Reaper Reviews

Title : Gild Author : Raven Kennedy Overall Rating : ★★★ Genre : NA fantasy/romance, classic retelling POV : FPPRT Stand Alone or Series : "Gild" is the first book in The Plated Prisoner series. It is currently followed by "Glint" (book 2), with at least 2 more books planned for the series.  Prose Proficiency : Average Editing : Average Steam and Smut : There is definitely some smut going on, with a definite promise of more to come. The MFC is one of several royal "saddles,"--the king's concubines--and there are several sexual encounters described in the book, not all of them consensual. This series is definitely aimed at a more mature audience, with an 18+ recommendation included in the original synopsis.  Originality : B Review : Auren is the king's favored, the favorite royal saddle of the king. And not just any king ... King Midas, ruler of the 6th kingdom of Orea and gifted with the golden touch. Midas' most prized possession, Auren litera

  Title : The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein (DDoEF) Author : Kiersten White Overall Rating : ★★★★★ Genre : YA dark fantasy/classic retelling POV : FPPT Stand Alone or Series : Stand Alone Prose Proficiency : Excellent Editing : Excellent Steam and Smut : None. While there are hints of romance between MC's Elizabeth Lavenza and Victor Frankenstein, there is no sexual interaction in this novel. Originality : A Review : I discovered this gem in the bargain books at my local Books-A-Million; intrigued by both the cover and the title, I couldn't help but pick it up, and damn, am I ever glad I did. This book is pretty damn close to perfection! Seriously, if you like a little darkness and lots of shadows between your pages, you cannot go wrong with this read. Orphan-child Elizabeth Lavenza is a victim of hunger, neglect, and abuse. Until fate brings a stranger into her life, a woman looking for a suitable companion for her son. And so Elizabeth is brought to the home of the F

Title : Curse of the Gods (Trickery, Persuasion, Seduction, Strength, Neutral, Pain) Author(s):   Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington Overall Rating : ★★★★٭ Genre : Slow burn RH, YA/NA, fantasy (for a list of abbreviations and their meanings, click here ) POV : FPPT Stand Alone or Series : This is a series of 5 novels, with a novella (Neutral) taking place between the events of books 4 and 5.  Prose Proficiency : Good Editing : Average/Good  Steam and Smut : This series is a slow burn, with book 1 containing little to no S&S, with the level ever increasing as the series progresses. By books 4 and 5, there is definitely some super high heat, including sex scenes with the MFC and more than one MMC. As I'm a definite fan of some S&S, this series was a definite hit for me. Originality : Gonna go with a solid A here.  Review : I discovered the Curse of the Gods series after starting the Shadow Shifters series by Jaymin Eve and needing something to read while waiting for the 3rd book

Title : A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) Author : Sarah J. Maas (SJM)  Overall Rating: ★★★★ Genre : YA fantasy and romance POV : FPPT (for a list of abbreviations and their meanings, click here )  Stand alone or Series : ACOTAR is the first book in what has come to be known as the ACOTAR trilogy. It is followed by A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Wings and Ruin.   Prose Proficiency : Good  Editing : Good Steam and Smut : There is very little actual "smut" in ACOTAR; while the romantic overtones are present throughout the book, there is only one actual sexual encounter in the book, and the language pertaining to that scene is non-explicit. While it is obvious what is going on, the scene is by no means graphic.  Originality : B/B- Review: ACOTAR was released in 2015 and has since, along with the rest of the series, become incredibly popular. That being said, there is all kinds of hype out there, both positive and negative, regarding not only this book, but the seri

Greetings, readers!  This post may to some seem unnecessary, but in this day and age of new and ever-evolving genres, points of view, plots, etc., there are plenty of oldie but goodie + new and emerging abbreviations for all of the different types of books out there; I'm still learning them all, myself. I will be using some of these abbreviations, because let's face it, typing out "point of view" every time I talk about a point of view will get exhausting, both for me as a writer and you as a reader. That's why I'll use POV; and if we're being honest, most people know that one. But there are getting to be plenty that new readers of a genre might not recognize; RH, for example, which stands for reverse harem. There might even be some original abbreviations I make up myself **gasp**. So here's a list (that I will update as necessary) of abbreviations you may see in my posts, what they stand for, and what those terms mean. POV : This one is fairly obvious

To read, or not to read. That is the question. Greetings, readers! This post is gonna be short and sweet; just wanna give you a quick rundown on how I'm planning on breaking these book reviews down. Sometimes, you're looking for a detailed review, right? You want to know all the juicy tidbits--as spoiler free as possible, of course--about the characters, the setting, the plot. You want to know as much as possible before committing to a new read. Well, no worries, because I'm definitely planning on giving you that. But what if you're one of those readers who's more worried about things like how well the book is written, or how "steamy" the story is, or if it's part of a series when you prefer standalone books? Well, I've got you covered there, too. At the beginning of each post, before the detailed review of the book(s), I'll provide some quick info summarizing the book; that information should let you know what the book is, where it fits into t

Greetings, one and all, and welcome to Reaper Reviews, where I'll be sharing my thoughts and recommendations on as much fiction as I can manage. Hopefully you noticed the brief blurb beneath the blog title (which would mean I'm doing my job in the design department **fingers crossed**), but in case you missed it, it says: Looking for your next read? Madam Reaper here, bringing you book reviews on all things fantasy, YA, and **shudders** romance. Ironic? Quite possibly. You may be wondering why I chose the name Reaper Reviews for this blog, given the genres of books I'm planning to review, and if you are, fear not. You're not alone. Before I've even managed to fully get this blog off the ground, I've had several people ask or assume I'll be featuring books within the horror and suspense genre. It's not a bad assumption to make. If I were in your shoes, rather than my own, I'd probably make the same one. But seeing as I'm wearing my own shoes ... w