And finally, I have a boxset of Jane Austen novels. I've only read one Jane Auston book, Pride & Prejudice, and that was because I LOVE the 2005 Kiera Knightley film version. But I would like to read the others one day, especially since I have these beautiful editions.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
An Updated Bookshelf Tour: Bookshelf #2
And finally, I have a boxset of Jane Austen novels. I've only read one Jane Auston book, Pride & Prejudice, and that was because I LOVE the 2005 Kiera Knightley film version. But I would like to read the others one day, especially since I have these beautiful editions.
Saturday, March 26, 2022
Stacking the Shelves: The Double Rise Edition
Thursday, March 24, 2022
A 2022 Spring Unhaul
As for books I haven't read and have no interest in reading anymore, I have The Coldest Touch (FairyLoot edition), Fragments, The Supervillain and Me, The Offering, Afterlove (FairyLoot edition), The Love Interest, Salvage, This Golden Flame (FairyLoot edition), and Bright Star.
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Review: The City of Dusk by Tara Sim
Publication Date: March 22, 2022
The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir.
But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once vibrant and thriving city. And without it, all the realms are dying.
Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs—Risha, a necromancer struggling to keep the peace; Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with rebellion in her heart; and Nik, a soldier who struggles to see the light— will sacrifice everything to save the city.
But their defiance will cost them dearly.
My Review
Political families with ancestral magical gifts from the literal gods? With death, life, darkness, and light powers? Umm... Yes, please. Let me just sign away my paycheck over to Barnes & Noble because I am hooked on this new fantasy trilogy, and I need book two as soon as possible.
The City of Dusk is just what fantasy readers need. It's a political intrigue, battle of the gods with demons and monsters to boot! It has the dark and gritty quality of a grim-dark without being so dark and gritty that it scares away the tamer fantasy reader. It also has multi-POVs to see the different perspectives of the world, but not an overwhelming amount like some sprawling epics. It also has a great and diverse world with diverse characters (normalizing gay relationships in SFF fake worlds shouldn't be that hard, but some authors seem to have issues with it). And, most importantly, The City of Dusk has crossover appeal for YA fantasy readers who are too intimidated to delve into some denser works, like Martin or Sanderson. It's a great read for people like me, who has only recently started to dive into those larger tomes. A three-book series is much less intimidating.
I will say that going into this book, you are going to want to read the synopsis first. DO NOT GO IN BLIND. You need to have some idea of who the major players are. I went in blind, hoping not to spoil anything for myself, but I was unnecessarily confused for the first 10% of the story, which could've been avoided if I had just read the synopsis. There are a lot of characters and a lot of new gods and places, so having the synopsis in the back of your mind as you go in will definitely help. Other than some confusion in the beginning and ending when $hit was going down and too much was happening for my little brain to easily follow, this book was AMAZING!
I especially love the characters! Well, all except one, but I'll circle back to her. Of the four main characters, Taesia, Nik, and Risha are my favorites. The dark, light, and death powers. So cool. I kind of just want an entire book dedicated to their family histories. Taesia is a bada$$, Nik is a cinnamon roll, and Risha has some cool powers and some cool secrets. Their individiual trauma and family drama made from some great reading, but put together, these godly heirs are just trying to do their best in a messed up situation. As for the other main character, Angelica, I still liked her at times, until she went a little off the rails. But she does have some cute interactions with a certain thief. And yes, you heard that right, there's romance in this book! It isn't the forefront of the story, but it's there, and I am dying to see that relationship drama play out within this godly showdown.
Overall, The City of Dusk is a must read for fans of mischievous deities, otherworldly powers, and young heirs trying to fix impossible messes. So basically, if you like George R.R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, Jennifer L. Armentrout, or even Avatar: The Last Airbender, you should 100% read The City of Dusk. It's dark, it's fun, and it's chock-full of crazy twists and turns.
Saturday, March 19, 2022
Stacking the Shelves: The Staycation Edition
Thursday, March 17, 2022
An Updated Bookshelf Tour: Bookshelf #1
And finally, you'll see a very dark picture of what's behind the other books. These are so hidden away that it's just sad. I desperately need someone to pay for me to get a library with a nice rolling ladder, where I can read and just stare at my lovely books. They don't deserve to be shoved away, especially as some of these are books I really love.
Saturday, March 12, 2022
Stacking the Shelves: The Covered in White Edition
And my most exciting acquisition is The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah. It's one of my most anticipated books of the year by a new-to-me author! I've been craving a warm desert fantasy story after all this snow, so I'm thrilled Orbit sent me an ARC of this one. Stay tuned for my review! Oh, and all of these books have white covers. It's quite funny.
What books have
you bought/received lately?
Saturday, March 5, 2022
Stacking the Shelves: The February FairyLoot Edition
What books have
you bought/received lately?
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
February Wrap-Up & March TBR
Two months of 2022 are already over. Wow. February flew by. Mainly because work was nuts and I've been binge-reading a series that's taken over my life. I barely moved from my bed and couch as I devoured each installment, and I read a lot of other big books on top of those. It's been a great reading month.
In this wrap-up,
I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received,
and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!
Books Read in February
Munro: 4 stars (ebook)
The Poppy War: 3 stars
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening: 3.5 stars (ebook)
I read ten books in February. Ten! I'm so proud of that number, though I'm not proud of how behind I got on my exercise schedule just so I could read more. I'm trying to whip myself back into shape now after two weeks of taking it easy. But anyway, back to books. Only three were physical books: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, and House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas. As for ebooks, I read Munro by Kresley Cole and then I binged most of the Zodiac Academy books by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. I'm currently using a free trial of Kindle Unlimited to read all of the ZA books. I only have one more to go, and my trial doesn't run out for a couple more weeks. Then of course, two of the books I read, Munro and HoSaB were new releases, so they don't count towards some of my smaller yearly reading goals. However, The Poppy War and Legendborn are both books I owned prior to 2022, with Legendborn being a 2020 release and The Poppy War being a pre-2020 release. So two more books to add to my TBR goals!
Books Bought/Received in February
I received four physical books and four NetGalley books in February, so a total of eight books. And this doesn't include ZA, since I'm only technically "borrowing" them and I think they'll disappear off my Kindle once my trial is over. The ebooks I received were all review copies from NetGalley: A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland, Bone Weaver by Aden Polydoros, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows, and Heat Wave by TJ Klune. The physical books I received include HoSaB (BAM online order), The Return by JLA (local used bookstore), Court by Tracy Wolff (a friend's B&N), and Only a Monster by Vanessa Len (Jan. FL book). Even though I received four physical books in February, I technically only paid for three of them in that month: Court, The Return, and HoSaB. I paid for the January FairyLoot back in August with my six-month subscription plan. And, in addition to Court, The Return, and HoSaB, I also paid for some books that won't arrive until later on in 2022, including FairyLoot's These Twisted Bonds and a B&N order of three books. So, in total, I bought 13 books, as I also paid for my six-month FL sub in February.
Currently Obsessed With
Not a lot to talk about entertainment-wise this month. I've mostly been reading. Which is a good thing. I'd honestly rather be reading than watching TV, since more of my money goes towards buying books than streaming shows. Haha.
The only show that I'm currently watching is Modern Family on Hulu. It's a fun show. Nothing super special. I'm only season seven now, and I think there are ten seasons. Which is insane. But as long as I finish the series before Bridgerton comes out, I'll be happy. Then, I need to figure out what my next binge show will be.
March TBR
March's TBR books are kind of random. I want to read Once Upon a Broken Heart, since I feel like the FairyLoot sequel edition is going to be announced soon and I have to decide if I want to purchase it. I also haven't read any of the pre-NYC books I mentioned in my goals post for 2022. Therefore, I need to read An Ember in the Ashes and The Last Namsara. I also might read A Promise of Fire, and I'm continuing my year-long read of A Storm of Swords, which I fell behind on due to the ZA series. And, speaking of ZA, I'm currently reading the seventh book in the series and I'll try to fit in the novellas and side books before my free trial ends in mid-March. Oh! And I almost forgot, I have to read The War of Two Queens, which releases on March 15. I already took some vacation time for it .
***
Okay, well, that's the month of February, plus some March sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for last month? If so, share in the comments!