ARC Review: Seasons of Sorcery by Amanda Bouchet, Jennifer Estep, Grace Draven and Jeffe Kennedy

“…if you are a fan of fantasy romance this is a must have for your bookshelf. ”
~ Under the Covers

Seasons of Sorcery is a fantasy romance anthology with novella’s from 4 well known authors in the genre.  This is a great anthology, especially if you are already familiar with the authors. If you aren’t some of these read better as standalones than others. Grace Draven’s and Amanda Bouchet’s work well by themselves. However, Jennifer Estep’s and Jeffe Kennedy’s we would recommend you be familiar with the series they are set in before beginning. Overall though, if you are a fan of fantasy romance this is a must have for your bookshelf.

Winter’s Web by Jennifer Estep

This story is definitely for fans who have followed the series because it occurs after book seventeen in the series, so if you are one of those readers who are trying this author out for the first time, do keep that in mind while reading. I definitely think reading the rest of the series would be beneficial because there are quite a lot of references to past events as well as spoilers for the other books.

That being said, it was a nice for loyal readers like me to return to this world. The pacing of this story is a bit slower than I was used to. It could be due to the shorter word count but also, I think the author was aware that this story might be the first for many new readers, so I do think it did take longer than usual for her to get things started than was normal. Nevetheless, the story was still a lot of fun. Gin and the rest of the crew go to a renaissance faire and I thought that was something a little different and fun to see.

If you’re looking for a series that has great action and conflict, then I think you’ll enjoy this one.

A Curse from Spring by Amanda Bouchet

Amanda Bouchet manages to pack a lot in this novella. There’s the almost overthrowing of an entire Kingdom, a quest full of trials and tribulations for our hero and heroine and a really sweet love story. There’s a lot to get your teeth into with this novella. If you haven’t read Bouchet before and want to give her a try this is the perfect story for you.

The Dragons of Summer by Jeffe Kennedy

I didn’t manage to finish this one and it had nothing to do with the quality of the novella. I have never read Jeffe Kennedy and so this was first time giving her a try, I just chose the wrong book. This is set in the midst of a series and did not read well as a standalone. It referred to events and characters that I didn’t know about as well as the hero and heroine having a whole history together that I, as a first time reader, am unaware of. So I stopped reading, I just had no idea what was happening and difficulty in understanding the characters motives. But, I did enjoy the writing style, so although I didn’t read this book, I see it as more of a pause whilst I hunt down the beginning of this series.

A Wilderness of Glass by Grace Draven

This was probably my favourite novella of the anthology. I loved this forbidden love story between Brida a hardworking widow and a mermen. Brida saves him when she finds him severely bruised and battered on the shore. From there a really sweet love story unfolds between them. However, Draven also added some excitement and danger as the couples secret rendezvous are being scrutinised by a nobleman who wants to use Brida’s connection with the merpeople for his own nefarious ends. Although this has a slower start, it was well worth the read and reaffirms by fandom for all things Grace Draven.

What did you think of our review?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below!

 ♡ Don’t want to miss any of our posts? ♡