Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Revelations (The Lily Singer Adventures #2)
by Lydia Sherrer
Rating: 5 stars
Blurb:
The truth shall make you free…sort of.Modern-day wizard Lily Singer prefers to stay tucked away in her library, studying magic and drinking tea. But with a troublesome witch friend and a past riddled with dangerous secrets, her chances of peace and quiet are slim.
Armed with only wits and magic, she must manage her argumentative cat, thwart a plot to steal a powerful artifact, and decide who, amid all this, she can trust. The past, both ancient and modern, is catching up with her. Will discovering its secrets reveal her future, or doom it? Perhaps some truths are better left unknown…
My Review:
Gah this series has me totally hooked! Wow! This book was so good and how lucky am I to start the new year with a 5 star read? Before I finished book 1 I already bought book 2 as I knew I had to continue the series, then as soon as I finished there was only one book I was in the mood for namely book 2. So I started this one right after book 1. I keep thinking about this series and the world even while I am not reading. And my breakfast and break times (which is when I read) seemed to get longer and longer as I was so absorbed in reading and had to finish just one more chapter. I was totally into this book and decided it deserves that rare 5 star rating as it happen so rarely a series catches my attention so completely like this.
Book 1 was really good, but book 2 is even better. And the titles are so fitting. Where book 1 is the beginning and introduces the reader to everyone and the world, this book takes it further and it definitely lives up to it’s title revelations. Oh and I just have to say how much I love these covers, even more so now that I am reading these books. There are so many little details that seem a coincidence or random on the cover until you read the book. Almost every detail on the cover refers to something in the book. It’s fun to figure it all out when reading and realize what really is on the cover.
Revelations is told in three parts just like book 1. First we have an episode from Lily her point of view, then an interlude from Sebastian his point of view and then another episode from Lily her point of view. And while it might sound like the story would feel fragmented because of that, that is not at all the case. There is a big sense of continuity in the story and each episode builds upon the previous ones and refers to it as well. And there’s some really well placed foreshadowing when you look back at the end of this book. It’s very well written and kept my attention from start to end.
I already liked Lily and Sebastian in book 1, but I grew even more fond of them here. They are both such interesting characters and I felt like they acted so realistically and believable. And while I would like to say Lily her actions in episode 2 of this book are unrealistic, I can’t say that, as it was realistic and in character no matter how much I wish she didn’t do what she did. And in some way it was necessary for her as a character and the plot of the book. And we get to learn a bit more about Sebastian as well, while he still is a tad mysterious as well. I just gobble up every piece of information about him that we get.
And there’s a great development surrounding Sir Kipling (Lily her cat) in this book that was so much fun. Sir Kip has quickly become one of my favorite characters. There are also things that were kept a secret from Lily and in this book we finally learn why. And the epilogue just left me with all these warm and happy feelings.
Oh and there’s this hint of romance and it’s one of those deliciously slow building romances that I love. It’s totally a side plot and not the focus. But all those tiny hints and gestures are so perfect and I can’t wait to see if they become a couple, but at the same as I love a good slow building romance I wouldn’t mind waiting another few books before that happens. Gah these two are so perfect together and I love seeing them grow just a bit closer. Although I really wanted to shake some sense in them at some point too as I know these two should be together and I was sad to see them hurting, but that’s just a sign of how invested I was in this book and the characters.
I already mentioned the world building in my review of book 1, but I am still going to mention it here again. This world is so well crafted, it feels like every new piece we learn and everything that happens just fits in so nicely within the established rules. Everything makes sense. There is no bending of rules, it all fits neatly into what we already know of the world. I loved learning more about the wizards and some history about them. We get a sense of what else it out there and get to see some glimpses of the other magical beings in this world.
To summarize: I love this series so far! This series caught my attention with book 1 and I just have to read everything that’s published in this series before I can put my attention to other books. Revelations was even better than book 1 and the title is so fitting. There are a lot of revelations in this book, some good surprises and things that fell into place. I liked the development surrounding Lily her cat, Sir Kipling. And I enjoy reading about Lily and Sebastian, they are both great characters and I really grown fond of both of them. The characters in this book all act very realistic and believable. There’s a hint of romance, in that perfect slow building romance way. I can’t wait to see these two as a couple, but at the same time am perfectly content to wait another few books. The world is so masterfully crafted and every new pice we learn falls perfectly into place and it all makes sense. I can’t wait for book 3 to be released, but luckily I still have a novella in this series to read first. If you love stories about witches, wizards and magic or enjoy a good urban fantasy with a slow building romance and realistic character I would totally recommend this series.
You can also read my review on Goodreads and Amazon
These do sound fun!And a cat that is character is even better. Not really sure about wizards, but magic is always good in a read for me 🙂 My favorite read so far is Keystone by Dannika Dark and was 5 stars for me. Great review!
I love cats as side characters and Sir Kipling is so much fun! Nice you already got a 5 star read this year as well already 🙂
Your excitement for this book is catching and now I want to race out and snag book one and get busy reading. The combo of good worldbuilding, plot, and characters including Sir Kip with a slow burn romance does sound delectable. Fantastic that it was a five star.
Hmm, my favorite book so far… it’s a tie between Gemina by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff and Someone to Hold by Mary Balogh. They were so far apart in genre, too. 🙂
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Thanks! It can be so difficult to review books that I loved so I am glad to hear my excitement shines through. It really is an amazing series, I keep thinking of it regularly.
Both of those sound good. And we both read a lot of different genres, so I am not too surprised they are so far apart in genre.
OMG! I’m totally convinced. I love urban fantasy plus the addition of romance just won me over. I have a goal to finish all my TBR first before adding some new books, but I’ll make this story #1 in my list once I’m done with my TBR. Dang! I’m so excited.
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Yay! I really hope you give this series a try, it’s so good! I love a good urban fantasy and even better if it has a hint of slow building romance.
I’ve had a STORMING start to the year ‘Emperor of the Fireflies’ by Sarah Ash blew me away, then I fell in love with Stephen Baxter’s sequel to ‘The War of the Worlds – his ‘The Massacre of Mankind’ and I’m still recovering from Alwyn Hamilton’s amazing sequel to ‘Rebel of the Sands’ – ‘Traitor to the Throne’ but PLEASE don’t ask me to choose between them… they are so very different, yet all wonderful reads! Glad you, too, have had a wonderful start to the year:).
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This actually was my first read of the new year, which was a perfect way to start a new year. And I know what you mean, it’s so difficult to pick your favorite read, so multiple ones totally count as answer ;). For me it’s easy to pick a favorite at the moment as this is still my only 5 star fo the year. But I read some amazing 4 star reads too already.
Glad to hear you liked this book. There have been a few really good books this year but none that have wowed me as of yet.
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I hope you find a book that wows you soon 🙂
I’m so glad you loved the book so much and have found such a great series! And ooh, a slow buliding romance, I like those too! I also love these covers, and I don’t even know what all the details are lol. These really do sound like fun books, and I’ve read books with segmented stories like that. As long as they’re all connected and there’s still a kind of overarching character or story arc, they still work 🙂
Slow building romances are the best :). It’s so fun to see those two interact and I keep hoping it will go somewhere, but I also am willing to wait as long as it takes for them to get there.
I just saw the cover for book 3 and 4 last week and they are awesome too. And I love how the covers make even more sense once you’ve read them.
The segmented type of telling the story isn’t something you see often, so it was neat to see it here and as each part builds upon the others and continues the story it still feels like one whole as well.
These books sound great 🙂 I love a good slow burn romance (especially when they start out as just a hint) and fictional cats are the best! I’ll definitely have to check out the first one!
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They really are amazing! I keep thinking of this series and can’t wait for book 3 and 4! And I love it when authors can write such a well done slow building romance and this one is just perfect! And Sir Kipling is awesome, he’s such a fun addition to the series.
I’m ahuge fan of pets as characters in books especially in fantasies. They add so much to the story!
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I agree! Sir Kipling here is such an awesome character, he really adds something to the book :). But I like pets in all genres, it’s best if we get to see a bit of their personality as well.