Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

 

Kingdom of the Wicked was a hell of a romp, I really enjoyed it. It was fast paced, fun and full of witty banter. I loved the setting for this novel, it was beautiful and I had no issues getting lost within it's descriptions of Sicily. I absolutely loved the characters, Eimilia was flawed and driven by the need for vengeance, while Wrath was ever the dangerous and sly. They had my favorite relationship too, I'm a sucker for certain tropes. I felt like the story was well thought out but it did fall flat for me a few times, the pacing was tiny bit off and it felt like there needed to be less time that passed, especially when weeks would pass with no story, I just wish it had happened quickly because it felt a little awkward when I was reading it. Overall I think this was a very fun read that I really enjoyed, solid 4/5 stars.

I would reccomend it to people who liked the Shadows Between Us, Shadow and Bone, Serpent and Dove, and the Cruel Prince.

I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan

I just finished I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan, I received an arc for this from Netgalley in exchange for this review! 

I gave this book 4 stars out of 5, although for the most part while I was reading it I thought of it as a 2 or 3 stars. I love books that use podcasts as an extra added depth to the story the author is trying to tell and this book did a pretty good job, not the best I've read but it added to the substance to the novel. I liked Dee our main character who uses a pseudonym for her podcast, she just wants to help bring awareness and hope fully new clues to missing persons cases. Especially after we find out that her reason behind this is because her best friend was kidnapped when they were children. Dee is also a lesbian and I felt like it was done very naturally especially as an lgbtqa+ person myself. I also loved the twists and turns of the mysteries in this book, and yes there are multiple mysteries. A couple of things that felt awkward to me were Burke's character and the instalove with Sarah. Burke was a great side character but I felt like the author didn't really know how to make Burke fit into the story more effortlessly, he was kind of bench when his character had the potential to really add more to the story. Sarah was awesome and I loved how Dee and her developed except they went to instalove pretty quickly which just turned out to make awkward reading because Sarah ended up pretty important character but she didn't have much personality except to get Dee talking in the book.  Besides these few complaints the story was well written and the twists thought out nicely. 

If you enjoyed The Night Swim, Sadie and I Killed Zoe Spanos I think you'll enjoy this one.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

 

I'll be Gone in the Dark is a true crime book mostly written by Michelle McNamara, she unfortunately passed away before the book could be completed and the Golden State Killer was discovered. 

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars, I listened to it on audio and I generally struggle to focus on audio but there was this one really brilliant quote that I had to go find asap after I heard. “He loses his power when we know his face.” That one sentence just sends shivers down my spine, and I thought to myself yes, that is why I love listening to and hearing about true crimes. I want to know what happened and why, I want unsolved crimes to be solved and by sharing these stories not only do the criminals lose power but unsolved crimes can get solved by just that one extra share, etc... 

DNA solved these rapes, and murder but it really is all the hard work that goes into solving it that takes the cake. This book was very boring at first for me, but the longer I listened to the narration, Michelle's word, the more I wanted to know not only about the case but about her and how she fit into the puzzle. This really was a great book, and I highly recommend it. Even my dad gave it 4/5 stars and he really enjoyed it too. 

My Dad Reads... summer list

Ok, so my dad's reading streak has been really good, he finishes books faster than me recently!! Since my last update he's finished 6 books and DNF'd (did not finish) 1 book! As previously mentioned, he is a man of few words, I promise for my next post I'm going to come up with a few more questions for him to give me more details on his views!

 The French Girl by Lexie Elliott 3.5/5 stars, my dad said it was interesting how they went through the mystery of finding proof...and then he spoiled it for me! I don't know if I want to read it now, but I don't feel like I can objectively write more about this one.

Without Blood by Martin Michaud 4/5 stars. he just said it was well written and enjoyed how the author pieced together the mystery.

Final Cut by S. J. Watson 4/5 stars, my dad enjoyed how this book went back into the past and back in years and how the author was able to write it well enough to put it together. My dad, a lot of the time, lowers his ratings when authors do a bad job of multiple pov's or multiple timelines so I'm always happy to hear when author's do it right.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley 4.5/5 stars. My dad officially loves this author and they write. He loves how he would never have guessed where the story was going, which is a bonus for me too. I'm going to read this author soon, because my dad has loved their books.

Still Here by Amy Stuart 4/5 stars. He liked it and the author did pretty good at the back and forth thing, but it wasn't super special to him.

Hunted by Darcy Coates 4.5/5 stars. Dad says it was well written, kept him in suspense and that he just really wanted to keep reading it. And that was all I could get out of him for this book.

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep My dad DNF'd this book, he read about 130 pages (which is really good for giving it a fair chance, I don't even do that many pages usually). He said it was a very dry book, my dad likes true crime and even some history books but he said that the author kept giving too many boring details. It was just too boring and he wasn't interested in the story anymore even. My dad said he wanted to hear about the case/murder, etc... not how an insurance company got started, or how one boring person knew the other boring person in town, etc... I don't think I've ever gotten that many words out of him before when it comes to reviews. He really didn't like this one.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

 *E-ARC received in exchange for an honest review*  

Home Before Dark was a little dull in the beginning, it took me a hot minute to really get into but by 45% through I was hooked. This is my 3rd book by Riley Sager that I've read, and so far this is the only one where I kind of saw the ending coming... the very end because I definitely didn't catch on to that one thing. Although I was able to put some of the story together myself I still loved it. We have Maggie Holt who has a past she can't quite remember and basically after her father dies she does her best to uncover what she believes are the lies that made her family rich. She returns to the house of horrors, the haunted house that her family fled from in the middle of the night and slowly she pieces together what's true and what's a lie. The story switches perspectives from Maggie to different chapters from her fathers books, and it was executed just so perfectly. Riley Sager has aced that in each of his novels I've read. I absolutely adore how this author builds slow suspense in normal everyday events, fixing up a house, camping, etc...

I loved the Final Girls and I really liked The Last Time I Lied, so I'm ready to jump into Lock Every Door. 

Fable by Adrienne Young

E-ARC provided in exchange for honest review*

Holy moly guys, Fable is easily one of my favorite books of all time and it is 100% making my top 10 reads this year. 

Synopsis

As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.

But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him and Fable soon finds that West isn't who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they're going to stay alive.

Ok, so I absolutely fell in love with this main character, she was both sassy and fierce but also kind and goal oriented. I liked that she wasn't heartless but she also wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. I also loved the story, side characters and the complexities that each is going through or went through. Everything about this book was perfect, I just loved it so much. The world building was done very well, you could tell it's a big world but the author only explained as much as necessary to the plot. I don't really have much to say, except if you love swashbuckling and the high seas/coast than you'll love this story. 

TBR & Beyond's Shielded Book Tour & Review

 

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For the full book tour schedule here's the link!

https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/2020/07/19/tour-schedule-shielded-by-kaylynn-flanders/

My Review is spoiler free

I gave this book a solid 3.5 almost 4 stars out of 5. The only reason it's not a 4, is because the first half of the book dragged a bit for me. It may have been my mood while I was reading or that although I was invested, it was a bit too drawn out. Whereas I felt the ending was a bit rushed... That's my only real negative. This story follows our heroine Jenna and the mysterious aggressors who are in the process of hatching their plot. I felt like these different styled chapters really invoked their inner Remnant Chronicles by leaving a bit of the unknown as to who the mages are. I really enjoy it when authors leave a lot of hints but you're really just not sure who you can trust. This book was a lot of fun with a swoon-worthy romance, be still my beating heart, and I really enjoyed the experience... (I may or for sure... have a special edition of this book coming in the mail). I don't really want to give too much away or say too much but I've edited a fun playlist for you guys to listen to as you read this book and I've left the synopsis and author info, etc.. down below as well! 

Playlist

Experience my full playlist by clicking^

Otherwise here are my main songs for this book

1. Family by The Chainsmokers/Kygo

2. Magic by Coldplay

3.Warrior (ft. Lights) by Steve James/Lights

4. Shadowplay by the Killers

5. bury a friend by Billie Eilish

6. Castle by Halsey

7. Bad Blood by Bastille

8. Demon by Imagine Dragons

9. Secrets by OneRebuplic

10. Worth Fighting For by Taylor Henderson

11. Love and War by the RockAteers

Shielded

by KayLynn Flanders

by Delacorte Press

Publishing date: July 21st, 2020

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Synopsis:

For fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Furyborn comes a thrilling new fantasy about a kingdom ravaged by war, and the princess who might be the key to saving not only those closest to her, but the kingdom itself, if she reveals the very secret that could destroy her.

The kingdom of Hálendi is in trouble. It's losing the war at its borders, and rumors of a new, deadlier threat on the horizon have surfaced. Princess Jennesara knows her skills on the battlefield would make her an asset and wants to help, but her father has other plans.

As the second-born heir to the throne, Jenna lacks the firstborn's--her brother's--magical abilities, so the king promises her hand in marriage to the prince of neighboring Turia in exchange for resources Hálendi needs. Jenna must leave behind everything she has ever known if she is to give her people a chance at peace.

Only, on the journey to reach her betrothed and new home, the royal caravan is ambushed, and Jenna realizes the rumors were wrong--the new threat is worse than anyone imagined. Now Jenna must decide if revealing a dangerous secret is worth the cost before it's too late--for her and for her entire kingdom.

Buy the book 

↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

BOOK LINK:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42281684-shielded
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593118537
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Shielded-Kaylynn-Flanders/9780593118535?ref=grid-view&qid=1594819850295&sr=1-1
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shielded-kaylynn-flanders/1134256504
Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/shielded/9780593118535-item.html?ikwid=shielded&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=2b60e6c6759a72c42103c4aa83ad8d61

McNally Robinson: https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/9780593118535/kaylynn-flanders/shielded?blnBKM=1

July Final List of What I Read

In July, I had some really great reads but I also went through a mini book slump, where I read the first few days a lot and than I went two weeks only reading every now and then. And to be perfectly honest, I started a bunch of books and on the last day of the month I finished 3 that I was more than halfway through because reading goals...

So here's what I read and my star rating

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 4 stars

The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan 4 stars

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell 4 stars

A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation Vol. 1 by Momochi 4 stars

So This is Love by Elizabeth Lim 3.5 stars

Shielded by Kaylynn Flanders 3.5 stars

Sisters of Song and Sword by Rebecca Ross 4 stars

Fable by Adrienne Young 5 billion million stars

As you can see it was a pretty decent reading month, I really enjoyed all the books I read. A couple were pretty heavy and weighed on me afterwards, but I'll hopefully get into those in another post soon. 

I was lucky enough to read Fable early and will definitely give it it's own blog post because omgosh I loved it so much with all my heart and soul and I just pray that every book box I get does it so I can own it... 

My Dad Reads

My dad has had another good reading month, most of this is from June but probably crosses over into July. I usually give him books in batches and so this was just one batch. Also I always use some liberty when I describe how my dad feels about each book, the rating and ideas are his but he really is a man of few words and thinks grunts/noises describe his feelings accurately enough. 

The Wives by Tarryn Fischer 2-2.5/5 Dad said he didn't really care for this one, he felt it was all over the place, and boring. I've definitely heard some mixed reviews on this one so I'm not surprised he didn't like it. 

Layover by David Bell 3.5/5 He enjoyed this one and would recommend it but he's also read better. He thought it was actually written good and felt that it kept him in suspense. He said and I quote  "not too bad."

A New Kind of Monster by Timothy Appleby 4/5 My father liked this one, he thought it was well written. He was kept wondering about the psychology of the guy and felt like the author did a good job of going into background information.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley 4/5 Dad liked how well the author wrote even when switching up the perspective every chapter, even if a book has multiple pov's or time changes if it's not done well he isn't into it. He liked that this book kept him wondering on not just who the murderer was but also who the victim was. He said that the ending in this book was the best. 

Murder in the Crooked House 4.5-5/5 My dad was actually thinking about not finishing this one, he was 50 pages in and pretty fed up but kept reading, he doesn't really like giving up on books I've noticed. He's got way more patience than I do, but it got really good he said. He loved the concept of the house and just kept repeating how he "would never have thought of how it was done, ever." He also really just loved how unique the whole book was and even liked it with the translation.

Trace: who killed Maria James? by Rachael Brown 3-3.5/5 So I think my dad really enjoyed this book, he mention a few times about conspiracies that were probably involved and I guess it was just wild ride. He was really mad though because it's a true crime novel and it's still unsolved. He thinks it's solvable based on DNA things, etc... and he felt like this book was written prematurely because of it's ability to be solved. 

The Killer Across the Table by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker 4.5/5 Dad really liked this one but he didn't have much to say except he liked how it gave a lot of different killers/information, and described how they murdered... I don't know how to say that without making my dad sound like killer, I swear he's not though...😝

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager 5/5 I didn't think my dad was going to love this book as much as he did but he absolutely loved it. He loved it because the whole book he had no idea what was going to happen or who did things, etc... He is obsessed with the twist this book provided and now I'm going to have to get this author's other books for him because I think he'll like them. 

#thewives #tracewhokilledmariajames #thelasttimeilied #murderinthecrookedhouse #thekilleracrossthetable #thehuntingparty #layover #anewkindofmonster #mydadreads

My Pride Reading List...and not pride... (June Read List)

In June I read  in order 

• The Deal (Off-Campus 1)
• This is How you Lose the Time War 
• The Mistake (Off-Campus 2) 
• The Score (Off-Campus 3) 
• The Chase (Briar-U 1)
• The Risk (Briar-U 2) 
• The Play (Briar-U 3) 
• The Dare (Briar-U 4)
• Red, White and Royal Blue 
• These Witches Don't Burn 
• No. 6 volume 1

So I had been hoping to read all LGBT+ books in June but obviously I binged all of Elle Kennedy's hockey romances (except for the one with pregnancy because I just can't get over pregnancy romance...personal dislike in my romance). Apparently during covid, Elle wrote the Dare and I just needed to reread all the others so I could fully appreciate and remember who all the characters were. My favorites were definitely The Score, and The Risk <3 sooooooo sexy...... but honestly I don't know why I love these so much, they're just fun and sexy and I love the characters, some of the stories are lacking though...

I myself identify as queer, I'm in a queer relationship and so LGBTQA+ books really hold a special place for me. They were also the best books I had read in June, sorry Elle but not sorry... My favorite was 100% This is How You Lose the Time War, and I'm not even going to say anything because it's getting it's own post later, with my favorite quotes. Otherwise I really liked Red, White and Royal Blue and These Witches Don't Burn. Both were really awesome, one was adult contemporary and the other was teen urban fantasy. I plan on reading more of both authors again in the future! 

Disney's Twisted Tales

I've never read the Twisted Tales before but Disney usually does a pretty decent job at putting out quality projects, and who can really go wrong with a twist on a classic. I love fairy tale retellings and finally one caught my eye, so I bought it. 

I bought and read So This is Love by Elizabeth Lim, who also wrote the Mulan twisted tale. I thought it was a bit drab/unrealistic in the beginning because the whole love at first sight trope isn't my favorite, but I mean it was a Cinderella retelling so what did I expect? 😝 But that really changed as the book went on, I read this hoping to read more about the romance but to be honest those were the most boring parts. The parts where Cinderella was making her way in the world were soooo good and I was living for her just being the best she could be!!!

I did like the triple perspective, there wasn't actually too much dept to the plot (I feel like disney standards are probably fairly restrictive). 

Overall I think I gave this a 4/5? Maybe 3 but it was definitely worth reading, if you have younger teens this whole series is good for them. 

A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation Volume 1

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for honest review.

This was super cute, and honestly there's not much I can say about it because manga are pretty short overall. I like the art, I liked the characters and I loved the story and when I felt like the author was explaining too much they actually stopped right at the moment where I felt like I might get bored. It was pretty perfect actually, the only thing keeping it from 5 stars is that it wasn't very action packed. Everything was a little too convenient and fell into place perfectly there was no excitement. 

The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso

ARC recieved in exchange from NetGalley for honest review.

Ok, real time... Ugh, this review is hard to write, I'm not actually finished this book but I also really wanted to write this review because feelings. I have a lot of them and it's complicated but also I just really don't want to finish it anytime soon, which I think is also valid? However, I also really don't want to not finish it either? sooooooo complicated.

The Obsidian Tower is well written and well thought out and feels quite intentional. I love almost everything, and I love reading it but I'm also extremely bored. There are lots of fun and DIVERSE characters which I'm living for, the diversity feels so natural which is surprising because there's so much of it. But also this book is very, and I mean VERY politically based, there are no action scenes, anything exciting that happens so far, happens "off-screen." And to be honest, I'm really bored, I have to push myself to keep reading, there's tons of things happening and lots of incredibly well written characters whom I love but also nothing is happening...? I don't know, this book for me but it also really isn't? 

I plan on finishing it eventually but not anytime soon, especially since I'm over 70% through it which is why I feel comfortable writing this. 

3.5/5 stars

Heir of Lies by Mallory McCartney

ARC recieved through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

 Heir of Lies is a little boring to be honest, but the writing was fun and fast paced. I did enjoy reading this but I did also put it in my timeout corner for awhile, while I thought it was fun I didn't really enjoy reading about Emory or Adair, I liked the story more than I liked the characters. The world building was a lot of fun but also it kind of felt like I was reading any old fantasy, not a unique one.

Overall I'd definitely recommend this to younger-mid teens, and maybe people who don't have as much experience with fantasy or epic fantasy because of how fun and easy to read it was.

Overall 3/5 stars.

May reads

I'm just going to go ahead and make a list and my rating of the books I read in May.

Unmentioned book which I refuse to actually rate....

The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab

Skip Beat! Volumes 1 through 43

The Mall by Megan McCafferty

Bone Crier's Moon by Kathryn Purdie

From Ash and Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Of the Blood by Cameo Renae

Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen

Wow.... I think I read 12 books this month... and 43 manga... which I didn't up counting in my goodreads goal... which my update is 69/75. I'm very ahead of my goals so I updated my goal to 100 books this year.

My favorite read this month was probably Dark Shores/Dark Skies. My least favorite is the one I'm not mentioning, and honestly most of the middle grade I read this month were for an event that I participated in on facebook. They were also mostly rereads of my favorite books from growing up!

My Dad Reads

His favorite read this month.

I'm back with another issue of my dad reads! He's read a lot of books recently. Here are the books he's read recently with his thoughts. Getting him to articulate in depth opinions is like pulling teeth by the way. So in a Nutshell he loved 

In the Cold Dark Ground by Stuart MacBride 4.5/5

Dad really liked this book, he said it was very intriguing, and well written. It appealed to him in some way that he couldn't explain without giving me all the spoilers...

He also read Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan 2.5/5 which he said "wasn't bad but boring." Which honestly I think was just him trying to be nice.

He also read I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara 4/5 He thought this one was really good, well written, well researched, and very informative. It was just plain good.

Finally he read Shadow Garden by Alexandra Burt 2/5 and he didn't even pretend to like it, he said "didn't enjoy hardly, it was all over the place, no consistency, too much jumping back and forth, the whole thing was boring." End Quote.

I am my father's supplier of riveting literature and apparently also of bad books that are suddenly taken off of my tbr after listening and writing of his findings....

Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen

I recieved a free e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen was sooooo good. I enjoyed Dark Shores, I gave it 4/5 stars but this book I'm giving 5/5 stars! I loved it, and I love Lydia and I'm so anxious about the characters and all the things that still need to happen in the books and I don't know where this is going! Please send help and send me book titles to read that are this good! 

Dark shores follows the timeline of Marcus and Teriana, and their travels. Whereas Dark Skies takes place during the exact same time period as Dark Shores but it follows two other characters, so while Marcus and Teriana are figuring shit out, Lydia and Killian are figuring other shit out. I can't wait to see hw these two stories connect to each other. Also how are these ya? The political intrigue and badassery going on are just wild.

So I thought I loved Marcus and Teriana but MOVE aside I love Lydia and Killian. Welcome new book boyfriends into the world because these two are my jems. I'm so so sad that the next one isn't out yet. I love everything about these now, consider me obsessed and take my money! 

For real I don't have anything bad to say, I just really liked it.

I finished two books last night

Last night was my ideal night, BBQ at mom and dad's(the only people I've seen during social distancing) and than I had a bath and finished From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout (whom I recently discovered I love after reading White Hot Kiss and Storm and Fury...). And than in bed I finished Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen on my kindle because I was struggling to sleep... or I was too busy reading to fall asleep... one of the two for sure.

From Blood and Ash is all political intrigue, mystery and I expect great things like war and whatnot to be happening in the next book. I don't really know how to describe this book, it's adult fantasy and just really good. I don't know how the author does it but this story was slow moving and not very exciting but it was dark and delicious. 

I hesitate to give more detail because honestly it was better not knowing what I was getting into as I was reading it. The characters were kind of stereotypical(this author definitely does this in every book) but she's good at writing, and even though they are simple girl who is also badass in every book I've read by her so far, they are also just well written. Sorry for the obscene run on sentence but I digress, Poppy was fun to follow around, she's spunky and sassy and really starts growing as a character. She starts off as the generic heroine but really learns. She lost me a bit at the end of the book with a few of her decisions, but I can't blame a girl for her feelings. 

I gave this book 4/5 stars because there are books out there that I liked better but my only real complaint was how much it felt like I was holding a brick as I was reading.

The next book I finished was Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen. It was also a 4/5 star read for me. I loved it, I didn't think I would for whatever reason but it was awesome. It was very different than  I thought it would be and I loved how it was inspired by the Roman Empire. My classicist heart soared, obviously because it's fantasy first I didn't expect the Roman stuff to be so obvious but it was and it was crazy. I don't know if teenagers would enjoy this book as much as I did though. It's marketed as a ya but it was also much more technical than I thought it was going to be. A lot of crazy war stuff and political stuff happened and I'm not convinced the average teen will love this book. But I'm diving right in to the next one so I can get my review out there and plus I need...NEED to read Lydia's point of view.

Of the Blood by Cameo Renae

I received a copy of Of The Blood by Cameo Renae this e-arc via netgalley for an honest review. 

I dnf'd this book at 94% to be honest, I just didn't have the urge to finish... 2/5 stars

Calla's story starts on her birthday when a mysterious stranger visits her and tells her that her life is in danger. To keep things brood and without spoiling much for readers Calla becomes the "chosen one" trope in her own adventure story. Overall I felt like her character was a little bland, she was likeable but only because she doesn't have much defining characteristics about her. She's generic, but the other characters in the story are awesome, they are strong, clever and fun. I really liked them, more than I liked Calla unfortunately. I loved the politics but Calla's story and specialness felt a little forced, it happened quick and there wasn't really any lead up for the reader to learn things in advance, and i would have enjoyed a typical "chosen girl" story with more lead up, she got thrust about the whole book and I was a little tired of that. Maybe this book would have been better for me if the author had written from multiple perspectives from the characters I loved *cough*Kylan*cough*Melania*cough*Brone*cough*Sabine* I do think there's a lot of room for me to change my feelings on Calla and the story. Normally I love books which are stereotypical quiet girl attracts hottest guy ever and gets thrown into quest and power, etc... but lately I've reading really powerful books with strong female characters and Calla just isn't that. 

I know a lot of book reviewers review based on characters, world building and story. I enjoyed the world building a lot! I thought it was modern but also medieval in feel and it just super appealed to me. I also mostly enjoyed the plot, besides the things relating to Calla, I loved the politics between kingdoms.

I do think that this book was enjoyable and maybe I'll give it a finish or reread when I'm in a different mood. 

#netgalley #oftheblood #cameorenae #bookreview

The Mall by Megan McCafferty

I received a free e-arc of this from Netgalley for review purposes. 

The Mall by Megan McCafferty  takes place in 1991 at the height of a girl's transition from high school to university. Cassie (recently recovered from mono), has a plan. A great plan to spend the summer working with her boyfriend at World's Best Cookie but as we readers know, plans in books never work out. After a few changes to Cassie's plan she ends up on a mall treasure hunt. She meets tons of new people and grows a lot before her great escape to university.

This book was very cute, I was born in '91 so I definitely did not get all the references but I got enough of them that the ones I didn't get did not affect my reading experience. Sorry my grammar is all wrong on this but it's been two very VERY long weeks, and this book really helped me relax. I loved Cassie, she was sassy and fierce and really grew on me, even though I myself am completely different from this character. I really enjoyed Cassie's romps through the mall, each clue was fun and unique. It felt very real, and I loved every single character, both good and bad, they felt very real. The descriptions of the mall made it easy to imagine and I really hope they put a map in the beginning of the mall, I think that'd be so cute in the final version. The story lost my interest  a bit in the middle but after another chapter or two it picked up again. 

Overall this story is a solid 3/5 stars for me. 

May TBR down the drain (already?!) Rambles

TBR's (to be read) can be really important to people and honestly I like it a lot when I can follow my tbr. So far this month (even though it's only been 5 days), is kind of a let down for my tbr. I read one book, which I didn't like that I got courtesy of NetGalley, and honestly I'm taking part of 2 group reads, 2 reading challenges, and 1 buddy read(which I'm going to start today). Now normally I can read a book that would help me in these, but honestly I already feel behind. It's probably just my personal life getting in the way and I'm feeling kind of book slumpy so I'm going to post a few tricks and talk to you guys about my reading.

First I can say that I'm going to start House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas today, I've been putting it off because Maas is kind of a hit or miss author for me. I do think this book will be different and enjoyable though and so I hope it helps gets me out of slump mode. I'm also reading Nimona, and graphic novels also help me get out of slumps. Finally, applying for books on NetGalley and getting approved will help my motivation to read more. I was accepted for an E-ARC of Dark Skies so I'm powering through Dark Shores right now, I generally really enjoy Danielle Jensen's books.

It's also middle-grade May so I'm supposed to be reading middle grade books this month, which I have yet to start but I think that will both improve my mood and make things easier on me to read. I have a huge stack set aside for the challenge, so I feel like I've never wanted to read more than I do this month!

I was trying my best to read Ninth House but it's a bit slow going so I'm at a stand still, I think picking up something a little more action packed will help me out.

Any advice for book slumps?! What helps you?

My Dad Reads

I got my book habits from my parents, both of them. My tastes coincide with my mom's taste perfectly while I get my actual habits from my father, he got me into reading in the bath tub. He'll use a bath bomb at super heat and sit there, read and relax. Heavenly. 

My dad has a special place in his heart for Dean Koontz and murder mystery thrillers. He does enjoy horror but prefers thrillers. He also dabbles in reading true crime which are things I also enjoy but my big genre is fantasy. I did get both my mom and dad to read Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames though and he said it was a fun read. My mom loved it as well and if you like fun, D&D romps than you'll love this author's work.

He's a man of few words but I give him books to read all the time and boy does he read. Recently he's read

The Distant Dead by Heather Young

Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert

And I honestly can't remember what he said about them, so honestly they must've been pretty whatever to him.


His short review for Find You in the Dark by Nathan Ripley was 3.5 or 4 out of 5 stars. He said he liked the mystery and the writing. He recommended I read it so it must've been better than some of the other books he's read. So I guess I read it.

#dadreads #nathanripley #findyouinthedark #inheritedreading

From mean and nasty reviews to socially not hurtful reviews

Last night I read a book, it was fairly short and it was an e-arc given to me by Netgalley. I was definitely declined a lot of the bigger, more popular titles which I had really, really, really wanted to read. When I first made an account I requested things I didn't actually want to read I just wanted arcs and free books, that was 2-3 years ago and I hadn't really requested anything since. So my reviewer score is a measly 65% so I'm trying to increase that number by reading the things I want to read and actually getting my score up. I want to do better, but as I realized that I also realized I had to make my way through a few books that aren't necessarily brilliant.... Which is why I think this blog post is important. The book I read last night, was in reality a 0 stars, I hated it. There was nothing good about it, and I felt bad... very bad... I started to type out my review for netgalley and kept thinking how I wouldn't post it on social media or goodreads because it was too mean. I also didn't want to author to read it because I have nothing but respect for her, it takes a lot of guts to write and publish a novel, guts which I'm severely lacking.

So here is my first version of the review, I changed the names because I don't want to diss the author, so this book will be a mystery for you guys so please respect that it's probably not a book you know.


I read this book in one sitting and wasn't very impressed to be honest. It was sort of worth reading but it felt very religious, focusing on Christianity with a smattering of beauty and the beast retelling. I loved John as a character but I don't why he fell in love with Jane? Jane, the main character is horrible, she's judgmental and brash and she doesn't get better. She didn't even feel bad for shooting John twice?! There was no character growth in her character throughout the book, she's treated as perfect  even though she really doesn't care for logic. She had many opportunities to learn and grow and she ignores them all but people still love her? Overall, all the characters are stereotypical and I don't think I could suffer through what everyone is wearing everyday for clothes. Especially when the author felt the need to make a character description list in the beginning of the book(which I skipped reading because I felt it unnecessarily boring). I didn't like the chapter headings because I didn't understand the need to over complicate the simplest story I've read. Were the meanings of the chapter headings in that over complicated beginning that we're expected to remember? Also what time period is this in? I'm confused, they don't seem to have modern conveniences she uses words like tunic and tavern but also guns, and hospitals? The world building wasn't fleshed out enough for me to understand. I don't even know. The author killed my favorite character but I think I only liked him because he didn't love Jane blindly like the rest of the characters. Also what was the curse? Was that the story? Was it the main plot because I'm not convinced there even needed to be a curse it was that unimportant.  There really was no plot for this book. Any plot introduced in this book, is obviously getting saved for another book which I won't be reading. 

Obviously I had some pretty strong feelings that weren't constructive to the author but flat out mean. So I reworked it to sound more professional, and I got rid of all the information that was actually unnecessary. Here's the second draft:

I read this book in one sitting and wasn't very impressed to be honest. It was sort of worth reading but it felt very religious, focusing on Christianity with a smattering of beauty and the beast retelling. I loved John as a character but I don't why he fell in love with Jane? Jane, the main character is horrible, she's judgmental and brash and she doesn't get better. None of the characters had any character growth, they stayed 1 dimensional throughout the entire book. I didn't feel like the character descriptions and glossary in the beginning of the book was necessary, it was overly complicated and boring.  The world building wasn't fleshed out enough for me to understand it. There really was no plot for this book. Any plot introduced in this book, is obviously getting saved for another book which I won't be reading. 

And because I still felt like it was overly harsh and my spouse thought it was important to mention the lack of character growth, I added that part back in but I also tried my best to add in some positive. And after reflecting on this whole process, I realized I would be willing to give this author another shot in the sequel even I only gave their book a 1/5 stars. I did mange to have two nice things to say and I feel like even though my review still isn't nice, per se.... it's better than it was. And I don't feel like a shit human for this last one.

I read this book in one sitting and wasn't very impressed to be honest. It was sort of worth reading but it felt very religious, focusing on Christianity with a smattering of beauty and the beast retelling. I loved John as a character but I don't why he fell in love with Jane? Jane, the main character is horrible, she's judgmental and brash and she doesn't get better. None of the characters had any character growth, they stayed 1 dimensional throughout the entire book. I didn't feel like the character descriptions and glossary in the beginning of the book was necessary, it was overly complicated and boring.  The world building wasn't fleshed out enough for me to understand it. There really was no plot for this book. Any plot introduced in this book, is obviously getting saved for another book which I would consider reading to give this author another chance to grow. This author's style obviously just wasn't for me but maybe read this if you want to support debut authors and enjoy Beauty and the Beast retellings where women can be badass.

#review #reviewer #bookreview #bookreviewing

The Shadows of What was Lost Review

This book... Wow, the Shadows of What was Lost by James Islington was so good. It was pretty much 700 pages which I devoured in 3 days! 3 days! Most people who read this book seem to love it (myself included) but there are a few bad reviews because it's marketed for fans of Robert Jordan and Sanderson. I think it's pretty unfair to compare books especially if someone writes that they're inspired by those authors. I don't think there's anything wrong with being inspired by authors but please stop comparing authors to the point where you ruin a perfectly good book for yourself. Especially one that is as digestible as this one.

There are 4 main point of views that get switched up throughout the story, and some chapters were better than others but overall each character offered something unique to the plot and each felt quite organic. (and for those of you who think Wir is too perfect, he most definitely is but I love him the best anyways) I do think Asha's chapters were the most interesting and plot driven than the others but I'm very excited and curious to see where the story goes. Shit be happening hard.

I recommend this book if you're maybe just starting out in the high epic fantasy genre or if you just want to read something that you'll actually understand with all your favorite fantasy shit.

#theshadowsofwhatwaslost #bookreview #jamesislington

Laurie Forest Books

I love the Black Witch Chronicles, like love them. There are the first two books out now and 2 novellas bound into one copy called Rebel Mages. I know the author plans to make the series 5 books right now and they have been coming out fairly slowly but omgoodness has it been worth it.

I have now read the first book twice and it was better the second time around. I know it has gotten lots of controversy over the years for it's blatant racist main character named Elloren. However that is the charm of this series, this book puts Elloren through trials and you can literally read her character growth, she goes from ignorant about other cultures and thinking she's better to thinking that she's still got a lot to learn and that other cultures aren't bad at all, they're just people trying to live and survive exactly like her. I'm not a great writer, so I hope I get the point across, there is one scene that really shook me, where Elloren learns from Professor Kristian that 'history is written by the victors.' So Elloren literally realizes that to piece together a correct history she needs to critically think and read sources from all peoples not just her own. Elloren grows into the role of heroine, she doesn't start in it. And I think this book is very important, it really teaches you that racism is inherited/learned behavior, and you can change and help many other types of people.

I'll probably talk about this series many times over as it progresses and I get the opportunity to read more of it. The newest book the Shadow Wand releases in June and I've already pre-ordered it.

In a nutshell, this series is high epic fantasy for young adults with slow burn romance, potential for enemies to lovers, witches, selkies, powerful women, fae, dragons and a resistance to totalitarian rule.

#theblackwitchchronicles #laurieforest #theblackwitch #theironflower

April 2020 Wrap Up

I did lot's of reading this month, more than normal because I've been at home because of Covid. This blog has kind of taken an extra long hiatus because I just had a crazy year and I work two jobs. However I decided that I'm going to be doing a lot more work now to read and review because it truly makes me happy to promote books I love!

Without further ado in order of reading...

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest 4.5/5 stars

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout 3/5 stars

Storm & Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout 4/5 stars

Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill 4/5 stars

The Iron Flower by Laurie Forest 5/5 stars

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire 4/5 stars

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine 5/5 stars (I always reread this book when I get stressed)

Finally I ended the month with this big bad boi

The Shadows of What was Lost by James Islington 4/5 stars

It was a really, really, good reading month for me. I usually only read 2-5 books but here I have read 8 books.