Welcome to the blog tour for Brazen by Christina Farley! This novel is the final book in the Gilded series. If you have not read Gilded or Silvern, be sure to check out these books! I have a review of Brazen to share, as well as an AMAZING giveaway. Good luck!
Brazen by Christina Farley
Book Three of the Gilded series
Publisher: Skyscape
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Rating: 4 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley
Summary (from Goodreads):
Sworn to an ancient god of darkness, Jae Hwa fights to gain her freedom and restore the balance of Korea… but first she must gain back the trust of her loved ones.
Jae Hwa Lee spent her sixteenth year in Seoul, trying to destroy the evil immortals who had been torturing her family for centuries. The last thing she expected was to be forced to become their assassin. Trapped in the darkest part of the Spirit World as a servant to the Korean god Kud, fighting to keep her humanity, and unable to contact her loved ones, Jae Hwa is slowly losing hope. Kud, god of darkness, will do anything to keep her as a pawn in his quest for power over all of Korea, her entire family thinks she’s dead, and Jae’s true love, Marc, believes she is lost to him forever.
When Kud sends Jae to find and steal the powerful Black Turtle orb, Jae sees an opportunity to break free and defeat Kud once and for all…but first she needs to regain Marc’s trust and work with him to vanquish the darkness that threatens to overwhelm Korea. There’s much to lose as Jae struggles to save the land she’s come to call home.
What I Liked:
This was a really great conclusion novel, I'm pleased. I was super nervous before starting this book, because I didn't remember a lot of little AND big details from Silvern. As it would turn out, this was not an issue! I love that Farley wrote Brazen in such a way that you didn't have to remember everything from Gilded and/or Silvern. This conclusion novel was action-packed, heartbreaking, and satisfying to the end.
Jae Hwa has become a servant of Kud, after signing a contract to serve him, in order to save Marc and those she loves. Jae's humanity is slipping away with every day that she is enslaved by Kud, following his orders. He wants her to retrieve the Black Turtle orb, the last orb needed for Kud to take over Korea - and the world. To stop him, Jae will need to strike back - but she can't do it by herself.
I'm going to try and keep this review as short and as vague as possible, given that it is a conclusion novel. I really enjoyed it! Probably my favorite of the series. I love that you don't need to reread the first two books in order to have a clear understanding of what is happening in the beginning of this book. Thank goodness for that, because I remembered little from the first two books, unfortunately.
Jae's life is miserable, as is evident from most of this book. Being a servant (read: slave) of Kud is form of torture, especially since Jae has become a traitor to her people. Everyone thinks that she is dead, or betrayed them, when neither is the case. Jae is trying to save everyone, but it's difficult to do that when Kud can control where you go and what you do. Still, I liked Jae's resilience, even when things were overwhelmingly hard for her. Like in the previous books, Jae proves her kickbutt ninja skills time after time, which is pretty cool!
The story is centered around finding the Black Turtle orb, which only Jae can do. Kud must let her retrieve it, and Jae needs help to do so. But she can't go up to Marc and the Guardians and ask, can she? Especially with Kud breathing down her neck. Still, Jae gets help from unexpected places. Obtaining the Black Turtle is not easy, and Jae faces many trials before coming anywhere near accomplishing her goal. The story is very fast-paced and exciting, so it's not hard to blow through this book in one sitting.
There is little romance in this book, and it's mostly concentrated in the second half of the book. But again, LITTLE romance. The previous two books had more demonstrative romance. But no love triangle. Marc thinks that Jae has betrayed him and the Guardians, but as the story goes on, Marc learns things that he and the Guardians must consider.
This is a conclusion novel that definitely did its job. As always, the world-building and setting of the book is beautiful and well-written. A good portion of this book takes place in China, which was awesome. I enjoyed this book a lot! I think many readers will.
What I Did Not Like:
Hmmm. There isn't anything that is sticking out in my mind... still, this book is getting four stars from me. There could have been more romance, less weirdness with Kud, his shenanigans. The ending could have been more expanded, instead of ending it with the ending of the final battle scene. My "complaints" are very minimal!
Would I Recommend It:
You must read this book if you've read either Gilded, or both Gilded and Silvern. It is totally worth the read. And if you haven't read the series - modern-day fantasy set in Korea/China! Diversity, kickbutt action, smart heroine, sweet romance. Win!
Rating:
4 stars. I enjoyed this book so much! As I said before, this is probably my favorite of the series. It doesn't hurt that the cover is of my favorite color! The covers of all of these books in the series are so beautiful. And with a great story to match!
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Check out the first two books!
(Click on the covers for my reviews!)
About the Author:
CHRISTINA FARLEY is the author of the Gilded series, a YA contemporary fantasy series set in Korea. GILDED was nominated for Korea's 2014 Morning Calm, Ohio's 2015 Buckeye award, and the Tome’s It List. As a child, she loved to explore, which later inspired her to jump on a plane and travel the world. Christina's adventures sparked her to write stories, infusing the real world with fantasy. Currently she writes from home in Clermont, FL with her husband and two sons—that is until the travel itch whisks her off to a new unknown.
The Giveaway:
To celebrate the release of BRAZEN, Christina is giving away a Kindle Fire (US only) and a $50 Amazon gift card (international). The letter for this stop is I (like "igloo"). Collect all the letters from the blog tour to earn more points!
