Tag: recommendation

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Mass | Part I: Review

Published on by bailey.5 Comments

17927395Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s 

Publication Date: May 3rd, 2016

Series: A Court of Thrones and Roses, #2

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Rating: 5/5

Okay, if I could go back, I would change my rating of A Court of Thorns and Roses to a three, maybe a two, because not only did I have my issues with the book, but A Court of Mist and Fury was a gazillion times better!

I literally told my husband, “Just skip the first book if you want to read the series. I will fill you in so you can begin with this one.”

I have to have a two part to this review because I want to discuss some spoilers! This first part will be my actually review with minor spoilers at most. The second part will be my discussion of the book and more reasons why I think it’s amazing with all the spoilers in the world.

Okay, here’s my running list of why this was better:

  • Much less hanky panky: Sarah J. Maas’s sex scenes are weird and over-the-top so I appreciated that in the book overall they weren’t as frequent.
  • More angst: However, this book was much more angsty in the sense that the whole time you’re thinking, “Will they? Won’t they?” I didn’t feel that in the first book, whereas this book, I really wanted to see how the relationships evolved and progress.
  • Less romance: Obviously, there’s still lots of romance ^^. But it’s flirtatious and natural and less plot centered. In the first book, the romantic elements are at the heart of the action. I’d actually call the first book a romance with fantastical elements. This book is a fantasy novel with romances in it. This shift alone did wonders for the book.
  • Feyre is her own character now: In the first book, I mostly just thought of her as a Katniss Everdeen copycat. Now I actually think of her as her own character. The development she made was phenomenal! She has some truly dark moments that she has to figure out and get through. She goes from being a martyr to embracing her role. It was awesome.
  • f4caec92c7250f6bd86321200e45c760418c69bac94bbff291a3149671864d12Rhysand, Rhysand, Rhysand: I think Rhysand is basically everyone’s favorite character. I knew from his entrance in A Court of Thorns and Roses that he was going to be mine in the series. I instantly recognized his trope: the bad boy with a secret heart of gold. Those are always my favorites, and he did not disappoint in this book.
  • Less Tamlin: Tamlin didn’t bother me in the first book so much as I was apathetic. I didn’t care for him, nor did I hate him. He was just meh. Though I’m not sure I can totally see the jump from his characterization in the first book to this book, I at least appreciate that he has taken on a more interesting and meaningful role, even though he isn’t in the story as much.
  • A strong supporting cast: We meet a ton more characters in ACOMAF. What’s more is that they are all well-developed. They have backstories, histories, character ticks. They all feel real and relevant. This book is definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, as opposed to the first book.   

There’s one thing though that did drive me nuts about this book, and that was the flying scenes. Sometimes I’d wonder from the description how these things were even physically possible!

But other than that, no complaints. The ending was fantastic. Not a cliffhanger, but left me on the edge of my seat nevertheless. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

What did you think of the book? Who is your favorite character?

Stay tuned for Part II!

Tootle loo, darlings!

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June OwlCrate + Nerdy Post Review

Published on by bailey.3 Comments

I love subscription boxes, everyone. They are my new obsession. I only wish I had more money, so I could buy more of them! Today, I will briefly cover this month’s OwlCrate as usual, but also want to introduce you to a brand spanking new subscription service called Nerdy Post!

The theme of this month’s OwlCrate is Royalty. Which is pretty cool. Unfortunately for me, I haven’t read most of the popular books that this crate featured. But if you’ve read The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer or Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (both of which I’m dying to read), you would’ve loved this box! I still enjoyed it, despite not having read these. The box included:

  • IMG_0418An awesome mini poster featuring a quote from Red Queen
  • A  metal bracelet (which I love) inspired by The Lunar Chronicles.
  • Cute, mini magnetic bookmarks. I am always ecstatic when my boxes included bookmarks because they are one thing I just kind of forget to buy or can’t justify spending money on.
  • Speaking of bookmarks, the box also included a discount to this bookmark shop, which has the coolest bookmarks I’ve ever seen! I will be using this!
  • A mystery Funko Pop Disney Mini. I got Ariel. I’m glad I did because I don’t have her in my Funko collection.

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Pretty fancy! The book in OwlCrate this month was My Lady Jane, a historical retelling of Lady Jane Grey with a fantasy element. I’m super excited about this! I hadn’t heard of this book, but Lady Grey is one of my favorite historical icons. I give my endorsement to OwlCrate, and I am excited for next month’s! The theme: Good vs. Evil, and everyone will either receive a Good or an Evil box. Personally, I’m hoping for the Evil one!

This month, I also received a package from Nerdy Post! Nerdy Post is a newborn baby amongst subscription services. This was there first month in the running. While there are some growing pains apparently, this first package was great!

Nerdy Post is by the talented Alexis Lampley, who is both a published writer and typographer. Each month features products that she created and designed herself, featuring bookish typography! I must say I’m impressed! That is a ton of work. In fact, I’m pleased to announce that Alexis was kind enough to indulge me, and I will post an interview with her later this week.

IMG_0419The theme this month was Hogwarts. Each piece was unique and beautifully crafted. Since it’s mostly paper products, the service is relatively cheaper than most literary subscription  services. Nerdy Post this month included:

  • A handy little Mischief Managed notepad, which I’m already putting to good use
  • A Lumos/Nox bookmark. I loved the design on this with all my heart! It’s probably my favorite item in the box.
  • A cute “Prefect” pin. I collect pins so I’ll take it!
  • A Nerdy Post postcard that we can color in. Each box will feature its own unique color yourself postcard. I think that’s clever
  • This amazing poster using the spells from the books to create the Hogwarts crest! Okay, this might be my favorite item in the box too.

Apparently, one other small item was supposed to be included in the box. Alexis has already said to email with any issues. Like I said, growing pains. But honestly, even without that item, I feel that I got my money’s worth. So if you like bookmarks and fancy writing, check out Nerdy Post for sure! Next month’s theme is Game of Thrones. The book has been sitting on my shelf for sometime so I think I’m going to read it to be prepared for the box.

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Anyone else have subscription boxes that they just love? Share them with me! Please feed my addiction.

Hope and Red by Jon Skovron

Published on by bailey.5 Comments

25804214Publisher: Orbit

Publication Date: June 28th, 2016

Series: Empire of Storms, #1

Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi, YA

Rating: 4/5

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book, and I was even less sure when I started reading. It took me a while to get settled into the world, and here’s why: this book is Pirates of the Caribbean meets the Godfather meets Elektra meets I-don’t-even-know-what.

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This book is the ultimate combination of pirates and ninjas with a fantastical, slightly sci-fi twist. I wasn’t sure if it was going to work out. But to Skovron’s credit, it totally did.

As a young child, a girl witnesses the horrifying massacre at the hands of the Empire’s biomancers, mages capable of manipulating living materials. Traumatized and orphaned, she is taken in by a group of warrior monks called Vinchen and secretly trained in their ways despite females being forbidden from the Vinchen order. Unable to recall her own name, the monks give her the name Bleak Hope in honor of her destroyed village.

In another part of the empire, an eight year old boy finds himself orphaned by drugs and illnesses, forcing him out into the slums. He is discovered by the criminal Sadie the Goat, who recognizes his cleverness. takes him aboard her crew and calls him Red for his red eyes as a result of his mother’s drug use during his pregnancy. Sadie teaches Red the ways of a wag, to fight, steal, and throw knives. Red grows up, esteeming to be the greatest thief in Paradise Circle.

We follow Hope and Red’s individual stories till they converge when the two are older. They’re both interesting characters, but follow familiar archetypes. Bleak Hope is the perfect name for our female heroine. She is stoic, solemn, and honorable. She’s obsessed with the vow she’s taken to avenge her village. Some might find her a bit lackluster since she’s not your typical saucy, sarcastic woman that we often see in the warrior female lead roles. Personally, I’m a such a softie when it comes to stories about women taking on men’s roles. And let’s remember that she is a ninja after all: you know, quiet but deadly. Red, on the other hand, is the charismatic thief with a heart of gold. He’s definitely the funnier one of the pair, but they end up complementing each other and making a great dynamic duo. Naturally, there’s also a romance element between the two, but it wasn’t all soppy and gross, thank goodness.

While the pair can at times come off as “Mary and Gary Stu” with their mad skills and ability to overcome insurmountable tasks, I think what sells it was the world building. With the crazy mix of plot elements and tropes, Jon Skovron is able to pull it off by building a world that neatly connects them together and makes it believable. He creates rich cultures, social classes, and even an impressive vocabulary of unique lingo and curses; though be warned, crude references to genitalia are common in the dialogue.

The real reason I rated this a 4 star as opposed to a 5 was that the plot structure seemed a bit wonky to me, like the book almost should’ve been split into two parts. The plot structure I was always taught in English was: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. This seemed to happen a few times within the book.

025c5a9a2c7357d8dc616cd812318382455a58f89302b71ea53312c1df10f50cI’d be reading along and something crazy would be happening. I’m staring at my Kindle screen, saying to myself, “Oh my gosh, this is crazy, this has to be the climax of the story! Oh wait, I’m only 57% through the book…” This may have happened a few times, which drove me a little nuts. I feel that perhaps emotionally I might’ve felt a deeper connection to the Hope and Red if the book had been split in half.

But, I will say the ending note that the book left off on was surprising, totally unexpected, and left me anxious to see what happens next.

All in all, I call that a success! The book is being released on Tuesday, so go out and get it!

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!