Saturday, September 30, 2017

Review: The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

This is my fourth time reading The School for Good and Evil. And I will never not love this book. Sigh. I was a little worried reading the book this time, because I feared I wouldn't survive how sad it would make me. But I managed it. I still love this book to pieces. Even if it broke my heart on just about every page. Hmph. Rude.

This book is simply amazing. I don't know how else to describe it. I'm not going to write a long review of this book this time, as I feel like I have probably said everything I could say about this lovely book so far, lol. But even so, I'm going to write down some of my feelings for it. I am just so thrilled that I loved my fourth read of it.

I mean, I didn't think I wouldn't love this fourth read. I just worried it would hurt a lot. And it did, but it was not too bad. The worst is yet to come, in book two and three, haha. But the pain is worth it. Because this story is beyond stunning. And these characters are so amazing to read about. This whole world is perfection. There is so much to love about this. The writing is so good. Everything about this book was the best. And I'm so happy with how much I love all of these books. Yesss. And so happy that for now it seems like Soman is not going to quit anytime soon with writing about these characters. I'm so happy. If you still haven't read these books, you are truly missing out. This series is a mix between young adult and middle grade. And it is perfect. Amazing story.

I'm truly not going to say much about the book this time. Just some short things about how it made me feel. Which was terrible, haha. Because it's all kinds of sad at times. Yet it is also so much fun and so full of hope and love and friendship. I simply loved every moment of this book. Even the heartbreaking parts. Because the characters are worth it. They are worth every pain. Okay, I say they, but whom I really mean is Agatha. And she is still my one love. Okay, I adore all of the characters, but Agatha the most. Always.

And I will mention that Agatha deserves all the love. And she deserves to be happy and she deserves to have people treating her like a queen. Which better happen in book four to six. Hmph. I'm still waiting on it. But anyway. This book is told from the point of view of Agatha and Sophie, for the most part. And I did love that. And oh, how I loved getting to know Agatha all over again. She's simply the best. I loved the old version of her. I loved how she slowly changed a little, but how she was always good and kind. The best.

This book is about Sophie and Agatha. They are best friends. Though I wouldn't really call them that, as Sophie only started hanging out with Agatha as her good deed or whatever. Hmph. But even so. I did like reading about them as friends, even though I was so angry with Sophie all the time, because she really truly treated Agatha horribly. And I will not forgive that. So rude. Not okay. But even so. Was interesting and exciting to read about Sophie too. Because she was so evil, yet trying to be good. I loved her mostly.

There is so much happening in this book. And I'm not going to talk about it all over again. But do know that the plot is amazing and the schools for Good and Evil were all kinds of fun and horrifying to read about. The trials were so good. The mix ups between good and evil were fun to read about, though so heartbreaking. I love Tedros so much, but he was being such an idiot in this book. Hmph. But anyway. I love Agatha the very most and I loved reading about her again. And this whole book. Love it so much.


In My Mailbox #308

I am so tired all the time. And in pain all the time too. And I am so goddamn sick of it. Sigh. I'm trying my best to deal with it all, but it's hard, because I never have a day or just hours where I'm not in pain. Hmph. And medicine not working. And hospital being a bitch about giving me a different type of medicine. So might still be weeks or months until I start getting better and I'm just not feeling pleased about this. Sigh. But despite all of this, I'm feeling happy. Because I'm reading a lot. And I'm getting a lot of stunning mail, with more perfection coming soon. Eee. I'm very happy about all of that. But then sad again, because my room for books is just about gone. Which means I need to get rid of even more of my books. Which mean selling, which means making so little money of the books I spend lots of money on and don't want to get rid of. Sniffs. But no room. And no way to make new room either. So, yeah. A bit depressed too. Anyway. Some new blog posts. I shared my review of The Traitor Prince :D Which I loved. Then shared my review of Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Which I hated. Ugh. This week I'm waiting on Snow & Rose. <3 I shared my review of Fragments of the Lost :D Which I loved. Yess. And I'm currently re-reading The School for Good and Evil, finally. Reading them all. And oh so excited. But, well. They break my heart. But so good.



The Language of Thorns. Two US hardcovers and one UK hardcover. <3 Both gorgeous. Love them.
A World Without You. Still haven't read this precious book. Ahh. Now I own the stunning paperback too.
All That Glows. I haven't read this duology by Ryan yet, but I will soon :D I'm excited to read them both.
Godsgrave. Special Goldsboro edition :D Yess. So gorgeous. And B&N special edition too. Love them.
Warcross. The gorgeous UK hardcover. Yesss. Rainbow colored beneath the jacket. SO stunning. Love.
Quests for Glory. YESSSS. Book finally arrived yesterday. Took forever. More to come. SO EXCITED.
The Ever Never Handbook. I did not know there was a UK paperback out. Ahh. But now I own it, finally.
His Dark Materials. Damn it. B&N sent me the wrong set. But they refunded. Now ordered from Amazon.
Invictus. This UK paperback edition is so pretty. And I enjoyed this book a whole bunch. It was awesome.
Lyra's Oxford. The first one arrived damaged, so I got a replacement. Yay. This one looks so so perfect.
Pirates of the Caribbean 5. I did enjoy this movie a bunch. And I'm excited to watch it again, for Will :D
Godsgrave. Finally got this stunning audiobook too :D Collection is complete, minus US ARC. Love this.
Pokken Tournament. Eee! But, ugh, I got this last saturday. And I have yet to play it. No energy. But soon.
Happy Hello Bookmarks. Ahhhh. More bookmarks :D And more coming too. Gosh. They are gorgeous.




Fragments of the Lost. Eee, thank you so much to the lovely publisher for approving my request to read this book via Netgalley. <3 I have already read and loved it. I adore Megan oh so much and you all need to read her books.


More Instagram photos here. <3

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Review: Fragments of the Lost by Megan Miranda

I simply adore this author. Have read so many of her books and I have enjoyed them all. This one was no exception. I stayed up until three am to finish this lovely book. As I could not stop after I started it. Eee. For the most part I really liked this book. Had a few small issues, but nothing big. And so four stars for this one.

I'm going to begin with saying that the writing was all kinds of awesome. And I had no trouble at all reading this book. It is told from the point of view of Jessa. And oh, how I enjoyed reading about this girl. I loved getting to know about her life, about who she was. I liked her a whole bunch. She was a great character.

The plot about this book is that Jessa's boyfriend, Caleb, died two months ago. He drove his car over a bridge and into a river. The car was found destroyed, but he was not found, but they all know that he is dead. Jessa has been grieving his loss for ages now. Because in a way, she blames herself for what happened to him. As they had just broken up before he died, after having been together a year. And there were so many details about all of that. This whole book is about Jessa going through his room, packing up his things, because his mom is moving. And when she goes through his things she remembers parts of their past together. And I liked that, as she is realizing things she had not noticed about him. Not so nice things. But good memories too.

See, this is why this book is a four star and not a five star for me. I wish it hadn't focused so much on the past. I wanted to know more about the now and the future. Sniffs. There were some awesome characters in the now that I really, really wanted to know more about. Even though just about all the book was about the past, it was not boring at all. It was so exciting and interesting and mysterious too, trying to figure out who Caleb had really been. And why their relationship had ended. I liked reading it all. Past and present.

But yes, just wishing there had been more focus on a certain someone. Hmph. Despite that, the ending was all kinds of awesome. Rude. Yet so perfect. But now I want a sequel that is all happy. Anyway. This book was so good. And so easy to read and to get lost in. There is so much I wish to say about this book. Not going to mention all of it, but some things must get written down. Like how Jessa and Caleb had been together for a long time, yet I didn't ship them at all. I liked how it didn't focus too much on their romance.

And how Jessa had been friends with another boy, Max, for years. And how they sort of had feelings for each other. And how I loved that to pieces. And oh, how I wanted to read more about Max. Aw. This book wasn't about a love triangle. First of, Caleb was dead. Jessa isn't with Max. And she had not cheated on Caleb either, before he died. So no weird feelings about any of that. I just really shipped Jessa and Max. When she remembered the past, he was always there for her, doing all the important things. I loved him.

This book is all about Jessa figuring things out about her dead ex-boyfriend. And gosh, there were a lot of secrets. And it was so much fun reading about it all, figuring out the hidden things. The present was a bit scary too, with the mom of Caleb being a bit crazy. I liked reading about Jessa and Max together, being friends. They were such awesome friends and I wanted more of them. Hmph. But I also liked this story for what it was. Which was an exciting mystery. Because Jessa starts to get the feeling that Caleb isn't dead.

And that is all I'm going to say about this book. There is so much more I could mention, but I'm not going to. I just really liked this book. I couldn't stop reading once I started it. I really loved all of the characters. Fragments of the Lost was simply put incredible. I enjoyed every moment. The writing was stunning. The ending was exciting and revealing. I really wish that there had been a long epilogue, though. Ack. I wish to know more about these characters. The book was long, yet not nearly long enough. It was so so good.

Huge thank you to Random House Children's for approving my request on Netgalley to read this book early. I'm so glad that I read it now. And I cannot wait to own the finished copy of it as well. I simply can't wait to read even more books by Megan. I have enjoyed them all; even her adult ones. Her stories are just the best. Awesome and heartbreaking and evil. And I love every moment of them all. You all really need to read this book when it's out. It's slow and fast and exciting and mysterious all at the same time.


Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Waiting on Wednesday #311

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

SNOW & ROSE BY EMILY WINFIELD MARTIN

Goodreads Description:

A New York Times bestselling author-illustrator brings readers into the woods to meet two young sisters and a strange bit of magic in this reimagining of the classic but little-known fairy tale "Snow White and Rose Red."

Snow and Rose didn't know they were in a fairy tale. People never do....

Once, they lived in a big house with spectacular gardens and an army of servants.

Once, they had a father and mother who loved them more than the sun and moon.

But that was before their father disappeared into the woods and their mother disappeared into sorrow.

This is the story of two sisters and the enchanted woods that have been waiting for them to break a set of terrible spells.

Bestselling author-illustrator Emily Winfield Martin has created a world that sits on the border of enchantment, with characters who are grounded in real emotions that readers will recognize in themselves.
 


Hardcover, 224 pages
Expected publication: October 10th 2017 by Random House Books for Young Readers
Pre-Order here and here

This cover is so gorgeous. And I think this book sounds all kinds of magical and sweet and awesome. I'm crossing all my fingers that I will love it. I have it pre-ordered, and it's out in just under two weeks, and I simply cannot wait. Just, yeah. I'm hoping so badly that it's as awesome as it looks :D Yesss. So pretty.
What are you waiting for on this enchanted Wednesday?

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

How is it even possible that I'm disliking every John Green book that I'm reading? It makes no sense to me. Sigh. I mean, yes, I don't truly love this genre, but I have read many amazing books from it even so. And my first book by this author was The Fault in Our Stars. I read it twice. I loved it. But that was years ago now.

I still thought that I would enjoy his other books as well. But this is his fourth book that I'm giving two stars to. His fourth book that I hated a lot about. Just. How is this even possible. I wish I didn't feel this way. Really wish I could have loved this one. But simply couldn't. These characters were not lovable. At all. Disappointed.

I don't even know where to begin with this book. I'm going to try my best to share all my thoughts about it. But I have so so many feelings. And just about all of them are bad. So I'm going to start with the good things about this book. As in the reason for why it is a two star read and not a one star. And the reason for that was Tiny. Whom I ended up liking a whole lot. There were, of course, sigh, a bunch of things about him that I did not like. He was not the best friend at all. But he was even so the best character in this book. And I did like reading about him most of the time. But sadly, this was not the book of Tiny. It was the book of Will Grayson. Two versions of him, two different people. One that I sort of liked reading about. And one I just about hated reading about.

The first Will, aka the boy I sort of liked was okay to read about. He wasn't anything special and I didn't care too much about him. His life was pretty boring, to be honest. He's best friends with Tiny, though, and that made me like him a bit more. But when he started crushing on Jane, well. I didn't like that at all. He didn't treat her right. I sort of shipped them at the end, but then again, not really. I felt sorry for this Will at times, because others didn't treat him okay either, but I still didn't like him. But he was kind of interesting.

Then there was the second Will. And I do not even know where to begin describing this boy. He is gay. Which is mentioned a whole bunch. He's depressed. He treats his mom like shit. He jerks off a lot. And he has an internet boyfriend, Isaac. Whom he's finally going to meet, after a year of talking together. And oh. This made me feel for this Will. It made my heart break. But then this Will ended up being shitty again, and I was back to not liking him at all. Shrugs. He could have been a stunning character. But he was not.

The plot in this book is about these two characters meeting. Well, it's not really about that at all, because they spend a few minutes together. It is mostly just Tiny meeting with them both. And the plot of the book is about Tiny making a musical in school about his life. Which I really liked reading about. But there was so much drama about other things that I didn't care for at all. Mostly this book was hugely disappointing. Not much happened at all. I wanted a better ending for just about all the characters. But it wasn't all bad.

I'm not sure what else to say about this book, not really. It's about the second Will being gay. And about Tiny being gay. And about Tiny being extremely big and fat. Which is mentioned so many times that I got a bit annoyed, because it wasn't talked about in a good way. But yeah. Tiny was adorable and I loved him most of the time. Just not enough. Liking one character was not enough of a reason for liking this book. Because it was full of issues. It was not romantic. It did not have great friendships. The ending was okay.

Another reason for why I did not like this book much was the writing. As in, how things were written down. Like in the beginning of the book the Will that I did not like treated his mom like crap. He didn't really get any better either. And the way he talked and thought about people were not nice at all. Like he was into Tiny, sure, but he was dissing him in his head all the time too, and I hated that so so much. And this has happened in every John book I have read this past month. So many bad characters. It is simply not okay.

There is another book out that is the story of Tiny. But it is also written in the type of way that half of this book was written. Which I didn't really care all that much for, sadly. And despite really liking Tiny, I did not like him enough to make myself read a whole other book written in this way. But maybe I'll feel like it one day, as I am curious to know more about Tiny. Aw. Anyway. I did not like Will Grayson, Will Grayson. But I found parts of it to be interesting. And I am glad that I gave it a try, even so. But yes. This was not for me.

Big thank you to Penguin Random House International for letting me take part in this very awesome John Green read along. And for sending me this stunning paperback box set of his books. And I'm so sorry that I have disliked all of them that I have read so far. Gosh. But next week will be The Fault in Our Stars. And I really think I will love it once more. Oh, I hope so. And his new book in two weeks. I think that I will enjoy it. Well, I really really hope so. Anyway. Have you read this book before? Would love your thoughts on it.


Sunday, September 24, 2017

Review: The Traitor Prince by C. J. Redwine

This book broke my heart. Which was fully rude of it. But I loved it so very much, despite how broken my heart is. These fairytale retellings are the very best. And this third one was so amazing. I love how every book is a standalone, yet set in the same world around the same time. And small hints from all the other books.

This book tells the story of Javan and Sajda. It begins with Javan still at his school, where he have been at all times for the last ten years. Javan is a prince. He is doing his very best to become the best at school to honor his dead mother, and to make his father proud. And ah, Javan really is the best there. I loved that. But oh.

He also ignores just about every person in this school too, which was depressing to read about. I wanted and needed this lovely boy to have more fun. To spend time with his could-be friends. He does have one friend, though, Kellan. And I wish there was more of this boy. I do not know what happened to him. He was pretty awesome, but was only there in the beginning. Anyway. Not going to share the whole start of the book, just that Javan is still at the school, almost about to graduate and go home to his kingdom. But then he's almost murdered when he's ready to go home. Then another boy is pretending to be him, taking his carriage and things home with him. Javan survives his attempted murder, and follows the impostor. It does not go well. Ack.

The plot of this book is how Javan is trying to reveal that there is an impostor trying to steal his kingdom. But people to do believe him. His own uncle is working against him, saying that he is the impostor. And so Javan is about to be murdered again. But instead ends up in the worst prison in this kingdom. And gosh, this prison. It was all kinds of awful and I couldn't help but love every moment spent in it. Which was just about the whole book. Shudders. There is so much happening. Whole book was interesting and exciting.

While the beginning of the book is all Javan, when he arrives at the prison we start getting point of views from Sajda too. And oh, how I adored this girl. I loved reading about her so much. She has been inside this prison since she was five years old. Since she was sold as a slave to the warden. My heart simply broke for this girl. She hasn't been outside for so long. She's had to protect herself from prisoners. And from the warden woman. All that she wants is to be free. To travel far away. To know everything. Sniffs.

I simply loved getting to know Sajda. I loved how she had one friend, and older man named Tarek. He was amazing to read about. Though this one scene with him killed me. Gosh. There is also something special about Sajda. She had magic. And in an awesome way. Though the warden has placed cuffs on her arms, so her magic is very limited. Sad face. But Sajda was amazing. Brave and fierce and strong. I really enjoyed reading about her and learning about her magic. I just wish to know even more about her.

Reading about Javan spending time is this prison was pretty awful. A few people want to kill him here too, of course. Rude. But he quickly becomes sort of friends with Sajda. And I loved reading about these two getting to know each other. Eee. They were the cutest together and I shipped them so hard. I loved how she was able to help him and protect him, for the most part. Which he needed. Because this prison has an arena. And there is some type of fighting. And it was so brutal and awful and so exciting to read about.

I have already said more than I was going to about this book, yet not nearly enough at the same time. Gosh. There is just so much happening. I loved Javan and Sajda so much. There is also a point of view of the false prince, and it was the rudest. I hated this boy. So much. But I loved this story. I loved how Javan and Sajda worked together, trying to figure out how he would be able to prove he was the real prince. Their story was the best. I just wish there was even more. I want another book with them. Ack.

There are tons of reasons for why this book was amazing. The school beginning was a bit slow, but also fast to read, and it passed so quickly too. Ahh. And then the prison parts happened. And the arena. And the small romance started. And this whole book was simply perfection. And I loved it very much. So five stars for sure. Even though my heart is all kinds of broken. Because there were a lot of death in this book. Gruesome ones too. And some of them ruined me a little. But so well done. So I couldn't help but love it.

I love how the cover fits so well with the story. First, it's gorgeous. And it fits very much. The crown is for Javan. Aka the crown that he does not have at the moment. And the iron cuffs are for Sajda, that she is forced to wear at all times. Gorgeous cover, but brutal too. I must also mention the ending of this book a little bit. It's all kinds of bittersweet. A good ending, like all these lovely books, but also so heartbreaking. And also very fitting with the characters, and I loved that. Broke my heart a little, but beyond amazing.

I have so much love for all these books by C. J. Eee. She's amazing. And her books are awesome. And I simply cannot wait to read more books from this world. They are all going to be so good. Sigh. Next one will be Cinderella, and I simply can't wait. And also, I very much need the Hansel and Gretel story soon. They are in many of these books, and I love them already. Huge thank you to HarperTeen for the auto approval on Edelweiss, that made me able to read this precious book early. So happy to have read this.


Saturday, September 23, 2017

In My Mailbox #307

This week went by pretty fast. Kind of. I'm exhausted all the time and still not doing any better at all health wise. Nothing to do, until next hospital visit in October. How rude. But yeah. Exhausted all the time, and days are going by so fast. Still doing my daily two hours spa bath outside, and it is the best. Yesss. But gosh damn it. It's getting colder out, and in October sometime it has to be taken down. Sniffs. Anyway. I finished the book I was reading last saturday, and then I read two more books this week. Feeling happy about this, as I'm reading a lot more right now then I did some months ago. Yay. So a few blog posts this week. I shared my review of Beyond a Darkened Shore :D Then I shared my review of Invictus. <3 This week I'm waiting on Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories :) Then shared my review of Paper Towns. Hmph. I also watched the Paper Towns movie. Hahaha. It was complete trash. Maaaany differences from the book. Like, I hated the book. I hated the movie even more. Didn't think it was possible. Ugh. Anyway. I got a bit of stunning mail this week, eee, and I'm so happy with it all. <3 But gosh, my current reading list is beyond huge o.O But so excited to read every book on my list. Sigh. Just need time to get it done :D


Jane, Unlimited. Ahhhh. Hardcovers :D Gorgeous. Must read it soon. If I dare. I'm nervous. So excited.
One Dark Throne. Yay for finished hardcover version :D Eee, I loved this book oh so much. So so pretty.
Godsgrave. Collection is growing more :D Yay. This is the regular UK paperback version. It's so pretty.
Odd & True. Second hardcover have arrived, yay. Got the wrong book another time o.O Love this book.
Fairday Morrow. Lovely ARC :D Thank you to the awesome authors for sending me this. <3 I'm excited.
One Dark Throne. Eee, look at this gorgeous UK paperback edition :D Isn't it just so pretty? Loved this.
Once Upon a Time in the North. Ahh, new paperback version of this gorgeous book. I love it so so much.
Lord of the Rings. Eee, lovely Sam pop figure :D Getting the rest of them too, soon. He looks awesome.



Tess of the Road. AHHHH! I AM SO EXCITED. Thank you lovely publisher at Netgalley :D Can't wait.
The Traitor Prince. EEE! Yesss! It finally showed up on Edelweiss :D Starting it today. Beyond excited.
Renegades + Wires and Nerve 2 Swag. YAY! Thank you lovely Ravenous Reader girls for this win. <3
Swag Trade. Eee, thank you so much Lis for trading with me :D Ahh, His Dark Materials swag. <3 Love.
Retribution Rails Pre-Order Swag. Eee, thank you so much Erin for this lovely swag pack. <3 I love it.


More Instagram photos here. <3

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Review: Paper Towns by John Green

I am having the worst luck with books by John Green. This is my fourth book by him now, and the third one that is a two star for me. What. I'm unsure how this is happening, because I really truly loved The Fault in Our Stars. But these other three books, oh, I have not loved them even one bit. Which is disappointing.

But will say, though, that Paper Towns was my favorite of these three bad books. I had more fun reading this one. But I also had more feelings about it, which means that I got a whole lot more angry about certain things. Will share all my thoughts about this book. Sigh. But even so, I'm still glad that I gave reading it a try.

I'm unsure where to begin. Because I did enjoy reading parts of this book. At first I liked Q a whole bunch. And I liked Margo in the beginning as well. The first part of the story, where Q and Margo has a big adventure in one night was all kinds of fun. And I really liked reading about the revenge they did, because most of the people deserved it. And it wasn't that brutal, lol. And I just liked reading about Q and Margo together. But then that night ended. And the real story began. And oh, I'm so sad to say that the real story bothered me a lot. Anyway. This book is told from the point of view of Q. He's almost done with high school. And he has loved Margo, his neighbor, all his life. They were friends when they were younger, but that stopped when they grew up.

The plot in this book is about the night Q and Margo spent driving around town messing with the people who had hurt Margo. And in the beginning of this book I really enjoyed that. I liked reading about their night together, and I liked getting to know Margo a little. And I liked Q a lot in the beginning too. But then that night ended, and Margo ended up missing aka having run away. And then Q starts obsessing about finding her. He finds clues she has left behind for him, clues that had too little information, to be honest.

Q has a few friends, like Ben and Radar. I'm unsure what I really felt about these boys. For most of the book I did not like Ben at all. I hated the way he talked about girls sometimes. It was not fun. And he had some really weird jokes that I also did not like. I did enjoy reading about Radar, though. He was a pretty awesome friend. Ben was too, sometimes. But, well. Q was not a good friend. Like Colin in the Katherine book, Q was fully selfish. Claiming his friends didn't care for him, when he was the one who did not care.

His friends helped him search for Margo. Despite how Q was being a terrible friend back. And I guess that is the biggest reason for why I did not like this book. His friends were awesome. He was not. Q was simply obsessed with finding Margo. And I did not get why at all. I was curious about her at first, and I liked her in the beginning, but as the book went on I did not like her at all anymore. Learning new things about her was not fun. The way Q was acting all the time was not fun. This was not a fun book to read.

But I did like some parts of this story even so. Like the road trip that happens at the end of the book, with Q and Ben and Radar and Lacey. I liked that a lot, for the most part. A few things were a bit too silly, but the road trip was still fun. It just lasted too short. And what happened when the road trip was over just bothered me oh so much. I didn't like this ending, to be honest. What is most surprising is that I did not want a happy ending in this book. So depressing. I kind of wanted Margo to be dead, like they feared.

But anyway. Another big reason for why I really disliked this book was because of how very obsessed Q was with finding Margo. This book takes place in around a month. And he is a bit crazy. He spends so little time with his friends. He didn't go to prom with his friends. Then at the end he even skips graduation because of trying to find Margo. All of that was simply not okay. She was not worth it. That bothered me so much. And I ended up not liking Q or Margo. But yeah. Book wasn't all bad. But it was not good either.

Big thank you to Penguin Random House International for letting me take part in this very awesome John Green read along. And for sending me this stunning paperback box set of his books. Despite not really liking this book, sniffs, I'm still glad that I gave it a try. It's not my genre at all, but I have loved a bunch of books from this genre even so. But yeah, Paper Towns was not one of these books. I guess others might love it. But I did not. And I'm okay with that. If you do read this book, though, let me know your thoughts.


Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Waiting on Wednesday #310

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

DREADFUL YOUNG LADIES AND OTHER STORIES
BY KELLY BARNHILL


Goodreads Description:

A stunning new collection of short stories from the World Fantasy Award– and Newbery Medal–winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Kelly Barnhill comes a stunning collection of stories, teeming with uncanny characters whose lives unfold in worlds at once strikingly human and eerily original.

 When Mrs. Sorensen’s husband dies, she rekindles a long-dormant love with an unsuitable mate in “Mrs. Sorensen and the Sasquatch.” In “Open the Door and the Light Pours Through,” a young man wrestles with grief and his sexuality in an exchange of letters with his faraway beloved. “Dreadful Young Ladies” demonstrates the strength and power—known and unknown—of the imagination.  In “Notes on the Untimely Death of Ronia Drake,” a witch is haunted by the deadly repercussions of a spell. “The Insect and the Astronomer” upends expectations about good and bad, knowledge and ignorance, love and longing. The World Fantasy Award–winning novella The Unlicensed Magician introduces the secret magical life of an invisible girl once left for dead—with thematic echoes of Barnhill’s Newbery Medal–winning novel, The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

By an author hailed as “a fantasist on the order of Neil Gaiman” (Minneapolis Star Tribune), the stories in Dreadful Young Ladies feature bold, reality-bending invention underscored by richly illuminated universal themes of love, death, jealousy, hope, and more.


Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: February 20th 2018 by Algonquin Books
Pre-Order here and here

I don't usually read that many adult books, but I simply adore Kelly and I have loved two of her middle grade books so far. Reading her other two older ones soon too, and I think that I will love those as well. Because of this, I am very excited about reading these stories by her. They seem pretty heartbreaking and exciting and I simply cannot wait to read them all. Eee. And also, gosh, look at that awesome cover.
What are you waiting for on this dreadful Wednesday?

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Review: Invictus by Ryan Graudin

This book just about killed me. I enjoyed it oh so very much. The writing was so gorgeous, which I loved the most. I haven't read every book by Ryan just yet, but I have read and loved her latest duology. I will read more by her soon. I think I loved this book so much because of how amazing the characters were.

I just loved them all the very most. And this story was pretty amazing too. I'm giving the book a four star, as there were a few very small things that bothered me a little. For the most part, though, I loved everything about this book. I even liked that horribly evil ending. What. Did not think I would. But I did.

I don't know where to begin with describing this precious book. Because I enjoyed every moment of it oh so much. I think one of the reasons for why I loved these characters so much was because they were all good, lol. I usually love bad characters a lot, but these weren't bad at all. And they were so interesting and lovable and I just adored them all to pieces. I loved getting to know them. I loved reading about the things they had done together and how they were all awesome friends. This book isn't told from only one point of view, but is instead a little bit from each of the five main characters. While I don't usually like so many point of views, I didn't mind at all in this book. Because I adored them all. And I was so curious to know about everything.

I would say that I loved Far and Priya the very most. But Imogen and Gram and Eliot were all awesome to read about too. At first I was unsure about Eliot, because she was a bit rude and evil and clever, but she ended up being all kinds of interesting and I couldn't help but love her too. But yes. Far. Oh, how I adored that boy. The book begins with him, and describes how he's taking his final test, about to become a time traveler in this world he lives in. And it was all so interesting to read about. The test thingy was exciting.

And this boy was simply the best. I loved getting to know him. He was awesome in the beginning of this book. It broke my heart when he failed his final test. This boy was simply the cutest and kindest and he deserved the very best. He failed, but he got an offer from a different person, an offer to steal important things from the past and bring them to the present. He would also get to be captain of the ship and decide his own crew. I liked all of that a whole lot. And then suddenly there is a time jump of eleven months. Ack.

At first that bothered me a little bit. But then I didn't mind at all, because I very much loved that all the characters had moved forward so much, because they had to, to make the plot work. And what I loved the very most was that Far and Priya was already a couple after these eleven months. And just oh. This romance was all kinds of cute and oh god how I loved these two characters together. I only feel a bit sad, as I wanted more sweet and awesome and hot moments between them. Hmph. Still, they were the best.

The crew of this time traveling ship named Invictus is only four people. Far and Priya. And Imogen and Gram. And oh gosh, how I adored Imogen. She was beyond adorable and I simply loved her so much. Getting to know her was awesome. And eee, I shipped her and Gram so much. Felt like I didn't get to know him too much, aw, but still adored him too. He was awesome. And oh, I wanted these two together. Hmph. There is also a pet red panda, which was all kinds of cute. This crew was the very best to know.

This book is about time travel. And it takes place in the far future. And everything about this whole plot was exciting. And interesting. And oh so evil at times. Like that huge plot twist around the middle of the book. And then there was Eliot. A girl who suddenly showed up while they were stealing something. A girl who messes things up for them. But also a girl they slowly start to like, after a bit of time. Eliot was a lot of complicated. But I couldn't help starting to care for her too. I did like her a lot. And felt sorry for her too.

Not going to say much more about this book. Just that there is time travel. And a mystery about Far's mother. And a mystery about who Eliot is. Which ended up breaking my heart a bit. Sniffs. That ending was so rude and evil yet so perfect too. I couldn't help but enjoy it. But, well. I do want a sequel to this book. Like a lot. I want more of these characters and their life. Don't want to say goodbye just yet. Aw. And also, this book made me almost-cry a whole bunch of times, which was just the very rudest. Hmph.

I'm so glad that I read Invictus just now. I mean, it's out in a week, and I'm getting finished copies of it, but I couldn't not read the eARC that I got from Netgalley, when it was a read now option. I wish I had read it when I got it, many weeks ago. But I worried that I wouldn't enjoy it. I was wrong, though. Because I loved this book. Invictus was simply amazing. It's full of adventure and action and oh so lovely characters. The space and time travel and everything was so exciting. You should all read this lovely book. It is worth it.


Saturday, September 16, 2017

Review: Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake

I enjoyed this book a whole lot. The story was so exciting and I simply adored the characters. The writing was pretty great too. At first I thought it might be a five star, but I ended up having a few smaller issues, so four stars it is. But gosh, I really liked this book. And I cannot wait to own a finished copy of this gorgeous.

This book tells the story of seventeen year old Ciara. It's set way back in time, and I loved that lots. And oh, how I adored this girl. I loved that the whole book is from her point of view. And I loved getting to know her. She was awesome. I loved how much she cared for her sisters. I hated how her parents didn't care for her.

The plot in this book was so exciting. It takes place ages ago, in a place with magic. The magic isn't a big part of this world, just small things. Ciara has magic in her. She has the ability to enter the mind of a person, and change it. This was pretty interesting to read about. I did like how her ability changed later on, though that new part was a bit too much, maybe. But it was interesting to read, and I liked that. Ciara was pretty awesome. She both loved and hated her ability, and I liked that about her a lot. Her world has been at war for ages now, with the dangerous Northmen coming often to raid their village, stealing and murdering. Her older sister got murdered because of this years ago, and Ciara has sworn revenge. It was heartbreaking yet amazing.

This book begins with a raid on Ciara's village. And it was pretty interesting to read about, yet a bit brutal too. Lots of death. It ends with Ciara taking a boy prisoner. This boy is Leif. So begins this story. These two enemies are meant to become allies, to help defeat something evil that is coming for everyone. Ciara has been told this by a crow person. Which sounds weird, yet was pretty awesome. But yeah. Ciara and Leif pretty much hate each other, but they also seem amused by each other right away; and I loved that.

There is so much happening in this book. I'm not going to describe all of it. Just that this book is long yet not long enough. And the villains were all kinds of evil and I hated them. Yet sort of didn't truly understand the reason for why they were so evil. But they were and they were awful. And their way of killing was the worst. Aw. Yet so fascinating to read about too. But also the worst. Yet so good. How rude. But anyway. The story in this book was all kinds of awesome. There is even a kelpie. Which was so creepy and great.

I really enjoyed the romance in this book. Ciara and Leif are so different yet so the same too. They both had a loss in their life. They have lots of other things in common too. And oh, reading about them slowly learning to trust each other and become friends was the best. Eee. Nothing happen for at least half the book, and I was okay with that. Because just reading about them being together was all kinds of fun. And when the romance did happen, I loved it so. They fit together so well and I shipped them the very most.

The reason for why this book was a four star and not a five, was because of the magic. Sort of. I felt like some parts of it were a bit too much. It was always exciting, but maybe a bit too much. But despite that, I enjoyed this book so very much. The story was so interesting and so evil. There is a lot of death in this book. Some heartbreaking. Some awesome. The ending was pretty good, though. First totally evil. Hmph. But then good. Pretty sure this is a standalone, and it doesn't need more, but I would not say no to more.

I'm not going to say much more about this book. I find that I simply have no more words to describe why I liked it and how much I liked it. Which was a whole bunch. I loved most of this book. And it was all just so exciting and I adored the characters so much. Sigh. I would love to read more about them all. This book is mostly about Ciara and Leif, though. And I adored that. There is a lot of fighting. And a bit of awesome backstory. And lots of great flirting. Yess. This whole book was amazing. Sigh. I'm so happy that I read it.

Huge thank you to the publisher for the auto-approval on Edelweiss, eee. I'm so thrilled that I was able to read and review this book early. Now I just have to hunt down that print ARC, because I need it like crazy. This book was so so good. And it's gorgeous. I love that cover so much. Beyond a Darkened Shore was everything I was hoping it would be and more. Fierce characters and a stunning slow romance. Exciting plot and evil villains. I'm so glad I read this book. And I think you'll all love it too. And so go order it. Now.


In My Mailbox #306

This week has been slightly better, I think. My health still sucks, but no new big bump at the moment, only small regular ones, so yay for that at least. Sigh. But yes. Medicine not working at all, which is highly annoying, especially when doctors are no help. Rude. But yeah. I have read two books this week, and finishing my third later today :D Yay. I have gotten some gorgeous mail. But have SO LITTLE room left :( Dying. Dying. Dying. Sigh. And have also spent way too much money lately. Gosh. But yeah, I'm happy with everything that I have bought, lol. Also at least halfway done buying christmas presents, so I'm good with that too. Anyway. A few new blog posts this week. I shared my book recommendation of The Year of Shadows. <3 Love this book so. This week I'm waiting on La Belle Sauvage :D Then I shared my review of An Abundance of Katherines :) Which I did not like at all. How rude. But yeah. I had a good week, even with my health being always shitty. But ugh, autumn is arriving so fast here. So cold, all the time. Hate it.



Godsgrave. The Waterstones special edition and the regular UK hardcover edition :D Both gorgeous.
Wonder Woman. That is the same as W, but from BookDepo, and had signed bookplate too. What. Rude.
Wonder Woman. More WW, hih :D The UK paperback edition and the audiobook. They are both perfect.
Before She Ignites. This hardcover is all kinds of pretty. Didn't love the book, but I liked it. Plus, gorgeous.
Warcross. Oh, this is a stunning finished copy. Yesss. US hardcover and UK paperback versions. Love.
Blood For Blood. The new gorgeous US paperback version. Loved this evil book. + Short story included.
Like a River Glorious. Eeee. I love this series so so much. And US paperback is so tiny and so so pretty.
The Midnight Heir. I still haven't read the Magnus Bane stories, aaack. But soon. This tiny thing is lovely.
Odd & True. One of two copies arrived. Loved this book. And the hardcover is so so gorgeous. Love it.
Rapunzel and the Lost Lagoon. Couldn't resist buying these new Tangled books, eee. Looks adorable.
Here Lies Daniel Tate + The Glass Spare. Eee! Thank you for trading with me Becca :D I love these so.
Lyra's Oxford. Eee. New paperback version :D SO pretty. But damaged too, so hope I can get a new one.
Harry Potter. Eee. I bought presents, and couldn't resist getting another letter opener. Ahh. It's so pretty.


More Instagram photos here. <3

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Review: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

I have no idea what to write about this book. This is my third book by John, so far. Planning on reading them all. I didn't like Looking for Alaska some years back. But I  did love The Fault in Our Stars years ago. But this one I did not like much at all. I'm thinking two stars. But I feel so blank about this whole book, to be fully honest.

There were things that I enjoyed about this one. But there were also things that I just read and didn't care about one bit. Which was just about the whole book. Sigh. I'm glad that I finally gave this book a try, but I'm also disappointed, because I had sort of hoped to enjoy it, despite knowing I most likely would not. Rude.

But yeah. I did not like the writing in this book. Probably because a lot of the book was about math. And how upset Colin was about Katherine #19 dumping him. I wish I could say that I liked reading about Colin as a person. But I really didn't. I didn't hate him, as I didn't feel strongly about this book at all, but I also did not like this boy. He's supposed to be a prodigy, or whatever. Like really smart and such. But he has been dumped nineteen times now. And he has only been dating girls named Katherine. I would feel sorry for him, as he got bullied and hurt in school while growing up, and he spent years without friends. But then I saw a reason for why the latest Katherine had dumped him. She mentioned that he kept asking her all the time if she still loved him. Ugh. And other weird things. Which was just, not okay. It made me like Colin less. I felt sad for him, but only sometimes.

This book pretty much tells the life of Colin. How he feels after being dumped once again. And how his best friend, Hassan, has decided that they are going on a road trip. Where they end up in a small town, where they stay for weeks. I sort of liked reading about this town. It was interesting, sometimes. But other things about it all was so cliche and not in a good way. Like that boyfriend of Lindsey. Sigh. I totally saw that coming, and it was just highly annoying and I truly did not like reading about it one bit. Was not good.

But anyway. This book did have some interesting characters. Though I did not like Colin, I loved his best friend. Because Hassan was pretty awesome. And fun at times. I just didn't find most of this book to be fun, sadly. But Hassan was still great. Though he too annoyed me at certain moments. Sigh. But I liked getting to know him. Then there was Lindsey. Not a romance book. But beginning of one, maybe. I did like this girl, I just didn't care that much about her. Was curious, though. Also, her mom was awesome.

I honestly do not know what to say about this book. It wasn't all that short. And it took me hours to read it. And I was sadly pretty bored in all of these hours. Yet I did finish it. And this is why this book is a two star for me. And I still feel a bit conflicted about my feelings for it, simply because I'm still not sure what I felt about this book. Most of it was boring stuff. Yet I kept reading, and I liked a few parts of it. But yes, I do know that I will not read this book again. And so I do feel pretty okay with my two star rating of this thing.

My review is way too short. And so I shall try to mention the plot a little bit more. This book is about Colin trying to get past his heartbreak over Katherine. And him trying to do a theory kind of thingy. Made zero sense to me and was incredibly boring. Sigh. But yes. There were some good scenes in this book as well. Like when they were pig hunting and got stung by hornets. I liked that, hah. But then that scene ended up with them catching someone doing something bad, and it just about ruined everything. It bothered me.

Big thank you to Penguin Random House International for letting me take part in this very awesome John Green read along. And for sending me this stunning paperback box set of his books. And I am glad I got the chance to read this one. Just sorry to say that it wasn't a book for me. Sigh. But I'm hoping I will have more luck with his other books that I haven't read yet. Fingers crossed. Either way, though, I do think that some people most likely will love this book a lot. I'm curious to know what everyone think about this book.


Waiting on Wednesday #309

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

LA BELLE SAUVAGE BY PHILIP PULLMAN

Goodreads Description:



Eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead and his dæmon, Asta, live with his parents at the Trout Inn near Oxford. Across the River Thames (which Malcolm navigates often using his beloved canoe, a boat by the name of La Belle Sauvage) is the Godstow Priory where the nuns live. Malcolm learns they have a guest with them; a baby by the name of Lyra Belacqua . . .



Hardcover, 452 pages
Expected publication: October 19th 2017 by David Fickling Books
Pre-Order here and here

This book is the one I am most excited about. Ahhh. Okay, fine, I might be more excited about book two and three, considering Lyra is adult in those, and just a baby in this one. BUT EVEN SO :D It is Philip! Eee! And it is the aaamazing His Dark Materials world. <3 Oh, how I am DYING to read this book. Have ordered so many different copies of it. I'm beyond excited. Going to love it so so much. And also dying to re-read the original trilogy first. Eee. I'm just so excited. Sigh. My cover reveals post. <3 So gorgeous.
What are you waiting for on this most epic Wednesday?

Monday, September 11, 2017

Book Recommendation: The Year of Shadows by Claire Legrand


I have finally, finally read this book for a second time. It's been more than four years since I first read it. And so I had forgotten just how much I loved this book. And oh, my love for it is strong. I adore Claire like crazy, and her books are always the best. I simply loved this book the most this second time reading it. I'm so glad that I finally took the time to read it again. I adore Olivia and Henry and the ghosts the very most. Eee. But oh gosh, my want for a sequel is so huge right now. I want more so badly. How very rude.

The writing in this book is so good. And I connected so well with all of the characters. Sigh. I love that this book is told from the point of view of twelve year old Olivia. She was simply the sweetest person. But she was also full of hurt and anger. And I did not blame her one bit. Okay, I was a bit upset with her at first, for how she treated her father, but then the reveal happened near the end of the book, and I got very upset with him too. Hmph. Olivia is the best girl. She's a bit broken, yet still so good. Loved getting to know her.

This book tells the story of Olivia and her ghosts. Though at first it's just her, and she has been forced to move into an old concert hall with her dad and her grandma. Her mom left them months ago, and she is feeling so bitter and sad about all of that. And reading about it just broke my heart. Because Olivia now has no friends, and she's sad and angry, and people are picking on her at school, and I did not approve one bit. I just wanted to hug this girl so badly. Sniffs. It was written really well, though. But extremely sad.

Olivia is not okay with living at the concert hall, because it isn't a home at all. And so she's taking it out on her dad a lot. And I can't say I blame her for that. He was not a great parent at all. Hmph. And her Nonnie wasn't all that much help either, as she was eighty years old. But she was the sweetest thing and I loved her. But oh, how my heart broke for Olivia at all times. Not fair at all. I loved how she meets the cat in this book, though. He was adorable and I loved how Olivia pretended he could talk. So cute. Adored this cat.

I just loved getting to know Olivia. I loved how she was amazing at drawing and how she drew all the time. It broke my heart that she was so alone all the time, and how she felt about it all. But what I loved the most was when she started hanging out with Henry. Eee. It was the cutest thing; reading about how they became friends. She does not like him at first, because he's pretty much perfect. But he keeps trying to be her friend, and she warms up to him eventually. And oh, how cute they were together. I loved it so.

And reading about Henry was just the best. He was adorable and so kind and I loved learning about his past as well. Ah. I loved how they both also started to feel something more than friendship towards each other. Eee. I just wish they had been a bit older, so more could have happened. Hmph. Rude. But it was perfect. And I loved it so. Olivia also starts to become friends with this lovely girl, Joan. And I loved that so very much, because she was awesome. A bit scared, yet so lovely too and a great friend. I adored her.

Then there were the ghosts. Because this book isn't only about these amazing characters and their lives. It is also about a whole lot of ghosts. Which was so interesting and exciting to read about. And so very creepy too. There are four main ghosts that Olivia and Henry gets to know, and they were adorable to read about. I loved them so. But oh, reading about all the back stories just about killed me. It was so sad and heartbreaking. Yet so lovely too. I loved reading about the ghosts and how Olivia had to help them.

There is so much happening in this book. So much that I had forgotten about. Like that twist with Olivia's mom. That thing was shocking once again, though this time I noticed all the small hints about it from the beginning. But yeah, pretty heartbreaking and amazing at the same time. I just loved this book the very most. Olivia and Henry were so perfect to read about. And I loved their friendship the very most. I just wish I could read more about them. Aw. The ending was good, but oh, how I wanted an epilogue as well.

There is so much that I love about this precious. And I haven't talked about all the things I love about it at all. Just what I was able to share at this moment. I had forgotten so so many details about this gorgeous book since my first read four years ago. Like how much I really truly loved it. I will never let it go so many years again before I re-read this precious. I also read it as an eARC back then, and so the artwork wasn't final, and gosh, seeing the final versions now just about killed me. So beautiful. Read this book right now.



Saturday, September 9, 2017

In My Mailbox #305

Well. I don't know how to describe this week. I only read one book. I am so behind on everything. I have not done anything else, to be honest. I'm just exhausted and hurting and tired all the damn time. And I got my medicine again on Wednesday. So far no difference at all. Which means it's still not working. And the doctor at the hospital was no help at all. Just continue with same medicine. Didn't care about my allergic reactions, or that I'm still so so so ill all the time, that the medicine doesn't work. No offer to change it, or anything else. Sigh. Tired of people not helping me with my diseases. Tired of being in pain all the time. Still hoping the medicine might work, but I doubt it. So yeah. Just trying to make the best of everything. But it's hard to be so exhausted all the time and so behind and no energy for anything. But I'm trying to do more. It will just happen a bit slow, that's all. So yeah. Not the best week. But I'm happy, despite all this. I do love my life. And I love the mail that I get. Eee. Just wish I wasn't sick. Hmph. Anyway. Since I only read one book this week I also haven't blogged much. This week I'm waiting on Fragments of the Lost :D I took part in The Adventurer's Guide to Dragons blog tour :) And I shared my review of Rosemarked. Aw. I'm hoping to read more this coming week, as there are tons of books I have to read soon, and I'm excited about them :D Just need the energy to do so. Hmph. At least I got a bunch of pretty mail this week :D Oh. And I also watched 47 Meters Down at the cinema. Scary + I liked it a lot. Have you seen it? Thoughts?



The Golden Compass. The complete graphic novel :D Eee. Love this book so. Will read this one day too.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer. The gorgeous signed Waterstones edition :D Yess. I love it so. So pretty.
Godsgrave. The first of my pre-orders have arrived; the regular US hardcover edition :D Big + gorgeous.
A Conspiracy in Belgravia. I adored this book a bunch, and the finished paperback version is so stunning.
Tangled. Two pretty new Tangled books :D Eee. I love them. And oh, I adore the new animated series.
Godsgrave Poster Sampler. Eeee! Thank you so, so much Donna for sending me this one. <3 Love it so.
Sampler Trade. Thank you so much for trading with me Beth :D Ahh, Book of Dust sampler. <3 LOVE IT.
Victoria Schwab Books. Eee! In love with my signed and personalized copies :D Thank you to Parnassus Books for letting me order these and getting them signed for me :D Thank you Victoria too. <3 Love them.



The Book of Dust Pin. Ack! Totally forgot to include this beauty. Thank you The BookSeller :D SO HAPPY.
Beyond a Darkened Shore. I couldn't resist getting this one from Edelweiss. Eee. I'm so curious about it.
Ice Wolves. Yesss. I needed this one from Edelweiss so badly :D I think and hope I'll love it so so much.


More Instagram photos here. <3

Review: Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne

I had hoped to love this book. Because it looks gorgeous and sounded pretty amazing too, and I adore Livia. But, yeah. This one ended up being so disappointing for me. I just didn't care at all. I didn't like the writing, I didn't like the characters, and only somewhat liked the story. So I'm sadly giving this one two stars.

And oh, I will have you know that two star books are the worst to write reviews for. At least with a one star you know you hated everything. But that wasn't truly the case with this book. Because there wasn't anything for me to hate. It was just boring. Nothing happened. I felt nothing for any of the characters. Disappointing.

And so I am unsure what to write about this book. As I feel pretty meh about it all. Wishing I could say the characters were unique and exciting to read about. But they really weren't. This book is told from two point of views, Zivah and Dineas. It takes place in a regular sort of world, just far in the past, it seemed like. They live in different villages and have different beliefs and such. I wish I had found all of this interesting, but I did not. I didn't care about their village or their lives. Or what they were fighting against and such. I just found it to be boring. Sigh. Zivah is a healer in her village, and she has a great family. But I cared nothing for any of it. Her family was just there, in the background. She thinks about them a few times, but I didn't feel a connection, tbh.

And I simply did not care one bit about the healer parts of the book. Probably because I felt like it was written a bit badly. I'm not sure. I just was not able to get lost in this story or care about these characters. Like, Dineas. The book starts with him just having gotten away after being a prisoner of war and being tortured all the time for a whole year. Yet there are only a few flashbacks about it, and they were so tame and boring, and I cared not one bit. It wasn't exciting. It wasn't heartbreaking, like it was supposed to be.

And so I just did not like the main characters at all. I didn't see anything to like about them, sadly. And that made the book even harder for me to finish reading. But the one thing I was curious about was parts of the plot, the rose plague. I wanted to know more about it, but yeah, again I felt like it wasn't written well enough or focused enough on at all. Zivah fell ill, but survived, though she is now rosemarked and fated to die in a few years, and she can never touch anyone healthy, as she would infect them with the plague.

Dineas escaped from the prison because they thought he was dead from the plague, but he wasn't. He survived and ended up with the lighter marks, which means he can't infect anyone and he won't die. I was curious about this plot. And wanted to know more about this plague. But yeah, didn't get to read enough about it at all. Aw. The thing that I didn't like very much about this book at all was the whole memory loss thingy. I guess some will find it exciting and different, but I simply did not. It annoyed me, to be honest.

See, this whole book is about Zivah and Dineas going undercover for their villages. They are sent to the main city in this world, and are supposed to report back on things going on with a war. Sadly this didn't make much sense to me, sending those two young people in there. I didn't find it exciting at all. Because most of the book is just time moving ahead, and nothing happening. Zivah is busy treating patients that are infected. Dineas is busy fighting in the army now. And it was just so incredibly boring to read about.

But back to the memory thing. Since Zivah is a healer, she knows of a venom that makes it possible for a person to control their memories. And so she and Dineas uses this on him. They erase all his memories. Then give them all back again at certain moments in the book, so that he can remember hidden details and such. And so of course Zivah is falling in love with this new Dineas that doesn't remember anything. He isn't angry and broken like the old one, hahaha.. Yeah. I cared nothing for this. At all. Disappointing.

I'm not going to say more about this book. Simply because there isn't anything more to say. I spent the whole book thinking about how boring it was and how I didn't care for the characters or their fight. And that small romance was way too small and weird and I did not approve. Feels like it might be better in book two, so that's good, but yeah, I did not care. I did like some parts of the plot, which is why this is a two star. And because I didn't hate the book. Just felt nothing. Which is worse, to be fully honest. Aw.

Huge thank you to Cassie at Disney Hyperion for letting me reading this book early via NetGalley. I'm glad that I was able to read this book, I just feel so sad that I didn't end up enjoying it. I really wanted to, though. And I'm still going to get my pre-order of this book, as I have already ordered it, and, well. It do look gorgeous. And I am still curious about the second book, as I do wish to know what happens next. But mostly Rosemarked was disappointing for me. I'm curious, though, what others will think of this one.