Rating: 4/5 ☀️
Happy pub week to Violet Made of Thorns! This book was nothing like I expected it to be, and I am obsessed. It was like a darker, more adult Ella Enchanted and I am absolutely here for it. It had the fairy tale vibes, an amazing cast of characters, and was a totally immersive reading experience.
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Rating: 4.5/5 ☀️
I’m back with yet another delayed ARC review as I catch up on my reading, and this one was just an amazing reading experience that often made me forget I was reading. It’s been quite a while since a fantasy book captivated me like The Stardust Thief. I was utterly mesmerized by the characters, the world, and just the magic of it all.
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Rating: 2/5 ☀️
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to get an eARC of this. Portrait of a Thief unfortunately did not live up to my expectations or the hype I had seen surrounding the book. I was so excited for the concept of a heist novel with an examination of imperial power and interesting characters, but it fell flat on all counts.
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Rating: 4/5 ☀️
A Far Wilder Magic was a surprisingly soft, atmospheric read, and I was surprised by how much I fell in love with this book. The prose was direct and captivating, the worldbuilding was nuanced and fascinating to follow, and the characters were ultimately its heart.
Read More »Hey everyone!
So for the past year, I was working on my master’s degree. It’s been so busy but rewarding, and I’m so happy to say I graduated with my MA last month!
Unfortunately, between going back to school in-person and being a grad student with sooo many readings and papers, life has been pretty hectic, and I wasn’t really able to read for pleasure as much. I started this year wanting to read 40 books, and now half the year has passed and I’ve only read 5 so far. And updating this blog definitely became less of a priority as I fell behind on reviews.
But now that I’ve graduated, I’m slowly trying to get back into it. I’m hoping to catch up on reviews over the next couple of weeks, especially for ARCs, and I plan on spending more time tackling my list of books I want to read.
Admittedly, I’m not sure what the future of this blog is. It mainly started as a hobby during lockdown, but I don’t know how much I can keep up with it, or if the format is for me. I love talking about what I’m reading, but I guess I want to engage with other readers more. I might stick to Goodreads over time, or be more active on Twitter or something – we’ll see! Stay tuned though, I’ll be around here for a while longer yet, and keep an eye out while I catch up on reviews. 🙂
Rating: 4/5 ☀️
All of Us Villains is a twisting narrative full of strong, interesting characters and an amazing magic system. The book follows seven families in the elusive town of Ilvernath who name a champion every twenty years to compete in a tournament to the death, the prize being the control of a well of magick. It took me a bit to get into it, but once the tournament itself started, I found that I could not put the book down.
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Rating: 3.5/5 ☀️
First of all, apologies for such a late review. The grad school workload makes it difficult to get much reading done, let alone reviews. Now that I’m on break, I’m just catching up on everything I missed before. Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
To get into it – The Keeper of Night was an enthralling fantasy adventure full of lush descriptions and amazing worldbuilding. The mythology was gorgeously rendered, and the way it intertwined with the historical setting was so well done. It was a unique take on a villain origin story and corruption arc, and admittedly I came away feeling somewhat dissatisfied with the execution, but I can not deny that it was a pretty great reading experience.
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Rating: 4/5 ☀️
From the moment I heard about it, Jade Fire Gold has been one of my most anticipated reads for this year. I mean – the Avatar and Zutara influence with a basis in Chinese mythology? That’s just perfectly on brand. And for me, it absolutely lived up to the hype. This was an amazing debut with a captivating story full of adventure and romance in a way that is entirely heartfelt and everything I wanted.
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Rating: 3.5/5 ☀️
I read It All Comes Back To You a couple weeks ago and I’ve really struggled with how to approach this review (hence the delay). While there were parts that really missed the mark for me, it’s a messy family drama and second chance romance at its best. Ultimately, I think it comes down to being a novel that was well worth giving a chance, especially with its relatable representation.
Read More »Hey everyone! Just dropping in to say that the semester started for me a couple of weeks ago. I’m entering the MA portion of my combined BA/MA degree, and I’m really excited. Unfortunately, that means it’s been really difficult to find time to write reviews, especially with the move back to campus. I’m still trying to keep up, but written reviews will be a bit more sparse for a while. I’ll still be reading when I can, though, so keep up with me on Goodreads!
Sunglow Reads 