Review: House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas | An epic and emotional conclusion

Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate. Stranded in a strange new world, she's going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that's no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.

Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all. After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he's in the Asteri's dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce's fate. He's desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri's leash, his hands are quite literally tied.

In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas's Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt's world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.

Spoilers ahead!

Rating: 4.5/5

Can't wait wednesday #10 | House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas

Can't Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings, click on the link to access their blog! Check out House of Flame and Shadow on Goodreads!

Review: Caraval by Stephanie Garber is so much fun

 A legendary competition.
A mesmerizing romance.
An unbreakable bond
between two sisters.

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.

Spoiler free!

Rating: 5/5

Shadow and Bone Season 2 Review | Surprising in both good and bad ways

Overall season rating: 7/10

This review contains SPOILERS!

Top Ten Tuesday #4 | Favorite Books of 2022

    Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl and the idea is to share our love for books through lists based on various topics that are assigned every week. Check out the link for more information! 

Top 10 Tuesday # 3 | Books on My Winter 2022-2023 To-Read List

    Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl and the idea is to share our love for books through lists based on various topics that are assigned every week. Check out the link for more information! 

Review: Normal People by Sally Rooney | Beautiful and Multi-layered

Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In school, Connell is popular and well-liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation – awkward but electrifying – something life-changing begins.

Normal People is a story of mutual fascination, friendship and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find they can’t.

Spoiler-free thoughts!

My rating: 4.25/5

Top Ten Tuesday #2 | Books on my Fall 2022 To-read List

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl and the idea is to share our love for books through lists based on various topics that are assigned every week. Check out the link for more information!

Review: Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber | Two Princesses Fight Tyranny

Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she would steal her sister's place in the palace. Trained from birth to return to the place of her parents' murder and usurp the only survivor, she will do anything to rise to power and protect the community of witches she loves. Or she would, if only a certain palace guard wasn't quite so distractingly attractive, and if her reckless magic didn't have a habit of causing trouble...

Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility. Marriage into a brutal kingdom awaits, and she will not let a small matter like waking up in the middle of the desert in the company of an extremely impertinent (and handsome) kidnapper get in the way of her royal duty. But life outside the palace walls is wilder and more beautiful than she ever imagined, and the witches she has long feared might turn out to be the family she never knew she was missing.

Two sisters separated at birth and raised into entirely different worlds are about to get to know each other's lives a whole lot better. But as coronation day looms closer and they each strive to claim their birthright, the sinister Kingsbreath, Willem Rathborne, becomes increasingly determined that neither will succeed. Who will ultimately rise to power and wear the crown?

This review is spoiler free!

Top Ten Tuesday #1 | Books With (occasionally shirtless) Men on the Cover

Hello everyone!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl and the idea is to share our love for books through lists based on various topics that are assigned every week. Check out the link for more information!

Bridgerton Season 2 Review | Kanthony Soars But at Edwina's Expense

Kanthony rating: 5/5

Overal season rating: 4/5

This review contains spoilers for season 2 of Bridgerton. 

Review: House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas | A mind-blowing sequel

Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar are trying to get back to normal―they may have saved Crescent City, but with so much upheaval in their lives lately, they mostly want a chance to relax. Slow down. Figure out what the future holds.

The Asteri have kept their word so far, leaving Bryce and Hunt alone. But with the rebels chipping away at the Asteri’s power, the threat the rulers pose is growing. As Bryce, Hunt, and their friends get pulled into the rebels’ plans, the choice becomes clear: stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight for what’s right. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.

In this sexy, action-packed sequel to the #1 bestseller House of Earth and Blood, Sarah J. Maas weaves a captivating story of a world about to explode―and the people who will do anything to save it.

This review has spoilers! Go check out my review of the first book here if you want a spoiler-free overview of this series.

Rating: 5/5

Can't Wait Wednesday #9 | House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas

Can't Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings, click on the link to access their blog! Check out House of Sky and Breath on Goodreads!

Spoiler-free!

The Hating Game | A Delightful Treat

Overall rating: 8/10

Spoiler alert if you haven't read the book!

My review of the book here!

Yomna's Pick #29

Picture taken by Yomna.

"Adieu to disappointment and spleen. What are men to rocks and mountains? Oh! what hours of transport we shall spend! And when we do return, it shall not be like other travellers, without being able to give one accurate idea of any thing. We will know where we have gone -- we will recollect what we have seen. Lakes, mountains, and rivers shall not be jumbled together in our imaginations... Let our first effusions be less insupportable than those of the generality of travellers."

A few weeks ago I visited Cleopatra's Bath in Mersa Matruh, Egypt. On the left in the picture you can see the bath, which is a hollow rock with several natural holes where you can enter and exit, and one in particular through which the rushing waves enter refreshing the water in the bath. In this marvel of nature, where allegedly Cleopatra and Mark Antony used to bathe, a quote vividly came to mind from Pride and Prejudice. I was so captivated by the beautiful view and the fresh air that it was so hard to drag myself away. I really can't wait to go there again when I get the chance. And if you ever visit Egypt's Mediterranean coast, this is a sight you must see. Seriously, it's beyond description with words.

Have you ever seen a view that made you think of a book?

Can't Wait Wednesday #8 | The Legacy by Elle Kennedy

Can't Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings, click on the link to access their blog! 

Check out The Legacy on Goodreads!

He's All That | I didn't not like it?

Rating: 3/5

This movie may get bad ratings, but people will be watching.

Revisiting The Selection series by Kiera Cass after 5 years

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Spoilers ahead for the whole series!

Review: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas | An emotionally impactful journey

 Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she's struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can't seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it.

The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre's Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta's orbit. But her temper isn't the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other.

Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts.

Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other's arms.

Rating: 4.5/5

SPOILERS for ACOSF AND AZRIEL BONUS SCENE (marked separately)

Can't Wait Wednesday #7 | A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas

 

Can't Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings, click on the link to access their blog! 

Spoilers for ACOTAR series ahead.

Check out A Court of Silver Flames on Goodreads.