{ about the book }
Sorcery of Thorns
Publishes June 4th 2019 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
e-ARC provided by edelweiss
e-ARC provided by edelweiss
All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.
Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.
As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.
note!! this is my first review on the blog after a long ass time and considering I read this book back in, like, October, that's just. Something to keep in mind. Maybe.
{ about the book }
Three Mages and a Margarita by Annette Marie
Publishes September 14, 2018 by Dark Owl Fantasy Inc.
e-ARC provided by the author
e-ARC provided by the author
Broke, almost homeless, and recently fired. Those are my official reasons for answering a wanted ad for a skeevy-looking bartender gig.
It went downhill the moment they asked me to do a trial shift instead of an interview — to see if I'd mesh with their "special" clientele. I think that part went great. Their customers were complete dickheads, and I was an asshole right back. That's the definition of fitting in, right?
I expected to get thrown out on my ass. Instead, they… offered me the job?
It turns out this place isn't a bar. It's a guild. And the three cocky guys I drenched with a margarita during my trial? Yeah, they were mages. Either I'm exactly the kind of takes-no-shit bartender this guild needs, or there's a good reason no one else wants to work here.
So what's a broke girl to do? Take the job, of course — with a pay raise.
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•
{ my review }
♫ ♫ ♫ ♪
I think I've said this before, but whatever. I love Annette Marie's book and I'll read anything of hers at this point. Anything.
I was ecstatic when Marie announced two new series, one of them being this one! I was just waiting for more info to come in—cover reveals, character reveals, blurbs, all that good stuff. And each new teaser just got me hyped up all the more.
That being said, I was extremely satisfied with Three Mages and a Margarita! Despite the title being a mouthful—though I do appreciate the alliteration—the book was super fun. It has a voice-y character, funny quips, and lots of friendly camaraderie that I really loved reading.
Tori was a really fun character. In all her other books—all eleven! of them!—Marie wrote from a third person point of view and I thought the shift to first person would be weird, but it fit so well! It was easy to fall into Tori's voice and into her head, and this type of narration just really worked for the book. Connecting to bits of her personality was a lot easier for me. And I've always preferred first person PoV anyway, so this was perfect.
I also really loved the titular three mages! They're all reminiscent of Marie's other male characters—sarcastic, quiet, attractive—but the three were a tight knit group and you could really tell from the way they interacted, both in casual environments and more dangerous ones. I liked that they took in Tori and got along with her so easily.
And despite what you might think with there being three guys, Three Mages is not a reverse harem! Marie herself said so (there's even a note on the GR page).
As much as I liked this book, some things did bother me. First being that, of the three mages, only two had real page time. There's Ezra, Aaron, and Kai, but we mostly see significant interactions with Aaron and Ezra, and not much of Kai, which was disappointing.
Another thing that bothered me was the use of the word exotic to describe Kai. He's Japanese-American, if what I gathered from the book is correct (AKA if I'm remembering correctly lol), and Tori describes him—three times—as having "exotic features". Um. Don't do this. Don't describe anyone as exotic, especially people of color.
And finally, there was the use of the word "girly". Oh my god, I'm so fucking tired. There's nothing wrong with "girly" things and I'm tired of that type of thing being in books! I don't care if you consider shopping girly or crying girly. Every time you do that, you just bring back the negative connotation of feminine things being bad or undesirable. Look, shopping is fun. It's great. And having any type of emotional reaction after a bad experience? It's being human. I'm so tired of this.
Overall, 3.5 stars. Not my favourite Marie book, but it was definitely a solid start to a new series and I think it holds a lot of potential. There's a lot I'd love to see in the future books, so I can't wait to see where it goes!
I was ecstatic when Marie announced two new series, one of them being this one! I was just waiting for more info to come in—cover reveals, character reveals, blurbs, all that good stuff. And each new teaser just got me hyped up all the more.
That being said, I was extremely satisfied with Three Mages and a Margarita! Despite the title being a mouthful—though I do appreciate the alliteration—the book was super fun. It has a voice-y character, funny quips, and lots of friendly camaraderie that I really loved reading.
Tori was a really fun character. In all her other books—all eleven! of them!—Marie wrote from a third person point of view and I thought the shift to first person would be weird, but it fit so well! It was easy to fall into Tori's voice and into her head, and this type of narration just really worked for the book. Connecting to bits of her personality was a lot easier for me. And I've always preferred first person PoV anyway, so this was perfect.
I also really loved the titular three mages! They're all reminiscent of Marie's other male characters—sarcastic, quiet, attractive—but the three were a tight knit group and you could really tell from the way they interacted, both in casual environments and more dangerous ones. I liked that they took in Tori and got along with her so easily.
And despite what you might think with there being three guys, Three Mages is not a reverse harem! Marie herself said so (there's even a note on the GR page).
As much as I liked this book, some things did bother me. First being that, of the three mages, only two had real page time. There's Ezra, Aaron, and Kai, but we mostly see significant interactions with Aaron and Ezra, and not much of Kai, which was disappointing.
Another thing that bothered me was the use of the word exotic to describe Kai. He's Japanese-American, if what I gathered from the book is correct (AKA if I'm remembering correctly lol), and Tori describes him—three times—as having "exotic features". Um. Don't do this. Don't describe anyone as exotic, especially people of color.
And finally, there was the use of the word "girly". Oh my god, I'm so fucking tired. There's nothing wrong with "girly" things and I'm tired of that type of thing being in books! I don't care if you consider shopping girly or crying girly. Every time you do that, you just bring back the negative connotation of feminine things being bad or undesirable. Look, shopping is fun. It's great. And having any type of emotional reaction after a bad experience? It's being human. I'm so tired of this.
Overall, 3.5 stars. Not my favourite Marie book, but it was definitely a solid start to a new series and I think it holds a lot of potential. There's a lot I'd love to see in the future books, so I can't wait to see where it goes!
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•
{ about the book }
Publishes September 18, 2018 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
e-ARC provided by edelweiss
e-ARC provided by edelweiss
Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.
Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price.
Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•
{ my review }
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
Oh my god.
Oooooooooh my god. Guys. I can’t. I can’t review this book. It’s just not possible, you know? I could hardly express my thoughts for Warcross because wow, I’d thought I loved that. And now… Just. Wow. This book. It puts the wild in Wildcard and I’m just so dead. (also ba dum tss at that awful pun lol.)
It. Was. So. Good. So good. Wildcard was just as breathtaking and mind boggling and action packed as Warcross. Only. Only, I think it was more, in that way some sequels are? I just felt so much more while reading this, especially in a few specific scenes.
I really think that this is Marie Lu’s best book yet. Everything—down to the dot—was done perfectly. Where I felt Warcross focused on the game (as it should have!) to get readers into the mindset of Warcross and the importance of it to the Phoenix Riders, Wildcard had that emotional connection to it, something that makes you really understand the characters and the reason why they do the things they do.
I don’t even know what else to say about this book. I’m so emotional and so in love with this series, this author, that it is honestly overwhelming. Wildcard was such a perfect finale, everything tied together amazingly. It is an exhilarating ride from start to finish.
Clearly, 5 stars. If you haven’t read Warcross, oh my god, WHYYYYY. Please do it! Please, please, please, and then read this, and then feel free to message me with all your feels BECAUSE THERE WILL BE FEELS. Oh god.
SO YEAH. I love it. Thank u for dealing with me.
Oooooooooh my god. Guys. I can’t. I can’t review this book. It’s just not possible, you know? I could hardly express my thoughts for Warcross because wow, I’d thought I loved that. And now… Just. Wow. This book. It puts the wild in Wildcard and I’m just so dead. (also ba dum tss at that awful pun lol.)
It. Was. So. Good. So good. Wildcard was just as breathtaking and mind boggling and action packed as Warcross. Only. Only, I think it was more, in that way some sequels are? I just felt so much more while reading this, especially in a few specific scenes.
I really think that this is Marie Lu’s best book yet. Everything—down to the dot—was done perfectly. Where I felt Warcross focused on the game (as it should have!) to get readers into the mindset of Warcross and the importance of it to the Phoenix Riders, Wildcard had that emotional connection to it, something that makes you really understand the characters and the reason why they do the things they do.
I don’t even know what else to say about this book. I’m so emotional and so in love with this series, this author, that it is honestly overwhelming. Wildcard was such a perfect finale, everything tied together amazingly. It is an exhilarating ride from start to finish.
Clearly, 5 stars. If you haven’t read Warcross, oh my god, WHYYYYY. Please do it! Please, please, please, and then read this, and then feel free to message me with all your feels BECAUSE THERE WILL BE FEELS. Oh god.
SO YEAH. I love it. Thank u for dealing with me.
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•
{ buy the book }
{ about the book }
Publishes September 4, 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
e-ARC provided by netgalley
e-ARC provided by netgalley
Dexter meets This Savage Song in this dark fantasy about a girl who sells magical body parts on the black market—until she’s betrayed.
Nita doesn’t murder supernatural beings and sell their body parts on the internet—her mother does that. Nita just dissects the bodies after they’ve been “acquired.” But when her mom brings home a live specimen, Nita decides she wants out—dissecting living people is a step too far.
But when she tries to save her mother’s victim, she ends up sold on the black market in his place—because Nita herself is a supernatural being. Now Nita is on the other side of the bars, and there is no line she won’t cross to escape and make sure no one can ever capture her again.
Nita did a good deed, and it cost her everything. Now she’s going to do a lot of bad deeds to get it all back.
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•
{ my review }
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
Originally, I’d given this 4 stars on goodreads and honestly?
I don’t know why. I loved this book. Why would I give it 4 stars? Not Even Bones was everything dark and morally grey I wanted in a book for so long. Screw 4 stars. This deserves all 5 of them.
Past Mith was not thinking, evidently, but current Mith—me!! current me!—is thinking. And I say that this book is a solid debut and you need to pre-order if you can.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably craved a dark YA that pushes the boundaries. Or wished a book dug a little deeper, got a little—a lot—darker. Schaeffer does that. I hope she continues to do that.
I just loved it. I loved how messy and grey the main character was. How deeply Not Good all the other characters acted. But, Nita. Man, if Nita doesn’t have my heart—I’ll refrain from including a bad line here. She was such a badass and she got things done. She was logical, level-headed, and didn’t suffer from that self-sacrificing nonsense. She was always her first priority and I adored it.
Not Even Bones has a lot of great things going on for it, but one of my favourite parts was how Schaeffer talked about privilege in the book. It’s not something I’m super nuanced in actually, properly discussing, unfortunately, but it is something I’m becoming more and more aware of and I’m glad Schaeffer brought it up.
There wasn’t a lot that really bothered me? I mean, maybe a small thing here or there, but mostly that was the different supernaturals mentioned. They each had something that made them unique, and dropping stuff like that doesn’t help my confusion lmao. I loved that they were part of the world, though.
I was not expecting most of what happens in this book outside of what’s mentioned in the synopsis. So all the twists? Definitely caught me off guard and definitely added to my enjoyment of the book. It was also what made Not Even Bones so difficult to put down!
Would I recommend this? Oh, yes. Yes, I definitely would. Dark, sort of gory, and bloody, this was a wild start and a wilder finish. If you’re squeamish, maybe skip this one. But if you’re not, I definitely say check it out!
I don’t know why. I loved this book. Why would I give it 4 stars? Not Even Bones was everything dark and morally grey I wanted in a book for so long. Screw 4 stars. This deserves all 5 of them.
Past Mith was not thinking, evidently, but current Mith—me!! current me!—is thinking. And I say that this book is a solid debut and you need to pre-order if you can.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably craved a dark YA that pushes the boundaries. Or wished a book dug a little deeper, got a little—a lot—darker. Schaeffer does that. I hope she continues to do that.
I just loved it. I loved how messy and grey the main character was. How deeply Not Good all the other characters acted. But, Nita. Man, if Nita doesn’t have my heart—I’ll refrain from including a bad line here. She was such a badass and she got things done. She was logical, level-headed, and didn’t suffer from that self-sacrificing nonsense. She was always her first priority and I adored it.
Not Even Bones has a lot of great things going on for it, but one of my favourite parts was how Schaeffer talked about privilege in the book. It’s not something I’m super nuanced in actually, properly discussing, unfortunately, but it is something I’m becoming more and more aware of and I’m glad Schaeffer brought it up.
There wasn’t a lot that really bothered me? I mean, maybe a small thing here or there, but mostly that was the different supernaturals mentioned. They each had something that made them unique, and dropping stuff like that doesn’t help my confusion lmao. I loved that they were part of the world, though.
I was not expecting most of what happens in this book outside of what’s mentioned in the synopsis. So all the twists? Definitely caught me off guard and definitely added to my enjoyment of the book. It was also what made Not Even Bones so difficult to put down!
Would I recommend this? Oh, yes. Yes, I definitely would. Dark, sort of gory, and bloody, this was a wild start and a wilder finish. If you’re squeamish, maybe skip this one. But if you’re not, I definitely say check it out!
