August OwlCrate Unboxing Video is up! Honestly wasn't my favorite box...but some of it was nice. Click the link to check it out!
The Written
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August OwlCrate Unboxing Video is up! Honestly wasn't my favorite box...but some of it was nice. Click the link to check it out!
The Written Review
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She was nothing but the words of a story, one tale weaving imperceptibly into the next. She was the loom that wove the tapestry. She was the tapestry that joined all things.
What...an absolute disappointment.
Loved the way Sheetal's culture was portrayed in this book - absolutely amazing.
BUT the actual plot and Sheetal's overwhelming naivety? Insufferable. It was like...American idol...in space...kinda.
My thoughts and prayers are with her kinda-sorta-boyfriend. That poor man.
Extra bonus BookTube Video is up - unboxing OwlCrate's Latest bookbox - plus a mini review of May's books - Incendiary and Witchy.
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June'
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Extra bonus BookTube Video is up - unboxing OwlCrate's Latest bookbox - plus a mini review of May's books - Incendiary and Witchy.
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June's Reading Vlog Video is up! Click the link to see where this one ranks (along with all my other June books!
Full written review to come, but in the meantime, enjoy the book box pictures!
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The Written Review
“If others pull you from the darkness, it's because they believe your life is worth living. Don't push them away because you don't feel you deserve it.”
Nyneve lives in a world seeped in magic.
Hyalin, a witch kingdom, has long depended on the service of its most magical in the Witch Guard.
Hair length is always directly correlated with the strength of your magic
And everyone deeply desires to have long hair (but not too long, cause then the rulers get a little nervous and might kill you for being too strong).
Nyneve has never bought into that belief and quite happily lives her life with her shortened hair
But then Conscription Day rolls around and she is faced with a choice that she never wanted to make.
I liked this comic!
I loved idea magic in this world and Nyneve was quite the interesting main character.
I do wish the book moved a bit faster in the beginning.
It felt like we spent so much time setting up one storyline and then just pivoted to a new one within the last quarter of the book. I wish the time between those two was a bit more balanced.
But other than that, I was satisfied with this book.
P.s. the illustrations and the color schemes were absolutely gorgeous.
Extra bonus BookTube Video is up - unboxing OwlCrate's Latest bookbox - plus a mini review of May's books - Incendiary and Witchy.
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2.5 stars
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Extra bonus BookTube Video is up - unboxing OwlCrate's Latest bookbox - plus a mini review of May's books - Incendiary and Witchy.
[image]
June's Reading Vlog Video is up! Click the link to see where this one ranks (along with all my other June books!
Full written review to come, but in the meantime, enjoy the book box pictures!
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The Written Review
“Crooked smiles for crooked hearts.”
It came as no surprise when Renata was stolen. She may have been just a child but she was a Robari.
One of the magical few that can steal memories and keep them as her own - and by possessing those powers, she became very valuable to the crown.
“Sometimes I wonder if a person can have so much regret they'll drown in it.”
At first, she thought she was helping the King, which was a good thing (of course) but as she grew older, the true horror of what she had done dawned on her.
Thousands of her own people. Dead.
Desperate to atone for her sins, Renata became a Whisper - one of the select rebel spies determined to bring down the crown.
“They're afraid. Fear makes people do things they normally wouldn't. Like share a drink with someone they despise.”
But when the commander of her unit (and her friend) Dez is captured by the royal family, Renata knows she must once again make a choice - herself or Dez. Her life or thousands.
So.
This book.
The concept gripped me from the start.
I adored the crafted world - especially the way society and culture were portrayed. And it was interesting to see the secret-society-vs-the-world play out.
The whole stealing-memories-and-internalizing-them-as-your-own is definitely not a new concept but I did enjoy this take on it - mostly the terrible consequences to such a power.
At times the book did feel predictable because...well..what young adult book hasn't featured an ill-conceived rebellion and a forbidden love?
However, the biggest thing that affected my rating here is that the book was over 500 pages. AND it did not need to be that long - the pacing was slowwwww and laborious.
I definitely think if this book was cut down to 400, or even 350 then I would have absolutely LOVED this book. But as it stands, it just took way too much time to make any plot progress.
Nadya lives in a world seeped with magic and she's one of the very few remaining "clerics" that can commune for the gods (and is granted th
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Nadya lives in a world seeped with magic and she's one of the very few remaining "clerics" that can commune for the gods (and is granted their powers on occasion).
For as long as she could remember, her homeland (Kalyazi) has been at war with the heretics in Tranavia (blood magic).
“We're all monsters, Nadya, some of us just hide it better than others.”
When the Tranavia prince attacks her monastery, Nadya flees but not before swearing vengeance.
Alone in this world, she trudges on. There's a king to kill and it's up to her to do it.
“You could be exactly what these countries need to stop their fighting. Or you could rip them apart at the seams.”
So.
So I've heard such good things and I couldn't wait for this book to come in - it certainly sounded perfect.
And for the first few chapters...it was.
I haven't seen a magic system like this in YA before and I was so excited to watch it play out. I loved the idea of the divine vs the heretics warring. And the world building seemed pretty good in the beginning.
BUT (and this is a big BUT)...the world building was exhausting.
It just kept going. And going. And going. And I stopped caring a lonnnnng while back.
I kept hoping for interesting situations to occur and...essentially SOMETHING (anything!) to happen but it felt like a sequence of flashbacks and more (and more) explanations of how their world came to be.
I had a hard time connecting to the characters and was really thrown by the instalove (it felt sooo clunky).
Ultimately I had to struggle (really struggle) to finish this one because I was just so mind-numblingly bored by the whole thing.
But the ending was pretty nice. So. I'm gonna give book 2 a shot. Cross your fingers!
New week, New BookTube Video - all about the best (and worst) literary couples
The Written Review
IT'S HERE AND THE OWLCRATE EDITION IS FLAWLESS
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New week, New BookTube Video - all about the best (and worst) literary couples
The Written Review
IT'S HERE AND THE OWLCRATE EDITION IS FLAWLESS
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You are made of dreams and this world is not for you.
Ronan Lynch thought he was alright with staying at the Barns but what once felt like freedom is becoming increasingly more like a cage.
But joy is a small, tenacious crop, especially in soil that hasn't grown any for a long time.
After a disastrous visit to Adam's dorm room, Ronan realizes that he cannot continue balancing so perilously close to danger.
Unbeknownst to him, there is something hunting (and eliminating) the dreamers.
Jordan Hennessy is a flawless art thief and one of many. Danger is circling ever-closer to her and disaster is around every corner.
With Carmen Farooq-Lane on the side of the hunters, and the fate of the world is determined by the outcome, she will stop at nothing until they are all eliminated.
Dreams are not the safest thing to build a life on.
So. I tried reading this one when it first came out and...I couldn't.
I actually got so angry at it that I had to set it down.
It was too many characters, too many creatures and too much happening. It wasn't remotely the same as the Raven Boys and I truly thought this was going to be a disaster rivaling the Shiver series.
BUT THEN I got a free trial from scribd and decided to give Call Down the Hawk another shot.
And honestly...I don't know what I was thinking that first round.
I loved this book.
I think the first round I was just so mad that this book wasn't Raven Boys #5 that I just threw up my hands and gave up.
But after taking (a lot) of time to cool off, the second round of Call Down the Hawk felt like coming home.
I loved the plot, the return of the characters and (above all) the magical narration of Will Patton.
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