fantasy

Book Review: Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin ★★★★

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“I-I’ve never seen anyone savor anything the way you do everything. You make me feel alive. Just being in your presence – it’s addictive. You’re addictive . . . The way you see the world . . . I want to see it that way too.”

I had an inkling I would like this book, but I wasn’t 100% sure, based on all of the mixed reviews I kept seeing. Granted, most of the negative reviews were talking about problematic elements and I, being someone that doesn’t give a hoot if a book is “problematic,” was still very much interested in reading it. And guess what guys?? I freaking loveddddddddd ittttttt. This was the first book in SO LONG that kept me up until almost 3 AM on a work night, just so I could keep reading. It was fabulous and I have already purchased myself a permanent copy 😏. So begone haters!

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Book Review: The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden ★★★★

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“He spoke of Russia. Not Muscovy, or Tver, or Vladimir, the principalities of the sons of Kiev, but of Russia itself, of its skies and its soil, its people and its pride.

She listened in rapt stillness, eyes vast and filled like cups with shadow. “That is what we are fighting for,” said Sasha. “Not for Moscow, or even Dmitrii; not for the sake of any of her squabbling princes. But for the land that bore us; man and devil alike.””

Another fantastic finale! I was really pleased with how this series came to a close and I think this final installment might be the strongest book yet. It was very well done!

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Book Review: An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard ★★

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“Magic, at its heart, starts with sacrifice. You have to give up something to get something, and because magic is big, with all that it allows you access to, what you give up has to be big. It has to be meaningful.”

So ultimately, I am really disappointed in this book. I requested this one from my library and I have heard a lot of good things about it, so I was really excited when it finally came in and I could get my hands on it. I had heard people call this one “adult Harry Potter” and it was (originally) a stand-alone. All things I was very interested in! However, it just fell very flat for me in the end😕😕

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Book Review: Circe by Madeline Miller ★★★★

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“Every moment mortals died, by shipwreck and sword, by wild beasts and wild men, by illness, neglect, and age. It was their fate, Prometheus had told me, the story they all shared. No matter how vivid they were in life, no matter how brilliant, no matter the wonders they made, they came to dust and smoke. Meanwhile every petty and useless god would go on sucking down the bright air until the stars went dark.”

This book was so much more than I expected! It was so good. Really lived up to the hype and I now see why everyone loves it. I went in with decently high expectations, based on how many and how often people rave about it, but I wasn’t expecting to be blown away or anything. Spoiler alert: I was! It was such a beautiful book. Definitely a 4 star read for me. Madeline Miller is also a new author that I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on.

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Book Review: Crown of Feathers by Nicki PauPreto ★★★

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“In Pyra, death was celebrated as much as life. Only through endings could there be beginnings. That was the lesson of the phoenix, and it was the lesson of my life as well.”

Oof this book was slow going. It was actually a 2/2.5 read for me up until the ending brought it to a 3. It was strange really, because it had an interesting concept and the author could write. She clearly put a lot of time, effort, and research into this book. But my god, it was a slog for the first 300 pages.

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Book Review: The Dark Days Deceit by Alison Goodman ★★★

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“Yet what I had learned is that love is a leap of faith. A leap that not only takes you towards the person you love, but also towards the truth of yourself. Whom you love and how you love them will tell you more about yourself than anything else in this world.”

Alright, so the conclusion of the Lady Helen series! I’m glad I read this series so quickly; it was very fun and enjoyable. It was light and did not take much of an investment, honestly, which is absolutely what I look for sometimes. This final book in the trilogy was good, but a little disappointing as a finale: 3 stars.

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Book Review: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant ★★

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“What you have to understand about the mermaid legend is that it’s universal. No matter where you go, the mermaids got there first. Even inland, if there’s a big enough lake, I guarantee you there’s a local community with a story about women in the water with beautiful voices who lure men to their deaths. Where there’s water, we find mermaids. Maybe it’s time we started asking ourselves exactly why that is.”

😐 Very disappointed in Into the Drowning Deep, unfortunately. I had heard such great things about it, and I was in the mood for something chilling and scary, so I thought it would be the perfect read right now. I really wanted to love it! However, it just didn’t work for me. At all. It was poorly constructed, repetitive, unintelligent, and very dull. It was basically Sharknado with mermaids. Spoilers ahead.

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Book Review: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik ★★★★

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“Of course I was afraid. But I had learned to fear other things more: being despised, whittled down one small piece of myself at a time, smirked at and taken advantage of. I put my chin up and said, as cold as I could be in answer, “And what will you give me in return?”

Oh I lovedddd this one! It was brilliantly written, atmospheric, lush, dark, whimsical, and full of wonderful characters. It was not quite up there with Novik’s other book, Uprooted, which I adored, but it was very very good! Some spoilers below!

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Book Review: Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James ★★★★

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“We don’t own truth. Truth is truth and nothing you can do about it even if you hide it, or kill it, or even tell it. It was truth before you open your mouth and say, That there is a true thing.”

I am not one to usually give trigger warnings, because honestly I just forget to and generally mention it in my review anyway, but for this book:

Trigger warnings: LITERALLY ALL OF THEM. Yes, even that one. And that one! Oh you thought that would never be allowed in a book?? Well it’s in here!

Sooo I’m gonna be honest with you guys. I really liked this book. A lot! But, I would definitely hesitate before recommending it to anyone I know in real life 😅. It is SO DARK. I am having such a hard time rating it, too. The story and the writing and the characterization – all phenomenal. But some of the subject matter is wildly violent and disturbing…..Yeahhhh, I’m still gonna go 4.5 stars, I think. It was really good, okay! Don’t @ me!

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Book Review: The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye ★★

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“She might be a dragon on a leash, but she was still a dragon. She would stall. She’d find a way to fix this, bracelet or not.
Or, like witches, she and Nikolai would both burn.” 

Man, I really do love these covers. They are so pretty and the duology makes such a nice little pair. Well! I finally got around to reading the sequel to The Crown’s Game and it was pretty good. It certainly has its flaws, but like its predecessor, The Crown’s Fate was an enjoyable, very light read. It was a nice continuation of the story, with a decent, if a bit rushed, conclusion. A solid 2.5 stars, I say.

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