant they come across. (This becomes a problem when married werewolves are not near their spouse during the heat, which we see in one of the stories.) Their doctors developed a pill that can cool the effects if one doesn’t feel like taking a partner that month – some characters have been taking these pills for years while they wait to meet the right person. Regardless of marital status and the consummation of a relationship, what really seals a partnership is procreation. It doesn’t matter what was going on before, a pregnancy creates a family relationship, and no other male can attempt to court or claim the female (another important plot point in one of the books).  

Witches are born, but not every offspring is guaranteed to inherit their parent’s powers. With the main family in the books, it appears to be mostly the oldest inheriting powers. Also, depending on what those powers are, too much use drains your powers and life; and neither can be replenished. Becoming pregnant and giving birth also depletes a female witch’s powers and life, so most don’t have very many children. In the series, the witches are the villains, forcing the vampires and werewolves to set aside their differences and team up to defeat them.

There are three books in this series:

Tortured Soul  – Evangeline Wolcott is being blackmailed into marrying the Vampire King of North America. To the rest of the world, this is a consensual engagement, which leads to Adam Perez, alpha to the local werewolf pack, kidnapping Evangeline. He believes the Vampire King kidnapped his sister, so he wants to do a prisoner swap. While waiting for the Vampire King to make his move, Adam and Evangeline have quite a time together hiding out in Adam’s cabin. Difficult decisions will need to be made when Adam has to hand Evangeline back over to the king. 

Tortured Embrace – Serena, Adam’s sister, is still missing. Jason, Adam’s best friend, is determined to find her. Serena escapes her captors, bringing with her the trauma of her time in captivity, and her desire to control her own life. When Adam commands Jason to stay away from Serena, the two must decide which is more important: obeying their alpha or following their heart; all while preparing for Serena’s captors to attack. 

Tortured Kiss – Long before Adam kidnapped Evangeline, Ramo Perez married Elizabeth in order to form an alliance between their packs. To him, it was a paper marriage only, and he left her untouched on their wedding night. Ten years later, the witches are attacking Elizabeth’s pack, and Ramo is called in to help. The eighteen year old bride he abandoned is now a woman. A woman who has moved on with her life. In the midst of protecting not only the pack, but the entire state from these evil witches, Ramo is also determined to prove to Elizabeth that he has changed and is ready for commitment and worthy of trust. 

If you are ready for something different for (what some call) the unholy trio (witches, vampires, and werewolves, oh my!), check out the Tortured series.