A girl with a dangerous power. A warrior they call the shadow of death. A world divided and slowly dying.
Six-year-old Theodora grew up at the House, a place for girls born without power. Abandoned as a baby, she has no memory of her past beyond the melody that invades her dreams. So when an ancient presence starts whispering in her ear, she answers.
The reward is fire; the price is the destruction of the only life she has ever known. Yet from the loss comes a chance at a better future… if she can learn to control a power that no one seems to understand.
Across the ocean, Death’s Arm warrior Kai struggles with the changes forcing him out of the shadows. With the neglect of those in power breeding dissent, he is called to do his job as their occasional assassin: cut it at the root.
But when a strange restlessness makes him question an order for the first time… he finds himself on the path he never wanted, but can no longer avoid. After all, he may be the only one capable of stopping what is coming—a war where death is just the beginning.
From Fire & Shadows cover: Shows vines & leaves over a dark background
I am DNFing at 17%.
I have 3 main issues with this book. Well 3 & a overall, I am bored….
Firstly, the sentences do not flow. They feel very choppy which makes it hard to follow and difficult to read as there is just no flow to it. I am confused as to what is going on because it is so jumpy. It feels like I am just missing something.
Next, there has been basically no world building (besides names of towns really), explanation of the magic or really plot since the first few paragraphs. Nothing is really happening to interest me in continuing and I keep finding myself putting it down and getting distracted by other things because it’s just not gripping me in any way.
Lastly, the characters feel very 2 Dimensional. I feel like I don’t know the main 2 characters at all and it’s been 17%. Things are happening and they are talking but I feel no personality to them at all. Which is another reason that the book isn’t gripping me. I couldn’t care less what happens to the characters because nothing has made me like them as they just feel like cardboard cut outs of people.
Overall, this book sounded really interesting but it’s just not gripping me enough to make me continue. At this point I would be forcing myself and I just do not do that to myself. Reading is for enjoyment, so unless I am enjoying it, I don’t keep reading.
Let’s Chat
Have you read From Fire & Shadows? What were your thoughts?
Thank you to NetGalley & BooksGoSocial for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
You can order a copy for yourself at any of the links below.
You could also use my affiliate link for Book Depository if you would like to support this blog.
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
I actually purchased a fair few books this month and also gotten some from NetGalley! So here they are!
eARCs/ARCs
Fable by Adrienne Young
Shadow in the Empire of Light by Jane Routley
Firefrost by Camille Longley
The Celestial Gate by Avital Dicker
From Fire & Shadows by J.F. Baptista
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi
Ever After by Olivia Vieweg
A Goldren Fury releases 13th October 2020 Fable releases 1st September 2020 Shadow in the Empire of Light releases 19th January 2021 Firefrost releases 21st September 2020 The Celestial Gate releases 9th August 2020 From fire & Shadows releases 15th August 2020 Lore releases 5th January 2021 War Girls releases 8th September 2020 Ever After releases 1st September 2020
Library
Invictus by Ryan Graudin
Paperbacks
Day Zero by Kelly Devos
The Lost city by Amanda Hocking
Cursed by Thomas Wheeler
All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas
The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss
Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
All of these but 1 I purchased from Big W, so they were only $12 or $14 each!
Hardcovers
Queen of Storms by Raymon E. Feist
eBooks
The Dawn Chorus by Samantha Shannon
A Shadow on the Glass by Ian Irvine
Audible
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Only Human by Slyvain Neuvel
House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin A. Craig
eBooks saved on Scribd
The Red Queen by Christina Henry
Lost Boy by Christina Henry
Fence: Vol 1 by C.S. Pacat
Audiobooks saved on Scribd
The Beholder by Anna Bright
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown
You Should See me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
Let’s Chat
What did you haul in July? Which are you most keen to read?
Purchase any of the books mentioned from BOOK DEPOSITORY! World Wide FREE shipping and awesome prices? Can’t say no to that!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Bookopoly ReadAThon Round 1 is over! I’m already planning Round 2 for September and hopefully the announcement will be up in the next few weeks or two. Let’s jump into this Wrap Up!
Roll 1: Bookshelf: Building on Cover
The Starspun Web by Sinead O’Hart
Firstly, I read The Starspun Web which earned me 100 points! You can find my Spoiler Free Review HERE. Total: 100 points
Roll 2: Star/Moon on Cover
Sleeping Giants by Slyvain Neuvel
Next I listened to the audiobook of Sleeping Giants which was a reread. This earned me another 140 points. Total: 240 points
Roll 3: Read with Candle Lit
The Woods: Vol 4 by James Tynion IV, Michael Dialynas & Josan Gonzalez
Then I read the Graphic Novel The Woods: Vol 4 which earned me another 180 points. Total: 420 points
Roll 4: Library
Then I landed on the Free Library space Total: 420 points
Roll 5: Adventure
For the adventure quiz I got “Oh no! Loose 100 points” Tota: 320 points
Roll 7: Read with a Candle Lit
The Woods: Vol 5 by James Tynion IV, Michael Dialynas & Josan Gonzalez
Firstly, I passed GO earning 200 points & then I read the Graphic Novel The Woods: Vol 5 and earned 180 points. Total: 700 points
Roll 8: Bookshelf: Gripping First Line
The Celesital Gate by Avital Dicker
Then I read The Celestial Gate and earning 150 points. Spoiler Free Review HERE! Total: 850 points
Roll 9: Treasure Chest
For the Treasure Chest quiz I got “Hit 1k followers on Bookstagram and earn 100 points”. Total: 950 points
Roll 10: Read in your favourite chair
The Woods: Vol 7 by James Tynion IV, Michael Dialynas & Josan Gonzalez
Then I passed GO again earning 200 points & then read The Woods: Vol 7 and earned 100 points Total: 1050 points
Roll 11: Treasure Chest
For this quiz I got “Sold an exclusive edition. Earn 100 points” Tota: 1150 points
Roll 12: Reaping – District 3: Advanced Technology
Waking Gods by Slyvain Neuvel
Then I listened to Waking Gods & earned another 100 points. Total: 1250 points
Roll 13: Features Immigration
Pride by Ibi Zoboi
Then I started reading Pride but ended up swapping to the audiobook. Earning 140 points. Total: 1390 points
Roll 14: Fall into a Reading Slump
So, I landed on the ‘Fall into a Reading Slump’ space and I advanced to ‘In a reading slump’. I ended up rolling a double 6 on the 5th roll and moved to the ‘Just Waiting’ section. Total: 1390 points
Roll 15: Treasure Chest
For this one I got “Approved for a new release on NetGalley. Earn 50 points” Total: 1440 points
Roll 16: GO
Then I landed on GO and earned 200 points Tota: 1640 points
Roll 17: Read in your favourite chair/spot
The Woods: Vol 8 by James Tynion IV, Michael Dialynas & Josan Gonzalez
Then I read the Graphic Novel The Woods: Vol 8 and earned 200 points. Total: 1840 points
Roll 18: Just Visiting
Then I landed on the Just visiting space. Total : 1840 points
Roll 19: Treasure Chest
Then I got “Dog chews on your book. Loose 50 points. Tota: 1790 points
Roll 20: 3 World Title
House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess
Then I read Hose of Dragons and earned 240 points. Total: 2030 points
Roll 21: Audiobook
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
Then I listened to the audiobook of Only Human and earned 320 points. Total: 2350 points
Roll 22: Brown Cover
Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie
Then I listened to Elephants Can Remember and earned 60 points. Total: 2410 points
Roll 23: YA Novel
Nocturna by Maya Motayne
Then I read Nocturna and earned 120 points Total: 2530 points
Roll 24: Strong Female MC
House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin A Craig
Then I reread House of Salt and Sorrow via audiobook and earned 160 points. Total: 2690 points
Roll 25: Read with your favourite drink
Fence: Vol 1 by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad & Joana LaFuente
Then I read the Graphic Novel Fence: Vol 1 and earned 220 points Total: 2910 points
Roll 26: 400+ pages
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
Then I read Serpent & Dove and earned 300 points. Total: 3210 points
Roll 28: Star/Moon on Cover
Then I passed GO earning 200 points. I did start a book for this challenge but did not finish it. So I ended the ReadAThon sitting on this space! Tota: 3410 points
Overall
I read a total of 4 books, 6 graphic novels, 1 eBook, 1 eARC & 7 audiobooks in July! Which I am super happy with! 19 books is amazing for me and it got me back on track for my yearly goal after being in a slump earlier in the year.
Let’s Chat
How did you go during July?? Did you participate in any ReadAThons?
Purchase any of the books mentioned from BOOK DEPOSITORY! World Wide FREE shipping and awesome prices? Can’t say no to that!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Title:Â House of Dragons Series Name:House of Dragons Author:Â Jessica Cluess Genre:Â YA Fantasy Publication Date:Â May 12th, 2020 Pages:Â 448 Publishers:Â Random House Books for Young Readers Rating:
4.5 Stars
Goodreads Synopsis
Five royal houses will hear the call to compete in the Trial for the dragon throne. A liar, a soldier, a servant, a thief, and a murderer will answer it. Who will win?
When the Emperor dies, the five royal houses of Etrusia attend the Call, where one of their own will be selected to compete for the throne. It is always the oldest child, the one who has been preparing for years to compete in the Trial. But this year is different. This year, these five outcasts will answer the call….
THE LIAR: Emilia must hide her dark magic or be put to death.
THE SOLDIER: Lucian is a warrior who has sworn to never lift a sword again.
THE SERVANT: Vespir is a dragon trainer whose skills alone will keep her in the game.
THE THIEF: Ajax knows that nothing is free–he must take what he wants.
THE MURDERER:Â Hyperia was born to rule and will stop at nothing to take her throne.
Dark Blue cover with red smoke coming from bottom left corner. 5 swords crossing in the middle with different cover handles (Gold, Purple, Green, Blue & Red) that are shaped as different dragons. “Win at all costs” quote at the top.
I absolutely loved House of Dragons! This book is incredibly written and was extremely gripping! I simply didn’t want to put this book down.
Firstly, I love the diverse range of characters we see in the book! Every character, even the side characters were very well written and fleshed out amazingly. The book follows 5 points of view and every single POV had it’s on personality and feel to it. They also all developed and grew really well throughout the book. I loved reading every POV even if I was rooting for some characters more than others!
I really liked how detailed the world building was and how much description went into the magic system. Of course there is still some mystery but I liked how much detail we got and it made sense for the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed House of Dragons & I can’t wait for book 2! I love how House of Dragons ended but it also ended on a bit of cliffhanger, so I’m super keen to see what comes next.
Let’s Chat
Have you read House of Dragons? What were your thoughts? Have you read any of Jessica Cluess’s other books? If so let me know your thoughts as I’m very curious.
You can order a copy for yourself at any of the links below.
You could also use my affiliate link for Book Depository if you would like to support this blog.
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Yes, I am taking on 3 ReadAThons minimum this month! May I join another? Maybe. Maybe not. We will see!! So let’s jump into it
General August TBR & Dewey’s 24 Hour 2020 Summer Reverse ReadAThon TBR
So firstly, Dewey’s 24 Hour ReadAThon begins 7th of August at 8pm EST. So for me in Australia it begins at 10am on the 8th of August! Which is also the same day Tome Topple begins. I have a general TBR which I will be focusing on during the days that I am not doing any ReadAThons (1st to 7th) and also during Dewey’s. Even though Dewey’s is also day 1 of Tome Topple I am not going to stress about the 500+ page requirement for Dewey’s.
Fable by Adrienne Young
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
Firefrost by Camille Longley
The Bone Thief by Breeana Shields
Fable & Firefrost are both eARCs that I need to read & review before September. So they will be my first priorities. Then I will concentrate on the others if I have time.
Tome Topple TBR
Tome Topple goes from 8th to 21st of August and I have a bit of an ambitious TBR but I am aiming to try and get some of the books off my TBR that are on my 20 books to read in 2020 list.
The Devil’s Thief by Lisa Maxwell
Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
King of Ashes by Raymond E. Feist
These are the 5 books I will be aiming to read. Which as I said may be ambitious but I will try my hardest! I may end up picking up The Devil’s Thief as an audiobook and maybe one of the others. Will just see how I feel!
Roll the Dice ReadAThon
So I don’t have a TBR for this one as I will be discovering what I will be reading as it happens. For this one there are 2 methods that you could chose to take and I am using the method where you assign each of your shelves a number, roll the dice to chose a shelf, then assign each book on that shelf a number & roll again to discover what book to read. So obviously I don’t have a TBR for this one!
Let’s Chat
What’s on your TBR for August? Are you participating in any ReadAThons?
Purchase any of the books mentioned from BOOK DEPOSITORY! World Wide FREE shipping and awesome prices? Can’t say no to that!
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Title:Â The Celestial Gate Author:Â Avital Dicker Genre:Â YA Fantasy Publication Date:Â August 9th, 2020 Pages:Â 346 Publishers:Â BooksGoSocial Rating:
2.5 Stars
Goodreads Synopsis
The world is about to end. There is only one way to save it. But the price could be her life.
The paths of three teenagers cross at the heart of a large-scale terror attack in which their parents are injured.
In order to save themselves, they will have to give up everything they know and love.
Jerusalem is burning and they are trapped. They have no choice but to follow a mysterious map and escape into a network of secret passages under the old city, where they are forced to fight for their lives against dangerous armed terrorists.
Time is running out and the only way to save themselves and the city is to find the Celestial Gate.
To accomplish this, they will have to overcome their differences and find the meaning of the secret bond that connects between the three of them, rooted in a previous life and in ancient history.
Will they manage to find the secret gate and save the city from death and destruction?
Book Cover: Three silhouettes standing in an archway with a vast city on a hill showing through the other side.
This will not be the most positive review… I get more and more confused about this book every time I reread the synopsis honestly!!
So, let’s get the one good thing (which was the only reason I kept reading this book) out of the road first. That is that the book is very fast paced & quick to read. Yep, thats my positive thing.
Now, onto the less positive things. Firstly, and the main thing that I simply do not understand is the synopsis of this book! I received this book through NetGalley and had never heard of it before hand, so the synopsis was what I read and what I thought sounded interesting. HOWEVER, I have now discovered that the book & the synopsis are BARELY similar… First off, the events that are mentioned in the synopsis do not even play out until 35% through the book. Which was weird to start with as why didn’t the synopsis tell us about the start of the book & the basic idea of the world instead of details about events that happen around the middle of the book?? Confused. Then there is the fact that the synopsis is inaccurate. So, let’s break some of the synopsis down. The bits of information between the emojis is spoilery, so skip those sections if you want no spoilers!
The world is about to end. There is only one way to save it. But the price could be her life
As far as I saw the world was not ending… There was a terrorist attack in Jerusalem which was also happening in some other areas. There was mention that there could be a full on War but that still isn’t the world ending.. I’m not sure what this ‘one way to save it’ was exactly because it was never mentioned. 🙄 The MCs blow up an old building or something to stop the bomb blowing up most of the city instead (which was a split second decision nearly) but that wasn’t exactly the only option. They could of disabled the bomb or literally anything else.. 🙄 And lastly besides trying to avoid being killed by terrorists there wasn’t any big events that could of been succeed by costing them her life..
The paths of three teenagers cross at the heart of a large-scale terror attack in which their parents are injured.
No they didn’t… 2 of them literally knew each other since birth (not to mention they all knew each other anyway before being reincarnated at this time – which is not even mentioned in the synopsis, except one tiny hint. Yes the entire book is based on reincarnation and religion)… The other one did cross their path but not all 3.
Time is running out and the only way to save themselves and the city is to find the Celestial Gate.
I don’t recall the characters actually mentioning that they thought finding The Celestial Gate would save the city. The female just wanted to find it to get to God so she could tell him that the system of reincarnation they are stuck is wasn’t working…
To accomplish this, they will have to overcome their differences and find the meaning of the secret bond that connects between the three of them, rooted in a previous life and in ancient history.
‘find the meaning’?? They literally get to a certain location and each of them remembers everything about the reincarnation and everything else… It wasn’t exactly something they were looking for or discovered. Their memory just came back.
Will they manage to find the secret gate and save the city from death and destruction?
Finding the gate did basically nothing in saving the city. They did that all on their own after they were sent back from Heaven.. Unless I missed something finding the gate really didn’t achieve anything except understanding a couple things.
So overall the synopsis was just all over the place. It does not mention religion once when that is literally the main focus of the book. It very very briefly hints to reincarnation which again is the major part of the world… Then other parts just simply aren’t accurate to the book I read. I just do not get it at all..
Enough about the synopsis and now onto the parts about the actual book I didn’t enjoy.
Firstly the 3 major characters felt very 2 dimensional.. The parents whose lives we briefly follow before the main plot felt more fleshed out than Mor, Anise & Yam. Due to them being so flat I just didn’t really care what was happening to them.
The plot itself was kind of interesting at times but also kinda bland even more often. I found myself getting bored a lot and also dosing off and having to reread the same sentence 5 times before I actually took it in. It was also very predictable which didn’t exactly help to make the book more exciting.
Lastly I didn’t enjoy how the POV was written. It swaps between the parents and the 3 major characters. However only 1/4 of the time did the paragraphs start with the characters name so you knew who you were following. I did however read an ARC of the book, so this could have been rectified in the final copy, I can’t be sure, but it made it very hard to follow in the ARC. I also found a couple times where the POV would change from one character to another half way through a paragraph without warning. Which means I was going back and reading sections trying to figure out who was doing what and what the heck was going on.
Overall I don’t recommend this book, even without the obvious synopsis issues. It was bland and not overly well written. Majorly though, I went in expected an action packed adventure/quest book following 3 young adults and instead got a heavy religious based reincarnation story with a little bit of action but an overall quest to find God.. Not what I signed up for at all. I also wish that the heavy religious base of this book was mentioned in the synopsis so readers could have the choice on whether to read about the topic or not. It is not something I would have picked up if I had know and that should be something people have a choice on. Just being thrown into that expecting something completely different is not on and it’s not fair to the reader…
Let’s Chat
What are your thoughts on an inaccurate synopsis? Are there any books that come to mind that annoyed you for this reason?
Thank you to NetGalley & BooksGoSocial for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
You can order a copy for yourself at any of the links below.
You could also use my affiliate link for Book Depository if you would like to support this blog.
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
For fans of Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy comes a thrilling adventure about a brave girl who finds a portal to parallel worlds, and must protect her secret from the evil forces trying to capture it.
All her life, Tess has lived at Miss Ackerbee’s orphanage with her friends and her pet tarantula, Violet. But one day, a mysterious man named Mr. Cleat shows up and whisks Tess away to live with him. Before Tess leaves, Miss Ackerbee gives her a strange lens, and makes an even stranger admission: that Tess can travel to parallel worlds, and has been able to do so since she was found as a baby. Now, with her newfound abilities and the mysterious lens in tow, Tess must navigate life with Mr. Cleat and his nefarious housekeeper, who seem to be up to more than they let on. As Tess learns about the lens and its role in transporting her to other worlds, she discovers that behind Mr. Cleat’s oily smiles is a darker intention: one that could bring the world to its feet. Can Tess keep her secret from Mr. Cleat, and figure out what he’s up to? And what if the lens falls into the wrong hands? With the help of Violet and her friends from the orphanage, Tess can finally discover the truth about Mr. Cleat and, more importantly, herself.
The Starspun Web: Purple 10 point Star with a Blue star behind it which is surrounded by spider web. Top right corner features a building, top left features 2 WWII planes, bottom left features a spider & bottom right features a boy & a girl running.
This was a super quick and interesting read! I had a lot of fun reading this one and I ended up really enjoying it. I find Middle Grades can be very hit & miss with me. Some of them I love but others just read very childish in my opinion. The Starspun Web however was written beautifully and I found my self absolutely engrossed in the story.
I loved that this book had a strong theme of friendship throughout the whole book! It was very refreshing and the connections between characters were very fleshed out. I also loved seeing Tess develop as a character and person throughout the story! Tess was also a very thought out character and she showed that it’s okay to be smart and stand up for what is right.
The magic system was also very interesting and very developed. It still left a little mystery (after all the characters don’t even understand it all) but we found out enough to not be confused. The world building was also amazing and was written in a way that made it very picturesque.
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Our heroes are back… kind of. From the bestselling co-authors of the Illuminae Files comes the second book in the epic series about a squad of misfits, losers, and discipline cases who just might be the galaxy’s best hope for survival.
First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.
Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.
And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.
Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.
When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.
Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.
Aurora Burning Cover: Orange/Red backgroun with Kal on the cover. Kal is a white male with silver hair in multiple braids. He has a scar on his cheek and a tattoo of sorts on this forehead. “They’re not going down without a fight. We hope.” is at the top of the book.
I enjoyed Aurora Burning even more than I did Aurora Rising! You can find my Spoiler Free Review HERE!
The characters are amazingly written! They were fleshed out and felt completely real. I loved learning more about them and seeing them develop throughout the story.
The writing is also incredible. It always is from these authors really. I enjoyed reading from every POV and all of the POV were written very well. You could read their personalities in each POV which is hard to do right at the best of times let alone for six very different characters! The plot was very fast paced so it left very little room for calm moments which means I was just gripped by this story the entire time!
I ended up completely engrossed in this story & couldn’t wait to see what would happen next for these characters. The plot was completely unpredictable and I was left shocked a few times. Also this ended on a massive cliff hanger that literally left me staring at the book for about 2 minutes trying to process that ending.
Overall I loved this book and I CANNOT WAIT for book 3 to come out! The cliffhanger!!! I need to know. I highly recommend this to any Sci-Fi lover! Maybe wait for all of them to be out though because waiting the near year for book 3 is torturous.
Let’s Chat
Do you love the Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff duo? What were your thoughts on Aurora Rising & Aurora Burning?
You can order a copy for yourself at any of the links below.
You could also use my affiliate link for Book Depository if you would like to support this blog.
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
I couldn’t choose between these! They were both just amazing. I’m yet to review Aurora Burning but that should be up soon. You can find my Nyxia Unleashed spoiler free review HERE!
3. New release you haven’t read yet but want to?
All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace
Red Hood by Elana K Arnold
House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess
This Vicious Cure by Emily Suvada
These are all 2020 releases that I own but haven’t had a chance to get to just yet! It will be definitely be happening soon thought!
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?
The Madness Blooms by Mackenzi Lee
Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston
There are many I’m looking forward to but these are the ones that came to mind! All of these books are by authors whose books I have loved before so I can’t wait to see their newest works!
5. Biggest Disappointment?
The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring
The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White
These are both books I DNFd because I wasn’t enjoying or just couldn’t get into them. I did expect to enjoy both so they were both disappointing!
Fawkes was the second Nadine Brandes book I read and while I enjoyed Romanov by her I loved Fawkes and it pushed her up to an auto buy author. The Girl in Red was the first of Christina Henry’s books that I read this year and enjoyed book! Will definitely be grabbing her other books. The Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter is the first book in a trilogy I read this year that I absolutely loved!
8. Newest Fictional Crush
Yeah fictional crushes is not something I feel. Favourite characters, sure but not crushes.
9. Favourite New Character
The Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter by Theodora Goss
European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss
The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
Title:Â Fawkes Author:Â Nadine Brandes Genre:Â YA Historical Fantasy Publication Date:Â July 10th, 2018 Pages:Â 448 Publishers:Â Thomas Nelson Rating:
5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis
Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England.
Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.
But what if death finds him first?
Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.
The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.
The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.
No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.
Fawkes by Nadine Brandes Cover – Top shows older buildings on the Thames with the title in the middle & a broken white mask on flames in the lower portion of the cover
I absolutely loved this book and just flew through it! I read Romanov on audiobook a little while back and enjoyed it but Fawkes is even better!
Firstly the world building in Fawkes is incredible! Everything is so detailed and very well explained. I felt so immersed in this world from the very beginning which I loved! Nadine Brandes has a way of writing that just grips me and makes me want to not put the book down. The magic system of this world is also super interesting and unique. It was explained really well too which means there was very little confusion as to what was going on.
The characters were awesome! All the side character were very fleshed out and I loved learning about them and their backgrounds and seeing their journey throughout. Emma was a badass and I loved her attitude and personality! It was awesome learning about her throughout the book. Thomas was very well written and I really enjoyed seeing his struggle with right & wrong and battling with what to believe from others.
The plot was very unpredictable and super gripping. I had no idea what to expect with this book & I honestly think that is the best way to go into it! It was so amazing and such a rollercoaster of a journey.
I also just want to mention that I really enjoyed the discussion and topic of Racism in this book. I love that it was both questioned and discussed as well as being historically accurate to the time period. I think this was really well done!
Overall this is well worth the read and I highly recommend it to any fantasy or historical fantasy fan! I am very curious to check out her other books & keen to see what she comes out with next!
My copy of Fawkes by Nadine Brandes with glittery gold sprayed edges (Custom Sprayed by Dusk Angel Store)
Let’s Chat
Have you read Fawkes or Romanov? What were your thoughts on them? Did you enjoy them as much as I did?
You can order a copy for yourself at any of the links below.
You could also use my affiliate link for Book Depository if you would like to support this blog.
Some of the links on my blog are affiliate links. This does not change the price of your purchases, however, I receive a small commission if you use any of those links to make a purchase! Which I highly appreciate!
