Bookish Mumma

Red, White & Royal Blue: Chapters 1 – 2

March 7, 2025

Alrighty, so onto the next book which I have been wanting to do for a while, but it’s been pushed back twice. Admittedly, I do come into this a little biased because I have seen the Red, White & Royal Blue movie (and LOVED it), but I’m curious to see how the writing may differ. Now, because the chapters are longer than those in the previous books and there are only 15 chapters, that means that each post will likely only have 2 chapters in each, totalling 6 posts and a final comments. As always, I won’t be including the last chapter so you can read it for yourself!

If you’d like to follow along, you can get the book here.

If you’d like to read any of the previous book commentary and reviews, you can find them here.

RULE #1: DON’T GET CAUGHT

I love it when a book starts out strong like this! Sets the tone and I am all for some rebellion

Behind his bedroom door, he can sit and put Hall & Oates on the record player in the corner, and nobody hears him humming along like his dad to “Rich Girl”. He can wear the reading glasses he always insists he doesn’t need. He can make as many meticulous study guides with color-coded sticky notes as he wants. He’s not going to be the youngest elected congressman in modern history without earning it, but nobody needs to know how hard he’s kicking underwater. His sex-symbol stock would plummet.

Breaking news! Nerds and hard workers ARE incredibly sexy! Let it out, Alex!

“Anything good this week?” Alex asks, reaching for a donut.
“Let’s see,” June says. “In Touch says I’m… dating a French model?”
“Are you?”
“I wish.” She flips a few pages. “Ooh, and they’re saying you got your asshole bleached.”

This exchange has the kind of sarcasm that only siblings can pull off. I absolutely imagine anyone in a position of power and fame reaching this way to tabloids. The tabloids just don’t realise they are the ones looking ridiculous. Or may be they do, they just care about the fact that they can make money off of it.

If he’s honest, private aviation doesn’t really get old, not even three years into his mother’s term.

I can’t relate, but I do take some degree of entertainment from Amalfi Jets. Does that count? I feel like that counts.

“So is that what’s happening now?” Alex says, glaring down at Nora’s napkin bird. “Has he decided to finally shut me up by wooing my sister?”
“Aw, little buddy,” Nora says. She reaches over and pats his hand. “It’s cute how you think everything is about you.”

Not only would that be a great way to shut Alex up, but he should be grateful that he’s not going after his mother. If he’s annoyed at Prince Henry now, imagine how he would be having to call him Dad!

He’s too perfect. Alex wants to poke it.

Oh Alex… Same.

“Please tell me another joke,” Ellen says. “I want so badly for you to explain to me how this is funny.”

The way I would want to shrink and disappear if my mother and the president of my country said this to me, goddamn.

“Sugar, I cannot express to you how much the press does not give a fuck about who started what,” Ellen says.

Is it the truth? Who knows. Is it a lie? Also, who knows. If they can sell it, they will print it.

“I think it’s amazing,” Nora says. “Sworn enemies forced to make peace to settle tensions between their countries. There’s something totally Shakespearean about it.”
“Shakespearean in that hopefully I’ll get stabbed to death,” Alex says. “This sheet says his favourite food is mutton pie. I literally cannot think of a more boring food. He’s like a cardboard cutout of a person.”

Not only is this hilarious, but I would imagine that every person feels like a cutout when you first meet them. Especially so when you’re forced to get to know them.

“Nice to meet you, Shaan. Not exactly how we thought we’d be spending our weekend, is it?”
“I’m not as surprised at this turn of events as I’d like to be, sir,” Shaan says coolly, with an inscrutable smile.

Oh that’s an international burn! Also, I Googled it because I didn’t know what an equerry was. Turns out, they are highly trained soldiers of some degree who serve as personal attendant or representative of British royalty. You learn something new every day! I would not want to get on Shaan’s bad side, knowing that.

Alex throws his head back and laughs handsomely, loud and false. “Go fuck yourself.”
“Hardly enough time,” Henry says. He releases Alex’s hand as Shaan returns.

This kind of exchange is 100% believable. I’d say the same if I was forced to get along with someone I hated.

Nora laughs. “No, what I’m gonna do is silently compile and process enough data to know exactly what’s gonna happen for the next twenty-five years. Then I’m gonna buy a house on the top of a very tall hill at the edge of the city and become an eccentric recluse and sit on my veranda. Watch it all unfold through a pair of binoculars.”

That was blasphemy to drop the ‘h’ from the end of veranda. Nora has the right idea though. I want to buy a house, stay in my little piece of heaven, grow food, paint the rooms in my house whatever colour I want and read and write to my hearts content.

Henry sits beside him, surrounded by a cloud of attendants and stylists. One adjusts his hair with a fine-toothed comb. One holds up a notepad of talking points/ One tugs his collar straight.

I thought that they were at the studio for this, but they were actually in a car! How on earth is there enough room for that amount of fussing? Also, if that amount of people were all touching and fussing me, there would be a tidal wave of profanities just to get them to stop.

“Ewoks are iconic.”
“Ewoks are stupid.”

I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t like Ewoks. That is all.

Conclusion

This obviously has more substance than the movie because it is the book that it was based on and I’m really glad. I know I am going to love the chemistry here and I have loved seeing the little snippets of Henry coming out underneath the practiced façade. Alex has admitted that he is narcissistic to a degree which actually works for his character considering it’s not malicious, just matter of fact. The level of sarcasm littered through this so far is right up my alley too. I’m looking forward to seeing the difference between the movie and the book with the evolution of their relationship.

If you’d like to follow along, you can get the book here.
Did Not Finish(DNF) and Ads

March 6, 2025

I haven’t posted in a bit because I wasn’t quite sure how to formulate this. As you all know from my last post, I was going to be reading Head for the Hills by Tricia Stringer. Using the word ‘was’ doesn’t really fit because I DID read some of the book, but quickly discovered that it wasn’t a book I connected with or one I was going to connect with for some time. This book, while I am sure it is fantastic, was written for a demographic much older than I am and with elements that I simply could not connect with. While this was supposed to be set in Australia (which is where I live, surprise!), it felt like a town from somewhere else. It didn’t hold the Australian culture or vibe that I hold near and dear, but instead reminded me of the TV depictions of modern southern belles or something of that nature. I also fully admit that there may be elements further in the book that I would have connected with that I just didn’t get to. Sometimes some books and some readers just aren’t meant to be and that is perfectly fine. Instead of spending my time reading a book that wasn’t meant to be, I will find something else that is right for me and bring back the fun, witty content that you seem to love to read and I know I love to make.

All that aside, I am marking this book as a Did Not Finish (DNF) and will be moving on to a new one.

Now, as the title suggests, this post is also about ads. No one likes them, they are intrusive and annoying, but the reality of the situation is that this blog does not pay for itself. In addition, I recently lost my job and the health struggles that I have been facing will be continuing in the same intensity for a while and hopefully less so, for the rest of my life. I don’t have the aim to live off of this blog (though if it happens after a couple years, I wouldn’t be mad), just to be able to afford the upkeep by giving you content that you will enjoy and allowing ads which costs you absolutely nothing. The ad platform that I had been using before was the default program for WordPress which was lacklustre at best, but I was approved for Google Adsense last night. I have now updated all pages with the code needed.

Now, what am I going to do with ads? Ads will be running on all pages and posts EXCEPT for the most recent book. Once I complete a new book, I will add the code needed onto the previous. This way, you will be able to keep up with the current book ad-free until I complete the next. As I said before, ads are intrusive and annoying, BUT that doesn’t mean that they have to be absolutely littered on every single post. There may be a few here and there while I adjust the change from the WordPress platform to Adsense, but that is purely because I am learning all of this as I go and I am constantly making tweaks and changes that help the both of us. I will also be adding this post to the exceptions list so that ads do not run on this post from Adsense because it holds important information about the way I will be handling ads.

After reading this, if you would like to help me, you can go to the main page and scroll all the way down where there is a donations form. If you don’t want to do this, there is absolutely no pressure to do so, but just know that it helps me immensely.
Next Book: Head for the Hills by Tricia Stringer

March 2, 2025
Now that my first ARC is done and dusted, it’s time to pick a new book! I was originally going to read Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, but I changed my mind as this one seemed like a nice break. Moving away from fantasy, we’re going to be delving into an Australian author named Tricia Stringer and her contemporary fiction novel, Head for the Hills.
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If you could stick around and answer the poll at the bottom of this post, that would be incredibly helpful as that allows me to bring you the kinds of stories and content that you will enjoy the most.

Bestselling author Tricia Stringer asks whether age necessarily brings wisdom when the sale of a deceased estate pits sister against sister, divides a community and wreaks havoc in a small country town.

Margot and her sister Roslyn have lived side by side in a little town in the Adelaide Hills most of their lives, supporting each other through thick and thin.

Then their neighbour Gunter dies. Surprisingly, his will asks that his house and vineyard be sold and that Roslyn donate the money to a charity of her choice. When a developer wants to buy the land and create a hotel just over Margot’s fence, Margot is outraged and decides to stand for Mayor and fight the development. But Roslyn feels differently. Her awareness of family violence and homelessness is sparked by the arrival in town of a young pregnant woman, who is escaping abuse and sleeping in her car. Determined to do some good, Roslyn supports the sale – she has found her charitable cause and the money will go to the homeless.

Suddenly the sisters are on opposite sides of the fence, literally and figuratively. As the row heats up, their local community is divided between those pro-development and those against, and battle lines are drawn, neighbours eyeing each other angrily either side. As vandalism erupts, bitter words are hurled and pots are stirred. Will the town – and the sisters – ever recover their community spirit? Will anything ever be the same again?

Gentle humour, practical wisdom and trademark warmth underpin this clever novel from a bestselling Australian author.

If this kind of story is something you are interested in, join me next week when we start going by the chapters and we find out all the secrets and struggles that Tricia has in store for us. I also got this book as a mystery from my local bookshop, so we will see if this is something I like too! As always, I look forward to you coming back and if you could answer the below poll, that would be incredibly useful to bring you the kinds of stories and content that you would like to see more of.

If you would like to get this book for yourself and read along with me, you can find that here

If you’d like to read any of my previous reviews, you can find those here
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Shaedes of Power: Final Comments

March 1, 2025

Shaedes of Power follows the story of Opal, a faerie with unrealised power and an unusual appearance for the fae. We follow her as she stumbles into what she and the other faeries of the Shaede Court believe is the most dangerous place in their realm – The Shadowlands. Instead of finding harm, she finds love and secrets that she will have to find her way through to survive. She will have to find her way back and save the ones she has sworn to protect.
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Story: 4/5

Admittedly, getting into this book at first was relatively difficult. Not because the story or the characters weren’t engaging, but because of the dialogue. Jenny was trying to put a lot of history and culture into really long monologues. I found that that was hard to engage with. Thankfully, that didn’t happen much and once I got past this, it flowed somewhat more naturally. The way in which a lot of the characters spoke didn’t seem particularly authentic. With the exception of Leyanna and Lennyx, in my opinion. That being said, I don’t know how much more authentic you can get than with a sweary fire faerie and a calm water faerie who seem to play off of each other.

Once I got past these issues, I found that the world that was built within the words was complex. It also has a really compelling an unique magic system which did take a minute to get used to, but was intriguing. There was clear favouritism for Edmyn and Opal. You can see this not only in the story itself, but through Jenny’s social media and many reviews. That being said, though, I found Farris to be the one that I was the most drawn to. I am glad that he became instrumental even though he wasn’t in the story for a really big chunk of time.

You could see both men as a yin yang sort of dynamic with Opal. Edmyn would be the dark, obsessive and jealous one while Farris was the bright, trusting and supportive one. I think that there is value in both. But I found Edmyn harder to connect with than I did with Farris. Finding out what happened before he came to join his brother in the Shadowlands did add a decent amount of depth and was really quite upsetting for him. Beyond that, I couldn’t find much more to him besides a strong sense of betrayal.

Characters: 3/5

On the other side, we get a better sense of Farris who is. He is a man who loves to collect knowledge, but had a really tragic backstory. He was given a really rough hand, found value in what he could and he became a secure, supportive man. Which is what Opal needed through the events of the story and especially in the aftermath. There may be some bias here because I adore who Farris was depicted to be, but regardless, from my perspective Farris was a more well rounded character that had a better place in the story with Opal than Edmyn did who often felt like a necessary character to create tension.

All in all, I did find this book to be engaging, especially towards the end with particular strengths found in descriptive language of surroundings. While work could be done to improve dialogue, it didn’t spoil the book as a whole. This has mild spice, a strong magic system with unique characteristics and a MMF dynamic and if that sound good, this could be the next good read for you!

If this sounds like your kind of read and you would like to read the whole story for yourself, you can find it here

If you would like to read the chapter-by-chapter commentary, you can find that here
Shaedes of Power: Chapters 20 – 25

March 1, 2025

Well here we are in the last chapter analysis of Shaedes of Power! The final review will be up later today, but I can promise that this book ends with some really good twists and turns that I thoroughly enjoyed. Thankfully, you won’t have to wait long to read it for yourself because it is out on March 11th!

To read the previous chapter commentaries or the reviews of other books, you can find those here
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“And Ciaran? He looks quite pleased.”
“Yes, well, have you met my brother? He would take credit for the very air you breathe. He was quite pleased when I said ‘all is going according to plan.’”

Everyone knows someone like this and they are always infuriating and frustrating. They may have lovable parts too, but definitely infuriating and frustrating!

“When left to your own devices, you created something pretty lethal yourself,” I reminded him.
“True, I am always displeased when I am able to see a bit of him in myself.”

Love it or loathe it, we are a combination of of the people we are born to and grow up with. But it is up to us to decide how they are portrayed and combined. We may be some Frankenstein’s creation of them, but we are still our own selves. I hope that Edmyn can come to see that too someday.

“Perhaps there is a world on the other side of this we haven’t seen yet,” I whispered into his chest. “Things still bloom in the darkness.”

I have really liked this narrative in Shaedes of Power that the dark things aren’t nearly as dark as one perspective paints them out to be. It’s been interesting to explore this way. Is it trauma bonding? Maybe. Does it add complexity to the story? Most certainly

Looking upon the faces of my friends was like looking at strangers. Not because they were different, but because I was very changed from the person I had been before being stolen away to the Night Court.

Trauma will do that to you!

It was not till I was on the dais, facing the front of the room, that I noticed a man with pale-green hair and a crooked smile gazing at me from across the room near one of the fire pillars. It was Farris.

There’s my man! #TeamFarris all the way!

“And don’t kill her,” said Leyanna with a wicked smile playing on her lips. “Unless I can be there to watch.”

Jesus Christ Leyanna. They’re trying to take down one psychopath, they don’t need to worry about you too!

It wasn’t forgiveness, but it was therapeutic. There was something healing about a hug from my sister, no matter how much distance had been put between us or how different we’d become.

As good as it might be to feel comfort this way, I think it’s also worth mentioning that no one is owed forgiveness. It it feels big to you, it IS big and no one can tell you what the best path is for you.

“I stood outside my own bedroom door, wondering what would be harder to face: a rabid Ciaran, freshly healed and out for blood, or Farris.

Farris is the easier of the two, he’s the sweetest of boys and I adore him.

My head felt dizzy, and my lips parted to explain, to warn, to confess, but all I could say was “Kiss me.”

He’s the sweetest of boys and a fantastic kisser.

“Forever will never be long enough for me,” he said. Our foreheads pressed together. I opened my eyes to him smiling at me as he pushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

He’s the sweetest of boys and a fantastic kisser. AND he comes up with lines like these, like are you KIDDING ME?! Can I have him?

My love for him would never force or coerce. It may have been passionate, but it was gentle, and generous.

May this kind of love find me someday.

“I think he looks good,” said Leyanna, looking impish. “Muscles look good on a faerie.”
Lennyx deflated a little. “Some of us have other redeeming qualities.” he offered. “We aren’t all soft underneath our robes.” That made Leyanna raise an eyebrow, mildly interested.

Go on Lennyx, show Leyanna where you aren’t soft under your robes! I am all for these two getting together and if they don’t, it will be upsetting. Fire and water is always an entertaining mix.

“Different can be nice,” Dru said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. He has a past. But we are all out here just hoping that someone someday might overlook our flaws and find us worthy o love, right? Different can change your life.”

Again, may this kind of love find me someday. I thought it had, but I guess I was mistaken.

“You don’t have to be such an asshole,” I muttered. We didn’t have time for this.

See, this is why I’m not Team Edmyn. Don’t get me wrong, he’s hot and steamy for sure, but the insecure jealousy would keep coming up over and over and that isn’t healthy.

Farris spoke with gentleness. “I can promise you it will be swift, and it will be fair.”

Knowing the kind of power that Farris now holds and to be able to speak gently and kindly to someone that everyone else had deemed to be an enemy, that is the mark of a truly remarkable man. A truly remarkable person.

Conclusion

As always, there is one more chapter left, but I don’t include it because I don’t want to ruin the ending! It definitely wasn’t what I thought it was going to be and the epilogue s just as sweet. This book is definitely worth the read and I think that Jenny Grimes has done a fantastic job with Shaedes of Power.

The book is coming out in just 10 days, BUT if you would like to pre-order it or get it after it releases, you can do that here
Shaedes of Power: Chapters 15 – 19

February 28, 2025

This has been one hell of a week! I have been absent because I was actually in hospital for a little while and needed time to recover. I am okay now, though my health battles unfortunately do continue and aren’t likely to end any time soon. Good for me though in that reading doesn’t require me to overly exert myself and I take great joy in writing, so what started as a hobby is now a sanctuary. Moving on from the morbid note, however, we are not onto chapters 15 – 19 of Shaedes of Power with the last block of chapters being the last and then the final review. Stay tuned! As always, thanks go out to The Nerd Fam for giving me this eARC to read!

If you’d like to read the previous posts or any other books I have reacted to and reviewed, you can do that here
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“Why do you do this?” I asked pleadingly. “Why would you serve someone so rooted in darkness.”
The servant narrowed her eyes and said, “Because when you aren’t good enough for the light, the only place left to turn is the darkness. Now get in.”

This has become an emerging theme through Shaedes of Power that I have actually really enjoyed. There’s what everyone thinks is a clear hero and villain, but the more you look, the more you see that who you thought was good and who you thought was bad, isn’t necessarily who you thought they were.

I stood there, confused, a thousand questions vying for priority on my tongue. “You aren’t going to force me to mate with you tonight?”
He was seated on the chaise lounge and pulling off his boots now, smiling at my confusion. “No,” he said with the devil in his eyes. “Not tonight, nor ever if you do not wish it. I’m always eager for a chase and happy to win a struggle, but only if my lover is willing to play with fire.”

Yes! We love a consent conscious king! Er, prince.

“Anyway,” he said, adjusting himself to get more comfortable. “That is why I would defy my brother. He stole an entirely different eternity from me, And although I love him, I will never forgive him for that.”

The story here was quick, but it was so sad and I definitely feel more sympathy for Edmyn now. He had seen what life had to give and he loved it… Right before his brother stole it all away and for what? Power? Company?

“Black on black, or black on black?” I offered sarcastically to Glory.
“Hmm, that’s a tough one. You choose,” she responded with a wry smile.

I am so so glad that they are able to find a scrap of humour in what would be otherwise extremely bleak. It’s certainly a more realistic approach to just giving up or playing the martyr.

As a young girl, I fantasized about my sister returning someday and about all the secrets we would share. How much I would have loved growing up at court with someone else like me around. Perhaps we could have even saved each other. But right now, all I could do was eye the butter knife on the table and imagine stabbing her in the eye.

Good to know that Opal has a normal reaction to her sister being an ass.

Henrick? Knife to the throat. Ciaran? No problem, knife to the throat. But Amira? Family is tricky like that.

When it comes to family, the ties that bind are never so simple or straightforward. My siblings drive me crazy and have been really awful people to me, but I don’t think I could do this either.

“Remember, the Balance did not favor the Nymphs in our histories, Opal. She sounds kind of unhinger to me,” Glory said, taking a few more bites and diving back into her book.

It’s important to note that the Nymphs weren’t favored in THEIR histories. Just because the faeries have one version of history, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t altered or incorrect. Someone else, likely the Nymphs, would have a different version of that history and that is just as important to pay attention to and to recognise. Also, unhinged makes for great stories!

“Say it, Opal,” he urged. “Fucking say it, so help me.” His breath sounded ragged, like a man trying to decide whether or not he was going to jump off a cliff.

“Vampire.” Good job, Bella! I am going to quote Twilight every time I see this line and I’m not even remotely sorry.

Glory had stopped going to the library as several orgies had broken out randomly among the stacks.

First of all, won’t someone think of the books?! Also, where was my invite?!

“No, I never though Ciaran wanted to be the king of everything,” she said soberly. “He would have been happy with equality. A seat for himself alongside the High Shaedes would have sufficed. But it was the Shaedes that wanted submission – the Shaedes who looked down on him and called him lesser and unworthy.”

While our world seems to have a rise of bad people, most people who come to power aren’t bad at the outset. Like the famous quote from Lord Acton said, ‘power tend to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’

This Ciaran looked like he needed a nap.

What kind of nap? Like a dirt nap or a nap nap? Because same.

“What is this, Little Prism?” he whispered, our faces so close that I could feel his breath on my lips. “Do not start fires you cannot tame.”
“You once said that I belonged to you,” I whispered back, my voice a little surer sounding than I think either of us expected. “Prove it.”

Oh the bi paaaaanic!

“You would find the one plant in the entire realm that holds bold color. The Moonflower is an inexplicable occurrence in the shadowlands. We think instead of sunlight, it might actually feed on moonlight. Some say it is an indicator that the Balance has not forsaken us forever; that it still wants us to remember that beautiful things can grow in the darkness and that we can adapt and grow into something good. We spell the floors with Moonflowers when we want to bless someone with good fortune. As if to remind them if the goodness that lay dormant here, within the shadows.”

This was such a gorgeous concept and Jenny has done a brilliant job in coming up with this. I want a Moonflower! Also, it’s a beautiful, physical way of seeing balance in the darkness that they see everywhere.

Conclusion

This block of chapters of Shaedes of Power feels like a flipped switch and while it feels strange, it is knitted together with pacing that works and chemistry that works. It’s easy to make the building of a relationship feel super rushed and feel wrong. I’m looking forward to seeing how the relationship with Ciaran and the relationship with Farris with mesh with each other. Edmyn might me kinky and wild, but I’m still pretty partial to Farris.

If you’d like to preorder this book (which releases on March 11th, so super soon!), you can do that here
Shaedes of Power: Chapters 10 – 14

February 24, 2025

Admittedly, I did want to put this book down after the monologues in Shaedes of Power and not continue. BUT I am glad that I kept with it because around the corner was one hell of a twist that I really want the answer to, but it hasn’t come to me even in this block. If you do choose to read this book, just stick with it. You may well enjoy it for the chapters included here.

If you’d like to read the reviewed chapters before these or any of my other reviews, you can find them here
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“I suppose we need to have faith that the Balance knows some things we do not, but it would be nice if someone told me I have any predator in me at this point in the game. Red eyes would be cool.”

I am not a religious person, but faith is something I have always been jealous of. I am jealous of the way that people can believe in something so resolutely. They seem to have extra strength to get through anything that comes their way. Sure, there is an actual magical element here, but I’m sure any kind of god is magical to those who believe in them too.

But purple shaedes could talk to all animals, even the wild ones with no discernible voice. Animals seemed loyal to the purple fae in ways the rest of us couldn’t understand, so they carried their messages, their instructions, and their needs out into the wild. Some could be called on to sacrifice themselves for food or perform any purple shaede’s wish really.

The dark faeries may seem like the Big Bad Guys of Shaedes of Power, but the purple shaedes are the ones who seem terrifying to me. Historically, the animal speakers in any system have been the most passive and peace loving. Here they have actually asked animals to give their lives willingly for food. THAT is scary as hell.

“I guess if you live long enough, you are bound to experience a certain amount of loss,” Lennyx said. “And you earnt he right to live however you wish.”

I wouldn’t want to live forever, seeing all those that you love, get born and die before you do. It feels like a special kind of torture. Earning the right to live however I want doesn’t feel worth it when I can live it with the ones who made it worth it.

“You have to return to the human realm tomorrow morning. You’ve healed so well, and I think you will agree that when Ciaran’s time allotment is up, it is not sade for you here.”
“If I recall, I wasn’t all that safe in the human world, either.” He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.
“I pleaded for more time. They wanted to adapt your memories so you wouldn’t remember the faerie realm.”
His brow furled. “But then I wouldn’t have memory of you.”
“It might have been easier that way,” I admitted, “but I talked them out of it.” Even as I said it, it felt selfish.

This would have been really hard for Opal to do considering the amount of chemistry the both of them clearly have. Even though it has only been a couple of days at this point. I do like that they agreed to let him keep his memories though. Especially given his comments about dreaming of magic, wishing it was in places it didn’t exist and then finally finding it.

“I will give you the address on one condition. You let me come with you. I know you all decided for me that I needed to return home, but if I help you with this, I want to see it through.”

Yes, Farris! Negotiate the hell out of them and they may let you keep more than they were originally going to let you.

“Don’t worry, no offense taken. You don’t know me well enough, so naturally you underestimate my abilities.”

Go Lennyx! Leysanna is a fireball, but of course the blue High Shaede can stand up to her! I am all for a calm, confident and powerful High Shaede against his seemingly wild counterparts.

He pressed his hips against mine, pinning me to that door, and I could feel my magic awakening inside.

So either Ass-tor wasn’t good in the bedroom and Opal is about to have her first orgasm. Or she actually does have magic coming to the surface now.

All at once, it hit me that although I was the one to call this meeting, it was Amira who had come to bargain.

As a general rule, if a meeting is called, that person is either in a position of power or because they want to bargain. If the other party shows up, it is always to bargain. If they had nothing to gain, they wouldn’t show up because it wouldn’t be worth the effort or the time.

“The Shaede Court will never accept the cursed and damned, Amira. I do believe that there is a path here to peace, but it would take more than I think either of us is willing to give,” I said.

I have a the opinion that there is always a path towards peace in any form of government. What stops it is one or both parties not being willing to give up enough on their side to make it happen. It is, however, wiser than expected on Opal’s part to recognise that.

“Not everything that is dark is meant to be menacing,” he said with an edge to his voice. “Sometimes something that is dark is hyst different and different can be beautiful.”

I absolutely adore this line from Edmyn! Hopefully he will end up being one of the more well rounded characters in the later chapters. I’m curious to know how that will look.

Henrick was visibly fighting his disappointment, but it was Amira who I was focussed on as we exited the throne room, her face pallid with remorse.

I almost feel like Amira is only doing any of this for her own survival. Not because she wants to like the story so far has led us to believe.

conclusion

I am very glad that we have gotten past the monologues (so far) and that there is more back and forth conversation. There is also some really good development of individual characters and the chemistry and relationships between each of them. I’d love to see more of Lennyx as he seems like he could have a very interesting dynamic with Leyanna. He may also be extremely useful in battle if he is as powerful as he says he is. The discovery of Opal’s power and what she seems to be able to do is the big question mark here. I’m very curious to know what that actually means and what she did to Farris.

Remember, this book comes out super soon on March 11th! I want to give a special thanks to The Nerd Fam for gifting me the Shaedes of Power ARC to read. I am very much looking forward to finishing the book.

If you’d like to preorder this book, you can get the audiobook or the kindle versions from here
Shaedes of Power: Chapters 5 – 9

February 22, 2025

The first 4 chapters of Shaedes of Power was really exciting for me to read, though these ones were less so. I am very much hoping that the story picks up after now that a major plot point has taken place.

If you would like to read the previous chapters or books, you can find them here
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“I’m glad you are safely back home, Opal. But I think we should go back to being friends instead of lovers. Two years is a long time, and who really knows what the future has in store?”

So Astor is Opal’s ‘boyfriend’ and he’s dumping her because she hasn’t developed a shaede that is immediately visible. His name is also quite astute because he is indeed being an Ass-tor.

“There is nothing wrong with having high expectations,” stated Leyanna. “But someone like Astor will always disappoint. His favourite person in the world will always be himself. He probably could only make love in front of a mirror. Tell me I’m wrong. But I’m not wrong, am I?”

Go Leyanna! She’s a grumpy faerie most of the time, but she can be sassy and I love that.

The fact that she was apologizing to me, as if in this moment she should waste her breath on such a sentiment, absolutely broke my heart.

In a lot of books where there is magic and the parents of a character are in a position of power, they are too frequently cold or overbearing due to their position. They are also not able to separate themselves from that, even with their children. It’s nice to see loving and accepting parents in a position of power.

For this chapter, there is no quotes for me to react to. Not because there was no talking, but for me, because there was too much talking. This was 2 long monologues and I found it difficult to connect to what was happening here. It was a lot of lore and opinion dropped on me. It was difficult to take it all in by sheer volume alone. Through all of my chapter reviews on every book, I insist on being honest. I have seen the reviews from other readers and I have hope that this was momentary and that it will get better and back to the original vibe that I loved.

When I was very young, I would be whimpering. They would hear me, throw back the covers, and allow me a safe, warm haven between them.

I like that the author illustrates really tender moments like this in Shaedes of Power. This brings a sense of humanity to a species that lives for a very long time and who are previously described as ruthless

“Leyanna, they can’t glamour his memories! I know he has to go back, but he worked hard for those scars, so he deserves to know where they came from.”

I can understand wanting to take away his memory after such a traumatic event, but that should be his choice. That is also such a strange thing to say that he worked hard for those scars. He was laying there getting mauled and could have died.

He stroked my hair until I was ready to tell him everything, and when my recount of the day’s events had finally stopped spilling out of my mouth with a few rogue tears, only then did he speak.

Farris is a supportive king and I adore him.

“That would be a hard life.” Farris sounded pensive. “Being looked down on for the very skills that others exploited.”

Farris makes a really good point here that I love. The black shaedes were given a role for their abilities and then they were crucified for the same thing. Double standards are everywhere, including with faeries.

“It’s okay, really. I think talking about all this was a good reminder of what we are up against. If you do not know your history today, you will relive it.”

Not necessarily true. History repeats regardless of awareness. It’s less about knowing the history rather than learning what went wrong and wanting to change it.

“It is, but there is beauty to be found in all the realms – including yours,” I said.

Even though the faeries live in a realm that is stunning with magic in the essence of everything. To be able to see another realm as beautiful – even as a different kind of beauty

“It went on for about two years. I used to hide from her in her dead husband’s library. He was an antique book collector and that is when I really fell in love with history. I used to read and reread his first edition copy of War and Peace over and over, praying that dementia would set in and Evangeline would forget about the boy she bought, cowering in the library.”

I think for a lot of us, it is an unfortunate reality that reading was an escape from a horrible reality, myself included. That is what I love the most about books and reading. While I was dealt a really awful hand, as too many do, I can live many other lives in my own life time. I can experience magic and love that don’t exist in my own world. There’s a really great power to reading and it is an excellent way to cope. Contrary to what Kall Me Kris may say.

To prove he was no squirrel, he was suddenly on top of me. He had my wrists in his hands above my head before I could register what was happening, and the length of him pinned my body to the mattress hard.

As much as I love a bit of spice, this came a little out of left field. I love this description and action. It would have been better placed somewhere later in the book, however.

It would have been so easy to cry. To barricade myself in my room, to avoid the court at the ceremony, to declare myself too in mourning to deal with anything that was plaguing the realm right now.

The grief surrounding the death of the High Shaedes is a direct conflict to the previous statements that the faeries were ‘ruthless’ around their apathy around death. As a species and a culture that accepts death as a fact of life, seeing the outbursts and Dru falling apart in the wake of the deaths is strange.

I caught a glimpse of Astor, petulant and disgruntled, along the side of the room, daggers in his eyes for Dru. It was impossible not to feel a little satisfaction at that.

Ha! Take that, Ass-tor.

conclusion

This block of chapters felt very strange and contrary to me. I hold hope that, now that Shaedes of Power has given a lot of history and lore, there can be a stronger story and structure later on the the story. I’m also recalling how much I really enjoyed the first 4 chapters and I am looking forward to that vibe to come back into the later chapters.

If you would like to pre-order the audiobook or kindle edition, you can do that here
Shaedes of Power: Chapters 1 – 4

February 21, 2025

I cannot tell you how excited I am for this! This is my first ARC (Advanced Reader Copy). To be able to read and review it before the general population gets to is a new kind of exhilarating. Fortunately, you won’t have to wait long to read it, though, because it comes out on March 11th! I’d also like to mention that this copy was a gift to me by The Nerd Fam. They have a thriving community of reviewers who have been supportive of me and each other. It’s great to have people to read the book alongside. So, without further ado, let’s jump into… Shaedes of Power by Jenny Grimes
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I was already bored and today’s shift hadn’t even started yet.

Starting strong, already being SUPER relatable!

No one knew if when a faerie was born, the shaede was already within them, planted by the all-knowing Balance, or if the shaede was attracted to the person one became.

I love this concept and I’m curious to know how it evolved. Obviously being a supernatural setting, the characters would have powers. How will the shaede make a difference and can it be influenced?

I couldn’t speak for Dru, but I always felt the Balance inside me. It was like walking around with an internal shadow. It made me sensitive to other faeries’ shaedes. I couldn’t draw some incredible power from it – I was no High Shaede – but it was always with me, making itself known.

I’ll be honest, I’m struggling to wrap my head around the concept, but maybe it will become easier to understand as I find out more about it and it becomes a central part of the story.

Every day had the potential to be such an adventure for this man, and he probably didn’t even realize it.

I think that this is true for a lot of people, but is also the beauty of reading – we get to live multiple lives within our own lifespans. Regardless of whether that is fiction or history in his case, it is still an adventure to discover.

Amira, my sister, was their first, but she had disappeared during her conversancy in the human realm over fifty years ago.

A little sprinkling of mystery, perhaps some foreshadowing!

Knowledge lived here, and our assignment was to simply experience it.

Firstly, that is an amazing way to describe a library and it’s books. Secondly, how does one get a job like that? I would love to get paid to read all day!

“Should I feel cheated on?” I said, pointing to the cup, not knowing what else to talk to him about other than coffee.

The scandal! Cheating on your barista! I say this with legitimate horror as someone who does not have a barista and does not drink much coffee

I was stuck trying to regain some speech myself. This beautiful human was taking a chance on probably the one girl in the entire realm that wouldn’t – and couldn’t – accept his affection.

When you read this book, you will understand why she was lost for words! I hope that this is the start of a forbidden romance

He was looking at me so ravenously that I was tempted for a moment to deliver myself on a silver plate.

Get. It. Girl!

Although faeries live in a peaceful realm that would look like a utopia to most humans, we were still ruthless people

This was in reference to accepting death, but I don’t think that that is so much a ruthless act as it is a loving one. To accept someone’s death is to also accept their life and that should be celebrated.

The Seam was a section of earth hidden from humans, where all the magical realms dwelled

Look at Earth being the main character! All the realm revolve around it, after all!

How do you explain to someone that their fantasy world was your reality?

“Yeah hi, so I’m a faerie, magic exists and you’re now in a different realm. Surprise! Also, you almost died and it was my fault, but I’m pretty, so please forgive me!”

“I’m not not shocked, Opal.” He smiled as he said my name. “I think I will just choose to believe it. Maybe it comes from living in a world without magic but always looking for it anyway. Who am I to ignore it, especially now when it’s sitting right in front of me with such a beautiful face?”

If Opal doesn’t want him, I’ll take him! He’s super idealistic, but it plays off as adorable, so I’ll happily take it

“If getting hurt means I get to have you take care of me, then show me some stairs I can throw myself down.”

Jenny, stop it, that’s morbidly hilarious, adorable and sweet all at the same time! I need more of this in my life… without the stair inflicted injury though, please and thank you. Also without the shadow beat mauling.

Conclusion

When I tell you that I devoured these first 4 chapters of Shaedes of Power, let me just tell you that, at time of writing this, I am now 2 days ahead in posts. I’m going to keep reading more of it today too! It has had a solid and enjoyable start. I love the twist of the barista faerie being in the human realm to learn about them in a modern context. Rather than the typical fae being cruel and unyielding in all ways. I found this to be wonderfully refreshing.

Currently, there is only a kindle copy and an audiobook that you can pre-order, but with a narrator like Laura Horowitz, how can you NOT want the audiobook! You can pre-order either option here.

For any of my previous posts and reviews, you can find them here.
Red Queen: Final Comments

February 20, 2025

I am sitting back in my desk chair currently, at a loss of where to start. The ending of Red Queen was fast. I didn’t really have time to think and process what was happening as it was happening. Surely that is the sign of something great, but here is my final comments.
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The majority of the book involved weaving webs of political intrigue and power. It was done so well that I didn’t suspect the twist, which this was by design. I found myself following Mare and hoping that she would find her feet and lead her way to victory. I was frustrated when others in the story would trip her up. Even more so when they took her – and me – by surprise. I did find that there was some pacing issues, sometimes jumping weeks ahead of time; sometimes having a single day stretch across a couple chapters. It was necessary because not every day is eventful, but I found that it became hard to follow the timing of the book and when events were happening. This was particularly important with relationship development between Mare, Cal and Maven. Suddenly there was tension and I couldn’t understand where it came from.

I found that the characters were well created and multi-faceted. Especially within those who were first introduced to be negative. I think having Julian in the story to bring the different sides to these characters to the forefront. At first, the playfulness of the king and the glimpses of care from the queen, were so out of place and strange. But when I started thinking about it with the prompting of Julian, the more I remembered that not everyone is as evil and cruel as you may think them to be at first. They may even have moments where that side of them is overwhelming, but no one is only ever negative. There are people who love and protect them. There are parts to them that are worthy of love, even if you can’t see it.

Characters: 4/5

Mare was an interesting character. If sometimes frustrating in that she was born to a difficult life where she knew that she was going to end up in the military one way or another. She was pulled out of abject poverty and into a life of privilege and face smiles. Through all of it, she remained hopeful, though it was foolish and idealistic. She was hopeful when she shouldn’t have been and that was admirable. Her idealistic plans were what ultimately led her to be in the most danger and not just once. Granted, she is only 17 and still just a child herself, but I would have thought that her background and where she grew up would have dulled that to a degree and made her smarter.

Cal was a confusing character to me. At the outset, he was someone who wanted to get into the kingdom to understand who he would be ruling over. But he slowly became unwilling to make any kinds of changes in his leadership to bring the Reds to any semblance of equality. Then he was in love with Mare and then he was against her and only wanting to follow rules and tradition. There was little no no explanation as to why or how that change happened either. We also didn’t get to experience much with him. It is hard to examine him as a character because of that.

Maven was by far the most unexpected of all three. For a prince to a cruel queen and a steadfast king. He should have been cold and cruel from the start. But he was kind and the chemistry between him and Mare felt natural. I wanted them to take on the world and succeed in any and every goal that they had. The twist and betrayal came so out of left field. That is the power of a talented storyteller. It took me by surprise and I was wondering if I missed something. I am angry and sad for Mare when she found out just how much she had played into a plan that was set from her from the start and Maven’s part in all of it.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable book to read. I would absolutely encourage anyone to read it who love seeing the power of intrigue. Not just straight up fighting against anyone and everyone. It was full of twists and turns that reeled me in and broke my heart.

rating: 4/5

To read the book for yourself, you can get the book here.

To read the chapter by chapter reactions, you can find them here.