Friday Reads: ARC Review of Much of Madness by S.E. Summa!

Hello there guys!

After getting my laptop back from the world of the dead laptops (at least more or less) I have been unmotivated to do a lot of blogging, mostly due to laziness and wanting to spend more time reading, but I want to eventually get back in full swing. In the mean time I'll try and be somewhat consistent and have at the very least a pair of posts (ideally three) up each week!

For this week's Friday Reads I have a review book I got from Netgalley so it counts towards my NetGalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge and will help me stick up to my over 80% ratio!

Much of Madness by S.E. Summa

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I discovered this book via my friend Jenny from Supernatural Snark & Seedlings Studio, because she's the talented cover designer that did the gorgeous cover for this one! Cover lust made me check the summary and I was intrigued, so when I saw it up for request on Netgalley, I jumped to the chance of reading it.

Much of Madness is a different twist of a paranormal story, with Sin Eaters, Spellcasters, Djinn and ghosts and Curse-Breakers! It was quite refreshing to see a story full of different paranormal types but without vampires or werewolves!

The story is told in dual POVs and at first the separation was done more clearly, one chapter per POV, getting Marceu's and Seraphina's story as they come to intersect and I really enjoyed their voices and individual stories. I loved seeing their different worlds and the way the interactions with their close circle of either friends or associates show their personalities.

When they met and started interacting I liked how their differences were showcased and how the worlds could collide, but I wasn't so keen on how their voices mixed up on the narrative... they were different enough to know when they switched even in the same chapter, but it seemed to muddy things a bit and confuse the narrative a bit.

Plot wise, it seemed quite clear where things would come to a point but I was pleasantly surprised that I still got some unexpected twists here and there. Some of the intersecting plots felt a bit forced to come together, even if when they did mix, it all seemed to work out pretty well.

I must confess the romance didn't really work for me. It wasn't insta love or underdeveloped, but I just never felt the chemistry or tension between the characters, so I never really connected with their romance. I did connect much more with the romance between two of the secondary characters. I cannot say why or why not... it just happened!

I really enjoyed all the NOLA and Nashville references and really felt like the atmosphere was so very realistic, even if I've never been to any of the places. It made ME want to visit there for sure! And made me crave beignets & chicory coffee like mad, dammit!

All in all, I'm pretty torn because I really enjoyed the first half of the book and then things became a lil messy in the second half and although I liked the ending and I'd probably read the sequel, I was not blown away by the book as a whole. I guess it'd be fair to give it a 3 star rating as it can stand as a quite unique paranormal.



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Saturday Pages: Foretold by Rinda Elliott!!

Hey there! Welcome to this week's edition of Saturday Pages!

This week I have a book that I discovered thanks to Jenny from Supernatural Snark! She reviewed the book on her blog and I loved how it sounded. And since me and Jenny have quite similar tastes, I knew I had to read it! This is another of those "me" reads, that are not part of any challenges.



Foretold by Rinda Elliott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I discovered Foretold when I read the review for it on Supernatural Snark, Jenny's blog! I love Jenny's reviews cause they're fantastic and her taste is quite similar to mine, so when I saw that she had loved this one... I knew I had to read it!

Foretold starts with Raven Lockwood, the eldest of the Lockwood triplets, trying to find and save the life of a warrior that might have been prophecised to kill her. Because of that prophecy, the triplet's mother has left to find the warriors (one for each sister) and kill them before they have a chance to kill the girls. The triplets have the souls of the Norns inside them (some sort of reincarnation) and the amount of Norse mythology that permeates the pages of this book is amazing!

We follow Raven while she tries to find her warrior and to save his life in the middle of the beginning of a freak summer snow storm, that could be the beginning of Ragnarok. As it happens, the warrior finds and rescues her, and they find themselves fighting an unknown enemy, even if Raven suspects her mother.

The book keeps you turning page after page, building the suspense and keeping it full of action, with a few moments when we get some necessary information and world building, that luckily never feels like info dumping. I loved reading all the Norse mythology references and I loved how the connection between Raven and Vanir developed.

It might have seemed a bit like insta love in any other case, but aside from the hormones insta attraction, there's more to Vanir and Raven than just themselves, since they have parts of old Norse gods inside them, that have a connection between them. I really loved reading about Raven and Vanir together, even when it seemed that the little bits of intimacy that they kept on stealing might have not been at the best of times.

I also loved how important family was in this book. Even if we're following Raven, she never forgets about her sisters, Coral and Kat, and through the little snippets of information we gather every time they get in touch, I cannot wait to read the other sisters' books and see what's up with them! Vanir's family is also very important and very present, and a central part of the climax battle. And even more key to everything is Dru, the triplet's mother.

If you love a good bit of romance with a few swoons, Norse mythology and loads of action, this books is perfect for you! Very well deserved for stars for this one and I already have book 2 and 3 preordered!



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