Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Reign of the Fallen #1

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date: January 23rd, 2018

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: ARC Tour (Thanks Bayy!)

Format: ARC

Pages: 384

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Summary (from Goodreads):

Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

I was super excited to be a part of an ARC tour for REIGN OF THE FALLEN after absolutely loving FEAR THE DROWNING DEEP last year! Fortunately, this book didn't disappoint like a lot of them have been doing lately.

Reign of the Fallen follows Odessa as she navigates the Deadlands and battles terrifying Shades. She is one of the most talented necromancers in Karthia. She has a sixth sense to navigate her way through the ever-changing Deadlands and is the chosen necromancer to repeatedly bring back the King of Karthia.

Something interesting about this book is the fact that it deals a lot with grief and addiction. Odessa is dealing with the loss of someone dear to her and overusing a numbing potion to deal with the grief. I feel like a good chunk of this book deals with this and I've never read anything like it that I can remember and I thought it was interesting.

I loved all the characters in this book. I even liked the "villain" in this book. I could see why they did what they did and felt how they did. I don't necessarily think they were bad and kind of wish they could have gotten what they wanted in a less awful fashion.

Also, I feel like in most kings in books are either evil or just not present and I thought it was interesting that the king of Karthia was present and decent. He was definitely set in his ways (and had been for like 200 years) and the conflict in this book could have been avoided if he would have yielded a bit, but he was an otherwise decent guy!

I liked the romance in this book as well! There's hate to love in this book. Odessa is bisexual and I liked both of the love interests she has in this book! There is also an m/m couple in this book and I really liked them!

I thought the magic system was interesting in this book. The type of magic you can practice is determined by the color of your eyes. Odessa and her fellow necromancers have blue eyes. I don't remember if there was an explanation for why this is or if I missed it because I was just blazing through this book due to a combination of 1) IT'S SO GOOD and 2) I got the book for an ARC Tour and was the lucky one to get it RIGHT during the holidays, but I think it would be interesting to know why type of magic affinity is based on eye color.

If I were going to say I didn't like something about this book, I think I would say the ending. Like, not the ending in general, but how Odessa leaves things at the end?? I don't really want to say much about it because it's the ending and that could be considered spoilery.

Oh! I also wonder why a person seeing even a tiny sliver of the flesh of the Dead turns the Dead person into a Shade? I feel like that's kind of a silly reason for them to turn into Shades.

Overall, I would DEFINITELY recommend this book if you are looking for a darker fantasy or want some awesome necromancers in your life. This book is beautiful inside and out and I think you should pick this one up if you get the chance!

Have you read Reign of the Fallen yet? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments!

Review: Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Publication Date: October 11th, 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Edelweiss

Format: eARC

Pages: 304

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Summary (from Goodreads):

Witch’s apprentice Bridey Corkill has hated the ocean ever since she watched her granddad dive in and drown with a smile on his face. So when a dead girl rolls in with the tide in the summer of 1913, sixteen-year-old Bridey suspects that whatever compelled her granddad to leap into the sea has made its return to the Isle of Man.

Soon, villagers are vanishing in the night, but no one shares Bridey’s suspicions about the sea. No one but the island’s witch, who isn’t as frightening as she first appears, and the handsome dark-haired lad Bridey rescues from a grim and watery fate. The cause of the deep gashes in Fynn’s stomach and his lost memories are, like the recent disappearances, a mystery well-guarded by the sea. In exchange for saving his life, Fynn teaches Bridey to master her fear of the water — stealing her heart in the process.

Now, Bridey must work with the Isle’s eccentric witch and the boy she isn’t sure she can trust — because if she can’t uncover the truth about the ancient evil in the water, everyone she loves will walk into the sea, never to return.

Fear the Drowning Deep is a real gem of a book. It is a fascinating mix of history and fantasy, taking place in the early 1900's on the Isle of Man, which has become the hunting grounds of a sea monster that has been luring villagers to their watery deaths.

This story is mainly about Bridey Corkill and her relationship with the sea. She has hated the sea ever since she saw her Grandpa drown in it. Since then she won't go near it or eat anything from it. This seems a bit complicated seeing as they are a village whose livelihoods depend on the sea.

She is the only one who really seems to know what's going on with the sea. She becomes kind of a social pariah when she tries to tell people, they think she's crazy. Paired with the fact that she's apprenticed to the village 'witch', there are a lot of whispers about her. I respect that she doesn't let that bother her. She cares more about the well-being of the people whispering about her than she cares about their whispers.

Besides Bridey's relationship with the sea, I loved her relationship with her family. It's so refreshing to see a whole, fully functional family in YA. Bridey has both of her parents and three sisters, all of whom are actually present in her life. I love how caring and supportive they are of each other. 

I kind of thought that the romance in this book was going to be a love triangle in the beginning. It seems like there are two love interests in the beginning, but one of them totally gets dropped like a hot potato.

I liked the romance in this book. It was maybe a little bit cheesy, but I thought that Fynn and Bridey were cute together. I liked how much they trusted each other and cared about each other.

The rest of the relationships in this book are refreshing too. Bridey has two good friends and they have their ups and downs, but overall, they have strong friendships that I enjoyed. I also enjoyed the relationship that Bridey formed with Morag, the village witch that she's apprenticed to. Bridey seemed so rude to her in the beginning, but by the end they work together so well!

I loved the setting of this book. I had never heard of the Isle of Man before reading this book. It sounds lovely. I loved all the Manx terms/words included in the book. I loved the customs and superstitions. I loved what this setting added to this story.

If I was going to say I had any problems with this book, I think my main problem would be the open ending of this book. I personally kind of hate open endings. The other thing I thought was that the climax was maybe not as climactic as I was hoping it would be. But that could also be attributed to the fact that it took me like three weeks to read this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The setting was amazing, the relationships were amazing, the story was amazing. I would highly recommend this book if you like a little history and a little fantasy!

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?