I don't usually post this almost in succession because there are times when I barely make dent on my TBR pile. This time, I found a lot more time to read and boom! I have an overflowing list of books I read that I have to review. I'm not complaining but it did just totally went crazy on me. I swear it just grew like overnight - I read a few books overnight and I did not sleep. Eat, Read/Sleep, Repeat.
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Daughter of Smoke & Bone Series by Laini Taylor
Daughter of Smoke & Bone
(Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1)
Published September 27th 2011 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.
When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
[1]
Days of Blood & Starlight
(Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2)
Published November 6th 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.
This is not that world.
Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.
In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.
While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.
But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream? [2]
Dreams of Gods & Monsters
(Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3)
Published April 8th 2014 by Little, Brown & Company
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Two worlds are poised on the brink of a vicious war. By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera's rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her.
When the brutal angel emperor brings his army to the human world, Karou and Akiva are finally reunited - not in love, but in a tentative alliance against their common enemy. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves.
But with even bigger threats on the horizon, are Karou and Akiva strong enough to stand among the gods and monsters?
The New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy comes to a stunning conclusion as - from the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond - humans, chimaera, and seraphim strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy. [3]
Review: Ok. So let me start by saying I picked up this series after I read the Strange the Dreamer Trilogy. I was scared of becoming disappointed because I loved STD so much. Then I saw this post in one of my bookish groups in Facebook how she wishes Strange would meet Karou and Akiva. I was intrigued. The books are totally a precursor for STD in writing style and timeline but heck I will be rooting for a crossover of some sort. I mean they do belong in different layers of the universe.
Now. Karou and Akiva. Talk about Romeo and Juliet to a different level. There were times I got annoyed with the drama of these two. Seriously, they've lived so long but they act like children. The bright spot of all 3 books was Zuzanna and Mik. I love those two. They are the ones who have broken the barriers of human, chimeara, and angel. I know there is like a spin off of their stories but I have yet to get that book. Give me some more Neek-Neek. 😉
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The Binding
by Bridget Collins
Published January 10th 2019 by The Borough Press
Rating: ⭐
Imagine you could erase grief.
Imagine you could remove pain.
Imagine you could hide the darkest, most horrifying secret.
Forever.
Young Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a strange letter arrives summoning him away from his family. He is to begin an apprenticeship as a Bookbinder—a vocation that arouses fear, superstition, and prejudice among their small community but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse.
For as long as he can recall, Emmett has been drawn to books, even though they are strictly forbidden. Bookbinding is a sacred calling, Seredith informs her new apprentice, and he is a binder born. Under the old woman’s watchful eye, Emmett learns to hand-craft the elegant leather-bound volumes. Within each one they will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget, a binder can help. If there’s something you need to erase, they can assist. Within the pages of the books they create, secrets are concealed and the past is locked away. In a vault under his mentor’s workshop, rows upon rows of books are meticulously stored.
But while Seredith is an artisan, there are others of their kind, avaricious and amoral tradesman who use their talents for dark ends—and just as Emmett begins to settle into his new circumstances, he makes an astonishing discovery: one of the books has his name on it. Soon, everything he thought he understood about his life will be dramatically rewritten. [4]
Review: Where was the magic, the adventure, the sword fights, and the character development? I think this was forgotten when this book was written. This was supposed to have been one of my most anticipated reads this month but I got a dud instead. 😑 I usually don't review books I didn't like but I normally DNF those books too. This one I finished trying to give it more chances of redeeming itself until the last page. Sadly, it just didn't cut it. Kudos to the author for the effort though.
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White Stag
(Permafrost #1)
by Kara Barbieri
Published January 8th 2019 by Wednesday Books
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The first book in a brutally stunning series where a young girl finds herself becoming more monster than human and must uncover dangerous truths about who she is and the place that has become her home.
As the last child in a family of daughters, seventeen-year-old Janneke was raised to be the male heir. While her sisters were becoming wives and mothers, she was taught to hunt, track, and fight. On the day her village was burned to the ground, Janneke—as the only survivor—was taken captive by the malicious Lydian and eventually sent to work for his nephew Soren.
Janneke’s survival in the court of merciless monsters has come at the cost of her connection to the human world. And when the Goblin King’s death ignites an ancient hunt for the next king, Soren senses an opportunity for her to finally fully accept the ways of the brutal Permafrost. But every action he takes to bring her deeper into his world only shows him that a little humanity isn’t bad—especially when it comes to those you care about.
Through every battle they survive, Janneke’s loyalty to Soren deepens. After dangerous truths are revealed, Janneke must choose between holding on or letting go of her last connections to a world she no longer belongs to. She must make the right choice to save the only thing keeping both worlds from crumbling. [5]
Review: This book got me at Goblin King. It reminded me of when Feyre met Rhys and they had this weird inter species type of relationship. I loved the fact that Janekke was able to grow into herself mostly without the inspiration of romance. I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with a book that always has that element. Seriously though, that twist at the end was unexpected. All the while I was thinking the unusual human would become the next Erlking/Goblin King/Queen. I wish she did. Trigger warning: Violence, Rape.
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These Broken Stars
(Starbound #1)
by Amie Kaufman
Published December 10th 2013 by Disney Hyperion
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive – alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth.
The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy. [6]
Review: This was a very short read for me and I am not sure how much I liked or disliked it but I did rate it 3 stars. I think the best part of this book was the "creatures" Tarver and Lilac discovered in that planet. They felt so gentle and needy yet so powerful as well. All they needed was that small push to get free and finally be able to go home. I haven't read the other 2 books in this trilogy yet so maybe I'll decide whether O really liked this series or not then.
Another 6 books read and done. A total of 9 books read just this month and already 6 boks aehad of schedule with my Goodreads Challenge. Yay!! My TBR? Still mountain high and I want more. 😁
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Labels: book blogging, book reviews, books, Evermore, Ewan Pendle and the Castle of Nightmares, international book blogger, library, mini reviews, reviews, Slade House, Taming the TBR
