Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not as good as the first book but I still had a good time.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thanks to Harper Voyager and AK Mulford for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I’m thoroughly obsessed with this series! Navin and Sadie’s story is so good, and the magic system that is revealed in this book is NEXT LEVEL. The ending action scene got me good (and bad, if you know what I mean), but that last line in the book has got me REELING for book 3. Also Navin and Sadie are insatiable for this entire book and I really think they deserve that for all they go through.
I’m thoroughly obsessed with this series! Navin and Sadie’s story is so good, and the magic system that is revealed in this book is NEXT LEVEL. The ending action scene got me good (and bad, if you know what I mean), but that last line in the book has got me REELING for book 3. Also Navin and Sadie are insatiable for this entire book and I really think they deserve that for all they go through.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed A River ofGolden Bones, and was excited for the next book. But I found myself underwhelmed by A Sky of Emerald Stars by comparison. There are still some aspects I enjoyed, like the continued expansion of the world building, particularly Pack dynamics. While I had issues with the perspective choices in other ways, I did like how expanding it to dual POV presented another view of the world and its politics, at least in theory.
But the two voices are almost indistinguishable, and it’s why I personally dislike first person dual/multiple POV in most cases. I often would forget whose head I was in, and would have to go back and check.
And even when I would remember, I feel like the characters weren’t given a chance to develop to their full potential. Calla was the sole protagonist of the first book, but I feel like there wasn’t much purpose to following her again, especially since it took page time from Sadie. And while the romance was very central in the first book, with there only being one. But there being two made trying to keep up rather exhausting, and the romances, especially Sadie’s, feel rather forced. I still love Calla and Grae, but I couldn’t care less about Sadie and Navin.
I’m clearly in the minority, as a lot of people seem to love this one. But I also think that my issues also stem from the lack of clear parameters for what a “romantasy” is, setting readers like me up with the wrong expectations. If you enjoyed the first book and don't mind “romantasy” with two romances, I think you might enjoy this more than I did.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
**𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑨 𝑺𝒌𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑨. 𝑲. 𝑴𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅
Release Date: December 24, 2024
5⭐️3🌶
Ms. Mulford continues to deliver with this second installment in the Golden Court series. This book picks up right where A River of Golden Bones left off, and Calla and Grae have plenty on their plate. Calla is now responsible for the Golden Kingdom, and must try and right the wrongs that the previous Evil Queen has done to her people. In addition, she must find allies to support her claim to the Golden Throne. Grae's father hasn't lost his ambition to hold Calla's Kingdom as his own. He plans to overthrow her and place one of his own puppets on her throne.
Sadie Rauxtide is still reeling from Navin's betrayal during the battle for Calla's throne. She doesn't understand why he would choose his traitor of a brother over her IN BATTLE. Come to find out, he has quite a few secrets that Sadie and Queen Calla don't know about. When Ora is captured by Grae's father, Sadie and Navin must find a way to work together again for the good of the Golden Court.
Themes/Tropes:
🍁Friends-Enemies-to-lovers
🍁Warrior Shifter BA FMC
🍁Soft MMC
🍁Wolf Shifter Pack meets Princess Story
🍁Fairy Godmother
🍁Shifters-humans-sorcerers
TW:
✨Fight Scenes
✨Big Monsters
✨Abusive Father
✨Child Abuse (past)
✨Murder
✨Betrayal
Release Date: December 24, 2024
5⭐️3🌶
Ms. Mulford continues to deliver with this second installment in the Golden Court series. This book picks up right where A River of Golden Bones left off, and Calla and Grae have plenty on their plate. Calla is now responsible for the Golden Kingdom, and must try and right the wrongs that the previous Evil Queen has done to her people. In addition, she must find allies to support her claim to the Golden Throne. Grae's father hasn't lost his ambition to hold Calla's Kingdom as his own. He plans to overthrow her and place one of his own puppets on her throne.
Sadie Rauxtide is still reeling from Navin's betrayal during the battle for Calla's throne. She doesn't understand why he would choose his traitor of a brother over her IN BATTLE. Come to find out, he has quite a few secrets that Sadie and Queen Calla don't know about. When Ora is captured by Grae's father, Sadie and Navin must find a way to work together again for the good of the Golden Court.
Themes/Tropes:
🍁Friends-Enemies-to-lovers
🍁Warrior Shifter BA FMC
🍁Soft MMC
🍁Wolf Shifter Pack meets Princess Story
🍁Fairy Godmother
🍁Shifters-humans-sorcerers
TW:
✨Fight Scenes
✨Big Monsters
✨Abusive Father
✨Child Abuse (past)
✨Murder
✨Betrayal
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Sky of Emerald Stars by A.K. Mulford is the second book in the Golden Court series. I enjoyed the first novel and loved that it ended wrapped, and the second book continues the storyline. A Sky of Emerald Stars has two stories being told that run parallel to each other. Calla, now queen of golden wolves and integrating humans into their court, has to make political allies to prepare for the impending war. Sadie has been struggling with betrayal and stagnant sets of Navin and Maez to get more information and allies. This is where everything goes in an array for both of these parties!
This book has the double of badass main characters, Calla, a genderqueer wolf shifter warrior, and Sadie, a knife-wielding soldier; both have the bite to match their bark! A.K Mulford did a fantastic job with this second book; the pacing was good, and the book was decently engaging throughout the entire novel. I am not going to lie; Calla is annoying at times with her rashness and rage against not knowing how to lead, but I do understand it, so I got over it pretty quickly. Also, I loved that the second book was a dual POV with competing storylines. Sadie and Navins' story arc was fantastic, and I love them! Reading the ending had screaming, and I was so unprepared for what happened. Overall, I love this story and the characters, and I am excited to see what A.K. Mulford has in store for us! If you haven't started this series, I recommend picking it up.
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC copy
This book has the double of badass main characters, Calla, a genderqueer wolf shifter warrior, and Sadie, a knife-wielding soldier; both have the bite to match their bark! A.K Mulford did a fantastic job with this second book; the pacing was good, and the book was decently engaging throughout the entire novel. I am not going to lie; Calla is annoying at times with her rashness and rage against not knowing how to lead, but I do understand it, so I got over it pretty quickly. Also, I loved that the second book was a dual POV with competing storylines. Sadie and Navins' story arc was fantastic, and I love them! Reading the ending had screaming, and I was so unprepared for what happened. Overall, I love this story and the characters, and I am excited to see what A.K. Mulford has in store for us! If you haven't started this series, I recommend picking it up.
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC copy
Hector betrays the group. Briar is taken at the end (again). Maez is a witch and wolf??
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This year I read the first book by this author and the moment I finished I knew I wanted to read her entire backlist and every book to come. I flew through her first series and in the last few weeks of the year it was time to start with The Golden Court. Since I was convinced I was gonna like this series, I already requested my review copy for this sequel without having read the first book. Luckily HaperVoyager granted my Netgalley request.
What I love about this book, and series, is that the author does what she does best, while also adding a little more. The politics, especially in this book, feels way more complicated. The issues the characters are facing are way more serious and complicated. The characters are also more layered. However, at the heart of each book is once more a couple clearly made for each other trying to find a way to be together and to share a future.
My favorite part of this book was the magic, though. I love how we discovered a new sort of magic, one that has been kept hidden from us in the first book, while we're also learning a lot more about the world this book takes place in. I like how this book addresses history and storytelling like this. The winners get to tell the tale, but that doesn't mean everything they say is true. It also forces the wolves to think about their rules, their society and what they want for themselves and each other.
I also really enjoyed the journey of the leading couple in this book. In the previous book it was already clear they had chemistry, but there were so many obstacles to overcome. In the beginning of this book it therefore seemed quite hard for these two to find and get their happily ever after, but the author did find a way to bring them together and it never felt rushed or strange. And, as always, most of their issues were solved by talking.
And with everything that happened in this book, I'm also really looking forward to the next one!
What I love about this book, and series, is that the author does what she does best, while also adding a little more. The politics, especially in this book, feels way more complicated. The issues the characters are facing are way more serious and complicated. The characters are also more layered. However, at the heart of each book is once more a couple clearly made for each other trying to find a way to be together and to share a future.
My favorite part of this book was the magic, though. I love how we discovered a new sort of magic, one that has been kept hidden from us in the first book, while we're also learning a lot more about the world this book takes place in. I like how this book addresses history and storytelling like this. The winners get to tell the tale, but that doesn't mean everything they say is true. It also forces the wolves to think about their rules, their society and what they want for themselves and each other.
I also really enjoyed the journey of the leading couple in this book. In the previous book it was already clear they had chemistry, but there were so many obstacles to overcome. In the beginning of this book it therefore seemed quite hard for these two to find and get their happily ever after, but the author did find a way to bring them together and it never felt rushed or strange. And, as always, most of their issues were solved by talking.
And with everything that happened in this book, I'm also really looking forward to the next one!
**3.75 stars
I was so so so excited to get approved on netgalley for this arc. However, after an explosive first book (in a good way!), this book definitely fell flat.
It wasn't bad and I still greatly enjoyed it however, there were a lot of slow sections that were a little hard to trudge through. Also, the spicy scenes were at the oddest times. The characters weren't as enjoyable in this book and every seemed a little negative through the whole thing.
That being said, I really liked some of the new elements and surprises introduced into the storyline and thought that lore was very interesting. The last 25% of the book was great! Plot twists that had my jaw on the floor!
I think this book had second book syndrome and was setting up for the third book - which, by the way I'm really excited for!
Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an e-arc of this book.
I was so so so excited to get approved on netgalley for this arc. However, after an explosive first book (in a good way!), this book definitely fell flat.
It wasn't bad and I still greatly enjoyed it however, there were a lot of slow sections that were a little hard to trudge through. Also, the spicy scenes were at the oddest times. The characters weren't as enjoyable in this book and every seemed a little negative through the whole thing.
That being said, I really liked some of the new elements and surprises introduced into the storyline and thought that lore was very interesting. The last 25% of the book was great! Plot twists that had my jaw on the floor!
I think this book had second book syndrome and was setting up for the third book - which, by the way I'm really excited for!
Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an e-arc of this book.