hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about witches steeped in gold by Ciannon Smart. i gave this book 3/5 stars. honestly, i enjoyed this book, but it was nothing special and towards the end i got kind of confused since it was two povs since everything started to go very quick.
but, this book also has 2 povs, which i already mentioned, but i feel like these povs were just so similar. and also, i feel like not only was the writing was similar, but also the voices that people that was talking, so it was hard to know who was talking. and i mean, i feel like 2 povs are still very cool, but i also think that they should have used two different voices, and then even have them be like one in first and one in third or something so you knew who was who even if you didn’t hear the name they said, and also if you forget it is easy to know who.
i’m gonna use six of crows as a reference here, since it is the only book i can think right now with multiple povs. since this book is two povs, you kind of expect ira and jazmyne to be together and to have them work together, kind of like how the crows are always together and you get each crows take on the events. but, ira and jazmyne were like never together, like i feel like they first got together at about 70%, instead of the whole book. so, i honestly wish that we didn’t have two povs, and maybe have the book only be in jazmyne’s pov and than ira comes in towards the end to save the day or something along the lines of that.
but, i know i already talked about what pov this book should have been in, and like with the two povs, and having this book been in first, it didn’t work. so, i feel like this book honestly made everything we knew kind of surface level, with each person as a character but also just the world and the magic. so, i feel like the two povs just slowed this book down so much. and should just have been one pov.
also, the last few chapters were honestly a disaster, since i feel like there was all of these characters, that came into play so they were all just so confusing and such a mess. like, for one, i feel like throughout the whole book they all acted one way, than towards the end they got to be completely different, and i think it is just so annoying. and like they all completely flipped on their side and it was honestly just so annoying. like, i honestly just wish they were consistent throughout this whole book.
with that being said, i feel like jazmyne’s whole plot was kind of confusing, especially with the magic aspect. since, she is the queen’s daughter and the queen of course have a lot of power and magic, i expected the magic to be grand and amazing on jazmyne’s side. but, i feel like the magic did not make sense at all. like, i feel like books need to explain how the magic system works, and what limits your average person has and than how much magic jazmyne’s mother has. and i feel like the magic was honestly all over the place and kept changing so much and i honestly wish Smart explained it more than they did.
but, i also feel like the world as a whole was not explained the world building was honestly just so sloppy. like, for one, i feel like the world building was something along the lines of jazmyne was very powerful and her mother hated her cause she wouldn’t give up her life for her mom and than there is iraya who wants freedom and vengeance. and i honestly wish smart explained the world more and really broke it all down so much, since it would have worked so much better that way. but, i also feel like it could have been 100% worst than it actually was, but it was still nothing to write home about.
i also think that some of the things in this book are kind of self explanatory and things that people could just understand about what is happening and what things were like. but, i also feel like they should have just went into more and more detail about it all and how everything worked overall. like, i feel like the whole gold aspect should have been explained more if they just took the time to break it all down.
as for the writing, i do feel like was pretty good. like, i do feel like it could have had some growth throughout this book, and that in the future her writing could and will get better. but, as for in here, i do feel like it was a decent book. but, i will saw that it did have potential to be better and grow. and i honestly feel like the writing didn’t really work for me since i feel like the two povs were just so similar, which i think put a strain on the book as a whole.
but, as for the characters as two different people, i did kind of like them. i mean, i feel like ira was honestly kind of funny, and i feel like she could honestly pull a joke out of the air, and i honestly really liked that part of her. and also just seeing jazmyne going and understanding the different parts about her and what her internal issue is and than all the drama with her mom, i honestly enjoyed that part of her.
than, there was this weird little side plot about this romance. i honestly did not like the romance at all, and i just feel like it didn’t make sense. i do feel like some fantasy books do have a romance and it honestly makes sense, but i do feel like the romance in here just did not make sense. and i honestly wish they just cut the romance and if Smart was set on the romance, they just buried it more.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly wished i liked this book more, and i honestly feel like i could have liked this book so much more if i wasn’t stressed out to finish it before it had to go back to the library. but, i still honestly wished i liked this book so much more. but, i’m honestly kind of excited to see what Smart does next.
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about all the stars and teeth by Adalyn Grace. i gave this book 1/5 stars. i honestly did not like this book at all and it was just such a shit show and a mess, and i literally did not like this book at all and it was just such a stupid ass book, so this will probably be a bit of a shorter review.
trigger warning- blood, death, violence, gore, body horror, confinement, torture, death of a parent, physical abuse.
i honestly think one of my biggest issue with this book was the whole pacing of this book. like, i feel like there would be chunks of this book were just completely not against the whole plot of this book. like, there was a good amount of this book were just talking about random ass things. like, in the beginning they would talk about what this kingdom looked like, the locations in which they were going in the castle, what clothes each person wore and their makeup and more stupid things like that. like, i mean, i feel like they spent so much time talking about that, till it actually got to the plot of this book. i guess that is to show the contrast between her life before and after.
but, if that couldn’t be worst, they also went into a lot of detail about other things about all of the characters background and where they were from, the background of the world, these random mythology, and the culture of the different cities they visit. which, i guess was cool, since it tells you about what it says and what each things meant in this world. but, still, it didn’t peak my interest enough that i think it was a good enough book, since i still feel like it was just boring af. and i feel like this book had so much info dumping, which was just so freaking boring.
and, i mean, i do feel like this book was honestly just a build up to book two. like, i feel like with the world building and all of the backgrounding surrounding all of this and how this kingdom worked. and this might also be because a lot of people were talking about how this book had so much action and badass moments, were i feel like we just didn’t get this at all and most of this book was Amora just complaining.
i also feel like this romance was so terrible. like, for one, the ‘main’ romance was so stupid. like, the whole romance was just the main character getting engaged to this man that her father liked i believe. and i don’t even feel like she liked the man that she was engaged too. and then there was this love triangle that was done so terribly, since i feel like she was with this princey guy but then she met this pirate and she was whipped for him and also this prince guy, kind of though.
but, i might get a little wrong here, but amora had a very sheltered life and was very protected her whole life and that she was very much one of those very naive characters, which i think most princesses are in YA fantasy books. but, i think that her being so naive was just so stupid. like, i feel like being naive in a fantasy book is always kind of annoying since they are just so like ‘omg i didn’t know this was how the world was.’ so, i feel like this part of the book was way more of a drag to get threw than the other parts.
and also how much was so much repeated in this book. like, for one, we got told over and over again about how things worked and basic things about this world, was just told over and over again. and also, i feel like we got told that amora had some magic test, that i don’t know the whole point of it, but basically she failed the test and we got told at least one hundred times about how terrible it was that she failed.
but, i also feel like amora was such a brat. like, i feel like all she did in this book was complain and bitch and talk about how she deserves all of this because of the queen. and i can always go for an unlikeable female character, and i always think that it is cool, but i wouldn’t even say amora was unlikable, since she was just so freaking bratty and she didn’t even get to be better with her ‘real life’ experiences that she went through for this whole book.
and, granted i’ve never been in a fantasy world or in a fantasy book as a princess, cause you physically cannot do that. but, i feel like amora could have changed and took the lies and the bull shit she’d been told into helping her be a better person and also just become the better version of herself. and even if she were to go back to her princess life, she could have been this bad ass princess, but i feel like that it could never happen.
as a whole, i do feel like this whole book was just your basic YA fantasy characters. and i mean they were just super cliché and also just way under developed, which i feel was so stupid. and i feel like they could have had this growth and these characters go to be these badass characters, but i feel like they were just bland and that they could completely be such stable characters in a YA fantasy series.
and, i honestly feel like the best character in this book was the mermaid, who i don’t even remember her name, so you can see how much i liked her. like, i feel like she really pulled the characters and that she really made this story somewhat bearable. but, i still don’t think she did enough to make this book good, or even make me want to read book 2. but, i will say i do think she gave the action and really helped wrapped this book up.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly wish i liked this book, since i feel like a lot of people really like this book and honestly rave about this book. but, i’m also not a fantasy fan, even though i want to be.
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about six of crows by Leigh Bardugo. i gave this book 4/5 stars. i honestly was so confused when i was reading this book, and i honestly really need to go and reread this book since i was rushing to finish this before the tv show came out. so, i might reread this book before i read crooked kingdom.
personally, i think the characters completely make this book. i mean, i think this book worked so well together and that they all were so different but also this family that worked together and that they all were just so cool because they were these groups of misfits, but also this family. and i do feel like with such a ban of characters that Bardugo made them all so different, but also had these amazing and really detailed backstories, which were so cool.
and i feel like getting mainly a lot of talk about Inej and Kaz’s past, which i found were so amazing and well rounded. like, i feel like we got to understand all the things with her family and to understand how her past made her be quick and how it made her life. and also how the story about Kaz and how he became smooth and pretty much could get away with murder, and i really liked that his childhood was really sad and that it wasn’t all roses and daisy’s since if it was happy i don’t think it worked.
with that being said, i do like that all of their stories were all so different and that they weren’t the most perfect characters in the world. and i mean, they all had flaws and that they were motivated by different things / people and they always did something with some sort of motive. which i think is really cool, plus i really liked that they all have different ‘jobs’ in this group, which was honestly really cool to see in the show.
and i feel like it is so rare for characters in fantasy books to feel real. like, i feel like in so many books the fantasy characters don’t feel real, not that they are 2D or anything, more that i don’t think they are plucked from real life and thrown into this book or vise versa. where, i feel like the crows feel like real people, and that this whole world and these characters are real and that they are actually in Europe or somewhere actually living and breathing. which, i think the backstory did an amazing job with this happening, since they weren’t like “oh yeah this guy on a horse came in an murdered my parents and then kidnapped us and took us back to his world.”
but, i also feel like the dregs didn’t really feel like teenagers. and i’m not sure if it’s because they’ve been together for a hot second. but, i feel like they were just to smart to actually be teenagers, which i feel like could be argued and whatnot. but, i do feel like it is also just expected since it is a fantasy book. but, i mean, i feel like wylan did feel like an actual teenager. but, i also feel liked matthias did feel like he was in his mid twenties.
i also liked that this was set in the same world as shadow and bone, but just in a different part of it. i think that it was cool to see the two different sides of this world, so to see the darkling and alina in the palace, then to see mal fighting, and then to be able to compare to that to what the world is like for the people in Ketterdam. and overall i think it is cool when fantasy writers create one world and then make multiple stories in it. like, i believe holly black did it too, and honestly i’m so excited to read that.
with that being said, i honestly really liked reading shadow and bone first, and then getting into this book. since, i feel like in that book you get the world building of this world done, and then when you get into this book you already know how the world works. but, do i think you need to read it first? not at all, since it is two different series i don’t think it is crucial, but i think it would be nice. and i also feel like it is the kind of book were the first read is slow and not as enjoyable as the second and third read, since the first one you’re like what the actual hell is happening, so i’m definitely excited to read it again in the next couple months for ck.
i also really liked each of the ships. like, i feel like each of the ships put something else onto the table and i really liked they weren’t a copy and paste of each other couples and that they were all so different, to a degree. like, i do really like that they didn’t push kaz and inej together into the show, since i feel like that is really important. and i do feel like nina and matthias literally own my heart and i love that they kind of have some history before this book. and also that wylan and jesper literally are so cute.
but, i also don’t understand why people consider this as a heist book. like, i feel like this book had mostly backstories, which i did really enjoy. and i honestly hope ck does pick up on more of the heist, since this was mostly the built up and bringing up these characters coming together for all of this. so, i do feel like this book is way more character driven than plot.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly really liked this book, but i do want to reread this before i read ck, like i said, since i feel like it is better the second time around, or so i heard. i mean, i also think i would have liked it and understood it more if i wasn’t rushing to finish it before the show came out and didn’t read this during school. but, i do really like the tv show and what it added to these characters and the more of the ketterdam backstory.
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about the gilded ones by Namina Forna. i gave this book 3/5 stars. i honestly really wanted to like this book, but i honestly feel like nothing happened in here, and it was just a book of them walking and training, and it wasn’t even that interesting.
trigger warnings- violence, death, blood, torture, misogyny, gore, physical abuse, sexism, body horror, confinement, murder, child abuse, racism, emotional abuse, religious bigotry, death of a parent, rape, grief, genocide, animal death, sexual assault, animal cruelty, bullying, slavery.
honestly, i think my issue with this book was that not to much happened in this book and that most of this book was just building up for the future books. and that might be me, but i feel like most of this book was just worldbuilding and building up things that i assume will happen more in book 2 and 3. which, i mean, isn’t really a bad thing, but i just assume that we would have gotten more substance then just worldbuilding throughout this book.
at the same time though, i feel like so much was still unexplained. like, i feel like we got so much worldbuilding, but then at the same time i feel like we got nothing. for one, i feel like the weather changed like 20 times when they were traveling, but they never really explained were they where. and i mean, like one moment it was light and sunny and then the next it was raining and the next it was snowing. and i don’t know why they didn’t explain it more.
with that being said, i feel like we never got a setting for anything. like, i’m not sure if i just missed something, but i feel like they would say that, there was trees or it was very sandy, which was just annoying. since, i feel like they could’ve gave more description about what they were doing and what everything looked liked and where they actually were.
i also don’t really understand the plot about the girls never bleeding. like, Forna said in the start of this book that they make sure the girls never go by knifes or anything that could harm them and make them bleed. but, i mean, i think not going by anything that can hurt them is kind of failed logic because couldn’t one of the girls falls or something and cut their knee or elbow and find out their color? like, i feel like the logic behind them not seeing any of their blood was just stupid. and also i just don’t know if they’d get their period, and i feel like they should have said if they get their periods or not, cause i assume they not, but who knows.
i also really liked how Forna talked about the hard topics that would come up in this book. like, for one, i really think she handled everything completely well and with respect. and i feel like she didn’t bring something up, something like race, child abuse, feminism and didn’t make them only be here for the plot. and i think it was really cool that it was talked about so positively, or in the most positive way it could have been in this book. and i also think it was really cool that these things were also kind of built into the world and that they were a core thing in this book.
with that being said, i really liked the girl power that was in this book. i really liked that we got to see all of these girls becoming friends and them all supporting each other throughout this book. and also that they never did any of that cliche shit were someone is fighting someone and that they all were so supportive to each other. and none of that mean girl / jealous crap that we get in some YA fantasy books.
i also really liked all of the girls, but also Deka’s growth throughout the story. i feel like their growth wasn’t this journey that we just got pushed up, and that we got to see them slowly grow and become these badass characters. and i feel like the growth they all had was normal and believable and wasn’t something that sounded super fake. so, i do really like their growth and i honestly hope it continues into the next books.
but, i fell like my issues with Deka was the romance she got thrusted into. personally, i love romance, and that is the main reason why i read books. but, i feel like Deka was so badass and honestly was also just such a good character. but, then i feel like she downgraded with her having this romance arc. like, as much as i love romance, i do feel like not all books need romance, we this book wasn’t needed a romance plot.
i also feel like their buildup to the romance was not it. and i feel like their romance was just way to rushed with everything that was happening into this book. and i feel like it wasn’t something that was needed in here and that this book was just way to cliché in my opinion. and it might also just be that i feel like their was no chemistry between the characters. probably because their was so much plot with their war and them going to war and learning to fight.
and i also feel like whenever someone said anything nice to Deka, she would already be halfway to the alter with that man. like, i think if someone called her pretty she would literally want to marry them, which i think might have happened once, which i think is so stupid. and it was also kind of insta lovey, which i did not like at all, and i think it is so overused in YA book.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly wished i liked this book more, but i also don’t really says and i’m more meh when i read this book, since i feel like it did have its issues, but still wasn’t terrible. and i do feel like the next books will probably will be really good.
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about warcross by Marie Lu. i gave this book 2/5 stars. i honestly didn’t like this book, like i really wish i did because i know a lot of people love it, but i honestly just fell short for me and i didn’t understand half of the game and technology part away, which isn’t surprising.
trigger warning- kidnapping, death of a parent, violence, child abuse, dementia, medical trauma, addition, death.
honestly, i didn’t really care about the whole plot about Emika’s mother being absent and then her father being dead. and i mean, i feel like it was such a basic plot in YA books, that i literally didn’t care about in here. and i feel like we were supposed to feel bad for her, since her parents are gone. but, i feel like there wasn’t enough plot about them for me to actually feel sad for her or anything.
and i also feel like it had this whole poor orphan girl is now the chosen one kind plot. and also like she is changed into this a list celebrity overnight. which, i borderline found to be unrealistic, since it’s not like you can hack into a game and then have the biggest fandom and have all of these paparazzi go to her apartment and stalk her. and i’m not saying it can’t happen, but i just feel like someone hacking a game isn’t everyone’s highest priority.
with that being said, i feel like a good portion of this book we get told over and over again that she’s poor and that she didn’t have the best upbringing since she didn’t have a ton of money. which is fine and cool. but, then they’d make this stubble hints that she learnt to code when she was a kid, which i’ll talk about next. and i’m not saying that you can’t know how to code when you were poor, but they made it seem like they didn’t have a laptop or anything, so that just confused me.
also, i also feel like we never actually got told where and how she learnt to code and hack. like, i feel like it was such a big moment in this book, since i mean, coding was the main plot of this book and everyone can probably tell. so, i don’t know why they didn’t explain more for where she learnt it and why she learnt it and everything.
honestly, also the romance was a mess. like, it had that whole, poor girl that falls for her idol. which, always is never good since there is always a balance of power. so, it kind of just made me borderline uncomfortable. and also that he was kind of using her so he could become powerful and i really just did not like it. and i feel like the romance would have worked so much better if they didn’t have the whole balance of power that they had going on. and i also feel like they both just don’t work together, like i feel like his powerful and rich were she is more young and naïve, but that might just be me.
and i feel like the romance was just not developed good enough. like, we were supposed to believe that it was this good and cute romance, when it really didn’t work. and i mean, it could have worked, if Lu spent more time developing that and showing the feelings of our two characters, it could have, and probably would’ve worked and i wouldn’t be here saying it was bad.
and it might have been because i don’t see an emotional connect between the two of them. like, i feel like they would either talk about their childhood trauma to each other, or they were making out. which, i do think was good that we did get to see his trauma, since i think it showed more layers to him. but, i still feel like there was no connection and they had to many walls up, to have this relationship work.
and i’ve also seen a couple different things about Emika’s age. like, some people say she’s an adult, but i thought she was a teenager cause there was this whole part about how she couldn’t work there till she was 18, meaning she is underage, but she gets with this man that is is his twenties. which, i’m not sure how old both parties are, but i think she’s underage and Hideo has to be over 18 because he was 17ish when he created his game i believe.
and i also feel like Hideo was also just kind of a basic character and love interest. like, i feel like he had all of those basic traits that most of the YA book male love interests have, which can be a bad thing or a good thing depending on how you look at it i guess. but, i feel like he was kind of manipulative to Emika since i feel like he used her way to much, and it was just so shitty. so, i don’t really know why a lot of people saw in him.
i also just didn’t care for the world it took place in. like, i feel like it could have been cool, but i do think there was so much unexplained that it just made everything a mess. like, it took place in Brooklyn, but it wasn’t Brooklyn since it was this whole fantastical Brooklyn. and i feel like the world needed to be explained more, like if it was the real world with more technology in the future or if it was straight up a different world / universe, since it would make so much more sense. and i personally believe it took place in the future, so that’s why it had so much more technology, but i still don’t know because i don’t think it even really said.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly wished i liked this book since i know a lot of people really like this book and author. but, i’ll probably try another one of her books in the future, since i hear everyone really likes that serious.
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about instructions for dancing by Nicola Yoon. i gave this 4/5 stars. first off, thank you so much Netgalley and Penguin Teen for an arc of this book! also happy pub date to this book! and also of course this is going to be an honest review and not changed by the publisher and/or the author.
trigger warning- infidelity, death, grief, child death, car accident.
honestly, i really liked the whole premise of Evie seeing how people got together and also how they broke up. like i honestly thought it was so cool to see the break up, since i don’t think i’ve ever really read a book like that, so i thought it was just so cool. and i mean, i feel like seeing how everyone broke up added so much into the story and it just added so much more depth to the romances.
but, i will say that i wish we got to see more visions. i mean, i feel like we only got like 4, with people had their own chapters and to have actual plot with them. but, i mean, there definitely was a couple chapters were they were talking about the whole visions. but, i still wish we got to see more visions and got more than just the important people in her life, and maybe more strangers.
i also kind of liked that this wasn’t your typical HEA romance book. like, i feel like a lot of romance books have these HEA and after the book, everything is supposed to be okay and nothing bad is ever going to happen to break them up. but, i really liked that this book showed and really told you that it isn’t always happy and sunshine and roses after the book, and once you fall in love, your going to be happy forever. so, i really liked that we got to see that everything isn’t going to be happy forever.
and i mean, it being a more of a bittersweet story, i feel like it added so much. like, for me, i think that it was just so amazing that it was bittersweet and that we got to see it. like i already said, i feel like to much of YA books are happy, so having this book be more bittersweet was so much more cool and i really enjoyed it not being that adorable and cheesy. since there is so much that are very cute and happy, so having it be bittersweet really worked.
but, i will say i wish we got to see more plot about the dancing. like, i feel like there was so much plot about the romance and the visions, but i feel like the plot about dancing was just kind of lacking. like, in the start there was quite a bit of plot about the whole dancing. so, i wish that we got to see more about dancing, and not just throw it aside, compared to being so much romance and friend drama.
with that being said, i didn’t really enjoy reading about her dad. like, i feel like they tried to give him this whole redemption arc in here, which kind of annoyed me, cause they kind of made him innocent, or too a degree after everything he did. and i feel like we went through a lot of this book where Evie pretty much hated him, but then she does a whole one eighty and then starts to like him again. which, just annoyed me so much, cause he was cheating and everything, and i just didn’t like that he became this good guy after she complained about him for a hot second.
and i’ve talked about this a little bit on goodreads while i was reading, but like only a little bit, so i just wanted to bring it up again. i’m not the biggest nicola yoon fan, like i dnfed the sun is also a star and everything everything is just a toxic book. so, i honestly really liked this book, which was kind of shocking and i didn’t really expect. probably cause the plot didn’t have someone faking an illness.
with that being said, i didn’t really like that their relationship moved so fast. like, i feel like it was just questionable because it did move so damn fast, which i just didn’t really like. and i mean, it just developed so quickly i feel like it was just kind of odd at some parts. but, then again it is an YA romance, so it’s not gonna be peak romance by any means. but, i feel like it did serve it’s purpose of being a sweet YA romance.
but, i will say, that it was still a very sweet romance. like, the romance did move super quickly, but i do feel like it was a very cute and they did work very well with each other. like, for one, X read her favorite romance book, which i think was so cute. and he also treated her like a queen, which i just loved so much and just made me so happy.
and i also really did like them both as characters. like i feel like they both were just so cute and i really liked how they talked about each other and how they were so nice to most people they were with other people in their life. and i thought it was just so cute and i really loved them and just their whole little friendships with people.
but, i will say that it was kind of a mess with the whole fantasy element. like, i feel like it was never very explained on why it happened or how it happened. like, i feel like it was so unexplained and i feel like it was just so messy and i feel like it was not good in a way. and i just think it didn’t work in the way that it was written.
and i honestly highly recommend this book if you want a more harder story to read, since this book does pack the emotion. and nicola kind of highlights all of this in the acknowledgements.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly really liked this book and i really liked reading this. and thank you so much netgalley and penguin teen for an arc of this book! and also happy pub date!
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about all the books i want to read in june. honestly, there is quite a few books, since i do want to read a ton this summer, and i want to crack down on some of the arcs i have or books that i’ve been putting off for awhile.
faking reality by Sara Fujimura. this book comes out July 13th. after ‘the great homecoming disaster” Dakota McDonald swore that she’d never allow her romantic life to be the lot of her parents’ HGTV show ever again. but, then when a restaurant run by the family of her best friend, and secret crush, Leo, is on the line, she goes back on her own word. Leo Matsuda dreams of leaving his small Arizona life and the demands of working at his families restaurant, but the closer to the goal, thanks to the help of his secret crush, Dakota, the more reasons for him to stay.
the girl in the headlines by Hannah Jayne. this comes out July 6th. when Andrea McNulty goes to sleep on her 18th birthday, she has a perfect life: high school field hockey star, a big sister, the daughter of two beloved parents. but, then she wakes up in a motel room the next morning, she has no clue what happened the pervious night, but she is covered in blood, and now a fugitive. on the news, they report her father is dead, her mother is in a coma, and her little brother is missing, and of course, Andi is the prime suspect. she’s scared and on the run from the police, she teams up with Nate, the boy working the front desk, to find the real killers. but, as the police get farther and farther from the killer, the closer and closer it gets to Andi.
swallow by Sam Schill. this book comes out July 27th. the students at Roanoke High School have created a soundtrack that is constantly in Mildred Waco’s mind, change your hair, change your face, change your body, everyone hates you, you shouldn’t wear that. there are stares, snickers, and the teasing, all with Mildred’s own self doubt and parents that are never around, takes a toll. when she finds a magic shop, she decides that she will no longer endure the bullying and buys a revenge curse. but, as she looses her memory, and Roanoke students are brutally murdered, she realizes she bought more then she would ever bargain for.
creatures of the night by Grace Collins. this book comes out July 13th. on Milena’s 20th birthday, it is the day that she will join the ranks of the village hunters, this should have been the best day of her life. becoming a hunter would mean that she could protect her village from wolves who take human form, but when she meets Elias, the leader of the creatures, she is questioning everything that she always thought was true. until now, Elias has protected the pack and kept the secrets hidden. now, as tension grows between the groups, he is forced to make a hard decisions, something that will cost lives, nobody is safe, especially Milena, who he is drawn to and could destroy them both.
summer in the city of roses by Michelle Ruiz Keil. this comes out July 6th. her whole life, 17 year old Iph, has protected her younger brother, Orr. but, this summer, with their mother gone at an artist residency, their father decides it’s time for 15 year old Orr to grow up and sends him to a wilderness boot camp. when the father brings Iph to a work gala downtown and tells him he already left against his will, she is furious at her fathers betrayal and storms off an gets lost in a maze of Old Town. but, George, a queer robin good, who swoops in on bicycle, with bow and arrow and all, offers to help Iph a place to hide out while she tracks down her brother. in the meantime, Orr has escaped the camp and is now with the Furies, and all girl punk band, and sleeps into a coat closet in their pink house. now, Iph and Orr need to navigate their new spaces of music, romance, and sex work activism and find each other.
the therapist by BA Paris. this book comes out July 13th. when alice and leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. but, appearances can be deceptive. as alice is getting to know her neighbors, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begin to feel a strong connection with nina, the therapist who lived there before. but, as alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. but, no one wants to talk about it, her neighbors are keeping secrets and things are not as prefect as they seem.
only the pretty lies by Rebekah Crane. convention doesn’t mean much in Alder Creek, but neither does it in the Westmore’s family either. as a daughter of a message therapist and pothead artist, and the inheritor of her grandmother’s vinyl collection, and ending her senior year in high school, Amoris never wants to leave her progressive hometown. but, everything changes when Jamison Rush moves in next door, who happens to be Amoris first crush and their last goodbye still stings, and now bittersweet memories still hang. but, since Jamison is one of the only Black kids in this town, he sees the town completely different, and now encourages Amoris to look a little closer, and as a racist mural gets revealed, everything in her world get flips upside down.
a pho love story by Loan Le. if Bao Nguyen had to talk about himself he would say he is rock, steady and strong, but not very interesting, his grades aren’t that good, his social status is unremarkable. but, he works at his parents pho restaurant, and he is his parents fifth favorite employee. then there is Linh Mai and if she had to describe herself she would say a firecracker, stable when unlit, but full of potential joy and fire, she loves art and dreaming of doing art for a living. but, her parents rely on her in ways she doesn’t want to admit, basically working full time at her families pho restaurant. but, their families don’t get along since they are owners of neighboring pho restaurants. and Bao and Linh have been avoiding each other, but they both suspect their families feud stems from feeling much deeper then a friendly competition.
house of hollow by Krystal Sutherland. as a 17 year old, Iris Hollow has always been stranger, something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were kids, but they can’t really remember anything about it, but they have a small identical half moon scar at the base of their throats. but, when her sister Grey goes missing, Iris learns how weird her life can actually get.
lost in the never woods by Aiden Thomas. it’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when children in the town start to disappear, the question around her brothers’ mysterious disappear, the questions get brought back to light. attempting to run away from her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the rode and gets pulled into the haunting mystery in the town. Peter, a boy she thought lived only in stories, claims that if they don’t do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. in order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy needs to confront what’s waiting for her in the woods.
luck of the titanic by Stacey Lee. 17 year old British-Chinese, Valora Luck, has quit her job and smuggled herself on the Titanic, with two goals in mind: reunite with her twin brother, Jamie- her only family now that her parents are both dead, and to convince a circus to take them both on as acrobats. with quick thinking, Val is now on the first class accommodations and finds Jamie with a group of Chinses laborers in 3rd class. but, with this new found luxury liner, Val can only hope that her brother will go along with her, after not seeing her for two years. but, on one moonless night, the unthinkable happens, Val and her companions need to find a way to race to survival.
just like heaven by Julia Quinn. Honoria Smythe-Smith is a really bad violinist, still miffed by the nickname “bug” as a child, not in love with her older brothers best friend, but that is all of the above. Marcus Holroyd is the Earl of Chatteris, regrettably prone to sprained ankles, not in love with his best friend’s younger sister, but it is all of the above. so, together, they eat a whole lot of chocolate cake, survive a deadly fever and the world’s worst musical performance, and fall quite desperately in love, which all of the above is true.
we hunt the flame by Hafsah Faizal. Zafira is the Hunter, disgusted as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the sultan. if Zafira was exposed as a girl, all her achievements would be rejected, and if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. both of them are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya, but neither want to be. but, as war is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. when Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the sultan on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the hunter.
not my problem by Ciara Smyth. Aideen has a lot of problems she can’t fix, her best and only friend is pulling away, her mother’s drinking problem is always a problem, and she’s running out of different diseases to fake so she can get out of PE. but, when Aideen finds her nemesis and overachiever Meabh Kowalski, in the middle of a full blown meltdown, she sees that unlike her own life, it is easy to solve. Meabh is desperate to leave her crushing pile of extracurriculars, and with Aideen volunteers to help, and pushes her down the stairs so she can sprain her ankle, the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. but, as another students learns of this little game and brings Aideen another ‘client’ who needs help, it creates a whole semester of traded favors, ill- advised hijinks, and an unexpected chance at love.
the gilded wolves by Roshani Chokshi. in 1889, the city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure- hinter and wealthy hotelier severin montagnet alarie. when the elite, ever powerful order of babel coerces him to help them on a mission severin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance. to hunt down the ancient artifact the order seeks , severin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: an engineer with a debt to pay, a historian banished from his home, a dancer with a sinister past and a brother in arms if not blood.
life’s too short by Abby Jimenez. vanessa lives life on her own terms, one day at a time and everyday to the fullest. she isn’t willing to waste a moment or miss out on an experience when she has no idea whether she shares the same fatal genetic condition as her mother. besides, she has way to much to do, travel the globe and showing her millions of youtube followers the joy in seizing every moment. but, when her half sister leaves Vanessa in custody of her infant daughter, she is housebound, on mommy duty for the foreseeable future, and is feeling totally out of her element, but, the last person she expects to show up offering help is the unbelievably hot lawyer who lives next door, Adrian Copeland. she barely knows him, till they get closer, Vanessa realizes that her carefree ways and his need for structured plan could never be compatible for the land term. then again, she should know better than anyone that life’s too short to fear of taking a big risk.
now, i’m going to list some more books i want / have to read this month.
from blood and ash
excuse me while i ugly cry
the soulmate equation
twice shy
sawkill girls
between perfect and real
tell me you feel something
instruction for dancing
never kiss your roommate
a chorus rises
15,000 miles from the sun
it’s in his kiss
on the way to the wedding
happily ever after
anyway, that is all for today! i know it is a lot of books, and i probably won’t get to a lot of them, but i mean, at least i know what i can read. and also, most of them are romance, so those are easier to read propose to the fantasy. but, i might also dnf a couple of them, so it will be easier.
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about shadow and bone by Leigh Bardugo. i gave this book 3/5 stars. i honestly liked this book, like it wasn’t that great of a book, and i definitely liked six of crows way more than this book, since it definitely had better writing and just characters, but i still enjoyed this one nonetheless.
trigger warning- animal death, violence, blood, toxic relationship, death, emotional abuse, gore, torture, murder, kidnapping, animal cruelty, death of a parent.
first thing first, i will probably get hate for this, but i literally did not like the darkling in the book. like, he was definitely a better character in the tv show, but i really don’t get the hype for him in the book. like, he was just toxic and he had that whole toxic white boy in a ya book. so, that was just annoying and i don’t really know what people see in book!darkling. and like he only wanted alina for her powers.
and i mean, i feel like this is just a basic YA book. like, it might be cause this is a little bit older, or maybe i just have questionable taste. but, i feel like the plot and the characters and the romance were just bland and generic, like it was just such a basic plot and characters and relationship. but, i mean, it was just kind of bad, and i wish they just fixed it up, or i just should have read this sooner, i would have liked this more.
and like all the tropes where like the dark prince, chosen one, and love triangle. which, i’m not a fan of the whole chosen one at all, since i just think it is boring and kind of overdone and just not that interesting of a plot. but, the love triangle was also not the best thing in the world, probably because i also hate that whole love triangle crap. and i mean, the whole dark prince wasn’t that bad, but it still could have been better.
but, i will say, one of the best parts of this was the world. like, i feel like the world building was so rich and just so cool. and that it was loosely inspired by Europe, but mainly Russia, i thought it was so cool. and i mean, i honestly really like fantasy worlds that are loosely based on different countries, so i honestly really liked the world so much. and i also think some of the names in here are more Russian inspired, so that was honestly so cool.
but, this is also a very light book, since it is kind of inspired by Russia, i do think that this was honestly kind of light, while until the ending. so, i do feel like it was kind of cool to get this light book, and it wasn’t like super dark like most fantasy books are. and i think that it was really cool that it did have the Russian element into it, so it almost gave them this whole brothers grimm feel, which i thought was super cool.
i also really liked the writing too. i really feel like there was so much attention to detail and that there was. and also just talking about the world building, i felt like they did it so well. and the writing would honestly flow very well. and i mean, some people have some very choppy writing, where i feel like this just flowed and also didn’t forget some of the more side characters or anything.
but, i will say, i do think that some of these parts of this book was just plain boring and it just didn’t work. like, i believe it might have been on twitter or even instagram i made a comment about how you could just skip five pages and you would still know what was happening cause it was just boring. and while the writing was good, i just feel like there was parts were boring and nothing happened. which, did get to be kind of annoying, and i wished it didn’t have some of these unneeded moments.
i kind of talked about the side characters a little bit, but i do honestly really liked some of the side characters. especially since we now know that they get their own series, so i think it was honestly really cool to see them in here to get an introduction to them. and i think that was honestly just so cool. especially since this is such a big world, and i think that there is so many books.
and i will say, i do feel like genya and david is the best characters in this book. like, i believe they are in king of scars, so getting all of that was honestly really cool and i really liked seeing that. so, i mean i did enjoy reading them about that, and just to see the two of them, and honestly to see them interact throughout the book.
also, i didn’t really care about the darkling, like i already said. i mean, he was just one of those dick characters that only want the power and can give two shits about alina as a person. and i mean, i feel like people only like him in the book cause he is that dark haired bad boy villain. but, i still literally don’t care about him.
but, i will say, that mal was kind of one sided in the book. like, he really didn’t have a personality or anything real about him, besides him and alina were friends before them. but, i mean he was kind of self centered, but i still honestly like him more than i like the darkling, since i feel like he was way less toxic. but, i mean, he just didn’t have a personality.
but, i also feel like alina was still kind of flat. i mean, she did have this whole ‘oh shit i have this power, but i don’t so your wrong,’ when she is lighting up like a lava lamp. and it honestly just annoyed me that she didn’t believe her powers, but i mean, i guess once the stag came in, it kind of all went on the window.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly liked the show so much better than the book, since i feel like the crows were so much better than this book. but, i will say, i’m kind of excited to read the rest of the series, cause i think they get better as they get going.
hello everyone! today i am going to talk about the ones we’re meant to find by Joan He. i gave this book 2/5 stars. but, thank you so much netgalley and Roaring Brook for an arc of this book! and also happy pub date. but, this is going to be an honest review, so my thoughts are all my own and not going to be changed by the publisher or the author, or even because i have an arc.
trigger warning- death, terminal illness, cancer, grief, suicide, suicidal thoughts, blood, death of a parent, ableism, confinement, sexual content.
honestly, i feel like this book made zero sense. like, if i’m being completely honest, He literally didn’t explain this world at all. since, all that you really know is that it is some random ass island. like, i believe it was in the outer banks on netflix, this island kind of reminds me of the one they go to on there when they drive the boat. since, they didn’t explain this. especially since it was 2 POVs, i wish they just explained what the world/city is where Kay lived. since, i honestly kind of pictured it as the world of divergent mixed with Brooklyn. but, instead they might have lived with this school building ??? but, who the hell knows, since nobody really explained it.
and, i honestly feel like there was so much technology in this book, which is cool, granted i don’t really understand most technology talk in books. but, this one literally was so confusing. i mean, on the island, Cee had all of these different voices and random other technology crap in Kay’s world that literally went right over my head. like, it literally went straight over my head, like not even in one ear, like straight over my head. and i mean, if they explained it, it would just make so much more sense.
and, i mean, this book just needed to dumb everything down so much. like, i wish they really broke down this story and this world and explained it, since this didn’t make a sense. like, i mean, there is so many open questions about this world, like i don’t know if i’m one of the only people that didn’t understand this world at all, but i feel like it was just so open ended it got to be annoying. and, there was just so much that was left unexplained, and i just wished it got explained, since there was just so many questions that could and should have been answered.
but, another thing that honestly confused me so much, was how there was two POVs. like, i feel like a lot books have very much times about being able to tell who is talking, even if there is different voices or hell it even says, Kaz or Inej or whatever other character there is. or like in romance books there is something that says character 1’s part talking **** and then it says something like character 2 doesn’t like dogs or something. so, i feel like we never got that, and it just jumped random times, and it got to be so hard cause you had to use these context clues to figure out if Kay or Cee were telling the story.
and also, Cee’s parts of the book were first person POV, and then Kay’s part of the book were 3rd person, which to teach it’s own, it could be good. but, in this case, it was plain confusing. like, for one, you could tell that Cee’s part were better, to a degree, but i feel like she kind of had some better moments, but then when Kay’s part that felt like you kind of got thrown into the water unexpectedly.
and with the whole plot about Cee and since it was first person, we of course got to see more of her mind. but, i feel like, we were into her mind, but not into her mind. i felt this, and i felt a lot of people saying the same thing that we get a look into her mind, but it’s only her talking about what the different things look like over and over again, so the house, the robot, the sand and the beach, and also like the ocean, and then how the island is shaped and then a lot about her sister. and then of course, the whole drama when the boy got in here, it was all about him, which got to be a bit annoying after awhile.
but, i also feel like the characters were kind of basic. like, Cee and Kay were kind of the basic YA sisters and characters, like yeah they had points when i actually liked them. but, then again they were nothing special. like, they had the whole, one if super pretty and the other one is kind of basic, and then the quiet and smart and doesn’t fit in, and the other one is like popular.
and, i mean, i feel like they were just one dimensional, and it got to be annoying. like yeah, i can see why Cee would be one dimensional, since she’s on the island, but it still just annoyed me so much, since it got to be a bit much. and this might just be me, but i feel like a lot of family centered books they have very strong memories from their childhood and how they grew up, but we never got it, which might have made me feel like they are one dimensional. and it might just be because i feel like knowing about their childhood, it helps you understand them as adults/teenagers, and we just never got that.
also, so of the actions that Cee did were honestly questionable. like, she did all of this to a man, and everyone doesn’t bat an eye, but if the roles were reversed, it would be a mess. and honestly, even Cee doing it made me kind of uncomfortable and i was like um what when i was reading it.
but, if it couldn’t get any worst, it was insta love. like, Cee was like, oh well you tried to kill me, so let’s fuck. like literally. and they also had such terrible communication, even though they were stranded on an island, and they were the only two people there, they literally had such shitty communication, which just annoyed me. cause i know if i was by myself on this island for years and this guy came out of nowhere, i’d never shut up.
in my mind, this book was just so busy. like, their was so much happening, like even just in one POV, there was just so much happening it got to be kind of annoying and to be a lot after awhile. and also, the plot twist did nothing for this story, and honestly just made this story to much worst and honestly turned me off from this story more once it happened.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly wished i liked this book, since the cover is so pretty, but i just did not like it, which is upsetting. but, the plot also seems kinda cool, from an afar. but, thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an arc!
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about the shadow between us by Tricia Levenseller. i gave this book 5/5 stars. honestly, this book scared me, since i’m not a fan of fantasy whatsoever, and most the books i hate, so, actually liking this one was honestly so crazy.
trigger warning- death, murder, blood, violence, grief, gore, death of a parent, sexism.
personally, whenever i read fantasy books, i feel like most of them have a lot of female characters, but for most of the book they are fighting over something stupid, or like a boy that they all like. but, in here i completely loved how they all were so supportive of each other. and there was so many f/f friendship, i honestly loved it so much. like, it is such the bare minimum to have characters that get along, especially female characters, but i literally loved watching them all interact and they were all so supportive, which i really liked.
also, this book was just so sex positive, it was just so great. like, i literally loved seeing these characters talk about sex like it wasn’t a taboo subject. since, most books are like no we are never talking about sex and also slut shames so many people. i really liked that they were just so positive about Alessandra’s sex life, it was so good.
i also completely love Alessandra, since she was just so amazing since she never changed for a man, and just was herself throughout the book. and i really liked watching her just be herself threw out this. and i feel like she was just so badass, and also was like so amazing, and she kind of gave me some Jude vibes from the cruel prince. and she was also one of those no nonsense girls, villainous, and also i’ll break your neck if you hurt someone i love.
also, i really liked her and that we can see a badass character, who like is so self aware, and knows what she is doing and does it well. and also has this big goal and will do anything to get to the goal and not really caring what she does till she gets this goal. and also she was so ambitious, which i honestly loved so much, especially in the start of the book.
this is something that is so stupid, but i also really liked that we could get a main female character that’s hobby is just reading. like, obviously i like when they like to read, since we are obviously reading these books. but, i really really liked that she liked to make all the dresses she wore, i honestly thought it was so cool and that she had this passion that wasn’t reading or something that was super cliché.
honestly, i also really liked Kallias. like, he was so selfish and power hungry, it was honestly kind of cool. but, at the same time he was so like friendly and charming, and he so soft and nice to Alessandra, and he was just so sweet, but also so scary at the same time. and like i feel like he’s not really villain, which i’ve seen a couple people think he was. but, i mean he really fought for what was right. but, does anyone else think he’s kind of looks like ben barnes? like i know ben is 39, but i still pictured Kallias to look like ben, especially with his billy russo hair style.
and i also feel like she never changed and was so unapologetically to everything. like, this might just be me, but i feel like, especially in YA books, that the characters sometimes change for their love interest. but, she never changed for Kallias, besides you know, not wanting to kill him. so, i feel like it was just so cool and i honestly loved that part of her so so much.
but, i also feel like so many of these characters are so complex. like, we have Kallias, who is like dealing with the grief of his parents, and also like trying to rule a kingdom and trying to figure out who killed his parents. and then there is Alessandra, who is ruthless and very kind, if she likes you. and i thought that it was so cool, since all of these characters had so many layers.
i also feel like the enemies to lovers was done so freaking well. like, i feel like it wasn’t just the whole, oh yeah i hate you lol. i feel like it had so many layers, especially since Alessandra wanted to kill her, i just really liked it so much. and i really loved watching them fall in love and actually get together.
and, at the same time, this was kind of a slow burn romance. like, it definitely took awhile to get some the romance to go, which was just so cool and i honestly really liked. personally, if they got together to quickly, i feel like it wouldn’t work that well, so kind of drawing out the romance was just so cool and i honestly really liked that part of the story.
it was also just such an angsty, but it was done so well romance. like, there was so much about the characters like wanting to get together, but also like not getting together and act on their emotions. and they both understood each other so well, i honestly loved it so much, since they are each other’s biggest cheerleaders, and it was just so amazing. and also just to see what lengths they would go for each other.
in a more negitive thing though, i feel like this didn’t read like a fantasy. like, not that it was a bad world or anything, i just feel like it as more of an historical fiction, definitely not a fantasy book. like, i feel like the most fantasy part of this book was Kallias, but that was honestly it. but, it still was super good.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly loved this book so much, and i honestly want to reread this book soon, since i just want to see what i might have missed the first time, since i was so into it the first time. but, i honestly loved this book so so much.
r.bookish 