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

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

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

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