Young Adult

Book Review: Graceling Series

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“When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?”

All her life, Katsa has been an outsider as she’s a graceling, a rare group of people who are bore in her land with an extreme skill: killing a man with her bare hands. As the niece of the King, you would think she would enjoy having a life of privilege but it’s hard to enjoy it when you’re spending so much time doing the King’s dirty work. But, such is the life that she has until an encounter with Prince Po and finds herself falling for him and the closer they become, the more she discovers that not everything is well within the kingdom as a terrible secret about her race is bound to tear the seven kingdoms apart.

It’s been awhile since I first this series and it was a good reread, fun to go back and see how I feel about the book from when I first read. It’s one of my favorite YA series and a new one is coming out in October so I thought I would start the re-read now so I can be ready for when it comes. I love the different names for the books and each story is it’s own and it’s been fun reading these books again. This first book was never my fave, I really like Fire and the others as I found the main character, Katsa very annoying but I did enjoy the other aspects of the book especially with the world-building as that always helps. Katsa is a graceling which is the ability to kill a person at the slightest touch and being the King’s niece, she has helped torture, murder, and struck horror into the lives of anyone who opposes the king. The older she gets, the more insecure she feels not only with who she is and the skill she possesses and soon begins to start living a double life as a hero. What I loved about this book with not only the world-building, every character was fully fleshed out and even though Katsa annoyed me, I did like aspects of her personality. It’s a very interesting plot and I think it was well written so if it sounds up your alley, then go ahead and check it out!

JULy WRAP Up

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Hey! This has been a super great month and I was able to read a lot more than I thought so I’m excited to share with you!

A Song of Silver and Gold by Melissa Karibian
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Beneath The Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Novella
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Enemy by Sarah Adams
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Novella
Review: Here

Rating:4/5

Float Plan by Trish Doller
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Horror
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

Harvest Moon by Annabel Chase & Tana Grey
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Novella
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Novella
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
Genre: Adult, Horror, Gothic
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Magic of Found Objects by Maggie Dawson
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

One of The Girls by Lucy Clarke
Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Pink Moon by Annabel Chase & Tara Gray
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Novella
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Sentence by Louise Edrich
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

The Beach Trap by Ali Brady
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Book Review: Iron Widow

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“Men wants us so badly for our bodies, yet hate us so much for our minds.”

While the boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with the girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant robots that defeat the mecha ailens that lurk beyond the great wall where the girls dread it as they often die from mental strain. But, not all the girls dread pairing up with the boys, there is one girl who is more than ready to take on the challenge in an attempt to have her revenge on the man who killed her sister. When Zietan is chosen, she ends up getting more she’s bargained for as she is successful in killing the man who killed her sister but comes out of it unscathed thus dubbing her the iron widow. Now, she is set on understanding how the pilot system works in hopes of preventing more girls from being sacrificed.

This gave me pacific rim vibes as soon I read the summary on Goodreads and it did have that vibe while getting into the novel even though it started a little slow. But, I’ll get to that in a bit as I did enjoy the characters as they were all deeply flawed with good development to understand their motives even if I didn’t like the character. But, the big flaw that made me less invested in it was the lack of development with the magic system and world-building as there were times where I was confused and needed a little more information. I love good world-building and sadly this one didn’t have it and I do feel if the author had done more with the magic system then maybe I would’ve enjoyed it more than I did. The themes that are discussed throughout the novel are very relevant to what is happening now and I felt as though Zhao does a good job of connecting them to the plot. Overall, it was a good book even though I felt a little disappointed but feel free to check it out if it sounds enjoyable to you!

Book Review: Set On You

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(Quote to be added)

Crystal Chen has spend the majority of her life proving people wrong and learning to embrace who she is without changing for anyone else. She has built up a incredible fitness career shattering stereotypes and promoting body positivity as a curvy fitness influencer. Reeling from a recent breakup, she is ready to prove thats he doesn’t need anyone than herself but things become complicated with a new man walks into her life, Scott Ritchie, a firefighter who is looking to get back into shape. The two are at odds at first but the more they get to know one another, the more sparks begin to fly leaving Crystal to wonder if second chances are worth it.

This was such a fun and super cute debut! First off, I’m glad that Crystal was plus sized because there isn’t enough rep in books especially romance. It was nice to see and Crystal won me over as I felt her personality and how she presented herself were endearing and empowering. She very much owned who she is and fully embraced that which is always very relevant as there are so many people who struggle with feeling secure and confident in who they are. I enjoyed reading about her journey of being a fitness influencer and how she and Scott first started out as enemies turned lovers. This is one of my favorite and it was really well done here. The romance was very believable and I was rooting for both of them throughout the entire book, they were so cute with each other! All in all, it was a great book to read!

Book Review: She WHo BECAME THE SUN

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“However tired I am, however hard it is: I know I can keep going, because I’m alive.”

In 1345, China lives under harsh mongle rule and for the starving peasants of Central Plains, greatest is only found in stories.When the Choboga’s eight born son Zhu, is given a fate of greatness and while everyone is misfited by this fate, they aren’t surprised that his clever and capable sister is given a fate of nothingness. But, all that changes when tragedy hits and leaves the two siblings orphaned, it is Zhu who succumbed to despair and dies leaving his sister alone, afraid, and desperate to not die by the same fate. Propelled by her desire to survive, she will do whatever is necessary to stay alive no matter the cost to stay hidden from her fate.

I’m glad that I finally got around to reading this because I did really enjoy it even though it did have some flaws and issues regarding the pacing, writing, and too many characters so we’ll start with that. While I did enjoy how the story progressed, I had trouble with pacing and felt as though the story should’ve focused more on Zhu. It was hard to keep up at times because I had to backread and see if I had missed something when a new character was introduced. When there are so many characters in a book, it can be hard to stay invested because of the lack of development and can at times steer people away. The other stuff made up for it as I very much enjoyed Zhu’s character and how she progressed though the book. So even with the flaws, I did enjoy the book so if it sounds like something you’re interested in, please check it out for yourself!

BOok Review: The Girl WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA

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“Nothing extraordinary is ever done out of reason or logic, but because it’s the only way for your soul to breathe.”

Not only have deadly storms impacted Mina’s homeland but bloody wars have ravished their lands leaving them very few resources. Her people believe that they have been cursed by the Sea God who was one their protector and savior but now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, her people have sacrifced a beautiful young maiden every year in hopes of finding his true bride and letting her people rebuild their city. Many believe the bride is her brother Joon’s beloved Shim Cheong and on the night she is to be sacrificed, Joon follows even though he knows it is a death sentence. In an effort to save her brother, Mina jumps into the water only to find thrust into an adventure that she never expected as the Sea God is fast asleep and there are those who wish that he remain asleep. Mina knows she has to act fast as humans can’t survive in the land of spirits for very long and the longer she goes, the more time is running out.

This was such a good retelling and the cover is absolutely gorgeous! That was what actually reeled me in and I enjoyed how the story developed, the characters, plot and felt that the pacing worked well for this book. It was such a charming, fun, beautiful, and enchanting story that reminded me of Spirited Away in a good way. Although this marketed towards young adults, I still enjoyed the story felt that it worked best for this specific audience. What I loved most was the world building as it was beautifully written and made me feel as if I was actually there in the world along with the characters. While I enjoyed mostly everything, it did feel a bit predictable at times but I was able to overlook the flaws and still enjoy the story and how it developed.

Book Review: Kamila KNows Best

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“Shit. Was there supposed to be a Breakfast At Tiffany’s theme tonight?”

Kamila Hussain lives a life of comfort. She is the go friend for advice especially with love, has a supportive network full of friends and family that care for her, access to all the bollywood parties that she wants, and a dog with that has more followers on Instagram than most people do. While she spends more time giving her friends advice on love, she can’t be bothered to think of her own love life. But, when she hears of an old rival who has eyes for her longtime friend, Rohan who has been a rock for her throughout her life, she can’t bear losing him to someone else. The more Kamila tries to plan, the more things start falling apart and if Kamila doesn’t think of something quick, she may lose the one person who means the most to her.

I absolutely love Austen retellings as she’s one of my favorite authors so this book was a real treat! It was such a fun and heartwarming tale and I found all the characters especially Kamila and Rohan to be unique and flawed in their own ways. I could definitely feel the chemistry between them so that was good because there’s nothing worse than when it’s not developed or seems forced. Another thing that I liked is that even if there wasn’t a romance factor, the two were very unique on their own with interesting backstories and their dynamics were very fleshed out. I apprenticed the focus that Heron did on Kamila’s work life and how she felt so much pressure due to her culture and being the woman that she wanted to be. That is something that rang true for me so I felt for her and I appreciated that focus because I think there are times where authors focus too much on the romance and not enough on the heroine and it’s important that stories don’t put so much focus on the romance and being your own person in addition to be in a relationship. This was a very fun book so I highly recommend that you check it out!

Book Review: A Magic steeped in poison

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“Grief has a taste, bitter and lingering, but so soft it sometimes disguises itself as sweetness.”

Nig couldn’t imagine things get any worse but unfortunately, they’re gonna get worse before they get better. Haunted and grief stricken over being responsible fro the death of her mother, an unfortunate accident that occurred with Nig brewing tea for her without knowing that it was poison. Now, her sister has succumbed to to the same tea and Nig must do something fast as time is running out. When she hears about an upcoming tournament held in the imperial city, she realizes this is the only chance to save her sister as the winner will receive a favor from the princess.

This was on such a fun book! The entire novel was full of surprises, twists, angst and heart warming moments that made it difficult to put down. But, one of the things that I absolutely loved about it was how their magic system was based on different types of tea, it was so beautifully done. I think Lin wrote is so well that you couldn’t help but be interested in this aspect and I’ve never seen that done before. I really hope this becomes a thing because as a tea lover, it was so fun to read about mixed in with different fantasy elements. The other parts of the book were fantastic and I really loved the dynamics between the characters and especially Nig as I felt for her during the journey as she was dealing with so many different emotions and haunted by the things she’d done. The only thing I didn’t like was the cliffhanger but at least its not one that will keep me up at night wondering what will come next. I really enjoyed this and highly recommend it!

Book Review #1

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“I think I might fetch you the moon if only to spare your tears again.”

To many, Alizeh is just a servant and a disposable one at that. But, what they don’t know is that she is really a heir to Jinn dynasty forced to hide in plain sight. She is also the one person no would especially Prince Karman would expect to uproot his kingdom and the world. The Crown Prince has heard of the prophecies foretelling his grandfather’s death but he can’t bring himself to believe that Alizeh, the servant girl who hasn’t left his mind to be the one to bring down his kingdom.

This Woven Kingdom by Tarereh Mafi was such a thrilling and wild ride from beginning to end! This is one of the best books I’ve read this year and I’m glad it lived up to the hype because it’s always so disappointing when books don’t live up to it but this was a real treat. There was so much about this novel that I loved as everything felt so connected as Mafi developed a beautifully written world that felt so real. The characters especially Alizeh and Karman were equally flawed and developed and their chemistry was so so good. The romance felt very real within their dynamics. That’s always a good thing because there’s nothing worse when the romance is under developed and/or feels forced because that just ruins it for me. I can’t stay invested in the story when I feel like it’s forced but gladly I feel that here. Even on their own, Alizeh and Karman were interesting characters as Alizeh proved that she is no mere servant girl and her actions felt genuine, honest, and true to how she presented herself as a compassionate and selfless warrior who was bad ass at the same time. Then, we have Karman who is very confident and bold and know what he truly wants in life and Mafi did such a great job with their dynamics that it was hard not to root for them.

Lastly, I really enjoyed how Mafi mixed Persian Mythology and Cinderella that made it so unique and interesting.It didn’t feel overdone and really helped with developing the romance between Karman and Alizeh. Overall, I really enjoyed the tale and how it unfolded so I would highly recommend it!!