Queen of Books: October 2020

Friday 16 October 2020

The Cup and The Prince by Day Leitao Blog Tour + Review

Thank you to The Fantastic Flying Book Club and the publishers for letting me be a part of this tour. I received an eARC of The Cup and the Prince by Day Leitao as part of this blog tour but all the opinions are my own and this is a spoiler free review.

You can find the rest of the tour schedule on the FFBC website and here. There is also a giveaway going on so be sure to check that out! Make sure to check out the other posts on the blog tour!

The Cup and the Prince

Written by Day Leitao

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Publisher: Sparkly Wave

Release Date: October 15, 2020

Pages: 256
Source: eARC from Publisher

Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository

Recommended Age: 13 and up!

Summary:

One prince wants her out.
Another wants her as a pawn.
Someone wants her dead.

Zora wants to win the cup and tell them all to screw themselves.

Yes, 17-year-old Zora cheated her way into the Royal Games, but it was for a very good reason. Her ex-boyfriend thought she couldn't attain glory on her own. Just because she was a girl. And he was the real cheater. So she took his place.

Now she's competing for the legendary Blood Cup, representing the Dark Valley. It's her chance to prove her worth and bring glory for her people. If she wins, of course.

But winning is far from easy. The younger prince thinks she's a fragile damsel who doesn't belong in the competition. Determined to eliminate her at all costs, he's stacking the challenges against her. Zora hates him, hates him, hates him, and will do anything to prove him wrong.

The older prince is helping her, but the cost is getting Zora entangled in dangerous flirting games. Flirting, the last thing she wanted.

And then there's someone trying to kill her.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Review:

"Nothing is more dangerous than a woman scorned."

A royal competition? A strong female MC? Political intrigue? This book essentially has it all.

The Cup and the Prince is the first book in a new Fantasy series which follows a 17-year-old girl named Zora who is from a place called the Dark Valley, which has been sentenced to isolation because of the shadow monsters within its walls. When she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, she takes revenge by taking his place in the royal games, representing the Dark Valley for the first time in a long time. All she wants to do is win the competition and prove herself, however, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.

The main character, Zora, is a girl who knows how to fight for herself in all senses of the word. She is a strong female character who is determined to get what she came for and not let anyone get in the way of that. She has constant determination and resilience throughout the book and is dedicated to proving herself. I really liked her as a character. The other characters didn't have too much development and it mostly focuses on Zora.

The plot was fairly fast-paced as we jump right into the story which I really liked. There were several plot twists that I really didn't see coming and I loved being surprised at every turn. I also loved how this book didn't have too much romance and that the romance can be slowly developed over the course of the series.

Overall, this was a solid start to the series and I am both excited and curious to see what happens next with Zora and this world.

Trigger/Content Warnings: sexism, cheating, violence

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Crowns

Wednesday 14 October 2020

AUGUST '20 WRAP-UP

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.

So, this wasn't the best blogging month as I only posted once, however, I did manage to read quite a few books.

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first book I read was City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare. This was a reread for me and my first time reading it, I really enjoyed it but this time, I did not. I thought a lot of the book was extremely awkward and the 'romance' made me uncomfortable. I also thought the storyline in this book was boring and I just ended up not enjoying it. I rated it 2.5 Crowns.

The second book I read was The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater. I loved the first book, The Raven Boys, and I loved this one even more. The development of the characters, their friendships and the overall story was what made the book so good! I am so excited to keep reading this series. I rated it 5 Crowns.

The third book I read was Blood Promise by Richelle Mead. This is probably my least favorite book in The Vampire Academy series so far. The storyline was a little bit slow, though I liked seeing a different setting from the school setting in the previous books. I don't like the main relationship and how it was handled in this book which seemed super toxic, but we'll see how it develops later on. I rated this one 2.5 Crowns.

The fourth book I read was The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller. I loved this book so much and I am so excited that I finally read it! This is about Alessandra who is tired of being overlooked, by society and her own family. She hatches a plan: woo the Shadow King, marry him, then kill him and take his power and throne for herself. But Alessandra's not the only one out to kill the king and as more attempts are made she finds herself protecting him and growing closer to him. Alessandra was such an interesting main character and it was such a good morally grey enemies to lovers romance. I rated this one 5 Crowns.

The fifth book I read was You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson. Everyone has been recommending this book and loving it so I had to pick it up. Liz is very upset when she doesn't receive the financial aid she was expecting to help her study at the college that her mother graduated from. She wanted to make her mother proud and bring some happiness to herself and family in her mother's name after she passed away due to sickle cell anemia. But when she hears about the cash prize for the one who win's the prom queen's crown this year at her school, she knows she can get enough money in order to study at the prestigious college. However, Liz has been hiding in the side lines for years, and it isn't easy to step into the spotlight especially when she is black and queer. I really liked the overall story and it was a very quick read. I also really liked the two main characters and their development. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The sixth book I read was Kingdom of Ashes by Rhiannon Thomas. This is the sequel to A Wicked Thing which I read earlier this year. This one continues with Aurora's story and I liked it a lot more than the first book. I loved seeing Aurora's journey and her becoming a lot more confident and brave. I rated this one 3.5 Crowns.

The seventh and last book I read was Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell. This is a retelling of Les Miserables and a book that has been on my TBR for a while now. This is set in in the planet of Laterre which is a place where an elite class reigns supreme, and the poor starve in the streets. However, there are whispers of revolution and a rebel group is resurfacing. There are three POVs in this book: Chatine who is a street-savvy thief wanting to escape the brutal Regime and the planet, Marcellus who is an officer and the son of a traitor, and Alouette who is living in an underground refuge where she helps protect the last library on the planet. I really enjoyed this book. It was so new and different from any YA book, while also including several dystopian and sci-fi tropes. I rated it 4 Crowns.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

NONE

ARC'S READ

NONE

REVIEWS IN JUNE:

NONE

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

NONE

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

July '20 Wrap-Up

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH: