I have been reading JLA books for ten years now and when she starts a new series all the excitement of reading her for the first time comes back! I was so excited to dive into a new fantasy world from her as I was enjoying From Blood and Ash for a while, but I gave up on it as it grew almost out of control. So, the chance for a new world, and new characters was super exciting to me.

SHE LIVES BY HER INTUITION. HE FEEDS ON HER PLEASURE.

Long ago, the world was destroyed by gods. Only nine cities were spared. Separated by vast wilderness teeming with monsters and unimaginable dangers, each city is now ruled by a guardian―royalty who feed on mortal pleasure.

Born with an intuition that never fails, Calista knows her talents are of great value to the power-hungry of the world, so she lives hidden as a courtesan of the Baron of Archwood. In exchange for his protection, she grants him information.

When her intuition leads her to save a traveling prince in dire trouble, the voice inside her blazes with warning―and promise. Today he’ll bring her joy. One day he’ll be her doom.

When the Baron takes an interest in the traveling prince and the prince takes an interest in Calista, she becomes the prince’s temporary companion. But the city simmers with rebellion, and with knights and monsters at her city gates and a hungry prince in her bed, intuition may not be enough to keep her safe.

Calista must follow her intuition to safety or follow her heart to her downfall.”

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: I adore Lis so much, and she is a welcome change from the overpowered fantasy heroine. She is much more relatable, she feels as if you or I have been dropped into a fantasy world. She is not great with a sword necessarily, but I loved that she had the confidence and stubbornness that had helped her survive for so long. I really loved her unique powerset, it is not as if she sees the future rather Thorne is an interesting hero that I truly still struggle to form a cohesive opinion on. He reads very much like the classic romantasy book boyfriend, with his mysterious yet commanding presence. I think I’ll need the sequel before I really know how I feel about him. But I did kind of like that I could not nail down my feelings, it kept me so intrigued about his character and just left me wanting to know more and more. A moment for the side characters who were a combination of characters I could not help but love like Grady and characters who I just kept wanting to dissect more like The Baron.
• Setting/World: Lis lives in the manor of the Baron of Archwood which is located in the wider world of the Kingdom of Caelum. I will be the first to admit you should read this for the romance first before the world and other fantasy elements. So much still feels very unknown and the later chunk of the story really shakes things up.
• Pacing: This is such a fast-paced and easy story to read. I engulfed it in two days and at only four hundred pages it is a relatively manageable fantasy novel. It is the perfect book for the romance reader who does not read fantasy that often, If you love Fourth Wing and want it to be more steamy then this will be the perfect book for you.
• Romance: I love a sex-positive fantasy with courtesans! So the ARC copy I read had four spicy peppers on the back of it and I was like yeah right we will see. Omg, it deserved all four! This book oozes sexual tension on each page. This might be one of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s spiciest novels yet, especially for the level of steam this is for a first book! Calista and Thorne have such great tension in so many scenes even when they are just talking or doing nothing seemingly sexy at all. Also, I am a sucker for when the hero has a nickname for the heroine, especially when it is a name with so many layers like na’laa. I cannot wait to see where JLA takes this world and this romance next.

Fall of Ruin and Wrath receives four out of five stars.

You can pick up the story below…

Shop Local | Amazon | Indigo

Thank you again to Raincoast and Bramble for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Fall of Ruin and Wrath ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

I have been a huge JLA fan for a long time, with the Wicked series being one of my absolute favourites from her. I love any excuse to revisit the world she has cultivated with fae in New Orleans.

Check out the Goodreads synopsis…

“As Caden and Brighton’s attraction grows despite the odds stacked against a happily ever after, they must work together to stop an Ancient fae from releasing the Queen, who wants nothing more than to see Caden become the evil Prince once feared by fae and mortals alike.”

Read my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Brighton is another strong-willed protagonist in the vein of Ivy, the protagonist of the three previous books. She doesn’t take no for an answer and wants to take control of her own life through the retribution of her mother’s death. Caden or the King is still a bit of mystery but he became much more clear as this story unfolded. The King struggles with the choices he has ahead in his future and they dictate his character and his choices.
• Setting: New Orleans is such a cool setting for an urban fantasy story. Perfect setting, couldn’t ask for anything better.
• Pacing: I am such a fast reader than novellas tend to feel too short to me, but this one felt just right. Of course, I wanted it to keep going and luckily we are getting two more novellas about Brighton and Caden.
• Romance: Both Brighton and Caden have been through a lot, and going into this story they both have the same goal, to murder the man who in Brighton’s case murdered her mother and in Caden’s case a boatload of reasons. This baggage they are bringing into their present is why they are so deserving of being happy and being together. They are an unconventional couple, but it makes so much sense as they already fight like an old married couple. I am looking forward to watching their love story unfold.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, check out this excerpt below…

“I don’t think this is wise,” Tink said for what had to be the hundredth time since he realized I was getting ready for a night out. “Like I think this is very poorly thought-out, if you ask me, Lite Bright.”

  “I didn’t ask you, Tink.”

   My uninvited roommate of sorts hovered outside my bathroom. Tink wasn’t human, but right now, he looked like any normal twenty-something guy. Well, if normal, twenty-something guys had natural, shockingly white hair and were beautiful in a way that almost seemed fragile.

  This was his full-grown Tink size, something I was still—even after all this time—getting used to. I was more accustomed to pint-sized Tink with the translucent wings.   After all, he was a brownie.

  After the attack that had taken my mother’s life and should’ve ended mine, he’d basically moved in with me. He’d been here for the last two years, something Ivy’s husband pretended to be grateful for, but in reality, I knew he secretly missed the dude.

  “You should ask me,” he replied. When I glanced over at him, I got a little distracted by the dazzle…emanating from the sequin tank top he wore. It was so shimmery that I wondered if he was using some of his magic.

  Tink may be a goofball, but he was also one of the most powerful creatures in our realm.

  Thank God there was only one of him.

  “I am a wealth of amazing advice,” he continued. Dixon, the cat he’d named after a Walking Dead character that Tink called “the hottest redneck eva” slinked around Tink’s ankles. The cat was all gray except for his tail, which looked like it had been dipped in white paint.

  I snorted. “When have you ever given me good advice?”

  “When I told you two weeks ago not to eat the whole carton of beignets because you’d get sick and you did,” he shot back.

  I winced, picking up my mascara. I had gotten sick, but I deserved that carton of sugary, fried goodness. That day…

  I didn’t want to think about that day.

  “And what about when you ordered that supreme pizza and ate almost all of it?” he said. “I told you that it would probably make you feel bad later.”

  Nose wrinkling, I tried to remember what night he was talking about. There were a lot of Friday nights—pizza night in my household—that I ate an entire pie and felt terrible afterward.

  “Or how about that time I told you that the seared ahi tuna looked a little gray for my liking? But, oh no, Brighton knows better.” He reached down, scratching Dixon between the ears. “You ate it all, and then I spent the night cleaning up your puke.”

  Ew.”

The King receives five out of five stars

Follow JLA on all of her socials below…

Website: https://jenniferlarmentrout.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferLArmentrout
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JLArmentrout
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifer_l_armentrout/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4476934.Jennifer_L_Armentrout
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-l-armentrout

Thank you again to Jennifer L. Armentrout and InkSlingerPR for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Jennifer L. Armentrout’s The King ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

Don’t go hardcore or extreme right away! This might put you off NA forever. NA deserves a gradual entry, one should start with novels that tow the line between NA and YA. My recommendation for someone’s very first NA book is…

Slammed tells the story of an eighteen-year-old girl who moves to a new city with her mother, after the death of her father. She meets her new neighbour and he asks her out for dinner. The two of them have a wonderful time on their date and are looking forward to pursuing this relationship further until the first day of school arrives and the protagonist discovers her new neighbour is her English teacher.

This story is a great introduction to central ideas explored in NA, as the protagonist deals with issues larger than high school angst. This book is highly emotional, I cry every time I re-read it. This is such an essential read and the gateway drug into all the other Colleen Hoover novels. CoHo is a pinnacle of the NA world, she is beloved by some and despised by others. You are not really an NA reader until you pick up some CoHo.

The next thing you should take into account are the tropes you might want to read. NA is all about categorizing the stories into general concepts. I am such an easy to please reader that I love so many tropes, but I do fall into cravings of certain tropes every once and a while. There may be a day I wake up and I need to pick what I want to read next and for some reason, I’m craving hockey romance.

These next two books are both by Cora Carmack, another super popular NA author. Both of these stories should help demonstrate to you what you like and want more of.

Both of these books take place in universities, a location that you should figure out if you like. All Lined Up has a football element, and as someone who does not enjoy watching sports, I would understand this fact turning people away from the story. I actually love reading books with sports elements, Cora Carmack’s Rusk University series is my fave for football. Most of my favourite ones happen to be the hockey ones (probably cause I’m Canadian). Sports is never front and center, but it throws in interesting problems for the characters to solve. Losing It is one of my absolute favourites this one is much artsier, the protagonist is a theatre major. It conveys emotion phenomenally, and I re-read it constantly.

The next thing you should consider is how much time and energy you want to put into a series. NA is both very standalone and series based. Often an author has written a series of standalones. So you can read them individually in any order you want, but the most rewarding way to read it is in publication order.

Wait For You was one of the first long-haul NA series I read. This series is now six books, I started it when there was only three, but I knew there would be more. NA series like this one brings something really special to the table, the ability to see how characters you love are doing years down the line. The couple from book one will continue to appear in some shape or form in the next instalments allowing you to check up on them. This luxury doesn’t really exist in a YA series, where you might just follow the same couple for three books and then have to say goodbye. Some NA series are in the double digits now as readers have fallen in love with a world, and the authors are satisfied with continuing to write in it.

Finally, despite my first warning of going in slow if you want something that pushes your limits a bit look no further than this Katy Evans book…

There are thousands of NA books about wealthy businessmen with broken pasts (because Fifty Shades of Grey was a phenomenon), but my personal favourite of the trope and the one I compare any new back to is Manwhore. If you want the truest NA expirence you should pick this one and any of Katy Evans’ other books, just like the others authors I have mentioned so far she is renowned in the genre.

I hope these recommendations can guide you into the NA world, as always reach out to me if you want any tailored recommendations. I am more than happy to place an NA book in your hands that you would fall in love with.

Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!

The post Are You New to NA… This is Where You Should Start appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.

• Characters: Both Brighton and The Prince you would have met before if you read the Wicked Saga. Brighton is older in this and it is so refreshing to see how her character grows and develops as she grows. The Prince was a pretty mysterious figure in the inital trilogy, so the novella was nice to shed some light on him. All your faves from Wicked are mentioned or make appearances, which was an awesome touch.
• World/Setting: When will New Orleans not be a phenomenal setting for any story with a fantasy element. Find me an example where it isn’t wonderful.
• Pacing: It is a novella but it does not feel too short at all. JLA is always great at pacing, and she wrote such a great hooking ending.
• Romance (yay or nay?): The romance element in this was awesome. I feel in a lot of NA the first kiss always happens before or at halfway through, but with JLA she chucked traditional NA pacing out the window. This allowed for really great sexual tension, that has me begging for more (which luckily we are getting more).

If I haven’t convinced you to pick up The Prince yet check out this teaser:
“I needed to stop this. Right now.
My eyes drifted shut as his hand made its way from my neck, skimming down the side of my body, over my lax arm. The tips of his fingers coasted over mine, and then found their way to my hip. A pumping pulse picked up in several key points in my body, responding to the light, forbidden touch.
He didn’t speak as his warm breath kissed the curve of my cheek and I didn’t say or do anything. I could stop him. I knew I could. Or I could at least try.
I did nothing.
His hand slipped over my stomach, below my navel. I jerked, bringing us closer. Way too close once more, and I couldn’t breathe as something bizarre happened inside me. It was like all my senses woke up at once, sparking with life and flaming heat through my veins.
His hand dropped to the front of my dress, right above where a deep, deep ache had started. He growled deep in his throat as he said against the flushed skin of my neck, “Your pulse is racing so fast—too fast for someone entranced.”
Hell.
Oh hell.
The Prince might not recognize who I was, but he knew I wasn’t entranced. Fight or flight response kicked in, overriding the confusing heat pumping through my body.
Two years ago, I would’ve chosen flight. That was all I’d been capable of. Not anymore. A whole different instinct took over, a newly developed one. I had no idea why the Prince was here, in the pit of his enemies, and I wasn’t willing to risk finding out or being caught by him.
Spinning around, I gripped his forearm as I ducked and twisted, slipping free of his grip. I saw the flicker of surprise on his face and then I spun back toward him. Still holding onto his arm, I used his weight as an anchor as I leaned back. Planting my left leg back, I lifted my right and slammed my knee into his midsection.
The Prince grunted as he let go, but he did not move even an inch. That kind of kick would’ve brought a human down. Probably would’ve even knocked a normal fae back several steps, but not an Ancient. He lifted his chin, eyes narrowed with annoyance.
“That was unnecessarily violent,” he said, straightening to his full height.
He hadn’t seen unnecessarily violent yet.
I spun, picking up the chair. It was surprisingly heavy. Grunting, I swung it around, prepared to at least knock him once upside the head. Wouldn’t kill him, but would definitely give me a chance to escape without having to answer questions.
The Prince’s speed was mind-numbingly fast.
I didn’t even see him lift a hand. He just suddenly had ahold of the leg of the chair. He wrenched it from my grip, tossing it aside. The chair hit the wall with a bang, shattering into three large pieces.
Damn.”
Huge fan of JLA, huge fan of Wicked, huge fan of this book, so…

If you would like to purchase The Prince check out these links…
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2C50k8Y
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2vUGsmP
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2OTZvpQ
Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/2vuqbWf
Thank you again to Jennifer L. Armentrout, the Inkslinger PR team, and the 1001 Dark Nights team for the eARC. Thank you for reading this reviewing and supporting my blog!

The post Non-Spoiler ARC Review of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s The Prince: A Wicked Novella appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.