Review: Monster and Apprentice by Jessica Khoury

This was a book that I knew I was going to love. As I adore the author and middle grade fantasy have always been a favorite of mine. It made me very happy to be able to tell right away that I already loved it. As the writing was great and I adored the main character, Rolan, at once. He was the very best to read about.

Such a wild and broken boy, but so very good inside and such a great person to read about. I loved getting to know him. He was thirteen years old, and the book is all his point of view. Which I loved. As pretty much always with fantasy books, it felt like this book was set in the past. Which is my most favorite setting of all.

I'm going with five stars for this beauty of a book. It had all that I wanted. It was all kinds of fun to read. Mostly sad, though. But in a good way, somewhat. Filled with monsters, though I would say the humans were worse. Will not be sharing too much about this book, just some small details, I think. It tells the story of thirteen year old Rolan. He lives in a walled up city, surrounded by dark forest. The city is always lit with burning lamps. Because in the shadows, monsters can show up. And oh, how I loved that part of this book. The Cryptics. The monsters. They were just awesome. I loved how they were made from a secret you kept. A bad one, that is. If the monster was not killed early, it would later on grow larger and hunt you down. Which was awesome. Ha.

We get to know Rolan so very much. And I just adored this boy. He lived in the streets, without a home or a family. But he had a best friend, Anaya. They used to live on the streets together, stealing things and making trouble. Until she got to be an apprentice for the apothecary, leaving Rolan behind in the streets. It hurt my heart that they were having some issues because of this. As Anaya changed when she got a home. And Rolan did not, feeling left behind and alone. Not too much about this, but oh, it hurt my heart.

The book starts with Rolan doing a little bit of crime. Wanting revenge on the baker for not letting him steal some thrown away food. He ends up getting caught by the guards, and thrown in the smaller jail. Where he has been so many times before. Poor boy. But this time was different. The guard he hated most, Hoff, figured out he had turned thirteen. And could now be sent to the real prison, for ten years. Which was the absolute worst. Rolan ends up attacked by his first Cryptic, which was a great scene. 

Days go by, and no one claims him. If he had family to claim him within three days, he could avoid prison. And he did have a father. The crime lord of this city. But he did not claim him. And oh, getting to know the actual relationship between Rolan and his father in this book just hurt my heart too much. His father was the worst. And Rolan just wanted him to love him. Sobs. He just wanted to belong. And his father did not want him. He also hurt him. Which made me all kinds of angry. Hmph. As Rolan deserved the very best.

Okay, maybe not fully at first. He was kind of a brat. On his way to the prison, he ends up meeting the Arcanist. The one person who fights and kills the Cryptics. For some reason, this man ends up claiming Rolan as his apprentice. Making sure Rolan does not go to prison. Rolan fully intended to leave him, but he was poisoned by the Cryptic who attacked him. And somehow ended up way outside of town in the house of the Arcanist. I loved reading about these two together. It was all kinds of fun yet also so sweet.

I have already shared way too much about the beginning of this book. Sigh. I just could not stop writing. Oops. Shall share less about the rest of the book, though. At first Rolan is scared of this mysterious man. It is said that he feeds kids to the monsters, and that he eats the monsters too. It made me sad, seeing how scared he was at first. The poor boy. But oh, how I loved him. Luc was not a scary man, though. But he could be. I loved how he got Rolan into a bath and cut his hair. Hurt my heart as to why he needed it.

This book is about Rolan staying with Luc. And learning what it means to be an Arcanist. Learning more about the monsters around in this world. How they came to be. How to kill them, though Luc does that part. Luc teaches him to read. And to fight. And to be a better person. As Rolan grew up mostly alone on the streets. And I loved how he grew. I loved the time he got to spend with his friend as well. I so adored Anaya. They had some small fights that were too rude, though. No romance, but there could be. I loved it.

What I loved about this book was that it was mostly about Rolan and Luc living together. A sort of father and son relationship. With Rolan growing to care for him more, and Luc caring for him. They had some issues, and this one scene towards the end of the book broke me. With the moth. It was the absolute rudest. Hmph. And the scene in the cave before that. So rude. So very heartbreaking. But so incredibly good as well. I loved how Rolan learning to love people, to let them in. After having been hurt so long.

There was so much to know in this book. The city hated the Arcanist. They blamed him for pretty much everything. But he did nothing but protect them. I so loved learning about the Cryptics and how they were made of terrible secrets. And how killing them made you see this secret as well. Shudders. It was so well done. And I just need more. Hmph. The final battle was pretty epic. Okay, I have shared way too much about this book. I just wanted to share that I loved it so. I loved Rolan so much. And Luc. And the goat.

Okay, I am going to admit that I was a tiny bit disappointed when I realized that Rolan was not going to turn into a monster. As I felt a little bit tricked by the summary, haha. Considering it mentions that Luc is hunting a beast, tied to Rolan and his past. So I had thought it may mean that Rolan was this beast. But no. No shapeshifting in this story. Little bit disappointed, but I also did not mind at all. As the story was all kinds of awesome without it. But let's be honest, Rolan as a monster would have been very epic too, ha. 

One of the things I loved most about Monster and Apprentice was that it was so real and honest. I loved how Rolan opened up with his feelings, though it took him some time. I loved how damaged he was, how he was finally starting to heal. I loved how the book was about found family. I loved reading about all the monsters and learning so many secrets. Honestly, I just really loved this book and I am so glad that I read it. It was exciting and sad and incredible. The ending was open, though, and I would love a second book. 

 

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Review: Better Pets by Leigh Bardugo & Liz Climo

This picture book was all kinds of adorable. It was full of gorgeous color illustrations that I so really loved. Cute pets are very much for me. I am giving it four stars, as I didn't fully love this one, as I wish there had been a little more, but oh, I really adored it even so. Written well too.

This short picture book tells the story of best friends Yvette and Evan. They live in a town where everyone owns a pet. But they do not. And they are not sure which ones to choose. They do not want to pick the wrong one. And then an adoption day for cats and dogs come.

But so does a store, named Better Pets. They visit that one. I so enjoyed the illustrations in this book. The pets were all looking so pretty and weird. This book was full of details. Which I loved looking at. The pets in this store were all different from regular pets. They could all do some magical things. Which was fun to read about and look at. I think that younger children will adore this picture book. There were also rhymes pretty much on all pages, which was cute. Yvette and Evan look at all these better pets, but they are unsure what to get.

This picture book is written by Leigh Bardugo, whom I must always read everything from. It is illustrated by Liz Climo, and she did such a wonderful job. The art was truly gorgeous. I loved the colors and all of the pets. Cats are my favorites, always. There is a white cat somewhere too, like mine, which I loved the most, haha. Better Pets was a short and cute picture book. Easy and fast to read. I only wish it had been longer, as I always do. Maybe a little more focus on the friendship too. But the rest of it was so adorable.

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Review: Bing's Cherries by Livia Blackburne & Julia Kuo

Of course I could not resist reading another picture book by Livia. What I enjoy most about her picture books is that they tell true stories about Chinese American immigrants. Stories about people I have not heard about before, but that I'm now happy to have gotten to know a little bit. Bing seemed great. 

The author and illustrator notes at the back are always great. As it also shares a little more about the real person, but also about Livia and Julia, which I loved. The picture book was so fast and easy to read. I liked the story a lot. The artwork was also gorgeous. This book is ending up as a four star for me.

Because while I did like this story a whole bunch, I felt like the artwork lacked a little bit. I do wish there had been more colors. I may have been a bit weirded out by the hairstyle of Bing, haha. But I also found the art to be so very pretty and it is full of details. So my issues are not big. The text from Livia fit well with the art from Julia. Although, yes, I do wish it had been longer. Oops. But I do guess that is the point of picture books. They are supposed to be so short. I also felt like the story was told well enough. I got to know Bing and how he came to Oregon and planted his cherries. I will say that I found his story to be heartbreaking. He left behind a wife and seven adopted sons. And it took him thirty years to return home. Oh. Fully sad.

Bing's Cherries was a well written and greatly illustrated story about Ah Bing. I loved that it was a true story about his life. Well, mostly. It came from the thoughts of a little girl, so some details were not right. But it was fully adorable. I liked that Bing was tall. I do wish the story had been longer and the artwork had been more colorful. But I also liked the story the way it was too. And I am glad that I read it. I think young children may adore this too. And I will, as always, read more books by Livia and artwork by Julia.

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Review: Most Likely to Murder by Lish McBride

Even though this book was very much not a genre that I prefer to read, I knew I was going to read it when it was announced. As I adore Lish and have loved several books by her. So I had to give this one a try. As I do love murder mysteries. And teen romance. Sigh. But oh, a high school setting is simply just not for me at all.

I'm not sure how to put my thoughts down for this review. I really wanted to love this book. But I really did not. I'm going with a two star, sadly. It was almost a three. But never any higher than that. There were some things I really liked. But I did not love any of it. Mostly it was just a little too boring and a little too tame, honestly.

But I shall start by sharing a little bit about the characters. As I really liked reading about Rick and Martina. As they were pretty great. Did not love them as much as I wanted to, but I liked them a whole bunch. It is told from the point of view of Rick. He is best friends with Martina. They are very close and it was the sweetest to read about. I loved how close he was with her family too. They had some cute banter as well. Although the banter grew to be a bit too much for me in this book, as there was so much. Oops. It was possibly very much a teen book. I wish it had been a little more murder, and less focus on school, ha. But I did like the growing friendships. I did not like the typical bullying that was included, of course. I also kind of wish this group of teens were smaller. Might have connected to them more, if the group was small.

But I liked getting to know Rick. He lives with him mom and little sister. And his dad left them and took all their money and most of their things as well. Which was the rudest. Rick is still mad about it. His mother is trying her best to support them, but it is not easy. I loved that he had such a great uncle, though. As he was pretty sweet too. And his mom was adorable. His sister too. Rick tried a little too hard as well. But he was such a kind and sweet boy. Though his crush on Nika was a bit too much and silly. But I liked it too.

Martina had a more rich family, and they also tried their best to help Rick as they could. I just loved how close they were in this book. I just did not feel too much about any of them. Which sucked. I really wanted to love this story more. But I just had issues connecting, sadly. The writing was good, but I also had some problems with it. Still. I did like this book. I simply did not love it. Some parts were exciting. Well, mostly. The murders were good, but also boring, and I wish there had been many more details, to be fully honest.

This book tells the story of Rick and Martina. Although it starts with the murder of a teacher. Then it goes to Rick, and the day they are being giving their yearbooks. But this doesn't go as it normally do. Someone have messed with the books. Instead of people being most likely to succeed and such stuff, they are now being pictured as most likely to die in different ways. And everyone thinks Rick and Martina did it. As they are known to do pranks. Though this one is a little more evil, which is something they would just not do.

I must honestly say that I found the whole school thing to be boring. It is just not for me. And there was a lot of it. Sigh. I liked the story more when they found the teacher dead. Just like the yearbook had written. Rick and Martina was also pictured in it. Though someone still thinks they did it. I liked reading about the murders, as more people end up dead. Though next time it would be a teen from their school. I liked the way the murders were written, as we somewhat got to see them. Wish there were more details, honestly.

But this book was not just about the murders and these teens just trying to stay alive. They spend time together, with Rick trying his best to finally talk to his crush, Nika. But he very much failed at it again and again. It was kind of cute, but mostly just awkward. What helped was that she was just as weird as him. So they were pretty cute together. I just didn't care much for the romance, sadly. Martina had a crush on Camryn, which was sweet, but we saw even less of that. So yeah. Too little romance, too little murders.

I do have to mention the ending of this book. There was the typical final showdown with the murderer. Which I was excited about. But it also made zero sense. First of all, they all had their phones on them. There was no signal issue. Yet none of them called the police or any of the families. Took them way too long. That made zero sense to me. They had so much time to make a call. Sigh. Then the murderer is revealed. And it honestly made no sense that either. I wish it had been someone else, haha. It felt weird.

I'm not going to say much more about this book. As it was short, and honestly not that much happened. Ack. But I am still glad that I gave Most Likely to Murder a try. And I will still read anything by this author. But yeah. This contemporary genre and high school is just not something that I like reading. I sometimes do, but it was not the case this time. The characters were nice, though. Which is honestly pretty much all that I enjoyed. Rick and Martina had such a nice friendship. I do think you should give this a try, though.

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Review: Young World by Soman Chainani

This was very much a book for teens, especially boys. Which I loved so very much. I have been a fan of Soman for years, so of course I was going to read this one. Even though the genre is so very much not my thing at all. But I adore Soman and his books. So I had to give this beautiful book a try. And I am glad I did so.

Even though I did not love this book. But I enjoyed it very much. And I very much loved parts of it. It ended up being a three star for me, for many reasons. Will try my best to share my thoughts about why. The writing was so good, though. I very much loved the main character, seventeen-year-old Benton. He was so cute.

First I want to talk about the gorgeous way the book looks. The color is way more orange than what it looks like online or what photos can capture. It looks awesome. And the colored edges are stunning. I wish the cover was a bit more exciting, though, haha. But the inside was fully amazing. It felt a bit like reading Illuminae, which I loved very much. Because this book has a lot of illustrations included. So many great photos and artwork and transcripts of conversations. I loved all of that so very much. A big part of how this book is written is with Benton writing a journal, of sorts, to his teacher. I liked this way of writing. And had no problem at all with connecting to the story. And yet I did not love it. It just was not fully for me. Mostly because of the genre.

I must say that politics are not really for me at all. I know all that is going on in the world, of course, but it is pretty boring, ha. So I was a little unsure about this book. As I also very much prefer fantasy stories or books set in the past. But I enjoyed this story a whole lot, despite all of this. Because Benton was such a great person. And I loved reading about his life. But yeah, this book had a bunch of real world references. To real people and to books. Which was both good and bad, honestly. But I liked all the smaller mentions.

This book tells the story of seventeen-year-old Benton Young. He made a small youtube video, trying to impress a girl he liked. About wanting to be young and wanting to make the world better. The video blew up, making the world listen, and ended up with all the young people in America voting for him as the next president. Even though he was way too young. He ended up with the most votes. Which came as such a shock to him. I loved it. It was such a mess, though, for him to actually become the president of America.

But first we get to know Benton a bit. I wish he had been more confident, that he did not focus so much on the girl he liked. As I loved him better when he was just himself, with no girl thoughts. Benton was a boy full of feelings. I loved how he showed so much emotions, though. He was written well. And I simply adored him. He was just a young boy trying to live his life, trying to get the girl. And somehow ended up trying to save the world instead. Which was no easy thing at all. I really liked getting to know him a bunch.

And so there is not really that much for me to say about the plot of this book. The first half was so very slow. It was just about Benton becoming president, trying to fit in, trying to actually get to do things. I so really loved Soo, though, the girl who was helping him with everything. She was so sweet. Then he ends up going to Sweden to meet other teen leaders. A murder happens. But not until around three hundred pages in. Wish it had been sooner. That was exciting. I also liked that teens were taking over the world.

This story is about Benton being elected president of America. Of the people who was running against him not actually accepting him as the new one. And always trying to ruin it for him. It was interesting. I liked the scenes in the White House, getting to know that place. But this was also all kinds of boring for pretty much half the book. Oops. As it took a long time before things finally started happening. But then it did get a whole lot better during the last two hundred pages. Murder, betrayals and secrets coming to life.

A whole bunch of this book is about Benton being in love with a girl. It takes a while before he finally tells us who this girl is. And I cannot help but say it; I did not like this romance at all. And I'm not sure if I was supposed to either. It felt a wrong. And it made me dislike Benton a little bit too. Though I loved him too much to let it bother me that much. But yes. I did not care for the romance at all. Though it couldn't really be called that either, it's mostly just him being in love. And he was acting all kinds of crazy because of it.

Which I did like, as it was such a typical teenager. He was being cute, most of the time. Though I'm still a little bit traumatized, as there was this scene very early in the book that makes it very obvious what he is doing. Ha. I did not mind it at all, though. And I love that Soman was brave and included it. As it was very much a teenager thing. Though the book did focus a whole lot on his hormones. A bit too much, yet it felt very natural as well. I just wish he had been falling in love with a different girl. Would have been so good.

I very much loved Benton's two best friends. Jax and Freddy. They were both so awesome. Jax was gay, and such a fun person. Freddy could be a little rude, but so much fun too. I liked how great friends they all were and how they cared for each other. It was sweet to read about. I also really liked Charlie, Benton's security person. He was the best. I did not really like Benton's parents, though. His dad was never there. His mom was such a jerk. And did not care for her apology at all, honestly. I simply did not like her. Oops.

Then there were all the other teen leaders, when they meet up at the G-8 thingy in Sweden. And I truly did not like any of them. Ack. They were not very nice people at all. Interesting to read about, but did not like them one bit. Hmph. I am not going to write too much about the plot. As there is so very much going on. We read a lot about something called Dragontail. And I liked that part of the story a whole lot. It was exciting and it felt relevant to our world as well. I loved that it was focused on wanting to save the world.

Something I liked about this book was that it is very much about our world too. And although I do not like reading about our world, I felt like Soman did it in a good way. It is important for teens to know how badly our world is at the moment, and I honestly feel like this book shows that in several ways. It's a book about teens and for teens. I very much loved that. I think so many people are going to love Young World. Even though I did not, I loved parts of it, and I felt like it was such an important story to read. Glad that I did so.

My favorite part of this book, though, was the last two hundred pages or so. That is when it finally became exciting. It took a while, haha. But then time went by so fast and there was so much going on. And some weird things that did not make much sense. But some fun parts too. I loved reading about them being in India. It was awesome. Young World was not a perfect book for me, but I am glad that I read it. As it was interesting and exciting at times. It was an important story to read. I think you should all give this a try too.

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Review: Broken Dolls by Ally Malinenko

Creepy middle grade books will always be something that I want to read. And so I needed to give this book a try. And the cover is just so beautiful. I had high hopes that I would love this one. But I'm sorry to say that I did not. I'm ending up at two stars, which hurts my heart a little. As I so wish I could have loved this story.

But it was simply not for me. This is also the third spooky middle grade book by this author that I am reading. Also the third one I am not liking much. Oops. I guess her writing style just is not for me. Although the plot of her books all sounds so good. They just end up not being for me, sadly. Have so many thoughts to share.

But I will say that I hope children will love this book. As I can see why others would enjoy it. I have just read better ones. This one fell a little flat for me. I'm going to try keeping my review short, as this was a quick and easy book to read. But I have a little bit too much to share about it. I did not hate this story. Not at all. There was nothing that I disliked, I just simply did not like it either. Ack. It was too boring for me and not creepy enough. First mentioning the writing. I had a few small issues with it. Mostly that the conversations felt wrong, in a way. Too showy, maybe. Not sure how to describe it. Just felt off to me. And that whole mention of turning her blood cold. I can't help it; that line is not for me, haha. The main girl also felt much older than eleven, yet also younger.

My biggest issue was the use of the word Grampa. I have never experienced this before, but it physically hurt me to read the word. I got this weird pain in my mouth when I read the word. Less painful as I read it more later in the book. But in the beginning, it hurt a whole lot. As the word is used often. I cannot explain it. Never had it happen before. But it drove me nuts. Did not have an issue with grandpa. Just the other one. Not blaming the author for this, of course. I just found it very weird that it caused me that much pain.

We get to know Kaye in this book. She is eleven years old. She is spending the whole summer with her mom and her little sister Holly, at their late grandfather's house. He died just a little while ago. The house now belongs to Uncle Stan. Their Guncle, gay uncle. That was just too weird of a word, ha. But it was not the only one. In the beginning of this book, there were so many weird nicknames. I honestly did not like it at all. Nicknames are just not for me, to be honest. Her uncle and his boyfriend were so sweet, but weird.

But I did like getting to know Kaye. I did not love her, but I loved parts of her. She is in so much pain from missing her grandpa. From wanting him to come back. She has this thing where she counts often. And I liked that. I liked the parts where she remembered him. Though she is trying to get past feeling sad, when she needs to learn to live with it. It made me think too much of my own grandpa, who died so sudden less than two years ago. It still hurts me too much to think about. I'm unsure if this was a good reminder or not.

We do learn a whole lot about Kaye. She came out as bi to her uncle a year ago, when she was ten. That seemed a little young to me. Which is why I say she felt older. But I don't know. Maybe it is normal. Kaye was such a sweet girl, and I did adore her. She talks to a therapist. Which is good, I guess, but their two conversations in the book felt a little pushy, in a way. Kaye is also unable to speak. As her words just stop when she stresses. I loved this. But then, she speaks with her sister. Wish she had spoken less, honestly.

As that was one of my favorite parts of her. That she was going through a lot of pain. But she is trying her best. I felt like there was so much we did not get to know about her, though. There were many hints at her past, and her grandpa, that were just not explained. It also took way too long before we learned her little sister, Holly, was six years old. She was cute, but a little pushy. This book is about Kaye and Holly being at a fair, where they meet a magician. Where Holly wins a doll, that looks a little like her. Called Holly-doll.

Okay, that part was just weird to me. Simply because the word Holly-doll is in the book all the time. This grew to bother me a bit too much. Then Holly ends up finding more dolls outside in the garden. Creepy ones. While Kaye is busy making friends with the neighbor girl, Joey. Whom she ends up liking. I did like their small friendship a lot, though. Joey seemed great. And they just had fun together. But Holly needed Kaye. And she was just not there for her. Though, well. This book takes place in about a week. Too short.

I have already written too much about this book. Oops. But anyway. This book is about the creepy dolls. More keeps turning up. And Holly is always talking to them, and making it look like they are talking back to her. It creeps Kaye out. It did not creepy me out. Probably because Kaye keeps thinking the dolls are moving and talking. Then thinking no, they did not. So it goes again and again. It grew tiring. These dolls barely did anything. I was expecting more pain and hurt. I was hoping for scary scenes. There were none.

It may also be that I compared this book to several movies and some books that are like this one. And I thought they did it better. Ack. I just wish this book had been more. It was a bit too little for me. Holly may be turning into a doll. Kaye is too slow in actually figuring it out. Their mom sees nothing. But it is also a book about grief. And I think it did that part well, which is what I liked about this book. Broken Dolls was not all I wanted it to be. But I am glad I gave this a try even so. And I think you should all give it a try too.

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Review: Immortal Rose by Alexandra Bracken

Finding the words to describe how perfect this book was to me is going to be pretty much impossible. Then I will end up writing too much, as always. I honestly loved this book with all of my heart. Just like I had hoped to. As I very much adore Alexandra and all her books, with Silver in the Bone being my most favorite book.

And this one ended up being a favorite too. Which makes me so very happy. Five stars, of course. The writing was perfection, no issues. The book was all kinds of long and took time to read. Yet not nearly long enough. It had such a rude ending. Desperately in need of the sequel right now. But oh, how good this story was.

There is honestly so very much I wish to say about this book. Yet unsure how to put it all into words. Will try to remember all I wish to say. There was just so much going on. At all times. It thrilled me so much. And made me all kinds of anxious as well. I loved this book to pieces. I even stayed up past four am reading, as I could not stop for such a long time. It was too exiting. Which is the best thing ever. I'm not sure where to begin with this book. It takes place in the past, very much like Bridgerton, in a way. Which I loved. I think the setting was all kinds of wonderful. It made it all more exciting. There is also a bit of magic. But a different kind, one made with perfume. Which was also done very well. And so interesting to read about. There were so many details.

This book begins with Viola selling her perfumes at the night market with her friend. We get to know her a little. Then she ends up being arrested and thrown in the worst of the jails. The book then skips two days. I'm not fully sure if I am glad for the skip or not. As she was whipped during that time. And we did not get to read about it. Okay, I am glad it was not on page. It was bad enough to read about her getting it healed later. It was heartbreaking to read about her being in prison. As this could have ended up so much worse.

But it did not. As she was sent for by an unknown man. I very much loved their first meeting. Considering he was the one who captured her so she got put in jail. And he is now the one getting her out of it. Viola hates him so much at first. This story is very much an enemies to lovers type. I am just glad the enemies part did not last very long. As it did not take too long for her to realize that he was not that bad. Anyway. He could get her out of prison, if she would make him a perfume. She agrees, not knowing all the details.

Just me, realizing I lied. The book did not begin with Viola. It began with Hugh. Before he got her thrown in jail. We get to know him a little. We get to see him witness an explosion, killing the man he needed to make a special perfume. Which is how he ends up tracking down Viola. She is the last living Rosebourne left. Her family all had magic. Being able to make perfumes with magic that could do so many things. I so loved getting to learn it all. Hugh needs her to make Immortal Rose, to save the king from dying brutally.

Okay. I am truly not sure what I wish to share about the plot. So I think I'm stopping there and just sharing all of my different thoughts about this story. As I have a whole lot of them to share. First, Viola Lockwood. I'm pretty sure she was around twenty-five years old. With Hugh being a few years older, possibly. Viola lives in the poorer parts of this city. Trying her best to live her life alone after her mother died. Which was not easy for a woman during this time. But oh, Viola was amazing. I loved how fierce she was. And smart.

I very much loved her magical perfume gift. As it also came with smell. And it was very exciting to read about. As she could smell pretty much everything about a person. Their lives. Their feelings. It was so good to read about. I loved her gift. It was a little much for her, of course. Yet so awesome. Her past was also so sad. I loved learning a little bit more about it during the book. Viola was special to me. She was such a great main character. I simply adored her to pieces. Loved all the parts we got to know about her.

Then there was Hugh. He gets Viola out of the prison, and takes her back to his home. As he is the Lord Foxcourt. For a long time that is what she calls him. Which I loved. But loved it more when she switched to Hugh. Sigh. And oh, his home was the best part. I loved how she spends so much time there. And the moments between her and Hugh were truly the best parts. They start out as enemies. She is not forgiving him for putting her in prison, even though he felt like he had to, as to be able to save the king from dying.

But she slowly gets to know him. And starts hating him less. And oh, this book just meant so much to me. I loved reading about Hugh and Viola together so very much. And they do spend a whole lot of time being together in this book. That made me even more happy. I'm a little nervous for book two, though. But fully excited. Anyway. The staff in Hugh's home was the very best. Loved how they made Viola feel like home. She was not used to this kind of life at all. And I loved how she got to experience all of it, and loving it too.

I could truly talk about this book forever and ever. And I know I'm writing too much. Yet I cannot seem to stop myself. Of course, there is a chance no one ever reads these long reviews of mine. But that's okay. As these reviews are also for me, for me to write down my thoughts about books. And this book made me feel way too much. And I loved every moment of it. It is full of danger. Viola needs to make a perfume to save the king. It is pretty much impossible. While she searches for items she need, people try to kill her.

And those scenes were all kinds of thrilling to read about. And made me so very anxious as well. It made me so very nervous. It all felt real and dangerous. I loved it to pieces. This book also had several deaths included. Some of them a little brutal. And oh so good. This book was truly all kinds of exciting. I loved all the danger. I loved all the banter between Viola and Hugh. There was a whole lot of it. It so hurt my heart when she hurt his feelings, though. But it did not happen often, thankfully. Most of the time it was just fun.

There was so much going on in this book. It takes place in about a week. They do not have much time to try to save the king. There is a villain in this story as well. And he was the actual worst. Okay, there were so many bad people, but he was the biggest of them. I so loved all the twists that came from it. We got to know the daughter of the king, Eleanor. And she was such a sweet person. I hope to see more of her in book two. I loved how Hugh wanted to protect her. There is also Reddy, whom was such a fun character.

Okay, I really need to stop writing about this book. Yet I cannot. I just loved it so much. It was so long. With so much happening. And so much that I want to talk about. Even though I have written so much, I feel like I have barely mentioned anything. Hugh and Viola were my most favorite to read about. How he very much adored her early on. How he grew to love her so fiercely. And would do anything for her. I so loved his small ways of making amends for putting her in prison. He was the sweetest man. I loved him.

She took a little longer to realize that she cared for him too. As she was too busy hating on him. But she started to care the more she got to know the real him. Learning about what type of person he was. Which was the best kind. He was just so sweet and loving. Okay, also kind of a brutal killer as well. But I did not fault him for that, ha. I loved that he was huge and she was small. I loved how well they fit together. Just loved them to pieces. Sigh. I loved learning more about his past as well. This man deserved all the love.

There is a wedding in this book. Which was one of my favorite parts. Yet it was oh so rude as well. There is some poison as well. And it was all kinds of dramatic and wonderful to read about. It hurt my heart. Yet some parts of it were beautiful. Viola never wants to get married, because of her mother. But she has no choice. And she definitely does not want to marry Hugh, whom she is not fully sure yet that she likes. She had a lot of rules for this marrige. I love how they slowly get broken after. Anyway. It was all very lovely.

I loved the outfits in this book. There are a few scenes where Viola has to dress up. It was so beautiful to read about. There is a moment when they are going to a party club of some sort. Which was such a spicy moment yet also a little bit disturbing, with how it ended. Yet I loved every moment of it. There is spice in this romance. But there should definitely have been more, haha. Small spoiler. As it does not go all the way. I needed it to happen. I yearned for it. This book was too rude. Fingers crossed for the sequel, eee.

There are so many secrets in this book. And I did not guess most of them. How rude. Yet they were all fully exciting to read about. There is a mystery about Viola and her past, who her true father was. That one I figured out early, but it was fun to be right about it. There was a secret about one being revealed at the end of the book. I did not see it coming at all. And it was the saddest secret of them all. It truly hurt my heart. Yet it was oh so good. I honestly loved all the twists in this book. And there were so many of them.

I have not mentioned the other characters that much, and I'm not going to name them. But the found family in this book was so very well done. Hugh lives in a house with a staff. And his staff was the most wonderful people. All of them full of secrets. All of them so kind and loving and loyal. He had the best people around him. And I so loved how they cared for Viola as well. They were perfect for her. There is also a small dog. Which was the cutest little devil. There is a scene of Hugh singing to her. So perfect.

I cannot help but talk a little about the ending of the book too. Because it absolutely destroyed me. I am not sure how I'm going to survive the wait for book two. I need it in my life right now. I simply must know what happens next. Gosh. It was such a rude ending. Yet it set up the second book so well. There is still so much that needs to happen. And I am so worried about all of it. But it was fully exciting too. So much heartbreak at the end. Yet so thrilling to read about. Many secrets revealed. All done so well. I loved it.

Immortal Rose was everything I had wanted it to be and so much more. It was truly perfection. I loved every moment of it. It was such a thrilling story. Filled with romance and yearning. Full of darkness and death. It had all of the best banter. It had the best found family. The romance between Viola and Hugh actually killed me. It was truly so very wonderful. The setting was amazing and fit so well for this story. The perfume magic was done so well and I so loved learning about it all. This story made my heart race.

Just because I cannot stop myself from writing even more about this book. It is my longest review ever written. And I still feel like I have so much to say. I just truly loved Immortal Rose with all of my body. It was such a thrilling story. And the romance simply meant everything to me. It is slow at first. But then it is everything. And I so very much need more of it in book two. This book just had everything that I wanted it to. It made me so very happy. Even when it ruined my heart too. So happy that I got to read it right now.

The biggest thank you to the wonderful Avon Books for sending me a print ARC of this precious book to read and review. It means the entire world to me. And I am so, so thankful. I shall treasure it always. So happy to add it to my Alexandra collection. And thank you so much to my wonderful friend, Becky, whom then sent me the ARC to Norway. I am the luckiest. Now I cannot wait to get all the finished copies of this perfect story. You all need this book in your life too. It will be out in August, and it is going to be so huge.

 

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Review: Fall River by T. J. Brown

This was a book that I could not stop reading. It was all kinds of creepy and I had to know what would happen next. Even though I also dreaded getting to know what happened in the past. This book was written in a great way, so that I could not stop thinking about it all. I did not love this, but I very much enjoyed reading it. 

I'm ending up giving this book three stars. But it was a four star for most of the story. There were just some things that were a bit too much for me. Yet the story was pretty much incredible. And I loved reading about Clara. There was very much going on and I liked how different it was. It takes place in 1878 and in 1892 too.

I very much liked that the book was set in the past. I love reading books that are not modern. This book tells the story of Clara, the fifteen year old cousin of Lizzie Borden. But it starts when she is twenty nine years old, living a very different life. It begins with her living with her love, Josiah. And that made me very happy, that it started with the romance already being there. But oh, it ended up being so very complicated. Yet so good too. There was just very much going on in this book. I do not know how to put words to everything. I'm going to try not to share too much. But have to share some things. Clara is living a pretty much peaceful life. Until she learns that her cousin, Lizzie, will be on trial for murdering her parents. Which somewhat ruins Clara's life all over again. 

We get to know much about her past. In the present time as well as going back to when she was fifteen. As this book is told from different timelines. Which I really liked. I liked getting to know Clara when she was young and when she was older. I must confess to liking her older version better, as she knew more about life. Reading about her being younger was so much stress yet so exciting at times too. I dreaded knowing what would happen next. Yet I needed to know. It was a great suspense book. Which I so liked.

Clara ends up going to live with Lizzie and her parents for a summer when she was fifteen because her parents died in a train crash. And it was so sad to read about that, how Clara was grieving. It was well done too. It hurt my heart that she lost her parents. And had to be forced to life with a family she did not know. She learns right away that her life with the Bordens will not be the same. Her own parents were full of love and laughter. The Bordens were not. They were all kinds of strict and mostly pretty mean as well.

Clara is not happy about being at this place at all. Though she likes getting to spend time with Lizzie. At least at first. Until she gets to know her better. There is just so very much going on in this book. I shall not mention the plot more, as it is mostly just about Clara living with them. We get to know how twisted Lizzie is. And she does so many awful things. It made me so stressed. Shudders. Yet it was fascinating to read about too. Clara was so innocent at first. But that quickly changed. Also, I did not really like Peter at all.

There is so much to know about Clara. She got so damaged while she lived with Lizzie. There were so many bad things happening. Especially on the night she finally left that place. We do not get to see that until the end. Instead we first get to witness her having gotten away, how hurt she was, how she had to heal for so long. How she met Josiah. I liked that he loved her, but it happened a bit too fast as well, with him being older than her as well. Felt a little weird. I grew to adore him even so. He was gentle and kind.

We learn so much about Clara when she is older. I loved the town she lived in. I loved the work she was doing. I loved that she had a man who loved her. But then there were a few small things about their life that I did not like. Clara was so damaged, and she kept secrets from Josiah. She refused to marry him. And he got a bit damaged too. It is mentioned that he sometimes visits with the whores in the town. I did not approve at all. He loves Clara. Yet he still does that. It hurt my heart. But, well. It was set in the past.

But even so. That is one part that I wish was not included in the book. Although it also changes their life, what he has been doing. I'm not fully sure what I felt about this change in their lives. I liked it. I did not like it. It was complicated. Yet interesting too. I felt like it brought them closer together, which they needed. As Clara loved Josiah too. But she was so scared because of her past. Because of her madness. And I must say that I did like reading about her being older the most, as her life was much better and less dangerous.

Must mention another thing too. Although I have already written way too much about this book and I feel like my review is a little bit of a mess. Clara is so very damaged. And a little bit crazy. I liked how that was written. How we get to see her shutting down. It was pretty heartbreaking to read about. Yet it felt so real too. She very much needed to heal her mind as well, from all that happened to her in the past. I wish we had gotten to see a little more of the healing. I truly wanted Clara to get to have the most wonderful life.

One thing that bothered me about this book was the writing. I very much enjoyed it, and I felt connected to the story. But there were so many writing mistakes. It took me out of the story a bit too often. I am not fully sure if I got a finished version of the book or not, if the mistakes have been fixed. But I'm guessing that they have. But yes. That did bother me a little. But I was still able to very much enjoy this book. As despite the errors, the writing was pretty well done. I just loved the book being set in the past. So good.

There is so much that I wish to share about this book. But trying my best not to include too much. But there are some spoilers that I need to talk about. This book went from a four star to a three star because of the scenes at the end of the book, when we finally learn what happened in the barn back then. There is a rape scene where Lizzie is raping a young man in front of Clara. And I so felt like this did not need to be there. He was half dead, so it was a little weird too. And how she hurt Clara. It was brutal but interesting.

I do feel like this book needs some trigger warnings, for those who need them. And so I shall include a little in my review. There is a rape scene at the end. There are hints of incest happening a whole lot, and I did not like it one bit. That was too much for me as well. There was a fear that the newborn kittens would be murdered. I kept waiting for it during the whole book. That was stressful. It did not happen, thankfully. But it was painful to think that it would happen. This book was so stressful. Yet I liked it most of the time.

I did not know much about the actual story of Lizzie Borden before I started this book. And I know this was fictional, with a little truth added as well. But oh, how I hated this girl. She was the absolute worst. Yet I did like learning more about her. This book included a little of her trial at the end, though it did not share how it ended. I had to look that up. And it was the rudest real ending. Hmph. I liked how this book ended, though. I liked getting to know Clara and her story. But I so wish the ending had the reunion too.

Thank you so much to the author for sending me a free copy of this book to read and review. I have read some of her books in the past, and I could not resist reading her newest one. I'm glad that I gave this one a try. It surprised me. It was such a great read, even though it was not perfect to me. Fall River is a book that I will be thinking about for a long time. Possibly because of how disturbing it was at times. But I really enjoyed reading this book. And I think you should give this one a try too, if you also like true crime stories.

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Review: Red Star Rebels by Amie Kaufman

Of course I had to read the newest space book by Amie. Been loving her books for years now. And this new one looked pretty epic, as always. It was such a quick read. Which was both good and bad. I loved how easy it was to enjoy this book. I did not like how fast it was over. Rude. I would have loved for it to be longer.

I'm ending up giving this one four stars. I liked it so very much. But I did not fully love it. There were parts that I loved, but there were some parts that I did not like all that much. But it was still such a great story. The writing was so wonderful. It was easy to get lost in this world. And I liked both main characters right away.

My small issues with this book came from the beginning, with the writing. I did love it most of the time. But it was a bit weird for me at first, with how Cleo was talking to the reader, in some way. Did not care for it much. There was some humor that just was not for me. But it got much better. And I just adored these characters. I very much liked that this book took place on Mars, in the future. But yes. I wish the book had been so much longer. It is less than three hundred pages, and short ones. And it truly took place in just eight hours. There was so much more I wanted to know. So I was a little disappointed that this book was not longer. Hmph. But it was such a fun read, even so. But the backstories could have been a bit more as the small memories we got felt rushed. 

Space books are very much for me. Movies as well. And so this story was definitely something for me. And I loved all the space parts. I loved that it takes place at a station on Mars. I loved that small walk they did outside of it, though I wish there were more moments like it. I did feel like there was a too little space in this book, though. Possibly because it was so short. Still. I loved it very much. We learn a whole lot of this world too, despite the book being short. Not going to share, but it felt very real and was so well done.

This book tells the story of Cleo and Hunter. We get both point of views, which I liked. They were very much the same, in a way. Yet they came from completely different lives. Cleo grew up poor and did not have the best childhood because of this, when her dad got sick. Hunter grew up rich, living his very best life. Except that his mother was the worst and his twin sister ended up leaving him when they were small. And so his life was not perfect either. I loved getting to know them both, but again, it did feel a bit rushed.

Cleo has spent the past three months on this small space station on Mars, hoping to get a better life away from Earth and her mother's debts. But it is not easy, being a hitcher. She is unable to leave this place to go to somewhere better. Then Hunter arrives, wanting to surprise his mother and sister on Mars, trying to earn back his birthright in the company. As his family were the ones who settled Mars, years past. But the moment he arrives at this station, an alarm goes off, and everyone has to evacuate. Hunter is left behind.

Since he was not officially supposed to be there, so no one waited for him. And Cleo was left behind too, as she was very much not supposed to be there either. Which is what this book is about. They are both left behind on a station that is about to get rid of all the air. Hunter is full of panic. Cleo is prepared. Hunter tries to call for help, and shares who he is. Cleo decides her chances at a better life goes up if she saves him. She does her best. That is, until the criminals arrives and sets the station to explode in eight hours.

Okay, now I have shared way too much about this book. And that was just the beginning of it. It was also so short, which I am still sad about, ha. I wanted more time. This story was such a rush. But we get to see a lot of Cleo and Hunter together. They were both all kinds of stubborn. Yet they both very much liked the other right away, despite how different they were. Of course, there were secrets between them, which I did not like all that much. I felt like Hunter got the worst of it, and I wanted Cleo to apologize too. Hmph.

There is romance in this story. Despite it taking place over just eight hours. Yet I could not help but ship them so very much. As they were adorable together. I guess it is called shared trauma, maybe. They got to know each other pretty well in those hours, spending a lot of time together. And I thought they were so cute. Of course, they also did a whole lot of wrong during those hours, trying to stop the criminals. It was fun to read about the different traps they set for many of them. It was a bit dangerous but mostly just fun.

I was supposed to write a smaller review, since the book was short. I failed. Oh, well. Red Star Rebels was very much an excellent space story. Short but good. Full of excitement and danger. With a lovely romance as well, despite being a little rushed. It was cute. I just wish it had been longer. I did not fully love it, but I loved it well enough. I will always read books by Amie. I adore both covers for this book. So pretty. You should definitely give this book a try too. It was so easy to read and I enjoyed it so very much.

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Review: Daughter of the Wind by Nora Carmody

This was a book I knew I needed to read because I have loved the author for years now. And that cover sold me. It is simply so beautiful. It also sounded like such an exciting story, even though it was a little different from what I usually read. But giant eagles. Definitely a story that could be for me. But then it was sadly not.

I am going to have so much to say about this book. And I am not sure where to start. So I will begin by sharing that it was sadly a two star read for me. I wish I had loved it. I so wish I had liked it more. I tried my very best to, but it was simply not to me. But the plus side is that I did not hate anything about this. Which is good.

But yes. I have a whole lot of thoughts to share about this story. The things that I did not like. But there was no hate. There was not anything that made me dislike this book, it was just not for me. And so I shall begin by sharing the things that I did like, as there were parts that were good as well. I liked how very close the horse people were. With each other and with their horses. I loved that they didn't eat meat. I really liked the scenes of flying on eagles in the air. I have always dreamed of flying. I liked the horse riding scenes as well. And I especially love that gorgeous cover. It is simply stunning. That may be all the positive things that I have to share right now, ack. I just had too many small issues. But again, no hate at all for this book. It was simply not for me. For several reasons, though, which I will be describing.

My first problem with this book was the writing. I did not like it. I was not able to connect with the main girl, Zara, at all. I simply didn't care for her one bit. Which was so depressing. The writing also kept changing, which was a little annoying. It ended up telling more instead of showing. There was nothing that kept me interested in the girl or the story. I just did not feel any emotions at all. It switches between Zara, and the boy, Talon. And I did not like him much either, to be honest. I am not sure if the writing is to blame for it.

It also did not help that they both felt like teenagers, around sixteen years old. And I have no idea how old they were actually supposed to me. It is not mentioned, which also bothered me. Talon looks at Zara once and thinks she is in her early twenties. I'm guessing he is older, since he was the eagle army commander. But it is never said. But yes. They felt so very young. It is supposed to be an adult book, but I did not get that feeling from it at all. The word sexy is mentioned twice, which also didn't fit in at all. It was a bit weird.

Anyway. This book tells the story of Zara. She lives with her people on the plains, doing their best to hide from the eagle riders. As their people have been at war for over a hundred and fifty years. I do wish there were some more details about that, as it was a bit too easy to get a treaty done. Zara is a First Daughter. And her mother was Queen of All Queens. And they were Children of Earth. It was a bit too much for me. I liked their customs. I did not like their names at all. I also did not like Zara's mother very much, honestly.

Zara has a horse bonded to her, called Shazeera. It bothered me at first, these bonded horses. For so long they are always mentioned by name by Zara in her thoughts. And they are everywhere with them. Inside all their homes, sleeping with them many times as well. It seemed like it would be so messy, haha. But that is not mentioned. Zara has a mind connection with Shazeera. They have been together since they were small. She calls them heart sisters. And I did like their close bond. But at the same time, not.

Because the horse did not feel like a horse. And that was disturbing. With all the thoughts being shared, it felt like it was a human inside of a horse body. I wish it had been a little more horse like, somehow. Then the eagle riders have that same connection with their eagles. The other point of view is Talon, with his eagle Neo. Also felt like a human inside of an eagle. It was a little weird. I liked the eagle more than the horse, though, oops. But yes. It all felt a little weird to me. Yet I did like their connection to their animals.

Okay. I have written way too much without mentioning the plot. Zara is supposed to have magic powers like her mother, to keep their people safe. But she does not. She feels nothing. Until suddenly she gets the power of the wind instead of the earth. Which she discovers when an eagle rider is trying to kill her, and she blasts him out of the sky. Which was pretty exciting to read about. I wanted more about the wind power. It was too little of it. Because of this, she is now being forced to marry the emperor to get peace.

Which was a little weird. Especially when she knew nothing about their way of life in the city up in the mountain. And so the first part of the book is her on the plains, then it's her in the mountains. Which was a depressing place. And honestly just boring to read about. Not going to share too much more, just that it is about Zara somehow falling in love with Talon, who is guarding her. It was too sudden and no actual romantic moments. It is about a monster being in this place, and them trying to kill it to save everyone.

The villain of this story is a being that they call Ozul. It was a little creepy, but it was also just so weird and I did not get this story much. The Emperor, Altair, had sort of allied with this creature. Whom is somehow eating the souls of people. And then they are all calling these soulless people for a walking corpse. That honestly bothered me as well, since they all called them that. It was a little weird. But it was an interesting villain, in a way. But their plan to get rid of him was honestly all kinds of terrible, ha. And ended so badly.

I have to mention the romance as well. It's meant to be enemies to lovers. I did not see that at all. Yes, their people were enemies. And for one second they tried to kill each other. The next second they were pretty much in love with each other. They were not enemies at all, not in that way. And I did not get the romance at all, sadly. I wish I had loved it. But it was too soon. There was no reason for either of them to like the other. It was so sudden, without any scenes spent together. To me, the romance was not good.

It was also barely there. A few kisses. And sadly not written very well, as I did not feel anything for them. It might just be a problem that I have, of course. I do think others will love this book. I'm just way too picky when it comes to writing. Talon kept thinking he would hurt his cousin to keep Zara safe. This made zero sense to me. Ugh. And to me, everything felt so distant. I did not care for any of the characters or for this world. Though I was curious about the world and the small part of magic it had. I wanted to know more.

A few parts of the writing that bothered me, that I simply have to share about. From the beginning, Zara always thinks about her blood freezing to ice. In several different ways. And way too often. This bothered me. And then later, after they are suddenly in love, she keeps seeing heat in the eyes of Talon. It just felt so awkward, in a way. When the eagles take off the ground it is mentioned as their wings pumping. Which may be the way to describe it, of course, but felt like it was so weird every time. Oops. I failed to ignore it.

Will end my review by mentioning the ending. Some people died, and I did not care one bit. And I did not get why Zara cared about them at all. She had not spent time with them, except having them as guards. Yet she mentions that she trusts them. It was just odd. The deaths were weird, but made sense. Then it ends pretty badly. But it sets up the next book very well. And there was one thing that I liked very much. There was a new eagle being mentioned. And that was my favorite part of the whole book. It was great.

The biggest thank you to the author, Nora, for gifting me this most beautiful ARC copy of this book to read. It means the world to me. I am sorry I did not like it more. But I am so glad that I read it, and I will still be getting my pre-ordered finished copy, as I truly love that cover. And I am curious about the next two books. I will be reading them too. Daughter of the Wind was not as amazing as I had hoped it would be, but it was still a stunning story to read. And I am glad I gave this a chance. I think you all should too.

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Review: A Rose of Blood and Binding by Claire Legrand

Such a thrilling end to an incredible trilogy. I loved this final book with all my heart. What is left of it, that is. As this one completely ruined me. At all times. It was much darker than the others. Yet so full of love as well. And I loved every moment of it. As always, the writing was fantastic. Five stars, of course. Loved it so much.

Finding the words for this book will not be easy. I have loved this trilogy so very much. I love that the books are from the point of view of a sister each. That the story of them all fits together so well. That we still see much of all three of them in all the books. The world created was full of magic and danger and creatures.

This third book tells the story of Mara. The middle child. And the one who had it the worst of the three sisters. I still love Gemma more than anything. She was the youngest and the more happy one, but fully broken inside even so. Farrin was the oldest sister, and the angry one. Yet so full of softness inside. And Mara, the middle one, is the one who is truly broken. And it hurt so much to read her story. Yet I loved it so much. She might be the one whose story I love the most. Though, to be honest, I love all three sisters the same, in a way. They are different and yet not really. And their stories have been truly amazing to read about. But yes. This third book hurt the most. It is also the book where the war is truly happening for real. Which was so exciting.

I'm going to try to stop myself from writing down all the plot that happens. Though, knowing myself, I am going to write way too much even so. I simply loved this trilogy so very much. The writing was so good. I truly loved reading about this magical world. And how it was falling apart. How dangerous creatures were coming out of the olden country. How Mara had to fight so many of them. One scene in the beginning hurt my heart a whole bunch. When the Warden pretty much tricked them all to kill so many. I did not approve.

There is so much going on in this book. We learn so much more about Mara and what it means to be a Rose of the order. What it means for her to protect the Middlemist and everything around it. We get to see how sad she is. How much she does not wish to be alive any longer because of the pain. Which was so very sad to read about. Yet I loved it so very much too. Mara was so real. So very broken. And I adored her to pieces. She deserved all the happiness. But oh, she went through so much pain in this book. Rude.

This third book is very much Mara's story. We get to know her so well. She is so broken. And I loved her so much. It was so exciting to read about her life as a Rose. I loved reading about when she transformed into a beast. It was so interesting. She was such a great fighter too, which was awesome. I loved being inside her head. Even though it was also so very painful. As she had so much heartbreak in her life. But I also loved it. Sigh. Mara tried her best. She just wanted to be able to go home. Which was not possible.

This book is about them all trying to fight Kilraith. To hunt for the final cursed objects, trying to weaken him. To also find the other gods that are waking up. That part I loved a whole lot. The place in the woods was so awful and sad and so good. There were so many moments that I loved in this book. Many dark ones. But many hopeful ones too. Mara and Gareth together gave me so much joy. But much sadness too. Getting to see Gemma and Talan and also Farrin and Ryder in the background made me so happy.

There is truly so much I want to say about this book. And I am writing too much, adding in a little more at different places. Oops. I simply cannot stop writing about this book. And so I am not going to. One of my favorite things was Gemma and Farrin and Mara together. Reading more about their magic powers. And how they got stronger after they learned the secret about their mother. Which was such a great plot twist. Fully exciting but also so sad. But yes. Them being together and fighting together were my favorite parts.

Much of this book is about Mara and Gareth together. When I first read book two, I did not see how they could end up together. But when I read it a second time, I saw it better. And I liked reading about them getting to know each other in this third one. As they did not know each other from before. And they had so much to learn. I loved getting to know more about Gareth. He was such a sweet person. Full of love. And full of hurt and so broken. We learn about what he went through as a captive. Fully heartbreaking.

And so I very much loved the romance in this book. These two were a little more crazy in love than the other couples, in a way, haha. But I did not mind it. They were so sweet together. Although Mara kept trying to ruin it. Again and again. I didn't blame her, though. As she was so scared. And so broken. I just loved reading about her slowly changing her way of thinking. Slowly getting better. Well, except for that one scene at the very end of the book. That was not getting better at all. So very rude. But so well done.

We learn a little more about the villain of these books, Kilraith. Though he was not that much in this one. Yet he did a lot of damage. And I liked reading about him and Ankareth. Getting to know a little more of their story. We get to see if she comes back or not. And that was such an exciting moment to me. I loved it so much. We see more of Mara's familiar bird, Freyda. Which was all kinds of cute. I so loved Mara's friendship with Brigid. And how all the Roses cared for each other, how they were all close like a family.

One thing I must talk about is the Warden. The woman who controls all of the Roses. The woman who teaches them all to fight. Who takes care of them. Who is always there. Sort of like a mother to them all. Yet she was not a kind mother at all. Mara loves her. But to me, it is a twisted love. Because the Warden was truly the very worst person in these books and I just hated reading about her. Yet it was always very interesting too. But oh, this woman caused so much hurt. And it made me so angry. But mostly just sad.

There were some scenes that were so hard to read about. First a small moment with Nerys the harpy. That hurt. But then the scene with Posey came. And I am not sure I will be able to forget that moment. Shudders. It was truly the most heartbreaking. Yet fully exciting too, and written so well. Even though it was so cruel and so awful, I still loved it. Sigh. That poor girl did not deserve all of that. Oh, and the part with the fire nymphs in the beginning. That scene hurt. And something that was done to Mara at the end.

That was just so cruel and evil. Yet so very well done as well. Rude. I did not like the Warden at all. I kept wishing for her to die a gruesome death. Oops. I must confess that all the heartbreaking moments were some of my favorite parts. I love reading about sad things. But it hurt an awful lot. Some other characters that are in this book were their mother and father. And they are finding their way back together. And like the sisters, I did not like it one bit. I honestly felt like those two did not deserve happiness together. Hmph.

There is so much that I wish to write about this book. Yet so much that I am not going to mention. It is a long story. And so very much happens. I always write too much. Yet I just can't stop myself from sharing. One of my favorite moments of this book was a fae hunt they took part in. It was so awesome yet so rude. There was a part where Mara was running in the snow. So very sad and so very good. Then another part where she was running even more, and it was so heartbreaking yet so thrilling at the same time. Loved it.

The ending was so very bittersweet. I loved it so very much. Yet it was a little sad too, and broke my heart a little more. And even though the story of these three sisters is over, it does not feel over. There are still things that I want answers to. Still things that need doing in this world. But yes. I do think the ending was good. I just want more, haha. Always. As this world was so exciting to read about. Honestly, I just loved these books so much. They are so very long. Yet not long enough. I so loved all of the smaller moments.

A Rose of Blood and Binding was everything I had hoped it would be. I loved it with all my heart. Mara's story was just perfection. This third book was full of hurt and evil people. Yet it was full of love too. I loved reading about Gemma and Farrin and Mara being together the very most. They were just such excellent sisters. And it just made my heart happy to see them together. These books are also full of smut. Which I keep forgetting to write about, haha. But there is a lot of it in all three books. And it is all written very well.

The biggest thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, for sending me a free ARC of this book to read and review. It means everything to me. It is fully gorgeous and I love it the very most. A treasure for me. My Claire Legrand book collection is the biggest and I love it so much. Now to wait for Claire to write even more perfect books. She is truly the best. And such a kind person too. Which makes me the happiest. You need The Middlemist trilogy in your life. It is such a perfect and sad and oh so good story. 

 

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Review: A Song of Ash and Moonlight by Claire Legrand

It has been two years since I first read this second book. And I seem to have forgotten several details. So rude. And I may have loved it even more this second time that I read it. Sigh. I am just so fully in love with this world and these sisters and their stories. I am even more desperate for book three. Not long to wait now.

This time I'm not writing such a long review, for real now. As I'm not sure what to write at all. I had forgotten many of the smaller details, despite also remembering all of it. And oh, how much I loved reading this book this second time. Maybe more than the first time I read it. The writing was, as always, perfect. So good.

I am trying so hard not to go back and read my review from two years ago. I do not want to get distracted. So I may write some of the same things. Oh, well. This book takes place right after A Crown of Ivy and Glass ends. But this time we get to read from the point of view of Farrin. The oldest of these three sisters. And she is so very much different from Gemma. And while I still love Gemma the most, I started loving Farrin even more this second time. She is more grumpy and less sweet. Yet she has such a big heart. And I do relate to her a whole lot as well. Farrin is a whole lot of broken. Yet strong, having had to run their house for so many years pretty much by herself. Farrin does not have much love in her life. And she deserved all of the love in the world.

There is so very much that I could write about this book. But I am going to try to keep it short. So I shall just mention some of my favorite things. But not all of them, as that would take forever, haha. I honestly just love these books so very much. I am so excited to finally get to read book three shortly, eee. I must know how it all ends, ack. These books are adult romance, telling the stories of three sisters in their early twenties. The romance is a big part, but there is so much story and magic and so much else. I love it all.

One of my favorite parts was the world created. I so loved reading more about it and learning all of the secrets. I love the fantasy part of this place. I love the pieces of magic. Most of all I love the three sisters of this story. Gemma and Mara and Farrin. They are not as close as they should have been, as they were when they were children. Things came between them. But they are now getting close again, which I loved reading about so much. And their love for each other was just the best. I loved all three of them together.

This second book belongs to Farrin. She was a complicated woman. Yet I loved her to pieces. It takes a little while for her to open up. And she is full of dark thoughts and feelings. She has no love for herself at all. Which is so sad and depressing. But she is trying. Somewhat. And there is love around her. There are people who care about her. Which was the best. Farrin needed all the love. And I love how she got better at it. Well, mostly. She overreacted a bit at a secret near the end of the book. That hurt. But was needed.

Another complicated thing was the relationship between Farrin and their father. He was such an idiot. And I still do not like him at all. I just cannot. But she loves him. Well, she tries to. He doesn't make it easy. He got better at the end of the book. And I do hope he continues to get better. But even so. He wasn't a nice person, honestly. But Farrin tried her best. I loved that about her. I loved how she took care of everything. But she needed a break as well. This book was a lot about Farrin. With her learning more about herself.

I'm not sure where to begin with the plot. There is too much of it. Something was happening from the very beginning to end in this second book. And I am not going to share about all of it. Farrin spends a lot more time with the Basks. Especially with Ryder. He teaches her to fight. Which I loved. He was so obviously in love with her. It took her a little longer to realize it. But oh, how much I loved them together. Ryder was a huge man. A little wild. But so soft and gentle and loving with Farrin. I just loved that the very most. Sigh.

I think I did not love the romance as much the first time I read this book. But now, two years later, I loved it much more. Their love is more gentle, especially compared to Gemma and Talan. But their love is so very good, even so. It's slow, because Farrin is so unsure of herself. Yet she wants love so badly. And I just loved reading about them together. Sigh. We get some of Gemma in this book as well, although the focus is more on Farrin. And more of Mara too, and I simply cannot wait to finally get to know her better.

There is honestly so very much going on in this book. We get to see more of the Queen, Yvaine. She is somewhat going insane. And possibly dying. It's all such a mystery. Loved it so. I loved how Farrin and Yvaine were such good friends. I loved their small moments together. And I really loved reading about this queen and getting to know her more. The sisters visit a place called Wardwell. Which messed with my head a little. Unsure how I feel about it. So very interesting, though. Some secrets about their mother.

There was a scene with a Harpy, that also bothered me. It was so dark. Yet kind of excellent too. Oops. It made me even more excited for Mara's story. Yet nervous too. I hope to love her very much. Then there was the place called Moonhollow. It is such a big part of this story, though we do not officially see it until closer to the end. And it was so dark and ohh. I loved every part of it. So exciting as well. I just loved this entire world. And these characters were the absolute best. I loved reading the story of Farrin and Ryder.

This whole second book was dark. Their world is falling apart. And they need to figure out why and then how they can save everyone. As people are disappearing. People they know and love. Which was pretty heartbreaking. But all kinds of exciting. I wanted to know what was going on. Especially the ending was so thrilling. So much was happening at once. And then it ended. How rude. I need to know what happens next. So very excited for the final book in this series. It is going to be the best one, I think. I love them all.

Of course I forgot to mention the firebird. So now I'm writing about it when I had almost finished putting my review together. I could of course not talk about it. But I have to mention it. As this firebird was both awesome and creepy. Maybe a friend, maybe an enemy. Her name is Ankaret. And oh, I loved getting to know this bird on fire so very much. Full of secrets. Full of magic and power. I loved trying to figure out if she was actually helping Farrin or maybe trying to kill her. Both could be true, ha. Such a great character.

I have already written way more than I was going to. Sigh. That always happens. Yet there is very much that I did not write about, that I probably could have. Just, oh. A Song of Ash and Moonlight was all kinds of wonderful. Such an excellent second book. With a thrilling story and a lovely romance. I so love these sisters the most. And this story is honestly so exciting. And so dark at times. Shudders. I love it so much. I can't wait to see how it all ends. You really need this series in your life as well. Claire is the best author.

 

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