Acoustics by London Price ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer : I received an ARC of this book my thoughts are my own

While this is unfortunately not a "NEW ALL TIME FAV" it is high up there and one of the most enjoyable reads I have had in a while.

This MM romance with a trans main character was cute and gave me a fuckbuddies to lovers which was mixed with "fuck this is my sister's roommate"  which made for a fun and quick read. 

Though do not be fooled by the cover this is STEAMY... 

There was everything for a great time, communication and main characters that had palpable chemistry and balanced each other out. This romance while a bit predictable is cute and the writing style super easy to read through. 

I loved both Chance and Colby and their romance together, in my opinion their romance progressed in a good pace and I felt like I knew them, they felt real. 

I will totally read more books from this author in the future, a beautifully crafter romance novel, that leaves you wanting for more while still satisfied at the same time.

In the end while the predictability of certain "problems" they encountered was not too much of an hindrance to my enjoyment. 

4/5 stars

Bookarina

Sailor Proof by Annabeth Albert -- Blog Tour -- Book ARC Review

 

Welcome to this BLOG TOUR !
I was so excited when I learned this book would be coming out, it had two of my favourite elements, 
1. fake dating
2. military romance
Even better than that, written by the amazing Annabeth Albert, her out of uniform romances contain one of my favourite books to re-read. So this was sure to be a hit. 
Mixed with all that we got, best friends little brother, making your ex jealous but oops caught feelings moments. 
It was so cute and heartwarming, while funny and the heat was just perfect. It was a great balance of romance, content and cheesy-ness if that makes sense. 
I will definitely be re-reading it soon. The premise reminded me of the true story of the first gay sailor kiss we got from them coming back home. This was it and more. Because the characters felt real and while I could see somethings coming in the plot it did not hinder my enjoyement, I highly recommend this book if you loved her other military romances , vice versa. 
I hope you get into it just like me knowing not too much about the plot, just a vague description of the synopsis. 
EVEN better was the fact it was the older brothers (the bff) idea for them to fake date ! 
5/5 stars
Bookarina
Thank you to Carina press for the opportunity to have an ARC and be a part of this blog tour !

The Wildest Ride by Marcella Bell ARC Book Review -- Blog Tour --

 

First of all welcome to this blog tour, a little later at night than usual by my standard but I was sick for a while so sorry for the delay !

Disclaimer: I received an ARC and this in no way affects my thoughts on this book. 

This is a hard book for me to talk about, it was such a slow starting book that it does not feel like a 4 star but neither does it feel like a 2 star or even a high 3 stars. It was not one of my favorite rodeo, cowboy romances that I have read. The ending was a 2 stars, the rest a high 3.5 stars, 3 stars even. Why end a book with so much stress for the future still left, I understand this is the first book in a new series/companion novel collection, however I wanted a more definitive happiness to really feel like their ARC was over and see them as side characters in future books.

From the raging reviews I saw myself loving it and the synopsis made it sound right up my alley, unfortunately it was meh, I kept waiting for more to happen for the book to get deeper into things and really make me HOOKED as a guilty pleasure read does. All it did was really make me crave things that did not happen. The pacing was off to me and while it contained many nice scenes with our MCs it was just not as engaging as I hoped. I imagined tension and a strong FL, she was more so inconsistent to me, super strong or really weak, never an in between. A lot of reveals in the story had very little preamble to them, they came as quick as they left and the reveal was never satisfying to me. (very low angst if you enjoy it that way this might be for you though do not expect a super well wrapped ending)

Overall an unsatisfactory read at least to me. 

3/5 stars Bookarina

What's up Beanie ? : Acutely relatable comics by Alina Tysoe ARC Graphic Novel Book Review

 Disclaimer: I received an ARC, my thoughts are my own

This was such a cute comic, it wasn't clenching your belly hilarious, however it was cute and quirky. Overall I found myself reading it in 2 sittings as it was easy to put it down and pick it back up. A quick read that is sure to make you smile. 

I recommend for fans of other small web comics where the story is told in a fast paced manner and is perfect between heavy reads. I loved reading these during my work breaks. 

4/5 stars (3.75) Bookarina

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun ARC Book Review

 Disclaimer: I received an ARC, my thoughts are my own.

tw: anxiety, depression, OCD, homophobia

This was one of my most anticipated read of the year, as someone who casually enjoys the bachelor and loves romance, in general. While it is not a new favorite it did contain aspects of this book that I liked, first of all the mental health positivity surrounding going to therapy, anxiety rep and depression rep. However as I do not have an OCD to my knowledge, I cannot speak on that aspect of the book. 

I loved the scenes cut out, we get in between certain chapters that show us what will be censored and how things are put together to present the people in the reality tv show as "drama" or "mean' even though they were led to these actions or sentences being taken out of context to create drama for the viewers.

I loved the behind the scenes of the book. 

The romance aspect felt lacking compared to the rest, I did not particularly cared about them together, but did enjoy them as individual characters. It has an HFN ending (happy for now), which is nice.

The biggest aspect of the book for me was more the growth each of our MC's went through and how they learned and became happier at the end of this, but did not need each other to continue to grow or be happy (which is honestly my favorite aspect of the book).

There were some scenes in the book, part of the drama outside of the tv reality drama, that made it annoying to me and felt out of place, I won't spoil anything but the main conflict fell flat to me. The time skip in between it and the resolution did not help my enjoyment of the book at all. 

Overall a good book that read quickly. 

I would recommend it for fans of the bachelor and romantic tv realities as it is basically the bachelor where he gives out crown and they accept to become his "princess" instead of accepting a rose. 

4/5 stars

Bookarina

The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons Book Review

 THIS WAS ADORABLE.

Now this is sort of misleading if you go into it from what the blurb says since the conflict mentioned in the back with the football team only happens near the 3/4 of the book.

This had great moments of acceptance from his parents about Spencer being trans, the origin of his name and some wholesome moments (maybe too many in my opinion after -  TW - the near school shooting that is mentioned in the beginning of the book). There is more to say about Spencer and what comes after coming out, being accepted and changing schools than the blurb leads us to believe.

Furthermore lot of progression and friendships being formed, made it for a very cheesy romance and moments in some part, do not go into this expecting a hard hitting book. The romance was really sweet and well constructed and I loved how quickly their "relationship problem" got resolved and how the other characters did not feel as extras in this book but as an integral part of it. Justice was not just the romantic interest, rather his own person with his own problems. I loved Avery, Spencer's bestfriend, the non-binary rep & the whole football team and Coach whom where oh so supportive.

This is for sure one of those "feel good books" rather than a typical contemporary I would pick up to really feel things and be invested. Not a sentence is wasted in this book, it is the perfect length and while not highly quotable, the easy writing makes for a wonderfully quick read that leaves you satisfied with the HFN ending (happy for now).

I loved how each character came out of their shells in this book and how Spencer's name was chosen. While his parents do their best to accept him I loved how the problems they had were approached and the efforts they made to ultimately truly accept him as their words were saying.

While the ending wrapped up too neatly in my opinion, I loved the little flashbacks we got from Spencer's past when he first came out and how his parents struggled, especially his dad in the beginning and how we sa3w the contrast to their relation now as he helps him as his "wingman" in the book.

SOME QUOTES - NO SPOILERS- PARENTAL LOVE:

"I want you to know that I'll always love you, whether you feel like you're a girl or a boy or whatever. ... I"m not going to make you grow up into someone you're not meant to be." -Spencer's mom

"I love you just the way you are" -Spencer's Dad.

4/5 stars

Bookarina

THIS WAS ADORABLE.

Now this is sort of misleading if you go into it from what the blurb says since the conflict mentioned in the back with the football team only happens near the 3/4 of the book.

This had great moments of acceptance from his parents about Spencer being trans, the origin of his name and some wholesome moments (maybe too many in my opinion after -  TW - the near school shooting that is mentioned in the beginning of the book). There is more to say about Spencer and what comes after coming out, being accepted and changing schools than the blurb leads us to believe.

Furthermore lot of progression and friendships being formed, made it for a very cheesy romance and moments in some part, do not go into this expecting a hard hitting book. The romance was really sweet and well constructed and I loved how quickly their "relationship problem" got resolved and how the other characters did not feel as extras in this book but as an integral part of it. Justice was not just the romantic interest, rather his own person with his own problems. I loved Avery, Spencer's bestfriend, the non-binary rep & the whole football team and Coach whom where oh so supportive.

This is for sure one of those "feel good books" rather than a typical contemporary I would pick up to really feel things and be invested. Not a sentence is wasted in this book, it is the perfect length and while not highly quotable, the easy writing makes for a wonderfully quick read that leaves you satisfied with the HFN ending (happy for now).

I loved how each character came out of their shells in this book and how Spencer's name was chosen. While his parents do their best to accept him I loved how the problems they had were approached and the efforts they made to ultimately truly accept him as their words were saying.

While the ending wrapped up too neatly in my opinion, I loved the little flashbacks we got from Spencer's past when he first came out and how his parents struggled, especially his dad in the beginning and how we sa3w the contrast to their relation now as he helps him as his "wingman" in the book.

SOME QUOTES - NO SPOILERS- PARENTAL LOVE:

"I want you to know that I'll always love you, whether you feel like you're a girl or a boy or whatever. ... I"m not going to make you grow up into someone you're not meant to be." -Spencer's mom

"I love you just the way you are" -Spencer's Dad.

4/5 stars

Bookarina

THIS WAS ADORABLE.

Now this is sort of misleading if you go into it from what the blurb says since the conflict mentioned in the back with the football team only happens near the 3/4 of the book.

This had great moments of acceptance from his parents about Spencer being trans, the origin of his name and some wholesome moments (maybe too many in my opinion after -  TW - the near school shooting that is mentioned in the beginning of the book). There is more to say about Spencer and what comes after coming out, being accepted and changing schools than the blurb leads us to believe.

Furthermore lot of progression and friendships being formed, made it for a very cheesy romance and moments in some part, do not go into this expecting a hard hitting book. The romance was really sweet and well constructed and I loved how quickly their "relationship problem" got resolved and how the other characters did not feel as extras in this book but as an integral part of it. Justice was not just the romantic interest, rather his own person with his own problems. I loved Avery, Spencer's bestfriend, the non-binary rep & the whole football team and Coach whom where oh so supportive.

This is for sure one of those "feel good books" rather than a typical contemporary I would pick up to really feel things and be invested. Not a sentence is wasted in this book, it is the perfect length and while not highly quotable, the easy writing makes for a wonderfully quick read that leaves you satisfied with the HFN ending (happy for now).

I loved how each character came out of their shells in this book and how Spencer's name was chosen. While his parents do their best to accept him I loved how the problems they had were approached and the efforts they made to ultimately truly accept him as their words were saying.

While the ending wrapped up too neatly in my opinion, I loved the little flashbacks we got from Spencer's past when he first came out and how his parents struggled, especially his dad in the beginning and how we sa3w the contrast to their relation now as he helps him as his "wingman" in the book.

SOME QUOTES - NO SPOILERS- PARENTAL LOVE:

"I want you to know that I'll always love you, whether you feel like you're a girl or a boy or whatever. ... I"m not going to make you grow up into someone you're not meant to be." -Spencer's mom

"I love you just the way you are" -Spencer's Dad.

4/5 stars

Bookarina

Traitors of the Black Crown by Cate Pearce Book ARC Review

 

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book, my thoughts are my own.

honestly DNF'ed around the 35-ish % mark and then skimmed it to the end.

I just no, it was not for me.

THERE IS NO PLOT TO THIS....it is sooooo boring I just couldn't handle it. the concept is nothing out of this world, it's like other books where the MC hides as a man (as a knight, or other) and falls in love but with no plot. It's a Sapphic romance which is what made me pick it up, since it was my first time reading it in the context of two women falling in love when one hides as a man. BUT NOPE NOPE NOPE. 

SAVE YOUR TIME THERE ARE GREATER SAPPHIC BOOKS OUT THERE.

HUUUUGGGEEEE DISSAPOINTMENT

1/5 stars 

Bookarina

Realm of the Banished by Jennifer M. Waldrop ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer: I received an ARC, which thank you, but it in no way affects my review. My thoughts are my own.

TW: sexual assault (which is not mentioned anywhere at the beginning or end of the ARC it is short and validated by the male characters in the book when adressed, don't be me and read it at night)

This was okay, nothing I have never read before and Nayla was annoying to me. She kept making choices, especially towards the end, that made less and less sense to me. I thought that as the book progressed it would have been better and better choices as she learns more. The opposite happened. At least in my eyes.

A lot of information is also thrown at you about the politics in such a short book, had it been longer it may have felt different. It felt a lot like info dumping in certain parts or rather throwing words around that mean nothing because they are invented for the fantasy world (or giving a two - three sentences of explanation that with all of the information some will get lost at the speed it is being given). It was hard to keep track of things, and I say this as a high fantasy reader who loves political and character driven books. I really enjoyed Conall, but we see a medium amount of them and of him overall even though he's the most interesting in my opinion. Malik was also nice to read, he was just that character with that banter and those sentences that made you smirk and he is just amazing.

The magic is interesting as it is lost when people are banished so there is this whole belief that because our MC has more powers than others she will save them somehow. I liked parts of it and some were boring to me because I kept having to re-read due to the fact that so much information is thrown at us at such a speed. The women characters are strong and opiniated which I really liked (YAY women). 

--PSA--

should not be the job of the reviewer to put TW

--

Anyhow, there is a lot of good that was made in this book, the world is interesting as a whole and I think there is a lot of potential in this story and with this author. It is her debut novel and I think there is a lot that could happen in the next one that will make this great. Unfortunately this one was just alright for me.

 The first half of the book stood at a 2 - 2.5 star, slow and too much information given at once, while the second half was a 3 star, good but not amazing with a somewhat better pacing. Not a book I will remember the details of in a couple of days or weeks unfortunately.

Overall 3/5 stars. 

Won't pick up the sequel, but maybe a future book by her.

Bookarina.

Questland by Carrie Vaughn ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for an honest review, my thoughts are my own.

This was a let down, I have no other way to put this. I won't go into details in this review as I don't feel like dwelling on a book that will eat up my current reads time and will just make me even more annoyed about what it could've been. 

So this is pitched for fans of DnD and as an hybrid between westworld and jurassic parc. I thought this would be somewhat humorous and from the description thought they (Our MC's) would be thrown into the world of a fantasy as they are playing DnD. Nope think more along the lines of, this is westworld with mythical creatures made by man. Also I hate the thrope of a random person going into a military base as an expert, like don't they have people that were hired while making those things that know more about it than this random lady ???

Anyhow, our MC (a nerdy doctor) has PTSD which okay, but why would you put her in a situation that would constantly trigger her and make her cry and revert to child-like behavior or revert to acting super scared and unable to act ?!?!!? HELLO WASN'T THERE A BETTER CHOICE or could you at least give her tools to help her not be triggered or emotionally distraught ????  I could not get attached to any characters, they all felt meh to me. 

I found myself not caring about what would happen, good thing is the authors overall pacing otherwhise I would have DNF'ed it FAST.

2/5 stars Bookarina.

Fangs Vol.1 by Billy Balibally Book ARC Review

 

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

This manga is a BL / MM romance.

(in case anyone doesn't like that)

I loved to see a paranormal romance similar in vibes to the manga 'Midnight secretary' be with done as a Gay relationship, yes there are sex scenes, but so is there in Midnight Secretary. Which is, for the record, an old favorite. There is complexity in the story and as this is the first volume we are introduced to multiple characters and a little of the dynamics/politics of the vampire world. How they function, form and choose life time partners and how they survive. 

I enjoyed our MC's relationship, as it is a sort of slow-ish burn that expands as they have a past before the manga (briefly shown (which no spoilers !)) that is deepened throughout the novel.. I loved the cliffhanger where we left off, it seems like darker secrets will come in play and that our MC who is the first of the two to be a Vampire, will be thrown off as he will seemingly come across someone from his dark past. AND WE LOVE A CHARACTER WITH A DARK PAST.

ANYHOW, this is for fans of Midnight Secretary and Blood Blank (The manhwa) !

Totally loved this, read it in one sitting. 

5/5 stars

Bookarina .

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin Book ARC Review

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

This book was meh. It often felt as if the characters were one dimensional and that their biggest personality trait was their magic, I had a hard time connecting with anyone. Clara is an Everwitch, the only witch for some reason that is not connected to seasons (like a specific one, she is connected to all which is rare and she's the first in 200 years to appear) and protecting the planet, atmosphere and such.

The romance in the novel was short and not really captivating or having me root for them, I just could not fall in love with the idea of a romance when they don't feel real. I enjoyed, how the novel was cut into parts (with the seaons so summer, spring, etc) it was nice to have a place to put the book down and made for a nicely structured read. I was so excited about this read but in the end, while this was one of my most anticipated read it feel into that branch of urban fantasy that would have been so much better as a traditional fantasy. I enjoyed how the climate change was woven in the story and their powers. 

Clara was just too annoying and bratty for me. While it is addressed by other characters with her, it has little to no effect in the end.

For me the book wrapped up too nicely for how it was all along, it felt like a Disney ending to a otherwise new adult book. It completely threw me off, the writing is very flowery which I usually love, but bearing in mind our MC is 17 it felt weird and just added to the annoyance I felt toward our MC. 

An unfortunate flop for me, 

2/5 stars.

Bookarina

Hard Sell by Hudson Lin Book ARC Review Blog Tour

 welcome to this blog tour!!

Disclaimer: I received an ARC, but my thoughts are my own.

I ended up giving this a 3-4/5 stars (depending on the aspects I focused on).

So this is a second chance romance between a brother's best friend and best friend's little brother. One of them (the older guy) works for a company that buys companies in a way and the younger is an IT, sort of "fixing the company from a IT business point of view". I did enjoy their relationship and wished we had more romantic instances and conflict resolving scenes as both our MC's are adults, I wanted more realistic conversations in terms of their future and for them to talk about their relationship.

Our younger MC's brother was my least favorite character, he kept treating him as if he was a child and unable to take care of himself, he treats him as if he is his father. The pacing in the line of events does get weird at times, it is somewhat fast while also being simultaneously slow paced. After the main conflict, due to the older brother if we are quite honest (it was predictable), it is never addressed again, it happens because of a lack of communication and meddling from other people whom should have no bearings on the situation as our MCs are both full grown adults and it affects literally no one. 

I was super annoyed at how the main conflict was annoyed & how the timeline for the epilogue was set up.  We have no clue as when the epilogue is, how long after the main events  did the epilogue happen ?

Overall when we let go of the small issue it is a pretty fun read that was floating between a 3 and 4 stars for most of it. In the end a 3.75 rounded up to a 4 stars.

4/5 stars Bookarina.

Top Secret by Sabrina Bowen & Elle Kennedy Book Review M/M Romance

 

This book was good, while I definitely prefer their other work (the Him, Us duology) it was nice to get back to their jointed writing/work. 

I found myself, as always with their books, laughing and having a great time. I wanted more however, it felt a little short and like certain parts were missing to really make it a new favorite of mine, it simply wasn't as addictive or as romantic as I wanted it/expected it to be. 

The story truly begins when one of our MC's long time girlfriend wants to have a threesome with another guy. That's when under alias's our MCS begin their interaction and slow burn caring/being in lust with each other. The fact that one of them was in a relationship when it all began and (even though the gf asked for the threesome) did not tell his girlfriend he was sexting another guy with that purpose, rubbed me the wrong way. 

A good thing is that it is solved, fairly fast so there is not a truly 'cheating' plot to the book, just a feeling I had while reading those scenes.

They are coincidentally also both in the run for the "presidency" of their frat house and sort of enemies (but not really, a complicated situation explained in the book, which I won't touch on because Spoilers !) which makes things complicated since one of them is rich and the other a "living on scholarship" (and being a male stripper he is also bi, which thanks for the rep !) money. 

The storyline follows a pretty solid, bi MC and a MC that had a girlfriend and realizes he's attracted to men in college cliché which I personally don't mind (no worries not a gay for you, rather a oh did not know that about myself).

Overall, I had a good time reading it, but I am not certain I will ever re-read it fully, maybe some parts of it, but nothing stood out from it. To me this is more of a one-time great time read, than a will re-read this a couple of times.

4/5 stars 

Bookarina

The Tangleroot Palace: Stories by Marjorie Liu ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer: I received an ARC, my thoughts are my own.

I went into this expecting a graphic novel, because this is how it had been presented to me, as a collection of short stories in a graphic novel format. Which is why I was so disappointed that it was simply a regular collection of short stories. 

I love Marjorie Liu's other work called Monstress, which is a graphic novel series, thus when I saw this on netgalley I knew I had to try to get my hands on this. The cover is gorgeous and has the same art as her other series, which is one of my favorite. These stories had what I love in her work which is amazing world building. 

TW: it is super gore and has some topics and scenes that could be preferable for some people to avoid this collection. some are implied such as rape.

It is an horror, fantasy, gory LGBT+ collection, the depictions are graphic in some instances and I loved how, in such a short a mount of pages, she managed to put so much without it feeling like it was going too fast.  While some of the stories are better than others, in my opinion, they are all at least a 3 stars and some are nearly a 5 stars.

They touch way, love, what we would give and be willing to do to be free and how trauma and events can change us. You will find in there all sorts of main characters, including a villain and a vampire. This was a nice collection that left me wanting full novels, her writing is captivating.

Overall I really enjoyed my time reading the stories one by one, in between books. If you love gore, fantasy, horror and amazing worldbuilding and characters this is for you !

3.75/5 stars.

Bookarina.

The Dating Game by Rebecca Norinne Book Review

 This book was good, short and it definitely had the potential to be more. 

I wanted more of it, a lot of things are cut from the stories, the interactions and it leaves "was nice but not great" type of feeling while reading it because we don't have the time to truly care about anyone or the drama since we don't feel like we know them. That being said the writing is nice and flows naturally which means I will likely pick up another book by this author if it is longer. 

It was the perfect read for the Bachelor mood I was in, it just was missing that something that made me fall in love with the characters, the size did it a disservice as it could've become a new favorite had we had the opportunity to really know them, have their relationship be explored more and build more naturally. 

An insta-interest sort of love feel is what you get from reading this, a great 'in between huge fantasy books' type of read that leaves you with a nice feeling, but not a book I will be re-reading.

Overall short and fun.

3/5 stars 

Bookarina.

The Treasure of The King and The Cat by You Kajika ARC Book Review

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

This was a short very lowkey BL which is an MM romance basically, there is nothing graphic and was basically a collection of a couple adventures within that world. Follow the same main two characters (or three if you count the magical cat).

I enjoyed it, but did not love it, I would not pick this back up to read it again and I was not in love with the characters, to me there was a lack of character development and world building which affected how much I enjoyed myself while reading this manga.

I found a lot of things sort of inconsequential and boring, events always happened too fast or too slow in my opinion. There wasn't a perfect tempo to it. However it was a fast read and the illustrative style was beautiful.

Overall a meh read. Nothing I will remember fondly, pretty forgettable as far as storyline. 

3/5 stars 

Bookarina

A Wolf In Duke's Clothing by Susanna Allen ARC Book Review

 Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review, my thoughts are my own.

So this had everything I wanted at first glance, paranormal soulmate romance in a time period Victorian setting, YES PLEASE. Unfortunately it did not deliver with my most wanted guilty pleasure read. 

This book left me disappointed, I had the urge to skim parts and felt highly uncomfortable with the setting the ML was making, I am all for a mate alpha possessive ML (when well done, not that is healthy in any way, but as a "would do anything to protect you' type of read when the mood strikes) in a guilty pleasure read, but this was just not it. HE RUINS HER REPUTATION, which if you know anything about that time period could be equivalent to social suicide since woman cannot own properties and rely on a man to survive, which a good match comes from the reputation you have, which is weirdly not an issue in this book since she can inherit her stuff at 25 ???? that baffled me...; TO MAKE HER FORCED TO BE WITH HIM. This is just no no no no NO, he basically closes all other doors, she is left with no free will. 

I could not get behind a romance that completely ripped any choices our MC Felicity had, she wanted to not get married and inherit her dues, but he was like nope your my mate, here you are ruined now I am your only option. WHICH EUW.

I was also SOOOOO bored thought the read, thing were much longer than they needed to be and the writing style drawn out which made for a lot of instances where sentences could've been shorter. 

ANYHOW disappointing read, a book really not for me. 

1/5 stars

Bookarina.

The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review; my thoughts are my own.

This book was a somewhat underwhelming read, I was in the mood for something to make me cry, make me emotional and this did not do it for me. While it was an enjoyable read and I am sure a lot of people will end up loving it, I did not connect with the story or the character as much as I wanted to. Not to say that the writing style wasn't beautiful or the story in itself interesting. Just that it lacked the "je ne sais quoi" to make me obsessed with it and be unable to put it down. 

I found myself not caring if I continued or not the novel. It is a hard read, in the sense that it demonstrates atrocities that people had to live through, but it also shows human kindness in the man that saves her and her family. This novel showed the resilience of the human existence and the love/friendship that can be born even during horrible times. I really enjoyed how the author portrayed the friendship between Sadie our MC and Ella the  polish German collaborator who hates Germans . 

Overall, I just wanted to love it so much that in the end I felt disappointed. 

There were a lot of times when I was bored and wanted nothing more than for something to happen, this can be a slow read at times and a fast read in other parts. 

3/5 stars

Bookarina

Gamora & Nebula : Sisters in Arms by Mackenzi Lee Book ARC Review

 

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review, it in no way affected my opinion, my thoughts are my own.

This is a book I was extremely looking forward to, even when I don't love Mackenzi Lee's work, I still enjoy it overall and so when I saw that after Loki we would get Gamora and Nebula I was super excited. I love marvel and this was the perfect read I needed. As per usual her writing style flows and her story telling keeps your attention all throughout the book.

I loved the sister bond, the struggles they faced and how everything unfolded. I loved learning more about how controlled they are by Thanos. I loved all the bits and pieces that made those character more tangible than in the movies, I felt as if I understood their motives more, the way they acted or their thoughts more, which is always the point for me when I read books based on comics or characters that were not the MC's of the story. 

The author did a wonderful job at matching the way they acted, the dialogs between them and the story with the original characters. It made them believable, like this is just another aspect of them rather than a whole new set of people. We explore their trauma's and how it changed them, what made them be who we know them as in the guardian of the galaxy movies. 

While I preferred the novel about Loki, this is one I really enjoyed and I think a lot of people will love. Fast, fun read that caught my attention from page one !

5/5 stars (more a 4.5)

Bookarina.

Inside Affair (Prime Time Series book 1) by Ella Frank Book Review & Series Thoughts

 

This book was a much anticipated read for me, I loved Ella Frank's trust series and her Preslocke series. The prime time series had been compared to me as giving the same vibes as Trust, and it wasn't.

I waited to have the whole series before reading it, while it was the right move, contrary to the other two series by her I have mentioned this truly felt like one book, separated in three which was very annoying because they are not 1 or 2 dollars each, it comes up to a hefty price for what feel like one book that you won't own physically.  Now did I have a good time, yes a 3.5 stars overall good time, not a WOW CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS I LOVE THIS time, more a OK WAS NICE. The "second book" felt long to me and dragged out, the conflict in it that is a reveal at the end of it and continues in the third book felt also un-realistic with how that specific character had been acting in the previous appearances. Yes the hurt, confusion, no for the immature length of it (with A LOT OF TIME SKIPS).

The overwhelming feeling I had while reading this series was how little I actually knew about these character, yes I related to the feelings our MC was feeling in regards of his stalker and how powerless and scared he was. However after having read the series I did not feel any particular way. I was annoyed by the very "cutscene" cliffhanger moments, it wasn't suspenseful as much as stopping in what felt the middle of a paragraph. Like "OH and here we stop" ?

This is not her best series, and I have found myself enjoying her older work more, if you want to read from her read the other two series I mentioned before, to this day I am still super in love with these books. 

In the fist volume of the series I found myself annoyed with certain aspects of the book, how naïve our MC was and how they had so much chemistry for people who supposedly never got along, it felt like a 180 turn when a couple pages after our MC were kissing each other and being lovingly together. I would've enjoyed more character development and more time to get to know them, together and apart as people. It did not feel as though I knew them more by the end of the series and certain aspects were never mentioned again, his family is not okay with them together, they re-meet (childhood best-friends brother) and his dad is like "all good I like him now" as though he had not said "you guys aren't good for each other" (paraphrasing everything btw).

This series left me indifferent and unsatisfied, I get why some people like it, but again not my favorite from hers and not a series I will be recommending or re-reading.

Overall, 3.5 stars.

first 3.75 stars

second 3 stars

third 3.5 stars.

Bookarina.

Sleepless vol.1 & vol.2 by Sarah Vaughn, Leila del Duca, Alissa Sallah & Deron Bennet Graphic Novel/Comic Book Review

 

This is a graphic novel/Comic series that ends in two volumes. Which is a much appreciated thing, in between the current reads I have. 

The reading of this series happened in an effort to read more of the physical books I have had on my shelves for a long time, le me tell you I need to read more of them ! Now on to the review.

I picked up these novels because the covers were beautiful, also because Sleeping Beauty is one of my all time childhood favorite stories and somehow I had gotten it in my head that it was a sort of retelling. Spoiler alert, not really though, it wasn't.

I enjoyed the first volume more than the second, to me it was a really high 4 stars, I am trying not to give single volume half stars and failing … It felt like an historical fiction in the era of Kingdoms, Saxons and such. Which I really loved, it was a very immersive read and the format in which the story was told, the pacing and the scenes were really well done. I loved the political intrigue of the story and the romance between Poppy (illegitimated daughter of the king) and our ML Cyrenic, her oath bound sleepless knight/bodyguard. The pet fox was super adorable, the magic really well integrated and a surprisingly wholesome and dark high-fantasy/historical graphic novel. Nothing in the story felt out of place, I loved the mystery aspect of it. 

The one thing that sort of disappointed me was the predictability of the novel, in the end nothing was really out of this world or original compared to other classic bodyguard/lady he must protect compared to traditional harlequin historical romances (similar to time travel, in the aspect that there are also magic elements in some historical romances). Which is not what I look for when picking up a graphic novel that is meant to be a high-fantasy in an historical setting, a classic fantasy as many would consider the setting to be. However the art was truly enjoyable, it was fun to stop and just admire the beautiful composition the artist had made and the choices in tones of colors. 

Overall they were a fun read, and a much recommended read for fans of historical romances, as I think this would be a good introduction to graphic novels or a slight fantasy (for what I usually read) as this is really heavy on romance, in my opinion. 

4/5 stars for  vol.1

&

3/5 stars  for vol.2

for a 3.5/5 stars overall.

beware the cliff hanger at the end of the first volume, also the second volume has a huge separation and so not as much interactions for a while.

Bookarina

The Gatekeeper of Pericael by Hayley Reese Chow Book Review !

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author (of which I am thankful for, thank you again !), this in no way affects my review my thoughts are my own. 

This book was a peculiar read for me. There is  a lot I enjoyed in this book, like the magic and world building. However, somehow, I found myself unable to connect to the characters. Maybe it is because I am difficult in middlegrade books I read and enjoy ?

Our main character is the gatekeeper of the gate that connects our world to the world of Pericael. The story truly begins as he is the last line of defense when an evil shaman decides to attack Pericael. The shaman steals souls of children and by accident Our main character Porter and his cousin Ames go through the gate and must hide in order to read the gate once more and run away with their soul intact. They end up getting together with the children of the village leader (a village in Pericael called K-something).

 One of the characters is blind (Conri, long story short it was to save her life and is a side effect of that event) and while the rep excited me I found it detrimental to the community, while I cannot speak on it as I am not blind myself, the representation felt like an attribute or something to make them different rather than an actual badass character that happens to be blind (say like Toph in avatar the last air bender, she is so badass and funny and using her power of the earth to navigate the world through the vibrations of the ground). The whole time she is described as looking or making eye contact, which can happen but not without the person first talking or making sound, it is inaccurate to say a blind person is always making with no feedback eye contact and is looking at something. I wish it had been more realistic. While I can get the, she is a fierce fighter, it is unlikely that without someone describing or her knowing a place perfectly (even if she can see shadows and light to a degree) that she could fight right away or always save people ? She isn't affected at all by her disability, while it is very likely she can be highly independent, I wish there had been a spirit/mythical creature guide, animal guide or something that made for an explanation for the fights in unknown territories that were told as if she could see.  So why make her blind if there are no instances of rep with blindness ?

I also disliked how Conri was always saving the day , our MC was just there, but not hero-ish or as cool or powerful as I had though a gatekeeper, which is a very serious job, should have been and it bothered me. While I in no way wanted them to be saving the day all the time it made me wonder all the time why Porter was the gatekeeper, it seemed like nothing set him apart, rather why wasn't Conri the gatekeeper wouldn't she have been perfect for the job, Porter could've been a gatekeeper in training ???

 Overall packed with action and roughly a 4-5 hour read.

3/5 stars

Bookarina.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah Book Review

 This book was sort of dissapointing, in the sense that it had been a five star prediction of mine and that for most of the book it sat between a 3 - 4 stars. 

It took me over half of the book to really get invested in the characters, the story in itself and the storytelling are nice and I enjoyed the writing style a lot (which is why I want to pick up more of her books).

TW: rape (non-descriptive), war, death (also of children), hunger, torture.

I loved that the author could write powerful scenes without describing it in details, it brought another layer to the story and while sad, or horrifying it did not read as "this is too much I can't read that" type of moment as those scenes tend to be. I would've liked more towards the end, it felt like the story wrapped up too quickly with how slow the rest of the book had been progressing. I found myself, after my read, missing the fact that there had been no scene where One of our MC now an old woman would've talked with her child (not to spoil anything) in the "present" when she is old. 

Overall, it was a beautiful mix of past and present throughout the novel and a well paced change of point of view between Viviane and Isabelle. I loved the familial relations and there are many quotable excerpts in this book. While not a five star I truly enjoyed my time with it in the end. While I was unfortunately not sobbing there was a tear or two that fell in the last 200 pages. 

4/5 stars 

Bookarina.

Perfect On Paper by Sophie Gonzales ARC Book Review

 

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

This book was one of my most anticipated book of the year, when I received the e-mail saying I would be getting the chance to read it I was so excited. 

This, to me, was reminiscent of "Sex Education" , the show on Netflix as both main character give advice anonymously to other students. While this is not a new favorite and did not hit the mark as much as her first novel did. This was a truly funny and heartfelt novel that made for a great time when I read it. It took me a while to put my thoughts of this book in writing as I couldn't and still can't explain properly (or as much as I wanted to) what made it work and not work for me. 

I loved how the author handled the manipulation Darcy ends up doing to Brooke as often, these things are brushed aside for an happy ending. There is a lot of LGBT+ rep in this book and topics touched in this book, it touches a lot of things that highschool-ers might have to, or have had to deal with. Family, Friendship and School problems, mixed with relatable characters. As always the writing style was wonderful and made for a quick read (if you  liked the first book and love "Sex education" this is the book for you).

A part that truly connected with me was the "Am I gay enough, Am I enough ?" questions asked throughout the book, as a bisexual woman/person this is something I have dealt with and sometimes still struggle with. This book beautifully addressed internalized bi-phobia, while not completely in my opinion, enough that it touched me. 

Something, that is a pet peeves of mine, that I truly disliked was the miscommunication. I hate it when problems wouldn't have happened or could be easily solved by having a conversation. I get that talking about things is hard, feelings aren't always clear, however when it can prevent people getting hurt or a misunderstanding I cannot stress enough how much characters being unable to have a meaningful conversation annoys me. They are not 10-14 years old, they will be adults soon and should know by now that sometimes you need to have those conversations even if they might not be pleasant to you. Don't do it if you can't talk about it, when it affects someone else is my philosophy. 

I also hated the blackmailing, but hey the story had to start somehow so I can't fault that. One part that annoyed me again as a bi person who hates that stereotype is how she has feelings for two people and doesn't sit down to have a conversation with her partner about it. As if a bi person cannot be monogamous or have a healthy relationship. When I was in highschool, figuring out myself, this is one of those things that was detrimental to me, I kept thinking "I can't be bi" I have never wanted to be promiscuous or thought of not telling my partner if I felt something for someone else. 

Overall, however, I did really enjoy the book other than those small issues I had with it. It was a fun book that did make me smile at some of the funny dialogs and in the end while not a book I will re-read, contrary to her first novel, one that I did enjoy. 

4/5 stars 

Bookarina

The Sigil : part I by Shakeil Kanish & Larissa Mandeville ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book and it does not impact my review of this book. My thoughts are my own. 

When I was so generously contacted by the one of the authors to review this book I was super excited, this is right up my alley and is a new author's first book ! A dark fantasy, LGBT, own voices POC novel; how could I be anything but super excited to read it ???

I really enjoyed this book, while it wasn't a new favorite or anything like that it was a really enjoyable time and a quick read. I loved the modern cultural references, like the magical world of the author we will not mention. The writing was super immersive and the mystery kept me on my toes. I cannot wait for the sequel, as I feel a lot of the questions I still have will be answered, about the world and the story itself !

I loved how action packed it was, there was never a moment where I was bored, though I would've like something to make it stand out more, it is a beautiful story told by own-voices authors. It is a wonderfully delightful debut novel that is worth reading if you enjoy funny characters, action, sarcasm and fantasy !

 A wonderful indie read  I am so glad the author reached out to me as I will keep on checking the next books they write !

4/5 stars

Bookarina.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers ARC Book Review and BLOG TOUR !

 

Welcome ! As always a disclaimer: My thoughts are my own and the ARC in no way affected my opinion.

TW: mental health, self-harm, homophobia, racism.

NOW the good stuff ! This book is about found families, love and acceptance of one's-self. When I read the blurb for this book I was automatically intrigued, it sounded just right up my alley. It is after all Queer and if that is not something I look for into books, I don't know what is. As a bisexual woman myself, I love good representation, I love when we get amazing books with a sweet queer romance that makes me feel things and this made me feel for the characters and what was happening to them.  I related to our main character, the dilemmas that come with having an immigrant family (my mother's side of the family) and the struggles that come with that when being Queer. 

I loved getting that funny, charming and yet deeply touching tale of two women getting drunk in Vegas and getting married without knowing one another. This book had the perfect mix of angst, funny and romance. It is about being true to yourselves and becoming who you were meant to be. While the romance is a big part of the book it is not the main focus, the true subject of this book is Grace, a brilliant black lesbian woman with a PHD in astrology who is finding herself and finally allowing herself to be happy.

The author approached the delicate subjects she touched on in such an organic way, Grace's anxiety, her struggles and her growth as a person through the book felt natural. I loved the character development and story telling were the true strengths of this novel. the author has a wonderful way with words. Do I want to re-read this book and own it as a physical copy; YES. Do I wish the author would sign a copy YES YES YES.

I loved this book, this is a new favorite and a read that will stay with me long after having finished it. I cannot wait to read the next books this author will be writing. 

5/5 stars

Bookarina

Best Laid Plans by Roan Parrish ARC Book Review ! ~ BLOG TOUR ~ MM Romance ~

                                                                  ~ BLOG TOUR ~

                                        Coming out next Tuesday !! GET YOUR COPY !!

Disclaimer : I received an ARC and it in no way affects my review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Before I start this review I have to point something out:

 Who did this ? Like who choose to make this cover with writing on it that had weird graph behind it ? Maybe I am the only one questioning that choice, but it made me wonder for a while before I started it ... 

Another note, I am excited about this book and while it is a second book in the story, from what I had gathered before reading it, you do not need to have read the first one to read this one, which after reading it is very true since each book focuses on someone else.

Now the review:

This book was a very lovely valentine's day mood read. Not to say that I finished it that day, because unfortunately school waits for no one, but it was romantic. Now was it a 5 star romance, that I want to re-read again and again, unfortunately not. However I had a great time, and emotional time sometimes while reading this book. It is not a fluffy romance, not to say that it isn't romantic it just is sad at times and heart wrenching as we learn more about our main characters and their past. Thus, I would have to say; be in the right mood to pick this up, it is not a happy go lucky, unicorns and rainbows type of book. But that's what I liked about it, personally it added depth to the story I also enjoy sad books so right up my alley (it isn't  a crying, all sad book no worries it's a romance).

While I was reading it, the resounding thought I had was that Rye and Charlie just fit together. They felt natural, they had this tangible chemistry. They both, by coming together, helped each other grow, not to say they did not also grow on their own. But by learning to trust each other they found a family within each other and build a home. 

It was such a sweet story, even with the sadness contained within these pages, the overall feeling it left me with after the read was how warm it felt. Reading this felt like a warm hug, sometimes getting you through dark times and other times warming you up inside.

I don't want to got too much in details about this story because I believe it would be a shame to spoil and a true disservice to the overall experience you get when reading it.

I loved this, while not a new favorite of mine, one I truly enjoyed and a perfect Valentine's day story ! And it is a story I would love to re-read at some point in the future.

4/5 

Bookarina

As Far As You'll Take Me by Phil Stamper ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you) and it in no way affects my review, my thoughts/opinions are my own.

TW: homophobia(including slurs), outed(sexuality), eating disorder, anxiety/panic attacks, near sexual assault, bullying, toxic relationships, body dysmorphia.

The first thing that caught my eye was the cover, I am a fan of pastels and this was just so pretty. I also loved the principle of going abroad to find yourself and having to balance who you are with who you were once both realities collide. This is a YA coming of age LGBT+ story. It is hard to find yourself especially when your parents disapprove of you/your sexuality. As he travels through Europe and London he makes friends & starts to fall in love. 

I loved the anxiety representation and the writing of this book. It was light, in the sense that it was really was to read and get into; there wasn't a moment where I felt like I had to re-read it to understand it. The relationships in this book aren't all squared off, they are raw and ugly sometimes, the characters are flawed and real. As "The Gravity of us", the author's previous book and debut, we get real-world issues. I loved the way we got the irrational anxiety, something people without anxiety might not relate to as much as I did, because the truth is anxiety is not always rational, sometimes it just is there, big and present taking control of your emotions.

This book, contrary to it's cover, is not all happy go lucky, it confronts you to deeply touching and heartfelt moments that warm and sometimes plunge a knife in your heart. As someone that was outed bye a "friend" to other friends , thankfully everyone was accepting so it wasn't as much of an issue though not okay, it was a hard read for me. But a read that made me feel seen in so many ways. This book tackles many issues in real ways, it is not sugar coated, it is graphic and messy, just like life really is. I had to take breaks between my reading sessions for this book, but at the same time I did not want to put it down and kept thinking about it. It is one of those books that hurt me, but that I couldn't help but love.

This is an important read that queer youth will relate to and think about long after having finished it.

I enjoyed it, there are somethings I would've changed, I would've liked for Marty's parent to change and accept him, but I know it isn't always the case in real life. I also would've liked for the eating disorder to have been expanded on as much as the anxiety/or at least more than it was. Unfortunately, that part felt more like a plot point than as impactful as it could've been. While the scenario is not as realistic as it could be (taking a plane to another continent with no money and no plan), it was a lovely setting that I did really enjoy.

4/5 stars

Bookarina

Cry Wolf by Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf #5) ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer: My thoughts are my own I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an Honest Review.

This book series is such a love hate relationship for me, not to say that I don't love it because I do.  This is the fifth installment in this wonderful series where we follow a detective and a werewolf and mysteries. It is very sherlockholmes-esque in it's formatting, meaning that while you do need to read this series in order, there is always a mystery that is solved in each book. Thus, it is a fun time not an eternal mystery that is seemingly endless.

This is a mystery, contemporary paranormal, MM romance. I know a mouthful, but truly a beautifully written series that has the right amount of everything.

I love our two main characters, this was no different their romance is organic from book one and the author manages to truly make you root for them. I love how each books elevated the romance ( I mean they are getting married what more do you want right !!) and how they both grow as people together and individually.  

Something I truly love about this series is that after the initial (books ago) communication issues that were quickly solved, we haven't had that issue again. I find that the author manages the perfect balance of romance with it truly remaining a mystery driven book, the plot is linear and easy to follow and these book are quick reads that leave you smiling. (Also leave you wanting more, I read the first three back to back because the other ones were not out yet and the last two together; it is just that addictive)

If there is one thing that I regret is the fact that there are no physical copies of this series, I would totally buy them ! 

Always a great time, I will miss them, thank you for this wonderful tale and characters.

4/5 stars

Bookarina.

Cannot wait for the next book the author publishes, a bittersweet ending (because this is the last novel to my knowledge) to a series that I love so much and has been a constant 4 stars all throughout my read. 

This Close to Okay by Leesa-Cross Smith ARC Book Review

 

Disclaimer: I received an ARC and it in no way affected my opinion or thoughts on this book. My opinions are my own.

First of all I want to thank the publisher for sending a copy of this my way, the cover is gorgeous and I really enjoyed annotating it as I was reading it, a fun experience for a book to review. 

It is within itself separated in sections which was  a great idea from the author because the novel actually only span over such a small time frame that it helped have a more emotional connection to the characters and story, because it felt organic in a way. While there are time jumps as we learn the past of the characters, it is a very linear story in itself and linear story telling, I found myself enjoying the formatting of it a lot and the author's writing style was super easy to get into. Now that is about all the good stuff, at least for me.

The regrettable thing about this book was the character development, it just wasn't there for me, again this is due to the small time period over which the story spans, nobody grows a bunch in such a small time. I wanted to see growth especially from a character that was as unlikable as our main character Tallie was, she was judgmental and so immature for a 40 years old divorced woman. It was hard to believe to truly believe in who she was supposed to be presented to be, because the whole time she felt much younger. Her thoughts were similar to the wining and immaturity of an adolescent, and she felt like a bad person. Yes she had just saved someone from suicide, but then she judged him about that, went through his stuff without consent and rather than getting him help invited him home after a couple hours of having met him. 

Tallie, was supposed to be a therapist with her own personal issues, but there is a limit to having your own issue and breaching the trust, especially a therapist who knows about this stuff, of someone who she must consider a sort of patient. She should know better and if she is not in the right place mentally to help him it is her duty to get him that right help from other sources because he is clearly a danger to his own safety. 

Anyhow, another thing that really got to me, and rubbed me the wrong way was when they started to fall in love. She kept berating Emmet and telling him about this random lilac-ish something energy she kept being all therapist-ish with him telling him her lingo of words to explain things, which how do you fall in love with someone constantly looking down on you and judging you I don't know (he somehow is unaffected by all this and with the state of mind he previously had it makes me wonder how this is even real). Furthermore this 40 years old woman propels the narrative of not being "that kind of girl", "being different from other girls". I hated those parts of it.

The problem with this book is that it did not feel real, the story in itself was interesting as a concept but unfortunately badly executed. This is supposed to be contemporary fiction and it did not feel real, which is the whole point to reading such a book. 

In the end the writing style of this book could not save it, I had too many issues and for a book written by a woman I was gutted that she had pushed the "different from other woman" narrative. Aren't we as women better than this ? We know better than to judge and put down other women in the hopes of pushing ourselves up, or at least I thought we were past all that. 

A book that left a bad taste in my mouth.

2/5 stars.

Bookarina.

Wings of Ebony by J.Elle ARC Book Review

Disclaimer: I received an ARC but it in no way influences my opinion, my thoughts are my own. 

So this is a weird review to write, for many reasons. One this was one of my most anticipated books of 2020 and two I wanted and tried to love it so much. 

I was going to give it a higher star rating, but then I had to really think about it and the fact that it is written by a BPOC person shouldn't mean I have to give it a higher star rating just because it did touch important subjects such as racism, colonialism and oppressions of Black people which is important,  when I really did not enjoy it (the book not the subjects). 

So take this, with this thought in front of your mind, a lot of people did enjoy it so maybe what I did not like you will. 

From the point of view of someone who reads a lot of high fantasy and worked in a book store (one thing that bothered me is that at the beginning of the ARC it says 14+ and 10-14 years old and this book has a lot of swearing which I know parents would not like and thus I would have not been comfortable recommending to parents; I don't mind well placed swearing, within % of the book there had already been just under a dozen swearing incidents and this is a short book that is for young children. It did not affect my rating of the book, this is just a note to keep in mind). 

 I had a lot of expectations that were simply not met in this book. I found myself unable to connect to the world, I have no idea what Ghazan actually looks like and the most interesting information we learn about the world and the sort of castes type thing level in society aren't important and did not resurface in the second half of the book. So it felt like the best part of the book in my opinion was not relevant, or at least what I enjoyed the most.

Because of the time skips and lack of description I often found myself wondering where I was in the storyline or the world It always took me paragraphs if not pages to get an idea of where/when I was. For example, we start the book with Rue and for a long time she (the author) gives us a lot of info about her being in juvie twice, separated from her sister after their mother died, and how she has this magical watch made by Bri her best friend, which okay nice but where am I ?  Between that and finally realizing I am in huston seemingly in the future, she gets arrested and then we have no warning and BOOM we are in the past, with her first meeting Bri. Which took me a while to realize, because there are no indications or descriptions, at least in the ARC of time skips. This made for a very frustrating read where I kept going back to read what I had just read with the new time-line in mind.

Another thing that bothered me is that this book is the writing, I found myself re-reading a lot to try to understand where and when we were, due to it being so dry. Dry in the sense that it was very action driven, again this is a short book and it was a true detriment to my experience. Rather than making this a duology it would've benefited from being one book with more description and character development.

For a fantasy setting to have so little description and make me care so little about it was really disappointing. Ghazan is one dimensional and this is not as advertised, it is not a fantasy, rather it is a fiction book with magical realism, most of the book is spent in Huston not Ghazan. 

Even though we get a lot of random info on characters, I still felt disconnected to them everything felt "surface like" they did not feel tangible. It was more of a "the author said they felt this" so they must be feeling this. Any of them could've died and I wouldn't have cared, for the matter the world could've ended and I would've been like, "huh". (which is not a goal I want to accomplish when I read a book)

Overall, this book was hard to get through because it was hard to get invested into something you know so little about. 

If you want to read half-human, half-god books there are other books that have executed this in a better way, for the age range the Rick Riordan presents has some really loved books (middlegrade) and if you want a fantasy (YA) I have started a couple of other fantasy books by BPOC authors that I am slowly reading and enjoying a lot such as "A song of wraith and ruins" by  Roseanne A. Brown. 

1.5/5 stars.

Unfortunately a flop for me, I hope you will enjoy it a lot more than I did. 

Bookarina.

The Degan Incident by Rob Colton Book Review

 I picked up this book recently on my Kindle for no particular reason, it was also 3 am... So I guess there is that. 

Now I went into this questioning my life choices, and not being able to fall asleep so here is the review of a tired person who read this on a whim at 3:30 am on a week night. 

This book was, well written I have to say after seeing the cover I was pretty sure it would be riddled with spelling mistakes, but it wasn't so good news from the get go. But then, the sentence structures killed it. So weirdly unipersonal, the MC did not have an original voice, all I know about him is that he is an orphan and had a bad ex, and has a sort of brother ? This felt more like descriptions for the idea of a novel rather than an actual novel.

Nothing was explained in this book, it was insta-love supposed soulmates we learn later, full of weird time skips and no chemistry could be felt between the main characters. They don't get to know each other ever, the characters are one dimensional and apart from cutting the tails of the males of the Degan species (with no explanation as why) there is no info on the species as a whole. I have never seen main characters so unconnected from one another. 

The author makes those weird leaps in info dumping where the MC is supposed to be at work and is suddenly talking about info in his head, and then about the Spaceport, whatever that is since we know next to nothing about anything. It is supposed to be a Sci-fi romance and rather felt like the author was throwing sci-fi-ish words to say " this is sci-fi, they are in the future, this is new tech" which I still don't know what it looks like apart from colorful colors ? 

The whole book had me pausing to wonder, and I have ADHD, about the connections and the change of subjects each paragraph and sometimes each sentences. The time skips where ill placed and the one info I was curious about, the war that happened for earth to join the coalition, was not really addressed ???

Now the supposed romance, They meet because our MC is working and Bastian (the Degan alien) is looking for a place to stay in the station, our MC lusts after him and shows him hotels (directions) and where the best food is in talking not actually showing. Then their second meeting Bastian is eating and there are no more places to sit at in the cafeteria so he offers to have him sit with him and then walks him back to his quarters, Bastian then gets invited inside and they have non-penetrative sex... Like Bastian SHOVES our MC's head into his armpits and proceeds to rub on him. Then after completion they shower and sleep on the dirty sheets ??? Because Bastian wants it ??? Also in that first meeting he calls our MC "Little one" ????? 

A lot of weird time skips ensue then before having penetrative sex Bastian explains that his cum modifies the DNA of people and makes them grow Degan properties ?? and our MC is like I don't care give it to me ???? Like boy are you mentally stable ???

He gets pregnant "Thank you weird DNA change" his soulmate disappears, gets kidnapped and tested on by human Navy, then tortured by the Degan commander/general, saved by Bastian Father (called sire in their language which also no info on that) and then glosses it over because "Bastian must have left me because I am not good enough" muhh huuu huuu.... Boy got tortured and still thinking about that oh well. The torture is never talked about, nor is Bastian's possessive ex when they get to his home country (after saving Bastian in a super short space war) "No he loves me everything else is BS". That boy got no trauma apparently even after months of testing and drugging, injections etc. 

All in all a read I sort of wish I could forget. 

I ended up giving it 1.5/5 stars because, it had good concepts like the species never addressed and the history never touched on, and the planet's lunar system on Degan home planet, also only addressed once. But dreadfully bad execution, someone needed to edit it and check the syntax of this and fluidity of the story. 

Bookarina. 

P.S: You can see the notes of my reading on goodreads with the excerpts. 

Daughter of the Salt King by A.S. Thorn ARC Book Review

 

Welcome to this book review, disclaimer : I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, but my thoughts are my own and it in no way affected my review of the book.

TW: rape (-ish but like really anything not 100% consensual should've had a trigger warning and is rape) also incest (SWEET HOME ALABAMA)

I requested this book because of the title, I will be completely honest I went into it knowing nothing, not even the blurb and it was a mistake. This is the sort of book that I HAD to go back and read the blurb before going further into it because I was confused. Not to say that you learn nothing from it as you read it, but it got confusing in the beginning and it greatly helped to have a vague idea of where I believed the storyline was going. So beware, this is not a book you can go into blindly or it will get confusing and you will be feeling lost. 

Now unto the actual review, or more like what I thought of this book. I was disappointed. There are no other way to put this, I was intrigued at first and once I finally got into it it was okay but nothing that I want to pick up again and again, nothing I will be referencing or thinking about later, it did not leave a lasting mark on me. It is a jinni romance which is a nice change of pace, in terms of what fantasy/paranormal romances are usually about, I enjoyed the character driven part of it and Emel as a character. What got to me is the flowery things the author decided to put in her writing, I enjoyed it until these weird metaphors started appearing, her writing did not need that she was doing a great job before. 

This is definitely an adult book, on the stand point that this is a romance in a fantasy world rather than the opposite it was a respectable book, the rape-ish scene is what got to me. BECAUSE THERE IS NO WARNING BEFORE PICKING IT UP. And while it wasn't an issue for me as nothing is descriptive enough to be, and I enjoy dark books (sad stories are sometimes my jam what can I say I like to cry) I could somewhat get past it. BUT THE INCEST, like okay just some touching, BUT STILL not okay and again my heart went to those with trauma towards it because once again a lack of TW. 

Now, story wise not a bad book, but all those things I can't look over the fact that it felt like the author did not appropriately address the issues, rape and incest, that she brought up in a good way. It felt like "oh and here is this", rather than "I am addressing important issues in this book" which is never a good way to feel about a book you are reading. The plot should be fluid, and the metaphors made me lose the focus of the story, even though it was more about the characters than the world.

I would've liked a bit more plot to balance the story, it did not feel like the characters grew much within the story from where they had began and there was not a cumulation of events that propelled the plot further or action began it was sort of monotone in a weird way. The romance was un-organic, it felt forced, there was no chemistry between our main characters. 

In the end this story was meh. okay, not memorable nothing REALLY happened in the book. And I just did not feel like the characters were tangible or that their love was believable.

Unfortunately a miss for me. 

2/5 stars

Bookarina