Review: Shadowblade by Seressia Glass

💬: “By the Light, the dagger really was four thousand years old, and possessed of so much magic that it was almost sentient. That knowledge wasn’t the cause of the sudden cold in the pit of her stomach. The dagger’s owner, the dark warrior with the baritone voice, was still . . . somehow . . . alive. And looking for his blade."

Glass, Seressia. Shadow Blade (Shadowchasers Book 1) (p. 20). Pocket Books. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: paranormal action, magic, urban fantasy, fantasy, Egyptian mythology

📚Page Count: 345

🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 05min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 3.5/5 
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Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass is a paranormal/urban fantasy. The story is about Kira, who is a shadow hunter (beings who fight demons and creatures with chaos energy.) Kira is a shadow hunter by night and an artifact appraiser by day. Her friend brings her an especially rare blade, one that's thousands of years old. Soon the original owner of the blade comes looking for it, and Kira needs to decide if she's going to work alongside them to keep dark forces off of the blade, or if she's going to keep the blade for herself to keep the dark forces at bay, alone. 

The beginning of the book held my attention because it was interesting and action packed. Unfortunately, the middle of the book was very flat. Not much happened in the middle of the book and that caused all the initial steam, from the beginning of the book, to blow out. By the time the end of the book came along, the action scenes picked back up but because the middle had been so slow, I found myself uninterested in the rest of the book. 

Another thing I didn't like was that the antagonist didn't show up until 68% of the way through the book. The main characters talks about the evil forces at work against her and her companions but, I repeat, the antagonist doesn't show up until 68% of the way through the book. 

There was sexual tension, other than that, this book has no intimate scenes in it. I'm giving it zero chilies -🌶️ out of five chilies

I really wanted to love this book but I didn't. I only kind of liked this book, which is disappointing. When this has the action going and everything is exciting, it's good. When this book dials down the excitement for quieter moments, it falls flat. I will continue to read the series until I've completed it. Overall the story was okay, it was disappointing that there wasn't an intimate scene in there. I'm giving this 3.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 3.5/5
 

Review: Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

 

💬: "People in expensive-looking suits and flashy cocktail dresses cling to glasses filled with champagne or cocktails and amble up and down the hallways and rooms, enjoying an evening of gambling and debauchery. It’s like a scene from one of Gatsby’s parties, except Black people are invited."

Benton-Walker, Terry J.. Blood Debts (pp. 70-71). Tor Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: Fantasy ,Young Adult ,LGBT ,Mystery, Queer, Young Adult Fantasy, Magic , Fiction, Urban Fantasy

📚Page Count: 400

🎧Audiobook Length: 14h 30min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 

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Blood Debts is a queer mystery novel about getting justice for one's past crimes. 30 years ago there were murders and a lynching and it was considered the greatest massacre in magical New Orleans history. This has 5 different perspectives and I thought it wasn't going to work but everything went together really nicely. My reading experience was a good one. This book is a rollercoaster, the plot starts right away in the first chapter and that's one of the things I really liked about this book. 

The book starts off with twins, Clem and Christina, tending to their mother and waiting for the Dr. to come and give them an update on their mother's condition. Their mother hasn't been doing well and her health has slowly been declining. They soon discover that 

their mother isn't sick, she's cursed! 

Will they be able to find out who's trying to harm their family? 

A lot of the surprises were predictable but the book was still enjoyable. I think I left probably around 5 notes to myself about the plotline, just of me guessing what the next surprise was going to be. In this regard, the book was really predictable, but that didn't stop the book from being entertaining. There were some secrets I didn't guess but there were more secrets that I DID guess and I thought that was worth mentioning in my review. 

This was my first time reading a book by Terry J. Benton-Walker and they did not disappoint me! This was exciting, entertaining, intriguing, and it was just down right good! I'm giving this a 5 out of 5.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️