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Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Lava Red Feather Blue by Molly Ringle ARC Book Review

 


Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book and it in no way affects my review, my thoughts are my own.

Let me start of by saying that as I child my favorite Disney movie was the sleeping beauty, So when I head that this was a sort of sleeping beauty retelling (or had elements of it) and was LGBT, I was freaking out and SSOOOOO excited. 

The writing style was really up my alley. I enjoyed the way the story telling. I adored the way the relationships and sexuality, gender of the characters was presented it felt organic and like a oh that's just apart of them rather than the story. 

The representation in this book is delightful to read about. The main romance is a M/M romance, there is a married F/F couple and a they/them side character which I loved to see and get to know them. That is part of what I really loved about this book, the casual-ness of it all. 

Now plot wise, this is not "the best book I have ever read in my life", I would've like a little less info dumping and more detailed imagery to really understand the image the author wanted us to see in our minds. I action is nice, but not mind-blowing. This to me felt more like a character driven story, while there is a lot of action scenes and is quite fast paced if you want to read an action packed book this is not it. The best part is the characters interacting with one another, or at least it was for me. The action was nice but did not tickle my fancy, because it is nothing out of this world or that kept me on the edge of my seat. 

There is a scene which 

SPOILER START

did not make sense to me .. I am all for romance and sex and all but it happens when they are on a time crunch and action is happening which is urgent. So not the best timing

END SPOILER

Anyhow, I loved the side characters and each character within this story felt tangible and not bland and boring. 

This is more of a romance book in a fantasy setting to me rather than a fantasy, so if this is not something you enjoy I would not recommend it. However this is something I personally love, so it was a super fast and fun read for me, even though it wasn't marketed as a romance. The world is also super interesting, despite the world-info dumping side of it. 

The writing is also not as clear for imagery all the time with a lot of metaphor-ish stuff or rather flowery writing, so beware if this annoys you. 

Overall a great read for me. it ended up rounding up to  a 3.85 stars and so a 4 stars is what I settled on in the end. If you love paranormal romance books, or fantasy books that are heavy on romance this is a must read. 

4/5 stars

Bookarina.

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

The Prince and The Thief by P.S. Scott ARC Book Review

 



Disclaimer I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review. And my opinions are my own, it did not affect my rating or thoughts on the book (other than being thankful for the chance to read it in advance).


So this was like receiving going out on a sunny day and suddenly dropping water on yourself, making your socks  soggy and uncomfortable for the rest of the day, unable to really dry them or change them. 

This is how this book felt, a really nice idea and such a poor execution. 

It managed to never have that perfect pacing where things felt like the story was naturally progressing, it was too fast then too slow and then predictable like no other. Maybe if I only read occasionally it wouldn't have felt as bad, but I hate when I can predict what is going to happen in a book. Nothing felt as if I was reading a new interesting, never seen before story. Yes the concept was amazing, but an idea is nothing without the right story telling and flow of a story. This can/could've benefited from a lot of beta readers and editors pointing out things that made the story predictable, ways to improve. This felt like a bad representation of what I believe this author could've had as an end result, it did a disservice to their imagination and to the sheer potential this story had. 

I found myself often annoyed with it wanting to love it, but ending up rolling my eyes or wanting to skip paragraphs and pages. The characters felt one dimensional, the world not fleshed out enough to feel tangible and the plot was oh so boring. When I finally felt like this story was going somewhere it abruptly ended, yes this is meant to be the first book of a series, but nothing was interesting enough that kept my attention and when something did it was the end of the book. It felt more like it should've been the half of it and that the book itself should've been shortened up until that moment to make it more of a beginning part of the book, a couple chapters, then that event some action a bit of things somewhat resolved and then that is what should've been set up for the next book. Unfortunately, that wasn't what happened, just a book that felt more like a humongous intro and oh here is some action before you go.

I was oh so excited for this book and it just flopped for me.

In the end It was a :

1.5/5 stars for me.

Bookarina

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Teddy Spencer isn't looking for love by Kim Fielding ARC Book Review

 



Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review !


This book was interesting to say the least, I am a huge fan of enemies t lovers romances and so this was right up my alley. Also the trope of sharing a hotel room, coworkers it was just set up to be a book I really would love. 

This was a lovely story, the only thing that really stopped me from giving it a 4 or 5 stars was how fast their relationship progressed as they were supposed to be arch nemesis, I would've loved to have more development before they got along with one another. 20 or so pages felt too fast for what the blurb told us about their rivalry and "hate" to one-another. 

I read this as a mindless romance from that point on and I do think it is important to not go into this expecting an amazing storyline and rather more just a cute romance with diversity because the story doesn't make much sense. 

The investor loves everything but decides she does not like the vibe between our main characters which okay makes up for funny situations as they are put in ridiculous settings together by the investor to "fix their connection" but all in all, is not realistic whatsoever.   


Unfortunately THIS WAS NOT AN ENNEMIES TO LOVERS ROMANCE BUT AN INSTA-LOVE ROMANCE.

And so I suggest you do approach it as more of a funny, insta-love, sometimes cringe cheesy romance. It did feel like this book suffered from false advertisement for what it is actually about. 

Putting that aside once I just decided to enjoy this as a mindless romance, it was a fast read. 


DO I RECOMEND IT ?

Yes if you are craving a fun mindless cheesy romance.

 No if you have expectations of a great storyline or enemies to lovers romance.  

3.5/5 stars

Bookarina


Tuesday, December 8, 2020

How the King of Elfhame came to hate stories by Holly Black Book Review

 



IMPORTANT INFO AND DISCLAIMER : This is a novella with many intertwining stories including a resemblance to a story line that takes place after the ending of the original trilogy (Queen of Nothing) and so please keep in mind that there are spoilers and thus you should not read this or the book without having read the trilogy first. 

This book was a nice surprise, personally, I really enjoyed the trilogy and I was super happy to not only get more of this world, but also insight on Cardan as a character as well as beautiful illustrations. This is a really short read written in a somewhat big font and so it wasn't time consuming at all to pick this up and read it. It was a one sitting type of read and perfect timing wise for me as I am currently in a very busy time in my studies (with finals and such). 

We get to meet a lot of new characters in this series, we also get to see Cardan grow from a child to whom he is now as a King and see him try/attempt at acting as a savior/hero to people. I loved how the author, Holly Black, managed to make little moments in his childhood and people he met influence the overall novella and how he is. I love the causation and effect aspect of it. Her writing as usual is really enjoyable and gives you a wonderful insight of the mind and thought process of her characters. I enjoyed how consistently good it was, while it was not as amazing as her trilogy or what I hoped for when I heard there was going to be a novella, I was pleasantly surprised by how much we learn and feel for how short the novella actually is. 

I don't often read novellas, the main reason for that is that I am a bigger fan of long novels as I love character driven stories or political stories in a fantasy world which just naturally comes with a lot of world building and thus makes for bigger books. Was this my favorite novel ever, no. Unfortunately when I start to think about it a lot I can see a lot of holes in the story (in the aspect of how things concluded to instances where it felt like scenes or something was missing) that could've been solved with a bigger novella. Also in the present time aspect of the stories I just wanted more from Jude and Cardan, I felt like this was a missed opportunity in a lot of ways to add little scenes of their life together. 

Overall a good novella, but did not quite hit the mark for me, or at least not fully.

3.5/5 stars

Bookarina

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

The invisible life of Addie Larue by V.E Schwab Book Review

 




This was one of my most anticipated read of the year. I love her writing and storytelling, this was no different while also being far from her other stories. The cover has a constellation, Addie's own constellation, the freckles on her cheek seven it is said in the book that each represent a god that is watching over her. 

We follow Adeline or Addie, her story begins in 1714 and we will follow her life over 300 years after she made a deal with the shadow/darkness/devil. The novel first picks up when she is about to be married by force and decides to run away, she breaks a rule and ends up praying to the gods after dark (the old gods, she is in an era where "God" is slowly appearing and the old gods are being forgotten). This is a bid no-no in the world of praying to the old gods, but she wants to live, be free and have the life she always dreamt off having adventures. The god grants her wish and gives her immortality in exchange for her soul, only he has twisted her wish and she can not make her mark on the world, be remembered or own things. 

This book is lonely, the author manages to make us feel the loneliness, the despair and the deep want to connect and be remembered. Addie gets to be alive, but never truly live she is no one, dust in a scenery watching the world change, always looking at what she wanted from the outside. Over the years, as we move back and forth between the years, she beings to meet people and always have the same conversations with them, learns that while she can't leave her mark on the world she can become inspiration. Be painted vaguely by an artist, make music with a musician enough times that while he doesn't remember where it comes from a random whisper of a melody is in the back of his mind, which will slowly become a musical piece. 

About half-way through the novel, she meets Henry the first person who remembers her and to whom she can say her real name to in 300 years. And he meets the only person whom when they look at him only see him and do not instantly fall in love with him. 

This book was lovely, an amazing read which made you wonder about life, artistic inspiration and what it is to really live rather than be alive. It is an highly quotable novel which deserves to be read slowly to really get the impact of what is happening. It is vastly different from Schwab's other work and while it is know as a love story over 300 years, it is not that exactly and so don't go into it expecting romance, but rather learning about the life of a young girl who once wished for freedom and life, who prayed to the wrong god and got her wish twisted. 

Overall one of the best novels I have read in a long time. 

5/5 stars

Bookarina

Friday, November 20, 2020

Princess Knight by G.A. Aiken ARC Book Review


Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange of an honest review. 


This is a sequel, while I did not know that going into it I really enjoyed it anyways. This author wrote super strong sword wielding women that are badass. I loved the banter between the characters and the writing style. 

This novel is full of emotions, a lot of instances I found myself laughing out loud, the cast of characters have amazing chemistry may it be friendship wise or otherwise. I loved Keeley and her sister Gemma ! Like yes Keeley is a blacksmith queen but her sister is a WAR MONK ?!?! Like WOW... The sisters are opposite while Keeley is kind and soft (but not in a I am too kind and believe everyone can be saved dumb kind of way) her sister is the complete opposite which made for wonderful scenes, she . is small and fierce hammer wielder that doesn't let anyone talk her out of her ideals. 

This book is gory, but kind, amazing battles and scenes but also contains a wonderful array of emotions that make you cry, laugh and relate to the characters. I truly had a wonderful time reading it and she is definitely an author I will read more work from. 

Perfect for fans of fantasy and somewhat character driven readers !

4/5 stars 

Bookarina

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Hollowpox: the hunt for Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #3) by Jessica Townsend Book Review

 

This is the third novel of the Nevermoor series. This will be A SPOILER FREE review !

I was so excited to read this book, we get LGBT+ rep in this book and it was amazing, as is all the rest of this series. Fun fact it is also becoming a movie !!! So that's always great. The world keeps on expanding and this was a super fast read, Jessica Townsend's writing is light and simply delightful. I love Morrigan and her friends, the talking cat and magical hotel ! Everything is addictive and it has one of my favorite tropes; A MAGICAL SCHOOL !!!

I have a huge love for this series, it tackles a lot of themes in such a kind and soft way that is ideal to kids while being perfect for older readers, it does an amazing job captivating you from page one and there is never a dull moment, not to say that action is always happening but rather, that it is never boring to read. I love her storytelling, she has a wonderful way of stringing things together and making connections over time. The relationships, romantic and otherwise, never feel like they came from nowhere, while surprising at times, when you look back you can see the little hints you might have missed the first time you saw them. These books are inclusive and have a wonderful tale of friendships, adventures and falling in love for the first time. 

The magic in these books are captivating, with all the magical creatures and the magical world/school aspect of things, I love that everything makes sense even in it's nonsense. The laws of the world are well presented and respected all throughout the novels, There is also a rich history of the world as we learn events that shaped the magical world and their way of thinking. I cannot rave about these books enough, pick them up you will not regret it !

5/5 stars
Bookarina


Thursday, November 5, 2020

Claiming The Rancher's Heir by Maisey Yates BLOG TOUR ! Book Review

 


First of all I want to start by thanking Harlequin for providing me with an E-ARC and making me a part of this blog tour !


Disclaimer: I am in no way affected by this my opinions are my own.

Now the good stuff, a Christmas romance ! I am a huge lover of cheesy romance when I am in the mood, I don't want drama (or not much of it) I want feels and a HEA (happily ever after). It contains a couple of tropes that are worth mentioning because this is a fun thing to know, a pregnancy after a one night-stand, a bad at communicating and an enemies to lovers romance.  (Now the latter one is my favorite trope, or at least one of them ! and the bad at communication one of my most hated things in books, I hate when things could've been resolved if they had just talked or been honest …)

This is a love story between Wren and Creed, they are both winery owners and despised each other upon meeting one another. They decide however, to put their differences aside when it benefits them in their wineries to work together. There is A LOT of UST (unresolved sexual tension) between them, they can't help but be attracted to each other and  between their banter and barbed comments ultimately end up sleeping together. This resulted into an unexpected pregnancy, Creed wanting to stay in the unborn baby's life proposes a marriage of convenience with no-strings attached. As you can imagine their UST which, by the way, did not in anyway get resolved by their sex-capade. As they get to know each other more and more, they begin to fall for each other. They both suffer however from what I will qualify as, lack of healthy communication between people who are (and even if that was not the case) having a baby. Especially Creed, I don't know why author's do this, what is supposed to be attractive in lack of communication which results in misunderstandings... At least everything was resolved and nicely wrapped up by the end of the book.

The sex scene in this book are STEAMY, really like a LOT. I also loved that they had a palpable, evident chemistry, which is not always the case in these type of romances. The author did a really good job at making the romance not be annoying or lacking. It was an extremely entertaining and fast read which is exactly what I wanted this to be. A perfect addition to my Christmas reads of 2020.

 I really recommend it, if you are looking for a enemies to lover, Christmas read with an HEA this is for you !
4/5 stars
Bookarina

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Bea Haunted by Joey Donaldson & Rachel "Tuna" Petrovicz Graphic Novel, Book Review









I first heard and actually bought this graphic novel on kickstarter (which I was quite fortunate this was funded completely and so the project actually came to fruition), I got a pin with it and was really happy to be able to support an indie work totally made and printed by the artists. 

It has a gorgeous cover and is filled with beautiful illustrations, the story begins with a flash back of events we aren't completely sure of what is happening she seems hurt and to have just gotten tattooed (is also containing a queer Sapphic romance), you follow Bea as she is an actress in theater. She works in a coffee shop and her bank account has just over 6 $ left in it, life isn't looking up for her so far and she is wondering what she is doing with her life. 

The story picks up when Bea falls on the ground due to slipping at work and a knife is about to kill her (as it is falling from the counter), at the same time she gets this beautiful vibrant woman as a costumer, as the knife is about to hit her a little blue ghost appears and saves her (the same ones as the ones on the cover of the graphic novel). As she hit her head, she believes she imagined it, she gets driven home and when she is alone after cooking, showering and doing her other daily stuff, she starts practicing for a play (theater play) and the ghost reappears, clapping for her. She is then followed around by the ghost and discovers, upon meeting the woman from the day before and seeing she has a bunch of varying colors of grey ghosts, that they appear and follow artists. She gets a tattoo that gathers them around faster, which makes her a better artist, but playing with forces that want to please you can sometimes become your nightmare as she discovers.

As her dreams start to come true and everything seems to be going perfectly, slowly things start to fall apart, she gets wrapped up in fame, forgetting those whom were there for her beforehand. This is a beautiful tale of what can happen when you forget to be thankful and want too much without putting the effort in as big consequences. 

I loved this graphic novel, though it unfortunately was not a five star. The only thing that made it not a five star was the fact that it felt like the ending got wrapped up too soon and it did not feel like a real ending. An amazing Halloween read ! I totally recommend it !!!

4/5 stars

Bookarina

Calypso's Heart by ARC Book Review

 





I received an ARC of the book and so thank you !


This was disappointing ? More so not everything I wanted exactly, a lot of the romance felt flat to me, it was not as captivating as I wished it had been. See I read a paranormal romance to be hooked on the main characters and their romance. This was not it...


I honestly preferred the side-characters, which is a big no-no in the romance world. The main characters should've been my favorite and the focus (with the storyline) of the book and they simply weren't. Rhyker the big bad, dark and handsome side-character was sooo captivating ! and Felix the cat soooo cute. BUT IT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SO ( the cat I get, I love animals), but this is a paranormal romance, the main couple should've been my favorites !


It took me soooo long to actually get into the story, almost 50 % of the book, which is a tome by the way, over 600 pages ! so that was annoying and then it felt like the story was just going too slow, at least for me. I did enjoy the sex scenes they were pretty good, nicely written. I also feel that for such a ginormous paranormal romance, I did not get a lot of info overall about the world ? like where are the shifters ? where is THERE ? like I feel it could've benefited from more world building especially because it was so long !


Anyhow, not a bad book, but unfortunately not a series I will continue (maybe just Rhyker if he gets a book). Just an okay book.


3/5 stars


Bookarina

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab Book Review

 


This was one of my two Halloween day reads ! Second review at the end of the day !!!
I mostly read her adult work and so it was my first time reading her work that is targeted to a younger audience. 

It was nice and short, did I love it no, did I enjoy it YES. I am definitely a much bigger fan of her adult work, while I did enjoy this I can see younger kids loving and becoming obsessed with this. It felt like a detective paranormal unit type of adventure, haunted places/town and a girl who can see them. I really enjoyed the TV show aspect, because he parents started a TV show about haunted places and how she comes into her powers!   Cassidy was a lovely character to follow, this is the first book of a trilogy or series and so even at the end of this a lot is still left to be resolved and there are a lot of loose ends to tidy up in the next novels. Furthermore, in the novel we got a lot of funny moments, which made it extra amazing and as always great story telling from Schwab ! 

All in all this was a lovely book to read on Halloween and has all the spooky vibes I wanted without being scary. I highly recommend it for tweens and kids of 9 years old and older  !
3/5 stars
Bookarina

Saturday, October 24, 2020

Vicious & Vengeful by V.E. Schwab Series Review

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These are the first two novels in the Villains series. (These pictures are the UK hardcover ED.)

I am a huge fan of V.E. Schwab's adult work, I have not picked up the Songs of Verity duet, I loved the A Darker Shade of Magic Trilogy and so when I picked up these one's I was expecting great things, and I was not disappointed. 

For those who do not know, this story begins about Eli and Victor who are friends in university and decide to write a project about EO's (Extra Ordinaries) who they believe can be created by near death experiences. For example people getting strength as they were crushed by a car and moving it away by themselves. And so the story takes place on two timelines, the first as they are testing their theories on themselves and the second in the future years after the events when Victor escapes from prison for a crime we do not know. 

Personally I prefer the first book, Vicious, Victor and Eli are definitely two of my favourite characters ever. I loved to see how they went from friends to mortal enemies, the anti-heroes vibes and the way the story was told. I loved seeing them as friend and then reading about them in the future where we weren't exactly sure of what had happened between them. I love it when books have characters that are not just the good guy or the bad guy, I love the grey areas in characters and how the author manages to make sense and show the reasoning behind their actions. I love how this book felt like a puzzle. While the second installment was really entertaining it was missing that little something that made me addicted to the first one. 

Victor is definitely my favourite if I had to choose between him and Eli, he is cunning, not good but also doing good things that seem like bad things from an outside perspective. He feels like a reluctant hero, not a hero because of how he acts, but rather despite of it because his revenge will bring peace to the fake universe Eli has created this persona he shows people that makes them believe he is good when he is not. 

All in all, Vengeful was a good sequel to Vicious, not exactly as good as Vicious, but still an amazing work of art. These two novels are so beautifully written and complex. 

I cannot wait for the third book to come out, even though we have no idea when that will happen. 

Overall  from what is currently published in this series :  4.5/5 stars.

Vicious; 5/5 stars

Vengeful: 4.5/5 stars

Bookarina.

Friday, October 2, 2020

The Vicar and The Rake by Annabelle Greene ARC Book Review





Disclaimer : I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review. 

                            This book was kindly sent to be by Harlequin: Carina Press ! 

This book is a MM romance between a Duke and a gentlemen who left his status in society behind him and taken a vow of celibacy even though he has never forgotten the pain of his first love who abandoned him. The story picks up when the gentlemen path crosses with the Duke who broke his heart and the flame that sparks between them has not dimmed at all. 

I love historical romances, there is something about certain era's, such as this one, that really tickle my fancy. Romances are always so proper in certain ways, the language is delightful and there is always this hidden banter and humor between the characters that have to be done in a particular manner as not to break the social class that the characters area part of. I love the primness of it all, the way a lot of things have a double meaning, and people are so passive aggressive because at the time, one always had to be so distinguished. 

Anyhow, let's get into the review. 

These books are normally some of my favourite the era is one of my most like romance periods with all the language used and the hidden meanings behind things. I wanted to love this, be obsessed with it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case, the beginning was slow and then BAM it became too fast all in one page. Things never felt like they were progressing at the right pace, I did not care for the storyline, while the premise was good and I am a sucker for second chance romance. The main characters did not feel real, I did not feel one way or another towards what would and did happen to them... 


Anyhow, overall not a bad book just not an amazing book either. 

3/5⭐️

Bookarina


The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive book 1) Book Review

 




This book was one of the most intimidating books on my TBR (to be read) pile, I have had it for years, the first two, then the third and now since the fourth book was coming out in November I decided to tackle it. 

I was not disappointed, I personally love slow fantasy when it is done the right way, like with Robin Hobb for example. To me the atmosphere and the world are just as important as the action, I love when I can truly see why a character is reacting certain ways, what motivated them to pursue certain course of actions, their thought process. What made them become who they are today. This is what I got in The Way of Kings and much more. 

My favorite character was definitely Kaladin, I loved his past and his point of view. I also loved Dalinar and Szeth, the two point of views which I did not enjoy the character but enjoyed learning more about the world were Jasnah and Shallan. I do hope that in the future we will learn something that will make me more empathetic towards them, but for now I really don't mind whether they live or die.   

The way this book is written is truly brilliant, at first a lot of information and point of views or excerpts from the past do not make sense. Little by little things are woven together in a seamless way, that doesn't make it as if it is impossible, but rather a logical conclusion based on the evidence they have uncovered. The world in this book is vast and complex, each region have their beliefs and way of acting everything feels natural rather info dumping which can often happen in such big fantasies with so many cultures in it. While there isn't much happening for the first half of the book as we discover the world, it isn't boring, it felt like learning about a new country nobody had discovered before, following people as they unravel things. 

I loved every second of this reading experience and I highly recommend this 1001 pages mammoth of a book. I cannot wait to read the rest of this series (even though they keep getting bigger) as the world gets richer and the plot more complex. 

5/5 stars 

Bookarina 

Friday, September 25, 2020

Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin (Serpent & Dove #2) Book Review

 




This is the sequel to : Serpent & Dove. The first book of this soon to be trilogy. 

For those who don't know it is the romance between a witch and a witch-hunter whom fall in love when she (Lou) is hiding as a human. They get married and a bigger storyline and romance ensues. It is supposed to be set in a France historical inspired setting. 

This book was fun and entertaining and it took me a while to truly figure out how I felt about it after I read it..., I loved Serpent & Dove it had truly taken me by surprise and made me happy and I fell in love with Lou & Reid's romance. I love their banter and how funny they are together, these books are also steamy and the best part of the story is definitely their romance.  I also love the friendship between Coco and Lou, however we got a lot less of it in this installment, which disappointed me a lot. 

START SPOILER:

we got to see Bas again, and it felt really anticlimactic to me. Okay so he loses his memories, chases them because hunting witches with a bounty is cool and then when he remembers we don't really get to see a real conversation between him and Lou even though she saved him from the tower in the first book and then got married to Reid to save Bas her lover ??? Understandably she has moved on and Reid is conflicted about the lie she had told him, but it just left me unemotional when it should've been this big reveal and scene, that he lost him memory to save Lou and Coco so the witch hunter would not find them and kill them. 

END SPOILER

During this book, while the writing was beautiful, while it was a fun and easy read it was lacking the "je ne sais quoi" the first book had. Everything felt or perfect pace or spending too fast. The setting pace at the beginning was my favorite, I liked that she let the characters absorb and digest what they had lived through in the first book. Everything from the 120 pages mark felt like it was going slightly too fast..., there was these big cumulating events meant to add pressure and stress to the story that simply did not have enough time to give us the impact it tried to do. Reid almost dying so many times that only the last one really felt a little bit more emotional. So much could've been solved with communication in this book which is one of my pet peeves when I read a fantasy book, especially on the romance aspect. If they had just sat down and talked I feel the real important moments of the storyline would've had bigger impact in the story. Honestly I felt sadder at the 375 page than what was mean to be the real sad moment at the end. I would not recommend this book as a fantasy because of that, this is more of a romance with fantasy aspects to me. 

I loved however the side-character we got to meet and his reveal at the end of the book, Claud Devereaux, I hope we get to learn more about him in the last book. I even would not mind a book or duology based on his story origins and all that. Also when he said "she could've been ours"... I also really enjoyed the caravan and the two brothers that were in it, there were a lot of great atmospheric scenes in this book. 

A big part of the book I was mad at Reid and then at Lou, and back and forth. I liked that however, I liked that I could understand both of their own views on what was happening. I loved learning more about Reid's past, his memories and one of the things that made him feel so guilty. The werewolves were super interesting. I loved also Coco's family, the only thing about that that disappointed me on both accounts was again how fast the alliance came to be when the other parties were supposedly supposed to be soooo against it !

 One of my favorite scene was when Lou was like we will lose them in three blocks max, and then she loses them in two and she's like "I always aim to please" in her thoughts.

A few of my favorite quotes:

"In truth, there had been no choice at all. There never had been. I loved her." -Reid

""I'll do anything for the ones I love, Reid. You know that."" -Lou

""You're never going to accept me."..."...You will always be a witch hunter. I'll always be a witch. And we'll always bring each other pain."" -Lou

"You will lose the one you love." -Coco

""... if given the choice, I never would've left you. I would've forsaken everything (...) to keep you."" -Madame Labelle

Overall the use of French was worse in this one than the first book. 

4/5 stars Bookarina.

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Slingshot by Mercedes Helnwein ARC Book Review

 


Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
This comes out : 27 April 2021

This book was something I was looking forward to a lot. Unfortunately, my expectations were much better than this book actually was. 

I have a lot of issues with this book, one of the main ones is that it is for teens and it contains a very unhealthy, abusive relationship that is passed off as not much or "okay to do".

I don't care that the abuser is a woman or a girl in this instance, it is not okay and as a teen everyone is not as mature as to understand that this is abusive, unhealthy and not a game to be playing. Furthermore it promotes it as a joke and the abuser is our main character. YES OUR MAIN CHARACTER. 

So this goes as follow: 

Grace our main character is fifteen, I want you to keep that in mind while you read this because she acts like 5 or 17 nothing in between, starts the book by crying because she had a crush on a teacher who she discovers is now engage. (This is so, like I can't compute of course he is not interested in you, you are a minor: HEY if a teacher is interested in you that's illegal, he or she is an adult you are a kid). Like this girl was for sure that they were meant to be and soulmates, like her grasp on reality is seriously damaged. She ends up insulting the fiancée to her face, mind you and then telling the teacher he is doing nothing with his life and blah blah blah... She keeps saying how mature she is, only is interested in men (which girl you are a teen ew) and acts out in that teacher's class now as a way to cope ?!! Again she is 15, she then says that in a couple of years they'll be together, but like she still wants a relationship with a 30 years old man. In her head she even talks about how the broke up , her and the teacher, she is seriously stuck in that delusion of hers. This girl needs psychological help, this is not okay. She also ends up bullying her roommate for no reason, like no reason at all. She also hates another girl (Anju) because she briefly had a crush on Wade, slut shaming her and humiliating  her in front of everyone. She like only makes up with that girl because they like the same band ??? After this girl called her out on how she is basically abusing Wade. Also there is this poor random older girl who feels emotionally forced to share deeply personal things with Grace, because Grace see's her as perfect and decides that she's a role model even though this girl introduced her to smoking, once again she is 15.

Any who, other stuff happens, One guy is bullying Wade, honestly don't care that much about the names, she proceeds to save Wade, by shooting her Derek with a slingshot, mind you it could potentially permanently damage someone in real life, and then saying it was nothing and not letting him sit at lunch with her. In this novel she is basically also emotionally abusing him the whole time, being extremely jealous of his friendship with Anju, and using it to emotionally manipulate and control him. Also, doing actions in front of everyone just to hurt him. She also, got Wade's skateboard taken away and threw cereal with milk at him because "I am so mature but cannot talk about emotions" when they broke up. (And she only regretted the skateboard incident at the end BTW)

And as  if this was not enough already, thankfully they don't get back together, but everyone is no longer in contact, Wade=ignores everyone and Grace=no longer interacts with Georgina.

Overall, I hated it, I do not understand how this was even approved as a YA book, because to me it is not appropriate for the age range and it could be damaging to some teens who will think this is okay because the main character never apologizes and only really feels bad about the skateboard and not all the people she abused, bullied and hurt. 

Extremely disappointed by this beautiful cover.

unfortunately, 1/5 stars

Bookarina

Black Canary: Ignite by Meg Cabot illustrated by Cara Mcgee Book Review

 




This was a nice comic from DC. I picked it up for two reasons: first because it is about a super hero and second because it was written by Meg Cabot who wrote the Princess diary's (a childhood favorite of mine). 

While I did not love it as much as I wanted to, it was quick and overall wholesome read. I would not recommend you go into this comic if you have no prior knowledge of Black Canary as it isn't explained in details. I however really like it when I though about it as a companion to Black Canary's story rather than a whole other story. 

We follow our main character Dinah a 13 years old (who really comes across as being much older in the story), she and her two best friends have a band, which they have yet to name. They want to partake in a band competition at school and Dinah has this weird thing where objects often explode around her. She also dreams of becoming a police officer like her father, but her parents are strongly against it. After a fight about it, she goes outside and wishes for an adventure, a mysterious figure overhears her and she ends up getting much more than what she wished for !

I wanted more about the friendship and honestly the story should've been much longer and it would've benefited from it. I really loved the illustrations and the whole color choice ! The villain reveal felt much more like a Scooby Doo episode than a DC villain comic, on the other hand it made it more accessible to younger kids if they want to read it !

4/5 stars 

Bookarina 


Friday, September 18, 2020

The Beginning after the end by Turtleme Webnovel and Manhwa

 

Divergence (The Beginning After The End #7)

This series started for me as a manhwa I was reading online, slowly but surely I fell in love with the characters and the storyline. We follow what we call an isekai, that means other world. Our main character was a King, King Grey reincarnated into the body of a baby in another world where he takes upon the name of Arthur. In that world there is magic, awakenings that give a person their magic and martial arts. There are three races, the humans, the elves and the dwarves. You follow arthur as he deals with reincarnation and figuring out his place in the world, his powers and why he was reincarnated with all his memories. 

I highly recommend the manhwa, it has beautiful illustrations and is in full colour, it also follows perfectly the novels (which you can read as chapter on tapas by paying or buy them directly as volumes on amazon). I picked the story up at the second novel and I really enjoyed it, while the writing style isn't the best, or the most detailed (I felt more immersed in the manhwa) it is really fun. The novels have multiple perspectives which is one of my favourite things in fantasy novels and the storyline gets more complex as you get further into the novels. 

I love to see Arthur grow and I hope the other characters will get an accidental reveal that he was a king, the enemies are strong and while I want him to stay on the side of the war his current family is on, I also hope he is 

Personally, so far, my favourite volume was the volume four. 

Overall I would give this series a 4/5 stars. 

Bookarina

Friday, September 11, 2020

Guardian's Grace by Rebecca Zanetti ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This the 12th book in a series, and I do believe it is one where you benefit from having read the previous books as there seems to be a bigger storyline that you follow throughout those books. 

You follow Andare a vampire and Grace a newly turned vampire, five years after he saved her life by turning her and then left her. They are mated but not a couple, Andare is a warior of the seven a secret order composed of vampires, demons, shifters and others who protect the "realm" and inhabitants of the world in a way against vampires who can only act during night time (Andare's type are like humans, in the sense they sleep at night). It is this big war type thing and honestly as I had not read the previous books a lot of it didn't seems as big of a deal as it was supposed to be or should've been if I had read the rest of the series. 

For the romance, it felt flat, they haven't been together or fully mated in the five years there bond was created but we are supposed to believe they get together super quickly even though Andare is always "I don't fall in love, emotions are not me" and her supposedly super independent, believing with reason, that he does not care. And then thrown together when he once more saves her life, oh they have no real conversations but are suddenly in love ?

Like okay, mates but they never completed the bond, he has an idea (a false one) of who she is in his head, but we are supposed to believe all this time he was in love with her but wouldn't accept it... Yeah, no.

I did enjoy that Grace defied what was expected of her, though sometimes she came across as childish, not understanding how much she was putting everyone around her in danger. There is this moment when he and his fellow seven go do a dangerous mission and she just decides to skip the plane that was getting her to safety to go where she was put in a coma before Andare saved her life by mating her. I get wanting to remember her lost memories of the attack, but there has to be a limit on how thoughtless she can be in putting others in danger, ESPECIALLY since a little time before she did that they got attacked because of her..., it was selfish and I just disliked her more at that moment. Also she is in danger because she is this all important key (one of three) which people decided she did not need to know even though it affects her and puts her in a more delicate position in which she should be even more protected. 

In the end I wanted a more building romance even though they were mates, since 5 years had passed and Andare's ex had come, I wanted her actions to have thoughts put behind them and for her to act like the adult she was. While the sex scenes where steamy, I couldn't help but feel like they happened too soon especially since so many conversations were left to hang in the air unresolved. 

Overall, a 3/5 stars.

Bookarina.

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Feel The Fire By Annabeth Albert ARC Book Review

 

Feel the Fire (Hotshots #3)

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review. 

Feel the fire was everything I wanted when going into this novel and more. One thing however is I am not a fan of one of the main character having kids, especially in a steamy novel. But since I knew that going into this it didn't bother me as much. 

This book was Hot and Steamy, a romance between fire behaviour specialists. One a dad of two teen twins (Tucker). I love second chance romances, especially between characters who were together when they were teens themselves and when they have a palpable chemistry such as Tucker and Luis had. They cross path long after their old romance when they are now both adults and forced to work together investigating an arson. When Luis is asked by his agency to go back to his hometown where he discovered he was gay and his childhood love broke his heart. 

They develop a mutual respect for one another and discover the chemistry and love they held for one another has not diminished in the least, together they make sparks. They begin a relationship, both seeing the unfortunate expiration date it has as their lives are in two different places, Luis in LA and Tucker in their hometown. They both want everything, they now have to work out and see if it is possible to have everything together. 

This novel was well written as they always are with her books, I easily fell into the story but while I did find that their love felt real I did not enjoy their romance as much as some of her other books. I also went into this expecting some intrigue and suspense because of the arson and unfortunately I did not. Overall the novel was well thought out and the author wrote something believable though not as romantic as I desired. I loved that Tucker was demisexual (because representation) and that it felt similar to how my experience with demisexuality is. I also liked that the author did not take a long time to clear the air between our two main character and how open they were with each other, especially in regards to Tucker's old wife, which prevented a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding. 

All in all I really enjoyed this novel and I cannot wait to read more of Annabeth Albert's books !

4.5/5 stars

Bookarina

Saturday, September 5, 2020

Stardust by Neil Gaiman Book Review

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This was a buddy read with one of my friends whom I used to work with. We have similar and opposite tastes in our reading choices in equal measures and so we wondered how we would feel about this one. 

The beginning started great, I have to be honest I did not understand why we had to read over a dozen pages on the father of our main character if we were to follow the son as one of the point of views in the story. 

The novel in itself was interesting, while I did not enjoy it as much as I loved "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" I did like it. The writing was hard to get into, a lot of info that while interesting was not always useful to the story, even over 70 pages into it I had a hard time getting into it. The story really picked up for me when I got around the 100 pages mark, when I finally felt like I cared about the story and wanted to know how it was going to end. (Yes it is a movie, but I've never seen it)

The ending felt very open ended, which is not one of my favourite kind of endings when a book is a standalone, especially in fantasy or sci-fi. I WANT A HAPPILY EVER AFTER AND A PROPER CONCLUSION.. Sorry got taken by the emotions there. It's like at the end of a wonderful love story where the ending is like "They hold each other's end, not knowing what the future holds" like NO, I need them to be happy, married (if possible) and to witness it, I need my OTP's to have their happily ever after. Anyhow, I did enjoy it overall, while it took me an eternity to get through it even though it is only 257 pages (Mass market paperback edition).

Would I recommend it, yes if you enjoy books written in a poetic kind of way and a slow, very slow paced action. (Like slower than "The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb" kind of slow) Also if you enjoy something that feels more like a magical realism book than a fantasy book. 

3/5 stars. 

Bookarina. 

BTW: My friend loved it so, do with that what you will (She mainly reads horror or thriller books)

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Joy To The Wolves by Terry Spear ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review !

The first thing that caught my attention about this book was the title, I love puns and so when I saw a werewolf romance novel with a christmas pun I simply had to know more about it. 

I went into it not knowing too much about it, just the basics, a werewolf detective, christmas and a main character who is on a farm and becomes wrapped up in all this when a reindeer calf or a bambi as I like to call them, showed up on her property. 

This is really all the information you need, it read fast and was funny it felt like something that could become one of those cutesy christmas movies which is exactly what I was looking for when I picked this up. Is it a book that will stay with you for the rest of your life, probably not, is it a hell of a good time that gives you all the christmas vibes you could want, YES. Their chemistry was undeniable, from the moment they meet until the end of the book it felt like they were presented in a way that truly made me believe they were made for one another. 

Our main character Brooke, who is also a werewolf, was funny, quirky and so much fun to read about. She's one of those main characters you easily get attached to. Her love interest Detective Josh, is HOT, I mean the way he's described makes us all need a little water, if you know what I mean... Mix them together and BOOM! sparks fly.  Well, not at first as he is "not interested" and his twin is much nicer to Brooke when he arrives to interrogate her for their missing reindeer calf that she has called in as found. I love that the romance was not an instalove as it often is with these types of books, while I do want that sometimes, it was a nice change of pace to have them meet and be not enemies, but a type of annoyed-to-lovers romance ! The side characters were attaching and the dialogue between our couple funny, they just were so sarcastic with each other, especially in the beginning and then just had funny moments happen with normal dialogue. 

The plot is interesting and engaging which is not always the case with these types of books and left me pleasantly surprised because, both the romance and the kidnapping case we are following intrigue us. We start the book with when Brooke was forced to once more, after taking over her parents antique shop for three years and then selling it, do the same with her aunt's as she died and put in her will that she can't sell it for three years. This is not what Brooke wants, it is not her dream to own an antique shop and so she takes over to respect the will of her aunt and things happen until our main characters meet ! They meet very early on which was lovely as the romance was the main interest for me in this reading experience. Equal part mystery, romance and funny this book was a quick read that left me wanting more of their story. A perfect Christmas read for all fans of werewolf books !

Overall 4/5 Howling stars !

Bookarina

The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell Book Review

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I picked up this book because I loved the how to train your dragon movies a lot and it was based on the books she wrote. Also because it came highly recommended by people I follow both on booktube and instagram. 

This was unfortunately disappointing to me, 32 pages in and I could not for the life of me bring myself to read more of it. Granted I did not get far into the story, however I kept getting out of the story because of the way things were written in the images. I kept having to stop to re-read things a few times to try and decipher what was written. 

I really wanted to love it but unfortunately this wasn't for me.

1/5 stars

Bookarina

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Frostheart by Jamie Littler Book Review

 

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This book was a wonderful surprise. I have a weird relationship with middle grade, I either love it or cannot finish/or hate it. I started this one after hearing so many good things about it. 

The main elements that caught my attention were the fact that Ash’s guardian is a Yeti, he has powers and he is going on an adventure to look for his parents who are pathfinders. Pathfinders are people who travel between the strongholds/villages to bring supplies and sometimes discover them. All the people in that world are in danger of being killed by leviathans, creatures that hide under the snow and ice to kill people; they also roar/sing to communicate. 

Ash is a young boy living in one of those village, his parents left him when he was young to go do their jobs but never returned. No one really knows what happened to them, long story short the village takes care of him and after a couple incidents,  when he was singing a lullaby (singing is feared and illegal) his parents used to  sing to him, he comes under the care of a Yeti called Tobu. The story picks up when Ash uses a power even he didn’t know he possessed to save a ship of pathfinders that is on their way to their village being attacked by leviathans. He is a song weaver, they are feared, scorned and believed to be evil as they can communicate with leviathans understand their song and in the belief of the non-song weavers can be controlled by them. He is then cast out of the village and leaves with the pathfinders he saved. 

This story was fun and a quick read, I really enjoyed Tobu and Ash. I loved how different each characters were and how they interacted with one another. Unfortunately, I disliked Lunah the most, I just could not bring myself to enjoy her she got on my nerves like argh so annoying. I wanted to like her so much, thankfully she was eclipse by the rest of the character and I could easily ignore her ! 

I loved where the story was going and how we were introduced to life outside the village, the images throughout the book truly enhanced my enjoyment of the novel. For a book a little over 430 pages it was really fast paced thanks to it having over 40 chapters. I really enjoyed the way the storyline was set up for the most part, I felt however that at the beginning the story took too long took for us to get into the catalyst of the story, I did not believe that the playing with friends was necessary, we could’ve easily gotten his want to sing from the night if he had been punished for something that did not require 4 chapters to conclude in certain ways, I would’ve preferred to have him singing the lullaby and hearing the leviathans and getting the explanation then. The ending was good I loved how it set up for the next novel, though I am not sure if I will pick it up yet. But oh well, when the storyline picked up and the novel concluded I did enjoy it! 

Overall this book was a 3.5/5 stars,

one if the rares I enjoyed but did not love. 

Bookarina.

Saturday, August 29, 2020

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon Book Review & Bookstagram !

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The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon & My Bookstagram account ! 

Hello everyone, I now officially have a bookstagram account as :bookarina_bookreviews I would love it if you could check it out ! 

Now let’s get into the good stuff ! This book is the second book into the Bone Season series, I have decided that for this one I would audiobook it, and oh boy that was a wonderful decision !

I was thoroughly captivated the whole time, as the world expands and the stakes become higher. Paige and Warden are two of my favourite characters so far in the series. I love the friendships in this book and how the author manages to pull the strings of your heart. The complexity of the relationships between the characters and the position of power that some character hold affect the interactions in some subtle ways, which I really loved, it felt real like Jackson holding on to paige as a protege because of her powers and protecting her because she is an investment. I enjoyed the "okay/not evil" Rephaim that we saw  and the understanding we got of how different Warden really is compared to the rest of them and just how taboo their connection really is. There's an abundance of beautiful quotes in this book and moments that made me stop to re-read them or  re-listen to them because of how beautifully constructed and how well done the build up to these moments was made by the author. I love a fantasy book that touches on real world issues, such as discrimination, an all powerful corrupt government that is doing what it wants even thought there is the existence of a "free world" outside from these countries. I loved that the free world was dealing with its own issues and that the only way to know really know about it was through illegal ways because the media is controlled by this totalitarian state. Beyond that the fantasy aspects of it also have their own intern political struggles and cultures that don't mesh well with one another. I cannot express how much I loved this book and the work that was put into it. 

Audiobook: The narrator was wonderful, she did a great job at pulling you into the story and making it feel as if she was actually Paige. Making variants for the other characters and setting up the atmosphere with how she told the story. 

For the parts of physical reading that I did in between the audiobook, as per usual, the writing style was wonderful and easy to flow through. It is easy to read this fast as it is action packed and intriguing, while I did not love it as much as the first one, I loved my experience and adored the fact that there is no timelapse in between the two novels even though it took me a little longer to get into this one by the end, though not my favourite of the two, I still loved it. Not only do these books have beautiful covers, they also have a complex and ever expanding world that leaves you wanting for more and thinking about it long after you you have finished it ! 

I cannot recommend this series enough ! 
Overall, an AMAZING second book in the series and I cannot wait to read the third one ! (fun fact: the 4th one is coming out next year !!) 

5/5 ⭐️stars 
Bookarina.

Friday, August 28, 2020

Secret Crush Seduction by Jayci Lee Book Excerpt !

You can pre-order it from anywhere, this is a new addition to the "Harlequin Desire" collection. 

This book is romance between Adelaide and her brother's best friend whom she has crushed on for years. It is the second book in the Heirs of Hansol series. This book contains an unrequited love story and Korean-American representation !

--

She’s done waiting for what she really wants…

Aspiring fashion designer Adelaide Song wants to prove she’s more than just a pampered heiress. All she needs is a little courage—and the help of deliciously sexy Michael Reynolds, her childhood crush and her brother’s best friend. But when her secret crush turns into an illicit liaison, Adelaide realizes mixing

business with pleasure spells trouble for all her plans…

--

Coming out : Sept. 01 2020 

Go get your copy !!!

Book Excerpt Just under here, enjoy !

-- 

What the hell kind of boy band medley is this?

A handful of young women—much younger than Adelaide Song’s twenty-six years—were

spinning around in a circle on the dance floor at Pendulum, screaming along to some bubblegum pop

song. It was early in the evening, and they were sloppy drunk.

Adelaide was most definitely not in the mood to play Ring Around the Rosie at her cousin Colin’s

nightclub. After the face-off she’d just had with her grandmother, she needed to lose herself in good

music and dance off her frustration.

What was the Tuesday DJ doing up there on a Friday night anyway? She hunted down Tucker,

the top DJ and manager-in-training, to remedy the situation.

“Hi, Tucker.”

“Hey, Adelaide. You haven’t been in for a while. How are you doing?”

“I’ve had better days.” She smiled wryly. “Why is Ethan up there? I can really do without the

over-the-top pop tonight. It’s a Saturday night. Let’s get some real jam going.” Adelaide looked over her

shoulder and out into the club. “By the way, where’s Colin?”

“He had a meeting and asked me to hold down the fort.” The heavily pierced and tattooed DJ

stared at his shoes and fidgeted under her scrutiny. “Ethan begged me to let him play for an hour, and I

felt bad for the guy. He’s a good kid.”

“A good kid who is playing Tuesday night pop on a Saturday night.”

“I got you. I’ll take over,” he said with a shy smile. “Thank you. You’re the best.”

And it was true. He was an immensely talented DJ, and he should be proud of his mad skills.

Within minutes, the sensuous, liberating strains of Tucker’s magic filled the air and calmed the tremors

of frustration quaking under Adelaide’s skin.

For the last two years since she’d finished her MBA, Adelaide had been begging her

grandmother to let her take her place at Hansol Corporation—the family’s multibillion- dollar apparel

empire—but her answer was always, “Maybe next year.” It broke Adelaide’s heart because those words

really meant that Grandmother still hadn’t forgiven her for her wild years in college.

It had been a time of switching from boyfriend to boyfriend, partying too hard to care about

classes and distancing herself from the family. It wasn’t until her last year in college that she’d

rediscovered her thirst for knowledge. She had cleaned up her act and learned to balance her

responsibilities and recreations. That was nearly six years ago. But to her family, she was still an

irresponsible wild child incapable of contributing anything of worth to Hansol. She felt a twinge of

shame at her desperate plea to her grandmother. I’m not that kid anymore.

Refusing to let herself drown in sadness, Adelaide strode to the dance floor with sharp clicks of

her stilettos and headed for a corner stage raised three feet from the floor. She gripped the railing when

she reached the top and exhaled through pursed lips. Then she closed her eyes and let the music flow

through her. The rhythm always grew in the pit of her gut and spread to her hips, legs, then the rest of

her body. When it filled her to the brim, she danced.

Everything disappeared as it always did. Her loneliness. Her insecurities. Her grandmother with

her dis-missive words and disappointed eyes. They all shrank and blurred as she moved her body,

carried away by the music and its beat.

Her song came on. The bass in the music shook the dance floor and pounded in her blood.

Primal and raw. She closed her eyes and lifted her arms above her head, tracing the outlines of the song

with her body. She no longer existed. There was the song and she was its instrument. Adelaide wasn’t

there anymore. She just danced. Danced until she was erased.


She heard a rough growl from beside her. The sound merged with the music in its feral

possessiveness. It wasn’t until a pair of strong hands grasped her upper arms that she realized a person

had emitted the sound. A very tall, blazingly furious man person.

“Goddammit, Addy. What are you doing here?”

“Good to see you, too,” she said with cool detachment.

Inside, she shivered with awareness and need that refused to be stilled. Michael Reynolds. Her

older brother’s best friend, and her first love. Unrequited, of course. He treated her like she was his kid

sister for the most part. In the meantime, she was burning up from his innocuous touch.

“Let me take you home,” he said. “Your grandmother’s worried about you.”

Damn it. She wasn’t finished flushing out the anger and melancholy from her system. Her

insecurities were rampaging in her mind, and she couldn’t handle any more heartache tonight. So she

closed her eyes again and danced to make Michael disappear, as well.

Since he still held her arms, she placed her hands on his broad chest and assumed the junior

high slow dance position. But rather than shift awkwardly from foot to foot, she swerved her body in

languid waves in time with the music. Michael stood frozen for a few beats, then expelled a sound

between a cough and curse.

“I’m taking you home. Now.” He abruptly picked her up off the floor with an arm under her

thighs and the other cradling her back, frowning down at her with the same look everyone bestowed on

her. Disappointment.

Enough.

“Stop with the Kevin Costner impersonation, and put me down,” she said, pushing against his

shoulder.

“No way.” A hint of humor sparked in his eyes. “I remember how fast you can run. I’m not in the

mood to chase you.”

Adelaide spied movement from the corner of her eyes. The club bouncers were heading toward

them with fists clenched. They knew she was Colin’s cousin and were a protective lot, and Michael was

carrying her out of the club, looking angry as hell.

“Oh, for God’s sake. I’m not a ten-year-old, Michael.” She struggled in earnest. If the idiot didn’t

put her down, he would get beaten to a pulp by the bouncers before she could de-escalate the situation.

“You need to put me down. I’ll walk out with you.”

“Adelaide? You all right?” Too late. Four of the loyal bouncers had surrounded them. “I suggest

you get your hands off of her, buddy.”

“I suggest you go back to your posts, gentlemen.” Michael’s arms tightened around her, and a

dark, recklessness entered his eyes. Why was he acting like this? “I’m escorting Ms. Song home.”

--

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren ARC Book Review

 In a Holidaze

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book was everything I didn't know I needed. This gave me the Unhoneymooners feels, in the way I loved it, not because they are similar, but because of how much I enjoyed and flew through it & the delightful banter between our love interests.

This is a christmas story, from one of my favourite author duo, about a 31 years old woman called Maelyn who has been in love with her best friend Andrew for the last 13 years. She hates her job, lives with her parents and will need a miracle to finally get Andrew under the mistletoe. The story pick up when she gets into an accident after the holiday's where everything goes black and boom she's back on the plane at the beginning of the holidays. Our main character soon discovers that she is stuck in a loop, each disaster that happens during these times sends her back to the beginning. It is a rollercoaster of emotions for Maely as she has to figure out how to make the holidays perfect, get out of the loop when it starts over each times she dies in more than one ridicule way (such as getting hit by a branch or falling down the stairs) and with luck & time on her side to make her life how she has always hoped it would go and finally get her happily ever after. 

I loved Maelyn, she was funny and quirky, yes she hated how in her opinion her life was going nowhere, but this book had a perfect mix of christmas vibes, emotions and taking chances to be truly happy. Though her dying a lot in the book can seem outside of the christmas spirit, it was done in a beautiful, funny and very light way where it felt funnier than the real situation would be, you gotta believe in the christmas magic ! In this book I felt that she understood that you have to take risks to find your happiness and not have those "what if's". Andrew was kind, fun and their dynamic was great, they had great banter and you could see how they could be perfect together as a couple and how it translated to the beautiful friendship they had. The setting was cozy and truly made you feel like this was a cold winter night where you cuddle up in blankets with a hot chocolate. 

This book is makes both a hard hitting story, written in a way that feel light and thoughtful,  about taking your life in your hands as our main character has multiple chances to get her life "right", and being true to yourself. This magical realism romance novel perfectly captures the christmas holidays, with vibes of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol and a friends-to-lovers romance to make you swoon. 

A wonderful christmas read, that will make you feel warm and cozy, 

5/5 stars 

Bookarina.

Beneath The Sugar Sky (Wayward Children #3) by Seanan Mcguire Book Review

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This series is dear and near to my heart. It is written in such a whimsical manner and truly makes you feel the atmosphere and emotions the children are feeling. This is a series that needs to be read in order as there is a bigger plot woven between each book and vital information mentioned as you progress through them.

This is, for those who do not know, a series about children whom came back or are in (depending on which book they alternate) a magical world similar to what happened to Alice in "Alice's Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll" and "Narnia" they call it their "door" the way they get into those world, may it be in a trunk or a tornado or an actual door. Each book follows a different character as they deal with being thrust into a situation they do not know how to feel about, by being back in our world where they no longer feel at home or being thrown into a fantasy world. 

This particular intallement in the series follows mainly Rumi who appears at the "Home for Wayward Children", a boarding school of sorts for children who want to go back to their fantasy world 'ruled' by a 19 year old women who is much older that also falls back and forth between her own 'door', after falling out of her world she appears at a time when she isn't born yet in our world and her mother is dead. She involves some of the other kids in a quest to bring back to life her mother so that she can stay alive and her mother does the actual quest she was meant to do, save the world she traveled to. In this book we also get to know the children who are from water worlds which was very interesting, even though they are all water oriented worlds like the one who became a mermaid in her world each experience was different, this book also touches on how she was bullied and felt ugly until she went through her door and became a mermaid (Cora). I loved each new character and the ones we got to know better in this book, they all felt tangible, like I knew them enough to believe they could be real. I loved how well the author weaves hard topics in a way that doesn't makes us feel like it takes a toll on us emotionally, but rather informs us and makes us aware of them and think about them in a positive manner. 

There is a trigger warning for fat shaming, although it is mostly the character called cora having those belief in her head about her own self due to her past interactions outside of the Wayward home for Children. There is also the instance when a comment is made, but it's by an "evil/bad" character that gets defeated, as any quest go for evil people, during the book. 

Even though all of these books are short, under 300 pages mostly much smaller, they are impactful. They leave a mark on you, make you think about them and contain some of the most beautiful quotes about longing, believing and trusting yourself. I adore the way it doesn't gloss over the trauma these children have from coming back to our world, how it doesn't push it under a carpet but rather embraces it with open arms and helps them cope with it. They are surrounded by people who won't tell them they are crazy, who understand what they are going through and it makes them feel better, with these books you see how even through hard things 'things will get better'. I also love the bigger plot that is woven in it and the adventures we see while reading them. There are also funny and heartwarming moments, these children are scarred but not broken and always, like ALWAYS ready to slay a dragon. I loved seeing some characters that had left the home and was sad when one of the children stayed in another fantasy world that is connected to her door so that the quest could be accomplished. I laughed so many times during my read of this book, the conversations are hilarious at times !

Seanan Mcguire has a way with writing atmospheric books and novels that impact you long after you have finished reading them. This is one of my favourite of the series and I cannot wait to read the fourth installment in the series. The covers for these books are also gorgeous, which is always a plus !

Overall an amazing book and series that keeps on getting better with each novel !

5/5 stars

Bookarina


Sunday, August 23, 2020

Aurora Burning By Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Aurora Cycle_02) Book Review

 Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle, #2)


This is the sequel to  Aurora Rising, the first book in the Aurora Cycle.

This author duo makes magic together, I love their work the way they can bring a story and characters to life. In case you aren't aware they have also written the "Illuminae Files" together, which was amazing and is told through files and recordings, etc. 

A good thing to note is that as you start this second novel you are given 7 page recap of important things that you learned in the last book ! (Can we start a petition for all sci-fi and fantasy series to do ?!)

This one is more the typical type of novel, once again a sci-fi they made a cast of unlikely heroes coming from all races of the universe, squad 312, who are the only ones who can save the universe from this alien parasite race. I love Kal and Aurora aka: Auri, they are slowly developing a beautiful romance between the two of them which I love to see come to life. Finnian our mechanic (gearhead) is one of my favourite character, he is always funny and sarcastic he is also interested romantically in Scarlett who is responsible for communications (basically social relationship and politics), the sister of our captain (or Alpha as they call him) Tyler also nicknamed "Goldenboy" to annoy him.  Zila the medic/scientist is just so exasperated by everyone all the time and tries to understand why people act certain ways because it amuses her.  

What makes this series so good, so far, without mentioning the ever evolving plot and amazing action that is jammed in there, is the friendships and camaraderie between all our main characters. First of all you get POV's from all their perspective which means you get to know all of them on a deeper level and understand their motivation. Apart from that you also get to see the little jabs they send each other's way and how most of them act like family/siblings, annoying one another like when they are undercover and act as if one of the character is a rich wife who is cheating on her husband and fake a reveal and fight between one another.

This book is filled with emotions, love and friendships. The plot is complex and there are twist and turns the whole time you are reading it. The authors manage to make you feel as if you personally know the characters, while also never anticipating what's coming next. This book ended in such a cliff hanger and I cannot wait to read how this story will wrap up and close all the loose ends tidily. 

5/5 Burning stars

Bookarina. 


Saturday, August 22, 2020

Zero At The Bone By Jane Seville Book Review

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This book has me with mixed feelings. On one hand the parts I enjoyed were great, while on the other hand I was bored and annoyed by it a lot. See I was expecting to love this, it had been recommended to me for the longest time and I could not wait to finally read it. 

So the good parts, I loved the action, when there was any, and how much we got to know the main characters. Their dynamic was fun, the cast of characters colourful and I really enjoyed the intrigue in the end though I do not believe it needed to be dragged out so much.

The bad parts were the pacing, we would go from action packed super intense, to pages and pages of waiting and not much happening anywhere. There is also the inner monologue that was too much at times, already we are in their heads so much can be deduced from their actions and the way things are going without the monologue pointing things out at us. 

D, our main character who was the hitman, was written with having an accent which okay fair and all but sometimes, especially in his thoughts it was hard to follow, certain words were written as he would pronounce it which I was okay with when he was speaking, but the rest mainly took me out of the story. He also felt off for being this badass hitman, he felt more like a guy reluctantly doing his job, not really as badass as I felt the author wanted us to believe he was. When a book keeps pushing certain things with no proof, like how good he is at being a hitman and stuff, it feels fake. If he was so hardcore we shouldn't have to be reminded of that fact, it should be obvious by what is happening in the book. 

Our other main character Jack, the doctor, who witnessed something traumatic and is a witness to murder. Deduced things too easily, like okay he's intelligent and a doctor but like by a photo with names behind, no indication of who is who, only knowing that D is D he figured out what his real first name is. EVEN THOUGH, and that pulled me right out of the story, D's brother is the one with a name starting with a 'D' and D's name starts with an 'A'. Like when his medical expertise was needed and happening, it makes sense for him to know stuff, but like at the beginning when they were on the run, he is better than D at finding a new car license plate than D the supposed badass hitman. WTF, like really what's up with that ! Also he was so chill about everything, which like excuse me sir are you shocked, because you are better at keeping a cool head than our hitman. 

So yeah overall, a lot of the author's choices felt off to me it was hard to believe in the authenticity of the characters and who she presented them to be when even they acted out of how they should have acted. It pulled me out of the story and while I feel that they had a good chemistry between them it felt like the book never progressed at a good pace always feeling too slow or too fast like their relationship. 

Unfortunately one of my most disappointing reads of the year. 

2.5/5 stars 

Bookarina.

Friday, August 21, 2020

Dark Sentinel by Christine Feehan Book Review

 Dark Sentinel (Dark #28)

Christine Feehan is a guilty pleasure of mine, her books never fail to take me out of what would've become a reading slump. For that reason, I always have a couple of her novels on hand. I have slowly become a fan of her work, as they are fated mates with Happily ever after endings that you can read (for the ‘Dark’ Carpathian and Leopard People series) out of order without problem, they are also written with two POV’s(point of views) which is one of my favourite things. These books are thirsty, so beware if you do not enjoy to read eroticas !

In this particular intallement in the series, we follow Andor who had given up on meeting his soul mate, the one who would bring back colours and emotions to his life. See the Carpathians after 200 years lose the connection they have to their emotions and the colours, until they meet their fated mate. In Andor's case it's been 2000 years so we stan him staying alive this long and not succumbing to the darkside. Carpathians become vampires when after losing their emotions they start to kill people while feeding as it gives them a "Thrill of the kill", basically they become psychopaths and in doing so they will be unable to recognize their mate even if they meet them. 

We also follow Lorraine, Andor's mate, as she has come to the forest (not specified but in the US) as a retreat to recover from the death of her whole family, she goes there to learn to deal with the aftermath and meditate to let go of the anger/resentment this event has brought. 

SPOILER (though you learn it before the 50 -pages mark) : her brother got addicted to steroids and when her family confronted him, he killed them all before killing himself. : END OF SPOILER

They meet when Andor is debating if he should let the human hunters kill him, as they have mistaken him for a Vampire. That's when our couple meet, as Lorraine saves him from the attack. YES she is a badass in multiple martial arts which was extremely cool and also she's a telepathic person. In Andor she meets someone similar and who can also read other people thoughts, but also a Healer who can heal himself and people. (Comes in handy after he was impaled before she saved him)

I loved their connection, the way he made her feel safe and their chemistry. As always Christine Feehan managed to pull us into a novel that captivated our attention and gave us the secure happily ever after that while we knew was coming, is sometimes much needed in between other books. This was wholesome and they meet at the right time in their lives, where our main character was not someone who needed to be saved, but rather complimented one another and healed each. 

One of my favourite reads of this series so far, I highly recommend it if you are in the mood for soul mates, happily ever after and just need something that gives you both lava burning smut and plot !

4/5 stars, 

Bookarina


Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Tempting The Prince by Christi Barth ARC Book Review

 Tempting the Prince

Disclaimer : I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review 


This is the third installment into a companion novels series. You do not need to read the first two to read this one. (That's what I personally did as this one was the one that really interested me)

I was super excited to read this novel, I knew going in that this was most probably going to be a cookie cutter type of story, following the mold and including an happily ever after. And it was, I had a wonderful time reading it, it took me out of what could've ended up being a reading slump and made me laugh and smile the whole time. 

You follow a dual point of view, one of them is Malory (our main character in this novel, whom is the sister or adoptive sister of Kelsey the lost princess of a kingdom (read the first volume of this series to have her love story)) she is an "All American" type of girl, she loves fundraisers/charity planning and from what we get as explanation from the events of the past two novels, recovering from an attack in which she got shot in the stomach. Our second perspective is the Crown Prince, heir to the throne Christian (Kelsey's brother) who is currently acting as king instead of his father. 

The story really pick up when they are alone (sort of) for the first time in a bar, which is a bar for the secret service who protect the royals, and have a game of darts. They have this tangible sexual tension and chemistry, they are equally attracted to one another but do not want to act on it as he has to marry a "noble girl, proper to be queen of the country. To be chosen from a list of candidates approved by the council." and Kelsey who is his younger sister and Malory's younger sister as they were raised as sister for 24 years until she was discovered as the kidnapped lost princess. 

I loved the banter in this book, I was captivated from page one, and while it was not a story with mystery or intrigue I had a wonderful time reading it. I was hurting for Malory when she had a fight with Kelsey, mad at the council when their love story was doomed from the start and felt compassion for Christian who did not believe he would get an happily ever after. 

This book is a fast read, I read it in one sitting, which is exactly how I like these type of stories to go. While it is nothing life changing, or "never seen before", but it is well made and captivates your attention making you unable to put it down. If you love to read modern royalty romances, with some smut and a whole lot of feelings, this is the book you should read. It will surely put a smile on your face. 

Overall a wholesome story 4/5 stars. 

Bookarina