104 ratings (3.43 avg)
78 reviews

June (Kallandra) Kaye

Add friend

June (Kallandra)’s favorite books

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

More…

June (Kallandra)’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (163)
currently-reading‎ (3)

read‎ (102)
favorites‎ (16)

first-reads‎ (16)

Stats | More…

June (Kallandra) is Currently Reading

June (Kallandra) Kaye is currently reading

The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, #1)

by Laurie Forest (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

June (Kallandra) Kaye said: " The main character in the book Elloren "Ren" Gardner has a tragic beginning, with her parents killed early in her life. This hole is only marginally filled by her brothers Rafe and Trystan, but mostly it is filled by her beloved uncle Edwin who raise The main character in the book Elloren "Ren" Gardner has a tragic beginning, with her parents killed early in her life. This hole is only marginally filled by her brothers Rafe and Trystan, but mostly it is filled by her beloved uncle Edwin who raises the siblings.
Unbeknownst to Ren until her teens, she is the granddaughter of the infamous Black Witch whom the Gardnerians idolized as their savior. Yet later within the book, Elloren learns of a darker past and how many of the races learned to fear the Black Witch and Gardnerians in general.
This book is a sublime immersion into an epic creation of world building fantasy. Laced with so many different species and races, among them several different types of elves, the Vu Trin, Urisk, Amazakarans and my personal favorite; the Icarals. The Icarals are a winged species that seem to occur almost as a rare genetic chance within several races but one thing remains constant: all are disliked and almost universally hated as some sort of demonic spawn. It's a form of bigotry through ignorance and intolerance that is so perfectly depicted in this book.

In the book, Elloren learns to get over her fear and intolerance of many races, and at least some of how she feels towards the Icarals through the University that both her uncle Edwin and her aunt Vyvian sends her to. Her aunt however has her own agenda. Ren is housed with two Icarals, her first long term exposure to truly different species and it shifts her world view.

Thus begins her questioning of life after an event that involves a guy her aunt wants her to be wand fasted with, Lukas Grey. He is also desired by Fallon Bane,who due to Lukas' interest in Ren, becomes her instant enemy. Her aunt does not make Ren's life easy, by trying to force her hand. She makes Elloren work in the kitchen, something that Gardnerians rarely "stoop" to do. But here she meets another mysterious guy named Yvan Guriel, who gradually and grudgingly becomes her friend.

There are so many secondary story arcs and characters that are so interesting that I couldn't possibly do them justice. I love the heart and messages that are taught throughout this book. These lessons are so sorely needed today. I especially loved a moment in the book when Wynter, one of the Icarals, was speaking about herself and what it meant to be an Elf and Icaral. She stated that she was cursed and one of the "Foul" ones, who brings great shame to the Elvinkind. Diana Ulrich, who is a Lupine; a close relative to a werewolf like race, had a strong negative reaction to this. She was stunned that any being would be so cruel to simply curse a race. Especially Wynter whom she'd gotten to know and could see was a caring person. Diana stated to Wynter that what she said about being foul and cursed was foolishness and asked why she would want to insult herself. Although Wynter's brother who was a full Elf tried to explain to Diana that these were the Elven ways, and what Wynter believed in. The point is touching made clear, that not all races think alike.
I truly loved this gem of a book. It's exactly the kind of fantasy escape that not just young adults need but everyone does. It has not just an incredible story arc that I can't wait to delve into again, but some pretty powerful and much needed messages that we need currently today. I can't wait for the next installment to come out!

This book was provided for me by netgalley. ...more "

Dec 05, 2018 05:27PM · see review

June (Kallandra) Kaye is currently reading

The Queen's Wing (The Queen's Wing, #1)

by Jessica Thorne (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

June (Kallandra) Kaye said: " A gripping narrative that caught my attention from the first chapter, and that is something not all books can do. This book happened to do that and further piqued by interest by its great heroine. Then; followed this by its lovely world building whic ...more "

Nov 04, 2018 07:57PM · see review