Easing myself into 2021, or what I've been watching lately, Part 2
Urban Fantasy Review: Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews
Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews (Aurelia Ryder #1)
bought on kindle
Synopsis from Goodreads
From Ilona Andrews, an all-new novel set in the Kate Daniels World and featuring Julie Lennart-Olsen, Kate and Curran's ward.
Atlanta was always a dangerous city. Now, as waves of magic and technology compete for supremacy, it’s a place caught in a slow apocalypse, where monsters spawn among the crumbling skyscrapers and supernatural factions struggle for power and survival.
Eight years ago, Julie Lennart left Atlanta to find out who she was. Now she’s back with a new face, a new magic, and a new name—Aurelia Ryder—drawn by the urgent need to protect the family she left behind. An ancient power is stalking her adopted mother, Kate Daniels, an enemy unlike any other, and a string of horrifying murders is its opening gambit.
If Aurelia’s true identity is discovered, those closest to her will die. So her plan is simple: get in, solve the murders, prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, and get out without being recognized. She expected danger, but she never anticipated that the only man she'd ever loved could threaten everything.
One small misstep could lead to disaster. But for Aurelia, facing disaster is easy; it’s relationships that are hard.
Amazon US/UK | Book Depository
9/10
Aaah, this is what I call a good start of the year! I've been waiting for this book for so long. And why is it that every time I read anything by Ilona Andrews I want to re-read everything else by this duo of pure awesomeness?!!
Julie and her mini me Kate persona made me so nostalgic. I also loved the chemistry between her and Derek. I had expected her to say "here kitty, kitty" to him apart from that he is a wolf.
Derek was a major surprise, he is so different, full of secrets and larger than life.
The plot is excellent as usual, action packed, and with the fight scenes flawlessly executed.
There were plenty of interesting secondary characters, like Marten. She seems like she has an important hidden identity to be revealed later. Julie's Grand-Uncle was absolutely delightful as well. From the snippets of it, I'd have loved to read about her daily life in New Shinar because it sounds like a riot.
Nick surprised me with his choice of partners, Ascânio disappointed me with his bullheadedness. I hope he'll redeem himself in the next book. And I hope there'll be a next book, because the story arch with Moloch is nowhere near finished.
Overall, absolutely fabulous! As much as I've been struggling with reading books for the last year, I went through Blood Heir effortlessly. Very much recommended.
* * *
Какое замечательное начало года! Я так долго ждала эту книгу... И почему вот так всегда случается, что после каждой книги Илоны Эндрюс мне хочется перечитать все предыдущие этой мега авторской пары?!
Джули ака Орелия и ее мини Кейт характер ввели меня в ностальгический настрой. Добавьте к этому ее шикарную химию чувств с Дереком, и я чуть ли не ждала от нее слов "сюда, котенок" как у Кейт с Курраном. 😂
Дерек меня удивил. Так он вырос и заострился как персонаж. У него много тайн и истории, раскрытия которых я понемногу ожидаю в продолжении серии. Сама Орелия хорошо передает безапелляционный тон Кейт, и ее схватки в Атланте описаны просто шикарно, в обычном безупречном для четы Эндрюс стиле.
Удивили меня изменившийся Ник и разочаровал Асканио, от которого я ожидала большего. Очень интересными оказались уличная девочка Мартен, которая мне кажется окажется следующей Джули, полной сюрпризов и сильной воли духа, а также Почтенный Дядя Джули из Нового Шинара. Столько в нем было сумасшедшего юмора и драйва!
Молох и его жрецы были достойными злодеями и я знаю, что Эндрюсы к ним вернутся в следующей книге серии.
Вот сколько я в прошлом году замучалась читать книги долго, эту я проглотила на одном дыху. Вот что значит, прекрасные авторы и динамичный, лёгкий, меткий сюжет. Очень рекомендую. Классная книга!
Easing myself into 2021 gently, or what have I read and watched lately, part 1
A young witch emerges from a curse to find her world upended in this gripping fantasy of betrayal, vengeance, and self-discovery set in turn-of-the-century France.
For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.
Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.
Sinister Magic by Lindsay Buroker
So much fun! Really perky storytelling, reminiscent of Ilona Andrews and Darynda Jones plus one grumpy, reticent, magnificent dragon.
Synopsis
I’m Val Thorvald, and I’m an assassin.
When magical bad guys hurt people, I take care of them. Permanently.
This doesn’t make me popular with the rest of the magical community—as you can tell from the numerous break-ins and assassination attempts I’ve endured over the years. But thanks to my half-elven blood, a powerful sword named Chopper, and a telepathic tiger with an attitude, I’ve always been able to handle my problems with aplomb. Maybe some cursing and swearing, too, but definitely aplomb.
That changes when my boss is afflicted with a mysterious disease, a government agent starts investigating me, and a godforsaken dragon shows up in the middle of my latest job.
I’ve taken down vampires, zombies, and ogres, but dragons are way, way more powerful. And it doesn’t look like this one is going to like me.
Worse than that, he wants to use his magic to compel me to do his bidding, as if I’m some weak-minded minion.
That’s not going to happen. I’d die before being some dragon’s slave.
But if I can’t figure out a way to avoid him, save my boss, and get rid of the government spook, I’m screwed. Or dead. Or screwed and dead. And that’s never comfortable.
All three books of Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden.
I know I am late to this party, but they were magical, just like Naomi Novik books are. You know I am usually very critical of historical fantasy set in Russia, but this was crazily authentic, impeccable accents on audio. It was just like the fairy tales of my childhood, it made me so very nostalgic.
Synopsis
At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn't mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.
After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.
And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.
As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales.
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Another absolutely amazing listen on audio. Not only the background story is rich and distinctly Middle Eastern, but the actual plot twists also had me guessing till the very end. There are two male protagonists, and the reader is forced to swing like a pendulum between liking and disliking them from time to time, which was very refreshing.
Korean Fantasy TV Series Review: Arthdal Chronicles (2019)


Romantic Comedy Kdrama Review: Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020)
Reporting back with another Feel Good list of Korean dramas!
Korean Paranormal Fantasy TV Series Review: Goblin (2016) 19 Episodes
Kim Shin (Gong Yoo), a decorated military general from the Goryeo Dynasty, is framed as a traitor and killed by the young king. Years after his death, he is cursed by the almighty to stay immortal forever and endure the pain of seeing his loved ones die as punishment for the kills he committed in the wars to protect his country. He becomes an immortal goblin, helping people with his powers and being a kind man in spite of his grieving past. The only way to put an end to his immortality is the Goblin's bride, whose aid in pulling out the sword will end his painful immortality.
Ji Eun-Tak (Kim Go-eun) is a bubbly high school student who remains cheerful and hopeful despite her tragic life. She summons the goblin by chance and their fates begin to entwine. The Goblin's nephew Yoo Deok-Hwa (Yook Sung-jae) leases the Goblin's house to a Grim Reaper (Lee Dong-wook) and the two end up living under the same roof. Sunny (Yoo In-na) is a charismatic young lady who runs a chicken shop where Ji Eun-Tak works as a part timer.
As the lives of Kim Shin, Grim Reaper, Ji Eun-Tak and Sunny interweave, a deeper story unfolds, as they are not just strangers who met by chance but people with deep-rooted relations.
***
Guys, gals, if this one doesn't convert you into a fervently passionate fan of k-drama, I don't know what will! As urban fantasy genre goes, this is it. It's Buffy's goofiness and sass with Ilona Andrews' depth of worldbuilding and snappy dialogues.
It's funny, it's sad, poignant and so freaking beautiful... Of course, I cried in the end, and I just know this drama and its heroes will stay with me for a long time.
All four characters have a fantastic chemistry. Kim Shin, the immortal general is what Christopher Lambert wished he could have been as Highlander! There is no doom and gloom here, he is goofy, snarky, awkward with trying to catch up with all the technological advances, but underneath it all is this incredible weariness and sadness. He is tired of caring for people and watching them die while he carries on. The possibility of this cute little cheeky girl as his bride who can end his immortality is met with huge cinicism and disbelief. He's been there, got the t-shirt and had enough of hope.
The beauty of his curse is that the more he meets Eun-Tak, the more he gets to know her, the more he wants to live. She brings back all the forgotten feelings: seeing joy in small things, feeling warmth of someone's touch through hugs, experiencing wonder of new places and people. She is hungry for life, she has been barely surviving for years, and this opportunity she grabs with both hands.
Grim Reaper who is forced to share a house with Goblin is just as amazing character. He starts the series as an unmoving bureaucrat, who loves his paperwork and strictly adheres to the rules, but the more he interacts with Goblin and the people in his orbit, the more his character unravels. You see, fate brought them all together to resolve things which were left unfinished many centuries ago, and no matter how much they want to fight against it, it will prevail.
Be ready to laugh and cry, folks. I was definitely gulping back tears in some episodes,and the ending left me wrung out, empty and at the same time very satisfied. It's available on Viki app, so give it a go and let me know what you think in the comments.
Release Day Fantasy Romance Review: Dragon Unleashed by Grace Draven
Dragon Unleashed by Grace Draven (The Fallen Empire #2)
Magic is outlawed in the Krael Empire and punishable by death. Born with the gift of earth magic, the free trader Halani keeps her dangerous secret closely guarded. When her uncle buys a mysterious artifact, a piece of bone belonging to a long-dead draga, Halani knows it's far more than what it seems.
Dragas haven't been seen for more than a century, and most believe them extinct. They're wrong. Dragas still walk among the denizens of the Empire, disguised as humans. Malachus is a draga living on borrowed time. The magic that has protected him will soon turn on him--unless he finds a key part of his heritage. He has tracked it to a group of free traders, among them a grave-robbing earth witch who fascinates him as much as she frustrates him with her many secrets.
Unbeknownst to both, the Empire's twisted empress searches for a draga of her own, to capture and kill as a trophy. As Malachus the hunter becomes the hunted, Halani must risk herself and all she loves to save him from the Empire's machinations and his own lethal birthright.
8/10


Paranormal Fantasy Review: Semi-Psychic Life by Elizabeth Hunter
Semi-Psychic Life by Elizabeth Hunter (Glimmer Lake #2)
ecopy courtesy of the author
Synopsis from Goodreads
Who says you can’t live the rock and roll life after forty?
You just need a lot more vitamins and a bigger bottle of aspirin.
Valerie Costa was pretty sure she was rocking her forties. She had an amazing coffee shop, two cool teenagers, and a new superpower that gave her insight into any random object she touched.
Okay, she wasn’t thrilled about that last one.
Ever since Val and her two best friends had driven their car off the edge and into Glimmer Lake the year before, Val has struggled with her new abilities. She’s not exactly sure she wants to be psychic, she could live without her newfound glove addiction, and honestly no one wants to know that much about their teenage sons.
But when Val’s ex-husband goes missing, and police show up at her door with questions she can’t answer, Val, Robin, and Monica are going to have to use their sudden psychic abilities to solve a mystery none of them saw coming.
Semi-Psychic Life is a standalone paranormal women’s fiction novel in the Glimmer Lake series by USA Today bestseller, Elizabeth Hunter, author of the Elemental Mysteries and the Irin Chronicles.
Amazon US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK | The Book Depository
8.5/10
Korean Romantic Drama TV Series Review: Extraordinary You (2019)
Extraordinary You (2019)
Korean Romantic Drama TV Series
16 episodes
Completed
Watched on Netflix
Synopsis from MyDramaList
What would you do if you found out that you were, in fact, a character in a comic? And an extra character on top of that? Change the course of the story, obviously! Eun Dan Oh is a 17-year-old high-school student from a wealthy family who suffers from a lifelong heart condition that inevitably means she will not live past her teenage years. However, when Dan Oh realizes she is experiencing long gaps in her memory as well, she comes into the unhappy inheritance of another fact in her life: she is a character in a Korean webtoon and all of her actions are predetermined by the artist who draws her. To make matters worse, she discovers she is only a supporting character in the cast. With her newfound understanding of the world she inhabits, she is determined to find true love in her own plot-line and circumvent the author’s plans for her character by utilizing the flashes of storyboard she alone is able to see. (Source: onehallyu) ~~ Adapted from the webcomic series "July Found by Chance” by Moo Ryoo.
8.5/10
I finished it last night at 1AM and cried my eyes out. Here, I fully admit it.
To me, in many ways, Asian dramas are an extension of my love of all things fantasy, and especially urban fantasy. They feel fresh, pure and raw. In contrast, for quite a few last years I've been struggling to stay interested in Western TV series and movies, and then gave up. They make me tired, they are jaded and cynical, and I want something emotionally uplifting instead.
Extraordinary You delivers in spectacular fashion. The premise is fantastic. An extra in a comic book suddenly snap out of character which she is forced into on stage and discovers that she, Eun Dan-oh is completely different underneath. She is chafing against her doormat of a character who is forever moping about, is potentially dying soon from a weak heart and loves a man who despises her. Instead, she is determined to live her life to the fullest between scenes in the comic book and change her fate.
Her force of character allows her to discover an even more insignificant extra in the comic book who has the strange power to alter scenes on the stage and warp the continuity of the plot creating a butterfly effect. Soon, more and more characters are waking up and walk the strange balance between the cliched comic book and their actual life.
Dan-Oh and Ha-Ru develop strong feelings for each other and discover that underneath the light romantic plot of their comic book there is another sinister layer, and it leads to many struggles and heartbreak, but above it all, there is an overwhelming hope in the power of their love for each other.
I really don't want to give you any spoilers, but I loved this series! Dan-Oh and Ha-Ru characters are magnetic and have beautiful chemistry. Dan-Oh's stage fiance is not as villainous as we are led to believe and has layers of character which were wonderful to peel off. The supporting characters are pretty memorable too. I had a kick out of all the things which were left unsaid and were played out with the eyes and the way people were holding their bodies. It's like they were these whole hidden silent dialogues in between words.
Overall, a fantastic plot, great acting and an uplifting, emotional story. Loved it, recommended.
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In case of zombie apocalypse
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Thank you! Love you all


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