Queen of Books: A VERY LATE MAY '20 WRAP

Time for another wrap up!

I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe during this global pandemic. Please wear your masks and practice social distancing. Also, if you have a minute, please take a look at this link for resources on how you can help the BLM movement and other issues around the world: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

Okay, my public service announcements are over.

I've been working on a summer college class and have been back at work so that is why this is so late. I am going to attempt to get back into blogging more soon.

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first book I read was Belle Revolte by Linsey Miller. Belle Revolte is about two very different women who swap lives in order to live out their dreams. One of the women is Emilie des Marais, a noble lady who wants to serve her country as a physician however, society dictates that a noble woman can't perform that kind of gruesome work. The other woman is Annette Boucher who is poor and overworked by her family. She also wants to be trained in magic so when Emilie offers Annette the chance to go learn magic and escape her family, she takes it. However, when their nation instigates a terrible war, the two come together to help the rebellion unearth the truth before it's too late. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year however, it didn't meet all of my expectations. I loved the diverse cast of characters and the whole premise is so interesting as well as the magic system. However, I thought the plot dragged until the last fourth and I couldn't keep up with all the characters and their separate plot-lines which seemed to just be thrown at us without too much explanation. I ended up rating this 3.5 Crowns.

The second book I read Havenfall by Sara Holland. This one is definitely going to make it onto my favorite books of 2020 list. Havenfall follows Maddie who wants to inherit her uncle's inn (where four magical worlds connect) however one of the worlds has been blocked off because it's full of monsters who murder people. The other three however, are open and the people from those worlds all come to the inn to make alliances and trade goods. The main character dreams of inheriting the job of running the inn which is why this summer she has come to talk to her uncle about it. However, everything goes wrong and this summer the door of Solaria (the world full of monsters) opens and everyone goes into lockdown because monsters are roaming and everyone wonders who's to blame for the opening of the door. This is such a good book and is a new favorite of mine. The worlds are well thought out, the characters are strongly developed and the plot is fast-paced and intriguing. I rated this one 5 Crowns.

The third book I read was Night Spinner by Addie Thorley. This is a Hunchback of Notre Dame retelling Enebish who used to be one of the best warriors in the Sky King's army as well as a Night Spinner (someone who has the power to bend night). However, one day she lost control and slaughtered a merchant caravan and her best-friend and surrogate sister, Ghoa, had to maim her in order to get her under control. Now she's known as Enebish the Destroyer and has been branded a traitor. She lives in hiding in a monastery, a moonstone placed into her chest in order to sever her connection with her magic and she leads a simple life, taking care of the King's eagles. But, one day Ghoa arrives to visit and gives her a job to take the eagles to a celebration of the King's along with her best friend, Serik, who is also a monk at the monastery. She's supposed to deliver the eagles and then immediately return to the monastery however, she finds herself in trouble and then a group of rebels interfere and Enebish gets caught up in the rebels plan to overthrow the King. This is such a fast-paced book with political intrigue, morally grey characters and a warrior girl who is tired of living in the shadows. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The fourth book I read was Star Wars Queen's Shadow by E.K. Johnston. This is about Padme Amidala's rise to Senator of Naboo and is set after The Phantom Menace but before Attack of the Clones. I loved seeing more of Padme and her handmaidens as well as getting to learn a lot more about the politics of Naboo and the Galaxy. Queen's Shadow is also full of girl power and female friendships which we don't get to see in the movies. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The fifth book I read was The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett. This has a lot of elements from Sleeping Beauty and Anastasia which I loved. It's about Ekata who is getting ready to move away from her murderous family however, one night her parents and twelve siblings all fall under a sleeping curse. Ekata inherits the title of duke, her brother's warrior bride, and a ton of challengers from her own ministry and beyond. Ekata has never wanted the crown or paid attention to politics so navigating her new title is a challenge. But, if she and her kingdom are to survive she has to seize her family's power and learn how to wield it. This book is very plot driven, has two queer main characters and has a ton of politics. I loved this one and ended up rating it 4 Crowns.

The sixth book I read was Dangerous by Shannon Hale. I have owned this book for over three years and have never picked it up until now. This is about Maisie Danger Brown who's always wanted to be an astronaut so when she wins a contest to go to a space camp she is ecstatic. However, she gets a lot more than she bargained for and is involved in a frightening plot that goes after her and her newfound friends and is already changing life on Earth as we know it. I thought I would end up enjoying this one a lot more than I did. I didn't enjoy the romance too much which seemed to take up way too much of the plot. I also didn't really like the side characters who weren't that fleshed out. I did however, love the plot and premise which was super exciting and fast-paced and had me questioning everything. I also loved the disability representation (Maisie was born without one of her hands) and she's also half-Latina. I ended up rating it 3 Crowns.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

NONE

ARC'S READ

The first ARC I read was Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen. This is the second book in the Dark Shores series and I received a complimentary eARC for the blog tour. Dark Skies is about Lydia who was first introduced in book one as Teriana's best friend and we follow her as she escapes from an arranged marriage and meets our other main character, Killian, a new bodyguard to a princess. I did a full review of this one so I won't say too much about it but I really enjoyed it and loved learning more about the world and the new characters. I ended up rating this 4.5 Crowns.

The second ARC I read was Kitra by Gideon Marcus. This was a very short eARC that's set in the distant future about a group of friends fixing an old ship and having an adventure in space. This mainly focuses on the relationships between the friends and it is super wholesome and a fun quick read. I rated this one 3 Crowns.

The third ARC I read was Star Wars Queen's Peril by E.K. Johnston. Padme Amidala is one of my all time favorite Star Wars characters and I never felt like she got enough backstory or attention in the prequels so I was super excited to read this one. Part of this is set before the first prequel movie, The Phantom Menace, and part of it runs parallel to that movie. I loved how much girl power was in this book and how much more we learned about Padme's past as the Queen of Naboo. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The fourth ARC I read was The Redpoint Crux by Morgan Shamy. This is a Phantom of the Opera retelling and I was so excited for it, because I've never read a Phantom retelling before. This is about Red who is the Christine Daae character. After she is kicked off the USA Climbing Team, she is determined to find her focus and makes a risky decision that almost gets her killed. After an accident, she is saved by her "Angel of Music". She returns home and finds out that her coach and boyfriend is quitting and so she is forced to head back to Nova Scotia. When she arrives, unwanted memories begin to surface of a botched ballet career, the horrific death of her father and the mental break of her brother. The theater and her past are too much for her even though it also reunited her with her brother. She is determined to get enough money to head back to the States until the man who killed her father begins another killing spree and she gets the aid of her mysterious masked savior. This is a wonderfully mysterious and atmospheric retelling and I ended up rating it 3.5 Crowns.

REVIEWS IN MAY:

Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen Book Review + Blog Tour

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

NONE

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

April '20 Wrap-Up

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S:

Killian from Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen

Temujin from Night Spinner by Addie Thorley

Serik from Night Spinner by Addie Thorley

NEW FAVORITE FEMALES:

Lydia from Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen

Annette from Belle Revolte by Lindsay Miller

Emilie from Belle Revolte by Lindsay Miller

Maddie from Havenfall by Sara Holland

Enebish from Night Spinner by Addie Thorley

Padme Amidala from Queen's Shadow by E.K. Johnston

Sabe from Queen's Shadow by E.K. Johnston

Ekata from The Winter's Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Inkar from from The Winter's Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

NEW FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIPS:

Lydia and Killian from Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen

Inkar and Ekata from from The Winter's Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH: