Queen of Books: 05/17/20

Time for another wrap up!

I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe during this global pandemic.

This past month I did quite a bit of reading and writing. I participated in the O.W.L.S. Magical Readathon this month and all the books I read were for those prompts. I also ended up doing CampNaNoWriMo and continued working on my novel!

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first book I read was Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves. This was one of the books that I read for the O.W.L.S. Readathon and is one that I've had on my shelf for a long time. This is a historical fiction/fantasy novel set in 19th century Hungary where Anna, the main protagonist, lives in a society where your worth is dependent on your magical ability. A powerful group known as the Luminate, which her family is a part of, announce whether children have magical abilities or not and they often do so in forms of debut parties. Anna is deemed barren by this group however she ends up ruining her sister's magical debutante party, by ruining her spells, causing the Luminate to become interested in her. It turns out that Anna has some rare power where everyone else's spells break or backfire around her. Determined to clear Anna's sister's name and help Anna escape the radar of the Luminates, Anna's parents send her to Hungary with her grandmother. Rebellion is spreading across Hungary and while Anna is there, she must decide whether to help change the world with her abilities or cling to the life she's always wanted. This was my biggest disappointment of the month. Anna and the rest of the characters all felt very under-developed and the romance suffered from the insta-love trope. I also thought the pacing was very slow and everything was shoved into the last quarter of the book. However, I did really enjoy the world-building and the setting. I ended up rating this 2.5 Crowns.

The second book I read was Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore. This is set in 1879 about Annabelle Archer who has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the women's suffrage movement and her job is to recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her main target is Sebastian Devereux, the Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. However, this turns out to be a challenge as she tries not to give in to the powerful attraction for the man who opposes everything she stands for. I really enjoyed this one as it was hilarious and witty. I rated it 4 Crowns.

The third book I read was Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton. This was a very hard book for me to rate and collect my thoughts on because even though I didn't like some aspects of it, I ended up loving other parts. Heart of Thorns is about a girl named Mia who is getting ready to marry a man that has been chosen for her by her father. She has considered running away from it but she also has a sick sister who she can't bear to leave behind. Her father is a renowned hunter of Gwyrach, who are women believed to be witches as they are rumored to be able to stop a man's heart just by laying their hands on his skin. They are also said to have powers to control other people. In this world, all women have to wear gloves just in case they might be a Gwyrach. Mia decides to go through with her wedding but on her wedding day, she and her promised prince survive a murder attempt and the two go on an adventure to find out about her past, her mother who was killed when she was young, and the corrupt world that they live in. The world was very unique which is what I liked the most about the book and I really liked the two main characters however, there were too many tropes, it was very violent and the plot moved very slowly until the last 80% where all the action was dropped onto us. I ended up rating this book 3 Crowns.

The fourth book I read was Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of Labyrinth Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan. This is a graphic novel adaptation of the fourth Percy Jackson book and it is pretty faithful. I rated it 5 Crowns.

The fifth book I read was The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne. This was another book that was a disappointment for me. From the summary it seemed like it would be a fun Selection inspired story but set in space which I was all about, however the writing suffered from telling instead of showing and it made it hard for me to connect to the characters or the plot. The Stars We Steal is about eighteen-year-old Princess Leo who is heir to a European spaceship though her family is slipping into financial ruin. It is currently engagement season and her father is determined to marry her off to a wealthy bachelor. When Leo's childhood friend and first love, Elliot, returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. He's the biggest catch of the season and he is determined to make Leo's life miserable. However, she finds herself re-falling in love with him even if he seems to want nothing to do with her. I wanted to like this book more and I really wanted to like Leo but she ended up being snobbish, whiny and privileged. I did however like a lot of the side characters and the overall concept. I ended up rating this 2.5 Crowns.

The sixth book I read was Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda. This is about a girl named Kira who has been training under her grandfather to become a priestess at the Shinto shrine which is connected to her family. For her entire life, she's been able to see yokai who are supernatural beings that are demons, spirits and monsters but live among them disguised as humans. One night, her family's shrine is attacked and her grandfather is killed. Kira is determined to find out why this has happened so with the help of the shrine's protector, a kitsune named Shiro, they set off to figure out how to slay a powerful demon. I really enjoyed Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda so I knew that I had to read this one and I am so happy that it lived up to my expectations. I loved Kira and Shiro and the plot was fast-paced and kept my attention. I rated it 4 Crowns.

The seventh book I read was The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig. I have had this book on my shelf for awhile and all I knew about it was that it's about a ship that can travel through time and I am so glad that I went into it without any expectations. This is about Nix who has spent her entire life aboard Temptation, her father's ship which can travel to any time and any place whether it be real or imagined as long as he has a map for it. Her father is currently obsessed with obtaining a map to 1868 Honolulu which can take him back to Nix's mother. However, getting it and traveling there could erase Nix's existence. I loved the characters who were all interesting, the dialogue had so much witty banter, and of course the settings were all amazing and vibrant. I plan to write a full review of this one. I rated it 4 Crowns.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

NONE

ARC'S READ

The one ARC I read was The Marriage Game by Sara Desai. I received a physical ARC from Berkley Publishing. This is about Layla Patel who returns home to her family in San Francisco after she loses her job as a recruitment consultant and breaks up with her boyfriend. Her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, offers her the office upstairs so she can start her own business. He also creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a husband and sets up dates, however, she doesn't know until the first man comes knocking on her door. Another problem comes in the form of Sam Mehta who is the CEO of a corporate downsizing company and has his life carefully ordered. He finds a new office above Layla's parents restaurant but the communication goes wrong and he's forced to share his space with Layla, her family and a parade of suitors, disrupting his ordered life. I ended up loving this book. It is hilarious, witty and dramatic. The characters are both very likable and watching them face off is very entertaining. I rated this one 5 Crowns.

REVIEWS IN APRIL:

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim Book Review

The Never-Tilting World by Rin Chupeco Book Review

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

NONE

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

2020 O.W.L.S. Magical Readathon Introduction + TBR

March '20 Wrap-Up

My Favorite Books of 2019

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S:

Sebastian from Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

Quin from Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton

Sam from The Marriage Game by Sara Desi

Shiro from Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda

Kashmir from The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

NEW FAVORITE FEMALES:

Annabelle from Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

Mia from Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton

Layla from The Marriage Game by Sara Desi

Kira from Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda

Nix from The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

NEW FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIPS:

Annabelle and Sebastian from Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

Mia and Quin from Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton

Sam and Layla from The Marriage Game by Sara Desi

Kira and Shiro from Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda

Nix and Kashmir from The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH: