Adventure

Book Review

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“She knew that someday, her feelings would transform into something else entirely, something beautiful and strong, and the memories would still ache but with a sweet sort of sadness—the way sorrow often does, given enough time.”⁣

Three generations of witches must come together to solve a twenty year old mystery in the small town Yarrow, Kentucky as the witches are known for their shadow garden. Their magic can cure any headache and the fruits of that garden can bring a special quality to the local bourbon distillery where one day every year, a shot of Bonner Bourbon will make your worst memory disappear. But, twenty years ago on that day, the town gave up more than a memory and forgot the entire summer where someone died and the other person disappeared.

This was such a delight! I absolutely loved every single part of it and I can’t believe it’s a debut and i am looking forward to more books by this author.There is more than one romance that goes on in this novel and i love and appreciate that the author focused more on the romance between the older characters than younger. Not that I didn’t like it but it really gave it more of an adult feel and made me more invested in the book itself and I found all the characters interesting and unique with real flaws that made it easy to relate and feel empathy for. The dynamics between the characters felt very real and I did appreciate how the author kept up the suspense till the end as i was turning the page in anticipation about what would happen next. What I absolutely loved the most was the idea of the shadow garden taking pain and turning it into something beautiful in a metaphoric sense of healing from painful experiences. That actually made me tear up and it was executed so well and it could’ve been botched and lost the powerful meaning of what healing really is. All in all, it was a fun, exciting, and heartwarming tale so please check it out!

book Review

| piperreads

“If only there were a way to hold a moment in your hands and keep it alive forever.”

Under the moon throne, there have been centuries of suffering at the hands of despotic emperor, and his sons, the three terrors, as they hold the countryside in their hands. They bleed the land and leave the citizens living in fear of their dark powers they inherited from the god god locked under the palace. But, the god cannot be contained forever and with the aid of Jun, a broken guard who is still trying to deal with his grief-stricken past and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god is freed from her prison and flees from her own children, the three terrors who would drag her back down to her prison where she belongs. Now, the three must find a new home for the god and keep her away from harms way and find a way to end the moon throne but the road to freedom is paved with danger wherever they go.

What a thrilling and exciting read! I’m not usually a fan of long books but this one was well worth it and while the plot was very straightforward and something that you see a lot of in fantasy books, the author does a fantastic job with the writing to make it seem like something completely new and unique. Not only do you get a compelling love story but you also get a story that shows how love drives motivations, actions, and serves as a ray of hope. All of the characters were motivated by their scorn or want for love and how the author portrayed that throughout the book was brilliantly done. It was a truly a fantastic and thrilling read and I loved the dynamics between Keema and Jun, it felt very open and real and the two of them do a lot of growing throughout the novel. Highly recommend this one!!

Book Review: The Long WAY TO A SMALL ANGry PLAneT

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“All you can do, Rosemary – all any of us can do – is work to be something positive instead. That is a choice that every sapient must make every day of their life. The universe is what we make of it. It’s up to you to decide what part you will play.”

Not expecting much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer, Rosemary Harper finds herself right at home with a chaotic and crazy life abroad the Wayfarer. The ship has seen better days but it offers a bed, a chance to explore the far off galaxies and most importantly a long distance from her past. Rosemary knows how to keep to herself and finds the crew very different from herself and it’s about to get even dangerous when the crew accepts the job of a lifetime. A job that could mean the end of her life and her crew members if they’re not careful leaving Rosemary in a position that she was trying to get away from. The young woman must learn how to put her trust in others, a team of odd balls that will teach her how to love and trust and that having a family isn’t the worst thing in the world.

There’s nothing that I love more than feel-good science fiction and this book did more than deliver. Glad there are other books in the series because i really enjoyed this one. I love it when there’s a rag tag team of odd balls who are sent on a mission to save the world, it’s so much fun. Along with the feel good vibes, I really loved learning about the world and it felt so real and how it was written really made me love it even more. The writing is what really helped it seem so real and unique so that’s a bonus when you get that in fantasy and sci-fi novels. I loved Rosemary, she was a likable and relatable protagonist and I really felt for her and how she was trying to deal with her past trauma. I think a lot of us are dealing with that right now and it can be very overwhelming to do but I did enjoy her relationships with the other crew members. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading more of the series!

Book Review

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I may be ruthless but I am not cruel. I think it’s one of the things that Ana likes about me, I do bad things when must but I try to be good.

By day Kiki De Souza and Ana Lezama De Urianza are proper seventeenth century ladies. But when night falls, they trade in their gowns and silk for swords and muskets venturing out into the vibrant, buzzling, crime-ridden streets of Potosi in the Spanish Empire’s Viceroyalty of Peru. They spend their time gambling, crime fighting, and falling desperatly in love with one another. But, on the night Kiki’s engagment to Viceroy’s son is announced, her older brother heir to the family fortune is found murdered. The two embark on a investigation to find what happened to Kiki’s brother and if they’re not too careful, they might find themselves falling into the same trouble as he did.

What a fun retelling of The Three Musketeers with a twist. The majority of the book was very entertaining and faced paced but the one that was missing was the suspense. I didn’t really any danger especially with the villains as you know who they are once they’re mentioned so it was a bit predictable. But, it wasn’t something that really held me back from enjoying the rest of the novel and even though I don’t read YA novels that much anymore, this was a quick and easy read. Though I feel like this could work for older YA and maybe even New Adult cause it does have that kind of feel and I didn’t find anything too cheesy. Ana and Kiki, the two main characters were very fun and i love the banter between the two and although I did like the romance, I think they also work very well by themselves. At first, I found the romance a little rushed because it was very in your face but as time passed on, I started to really enjoy the romance and found it endearing. The chemistry between them sealed the deal for me as I felt that it was very real and even more so that they not only found happiness with each other but themselves. A great read so check it out!!

Book Review: The Dragon’s Promise

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Magic had returned to Kiata. I could feel it like a song resonating around me, making the world feel more alive.

Making good on her promise to return the dragon’s pearl to it’s rightful owner, Princess Shiori is now facing the reality that this task is more dangerous than she imagined. She must journey to the kingdom of dragons and navigate the political intrigue among humans and dragons alike while fending off thieves who covet the pearls themselves and willing to any lengths to get it while also presenting an image of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would rather see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood. But, the pearl is so ordinary cargo as it has a life of it’s own and jumps to Shiori’s aid one minute but betrays her the next with threatening to destroy everything she holds dear including the love of her life, Tekkan. It’s going to take every ounce of strength that she has to defend what she holds dear and find a way through it to the other side.

Well to say this was disappointing is an understatement because I feel really let down by this follow up and conclusion to the doulogy. Six Crimson Cranes was such a beautifully written book with flawed and complicated characters that felt very real in a world that felt unlike your own. Lim does a really good job developing the characters while developing the world around them where the readers can easily immerse themselves into the world. But, this book is a mess and it was one of my most anticipated reads for 2022 and I’m bummed about it cause the beginning started out really great and I was very invested and then the last half of the book completely destroyed it.

The beginning of the book started off really well and I found myself very invested and I loved seeing Shiori, Takkan, and Seyru. Lin does a really good job with explaining the new magic system and how it worked and I found that very neat but then it starts going downhill and ruining really good character development that was established in the first book. I was really struggling but I kept hoping that maybe things would get better and I was let down towards the end as it felt very rushed and I was left wondering where it all went wrong. There were other parts that I did like but it’s hard for me to give it 4 stars because of the other flaws but I guess that’s how it goes sometimes. I hope that those who read it will enjoy it better than me!

Book Review: Seraphina

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“Your lies didn’t stop me loving you; your truth hasn’t stopped me either.”

Seraphina Domingus has many reasons to fear humans and dragons as they haven’t been able to make peace with one another and live in harmony. The dragons are able to shape shift into humans and lend their mathematical minds to humans in different areas of interest including music, politics, academics and so on. But, tensions are high even as the treaty’s anniversary is just around the corner. Seraphina who is an unusually gifted musician who joins the court as a member of the royal family is found murdered and she finds herself in the thick of the investigation along with Prince Lucian Keggs, the principal investigator. Seraphina’ is desperate to keep her secret safe of where she gets her musical gift from and if revealed, it could lead to deadly consequences for her.

This was such an interesting plot and something that I’d never consider unique or something that I would like since it contains Math and that was my least favorite subject in school. I wasn’t very good at it and I found it very frustrating so anytime I had to do anything with math, I hated it. But, the way the author intertwined this concept with the story and how it developed over the course of the book made it very unique and I found myself unable to put the book down. It follows Seraphina, who is conflicted as she has every right to be and scared that people will find out her secret. I found her character very relatable as the inner conflict she had is something that we all struggle with and deeper into the story, we do see a lot of growth in terms of her character and being more assertive. We get to know her and where she comes with flashbacks that were done very well and didn’t detract from the plot of the story and I liked how everything came out in the end. This was a really fun book so I highly recommend it!

Book Review: Fire

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“It was a very hard thing to have crushed the heart, and the hopes, of a friend.”

Equally hated and adored, Fire is one of the last human monsters that lives in the mountains of the Dells where King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south plot to steal his throne. The forest and the mountains are filled with with spies, thieves, and lawless men. With the ability to control minds, Fire is wanted by those in power to use it for their greed but she guards it fiercely unwilling to harness it to harm innocent people especially when she has so many of her own. But, when Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City with a propistion she can’t refuse and the more she immerses herself into the environment, the more she sees how much her power could save the kingdom. If only she wasn’t so afraid of turning into her father.

This is probably my favorite book out the series and rereading it was a real treat as it had been a long time since I’d read it the first time. The writing in this book is more polished than the first one and I think that’s part of the reason why it’s more enjoyable to me than the first. Fire is different than Katsa and less annoying and the dynamics she has with those around her were very interesting and I did enjoy seeing her growth throughout the story. I really felt for her in how she was so afraid of repeating the mistakes that her father made and didn’t want to turn into him. I think that part made her feel very human because I do think that’s something that many of us are afraid of doing and the inner struggle to branch out and start a new path is terrifying and overwhelming. It was a fun reread and I’ll be working on the third book soon so keep a look out for that!