Stacking the Shelves (#68)

Friday, June 30, 2017

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to highlight books received each week!

In the last two weeks, I received...

From the Publisher:


An ARC of The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones


A paperback of Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle


A hardcover of The Unlikelies by Carrie Firestone


A paperback of Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse


A hardcover of FrostBlood by Elly Blake

Thank you to The Novl for this Beach Reads box! It was such a pleasant surprise! I read and loved FrostBlood and Girl in the Blue Coat already so I'm excited to have scored my own copies of them.

Purchased:


A hardcover of When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon


A hardcover of The Beast in an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale

I think that's about all the books I received in the last two weeks! It was a pretty good two weeks! Especially considering I'm not going to be buying any new books for awhile! I've got some travel planned! I'll probably babble about it in my June Wrap Up post if you're curious!

What books did you guys score this week?

Waiting on Wednesday: Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

Wednesday, June 28, 2017


Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: October 31st, 2017
Pages: 304

Summary (from Goodreads):

In the walled city of Kos, corrupt mages can magically call forth sin from a sinner in the form of sin-beasts – lethal creatures spawned from feelings of guilt. 

Taj is the most talented of the aki, young sin-eaters indentured by the mages to slay the sin-beasts. But Taj’s livelihood comes at a terrible cost. When he kills a sin-beast, a tattoo of the beast appears on his skin while the guilt of committing the sin appears on his mind. Most aki are driven mad by the process, but 17-year-old Taj is cocky and desperate to provide for his family. 

When Taj is called to eat a sin of a royal, he’s suddenly thrust into the center of a dark conspiracy to destroy Kos. Now Taj must fight to save the princess that he loves – and his own life. 

A gritty Nigerian-influenced fantasy.

The title and cover are what originally drew me to this book. But now that I've just read the summary, I'm even more excited. Magic, beasts, royalty... I love all of it. October is going to be a good month, I think!

What books are you excited for this week?

Review: Roar by Cora Carmack

Monday, June 26, 2017


Roar by Cora Carmack
Stormheart #1
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: June 13th, 2017
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Source: Purchase
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 380

Summary (from Goodreads):

In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage. 

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough. 

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.

Pavan is a one of several lands in a world assaulted by dangerous, destructive, sentient storms. Aurora is on the fast track to becoming the new ruler of Pavan. As the Queen of Pavan, it would be her job to protect her people from approaching storms. But she lacks the magic required to dispel storms and, in turn, keep her people safe. 

When she discovers another option for her future, one where she doesn't have to either lose her kingdom or marry a prince she doesn't love, she leaves Pavan. She travels with a group of storm hunters who have agreed to help her gain the magic she wasn't born with so that she can keep her kingdom.

What I liked about this book:

First of all, what really hooked me about this book was the premise. I thought the idea of storm magic was so unique and interesting! A world plagued by sentient, destructive storms is so cool! I also loved the idea of getting your affinities for certain storms by taking the heart of one. And then using your affinities to dispel those same types of storms in the future.

And the storms themselves are so interesting. They're written to read almost as if they were characters themselves. Learning about the different storms and what they do was cool. And seeing how the storm hunters gathered magic from the different storms using magic they, for the most part, weren't born with was also cool.

I liked Aurora as well. She is really dutiful, driven, and independent. She is ready to marry a powerful stormling prince from another kingdom to keep Pavan safe. She would rather marry for love, but it seems like she's ready to do what's best for Pavan until she finds another option for herself. She doesn't want to give up her kingdom and she doesn't want to belong to Cassius, the prince from Locke.

And when she goes out of the kingdom with the storm hunters, she is ready to do what she must to gain her own magic so she could go back and take her place as Queen of Pavan. She trains hard, she takes whatever is thrown at her without complaint if it will get her to her ultimate goal.

I just really liked her.

Another character I quite liked was Nova. She is one of the characters that has a few sections of the book from her perspective. She is a maid in the castle who used to be close friends with Aurora before she was forced to cut everyone off to keep her lack of magic a secret.

Nova is described as being dark skinned and really ends up getting the short end of the stick in this book. She covers for Aurora when she takes off with the storm hunters and ends up spending the rest of the book in a cell being questioned repeatedly by Cassius. I think she's super interesting with secrets of her own. I hope that things turn around for her in the next book.

What I didn't like about this book:

Okay, so here is the thing that I hated about this book...

The romance. And the romantic interests.

So, right before I picked this book up, I saw Aentee from Read at Midnight talking about the toxic masculinity and romanticized abuse that is prevalent in this book. I'm glad that I saw her tweets before I dove into this book so I could lower my expectations.

If you want to read her review, you can do so here!

The first guy we meet is Cassius. He is the dark and handsome second son of the king of Locke. He is also super sketchy. He has ulterior motives for becoming the King behind Aurora as Queen and they are likely bad news.

The second guy we meet is Locke. He is a part of a group of storm hunters that travel between cities gathering storm magic to sell in various black markets. He runs into Aurora in Pavan's black market after she follows Cassius there to figure out what he's up to.

Locke helps her hide out from Cassius and tries to help her in whatever other ways he thinks she needs before his group packs up and leave Pavan. But then Aurora decides she wants to join their group to gain storm magic. He protests strongly before finally giving in and agreeing to take her under his wing and do her training.

So both of these guys are super gross. When we get to see inside Cassius's head, he's thinking about how badly he wants to conquer Aurora and how he has to have her at any cost.

When we get to see inside Locke's head, he's grossly overprotective and kinda obsessed with her. He's always touching her without her consent even after she tells him that he shouldn't touch her without consent. It seems like he's constantly touching her. Stroking her spine or something else weird like that.

I felt like there was a lot of spine stroking in this book. And it just reads as weird and kind of creepy to me.

The romance in this book could be VASTLY improved by cutting out the boys' POVs all together. While their actions are definitely cringe-worthy at times, I found their thoughts and feelings towards Aurora to be the really ewie part.

And okay, possible spoiler, but at one point in the book, she's talking to Locke about how he is her first kiss and he basically says that her lips are his territory now and that he will protect his territory every second of everyday if he needs to...................


I feel like a requirement for YA literature should be to portray healthy relationships for teens to look up to. It shouldn't be construed as romantic for someone to touch you without consent even if you've asked them not to. It isn't sexy to be put into a situation that you're clearly uncomfortable with and trying to avoid. You're not a possession or something to be conquered. You're equals and you deserve to be respected and I feel like books for teens should portray that.

ANYHOODLES, those are my thoughts on Roar. Overall, I really enjoyed it. The magic and the storms were fantastic. The fact that you could still have magic even if you weren't born with it is neat. I wish the romance were different or just not there at all, but beyond that, I did really like this book. If you think storm magic and chasing down deadly storms sounds like your kind of party, this book could be for you.

However if you can't look past romanticized abuse, you might want to opt out of this one.

Have you read Roar? What did you think of it?

5 Ways That Blogging Has Changed My Bookish Habits

Friday, June 23, 2017


Today I am going to be discussing things about my reading and book buying habits that have changed since I started book blogging, or just generally lurking in the bookish parts of the internet. These are probably the five biggest things that I have noticed a change in since I really started thinking about it.

1. Where I Buy Books

Before discovering the bookish corner of the internet, I was perfectly content to buy books from the store. Being from a small town in the middle of nowhere, that store was usually Walmart or Target. Walmart generally had a really sad selection of books. And to be honest, the selection at the Target that I was able to frequent wasn't much better. I got to go to a Barnes and Noble like, once a year.

It wasn't until I discovered the bookish corner of the internet that I started to buy a few books here and there online. Now that I live really far out in the boonies and am neck deep in bookish stuff online, I buy most of my books online.

I still buy a book or two everytime I find myself in a bookstore, but there are just some books that need to be gotten RIGHT NOW, not whenever I can make it to B&N.

2. How I Choose What To Read

Nowadays, I know what most of the books that are out/soon to be out are. I only browse the bookstore enough to figure out which books they have in stock that I KNOW I want to buy. I don't even browse when I shop online, I shop with a purpose there.

Before blogging and the book community, I would pick up books that I liked the cover or title of and buy it if the synopsis sounded good. I will admit that I haven't bought as many giant disappointments since I stopped book shopping that way, but sometimes it's fun to just go buy a random book off the shelf.

3. What Format I Buy My Books In

I used to not really care what format I had books in as long as my series all matched. I bought a lot more paperbacks and ebooks. Now I find that I would rather have the hardcover than anything else.

I can probably attribute that to buying so many of my books right after they're released now, but I also just like the way hardcovers look better than paperbacks. And I have just lost most of my interest in ebooks all together since I learned the hard truth that I wasn't actually going to save much money by going digital.

4. Where & When I Stop Reading a Book

Before blogging, I wouldn't let myself put a book down anywhere except at a chapter break. I found it a lot easier to keep track of what was going on and I didn't have to search the page to figure out where I had left off. Now that I spend a lot more time reading, and not solely just for pleasure, I have stopped caring so much and will stop reading mid sentence if I need to get up and do something.

I also just refused to DNF books. It felt like such a waste of money if I stopped reading a book that I paid for. I just pushed on through and hoped that things would turn around. I can think of one book that I DNFed before I started blogging and that was Eat Pray Love.

I haven't DNFed a LOT of books, I probably should do it more than I currently do, but it's a lot easier to do now that a lot of books I'm reading are for review and I don't have to pay for them.

5. Reading a Series

I used to be really particular about reading a series. If I read the first book and liked it, I would go out of my way to get the rest of the books so I could read them all back to back. I have gotten really lax about that.

I have SO many trilogies and duologies on my bookshelves right now that are partially read. I will read the first book, LOVE it, buy the rest of the series, and watch it gather dust on my shelves. I have at least 11 series right now that are started and need to be finished.

This is probably my least favorite change in my reading habits since I started blogging. There's just no time to read a whole series because I am forever behind on my obligation reading.

What are some ways that your bookish habits have changed since you started blogging? Do you have any of the same problems as I do? Let me know in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday: Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

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

This week I am waiting for...


Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller
Daughter of the Pirate King #2
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: February 27th, 2018
Pages: 272

Summary (from Goodreads):

As of the time that I am writing this post, there is no summary on Goodreads. So I guess I won't be including one. But I don't need to know what happens in this book to know how desperately I need more Alosa, MORE Riden, and so much more general lady pirate badassery.

What books are you looking forward to this week?

Review: Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts

Monday, June 19, 2017


Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: May 30th, 2017
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: Netgalley
Format: eARC
Pages: 352

Summary (from Goodreads):

Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child, but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children.

At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax’s floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father’s side, resplendent in a sparkling gown, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who’s been in love with Tilla since they were children.

Then, at a feast honoring the visiting princess Lyriana, the royal shocks everyone by choosing to sit at the Bastards’ Table. Before she knows it, Tilla is leading the sheltered princess on a late-night escapade. Along with Jax, Miles, and fellow bastard Zell, a Zitochi warrior from the north, they stumble upon a crime they were never meant to witness.

Rebellion is brewing in the west, and a brutal coup leaves Lyriana’s uncle, the Royal Archmagus, dead—with Lyriana next on the list. The group flees for their lives, relentlessly pursued by murderous mercenaries; their own parents have put a price on their heads to prevent the king and his powerful Royal Mages from discovering their treachery.

The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time. And if they can survive the journey . . 

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

What I liked:

One of my favorite things about this book is the characters and the friendship that they develop over the course of the story. Tilla, Jax, Miles, Zell, and Lyriana are all thrown together simply because of the fact that they all sat at the bastard's table at a feast held in Tilla's home, Castle Waverly. Tilla and Jax are half siblings, sharing a mother. Miles is the bastard of House Hampstedt, who are close friends with House Kent, which Tilla is the bastard of. Zell is a fierce Zitochi warrior, disowned by his brutal father. And Lyriana is the visiting Princess of the Kingdom, who just wanted to sit at the bastard's table to learn more of them.

For the most part, they don't really belong together, but after being framed for a murder they didn't commit and racing to warn the King of the impending second Great War, they become close. They look out for each other and save each other's skin a time or two. I don't really think it's the best developed friendship ever, but I still enjoyed it.

Another thing that I liked about this book was the fact that it was pretty much nonstop action. I think that this was a really good book to get me out of my slump because there was really never a dull moment from the moment they watch the Archmagus be killed.

I appreciated the reason behind the impending second Great War. I have been sitting here forever trying to explain why I feel that way, but I can't do it, but just know that I liked it.

What I didn't like:

While I did like the characters and the relationships, I didn't really feel like any of them were really well developed. I don't really feel like I know any of the characters. I don't really know anything about them except that they're bastards and the reasons around why they're bastards still or at all. I don't know what they like or really who they are beyond being bastards.

I liked the relationship pairings that we ended up with in the books, but like, they didn't completely come out of left field, but I didn't see in the books really WHY these characters ended up liking each other. How they grew on each other. They just kind of felt forced together.

Something else that I don't know how I really feel about is the way the character's talked. It was so modern for the setting, which felt kind of off for me.

Another thing that felt off to me was being inside Tilla's head. I liked her as a character. And I liked following her and getting her perspective. But her thought processes just didn't feel like they were from a girl to me. I thought it was weird how she was so concerned with kissing and making out all the time. It felt so weird to me.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. It was a quick, engaging read. I think it may have pulled me out of my reading slump! It was fast-paced, had an interesting group of friends, and this book even managed to make me cry twice. Which, if a book can make me cry, it automatically makes me like it more.

If you like books with scheming, magic, and life and death stakes, you will probably like this book.

Have you read Royal Bastards yet? What did you think of it?

Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Today I'm going to be sharing the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag! I had kind of a sad selection of books to choose from because I've only read 15 so far. Oooooops. But here we go!

Best Book Read in 2017

     

I would have to say either Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham or Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer.

Best Sequel Read in 2017

I have been doing so poorly at reading since March that I have hardly read anything at all this year so far and none of the few books that I have read have been sequels.

New Release You Haven't Read Yet, But Want To:

          

     

Umm... All of them? Seriously there are so many that I want to read. Just a few of them are Song of the Current, The Beast is an Animal, Given to the Sea, When Dimple Met Rishi, and The Hate U Give. I have all of these except The Beast is an Animal. So I should hop to it already.

Most Anticipated Release for Late 2017

     

Obviously Alexandra Bracken's latest is going to be on this list. Besides that though, I am super looking forward to Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz. There are probably a bunch more I'm looking forward to, but these are definitely the most notable.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year So Far

     

Wintersong and Empress of a Thousand Skies are 2017 books that I was highly anticipating. But they are definitely two huge disappointments for me this year. With Empress I just didn't really care what happened, but I just flat out hated Wintersong.

Biggest Surprise


I'm going to go with Letters to the Lost for this one. While I did think that it sounded like a book I might like when I picked it up, I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did. Mostly because contemporary isn't usually my thing. I was on vacation and I found that I just couldn't put this one down!

New Favorite Author

While I have liked a lot of the books I have read by new-to-me authors this year, I don't know if I can say that any of them have hit my list of favorite authors yet.

Newest Fictional Crush

     

I don't think that I've read about any fictional boys that were super memorable to me or really made my fictional crush list, but if I were going to have to choose, I think that Vikram from A Crown of Wishes and maybe Arcus from FrostBlood were probably my favorite.

Newest Favorite Character

I don't think that I've read a book with a character this year that would go so far as to make my All-Time-Favorite-Characters list. But for the sake of choosing a character I'm going to say Rev from Letters to the Lost. I just really liked his character and I'm SO happy that he is getting his own novel next year!

A Book That Made You Cry

     

I found myself getting a little teary-eyed during both Royal Bastards and Blood Rose Rebellion. 

A Book That Made You Happy


I'm going with Geekerella for this one. This was a light read. It was fun and cute! I am glad that I gave this one a chance because it definitely sounded a lot fluffier than the contemporaries I usually find myself enjoying.

Favorite Adaptation You Saw This Year

I honestly don't even think that I've gone to a movie yet this year. And I don't think I've watched any adaptations at home either. I bought the adaptation of Dark Places by Gillian Flynn though.

Favorite Post You've Done This Year

I'm going to say either my Bookish Aesthetics post or my A Glimpse Back in Time post for Dreamland Burning.

The Most Beautiful Book You Bought This Year


I'm going to go with Song of the Current for this one because I love that the letters on the cover are GLITTERY!!!

Books You Need To Read Before The End Of The Year

See "New Releases You Haven't Read Yet, But Want To" as well as "Most Anticipated Release For Late 2017" above.

Also:

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi
Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody
The Rattled Bones by Shannon M. Parker
This Darkness Mine by Mindy McGinnis
Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows
Hunted by Meagan Spooner

...you know, just to name a few. There are so many that I'd love to read before the end of the year, but at the rate I'm going, that's not gonna happen!!

What are some of the best books you've read so far this year? What was your biggest disappointment? Did you find any new favorite characters, crushes, or authors? What do YOU need to read by the end of the year?


Stacking the Shelves (#67)

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to highlight books received each week!

In the last week, I received...

Purchase:



I love the glittery letters on this cover!!!

Trade:


Gift:


THANK YOU, EMMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

What kinds of goodies did you get in the last week?


A Glimpse Back in Time (#9): Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham + GIVEAWAY

Thursday, June 15, 2017


A Glimpse Back in Time is a feature where I talk about the interesting history behind the books that I read! If you want to see previous posts for this feature, look here!

Today I'm featuring Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham!


Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 21st, 2017
Pages: 365

Dreamland Burning is a story about the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. It is thought to be the worst incident of racial violence in American history. It occurred during a period of rising racial tensions and growth of the Ku Klux Klan.

In 1921, the population of Tulsa was over 100,000, with 10,000 African American residents. Most of the African American residents lived in the Greenwood district, an area with newspapers, churches, a library, and plenty of black-owned businesses. 

The riot began as the result of the arrest of a young black man named Dick Rowland. On May 30th, 1921, Rowland was riding on an elevator operated by a young woman named Sarah Page. She screamed and the most common explanation is that he might have stepped on her foot, but despite there being no evidence, white Tulsans believed that he attempted to assault her.

He was arrested the following day and barricaded in the top floor of the courthouse. The newspaper had printed an article that stated that Rowland attempted to rape Page and it obviously stirred everyone up. Armed groups of white and black men began showing up outside the courthouse. The white people were demanding that the police hand over Rowland, presumably so that they could make their own justice. The black people showed up to offer their assistance in protecting Rowland.

The actual riot began because a white man was trying to disarm a black man, causing a gun to accidentally go off. By the early morning hours, the looting and burning of Greenwood had begun, with the police doing little to nothing about it. By the time the National Guard arrived the next morning, most of Greenwood had been burnt to the ground. Martial law was instated and the National Guard began rounding up black people for internment, they also gathered up those held by white rioters as well. In all, over 6,000 people were held, some for up to 8 days.

Twenty-four hours after the riot began 35 city blocks were torched. That included around 1200 homes, making most black Tulsans homeless. Around 800 people were injured and the death toll started at around 30, but is today believed to be close to 300, almost all black.

Despite white people's attempts to drive away black Tulsans, they began to rebuild Greenwood.

Dick Rowland was exonerated, but an all-white jury found that the riot was pretty much entirely the fault of black Tulsans. And despite massive amounts of evidence, no white people were ever imprisoned for any murder or arson they committed. 

Sources:

BlackPast.org

Oklahoma Historical Society

Tulsa Historical Society and Museum

Have you read Dreamland Burning yet? Did you know about the Tulsa race riot? I know I sure didn't before reading this book.

After reading this post (and possibly my review if you clicked the link above), are you just DYING to read this book? Well, today is your lucky day because I am giving my copy away! Due to the fact that I already own this book and am giving it away, this giveaway will be US only (but not to worry international folks, I have another giveaway going on my blogoversary post!).

As always, no giveaway accounts will be accepted as winners.


A penny for your thoughts??

Waiting on Wednesday: Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

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

This week I'm waiting for...


Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff
The Nevernight Chronicles #2
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date: September 5th, 2017
Pages: 384

Summary (from Goodreads):

A ruthless young assassin continues her journey for revenge in this new epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff.

Assassin Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church ministry think she’s far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she’s no closer to ending Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo, or avenging her familia. And after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia begins to suspect the motives of the Red Church itself.

When it’s announced that Scaeva and Duomo will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself to a gladiatorial collegium for a chance to finally end them. Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold within the collegium walls, and the body count rises, Mia will be forced to choose between loyalty and revenge, and uncover a secret that could change the very face of her world.


Set in the world of Nevernight, which Publishers Weekly called “absorbing in its complexity and bold in its bloodiness,” Godsgrave will continue to thrill and satisfy fantasy fans everywhere.

I looooved Nevernight! And after that ending (TRIIIIC), I really want to see what is in store for us in this sequel!

What books are you looking forward to this week?

Review: A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

Monday, June 12, 2017


A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
The Star-Touched Queen #2
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: March 28th, 2017
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: Netgalley
Format: eARC
Pages: 369

Summary (from Goodreads):

An ancient mystery. An unlikely union. For one young princess in a state of peril, a dangerous wish could be the only answer…

She is the princess of Bharata—captured by her kingdom’s enemies, a prisoner of war. Now that she faces a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. But should she trust Vikram, the notoriously cunning prince of a neighboring land? He promises her freedom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together they can team up and win the Tournament of Wishes, a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor. It seems like a foolproof plan—until Gauri and Vikram arrive at the tournament and find that danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans, mischievous story birds, a feast of fears, and twisted fairy revels. New trials will test their devotion, strength, and wits. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire.

A Crown of Wishes, companion to The Star-Touched Queen, was everything that I had hoped for in a continuation of this story. It has the same magical quality to the book and the same beautiful writing. I have seen a lot of people say that they liked this book even better than the first one, but I don't think that I am in that same boat.

This book is every bit as amazing as The Star-Touched Queen was. I loved Gauri. I loved Vikram. I loved their journey to and through the Tournament of Wishes. I was just in the worst book slump of my entire life ever since my calving/Breath of the Wild hiatus and the gorgeous writing kept going over my head. It is so lovely to read, but I just have such a horrible time comprehending such flowery writing sometimes.

Anyway, this book follows Gauri as she meets Vikram in a dungeon in Ujijain before she is set to be executed at the request of her brother, Skanda. He invites her to be his partner in the Tournament of Wishes, held in Alaka in the Otherworld. The challenges start immediately as they are taken prisoner by a group of vanaras before they even hit the Otherworld.

The book is told from the points of view of Gauri, Vikram, and a vishakanya named Aasha that they meet during the first challenge in the Tournament of Wishes.

Gauri is fierce, she is brave, she is a soldier skilled in battle. She wants what is best for Bharata, even if she doesn't always go about doing what is best in the right way. She is the heir to Bharata, but she was sent away to be executed.

Vikram is cunning and smart. He is soon to be the ruler of Ujijain, a job that he is ready for, but will only be his in title.

I loved the romance in this book. I love the hate-to-love going on in this book. Gauri only plans to tolerate Vikram until she can get rid of him and make her way back to Bharata to save her friend. Vikram only chooses her as his partner for the Tournament because she fits the description he was given for who his partner should be. Vikram definitely makes more of an effort to be friendly than Gauri. But they really grow on each other in their adventures and I loved it.

The only reason this book fell a little bit flat for me is because this book slump is ruining my life. And as much as I love how beautiful the writing is, I really struggle to comprehend what is being said sometimes. Besides that, this book was everything I had hoped it would be. 

If you are a fan of The Star-Touched Queen, Indian mythology, and beautiful descriptions, this book is for you!

Have you read this series yet? What did you think? Am I the only one who struggles with flowery writing?
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