Review: A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

I didn't really know much about this book at all before I ended up with an ARC of book two. And then I decided to buy this one, to give it a try. And I'm glad I did so. I didn't love this book, but I did enjoy the magic a whole bunch. And the world was amazing too. But yeah, I did have some issues with this book too. How rude.

I shall begin with the writing. I had a bunch of issues connecting with this story at first. The writing didn't agree with me much, aw. I grew used to it, but never grew to love the writing, sadly. Hope that will change in book two, though. It was not that awful, just annoyed me a little. I notice the writing the most while reading.

I've decided to give this one three stars. I liked the story a whole lot, but had a lot of issues too. Hmph. I fear that something will bother me in book two, ahh, but also have high hopes about the plot and magic. So fingers crossed I will love book two a bunch. Feeling a bit unsure about what I wish to share about this book. And feeling a bit unsure about how I felt about it. It was sort of a quick read, and I didn't want to stop reading. I was curious about the plot and what would happen next. I liked reading about Henrietta a lot. She was an awesome main character. Had some issues with her feelings, ugh, but besides that I liked her a bunch. I loved figuring out things about her magic and such. Was fun and interesting. And I liked her as a person. She was kind.

But I also didn't love her, because as I mentioned, I had some issues connecting with this book. Mostly because of the writing. Sigh. I need amazing writing to fully connect to characters and things. But even so, I liked this book a whole lot. I loved reading about all the magic. About the sorcerers and magicians. About them finding out that Henrietta had magic, and her leaving her sad and small life to go live and train magic with a bunch of boys. It was fun to read about. I liked reading about her training and such.

And I liked reading about the boys too. They were interesting to get to know. I liked how Henrietta cared for them and got to know them. Though I also felt like there could have been a bit more about them all. And I must admit that I never did like Magnus, the flirt. And that is also why I had some issues. Because it seems like Henrietta is slowly falling in love with him. While also being in love with her childhood friend, Rook. And it just made zero sense to me. Sigh. Magnus was a good friend, for the most part. Not more.

He was an awful flirt and flirted with every girl. Didn't see at all how she could want to be more with him. There is only one kiss in this book. With him. Ugh. Though she does come to realize that she does not really want him. But she still seems unsure, and that bothers me. Then there was Rook. She insisted he move with her. Yet she never has time for him. Yet it seems that they both love each other, in secret. She thinks about loving him often. Sigh. Just never saw why. Didn't get to know him at all. Disappointing. Aw.

I suppose that this book has a love triangle. But it didn't really bother me, probably because I didn't really care about the characters that much, lol. But also because there wasn't a battle with the boys. Henrietta and Rook aren't a couple. They have never kissed. And she's growing closer with Magnus, sure, but she doesn't really love him either. Sigh. But, well, the boy I loved was named Blackwood. Not too much about him, sadly, but I cared about him a great deal, and wanted to know more about him so badly. How rude.

Anyway. Enough about the romance. It wasn't a big deal in the book, as it didn't take much place in the story. Mostly this book was about magic. And the girl learning to use it the right way. See, Henrietta can set herself on fire. And that is all kinds of awesome. And I wanted to read more about that very badly. And oh, this world was so exciting to get to know. There are awful creatures there. Monsters that kill and hurt. And reading about them was all kinds of fun and awful. I wanted to know more. So curious about them all.

Not going to say more about this book, just that I am glad that I read it, despite having some issues with it. I'm crossing all my fingers that I will love book two. A bit nervous, since I know the triangle thing will be a bit bigger, maybe. But hoping it will be amazing even so. It sure do look gorgeous. If you haven't read A Shadow Bright and Burning yet, then I really think you should. It is full of magic and evil creatures and handsome boys. It does not have the best writing, but it was an amazing story even so. I enjoyed it a lot.

Goodreads - The Book Depository - Amazon

In My Mailbox #298

Just busy dying. I had my hospital surgery yesterday. Plus side, didn't have to take something awful first, like they told me I had to. Called the surgeon, and he said that I didn't need to. Hmph. So happy about that. But yeah. They put me to sleep, and then exam started. He said it went really well, and things look good, no new fistulas or abscesses. So yay for that. But, well. He also finally removed the seton thread I had in the older fistula. And holy crap I'm in a lot of pain right now. Not getting into too many details, but I had this one in the worst place, and now everything hurts. So much blood. Had a high fever last night too. And puked today. And uuugh. Not feeling good at all. But hoping this will heal fast.. fingers crossed. It doesn't look too bad, because it's mostly on the inside. But yeah. Still blood and pain. So trying to deal with that this weekend. Sigh. Three new blog posts this week. I posted my Book Recommendation of Flashfall. <3 Love it so. And my review of Flashtide :D And this week I'm waiting on Reign the Earth. <3 Because of my hospital visit yesterday, I wasn't in the mood to read anything after Flashtide until after that. So hoping to start a new book today :D Just need the energy. Body sucks at the moment. Oh, well. Please let me heal better. And fast. Ahh. Tired of pain all the goddamn time. And now I must have a break from spa bath too. At least a week, maybe. Uugh. But, plus side, we are finally getting a week of sun and heat from tomorrow :D Yesss. Will be outside. Despite pain. I need more heat, finally. Anyway. Not much mail this week, but still some gorgeous things :D Eee. And more next week too.. and, well, all the weeks to come, lol. Always getting mail. <3 Despite very, very little room left for more. Ahh. So rude.

The Forgetting. Stunning new US paperback edition of this lovely book. <3 Just love it so so much. Sigh.
A Shadow Bright and Burning. Since I got book two, had to get this one :D And I'm reading it next. Ack.
The Girl With the Ghost Machine. Thank you so much Kristie :D SO happy with this ARC. <3 Love love.
Riders. Eee, thank you Whitney for trading me this gorgeous ARC :D I love it so. And postcard too :D
Bukowski Plush. Got these from my mom. And eee. Tiny seal. Love. And big bunny. So fluffy. Love it so.

More Instagram photos here. <3

Waiting on Wednesday #301

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

REIGN THE EARTH BY A. C. GAUGHEN

Goodreads Description:

Shalia is a proud daughter of the desert, but after years of devastating war with the adjoining kingdom, her people are desperate for peace. Willing to trade her freedom to ensure the safety of her family, Shalia becomes Queen of the Bonelands.

But she soon learns that her husband, Calix, is motivated only by his desire to exterminate the Elementae—mystical people who can control earth, wind, air, and fire. Even more unsettling are Shalia’s feelings for her husband’s brother, which unleash a power over the earth she never knew she possessed—a power that could get her killed. As rumors of a rebellion against Calix spread, Shalia must choose between the last chance for peace and her own future as an Elementae.

This intense, richly drawn high-fantasy by the author of Scarlet will hold readers spellbound.

Hardcover, 448 pages

Expected publication: January 30th 2018 by Bloomsbury

Pre-Order here and here

Gosh this cover is gorgeous. Looking at it makes me so happy. Ahh, I cannot wait to own this book :D Wish to read it right away. It sounds amazing too. So exciting. Though the romance makes me worry.. I don't like triangles at all :\ But hoping this won't be bad :D I think it will be amazing, though. <3 Can't wait.
What are you waiting for on this desperate Wednesday?

Review: Flashtide by Jenny Moyer

So happy to have been able to read this book so early. Eee. I loved book one, Flashfall, so much. And I have been dying to read this sequel ever since. This book was a fast and awesome read. I wish it had been longer, though. And wish there would be a third book. How rude. But this sequel was all kinds of amazing.

Though I did love Flashfall more. But I still loved this one very much. Giving it four stars; as there were a few things that that bothered me. Aw. A bit sad about that, as I wanted to love this final book as much as I loved book one. But yeah, a few issues. But nothing too big; for the most part I loved this book so much.

Flashtide takes place a few months after the end of Flashfall. And I liked that a lot. Orion and Dram have now been living in the mountains for a long time, with the new friends that they made. I loved reading about them. And this mountain place. Seemed like an interesting way to live; yet a bit heartbreaking too, as they had to move all the time, to avoid being captured. But ah, from the very first pages, Orion is having some doubts about Dram. And that made me a bit upset. But, thankfully, it wasn't a big thing, and it didn't really happen in the whole book, so I'm okay with it. Just, a bit sad. But yeah. The beginning of this was exciting. New creatures. New wounds. Ahh. There is so much that I liked about this world. Especially all the creatures.

Like with book one, this one is told from the point of view of Orion. And I loved that lots. This girl is still awesome and still fierce. And her relationship with Dram is the best. Yess. But aw, they don't spend all of this book together, and that made me a bit sad. Yet this book was so exciting and I couldn't stop reading it. So much happens. And it's all interesting to read about. I loved learning more about the flash curtain, and more about some new scary creatures. More about the ruling parts of this world too. Enjoyed that.

I'm not going to say too much about this book. Just some things about it that I liked and that bothered me a little bit. For the most part, though, I loved this book so so much. Flashtide was so exciting and awful and I enjoyed it so much. It's heartbreaking yet full of hope too. Lots of death. And other awful moments, like in book one. I liked that a lot. And Orion goes to tons of new places. I enjoyed reading about that too. For the most part, this book was amazing. And the romance with Orion and Dram made me the happiest.

The thing I loved most about this book was the romance. It's the most awesome thing. Orion and Dram are so cute together. And reading about them being in love was the best thing. They have some cute scenes together. Yesss. And I love how Dram protects her. But oh, something about this made me a bit sad and upset. I loved book one because of their teamwork. There was very little of that in this sequel. Near the end, Orion is so dramatic because of a change, and she hurts Dram, and I'm not okay with that.

Yes, something bad with Dram happens around the middle of the book, but he wasn't at fault for it, yet Orion is acting like he hurt her like crazy. She's being a bit too dramatic about it and I did not like that at all. Because she does not apologize for hurting him on purpose. Hmph. It was not nice. But it wasn't a bit part of the book, thankfully, and most of the book their romance is the very best. Eee. Loved it so very much. Also, to be clear, there is no love triangle at all. No hint of it. Never. And that was very awesome.

I think that one of the big reasons for why I didn't fully love all of this book was because of the time jumps. I noticed a lot of time going by. Like, almost every time a new chapter started, days had gone by. And that bothered me a little bit, as I wanted to know more about everything and every place. So a bit sad about the time jumps; they made me lose focus a few times. But it wasn't a big deal, not really. Because I still loved this book. And I still found everything to be exciting and evil and I enjoyed reading it all. So good.

But ah, another thing that bothered me about the time jumps, is that I didn't get to see nearly enough about some of the other characters. I didn't get to see how everything ended for them. I didn't get to see Orion being with some of them. Example, Orion finds out something about her parents. Yet that wasn't really written down. I only learned it because I figured it out myself; she didn't really mention it at all until later on. Hmph. But besides that, this book was the best. And I did like learning that secret as well. Yay.

I'm so thrilled that I got to read Flashtide early. Eee. Thank you so much precious friend for trading it with me. This book is precious to me. And I cannot wait for the finished copy to come out as well. I know that I'm going to read Flashfall more times. And while I didn't love Flashtide just as much, I know I'm going to re-read this one too. Eee. Already looking forward to it. If you have read book one, then you really must read this sequel. I loved learning how things ended for everyone. It's a great final book. You must read it.

Goodreads - The Book Depository - Amazon

Book Recommendation: Flashfall by Jenny Moyer

It hasn't even been four months since I first read Flashfall. Yet when I got my ARC of book two, I couldn't imagine not re-reading this precious book first. And I am so glad that I did so. Because Flashfall is still perfect to me. I loved it beyond words, again. Oh, this book is stunning. I don't know how to describe it all again. So not going to talk too much about it this time. Just mentioning a few things that I love about it. Eee. If you still haven't read this one, then get moving. You are missing out on the most awesome book.

The writing in Flashfall is so perfect. I loved reading every page of this book. I loved that the book is told from the point of view of Orion. Whom I adore beyond words. This girl is amazing. So brave and kind and awesome. I love how broken just about every person in this book is, yet they still have hope, like Orion does. She makes the best out of everything. And she's starting to fight back against certain things. And I loved that about her. Oh, how I adored getting to know this fierce girl. She was simply the best person.

I loved that this book managed to creep me out again. A lot of it takes place inside awful caves. and it was the most awesome thing to read about. Dangerous. Scary. I loved every moment of it. These caves were the worst. Nine different ones, some more dangerous than others. The most dangerous being the one that Orion and Dram have to go into every day. And ahh, the creatures. I cannot with how awesomely they were written. So good. So awful. Loved reading about them the very most. But yeah, scary as well.

The plot in this book is simply the most awesome thing. I loved reading about this world. How it is divided between everyone. How Orion is living in one of the worst places. Reading about the flash curtain was so interesting, yet so horrible. This world is awful. And I loved reading about it the most. Eee. I loved reading about all the cave parts. And the different places that Orion ended up at for a short time. Shudders. This book is heartbreaking and evil and beyond exciting. Oh, so glad that I re-read it now. Loved it the same.

What I love most about this book is the friendship and relationship between Orion and Dram. It is the cutest thing. They have been friends and cave partners for years. And this friendship is finally starting to become something more. And it's so cute and sweet to read about. Not much romance, but enough, and it's the best thing. Oh, I hope it will be just as good in book two. Eee. A bit nervous. Yet so excited. Dram was such an amazing person too. So protective and fierce. And truly awesome to get to know too. Eee.

There is so much happening at all times in this book. And I loved reading about it all again so so much. Though this book is all kinds of sad. There are a bunch of characters to get to know and start loving. And then most of them ended up dying. Ahh. It was evil. Yet so well written that I couldn't help but love it so much. The ending is pretty happy, though, ack. Which is why I worry about book two. Hmph. But so, so excited to start it next. But seriously, read this book right now if you haven't yet. Flashfall is perfection.

Flashfall. Flashtide. Jenny Moyer. Amazon.
The Book Depository. My Review of Flashfall.