Rating: 4 STARS In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison. Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace--someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir's eye, it's Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding. Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything. I was so excited to receive an early, exclusive copy of this book in the June 'Rebels in Ballgowns' FairyLoot box. The book itself looks really beautiful, which is always a bonus!
This is one of those books that just gets better and better as you keep reading. When I first read the synopsis it gave me sort of Hunger Games vibes, and in terms of the sisterly bond and the island it definitely delivered. I love the characters in this book, the two sisters who are so different, and all of the fantastic females we meet along the way. Serina is by far my favourite character. For me, she's a stronger character than Nomi, her personality and conviction are what drive the book forward. The mystery, the deception, the shock, awe and terror, this book is full of it, and at it's core is an exceptionally strong feminist message, an uprising if you will, which you can gather before you even start reading, from the dedication itself... "For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet...and who has stood up anyway." I love that about this book. I love the power play, the gender roles, the pushing back against societal norms, and the realisation that you don't have to just accept the life you've been dealt and the choices that have been made for you. I did see pretty much all of the 'twists' coming but that wasn't actually a bad thing, because it was what I wanted. I wanted these certain things to happen, to throw the character's into new situations and to see how they'd react. Whilst this book does have smatterings of romance, I was mostly pleased with how it was handled. Particularly how the subject of consent was handled and demonstrated. Seriously, all men should be given this book so they can see how a man should behave when a woman says no i.e. by backing off and not being a complete a-hole!!! By the end of this book I just wanted more! The ending was amazing (truly my favourite part of the book) and it leaves the story in a perfect place to continue and I want it desperately! I NEED MORE!!! Overall, if you're looking for a strong, feminist story set in a rich world filled with greed and pain, where characters must do the unthinkable so that they can discover their true strength and purpose, this is definitely the book for you! Grace & Fury releases on July 31st, so look out for it and remember that you can click on the book cover image above to add to your Goodreads TBR! What do you think? Is this book on your TBR? Happy Friday! What's everyone got planned for the weekend? I'm hoping to finish this book amidst a weekend of working *sigh*! The Friday 56 is a weekly blog meme hosted by Freda’s Voice. There are only 4 rules:
Today's Friday56 quote is from my current read, Grace & Fury by Tracy Banghart which I received in my last Fairy Loot box! I'm just over half-way through and loving it so far. Lot's of drama and intrigue! Here's the synopsis: Bold, brutal and beautiful, this is a must-read with the glitter and romance of The Selection and the thrilling action and intrigue of Red Queen. In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other on an island prison where women must fight to survive. Serina has spent her whole life preparing to become a Grace - selected to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining example of the perfect woman. But her headstrong and rebellious younger sister has a dangerous secret, and one wrong move could cost both sisters everything. Can Serina fight? And will Nomi win? Here's my chosen quote from page 56 (I've tried to be really careful to not give too much away here as it's a rather revealing part of the book): Serina straightened and somehow managed to do as he said. But she couldn't help the tears that silently spilled down her cheeks. What do you think? Are you intrigued?
Grace & Fury will be officially released on July 26th, so look out for it :) Feel free to leave your comments and links below and as always, happy reading! It's Tuesday, and you know what that means.... The #TopTenTuesday meme is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl and this week's theme is Best Books I’ve Read In 2018 (So Far) - this is gonna be a tough one!! Here we go: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee Legendary by Stephanie Garber In Bed with the Beast by Tara Sivec The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo The Lightning Struck Heart by T.J. Klune Clean by Juno Dawson The Definition of Us by Sarah Harris The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross This year has been amazing so far! I've read so many 4/5 star books and whilst these are 10 of my favourites, there are more that I've loved in the past 6 months than just 10.
I'm looking forward to (fingers crossed) another 6 months of fantastic reads! Have you read any of these books? Feel free to share your comments and links below! Rating: 4 STARS Genre: Fantasy/Scifi Standalone/Series: Villains #1 How I got this book: Bought Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end? I figured it was about time that I read a book by V.E. Schwab and when I spotted this collector's edition (with hidden cover) of Vicious in Waterstones earlier this year, I couldn't resist.
One thing that I should explain is that I struggled SO MUCH to rate this by book. I literally don't know where it falls. Probably because it's an extremely unique book, for me at least; I can honestly say that I've never read anything like this before. As much as the synopsis paints a black and white hero vs villains story, it's nothing of the sort. The characters are dark, twisted and every single one is morally complicated. The characters are extremely compelling in their own ways and they drive the story extremely well. The plot is very scifi, and could feature the cast of every comic book villain you've ever seen on TV or read about. It's a fascinating story, and it's not at all what I expected, which is probably why I'm so unsure how to rate the book. I know that I enjoyed it, I know that the pace was great, and that the characters kept me gripped and engaged. The only reasons I can think of as to why I'm struggling to sum up my thoughts on this one are that; 1.) There was some tricky/problematic subject matter that I wasn't too keen on. 2.) It wasn't at all what I expected. 3.) I didn't really like the ending, I wanted a bit of a clearer resolution and answers to a few questions. 4.) I don't usually read this type of thing. Don't get me wrong, this book has all of the components of a 5-star read, and in a lot of ways, it feels like one. There's just something, that I can't quite put my finger on, so for now I'm going to go with 4 stars...although it may change when I've had more time to process. Sorry for the slightly nonsensical rambling today! Happy Friday! What's everyone got planned for the weekend? I'm off to the zoo today for my daughter's birthday, which I'm really excited for! I can't wait to feed the wallabies! The Friday 56 is a weekly blog meme hosted by Freda’s Voice. There are only 4 rules:
Today's Friday56 quote is from Vicious by V.E. Schwab. It's my current read and I'm really enjoying it. Here's the synopsis: Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end? Here's my chosen quote from page 56: "No," said Eli again. But the word was distant and dull, and the light in his eyes was growing. "This isn't going to work." Even as he said it, he was walking toward his room, toward the side table where Victor knew he kept the pills. What do you think? Have you read this book before? Would you read it?
Share your thoughts and links in the comments and have a wonderful weekend! Rating: 4.5 STARS Genre: Contemporary YA Standalone/Series: Standalone How I got this book: ARC from Little Brown Books via NetGalley Florence is pretty sure she's not got much in common with the other patients at Manor Lane Diagnostic & Therapy Centre. Wilf has ADHD and a tendency to punch doors, Andrew's ASD means he likes to run to a schedule as precise as a Japanese train, and Jasper would be far too perky if it wasn't for his moods at mealtimes. It's only when Howard Green, the centre's psychotherapist goes missing that they start to share some common ground. They've told Howard things they've never told anyone before. They trusted him and were making progress. Starting again with someone else is an unbearable prospect. Together the four of them decide that they need answers and set off on a roadtrip, vowing to track him down. I really wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did!
I absolutely love the characters and their varying personalities. Each one is so distinct, diverse and compelling and I love how well the author portrays mental health in all its variations. The book is set in the UK, which I really enjoyed. Since I'm British, I find I sometimes relate more to books with familiar settings etc, and it definitely felt that way with The Definition of Us. Whilst reading this book it gave me a bit of a Breakfast Club vibe whilst also reminding me a little of Clean by Juno Dawson (which I highly recommend if you haven't read it!) What I truly love the most about this book is how realistic the characters are, they were so relatable, and their journey both together and as individuals is really beautiful. I can honestly say that this is the best book about mental health that I've read to date. The representation, understanding, acceptance and relatability of mental health portrayed in this book was, in my opinion, flawless. It's juxtaposed with sweetness, humour, romance and friendship and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was so caught up in these characters and their stories that it was only when I'd finish did I realise I saw so much of myself in them. Different insecurities, worries, and problems that I've struggled with throughout my life, reflected back at me in these characters, and I was left feeling better about myself. This book is about hope, about strength and about how being human is complicated and that absolutely no one is perfect, everyone is facing some form of internal struggle, no matter how put together they seem on the outside. I'm going to finish with a truly beautiful quote, and encourage you all to read this book! "There is always a moment in the future you'll be glad you stuck around for." Happy Tuesday! This week is a little crazy for me as it's my daughter's birthday on Friday, so as well as working, I'm trying to get everything ready for her. What do you have planned this week? The #TopTenTuesday meme is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl and this week's theme is 'Books with Red, White, & Blue Covers (In honor of the 4th of July in the USA).' As this week's theme is solely about covers, I'll keep it short and sweet! Here we go: This was actually a little trickier than I thought it would be, but I LOVE that almost half of the red, white & blue covers I found were for LGBT novels!
To all of my American friends, I hope you have a fantastic 4th July! Feel free to leave your TopTenTuesday links below! Before diving into this post, I'd like to say a big thank you to the very lovely Bethany at Beth and Books for tagging me to do this post! This may well be my best year of reading to date! I've read 60 books so far this year, I'm 11 books ahead on my Goodreads challenge and almost all of them have been great. I'm really excited for what the rest of the year will bring, especially as this month I'll be heading to my first ever book festival! 😃 I also started my blog this year and I've loved every minute of it so far. The book blogging community is the most welcoming, friendly and inclusive community I've ever known and I'd like to thank everyone who's taken the time to chat, read my posts, comment, share and subscribe. It means the world to me, so thank you! Anyway, let's get on with the tag: 1. The best book you've read this year? I've read so many amazing books this year, but the two that stand out above the rest are The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and Nevernight. They were both phenomenal and completely exceeded my expectations! 2. The best sequel you've read this year? Arrgghh, this one I really can't decide! I've read so many amazing sequels this month including Crooked Kingdom, Legendary, Between Frost and Fury, Charmcaster and In Bed with the Beast. I loved each and every one of these and I honestly can't choose just one. 3. New releases you haven't read yet but want to. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli and Grace & Fury by Tracy Banghart. 4. Most anticipated releases for the second half of the year. I CANNOT wait for What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, and also The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzie Lee. 5. Biggest disappointment. Sadly, I have had a couple of disappointing reads this year, but I'm not one to call out books/authors that I personally didn't connect with, so I'll leave it at that. 6. Biggest surprise. This is a bit of a tie between Nevernight and The Love Interest since I wasn't sure I'd like either but ended up loving both! 7. Favourite new to you, or debut, author. Okay, you're probably noticing a pattern here because I simply can't choose just one book, or in this case author, for these questions! So, here are my favourite 'new to me' authors so far this year; Juno Dawson, Karen M. McManus, Leigh Bardugo, Shea Ernshaw, Sally Thorne, Tomi Adeyemi, Adam Silvera, Rainbow Rowell, Alexandra Christo, Jay Kristoff, Mackenzie Lee, Sally Green, Laura Sebastien, T.J. Klune and Cale Dietrich. See, how could I possibly choose a favourite? 8. Newest fictional crush. I can't deny that I was crushing hard on Dante in Legendary, and also Mia in Nevernight and Lira in To Kill a Kingdom 😍😍😍 9. Newest favourite character. Since I just finished it last night, this one's going to have to be Mia from Nevernight! She's badass and I love her! 10. Book that made you cry? Without a doubt, this has to be They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. I was sobbing by the end of this book and still haven't recovered from the heartache! 😭😭😭 11. Book that made you happy? The Hating Game by Sally Thorne was absolutely hilarious! 😂I loved reading this book and was constantly laughing aloud. Another great, laugh-out-loud read this year was At the Stroke of Midnight by Tara Sivec. As always, Tara delivers a hysterical romantic comedy. 😂 12. Favourite book to film adaption? This year, it has to be Love, Simon based on Simon vs The Homo Sapien's Agenda by Becky Albertalli. I enjoyed this film so much! Have you seen it yet? 13. Favourite post you have done this year? This is a tricky one, since I love writing all of these posts, so I'm going to randomly choose my recent TipTuesday post sharing some basic, beginner's tips on how to get started with bookstagram. 14. Most beautiful book you have bought this year?
Some of the prettiest books I've bought this year include the UK paperbacks of Ash Princess and Godsgrave, the exclusive UK hardcover of Vicious and the Book Box Club exclusive edition of The Queens of Innis Lear. 15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year? I'm desperate to read either Viscious or A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab and now that I've devoured Nevernight, I NEED to read Godsgrave! Thanks so much to everyone reading this! To keep this going, I'm tagging Cafe Manon, Booked Unicorn, Sadie B, Luce Rebecca, and The Artsy Reader. Thanks so much to you all! I'd love to hear your comments below and feel free to subscribe (top right) so that you never miss a post! Rating: 5 STARS!! Genre: Fantasy Standalone/Series: The Nevernight Chronicle #1 How I got this book: Bought Mia Covere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death. Destined to destroy empires, the child raised in shadows made a promise on the day she lost everything: to avenge herself on those that shattered her world. But the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, and Mia must become a weapon without equal. Before she seeks vengeance, she must seek training among the infamous assassins of the Red Church of Itreya. Inside the Church's halls, mia must prove herself against the deadliest of opponents and survive the tutelage of murderers, liars and demons at the heart of a murder cult. The Church is no ordinary school, but Mia is no ordinary student. I'm going to start by pointing out that I've marked this book as a Fantasy novel, not a YA Fantasy (as shown on Goodreads) because there is no way in hell that this book is a YA...and by no means is that a bad thing!
I absolutely LOVE it when books live up to their hype, and I admit that I was a little sceptical over Nevernight, because I'd tried to read this book about three times over the past year, and I just kept re-reading the first two chapters and then stopping. My biggest issue was with the footnotes which I struggled with to begin with, I just felt that they detracted from the story a bit and pulled me out of the 'zone'. You might be wondering why then that I decided to rate this as a 5 star read. Simply put, some of the footnotes aside, this is one of the most incredible books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. This is my second Jay Kristoff novel, Illuminae being the first, and I can only say that the man is both ingenious and insane. He clearly hates standard formatting, but it works so well that I honestly can't complain, and his character and world development are phenomenal! Mia is a fantastic character, I love her strength, her pain, her courage and her fear. Nevernight surprised me by having a really fantastic feminist undertone, alongside some brilliant quotes. "Beauty you are born with, but brains you earn." After struggling with the first three chapters, I suddenly fell face first into the story during chapter 4 and it dragged me along for an amazing ride. To be honest, I'm not sure what to talk about first and I really don't want to give much away, but here's a quick run-down of some of my favourite things: Mia (and her shadows), Mr. Kindly (and his sass), the sand krackens, the librarian, the bookworms, the library itself, the blood walk, Naev, Adonaii, Marielle, Hush, Tric (and his impressive skills 😉), Lord Cassius, Mouser, Spiderkiller, AAlea...aaand there's so much more that I can't think of right now. Surprisingly, this book is packed full of witty humour which comes through in the footnotes, the characters (mostly the 'teachers') and Mr. Kindly. "She crushed what was left of her smoke out, grimacing. 'Maw's teeth, I've got to cut down.' '....there are more dangerous things around here to put in your mouth...' Mister Kindly peered at her through the grey pall. '....dweymeri boys, for example....'" 😂😂😂 The Red Church made me think of a cross between the house of black and white and Hogwarts, if run by Death Eaters, and I'm really sorry, but I think I've found my new favourite potions master because Spiderkiller is incredible and terrifying! It's bloody, brutal, graphic and I loved every bit of it. The characters, the plot twists, the shock moments (yeah, I'm looking at you Solis!! 😱😱😱), the violence, the 'romance' - arrrggh! I can't get over how perfect it was!! I am so ready for book two, and if you haven't read Nevernight yet, I'd highly recommend that you do! Last month, I did my first ever 'What's on my ARC shelf?' post and I had so much fun with it that I decided to try and make this a monthly post. I currently have the following 6 books on my ARC shelf (as always, click on the image to add to your Goodreads TBR):
Do you like the sound of any of these? Have you read any?
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments 😊 |
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About Kay (She/Her)
Book addict, film mad, music lover, business owner, writer and mum (not necessarily in that order), living in the UK. About Sophie (She/Her)
Sophie loves books (obviously). She has a passion for photography and spotting wildlife, and is interested in anything made with passion and creativity. THIS BLOG IS SPOILER FREE!
Rating system: 5 Stars - AMAZING!! 4.5 Stars - Almost perfect! 4 Stars - I really loved it 3.5 Stars - I liked it alot 3 Stars - I liked it (I don't typically review books that I rate below 3 stars)
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