Book Review: Mirage by Somaiya Daud

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.

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10 Things about The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

Well, if you are a friend of mine, you would definitely know that I love The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell because you already have a copy because I bought you one! Ha! But that doesn’t end my love for The Last Magician. Here’s a list that might or might not but SHOULD at least make you interested with the book and the series.

So, without further ado. Let’s start!

I. I wish I had the power to read the book for the first time again – because this is one of those books you wish you did. – My Book Review of The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

This book has it all. Historical Fantasy Fiction that dwells with time and I find books that have something with time fascinating and at the same time painful. The Last Magician challenges me. How could we not see things coming? And how did Lisa Maxwell pull it off? That was brilliant. I don’t want to spoil anyone but if you are a fan of a lot of characters that each of them has their own unique personality with magic! You will definitely like this book. If not, you will fell in love. *wink*

II. THE COVER

 

If TLM’s cover couldn’t make you buy the book, how about a little help with The Devil’s Thief? Still not? Why don’t you try to listen to me and pick the goddamnbook?! How could you say no to The Last Magician’s and The Devil Thief’s cover? I am vouching for that and definitely putting all my reputation to this series because it is one of those books with covers that are really proportional with their story.

III. The characters are pretty amazing…and badass.

You wouldn’t get wrong with Esta’s stubbornness but there’s also Harte that will balance the two of them. Plus, there’s a whole team that going to back them up and going to play with time! You don’t want to miss it!

IV. It is a historical fiction.

Honestly, I’m not really a fan of historical fiction. But that tells you something, right? That I am a huge fan of The Last Magician and not a historical fiction. Meaning? This book is a wonderful book that makes its reader appreciate the art that we have. I remember following Lisa Maxwell, she said that places in here are accurate. She wants us to experience how a book should feel when you are in that place. Totally remarkable, right?!

V. “I think the whole treating other people as you would want to be treated would cover most things, don’t you?” – Lisa Maxwell on ‘If you are going to give a lesson to the whole world, what lesson would you impart to them?’ Read the full interview here.

VI. Diverse Characters

DO I NEED TO SAY MORE?

VII. Gang Name from The Devil’s Thief! My Gang Name is: DUTCH VICIOUS, what’s yours?

VIII. Exclusive Barnes and Novel Edition of The Devil’s Thief!

In this spellbinding sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Last Magician, Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic.

Hunt the Stones.
Beware the Thief.
Avenge the Past.

Esta’s parents were murdered. Her life was stolen. And everything she knew about magic was a lie. She thought the Book of Mysteries held the key to freeing the Mageus from the Order’s grasp, but the danger within its pages was greater than she ever imagined.

Now the Book’s furious power lives inside Harte. If he can’t control it, it will rip apart the world to get its revenge, and it will use Esta to do it.

To bind the power, Esta and Harte must track down four elemental stones scattered across the continent. But the world outside the city is like nothing they expected. There are Mageus beyond the Brink not willing to live in the shadows—and the Order isn’t alone in its mission to crush them.

In St. Louis, the extravagant World’s Fair hides the first stone, but an old enemy is out for revenge and a new enemy is emerging. And back in New York, Viola and Jianyu must defeat a traitor in a city on the verge of chaos.

As past and future collide, time is running out to rewrite history—even for a time-traveling thief.

PRE-ORDER here. 

IX. It is not too late to join the #devilsown contest!

VISIT THE LAST MAGICIAN TO JOIN!

X. Pre-Order Incentives!

Quoted from Lisa Maxwell’s Instagram, “If you preorder THE DEVIL’S THIEF and send me proof of purchase, I’ll send you some free GIFTS:

*character and map art
*deluxe bookmark
*personalized and signed bookplate.

Email your receipt to TLMPreorders@gmail.com with your mailing address and any personalization info.”

That’s it! I hope you will get a copy of The Last Magician and start reading the book or pre-order The Devil’s Thief!

 

Book Review: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there’s not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases–a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice–with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can’t afford to turn down Stella’s offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan–from foreplay to more-than-missionary position…

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he’s making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic.

Book Review: Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.

Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.

Winner takes the loser’s heart.

Literally.

Book Review: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

In the three kingdoms of Mytica, magic has long been forgotten. And while hard-won peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest now simmers below the surface.

As the rulers of each kingdom grapple for power, the lives of their subjects are brutally transformed… and four key players, royals and rebels alike, find their fates forever intertwined. Cleo, Jonas, Lucia, and Magnus are caught in a dizzying world of treacherous betrayals, shocking murders, secret alliances, and even unforeseen love.

The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

It’s the eve of war…. Choose your side.

Princess: Raised in pampered luxury, Cleo must now embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of magic long thought extinct.

Rebel: Jonas, enraged at injustice, lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country cruelly impoverished. To his shock, he finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.

Sorceress: Lucia, adopted at birth into the royal family, discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Heir: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, firstborn son Magnus begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword.

Book Review: The Last Watchman of Old Cairo by Michael David Lukas

In this spellbinding novel, a young man journeys from California to Cairo to unravel centuries-old family secrets.

Joseph, a literature student at Berkeley, is the son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father. One day, a mysterious package arrives on his doorstep, pulling him into a mesmerizing adventure to uncover the tangled history that binds the two sides of his family. For generations, the men of the al-Raqb family have served as watchmen of the storied Ibn Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, built at the site where the infant Moses was taken from the Nile. Joseph learns of his ancestor Ali, a Muslim orphan who nearly a thousand years earlier was entrusted as the first watchman of the synagogue and became enchanted by its legendary–perhaps magical–Ezra Scroll. The story of Joseph’s family is entwined with that of the British twin sisters Agnes and Margaret, who in 1897 depart their hallowed Cambridge halls on a mission to rescue sacred texts that have begun to disappear from the synagogue.

The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is a moving page-turner of a novel from acclaimed storyteller Michael David Lukas. This tightly woven multigenerational tale illuminates the tensions that have torn communities apart and the unlikely forces–potent magic, forbidden love–that boldly attempt to bridge that divide.

Praise for The Last Watchman of Old Cairo

“A beautiful, richly textured novel, ambitious and delicately crafted, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is both a coming-of-age story and a family history, a wide-ranging book about fathers and sons, religion, magic, love, and the essence of storytelling. This book is a joy.”–Rabih Alameddine, author of the National Book Award finalist An Unnecessary Woman

Book Review: Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen

Getting to Eden brought Emmett and his crewmates one step closer to their promised fortune. But surviving Eden may be the biggest reward of all. Discover book two in the trilogy Marie Lu called, “a high-octance thriller.”
Emmett Atwater thought Babel’s game sounded easy. Get points. Get paid. Go home. But it didn’t take long for him to learn that Babel’s competition was full of broken promises, none darker or more damaging than the last one.

Now Emmett and the rest of the Genesis survivors must rally and forge their own path through a new world. Their mission from Babel is simple: extract nyxia, the most valuable material in the universe, and play nice with the indigenous Adamite population.

But Emmett and the others quickly realize they are caught between two powerful forces—Babel and the Adamites—with clashing desires. Will the Genesis team make it out alive before it’s too late?