Tag: fantasy

July & August Reads

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Hello!!! I really need to be better at posting. I’ve been looking at my pc for days and days, but I’ll be 100% honest. After spending way over 8 hours a day in front of my PC working in cooperate? Yeah, I don’t really wanna open my personal PC… But then I miss this… *sigh*

So, when I last posted I mentioned I was going to re-read the Winston Brothers series, and that’s exactly what I did in July. I devoured the full series and it still stands true that this is one of my all time favourite series. It’s not easy for all the books in a series to be consistently good, especially with such different characters, but these brothers (and sister) are amazing.

I rated all books between 4 and 5 stars (just like the first time I read them). The narration makes these books that much better. I understand audiobooks might not be for everyone, but Cletus… ❤

Right before I finished the series above, I started Hot Stuff by Max Monroe, while waiting for my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, so I also finished it quickly and found it enjoyable. I don’t know why, but it didn’t hit quite like the first book in the series, but overall really enjoyable.

I felt like the whole conflict of the book, and the hesitancy of Lauren to tell her father she was with Garrett, lasted way too long. Not the best resolution either. But other than that, super funny book, as usual for Max Monroe.

At this point I had on my Scribd a book series that I loved, but had never finished, because it was fantasy, and I hadn’t read a fantasy book in years. Much less listened to one. So I was highly intrigued, and decided to embark on the journey of listening to whole ACOTAR series.

And OH MY GOD! I had missed fantasy and hadn’t even realized it. I missed the world building and the different world rules, and Rhys…

I had read both the first and second book back in the day, but never had read ACOWAR, and I realized I did not remember a lot of things, so this was a whole experience. I was honestly a big hesitant to listen to it in audio form, as until this point, I’ve been sticking to romance in audio, but I was honestly super pleasantly surprised.

My thoughts at this point while reading book 1 were “WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING WHEN I REALLY LIKED THIS CHARACTER?” eheh!! So let me just sum up my feelings (just skip it if you don’t want spoilers):

  • Why did I ever liked Tamlin?
  • Lucien needs to grow a spine
  • I understand Lucien cannot do more – he has nothing
  • Lucien deserves better
  • WTF Tamlin and the whole thing under the mountain?
  • Rhys ❤
  • Rhys and Feyre need to communicate better
  • Nevermind previous point
  • I love Nesta – she’s a bit**, but she’s awesome
  • Feyre… WOW
  • I like Elain in 1 scene… ONE
  • Azriel needs a happy ending…
  • … and it better not be with Elain
  • Highly intrigued about Eris…
  • Again, Lucien deserved better
  • Helion, I need more of Helion
  • Tamlin :@
  • Nessian… ❤ cute
  • We need more Mor
  • 500 years with your family carrying that without trusting them enough to be open about it. I don’t understand…
  • … so I need more Mor
  • Azriel deserves better
  • A Court of Silver Flames… oh well… it just went from mildly spice, to holy sh**
  • Emerie and Gwyn and Nesta ❤ loved the friendship
  • …

Now I have a problem… I really want the following books 😦 Guess it’s the waiting game now.

At this point my Tik Tok‘s algorithm was showing me plenty of smut… I guess spending time entering book tok because of Nessian does that to the thing. So I didn’t know what to read next. Devil in Disguise (The Ravenels) had just become available on Scribd, so I listened to it during 1 afternoon.

This was my least favourite book of the series so far, the instalove did not work for me at all. It took me awhile to feel the connection between the characters, and it did not help that Keir’s actions were not consistent. I just was not sold :(, which left me sad because I do love Lisa Kleypas books.

This is the moment I don’t quite know what happened, and I started to read a series I thought I would never ever ever touch… but more to that on my next post 😉 …

Flame in the Mist (Renee Ahdieh)

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The only daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has always known she’d been raised for one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. Never mind her cunning, which rivals that of her twin brother, Kenshin, or her skills as an accomplished alchemist. Since Mariko was not born a boy, her fate was sealed the moment she drew her first breath.

So, at just seventeen years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed, a man she did not choose, for the very first time. But the journey is cut short when Mariko’s convoy is viciously attacked by the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits who’ve been hired to kill Mariko before she reaches the palace.

The lone survivor, Mariko narrowly escapes to the woods, where she plots her revenge. Dressed as a peasant boy, she sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and hunt down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she’s within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she’s appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself falling in love — a love that will force her to question everything she’s ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest desires.

I’m so glad I was approved for this book on Netgalley! I loved The Wrath and the Dawn duology, so even though I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this one, I knew the writing would be fantastic, and I was so right about that.

This book is told through several perspectives, but the main one is definitly Mariko’s perspective. As this was an ARC, I found it confusing when the POVs changed, because I had no indication or tab letting me know that the change was happening. Still, Ahdieh did a great job with the different voices, even though the book is told in the third person.

I will admit that it took me a little bit to really get into this story, because I found the beginning of the book sort of slow, and I’m still slightly confused about some of the events of this book. With that said, I did fall in love with the story pretty easily, and I honestly just needed the second book STAT, so my questions would be answered right away. Seriously guys, I need to know some things urgently.

The characters are amazing, I loved Mariko and her strength and determination, and how much she grew to accept herself through this book. Okami and all the Black Can were such a nice surprise. And Yumi! I love Yumi and I want to see much more of her in the following books. Some characters surprised me in a positive way, while I’m still on the fence about some of them, but I do have high hopes for Kenshin.

There were so many twists, and the one thing that bothered me was the lack of answers. This is a book that clearly does not stand on its own, and the second one will be imperative to answer some MAJOR things in the plot, so yeah… I need book 2. The romance is sweet and amazing, and it doesn’t take away from the story, it adds to it. There is such a great amount of respect between the two, and I’m a fan, I SHIP IT!

Guys, if you haven’t read this one yet, do it now.
It’s detailed and intricate and beautiful, with a kick-ass Japanese girl as the main character.
Also, you know this is sort of based on Mulan, right? So, read it.

Shadow and Bone (Leigh Bardugo)

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The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite – the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

This was yet another book that has been on my shelf for ages, but I decided that it was finally time to get to it, and I’m glad I did. Once again, I’m keeping this review super short, ok?

So, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of this story, but I liked it. The things I ended up liking the most was the worldbuilding and the writing. Which is great, because it makes me excited not only for the next 2 books on this series, but also Six of Crows.

The plot was sort of predictable at some points, but it was well achieved and I liked the story development.

There’s one thing that I’m not completely sold on, and that is the characters. I liked Alina a lot in the beginning of the book, but while at the little palace, Alina lost something in my opinion. It wasn’t that she seemed to change so drastically, it was how her priorities seemed to switch. She felt way too young at some points, being blinded by beauty and clothes and jewelries, and I sort of expected a little bit more from her. The Darkling is a mystery, but I know that’s how it’s supposed to be. I don’t dislike him though, so let’s see how it goes. Mal… well, I still don’t know… it’s like with the Darkling, my mind is not made up. So, I hope the characters develop more in the upcoming books, and that I grow to love at least some of them.

Overall, good start to this series, and let’s see how it goes from here on out.

Have you read The Grisha? What are your thoughts on this series?

The Raven Boys (Maggie Stiefvater)

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Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them — until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn’t believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

I read this book as a buddy read with Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too, so keep your eyes open for her take on this book.

I’m going to keep this review short and on point. I loved this book. I wasn’t sure what to expect of it, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. The cast of characters was great, and I really liked how they all had their own personalities, quirks and issues, but somehow all fit together so well.

The plot is intriguing as hell, and I’m suddenly very keen to keep reading about ley lines and all that stuff. The magical element of the book is just right, you know? As in, not too much to overpower the “normal” stuff, but enough to change EVERYTHING. I LOVE IT!

So, overall, I’m really really excited about this series and I can’t wait to read the next 3 books. 😀

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

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Welcome back to Top 5 Wednesday! This meme was created by gingerreadslainey and is hosted by Sam @ThoughtsOnTomes and you can check out the  Goodreads group here. This week’s theme is Favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy Books  .

In collaboration with the BooktubeSFF Awards, talk about your favorite science fiction and fantasy books of all time!

I don’t read a lot of SciFi and I also haven’t read Fantasy in a little while, so my T5W will be kind of shitty… eheh

A Thousand Pieces of You (Claudia Gray)

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Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father’s killer through multiple dimensions.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite’s father is murdered, and the killer — her parent’s handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul — escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows — including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul’s guilt — as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is far more sinister than she expected.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores an amazingly intricate multi-universe where fate is unavoidable, the truth elusive, and love the greatest mystery of all.

After a little pressure from some people… yeah, you, Kat and Cátia, I finally FINALLY read the first book of the Firebird trilogy.

I already understood a bit about what I was gonna read about, but still, A Thousand Pieces of You took me a bit by surprise and I ended up enjoying it a little more than I thought I would at first. I absolutely enjoyed the writing of this book, and the plot was awesome. Being a science girl myself, I really liked all the science stuff in the book, the physics elements, the multi-verses, everything. I loved the theory and the explanations. Honestly, I don’t know what took me so long to pick this one up.

The characters were a bit harder to love, mostly because the situations and worlds change them a bit. Marguerite is a bit of a conundrum… see, I kind of like her, but she does some shitty things during the book. I did like Theo and Paul, though I have to say that I saw what was happening and it changed a bit the way I see each of them. Most of all, I really liked her family!

Disclaimer: There is one particularly wrong scene in this book, if you’ve read it, you know what it is. The fact that Marguerite makes a decision that will change the Russia-verse Marguerite’s life considerably and is irreversible, is all kinds of wrong.

The plot was really awesome and entertaining, though I did guess some plot points! – I’m so freaking proud that I guessed 3 major things! Though it frustrated Kat and Cátia a little tiny bit :P.

I’m super excited about this series, and I can’t wait to read book 2 :D.

Have you read it? Let’s discuss…

2017 Reading Challenges

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Hey guys! This year I’m gonna keep my 2017 Reading Challenges quite simple, and I’m doing the Goodreads one, because obviously I am, and I’ve set my goal to 150 books. Last year I started setting it at 75 and ended up with the goal of 175 (and ended up reading 218), so I think 150 is a good number. And look at that… I’m already ahead of schedule, eheh.

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My REAL challenge however is gonna be the 2017 New Adult Reading Challenge, created by Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much.

This is perfect for me, because I’ve been reading loads of NA books lately, so I’m excited for this one :D.

The challenge has two different directions and I plan to tackle both. The first one is by the number of NA books read and there are a few categories:

  • NA Newbie – 6 books
  • NA Initiate – 12 books
  • NA Intermediate – 24 books
  • NA Advanced – 36 books
  • NA Expert – 50 books
  • NA Queen/King (special category) – 100 books

Obviously I’m aiming for the NA Queen category (or at least the NA Expert).

The second thing within this challenge is a Reading Bingo and I’m so excited for this one!

1. Book set in college
2. Hyped Book
3. Debut Novel
4. 2017 Release
5. New Adult best seller
6. Book about friendship
7. Book with music or art
8. Book out of your comfort zone
9. Book based on its cover
10. Diverse novel
11. A LGBT novel or with a LGBT characters
12. New to you author
13. Book you can finish in one day
14. Start a series
15. Book that makes you laugh
16. Book set in the summer
17. Book you knew nothing about
18. A re-read
19. Book about a road trip
20. Book recommendation
21. One word title
22. Book about sports
23. Book on the bottom of your TBR
24. Book with only male POV

I have a few suggestions for books for the bingo, and I’ll be doing a post soon with those suggestion… would that be something you would be interested in?

So, these will be my 2017 Reading Challenges.
What are you guys participating in?

The Winner’s Curse (Marie Rutkoski)

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Winning what you want may cost you everything you love

They were never meant to be together. As a general’s daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then Kestrel makes an impulsive decision that binds Arin to her. Though they try to fight it, they can’t help but fall in love. In order to be together, they must betray their people . . . but to be loyal to their country, they must betray each other.

Set in a new world, The Winner’s Curse is a story of rebellion, duels, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

I’ve had this book for over a year, since I won it at a giveaway sometime last year, but it had been sitting on my shelf. Well, I decided it was time to read it, and I’m so so glad I did. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn’t what I got, and I loved the book way more than I thought I would.

The writing was great and fluid, it made the book easy to follow, even throughout the world building. Again, this was fairly easy to understand, with plenty of parallelisms to make it relatable and the rules easy to get. I liked this. I liked that a lot of time went by, the plot flowed well, there were no major huge moments that moved the plot along (except once or twice), but mostly things happened slowly, as they should. I think that most YA suffers from trying to fit the plot in a short period of time, and here I think that The Winner’s Curse did it perfectly.

Like most fantasy, the book is told on the third person, and mostly through Kestrel POV, though it sometimes has some passages from Arin’s POV, which was great, and I could have used some more of those.

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Kestrel! I freaking loved this girl! Yes! At last one main character who doesn’t like to fight, doesn’t want to learn it, it’s bad at it even though she’s been training for years, and all she really wants is to be left alone with her piano. I loved this. I also loved how smart this girl was, because even though she didn’t like to fight, she did have an amazing scheming brain, and she used it well and often.

Arin was a bit of a mystery for most of the book, but I did like him, and I understood him completely. I think that because the book is mainly told through Kestrel’s POV, we (readers) forget a bit that the invasion wasn’t that long ago, and that the Herrani did nothing to provoke it, and yet, they were invaded, killed, enslaved. I admired Arin for his strength and determination.

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This is also why I shipped them from the start. I saw a few reviews of how people didn’t get the romance, and well… I do. These are two people who are super strong on their own, that see a situation that they don’t agree with, but they don’t really know another reality, and they’re trying to make the right things as they go along. It didn’t bothered me one bit what Arin did, but I did like that he tried to be better after that.

I really liked the plot and how it was structured. Again, I thought it was well paced and it made so much sense for me. I loved that each character was true to themselves, even through everything. Loved everything about it. At first I was really hating on the Valorians, but by the end? I was kind of thinking that the Herrani weren’t that much better. And this? YES! Because people are not perfect, not all good or bad, and I think their societies should reflect that exact thing.

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As you can understand by all the positives I just spewed, I really really enjoyed this one, and I can’t wait to get my hands on book 2 and 3, and I hope they’re as epic as this one. Also, I can’t wait to see how they’re solve stuff, because it isn’t looking very good.

Crystallum (Laney McMann)

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Kadence Sparrow wasn’t born a devil’s child-she was turned into one. Now, she’s hiding from the truth, and running for her life.

For years, Kade’s true nature has lurked behind an illusion, so when her dad gets another job transfer, she knows the drill: no close friends, no boyfriends, and most importantly: don’t expose what she is. Ever. Keeping secrets is easy. Lies are second nature. So is the loneliness-and the fear, but when the Shadows attack, and Kade meets Cole Spires, she could expose everything she’s trying to hide.

As one of the Celestial Children, Cole lives by an oath: defend the Ward, protect the Primordial race, guard the gateways, and stick to his own. Everything else is a distraction, and besides, he’s lost enough. Cole’s job is clear, and no one his age does it better. So, when he meets Kade in a club downtown, he assumes she just wants his attention. Most girls do, but Cole soon realizes … Kade isn’t like most girls.

The children of heaven and hell are living among us, fighting an age-old war. And falling for someone from the opposition is not an option. But a chance encounter between Kade and Cole will blur the rules, as Kade’s journey to keep her truth hidden catapults them together and into a web of lies, forcing her to not only face the demon inside her, but to answer the hardest question of all.  

Which is thicker-blood or water?

I can’t believe that I had this book on my kindle since October, and I waited so long to actually pick it up and read it… silly me!

I really really liked the writing. This book is told in 5 different POVs, with 2 main ones – Kade and Cole – and it’s the perfect way to tell this story. It also starts right into action.

Usually when it’s a fantasy of this kind, there is always someone who is oblivious to the “magical world”, so we have one of the magical being explaining things to them, and we (readers) learn the world at the same pace as that character. That IS NOT what happens here. Cole knows his truth, and Kade knows her truth, and we don’t actually get the whole picture until some time into the book, when both their worlds clash a little. I loved this! The world is complex, and I’m not sure I understood everything about it, but I did like this different way of explaining this world.

Now, I did find this book was a mix of The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices and maybe Harry Potter. Eheh! There are demons, and celestial beings, and tainted blood, and different houses (that are on the same side, but don’t mingle). There is also some shapeshifting, which is cool, and it took me a bit to fully understand, lol. Although I found elements of previous stories, I still really enjoyed it, and I think that ultimately the story diverges a lot from all those references.

One of the biggest selling points of this book for me were the characters. I thought that the characters were AMAZING. I was kind of expecting a Clary/Jace thing, but no. Kade was amazingly strong, and even though she was lonely for whole her life, and thought she was a monster, she was fierce and protective of those she cared about. And she’s obviously powerful! Cole was a mix of Jace and Will, but somewhat I liked him better. He was cocky, and obviously the best within his group, but he was a really good person, and it showed not only when he was with Kade and Danny (his BFF), but also when he was supposedly being a dick to everyone else. Danny was awesome, and I want more of him, and G and Lyndsey and even maybe Jake.

The romance is absolutely a case of instalove, no doubt about it, but it somehow worked. The chemistry between Kade and Cole was off the charts, and I really liked that she was confident within it, even though she had never had a relationship before. They trusted themselves and each other, and those hot moments were HOT.

The resolution of the plot was somewhat expected, and despite the twist, it was still a bit anticlimactic, but it was still pretty good and made me want to know more – good thing I already have book 2.

To sum it up, it is not the most original story, it has instalove, a twist and somewhat an expected plot. With this said, it’s still a pretty amazing read. I think the worldbuilding was well achieved and at the end of the day, the world created is pretty unique. The instalove works because the characters make it work. The characters are diverse and unique in their own ways too. So I have to recommend this book, I really have to!

PS: See that gorgeous cover? Ignore it! I have no idea why Kade is dressed like that, and it threw me off a big, but the book is set in the present, ok?