Tag: book review

Reviews

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

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*MINOR spoilers*

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The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever. What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving? The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

OH YEAH I READ IT! After months of hearing incredible things and of seeing it on my shelf and wondering if I would like it, I finally picked up Strange the Dreamer. I went in knowing next to nothing about this world. I am happy to report that I have fallen deeply in love with everything to do about this story. Everybody who gushes about this story is completely right and the hype is so worth it.

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Reviews

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

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*Maybe MINOR spoilers*

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

I DID IT! I READ IT! Ah, I finally, finally, picked up a hyped book that I’ve been wanting to read for awhile. And I’m so glad I did. Vicious is, without out a doubt, amazing. The story was very different than anything I’ve ever read, which is why I think I found it a little odd. Not necessarily bad odd, just… different.

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Reviews

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

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*Spoiler free*

In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it’s Lei they’re after — the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king’s interest. Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king’s consort. There, she does the unthinkable — she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world’s entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.

This isn’t the kind of book you fall in love with. It’s the kind of book that MAKES you love it. I’d heard about this book here and there; my interest peaked since it sounded really good, but I simply didn’t get around to it. A few glowing reviews surfaced and I decided I would give it a try. Before I start trigger warnings: sexual violence, which is not just a single moment but basically a theme throughout the book, abuse, and there’s a really gorey scene towards the end.

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Reviews

Outrun the Wind by Elizabeth Tammi

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*Spoiler free*

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Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

The Huntresses of Artemis must obey two rules: never disobey the goddess, and never fall in love. After being rescued from a harrowing life as an Oracle of Delphi, Kahina is glad to be a part of the Hunt; living among a group of female warriors gives her a chance to reclaim her strength, even while her prophetic powers linger. But when a routine mission goes awry, Kahina breaks the first rule in order to save the legendary huntress Atalanta. To earn back Artemis’s favor, Kahina must complete a dangerous task in the kingdom of Arkadia— where the king’s daughter is revealed to be none other than Atalanta. Still reeling from her disastrous quest and her father’s insistence on marriage, Atalanta isn’t sure what to make of Kahina. As her connection to Atalanta deepens, Kahina finds herself in danger of breaking Artemis’ second rule. She helps Atalanta devise a dangerous game to avoid marriage, and word spreads throughout Greece, attracting suitors willing to tempt fate to go up against Atalanta in a race for her hand. But when the men responsible for both the girls’ dark pasts arrive, the game turns deadly.

This book sounded queer and I wanted to read it. Two huntresses falling in love? Yeah, I wanted to read the heck out of that. And on top of that, the rest of the story sounded really good; one of strength and perseverance.

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Reviews

Surviving Adam Meade by Shannon Klare

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*Spoilers, I think*

Seventeen-year-old Claire Collins has a plan: get into college and leave North Carolina behind. What she doesn’t have is an idea for how to get rid of the local football star and womanizer extraordinaire — Adam Meade, who she can’t even avoid (despite many efforts), because Claire’s dad is the high school football coach. Seventeen-year-old Adam Meade never fails. He always gets what he wants… until he meets Claire, the new girl who leaves him unnerved, pissed off, and confused. But there’s something about her that he just can’t resist…

I’ve been wanting to read a light fluffy book for awhile now and I finally got around to reading one! I was in the middle of some high fantasy books and I thought it would be a nice break. Surviving Adam Meade seemed like a short, fluffy, cheesy, and sweet read that would make me swoon. I was so ready!

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Reviews

The Wicked King by Holly Black

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*Spoilers for The Cruel Prince*

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself strong. After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished. When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

The Wicked King, the highly anticipated sequel to The Cruel Prince.  I wasn’t the biggest fan of first book, but I can see where the hype comes from. People have been freaking out over The Wicked King everywhere, saying how amazing it is. And I couldn’t wait to see for myself.

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Reviews

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

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*Spoiler free*

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Thank you Edelweiss for the e-ARC!

The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been. When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like a dream, like something from a fairy tale. As Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not all is as it seems. There is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around her, now, and closing in.

Damsel sounds like something amazing. The story sounds like it would be great twist on ‘damsels in distress’. And it is, but it’s a lot more than that too. Damsel was nothing like I expected.

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Reviews

The Girl King by Mimi Yu

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*Spoiler free*

Sisters Lu and Min have always known their places as the princesses of the Empire of the First Flame: the eldest, assertive Lu, will be named her father’s heir and become the dynasty’s first female ruler, while timid Min will lead a quiet life in Lu’s shadow. Then their father names their male cousin Set the heir instead, throwing both girls’ lives into chaos. Determined to reclaim her birthright, Lu is forced to flee, leaving Min to face the volatile court alone. Lu crosses paths with Nokhai, the lone, unlikely survivor of the decimated Ashina, nomadic wolf shapeshifters. Nok never learned to shift–and he has no trust for the Empire that killed his family–but working with the princess might be the key to unlocking his true power. As Lu and Nok form a tenuous alliance, Min’s own hidden power awakens–a forbidden, deadly magic that could secure Set’s reign . . . or allow her to claim the throne herself. But there can only be one Emperor, and the sisters’ greatest enemy could very well turn out to be each other.

When I heard about this book, I knew I wanted to read it. It sounded like a fierce, female driven story. I couldn’t wait to immerse myself in this story, to see Lu fight for her throne, to see what Min’s story holds, and to get to know Nokhai more!

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Reviews

A Curse So Dark And Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

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*Spoiler free*

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Fall in love, break the curse. It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope. Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world. Break the curse, save the kingdom. A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

I don’t know really how to start off but by saying this book made me all ajhs;dkrsgsldkg. It started off amazing, it continued to be amazing, and it ended amazingly. The whole books was just one solid block of awesomeness.

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Reviews

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

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*This review will not contain spoilers*

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Seventeen-year-old Keralie Corrington may seem harmless, but she’s, in fact, one of Quadara’s most skilled thieves and a liar. Varin, on the other hand, is an honest, upstanding citizen of Quadara’s most enlightened region, Eonia. He runs afoul of Keralie when she steals a package from him, putting his life in danger. When Varin attempts to retrieve the package, he and Keralie both find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that leaves all four of Quadara’s queens dead. With no other choices and on the run from Keralie’s former employer, the two decide to join forces, endeavoring to discover who has killed the queens and save their own lives in the process. When their reluctant partnership blooms into a tenuous romance, they must overcome their own dark secrets in hopes of a future together that seemed impossible just days before. But first they have to stay alive and untangle the secrets behind the nation’s four dead queens. 

This is one of the most intricately woven stories I have ever read. It was hard in the beginning, when you start out with a single thread, to be immersed in the world. But as the the story progressed I became more intrigued and more eager to go on.

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