ARC Review: SERPENT & DOVE (Serpent & Dove #1) by Shelby Mahurin

SERPENT & DOVE (Serpent & Dove #1)
by Shelby Mahurin
Release Date: September 3, 2019; HarperTeen

About the book:

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn. 

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned. 

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony. 

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made. 

Blog Tour ft. Story Behind the Cover + Review and Giveaway: BEASTS OF THE FROZEN SUN (Frozen Sun Saga #1) by Jill Criswell

BEASTS OF THE FROZEN SUN (Frozen Sun Saga #1) 
by Jill Criswell
Date Published: August 6, 2019; Blackstone Publishing

From Goodreads:

Burn brightly. Love fiercely. For all else is dust.

Every child of Glasnith learns the last words of Aillira, the god-gifted mortal whose doomed love affair sparked a war of gods and men, and Lira of clan Stone knows the story better than most. As a descendant of Aillira and god-gifted in her own right, she has the power to read people's souls, to see someone's true essence with only a touch of her hand.

When a golden-haired warrior washes up on the shores of her homeland--one of the fearful marauders from the land of the Frozen Sun--Lira helps the wounded man instead of turning him in. After reading his soul, she realizes Reyker is different than his brethren who attack the coasts of Glasnith. He confides in her that he's been cursed with what his people call battle-madness, forced to fight for the warlord known as the Dragon, a powerful tyrant determined to reignite the ancient war that Aillira started.

ARC Review: THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK by Adrienne Young

THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK
by Adrienne Young
Release Date: September 3, 2019; Wednesday Books

From Goodreads:

The new gut-wrenching epic from the New York Times bestselling author of Sky in the Deep. 

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse. 

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.

Exclusive Excerpt and Review: ANNOUNCING TROUBLE by Amy Fellner Dominy

ANNOUNCING TROUBLE
by Amy Fellner Dominy 
Release Date: August 5, 2019; Entangled Publishing, LLC (Crush)

About the book:

I may know everything there is to know about baseball, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Or like him. Garrett Reeves: sidelined player and the embodiment of everything I’ve learned to hate about baseball. He’s gorgeous, he’s cocky, he’s laser-focused on getting back in the game, no matter the cost. 

When he convinces me to call games alongside him, our chemistry heats up the booth. We’re good together, whether I want to admit it or not. I’m finding that I like baseball again, but even worse, I’m liking Garrett. A lot. 

But when he has to decide between our future and a new shot at his dreams, I know baseball will win out every time. 

Mini Review: WE HUNT THE FLAME (Sands of Arawiya #1) by Hafsah Faizal

WE HUNT THE FLAME (Sands of Arawiya #1) 
by Hafsah Faizal
Date Published: May 14,2019; Farrar, Straus and Giroux

From Goodreads:

People lived because she killed. 

People died because he lived. 

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. 

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be. 

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.