Books
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REVIEW; The Purple Haze
Title: The Purple HazeSeries: The Western Lands and All That Really MattersAuthor: Andrew Einspruch Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, HumourType: E-bookPublisher: Wild Pure Heart Her twin abducted. A treacherous rescue mission. Can an unproven princess escape a prophecy of doom? Princess Eloise Hydra Gumball III prefers things just exactly so. As the meticulous Future Ruler and Heir with an almost-useless magical gift, she’s in no hurry to take the throne. But when a seer foretells her royal twin’s peril, a simple quest with her champion friend to rescue the girl becomes a complicated journey filled with danger. Thrown completely out of her comfort zone and with her wayward sister slipping through her fingers, Eloise’s desperate hunt turns to…
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REVIEW; Of Princes And Promises
Title: Of Princes And PromisesSeries: St. Rosetta’s AcademyAuthor: Sandhya MenonGenre: Retelling, contemporary, romance.Type: HardcoverPublisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Caterina LaValle is determined to show she’s still the queen of St. Rosetta’s Academy. Sure, her crown may be slightly askew after her ex-boyfriend, Alaric, cheated on her, but she’s a LaValle. She’ll find a way to march right back in there, her hands clutching the strings to the whole puppet show. This time, she’s going to be untouchable. Rahul Chopra knows that moment he shared with Caterina LaValle at the winter formal meant something. Surely she feels it, too. He’s a little uncertain how someone like him (socially inept to a point way past “adorkable”)…
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REVIEWS; We Hunt The Flame / We Free The Stars
Title: We Hunt The FlameSeries: Sands Of ArawiyaAuthor: Hafsah FaizalGenre: Fantasy, romance.Type: HardcoverPublisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux People lived because she killed. People died because he lived. Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the sultan. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. Both Zafira and Nasir are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya–but neither wants to be. War is brewing, and…
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SPOTLIGHT; M.A. Vice in an Interview with the Author
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these types of posts. But when I found out The Impavidus Cycle was getting new paperbacks, I jumped on the chance to be a part of the cover reveal. They were posted everywhere on the 14th – I even changed up my bookstagram upload schedule for this and I regret nothing – and then I thought, hey, you know what? I’m going to ask Meg a few questions as well if she is up for it. She was, and I am so grateful to her for the chance of not just sharing the new covers – aren’t they gorgeous? – but…
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REVIEWS; Ms Marvel (Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Magnificent #13-18)
I’ve had the collected issue editions of the first of Kamala Khan’s run – Ms Marvel Volumes 2 and 3 – for a while now, but I finally sat down to read them recently. And clearly, I loved it enough to seek out issues from the Magnificent Ms Marvel run. You can say I’m a comics person now. I’m going to be finding more soon. I regret nothing. I’ve had a copy of this for a while, and I finally sat down to read it – and I flew through it. The colours, the characters, the fast-paced dialogue and snappy writing were so engaging and fun and dynamic. It really…
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REVIEW; The Hunt And The Haunting
Title: The Hunt And The HauntingAuthor: Victoria Audley Genre: Gothic, horror.Type: E-bookPublisher: Victoria Audley Agnes Marchdale loved to tell fantastical stories. She never expected to find herself in one. Everything seems to be looking up for the Marchdale sisters after Marianne’s engagement to the rich and handsome Lord Blackett. But when a long-buried scandal rears its head and threatens to overturn everything, Agnes must determine where truth lies or risk greater danger than she ever imagined. The Hunt and the Haunting is a story about ghosts, both literal and metaphorical; a story about the stories we love, the stories we believe, and the stories that shape the world around us. This review is going to be…
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REVIEW; No Other Choice
Title: No Other ChoiceAuthor: Leenie BrownGenre: Adult, regency romance, retellingType: E-bookPublisher: Leenie B Books At first, all he wanted was her forgiveness. Now, he wants her to be his countess. He insulted her before he had even met her. It was not purposefully done, of course, but it was done nonetheless. Now, after spending a great deal of time trying to make amends for his words, Lord Rycroft has done it again. But was he truly supposed to be pleased about being required to escort his mother and her latest matchmaking project from soiree to soiree during the season? He thought not. For her part, Mary Bennet is not eager to spend the season with…
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REVIEW; Persuading Miss Mary
Title: Persuading Miss MaryAuthor: Leenie BrownGenre: Adult, regency romance, retellingType: E-bookPublisher: Leenie B Books In society’s eyes, he’s got everything, but, in her estimation, he’s lacking the one thing she requires. Reginald Arthur Fitzwilliam, Viscount Westonbury, has never met a lady like Mary Bennet. Most debutants would be happy to have his attention, and who could blame them? He’s titled, wealthy, charming, and handsome — everything one could want for in a husband unless you’re Mary Bennet. From their first meeting when she scolded him for his behaviour and made it perfectly clear that she did not care one jot for his title or fortune, Wes has known that Mary is no standard-order, ton-approved debutant.…
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What Lilly’s Library Represents To Me
Growing up as a non-white reader in a non-Western country was interesting to say the least. You don’t realise how many Western cultural things you pick up on until you actually pause and look around you and go, wait, this is nothing like my lived experience. It took a good many years for me to unlearn the way media centralises white stories that I didn’t have to consume only those stories. (I still read and watch them, because a) they are everywhere still even if now we’re getting our voices out as well and b) look, some of them are really good.) I’ve talked about the first time I felt…
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REVIEW; Crown Of Ivy
Let me start by saying I am in absolute love with the way Victoria writes. There is something so captivating about the turns of phrases she uses, the pictures they paint, the emotions they evoke. Absolutely stunning. I knew very little about the characters of this particular part of the Greek pantheon going in so I will admit I did a Wikipedia search about Ariadne after starting the novella. But nothing could prepare me for the way Victoria wrote her. She was strong and stubborn and real. She cried and feared and bled and fought – her characterisation was full-fleshed and human, and it made her ascension seem so earned.…