Review: The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken

The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding
(The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding #1)
Alexandra Bracken
Release: September 5, 2017
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"I would say it's a pleasure to meet thee, Prosperity Oceanus Redding, but truly, I only anticipate the delights of destroying thy happiness."

Prosper is the only unexceptional Redding in his old and storied family history — that is, until he discovers the demon living inside him. Turns out Prosper's great-great-great-great-great-something grandfather made — and then broke — a contract with a malefactor, a demon who exchanges fortune for eternal servitude. And, weirdly enough, four-thousand-year-old Alastor isn't exactly the forgiving type.

The fiend has reawakened with one purpose — to destroy the family whose success he ensured and who then betrayed him. With only days to break the curse and banish Alastor back to the demon realm, Prosper is playing unwilling host to the fiend, who delights in tormenting him with nasty insults and constant attempts trick him into a contract. Yeah, Prosper will take his future without a side of eternal servitude, thanks.

Little does Prosper know, the malefactor's control over his body grows stronger with each passing night, and there's a lot Alastor isn't telling his dim-witted (but admittedly strong-willed) human host.

From #1 New York Times best-selling author Alexandra Bracken comes a tale of betrayal and revenge, of old hurts passed down from generation to generation. Can you ever fully right a wrong, ever truly escape your history? Or will Prosper and Alastor be doomed to repeat it?

Review:
I'm always on the lookout for fun middle grade books I can read to my godkids over Skype and The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding was everything me and my godkids wanted it to be. It was equal parts charming and creepy and it would make an awesome Halloween read! I kind of got an old school Disney Halloweentown vibe from it which made it even better! This was my first Alexandra Bracken book and can't wait to read her backlist now.

Prosper is a funny and extremely likable main character and the rest of the cast is equally as interesting. I particularly loved Nell! Alastor provides both the creepy factor and the comedic relief which made me love his character more than I thought I would. Prosper and Alastor's relationship is compelling and I really liked how they team up on occasion and never become buddies. The world building is really great but it's the characters with their distinct personalities that made this book so much fun!

Ultimately, The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding is a story about family, legacy, and revenge while trying to escape a history that technically has nothing to do with you. Prosper has to deal with the many consequences of his ancestors' actions as well as those of his immediate family. I was engrossed in his struggles immediately and me and my godkids couldn't help but root for him. That ending though has us all sorts of anxious to get our hands on the sequel. This book has a good balance of humor and creepy, making this a perfect fall read. I would highly recommend picking it up in time for Halloween!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

    

  4 / 5 Stars

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Bromances

Top 5 Wednesday is a group of bloggers, booktubers and bookstagrammers posting on a common topic every (you guessed it) Wednesday. You can find the lists by searching #T5W or Top 5 Wednesday. And you can join the group on Goodreads if you want to participate.

This week's topic is:

Favorite Bromances

5. Locke and Jean from the Gentleman Bastard Series
 The epic fantasy genre is full of epic bromances but my all-time favorite has to be the friendship between Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen. These two constantly exhibit a dedication to one another that would make any average human jealous. They are always there for each other and believe me it has not been all sunshine and roses but it works. Their friendship is one of the most epic ones I've ever had the pleasure to read. Jean is the brawny and level-headed counterweight to Locke’s emotionally-driven recklessness and it is everything!

4. Ronan and Gansey from The Raven Cycle
Ronan and Gansey are the ones out of Blue and her Raven Boys that have been friends the longest. Gansey knew Ronan before his father's murder. They've been there for each other through funerals, insomnia, Aglionby, and the quest for Glendower. They're the bromance I recommend when people ask me for YA books with great friendships.


3. Trent Kalamack and Jenks in Pale Demon
Pixie Jenks is Rachel Morgan's sidekick throughout most of The Hollows series, but in Pale Demon and the novella Million Dollar Baby that takes place during, he's working with Trent. Apparently it's tradition for elves to bring a pixie along on a quest. And once they get over the fact that they don't like each other, they make a great team. Is an "enemies to bromance" trope a thing?


2. Bones and Ian in the Night Huntress series
So maybe I just love Ian. Did you see he's getting his own series next year? I think it's Ian's friendship with Bones that keeps him from going full on supervillain early in the series. But by the end he's part of the family, though maybe he's that in-law that Cat doesn't want to admit she's related to.


1. Derek and Ascanio in the Kate Daniels series
Surely I'm not the only one hoping for a Kate Daniels spin off series set a few years after the original where the current teenagers take the lead? I love Ascanio for the same reasons I love Ian and Derek is both a big brother figure and the balance for all of those miscreant tendencies.

 and

Review: The Girl with the Red Ballon by Katherine Locke

The Girl with the Red Balloon.
(The Balloonmakers #1)
Katherine Locke
Release: September 1, 2017
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When sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum accidentally time-travels via red balloon to 1988 East Berlin, she’s caught up in a conspiracy of history and magic. She meets members of an underground guild in East Berlin who use balloons and magic to help people escape over the Wall—but even to the balloon makers, Ellie’s time travel is a mystery. When it becomes clear that someone is using dark magic to change history, Ellie must risk everything—including her only way home—to stop the process.

Review:
Do you ever read one of those really popular books that everyone is gushing about only to read it and not like it? This was one of those books for me which makes me sad because I had only heard really good things about it. I'm definitely one of the black sheep for this one because it's had almost all glowing reviews so far.

I don't how much I want to say about this because I don't want to taint anyone's reading experience with my apathetic feelings on it. I will say that I liked Ellie well enough but she was kind of a flat character for me. I really struggled to connect with her. I didn't see any of the traits some of my blogging friends did. Kai and Mitzi were both intriguing but they also felt pretty meh.

What can I say about the plot? Honestly. It felt repetitive and I was just bored. I thought the time traveling aspect was an incredibly fun part of the story though. I think that and the scattering of a few sweet moments throughout the book is what kept me reading until the end.

Overall, I liked the idea of this book. The subject matter, the concept, the ideas behind it were fascinating. But there was just something about it that didn't work for me. I'm sad that I didn't like it as much as I wanted to but I can see a lot of my friends loving it.

ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.

 

  2 / 5 Stars

Review: The Sumage Solution by G. L. Carriger

The Sumage Solution
(San Andreas Shifters #1)
G. L. Carrriger
Release: July 18, 2017
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NYT bestseller Gail Carriger, writing as G. L. Carriger, presents an offbeat gay romance in which a sexy werewolf with a white knight complex meets a bad boy mage with an attitude problem. Sparks (and other things) fly.

Max fails everything - magic, relationships, life. So he works for DURPS (the DMV for supernatural creatures) as a sumage, cleaning up other mages’ messes. The job sucks and he’s in no mood to cope with redneck biker werewolves. Unfortunately, there’s something oddly appealing about the huge, muscled Beta visiting his office for processing.

Bryan AKA Biff (yeah, he knows) is gay but he’s not out. There’s a good chance Max might be reason enough to leave the closet, if he can only get the man to go on a date. Everyone knows werewolves hate mages, but Bryan is determined to prove everyone wrong, even the mage in question.

Delicate Sensibilities?

This story contains M/M sexitimes and horrible puns. If you get offended easily, then you probably will. The ­­­­San Andreas Shifter stories contain blue language, dirty deeds, and outright admiration for the San Francisco Bay Area. Not for the faint of heart (mouth/tongue/etc.).

This book stands alone, but there is a prequel short story featuring Bryan’s brother, Alec, the Alpha. Want to know why the pack moved? Read Marine Biology

Review:
I have been a huge fan of Gail Carriger's steampunk books for years now and they're brilliant! So when I heard she was writing a m/m paranormal romance book, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I will note here that you should read Carriger's short story, Marine Biology, before reading The Sumage Solution. It will set the needed background for this story plus it's fun! I love Alec so much!

Once I started reading this book, I literally couldn't put it down and stayed up all night reading it once it hit to my kindle. It was a mistake when I had to get up the next day but I can't say I regret it. The story surprised me on many levels. It was the witty, lighthearted, supernatural, romantic romp in a more modern setting that's pure Gail Carriger that I wanted it to be. I had high expectations for it and they were blown out of the water with how good it was! 

The characters in this story were great and I'm dying to know more about the San Andreas Pack! They immediately drew me into the story with their complexity and authenticity. And hello witty banter! I have missed the banter Gail Carriger writes. I loved the pack and Max's friends at DURPs but I ended up head over heels in love with Bryan and Max! I was rooting for them to get together as soon as they came face-to-face. Their relationship was adorable while also being frustrating. Bryan is all in but Max has some issues that prevent him from communicating well. I just wanted to give them both hugs in places and shake them in others. I loved Bryan so much more than I ever expected to after reading Marine Biology. And it was a delight to see Alec coming into his own as Alpha and seeing him happy with Marvin.

The Sumage Solution wasn't just a romance. It's a story about what it means to be a family and finding a home where you can be accepted exactly as you are. The world building was incredible which is to be expected since it is a Gail Carriger novel even if she's writing under G.L. Carriger. I loved that even though this was a modern paranormal romance, Carriger found an unexpected way to fit it into her Parasol Protectorate Universe! I can honestly say I didn't see it coming. This book was fun and amazing and I can't recommend it enough! Go snag a copy! You won't regret it, I promise!

    1/2

  4.5 / 5 Stars

Recommended for fans of:
Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk
Cutie and the Beast by E.J. Russell
Daring Fate by Megan Erickson

The Dire King Blog Tour: Mythical Creatures We Want Jackaby to Encounter

We are so excited to be a part of The Dire King Blog Tour today! Rose Red is pretty proud of our post for it. In case you missed it, she reviewed the book last night. You can find her review HERE. Also, make sure to scroll to the end of this post for an awesome giveaway and your chance to win one of three copies of the first book in the series, Jackaby!

One of our favorite parts of the Jackaby series has been Jackaby's wide knowledge of the supernatural. His book knowledge has helped him and Abigail immensely in the many paranormal creature encounters they've had on their adventures. Throughout the books there has been quite the variety of creatures from banshees, werewolves, goblins, flatulent frogs, and one exceedingly memorable giant carniverous rabbit, to name a few. It got us thinking, are there any mythical creatures that we would want to see Jackaby and Abigail encounter that they haven't already?

Of course there were! So Rose Red drew on her knowledge of the paranormal and came up with a list of creatures that we would pay money to see Jackaby come in contact with. Some are from folktales and others are from other book series, but they all have an air of the fantastical and the mythical about them.

Fantastic Creatures We Want R.F. Jackaby To Encounter

The Loch Ness Monster

When I first started thinking about this list, the first creature I thought of was Nessie and I couldn't get the idea of Jackaby having to explain what the famous Loch Ness Monster is to Abigail. I also have this headcanon where Jackaby explains why poor Nessie had to relocate to the New Fiddleham area and for the love of God don't tell Hudson she's there!

Gryphons

 I know gryphons are popular in fantasy books but I have this feeling that Jackaby would love to come in contact with one. I also think he'd have all of these weird, little known facts about them to relate to Abigail and I just want to hear them! I also have this headcanon where Jackaby has his own ranking system for mythical creatures composed of two or more animals.

Kitsune

I've been obsessed with kitsune/fox spirits since my first days of watching anime. They're wise and devious and very beautiful in human form. I would love nothing more than Jackaby talking to a four-tailed kitsune about whether or not the number of tails it had really made it that much more wise or powerful. I can also imagine Jackaby trying to warn any and all kitsune away from Hudson's path. Can you imagine how delighted he'd be to hunt a kitsune? He'd love showing off both the multi-tailed fox as well as the glorious human it could shapeshift into. I wonder how Jackaby would feel about creating a kitsune nature preserve to prevent Hudson from acquiring one.

Hippogriffs

 I can just picture in my head Jackaby sitting in his library with Virgil's Eclogues in his lap and wanting to see one with his own eyes. I also have this ridiculous image in my head of him and Hudson trying to catch one to ride while Abigail is a safe distance away stating how bad of an idea this is. I'm starting to realize I have a lot of headcanons about Jackaby meeting various fantastical creatures.

Will-o'-the-Wisps

 Jackaby mentions in Ghostly Echoes how he has never actually seen a will-o'-the-wisp in real life but that doesn't stop him from relating all these different theories on what they could be to Abigail. I found the different legends and myths he talked about fascinating and I just want him to find one so he can know which story is the truth. Also, I'm really curious myself.

Ents

 I know ents are found in Middle Earth but I have this need to see Jackaby talking to one and trying to speak Entish. Maybe he can discover a magical threshold that will take him to Fangorn Forest so he can have a conversation with Treebeard. I probably could write a post of all the crossover headcanons I have of Jackaby meeting paranormal creatures from other book series.

El Chupacabra

Last but not least, I want to see Jackaby and Abigail investigating a case where a chupacabra is involved. I can just see it now...

Abigail: Why would a vampire attack a goat?

Jackaby: It wasn't a vampire.

Abigail: What other creature would drain a goat of its blood if it's not a vampire?

Jackaby: *launches into all of the folklore surrounding the chupacabra and why that's what attacked said goat*

Abigail: I still think it's a vampire

Honorable Mention:

Fire Spiders

I want Jackaby to meet a fire spider like Smudge from Jim C. Hines's Libriomancer series. I just want to see Jackaby bring his own Smudge home and read all the shenanigans that would revolve around him trying to house train said spider. I think it would be adorable and I can already see Douglas babysitting and throwing the fire spider into the pond after it tried to light his armchair on fire.

I had so much fun compiling this list of creatures for Jackaby to run into during his investigations! I have so many more creatures I could mention but I'm going to stop there. But it makes me curious what others think so...

What creatures would you want Jackaby to encounter?

**You can click on each photo for their photo credit**

The Dire King
(Jackaby #4)
William Ritter
Release: August 22, 2017
Goodreads Amazon

The thrilling conclusion to the New York Times best-selling series the Chicago Tribune called “Sherlock Holmes crossed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer” sends the eccentric detective and his indispensible assistant into the heart of a war between magical worlds.

The fate of the world is in the hands of detective of the supernatural R. F. Jackaby and his intrepid assistant, Abigail Rook. An evil king is turning ancient tensions into modern strife, using a blend of magic and technology to push Earth and the Otherworld into a mortal competition. Jackaby and Abigail are caught in the middle as they continue to solve the daily mysteries of New Fiddleham, New England — like who’s created the rend between the worlds, how to close it, and why zombies are appearing around. At the same time, the romance between Abigail and the shape-shifting police detective Charlie Cane deepens, and Jackaby’s resistance to his feelings for 926 Augur Lane’s ghostly lady, Jenny, begins to give way. Before the four can think about their own futures, they will have to defeat an evil that wants to destroy the future altogether.

The epic conclusion to the New York Times best-selling Jackaby series features sly humor and a quirky cast of unforgettable characters as they face off against their most dangerous, bone-chilling foe ever.

WILLIAM RITTER is an Oregon educator and author of the New York Times bestselling Jackaby series. He is the proud father of the two bravest boys in the Wild Wood, and husband to the indomitable Queen of the Deep Dark.

This awesome giveaway gives you the chance to win one of three copies of the first book in the series! You all need some Jackaby in your lives!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You all should go read the other posts and reviews in this tour! They've been amazing so far!

FOLLOW THE TOUR

Review: The Dire King by William Ritter

We are so excited to be participating in The Dire King Blog Tour hosted by the awesome Fantastic Flying Book Club! Our blog tour post is actually going to go live tomorrow morning and we're really excited to share it with you! That being said, we wanted to squeeze our review of the book in before that.

Spoiler for the review below: Rose Red absolutely adored it!

You can follow the rest of the blog tour HERE. Onto Rose Red's review!

The Dire King
(Jackaby #4)
William Ritter
Release: August 22, 2017
Goodreads Amazon

The thrilling conclusion to the New York Times best-selling series the Chicago Tribune called “Sherlock Holmes crossed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer” sends the eccentric detective and his indispensible assistant into the heart of a war between magical worlds.

The fate of the world is in the hands of detective of the supernatural R. F. Jackaby and his intrepid assistant, Abigail Rook. An evil king is turning ancient tensions into modern strife, using a blend of magic and technology to push Earth and the Otherworld into a mortal competition. Jackaby and Abigail are caught in the middle as they continue to solve the daily mysteries of New Fiddleham, New England — like who’s created the rend between the worlds, how to close it, and why zombies are appearing around. At the same time, the romance between Abigail and the shape-shifting police detective Charlie Cane deepens, and Jackaby’s resistance to his feelings for 926 Augur Lane’s ghostly lady, Jenny, begins to give way. Before the four can think about their own futures, they will have to defeat an evil that wants to destroy the future altogether.

The epic conclusion to the New York Times best-selling Jackaby series features sly humor and a quirky cast of unforgettable characters as they face off against their most dangerous, bone-chilling foe ever.

Review:
I can't believe that this is the last Jackaby book. I'm not ready for it to be over. I've adored each book in this series but this one was darker than its predecessors. It was so action-packed and full of twists that I was all in by page two and it was freaking fantastic! It was also an emotional roller coaster. I legit cried during most of the last 50-60 pages. And honestly, I'm still a bit shell-shocked from that ending. IT WAS AMAZING AND I AM NOT OKAY!

I'm not sure what else to say in this review without being spoilery. This book was kind of a reunion book where we see characters from the previous books. It was kind of awesome seeing so many familiar faces mixed in with the new ones. Throughout this series Jackaby’s motley crew has had their fair share of fights, but none have been as gruesome or as large scale as this final battle. All kinds of supernatural creatures pop up on both sides of the fight. There are some impressive weapons that combined with the paranormal add a colorful, kind of steampunk fairy tale vibe to the story and I need more of that in my YA books. The plot is not as light and airy as the previous books, but the characters and charm of the world that define this series are never lost in the mayhem.

Jackaby and the gang were just as awesome as always and I'm going to miss them terribly! I loved about this book and this series so much! I'm going to miss the quirky characters, the humor, and the mysteries. This book has several funny moments, often thanks to Jackaby, but it also was an emotional ride. I'm going to miss Abigail and Jackaby interacting where her down-to-earthness balances out his more eccentric ways. Storywise, this book just as good as the previous books and I quite liked the twist at the end of the book even though it almost destroyed me. It felt very suiting like everything had been leading up to it. 

Overall, The Dire King was an excellent end to an amazing series. It was everything I hoped for and while the ending wrapped a lot of things up, there are still some open ends left. I'm hoping that this means that we'll be getting a spin-off series. I just really, really want to see the characters again some day and I think that ending left it open for it. I'll keep my fingers crossed for more Jackaby and the gang shenanigans.

If you haven't read this series, go and get your hands on the first book ASAP! Believe me, you'll thank me later.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

    

  5 / 5 Stars!

My reviews of other books in this series:
Jackaby RTFB Post
Beastly Bones
Ghostly Echoes

Review: Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter

Ghostly Echoes
(Jackaby #3)
William Ritter
Release: August 23, 2016
Goodreads Amazon

Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, has enlisted the investigative services of her fellow residents to solve a decade-old murder—her own. Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, Detective R. F. Jackaby, dive into the cold case, starting with a search for Jenny’s fiancé, who went missing the night she died. But when a new, gruesome murder closely mirrors the events of ten years prior, Abigail and Jackaby realize that Jenny’s case isn’t so cold after all, and her killer may be far more dangerous than they suspected.

Fantasy and folklore mix with mad science as Abigail’s race to unravel the mystery leads her across the cold cobblestones of nineteenth-century New England, down to the mythical underworld, and deep into her colleagues’ grim histories to battle the most deadly foe she has ever faced.

Review:
Each new book in this series just keeps getting better and better! Which is awesome! Especially since I have a hard time picking up the next books in my favorite YA series because I'm so worried that the newest book is going to destroy my love for the series. It's happened so many times lately that I didn't pick up my ARC of Ghostly Echoes until last week. It's been out for a year. I'm really kicking myself about it now because this has been my favorite book of the series so far.

“It is the ugliest aspect of human nature that we fear what is most different from ourselves with such violent contempt.”

Ten years ago, Jenny was murdered and her fiancé went MIA. Now there are similar murders happening and Jackaby and Abigail have been officially hired to figure out who truly murdered Jenny and what happened to her fiancé.

Guys. Can we talk about how much Abigail has grown into her skin since the first book? I've loved her from the first but she has become one of my top ten female characters over the course of the series. She has gone from the scared girl who tries to stay on the sideline to the strong woman that dives right into the action. There's a part in this book where Abigail volunteers to do something very dangerous and I had to put the book down for a second because I was so proud of this girl. She's not afraid to do what has to be done and she's so comfortable with who she is now. I honestly love her so much! Plus, she's the perfect foil to our favorite eccentric paranormal detective.

Jackaby is still the crazy goofball that makes you laugh minute and then turns deeply philosophical the next. His character doesn't go through as much character development as Abigail but that's okay. He is one of those characters who is unrepentantly himself at all times that he didn't need much more than a few more social graces to be perfect. He is a pretty fantastic character! Jackaby also has a unique and accurate way of looking at the world that I absolutely love! I have so many of his words highlighted in my kindle book that I could make a whole post on my favorite quotes.

This novel takes a step back from Abigail, although written from her perspective, and delves deeper into the pasts of two of the series most influential characters: Jackaby and Jenny. You learn why each is the way they are and you get to see Abigail grow with that understanding herself. I could write a whole post on Jenny and why she's the best. She really comes into her own in this book and I'm so here for it! The plot of this story is a bit more complex than the first two books but is oddly connected to them. Jenny's murder while being a past event is revealed to be unexpectedly connected to recent events in New Fiddleham and I can only applaud the author for how he is starting to tie everything together.

I've loved the Jackaby stories since the beginning, but this one has just reaffirmed my membership in the William Ritter fan club. There is mythology and touches of Doctor Who, Sherlock, and even a bit of Supernatural and Grimm here and there. Everything just works so well together! The time period and the New England setting only add to it. I guarantee you will fall in love with at least one of the characters in this book. Also, I feel like we need to give Mr. Ritter a slow clap for the character of Lydia Lee. I immediately fell in love with her and I hope she makes an appearance in the next book.

Speaking of The Dire King, I need it ASAP! We get a little hint about it at the end of this book and I'm dying to read it already!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

    

  5 / 5 Stars!

My reviews of other books in this series:
Jackaby RTFB Post
Beastly Bones