Author: Kat @abookiesbooks

Legen-wait for it-dary: Book review of Legendary

Title: Legendary

Author: Stephanie Garber

Series: Caraval #2

Published May 29th 2018 by Flatiron Books

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance

Pages: 451

“A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister, Scarlett, from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister’s. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice, but now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever…

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . the games have only just begun.“

My Review:

When jumping into this book, I was a little nervous. I really wanted more about Scarlett and Julian.

But, this book is set in Tella’s POV.

From the first book, I was not really happy with her actions. Yes, she saved her and her sister but she had done it in a way that caused her sister so much pain.

This book I think she kind of redeemed herself. You actually see her side of the story. You see why she does the things she does. Sometimes I do not like her. Her relenting mission to hate love is really annoying, but you know, people change.

I think the two love interests in this book were…HOT. Dante and Jacks are great. (Yes, Jacks is a love interest dont at me). Dante is my ultimate choice for Tella but there are some factors that make him iffy. Same with Jacks though.

I really cannot talk much about the two boys because there are a lot of spoilers for each of them.

Pros:

  • DANTE
  • Tella’s character development
  • JACKS
  • Dante’s tattoos
  • More development of the government
  • World-building
  • Interesting new story about the Fates

Cons:

  • Weird addition of the Stars (you’ll know when you read it)
  • Complete abandonment of certain plot lines in the first book
  • No more Scarlett and Julian (sorta)
  • Very indecisive writing
  • Felt like more of a brainstorm than a complete set plot

I think the pros and cons weighed against each other well. I think it was a good book. I felt as though some elements of the plot were not fully developed. I feel like it was really good. I think the focus on only one place to have to world build helped us gain more knowledge about the world. The last book was a little difficult and was not as developed. This one is way better for that reason.

So, all in all, I think this book was really great. I liked it a lot. There were some down falls but they might be made up for in the last and final book, Finale.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Ruin and Rising: The…interesting…end of the series

Title: Ruin and Rising

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Shadow and Bone #3

Published January 17th 2014 by Henry Holt and Co

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance

Pages: 465

“The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.” -Goodreads

My Review:

WHYYYYYYYYYYY

is this book series so good but so hard to read?

I do not want to make this long because I just have no f*cking words.

So many things went wrong. And so many things went right.

Lets start with right first since I think it will be a shorter list. Also SPOILERS IN THIS LIST!

Right:

  • Alina did not end up with the Darkling
  • Nikolai did not die
  • Alina and Mal ended up with a really happy ending
  • The Unsea is gone
  • The plot wrapped up really well (sort of)
  • Alina did not pull a lose-only-half-of-her-powers type deal

Wrong:

  • Alina did not end up with the Darkling
  • Nikolai did not die
  • Alina and Mal ended up with a really happy ending
  • Nikolai got turned into a monster
  • But like that was only touched on for a little
  • Mal was the third amplifier, like what????
  • Alina lost all of her powers
  • There were a thousand sun summoners created that was not described well
  • Nikolai got turned into a monster
  • Alina did not end up with Nikolai
  • Alina and Mal were supposed to go into hiding but they like didn’t?

The plot was, like I said last book, long on parts that should have been short and short on parts that should have been long. And there were so many holes.

But it was so good.

I just dont understand how mixed up my feelings are. I hated the means of the ending. The ending was nice (other than the aforementioned 1000 sun summoners) and wrapped well. But everything from the first page until the Unsea left, was wack.

Also, I hate to admit how I cried at Alina saying “Aleksander” at the end. That broke me in two. BUT HE WAS THE BAD GUY!

UGH I cannot talk about it anymore.

Did anyone else feel this way?

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.6

Mist and Fury and RHYSAND!!

Title: A Court of Mist and Fury

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Published May 3rd 2016 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, YA

Pages: 626

“Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.” –Goodreads 

My Review:

I take everything I said about Tamlin back. Rhysand is life. Rhysand is my one true love. Tamlin is the spawn of Satan.

I mean seriously he was on his villain arc this entire book. I dont know if I am just dumb or if this was just so out of the blue.

Anyways…

Why does Maas always have to steal my heart like this? I just sit here and read her books and feel so engulfed in her books. She really knows how to hold her audiences attention better than most authors.

I feel so unfortunate to not be able to live in her worlds. Sometimes I just want to shift into the Faerie Realm and live 100 years with Rhys. But, I still do not know how to shift so that aint happening.

This book is so good. It literally made me so happy to read it. After finishing Throne of Glass, I was sad because Maas was a huge part of my soul when I read that. I was worried that when I read her other books, I would not feel that magical pull I felt from Aelin. But Feyre also has that pull. Aelin will always be my favorite, but I am glad to find Maas’ magic in this book also.

I bought two plants and named them Az and Cass. (If you saw the plants, you would totally see why). I believe that they are the best side characters in this book. If I could get a spin-off book of just these two, my life would be complete.

I will never love anyone like I love her characters. Rhysand is the new love of my life. I do not think I can stand mortal men anymore. And the wings seem like a great addition. I would love to be able to fly anywhere for free.

Feyre is pretty cool in this book too. I think her character development was a little blunt. Like it was more told not shown. I think that could have been better. But she is becoming a really cool person.

And lets talk about how Maas always has to have those twist endings where the main characters do not tell us something important.

I think there was a little lack of showing in this book. A lot of things are told in a way that they are Feyre’s thought which can be SUPER annoying. Sometimes it would be nice to lead the reader to a conclusion, not just blatantly compare and contrast everything. I do not recall Maas doing this a lot with Aelin in Throne of Glass. It is a weird change for me. I feel like I am being told everything and not being able to make my own inferences. If it happened once in a while it would be fine but the first half of the book it was “Tamlin does not let me do XYZ while Rhys lets me do XYZ,” which was Feyre stating the obvious at that point.

I still love the book though. I am not as smitten as I was with Throne of Glass but I do still like it.

It was a really good book and I am so ready to start the next book.

Let me know what you thought about the book!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

A Lazy List of Five

“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl

This weeks theme is:

Books with a full sentence as the title!

I wanted to keep going but this is my one night I have time to write so I am only going to have 5 books on this list.

What If it’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

It does not surprise me that over half of these were YA romance books. They always have the longest titles.

Don’t forget to link your post down below!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

New Book: A Veil of Truth and Trickery

Hey guys!

I spend WAYY too much time on TikTok. I am deep into BookTok and get book recommendations all day long.

But the other day, I got about five videos from Analeigh Ford, an author of a new book called A Veil of Truth and Trickery.

I have pre ordered this book because it seem like it is going to be so good!

Here is the cover:

How beautiful is it?

I cannot wait to add this to my shelf.

This is the synopsis:

“Delphine has been fae-marked from birth, treated as a curse despite the fact the once treacherous fae haven’t been sighted in decades—in fact, no one in Delph’s village has laid eyes on one of the folk in nearly a century.

Right up until a fae turns up on her doorstep, demanding Delph as down payment.

No sooner has she set foot in the fae realm, however, then she learns she’s no mere collateral in a deal made with the lord that owns her family lands. She was selected for a reason, hunted down for a single purpose.

The fae courts are fading. The folk disappearing.

Only four courts remain. Four princes determined to save their crumbling kingdoms.

And Delph … Delph may just hold the key to save them all.

But even as Delph learns to see past the feared glamour of the fae realm, she quickly learns the impossible position she’s found herself in. The fae may not be the monsters she was led to believe, but in order to save them … she may have to become a monster herself.” -Reverse Harem Author Website

It seems really entertaining.

I think that it is similar to Sarah J. Maas’ ACOTAR series. But it will be interesting to see the differences.

I preordered using this link and I got the signed hardcover. When you buy the signed hardcover, you also get the eBook format a few days before the hardcover goes out.

I am usually not good at keeping track of books coming out but this I am ready for.

Cant wait to see what you made Analeigh Ford! (Here is the link to her TikTok where she posts really fun videos on it!)

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Siege and Storm: Review

Title: Siege and Storm

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Shadow and Bone

Published June 4th 2013 by Henry Holt and Company

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance

Pages: 435

“Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her—or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.” -Goodreads

My Review:

Ahh just look at how beautiful that cover is. It is so gorgeous.

Anyways, so this book was really good. I read it in about a day and a half. I devoured it is what I should really say.

Because I have been behind on my reviews, I am going to keep this a really short.

First LOVE THE DARKLING and I am very ashamed. Second HATE MAL and I am not ashamed. Third Alina is dumb but also I like her. I dont know I have mixed feelings.

Then there is Nikolai. Let me just say that I am a Nikolai fan page now. I only care about Nikolai in this story and Nikolai only.

The pacing of the story is horrendously annoying. Some moments that should last half a page last for three. Some things like big epic moments, that I would accept lasting a chapter, are like a page long. I am pretty sure (SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE PARAGRAPH) huge fights between Mal and Alina lasted longer than any fight between the Darkling and when they capture the ice dragon thing.

Improvements form the last book:

  • Plot- adding in Nikolai
  • Plot-way more thoughts out then the last book. I think most of it seemed like filler and Bardugo could have just added…more. But, way more of an improvement.
  • Nikolai
  • Realm Building-Ravka became way more in-depth in this book than the last one. I think explanation of conflicting nation wars were better. We saw other places other than the Little Palace. I think there were better descriptions of buildings.
  • Character Development-Everyone in this book had growth and changed, unlike the last book. They all had some sort of significant shift in their persona. Mal became a big bag of d*cks. Alina got slightly less stupid and I could relate to her and her pull to the Darkling. The Darkling seemed to start to love. And Nikolai was introduced which made the series better.
  • Nikolai
  • Getting to see Nikolai

Also, let us talk about how I really thought we were going to get (AHH SPOILERS) that whole anti-hero arc we deserved. The darkness just never took ahold of Alina like I wanted. I mean seriously the ending was like on the precipice of this ultimate twist but nope, she just became a blonde. OOOOO scary!

Anyways, what I am trying to say is yes I liked the book. Could it have been better? YES! But, do I hate it? GOD NO!

It is definitely worth the read. But, like I said, it could have been better. Way better than the first book though!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.8

Top Ten Tuesday: What are the Last Ten Books I Read

“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl

This weeks theme is:

Recent Reads

So here are the last 10 books I read:

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

And I Darken by Kiersten White

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

I love Top ten Tuesdays! Link your post down below.

As always, thanks for reading

A Bookie

Bye Bye April

Hey yall,

How are we feeling today?

It is the beginning of a new month. Where I am at, it is very sunny and has me in a cheery mood. Hope you guys are feeling the warm rays and happy times like I am.

I got my second COVID-19 vaccine a few days ago and I am feeling FANTASTIC! I am so excited for this whole COVID debacle to be over.

So I hate for these to be long so lets get into it.

Posts:

Books:

  • Caraval by Stephanie Garber
  • And I Darken by Kiersten White
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
  • Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Movies/Tv Shows:

  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

That is my month in review! Nothing extraordinary happened out in the Life update other than my vaccine. I am half way done with school for the rest of the quarter. Hopefully I will be out soon!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Thorns and Roses and Sex

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1

Published May 5th 2015 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Paperback

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance

Pages: 419

“Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.” -Goodreads

My Review:

I love Maas. I always have and always will.

Her books are just so amazing. I wish just once I could write a bad review about her. Just once so no one would think I am prejudice about her books.  

This book was no exception.

It took me forever to get around to reading this book. I wanted to finish all of Throne of Glass before I came to this. My mother kept begging me to read it. I just did not want the conflicting story lines confusing me.

But here I am now in the Fae world of Feyre and Tamlin.

The story starts of really well and ends really well. I could tell Maas was trying to hide a lot but I do not think she did it as well as she did back in the Throne of Glass books. She always had someone tell Feyre “oh there is more but I cannot tell you” which was a little annoying. But other than that I thought the story line was pretty good and unique to the story. I think it was hard to imagine that Feyre just decided to walk off with a faire beast in the beginning. I feel like in Tamlin’s human form it would have been fine, but not full beast.

Other things were kind of quirky that I thought could use some work, but Maas is a genius so I dont want to wrec her too much. The courts on the map are split by straight lines. Her dedication to Josh at the beginning says something like “because he would go Under the Mountain for me,” but going Under the Mountain was not like a test of love (except in Feyre and Tamlin’s case), it was just like a prison type deal.

Other than those things I loved it. I think it had the right amount of action/suspense. I read this within a few days. I literally could not put it down. I talked my co-workers ears off about it. It was so good!

I think I like Feyre. I think she was a really interesting character to begin with. I love that Maas creates these amazingly strong female characters. I did not feel like she had to much of a personality. Aelin in Throne of Glass was really thought out and was her own person. Feyre feels like she is floating through life. Yes, she is strong and independent, but she does not seem to have a set say she thinks or feels. I feel as though she goes a long with things to easily. She does not make up her mind a lot (which I can relate to) and follows Tamlin’s words really well. There were moments where she appeared to be following her own heart like when she disobeys some orders. Other than that, she seems to do what everyone else says. I wonder if Maas was trying to make her as least like Aelin as she could.

Tamlin seems really nice. Now, I have been spoiled and I know he is not the real love interest of the story, but I like him so far. I dont know what he does wrong and I dont know how Rhysand gets involved yet (even though he is mega delicious). I almost wish I read this sooner because BookTok hates Tamlin for some reason and I knew that. I probably would have liked to figure out that we hate Tamlin while reading so I did not have this lingering feeling of not getting attached.

And then there is Rhysand. Let me just say, I think I have a type. Assholes with dark brown hair are my new bread and butter. We do not know a lot about him in this book but he strikes that deal with Feyre so I am excited to see where that takes them. I think he really turned out to be a nice guy. I honestly think he was a nice guy overall but I do not think that his purpose was explained as well as it could have been, but maybe that is to come later.

One last thing, the riddle was such an obvious answer Feyre was dumb for not knowing it right of the bat. Anyways….

I think I really like this book series so far. I love Maas. There are a few tiny elements I would love to improve, but Maas knows everything so I do not want to correct a master. I know I keep doing a lot of short reviews but a lot of these books are older and I assume that most have read them. I just like to put my two cents in.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4

Shadow and Bone: Book Review

Title: Shadow and Bone

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Shaodw and Bone #1

Published September 2017 by Henry Holt and Co.

Hardcover

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Pages: 369

“Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.” -Goodreads

My Review:

I repeat, this is about the book and not the show. I am currently reading all of the books to get to watch the show.

DONT JUDGE FOR ME BEING BEHIND

Anyways…

This book was pretty good.

I have read better and I have definitely read worse.

This is how it went for me:

Beginning: Eh pretty good

Half way through: Okay this going on forver

About the last 100 pages mark: YES I LOVE THIS

Last few chapters: Oh okay, back to eh

I think that it was a little slow to start, sped up, and then had a pretty dull ending. I think it built well for the second book, but like not well enough. I like to have a good structured ending so I kind of know what the next book will start like.

This book wrapped up the ending really nicely, but the only thing I can be sure of is that I will be seeing Alina and Mal on a boat or on new land. There was no destination. No end goals, nothing. I will have to see what happens I guess.

Alina was a really cool character. I knew she was going to discover that about herself, but the way Bardugo goes about that is a little lack luster. I think that she could have had Alina conscious. Because she was trying to save Mal, I think this would have been a good point to touch on during that certain event. I did not like that we had to see others recount the scene to her. I also think her character development where she learns to control the powers is also lack luster. I would have loved some more build up and some more action in that scene. The whole night of the ball thing near the end felt very rushed and then way to easily resolved. I think that the teacher lady could have dropped more hints and the Mal fight should not have been over and forgiven as fast as it was.

Anyways, Alina was a cool character but she was not fully developed in my eyes. She stayed pretty static throughout even though I think the idea was for her to become a new person.

Mal seems like a nice guy, but we know we do not like the nice guys on this blog. He seemed sweet, but he literally disappeared for half the story. That is not his fault but I do not think we got to see a lot of him to love him.

But lets talk about who we really love: The Darkling. Ah yes, I know we are not supposed to like him, but goddamn he is really enticing. I cannot say too much with out spoiling big things, but holy hell I think I am in love and I hate it.

Ravka was a really cool map and place to look/learn about. I think that the map could have had more details like the tiny towns that Alina passed through so that we would see where the journey took them the entire time. I have heard before that it is supposed to resemble a more Russian vibe than anything else so I took that into consideration when imagining everything.

I thought this was a pretty decent book. I would have liked to see more development. That will hopefully come in the second and third book. I am excited to see where Alina’s story goes and then watch the show.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.5