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.
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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.
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Rating: 4.5/5 ☀️
Oh, the absolute breakdown this book gave me. The Boy With Fire might be my favorite fantasy book of the year. The summary was not for me, but I gave it a chance anyway because it was popular on Twitter and despite my wariness of Book Twitter, it did not disappoint. I was not prepared for the absolutely immersive experience that was this story.
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Rating: 3/5 ☀️
The Shaadi Set-Up was a cute contemporary novel with an exes-to-lovers romance, which is a trope I wouldn’t normally read, but the premise was so interesting I had to give it a go. And it did not let me down! I enjoyed the story and the character and relationship development. However, I did have some issues I couldn’t ignore, so overall it made for an average read.
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Sunglow Reads 