Happy Tuesday friends!⁠ ⁠

Today in our #BestReadsOf2020 we are voting for our favorite new series read this year!⁠ ⁠ 

I have several winners for you today:⁠ ⁠

⚔️ From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout ;⁠ ⁠

Here is what I wrote about it: 

Ingredients to make a hot, sexy, intriguing and addictive fantasy book: take a Maiden (Poppy) who has no freedom but is the future of her people, add a villain (The Dark One) and some pretty evil sub villains (The Duke among others), mix with a sexy, cocky and very gifted personal guard (Hawke) and sprinkle all this with interesting world building and prophecy.

This is basically the key to this story’s success.

And it works splendidly!

The attraction between these Poppy and Hawke was undeniable and the sex scenes put this definitely under the adult category, adult fantasy.

Reading that story, with that imaginative universe, the secrets, the deities, the vampires, the attraction, great main characters and plot twists was a pure delight and I can’t wait for book three!

⚔️ A Deadly Eductation by Naomi Novik ( I loved it so much that I bought Spinning Silver and intend to read all of Naomi ‘s books);⁠

I loved how unlovable Galdriel seemed as she was like a hedgehog. Always angry, not kind to people but it was rather that she was unkind to unkind people. To posers. Arrogant kids.
Yet Galladriel didn’t hesitate to anonymously save the freshmen, sacrificing lots of her precious mana stored in her mom’s crystals because deep down she is a good person. Her mom raised her to make the right choices even if everyone expects the worst from her.

That story was very interesting by its topics (don’t judge a person based on the appearance), by the intricate magic system and world building, by its characters quite like onions where you had to peel the different layers and …by its ending! One of my best reads this year!

⁠ ⚔️ Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco ⁠ ⁠

Oddly, this made me think of the TV show Lucifer, first season.

You have a killer to find, suspects to interrogate, clues to read and your partner is a Prince of Hell: Prince Wrath.

The main characters will take quite a long time before figuring things out while I guessed pretty early on “who did it” but their banter was entertaining. The world building and lore were done just right to have me in the story without being bored out by lengthy depictions and that unexpected pairing of a prince of Hell and a witch worked remarkably well.

In fact, I read that book in one long sitting!

I have plenty of likes!

I loved how the relationship between Wrath and Emilia progressed.

I loved the world building with the different Prince of Hell, white and dark magic, the prophecy.

I loved all the cooking in this book! It made me hunger for Italian food!

I loved the banter too and both characters in general.

I loved the writing that created an atmospheric read, never boring and plenty entertaining.

I just need book two already!

What are your favorite new series this year?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie