Hey all!

I was grateful to have the chance to read two amazingly good excerpts this week from Netgalley. I don’t often read excerpts but I’m so glad I decided to give these a try!

Maas is one of my all-time fav authors and reading a small snippet of Crescent City had me counting down the days until it’s fully released! I hadn’t read a book by Grace Burrows before this but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I adored her writing! I’ll be doing some back reading of her novels after this!

Publication Date: 3 Mar 2020

Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. He’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

First off… you can tell this was Maas’ writing. Great pace, extensive world-building and intricate character dynamics set the tone for another highly engaging fantasy series.

It’s not always easy for authors to maintain their set standard and continuously create new worlds that differentiate from their others in significant ways. For the majority, Maas seems to have accomplished that in the beginning of Crescent City and I’m eager to see how the character arcs play out across the series, not only the first book. I have some predictions in place and I hope (in a good way) that I’m wrong about them. I love a good plot twist and surprise!

That said, this series seems to feature some classic Maas elements that made her first two series’ immensely popular. They are: kick -ass female MCs, easily likeable and interesting side characters as well as multiple small story lines merging in to a greater picture. Even from the excerpt it becomes clear that the side characters will play a fundamental role in impacting the main story’s arc. They’re definitely not just there for show or emotional value.

One thing that did have me a bit apprehensive during the excerpt was the extent of world-building. In some ways it felt almost too quickly introduced and bordered on being an info-dump but the events within the first five chapters required an extensive intro in to the new fantasy world. I’m hoping this settles down after the excerpt and allows readers to truly get a grasp on the setting and character dynamics as it was quite hard to follow at times due to its depth.

Nevertheless, Crescent City has all the hallmarks of Maas at her best and I’m excited (and impatient) to see how the full story turns out!

Publication Date: 28 April 2020

Nathaniel, Duke of Rothhaven, lives in seclusion, leaving his property only to gallop his demon-black steed across the moors by moonlight.

Lady Althea Wentworth has little patience for dukes, reclusive or otherwise, but she needs Rothhaven’s backing to gain entrance into Polite Society.

He longs for privacy. She’s vowed to never endure another ball as a wallflower. Yet as the two grow closer, it soon becomes clear they might both be pretending to be something they’re not.

As a huge fan of historical romance, I can tend to be quite picky and harsh in my assessments of them and yet this one was almost without fault! The only fault I had with this novel was that it ended so soon… I NEED MORE.

I found myself deeply immersed in the story of The Duke of Rothhaven and Lady Althea. His hidden kindness and her endless strength were the perfect match. I have such a weakness for stories in which characters’ personality types play such a vivid role. That was the case for this excerpt and it certainly caught my attention hook, line and sinker!

In an extended preview you tend to get a decent feeling for a story and the pace it will set. A Duke by Any Other Name set a jaunty, easy-to-follow pace that had me reading this all in one sitting! Honestly, if I’d have the full novel I don’t think I’d have stopped until the end. It’s safe to say I’m EAGERLY anticipating the full release!

Jen