Peasreads: The Palace Beneath the Sea A Mermaid Fantasy by Lauren Wiesebron

 

The Palace Beneath the Sea. What a GORGEOUS cover that drew me right in. The cover is a good representation of how beautiful this story and world is. The main character, Nolwenn, is a human who is a lighthouse worker. Her family has operated one of the lighthouses and protects the kingdom from sea monsters.  She does her job well and enjoys it. It's a legacy that she's very proud of. The Nolwenn is in her early 20's. This could a YA read also. 

 The world and word building to describe the setting  is beautiful. I loved the description of the Korrrigez. How they communicate, the nuances of how they sing, and express emotions. Their world and relationship with the environment around them is beautiful. The struggle for Nolwenn is, feeling the pull of the underwater world and the world above. This struggle could be felt keenly as the book progressed. Hard decisions were made by Nolwenn, and like her,  I went back and forth on what the best outcome should be. All in all a solid read with beautiful storytelling and a great plot.  I loved the story. The romance was great but not the main point, more of a subplot for me. 

LGBTQIA+

Closed door spice

Description

The acclaimed author of House of Frost and Feathers returns with a sweeping, lyrical novel inspired by a mermaid folktale filled with exploration, love, adventure, and magic.

A GREAT LOVE. A MYSTERIOUS KINGDOM BENEATH THE WAVES. A DEVASTATING BETRAYAL.

A doomed love story created the city of Ys, it’s fitting that another one would end it . . .

Nolwenn is sure that her life’s purpose is to defend her beloved coastal city of Ys as a lighthouse keeper. But when a dangerous, unnatural tide threatens Ys, the queen instead tasks Nolwen with collecting enough rare seasilk to shield the city from the deadly monsters who lurk deep beneath the waves.

Determined to fulfill her task, Nolwenn recklessly puts her life in danger, only to be attacked by the very creatures she’s trying to defend her city against. She’s saved by Morvan, a member of the korrigez people, with the torso of a human and the tail of a fish. Against her will, Morvan drags her deeper into the ocean to the coral palace of Below-Ys. Although Nolwenn is terrified and homesick, Below-Ys is also strange and beautiful…as is Morvan. The more time Nolwenn spends below the surface, the less she is sure she wants to leave.

As danger draws ever nearer to her homeland and Ys remains precariously unprotected, Nolwenn must decide between her heart and her home.

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Thank you, Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Harper Voyager for this galley. I was under no obligation to leave a review. All opinions are my own. 

Peasreads-The Baby Dragon Bookshop by A. T. Qureshi

 

I purchased the first two books in the series so I could read them before reading The Baby Dragon Bookshop. I almost DNF'd this book. I DNF'd the second. My review for the first book is below. This book is about Emmy a dragon rider, and Luke, her enemy. He happens to ride a Chimera. The reason Luke is her enemy is because (SPOILER ALERT) he dated her sister for a week. Luke decided that he didn't like Emmy's sister and told her so.  He didn't cheat on her, he didn't abuse her, he didn't lie to her. He simply didn't like her after one week of dating. Emmy finds out and gets Luke to like her. Sleeps with him. Then dumps him. I'm sorry, but YTA here, not Luke. For years, Emmy has been rude to Luke every time she sees him. Somehow Luke still likes her. Her sister is happily married and has moved on. Not Emmy because she's the oldest sister, and she takes care of everyone. Like what?

(SPOILER ALERT) Another thing that happened in the book that boggled my mind. There is a character named Flint who runs illegal dragon racing. Flint is known to have spiked a drink of a girl who is like Luke's younger sister. Emmy doesn't know Flint's history. Flint strikes up a conversation with Emmy and gives her a hot chocolate. Not spiked. Luke sees and comes in seething. Rightfully so. However, he's too mad to tell her why he doesn't want her speaking to Flint. They stay mad at each other. So. There's a predator, you know about him. You see him talking to a woman, and he's giving her a drink in an open container. WHY didn't he just TELL her that? "Yes Emmy, I am angry but you should know that Flint is a predator." Seems like the decent thing to do no? What's worse is that later on in the book Emmy finds her young 18-year-old cousin talking to Flint. Emmy doesn't tell her cousin. WHY!? Flint is a bad person. Other than "he deals with dragon racing," which is illegal. She doesn't tell her teen cousin. Her female teen cousin. I get that the dragons might smell something off with the drinks and protect their riders, but why was this glossed over. It seems ick. Things like this left a bad taste in my mouth. 

Like the first story a lot of what happens is juvenile to me. If it weren't for the spice, which was awkwardly written. It could have been for teens. 

Emmy is the oldest adult child in an Asian family. I get it. So am I. She does take care of everyone. She doesn't mind it. She does get too much on her plate. It is sweet that Luke sees that and wants to take care of her. They are supposed to be strong, smart business owners. The story idea is also a great idea. It just wasn't executed well. But that's just my opinion; many people love this series. I don't plan on reading any more by this author. 

This book, along with the previous ones, has a system similar to a caste system. Those who ride dragons and are a part of the four main families. No one else can ride dragons. The people who have Chimera live on a different side of town. Dragons and Chimera don't get along. 

Will romance be the plot twist?

Emmy has an enemy, and his name is Luke. The good news? She rarely sees him. The bad news? When she does, she (and her pet dragons) are reminded just how handsome he is.

Besides, Emmy is too busy focusing on her dragon-fuelled business to have time for love. But when both she and Luke approach the same local investor for funding, she’s suddenly unable to avoid him. The kookie investor insists they must compete for the cash by working at the local failing baby dragon bookshop to prove their magical business knowledge.

Determined to win the funding, Emmy dives into the task. But making a very flammable bookshop fit for baby dragons is no small feat, and it seems these rivals may need to join forces. Could Luke and Emmy’s fiery animosity spark something more between them?

Tropes:

Enemies-to-lovers 🌞

Bookshop

 romance 📚Small town 🍂

Book 1 review

I read this so that I could read an e-galley of the third one. 

I love cozy romantasy and this had so much potential. However, there were numerous plot holes. There were problems that the author set up to be hurdles in the story.  Only for them to magically turned out to be non-issues. It felt like the author had an idea for a problem or hurdle in the relationship, but didn't know how to solve them, so they magically turned into non-issues.  For instance, FMC mother died dragon racing. They are not a Drakkon family, so that was a no-no. MMC didn't want FMC to know this because his family of dragon riders are supporters of the races, even though they are illegal and bad?  Later MMC tells FMC and that's it. Nothing. Oh okay. Mom made a mistake. MMC has been lamenting over the fact that he doesn't want to get attached to his dragon.  MMC doesn't believe in dragon racing, even if it's important to his family. He finally tells his parents, and it was so important to their family that they disowned him. Just kidding, they didn't. All the parents said was "no big deal". 

There is also a section where the two MC pretend to be married because there is this big secret ceremony that only dragon riders can go to, and FMC is not a dragon rider. They go, pretend to be married. The lady performing the ceremony is supposed to be an upholder of tradition and a hard ass about it. Of course, it turns out that it's a non-issue. The woman knows that the MMC and FMC are not married, but it's easily explained away. 

It could have been a teen book were it not for the spice, which was poorly written. I don't normally read spicy books, but even I know this wasn't good.

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I received this egalley from NetGalley and Avon Books UK | Avon. I was under no obligation to give a review. All opinions are my own.