I learned a new word this week: romantasy. It is a fantasy romance book. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is one of the leading books in that category. As I read it, my mind sorted it into the YA (Young Adult) story in the vein of The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter. It takes place at a lethal military college where cadets train to be soldiers who fight using dragons. There are several intriguing barriers to overcome before you can ride a dragon. For one, the dragon has to find you worthy. Two, if you bond with a dragon and it dies, you will die. The book strikes a good balance between using magic "realistically"--it's tied to the dragon--and spilling oceans of ink describing exactly how it all works. The college is a brutal one. Each morning at formation, the names of those who died the previous day are read. Less than a third of the class survives to graduate. The country is at war, which lends an edgy view to their education. The rivalries and love triangles feel more like high schoolers than adults. However, the book took a decidedly sexy turn when the protagonist, Violet, and her smoldering hot, bad-boy wing leader gave in to their overwhelming chemistry. Wowza! It's adult romantasy. For sure.
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The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman is book VI in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I say this frequently, but I admire Dinniman's capabilities as a writer to juggle a large cast of characters, action scenes, and multiple plot lines so well. The story continues for Carl and Donut as they battle for survival, this time using players' cards, much like Magic: The Gathering. I bought the cards as presents for my grandkids but lack experiential knowledge. Dinniaman's descriptions make me curious to see how it works. I anticipate being schooled by some ten and fourteen-year-olds. The series deals with mature themes like lots of gory death, foot fetishes, and other adult happenings, but at the same time, it seems aimed at gamers.
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