Romance

The Prison Healer

| piperreads

Rating: 4/5

“My name is Kiva Meridan, and I claim her sentence as my own.” 

This book was a nice surprise as I didn’t even plan on reading it until I was looking for Goodreads and read some of the reviews and decided to check it out for myself. Sometimes books don’t always live up to the hype that they are getting and that can be disappointing but this book is definitely worth the hype.

The story is set in a prison where people tend to not live very long because of the conditions. The protagonist Kiva has been in the prison for ten years, and since she was seven and works as a healer, she has avoided the worst conditions. Kiva is able to have contact in the outside world which gives her hope that she will one day be saved from her imprisonment. Thought the book, Kiva has to use what she knows in order to save herself in many ways.

Kiva is a very interesting character as are the others. In typical YA fashion, she is strong and fierce but also relatable. Others include Tippy, a young boy who stutters but has a big heart and very lovable, and Naari who was equally fantastic and I hope to hear more about them in the next book. I felt like all the characters complimented each other and it felt real. I did feel like the characters were well written and were unique in their own way. The writing was also a plus for this book as that really helped with describing the events throughout the book.

And finally, the slow burn romance was an absolute delight and I found myself so invested in the romance. Slow burn is one of my favorite tropes and it was done so right with this book. I can’t wait for the second one!

From Blood and Ash (#1)

| piperreads

Rating: 5/5

“Bravery and strength do not equal goodness.”

Well, this was worth the hype for me. I had been hearing about this series for months but hadn’t really looked into it until I started getting more into book blogging. I was hoping it would be worth the hype because sometimes they aren’t and it’s utterly disappointing. But, this was a delight and I was enthralled throughout the book. The writing and characters are what stood out to me the most. Poppy is such a fierce and strong heroine and I love her romance with personal guard, it felt real and the more I read about them the more I loved it. Romance isn’t the only thing in this series as it’s packed with bravery, loyalty, suspense, rage, and friendship.

Some plot points were predictable but I felt like they weren’t done in a disappointing way as with other fantasy novels. The story really has everything that fits my requirement for a five star review and I was really glad that I took the time to read it. I already finished book 2 so be on the lookout for that soon!!

Shattered Kingdom #1 Review

| piperreads

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance

“I’ll need weapons,” she demanded, and he wanted to tell her that he would lay all the armament he had at her feet when the time came. If the time ever came. But now was not the time.

“If you like ACOTAR, Six of Crows, Throne of Glass, this is for you and this is so correct. Although it was a little slow in the beginning, this book is full of surprises on the way. The main heroine goes by the Gandrett who is enlisted into saving a kidnapped son of a lord. Being fans of ACOTAR, Six of Crows, and TOG, I was a little nervous that this series wouldn’t live up to the hype and boy was I wrong. There was so much to love from this book and I was hooked from the beginning.

First, let’s start off with the characters, Gandrett a spunky and fierce warrior with unique characteristics, Nehelon who is a brooding fae which makes you love and hate him at the same time, Brax and Armand who have overlapping personalities but the more you read about the more you see the growth. Last but not least, there’s McKenzie who is the shining gem out of the entire group. The storyline was enthralling just as the plot twists as they kept me on the edge of my seat. Two gripes that I have is I felt like some of the relationships were formed too quickly and that is usually my gripe with books. I would’ve liked to see more development before two hop into a relationship. I would’ve also liked to see more of McKenzie in this book because I did enjoy her character the most out of the ones in the book. Other than that, I enjoyed the book especially the conclusion. I immediately started the second book because I couldn’t wait.

These Violent Delights (#1) by Chloe Gong

| piperreads

Rating: 4/5

“Memories were beastly little creatures, after all—they rose with the faintest whiff of nourishment.”

I had heard a lot of good reviews of this book and I am glad that I finally got the time to read it cause it was very enjoyable and a fresh new spin on an old classic. The rest of the book is fantastic, Gong uses vivid descriptions and a plot that keeps you engaged from beginning to end. Roma and Juliette are two very well developed characters with flaws that make them very interesting and I did enjoy the dynamic between them especially the tension as it felt very real and raw. The side characters that Gong crafted for her world made the story more intriguing and I wish we saw more of them in this book but I’ll hopefully see more of them in the #2.

But as someone who has always loved The Roaring Twenties, this book delivered in every single way. From the setting, storyline, characters, I became really invested in their lives and what was going to happen. Other things that I loved was the horror element as I’m a big horror fan and I didn’t expect this book to have it but it did and I loved it. My only gripe is that it felt slow paced in the beginning and while I appreciate hearing about the cultural aspect, I felt like there wasn’t enough action. Overall, an enjoyable read and I’m ready to read book 2.

Asian Readathon 2021

| piperreads

This month, I will be participating the AsianReadathon and I’m quite excited to do so. It’s an entire month devoted to books written by Asian writers and I am doing this in the goodreads server and it’s going to be a lot of fun!

I will be reading the following books for the Readathon:

1) These Violent Delights by Chloe Kong

2) Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang

3) The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta

4) Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

5) The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman

I will be reviewing these books in addition to the others that I have on my list for my tbr so I’m excited for the month of May to start!

May TBR

| piperreads

At first I was trying to decide what I would post about but after some thinking, I decided that I wuld post about my upcoming tbr for the month of May. I’m very excited to start these books.

May TBR:

  • Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman 
  • Divine Blood by Michael Beck 
  • Cinderella is Dead by Kaylon Braylon 
  • From Ash & Blood by Jennifer Armentrout
  • A Kingdom of Flesh & Fire by Jennifer Armentrout
  • The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer Armentrout
  • Prodigy by Marie Lu
  • Champion by Marie Lu 
  • Crown of Feathers by Nikki Pau Preto 
  • Those Violent Delights by Chloe Kong 
  • The Song of The Marked by S.M. Gaither 
  • The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • Anxious People by Fredrick Backman 
  • Namesake by Adrienne Young 
  • Shattered Kingdom by Angelina J. Steffort 
  • Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang 
  • The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta
  • Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi 
  • The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman 

So there is my TBR for next month! I will be reviewing each book here and sharing my thoughts and I’m excited for y’all to read them.