Tape, Arizona

Books by the author Arizona Tape.

Choice of the Winter Wolf by Arizona Tape

Posted on by DragonSusie

Somewhat Lacklustre

Compared to the first book in the series, plus the excellent prequel, I felt that this second book was a bit of a let down in comparison.

For me, it wasn’t Akira constantly putting herself down, as others have said bothered them, as I perfectly understand those sentiments, from personal experience, and it makes her decisions regarding the interactions with others more understandable.

If anything, I felt like it wasn’t played through enough. Yes, it’s nice how she’s opening up more to Ashleigh as the trip goes on, and the rivalry with Danny definitely needs more exploring, too. But there’s a piece missing to many of these interactions, and I can’t particularly say what. Maybe that it should just be more intense? She can think more, do more, and none of it needs to be always easily resolved with Ashleigh.

In the original I had liked how they were teaching Akira to fight. Maybe it’s coming, now they’re on their way again. And I hope that Akira teaches JP about the medicinal herbs in return, which she had kicked herself for not collecting on the way.

Akira is currently a complete pushover with a lot of self doubt, which is quite understandable considering her background. But there still could have been so much more here. And we, like Akira, currently know nothing about Darren or Regan (so little that I forgot their names and had to go back to check), or even Danny frankly, except that Danny and Regan are mates, which seemed surprising considering Danny’s suspicions of Akira being akin to jealousy.

Well, there’s one more book to go. Let’s hope we finish on a high.

Final rating: ★★★☆☆ – Sort of liked/OK

*I received a free digital ARC via the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

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The Phoenix Nest by Arizona Tape

Posted on by DragonSusie

Simply Glorious!

This book was so full of highs and lows! From giggling glee, to terrible tears! So full of emotions!

One thing I absolutely loved was the amount of detail about the animals. This was so much on a higher level than the previous book, as you get to learn about these birds as intensely as Charlotte is. It’s so obvious the amount of effort that has gone into creating these birds in such fine detail, it was wonderful!

Whilst we have this ongoing “will they, won’t they” between Charlotte and Felicity, I was a little disappointed that there was no final flirtation between them at the end, to discuss the wonders Charlotte had just experienced, just like she’d shared her animal heartbreak.

I was also somewhat disappointed that we didn’t see the hatchling grow and be released, or will that be touched upon a little later on? I hope so, but the books seem primarily invested in one species at a time.

But, all in all, still a solid little read, packed with so much realism for a fantasy world.

Final rating: ★★★★★ – Loved it/couldn’t put it down

*I received a free digital ARC via the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

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Heart and Soul of the Wolf by Arizona Tape

Posted on by DragonSusie

Does Love Conquer All?

This is a cutesy short second-chance love story based as a prequel to the Guardian of the Winter Stone series. It wasn’t around when I first read the series, but I love the extra little titbits it gives, as well as the story itself.

These are two people, best friends, with a hundred-and-one excuses for why they mustn’t say anything to the other about their feelings. As soon as they leave on the quest, they fall into a steady rhythm with each other, each complimenting the other. Yet it may take the fear of losing it all to break the silence.

A few squees, a few breath-holding moments, a little bit of steam, and these two young women are ready to face the world.

Final rating: ★★★★☆ – Really liked

*I received a free digital ARC via the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

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Duty of the Winter Wolf by Arizona Tape

Posted on by DragonSusie

So Much Better!

I read the original series, a couple of years ago, and there were several things I didn’t like about it.

But now, here we are, with an updated series, and wow – I can already see the improvements!

The simplification of the relationships helps a lot, as the partnerships became confusing in the original (if you know you know). I’m unsure what will happen next right now, but it’s not looking so dire (haha), even though this instalment has ended on a cliffhanger. It leaves me curious and expectant for the rest.

Final rating: ★★★★☆ – Really liked

*I received a free digital ARC via the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

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The Unicorn Herd by Arizona Tape

Posted on by DragonSusie

Absolutely Delightful

This book really did have me squealing in delight! It was so much fun, so light, with a fascinating air of mythical beasts.

It starts of with a hint of “enemies to lovers”, but that appears to be a bit of an extended story that isn’t quite resolved yet. There’s lots of “will they, won’t they?” between a few of the interns, but if it was a one-and-done book, perhaps more would have paired off. Yes, there is definitely something there that’s being saved for later.

The book fell off a bit towards the middle end, but the ending itself was wonderfully unexpected, even though it made a lot of sense.

I’m going to squeal a bit as I wait for the sequel to pop up at the top of my list!

Final rating: ★★★★☆ – Really liked

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The Tea Witch’s Promise by Laura Greenwood and Arizona Tape

Posted on by DragonSusie

Somewhat Disappointing

I absolutely hated the start, and I’m unsure why. There was something missing, that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

The romance was also a too-slow build up for me, with all the “will they, won’t they?”, which is known to annoy me somewhat. It just felt like they kept recircling around the same ideas, not asking the right questions, before finally deciding all was OK. Once they got to that point, the flow was better, until it came to the issue of Oliver…

Banjo is a fun character, and I would have liked to have seen him fleshed out a bit more. Hopefully we’ll get more of other familiars, including Howie, quite soon. They’re magically-bonded familiars, but what that actually means, apart from a tattoo (no spoilers), and whether there are actually any magical properties there outside of that, I’m not too sure right now.

And I was a little confused about how the magic works, but hopefully that will come along, too.

This doesn’t mean that I will just dump the series. But I will just see it all as an introduction, and hope that the next book finds me better. We are all different in our likes, after all!

Final rating: ★★★☆☆ – Sort of liked/OK

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Wide Asleep by Arizona Tape

Posted on by DragonSusie

Great idea, needs a little work

So here we are, primarily focused on Yen (11 out of 16 chapters), and the two side characters she bumps into, Rover (3/16) and Dahlia (2/16), plus a strange side plot that doesn’t quite make much sense – we get brief snippets about a plot against the government at the very beginning and the end, with a tiny detail connecting into it, but without more details throughout, it feels a bit out of place.

The fact that it is supposed to be dancing around the three characters made me feel somewhat disappointed. And, considering there is supposed to be some sort of slow-burn romance starting up, apart from the brief flutter in the very brief encounter, there’s nothing really to say anything is going to happen.

The impression I got was that we were supposed to hear much more from the two side MCs. Maybe it might have been better if their stories were split out across the three books? I’m not sure, but I did miss really getting to know them, as Yen’s story dominated so much.

Anyway, the story is about sleep deprivation, sleep being the currency used in this world. You can only get tokens to sleep if you work, and how many tokens you get for each of sleep, food, and other stuff, depends on your level in society, with “A” being the highest and “C” being the lowest. Considering it all, “C” citizens, with their low morals in order to survive, probably have it the easiest. Although we don’t come across any “A” class citizens to compare with.

So, the idea is good. And you are only allowed to attend the Academy if you do well on your sleep tests – those who can cope with a level of sleep deprivation are allowed to have more. Quite twisted, in a way, with most citizens walking around in a permanent level of sleep deprivation.

This needs, obviously, some work to become a finished story. As I said, I’d like to hear more from the other two MCs, plus there’s some work needed to tidy everything up. But I do think that, once the work is done, that there is a really great story to be had here. And romance in a dystopian world is a wonderful thing, so please give it!

Final rating: ★★★☆☆ – Sort of liked/OK

*I received a free digital Beta copy via the author in exchange for an honest review*

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Fangs For All by Laura Greenwood and Arizona Tape

Posted on by DragonSusie

Awesome ending

Ha! What a conclusion! Considering I’d been following the series from book one (which is best, as otherwise it’s impossible to keep up), there are certainly some things I didn’t see coming.

So, we learn more about the Blood Slave auctions and, of course, Lucy and her band are still hot on the tail to try to stop them, at any cost. Yet, what will it cost them? For Lucy, it costs her more than she would have wanted at the beginning of her journey into the dark side of vampire high society. Yet, when stepping into her inheritance appears to be the answer to almost all of her aims and questions, she finally does it, and with flourish.

Mika. Now, I wouldn’t have expected that to be the real background story! Yet, with all her strangeness, it does make perfect sense. Despite everything, she proves quite an ally.

But that damned cat! When will we finally understand what’s going on with him?!

And then there’s Lucy and her men… Not quite a complete HEA, yet things appear to definitely be working out for her! Not that her mother would approve, but hey – isn’t she one of the ones supporting keeping the Blood Slaves…?

With her grandmother somehow speaking from beyond her Sleep, all the clues have been right under Lucy’s nose the entire time.

Final rating: ★★★★★ – Loved it/couldn’t put it down

*I received a free digital ARC via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

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Infamous by Arizona Tape

Posted on by DragonSusie

Good start

This book was still in Beta when I received it, so the author is now currently busy with amendments based on my and other reader’s suggestions. But, from the beginning, we already have a great story going on here!

We have Rie, with her sentient deck of cards (or, at least, the “character” cards), who regularly talk to her and give her advice. She’s also very good at pickpocketing, noticing targets with high-value items or money. It’s her only means of survival. Until she pickpockets the wrong target…

Oh, but her mistake only ends up working in her favour, as she is forced to repay her debt by joining a gang of hustlers, who only want to rob the richest man in the city!

There is a great list of side characters here, but unfortunately we don’t get to know them enough in depth. A few months on and I can’t remember all of their names and don’t have access anymore. Yet what I can say is this – there’s already a great storyline, but I would love to see some more background. And, of course, there’s a nice ending, where Rie manages to realise one of her dreams. And, I believe, there’s another story to be had in that, too.

Final rating: ★★★★☆ – Really liked

*I received a free digital Beta copy via the author in exchange for an honest review*

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Valkyrie’s Choice by Arizona Tape

Posted on by DragonSusie

Resolution, but no resolution

Yes, we get a resolution to everything that happened in the previous book! The true characters all come out! Bryn finally stands up to her grandmother, in several ways, managing to impress her as much as piss her off! And Bryn finds out what she truly wants to be as well. But…

Yes, there’s always a “but”. The ending left me quite disappointed. We have here a slow-burn romance, which doesn’t fully resolve. Everything is building up to something that doesn’t quite happen. Maybe in the main series, we’ll get to see how that develops, but unfortunately it doesn’t happen here. I believe that that was the biggest let down of the two books, knowing that there could have been so much more.

What I liked most, however, was the deeper digging into the mythology, as Bryn travels through the afterlife on her own, discovering other lines in the mythology belonging to some of the other beings, which she in turns relates back to these other beings in the living world.

All in all, it isn’t bad. Bryn learning “BSL” (in this instance, Banshee Sign Language instead of British Sign Language) is an interesting one, along with why they use the sign language. Along with other little quirks, it makes it an interesting story.

Final rating: ★★★★☆ – Really liked

*I received a free digital ARC via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

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