Netgalley Review – For the Sake of Reading

The One Where I Really Liked Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney #BookReview #YA #Contemporary #BookBuzz ☆☆☆☆

Published on April 30, 2021April 26, 2021 by forthesakeofreadingyaLeave a comment

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by debut author Joya Goffney is the story of an overly enthusiastic list maker who is blackmailed into completing a to-do list of all her worst fears. It’s a heartfelt, tortured, contemporary YA high school romance with epistolary elements. Fans of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Kristina Forest’s debut I Wanna Be Where You Are will love the juicy secrets, leap-off-the-page sexual tension and the enemy-to-lover romantic arc.
Quinn keeps lists of everything—from the days she’s ugly cried, to “Things That I Would Never Admit Out Loud,” to all the boys she’d like to kiss. Her lists keep her sane. By writing her fears on paper, she never has to face them in real life. That is, until her journal goes missing…
An anonymous account posts one of her lists on Instagram for the whole school to see and blackmails her into facing seven of her greatest fears, or else her entire journal will go public. Quinn doesn’t know who to trust. Desperate, she teams up with Carter Bennett—the last known person to have her journal—in a race against time to track down the blackmailer.
Together, they journey through everything Quinn’s been too afraid to face, and along the way, Quinn finds the courage to be honest, to live in the moment, and to fall in love.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡

Compulsively readable–Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry is a story about growing up, letting go of your fears and the status quo, finding your inner strength, and connection.

We start of EWIUC with Quinn having broken up with her best friend over reasons unknown. Everybody thinks is because her crush asked her best friend out, but Quinn swears it is because of something else. After doing a school assignment with some of her classmates Quinn notices her journal is not hers… in fact one of her classmates took hers by mistake. To make matters worse the person who took her journal is Carter Bennett, a hottie who was rude to Quinn and clearly hates her.

Freaking out Quinn contacts Carter and they meet up at school to exchange journals… only her journal disappears. The next thing she knows Quinn is being blackmailed by persons unknown–she must complete her to-do list (one thing a day) or the blackmailer is going to release her deepest thoughts to the entire school. Feeling trapped Quinn sets out to complete her to do list one thing at a time, with Carter Bennett’s help.

EMWIUC is a YA slice of life that tackles race, cultural assimilation and the consequences of it, and found family (which is one of my favorite troupes). I did enjoy being in Quinn’s shoes and seeing how she processes her life, from freaking out to going to enough is enough. She has to deal with racism from trusted people around her, including her own parent. While once upon a time she might have just written her thoughts on a journal, now that journal is stolen, and so she feels scarily liberated and is able to find herself and confront her fears, plus her peers.

I loved her friendship with Olivia, and how Olivia was able to get her out of her shell. Their relationship is not easy, as Quinn also has to deal with some guilt over some things she was complicit in when it came to Olivia’s reputation. Olivia is free, progressive, an artist. She is also half-black and is a friend Quinn doesn’t feel like she has to hide part of herself when she is around her. It is really sweet, I am hoping we get Olivia’s story next.

The romance is light and sweet–Quinn starts off the book in love with Matt, her childhood friend. Though she is not sure Matt loves her in turn, as he asked her ex best friend out. While she is in supposed love with Matt though, she fully acknowledges that Carter is super fine, and can be super annoying to who she is at that moment. Once they team up Carter really tries to be there for her, even though Quinn still has him on her blackmailer suspects lists.

The one thing I was a little iffy on is kind of spoilery; just, I felt like making Quinn complete her “To-Do list” just seems like an action born out of misguided love. Which is why when it was revealed who the blackmailer was it took me by surprise.

I did read EWIUC via Audiobook–though not really the voice was a robot voice (that I weirdly got used to/attached to) so I can’t say anything about the performance of the narrator, but I did really enjoy it in audio book format and recommend it if you like slice of life YA contemporary in the vein of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!

Publication date: May 4th 2021

368 PAGES

BY HarperTeen

The One Where I Was not Sold on In Deeper Waters by F. T. Lukens #YA #MythologicalCreatures #Magic #LGBTQIA+ #Fantasy ☆☆ 1/2

Published on April 28, 2021April 26, 2021 by forthesakeofreadingyaLeave a comment

A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean.
Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family’s kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel.
Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean.
That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charming—and secretive—as ever. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. And Athlen might just be his only hope…

The beginning of In Deeper Waters left a bit to be desired. I felt the secondary characters were not very fleshed out; to the point they felt like cardboard copies of every other YA character. The dialogue felt uninspired, the world underdeveloped, the story/plot slightly confusing in its unclarity in order to try to create problems/surprise the reader with revelations. I don’t know about you, but I like it when the story flows a bit more seamlessly. It felt truly like the point of the book was the romance and the rest was just window dressing–which eh, for fantasy to be done right you need a BIT more.

The middle is good, focuses more on Prince Tal and the hardships he has to endure while having been kidnapped. The other thing it focuses on is building the relationship between Tal and Athlen–which is super cute and where most of my enjoyment came from. I rolled my eyes a lot because Athlen’s “secret” is so obvious, and Tal keeps from asking him about his survival after he throws himself into the ocean (probably to keep the mystery alive) which irritates me because that would be the only thing I would want to know in his shoes.

In the end once we are surrounded by a larger cast of characters is when I feel my interest began to ebb. The other characters are just not very interesting, and it felt like we kept them around just because we had to at this point. In Deeper Waters also left a pretty major question unanswered when it came to Athlen, and ends with the prettiest bow known to man kind. I feel this will be one of those books I forget in a couple of weeks. The idea of the book was better than the execution.

PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!

Release Date: 04/20/2021

320 PAGES

BY Margaret K. McElderry Books

The One Where I Really Liked The Unbroken (Magic of the Lost #1) by C. L. Clark #BookReview #Adult #Fantasy #LGBTQIA+ #BookBuzz ☆☆☆☆

Published on April 26, 2021April 26, 2021 by forthesakeofreadingyaLeave a comment

Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought.
Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet’s edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.
Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren’t for sale.

I see a lot of people are going to fall in love with this harsh, queernorm, absolutely wonderfully built world.

I just, it can be hard to get into. It could drag at times. There is so much tragedy and unfairness and sadness… and I have plenty of that in the real world. I wanted escapism, but I got grounded real quick. But that is on me–this book explores colonialism in multiple facets, giving us a very deep and detailed view of the unfairness of the world, the damage colonialism has through the generations, and how hard it is to break the chains that bind. Set in a rich setting, with multiple queer characters (in fact, sexuality and identity is a non issue and very fluid I would say with the entire cast), there is a lot to love.

As I read it I thought The Unbroken reminded me of The Winner’s Curse, only for adults. It has some romance, but not a lot. The romance is full of tension, and it is uncomfortable to read at times because of the power difference between the characters (it feels intentional though, it fits well within the narrative). The Unbroken tackled colonialism and what it does to everybody involved, internalized racism as well as just racism in general, cultural appropriation, the melding of two cultures, religion and the lack of… I really think it does so in a wonderful way. Just be in the correct state of mind before you throw yourself head deep.

I did find some of the side character’s behavior (mainly Pruett’s) to be questionable and off putting (overall I hated Pruett’s character–she was not a very good friend). I felt the MC had a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders, and nobody really got her struggles. Not her friends, not the person she is supposedly falling for her. Touraine makes a ton of mistakes throughout the novel, ones she is able to come back from, others not so much… Her relationship with her mother is also one full of struggles and heartache. Her relationship with Luca is very slow burning, and I felt like we needed a few more scenes with them giving into their emotions in order for us to really be shipping them. Then again, this is just the first book in the series so there is room to grow.

Touraine has to fall again and again in order to learn–she was taken by her colonizers from a young age, and indoctrinated into their way of life. She struggles with coming to terms that maybe her way of looking at the world is just flawed and puts her people down. It makes me ache for her, as she feels like she doesn’t really belong in either group.

On the other hand sympathizing with Luca is hard, even though inherently she is not a bad character–she is the future queen of the country that colonized Touraine’s home land. Luca both wants to have her cake and eat it too–she wants to rule this foreign land, while at the same time have them thank her for it. She does work towards helping the citizens by addressing worker’s laws, compensation, and overall trying to give them better circumstances, but she also wants to take that last part of them they hold close to their hearts and identities, their magic. Luca’s home land is often hit with plagues and she thinks the only way to help her people is to learn magic. Luca is complicated–she is also a character that deals with chronic pain, as when she was a young girl she suffered a very bad fall and her legs were compromised. She can still walk, but always with a cane. C. L. Clark does a fantastic job of building the character in a realistic way, not once using rose tinted glasses while portraying the greed that drives the conquerors, even if Luca’s intentions at the base are mostly to protect her people.

The Unbroken is complicated, and harsh. You need to be in the right state of mind to dive deep into it, but at the end of the day it is a rewarding experience. I am looking forward to the sequel.

PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!

Publication date: march 23, 2021

464 PAGES

BY orbit

The One Where I Really Liked Curse of the Divine (Ink in The Blood #2) by Kim Smejkal #BookReview #YA #DarkMagic #BookBuzz ☆☆☆☆

Published on February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 by forthesakeofreadingyaLeave a comment

Return to the world of inklings, tattoo magic, and evil deities as Celia uncovers the secrets of the ink in order to stop Diavala once and for all. This eagerly anticipated sequel to Ink in the Blood is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Wicked Saints.
Celia Sand faced Diavala and won, using ink magic to destroy the corrupt religion of Profeta that tormented her for a decade. But winning came with a cost. Now Celia is plagued with guilt over her role in the death of her best friend. When she discovers that Diavala is still very much alive and threatening Griffin, the now-infamous plague doctor, Celia is desperate not to lose another person she loves to the deity’s wrath.
The key to destroying Diavala may lie with Halycon Ronnea, the only other person to have faced Diavala and survived. But Halcyon is dangerous and has secrets of his own, ones that involve the ink that Celia has come to hate. Forced to choose between the ink and Diavala, Celia will do whatever it takes to save Griffin—even if it means making a deal with the devil himself.

If you like magically macabre books, then this duology is for you 🖤

Curse of the divine picks up right where Ink in the Blood left us. Celia and co. brought down the Profeta Religion, freeing a to of people who might have otherwise not ever known they had been manipulated. This of course came at a great cost to Celia, who lost the most important person in her life. To add insult unto injury Diavala did not die, she instead hitched a ride with the nearest available body which so happens to be Celia’s Plague Doctor. Together, Celia and Griffin will set off to get rid of Diavala once and for all with the help of the only “saint” who managed to survive Diavala’s touch; Halycon Ronnea.

I love how creative Kim Smejkal is. She ventures out to create her own world full of her own rules and pretty much nails it. I remember really liking Ink in the Blood when it came out last year, and not knowing how the sequel would hold up. Let me tell you, it holds up in an extravagant way. I might even like it more than the first book. You get Diavala in a more close and personal scenario, giving her story texture and even making you sympathize with the she devil. After all, she wasn’t born an immortal being… someone made her this way. Celia also walks the line between the good guy and the less than stellar girlfriend. She makes mistakes and spends the entire novel with the ghost of her best friend right on her shoulder–she is engulfed in sadness and grief. Pretty realistic portrayal, I am glad her trauma wasn’t brushed off.

Griffin is not a favorite character for me–he is just very dramatic and I’m just not too into that, but he is perfect for Celia. I was glad he was there to guide her through the darkness they both face. We get a lot of background into the Ink; where it comes from, who created it, why they created it… It is all very marvelous and not totally surprising, but the book is all about the journey and not the twist for this reader.

I hope Kim Smejkal gets to publish a lot more books! She can only get better as a writer, and her stories more wonderful.

PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!

Publication date: Feb 9th, 2021

448 PAGES

BY HMH

The One Where I Really Liked The Project by Courtney Summers #BookReview #NA #Thriller #BookBuzz ☆☆☆☆

Published on February 2, 2021January 24, 2021 by forthesakeofreadingyaLeave a comment

Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo’s sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there’s more to the group than meets the eye. She’s spent the last six years of her life trying—and failing—to prove it.
When a man shows up at the magazine Lo works for claiming The Unity Project killed his son, Lo sees the perfect opportunity to expose the group and reunite with Bea once and for all. When her investigation puts her in the direct path of its leader, Lev Warren and as Lo delves deeper into The Project, the lives of its members it upends everything she thought she knew about her sister, herself, cults, and the world around her—to the point she can no longer tell what’s real or true. Lo never thought she could afford to believe in Lev Warren . . . but now she doesn’t know if she can afford not to.

I was spellbound by this book. The moment I picked it up I was hooked. It is not my typical read, I like to stick with good old fantasy, but Courtney Summers is a highly acclaimed author and so I wanted to try it out. I am glad I did, this is my first book by her and I’m already kicking myself over not having read Sadie yet. Gonna have to rectify that.

I loved the writing- it is both beautiful and relatable. You get to read from both sister’s POV, Bea set in the past and Lo in the present. Bea is the sister who became part of the Unity Project, as she was almost hypnotized by the project’s charismatic leader Lev Warren. In order to be a part of the project you have to leave all attachments behind, including family. In the present Lo is bitter that her sister abandoned her for what she thinks is a cult, and once there is even the slightest excuse for her to bring the organization down she takes it.

The Project deals with heavy issues in a very realistic way–abuse is definitely one of the main components, manipulation… Lo is a very vulnerable character who hides behind her cynicism–it is very interesting how things ended up and kind of surprising. I was expecting a twist, but at the end the path chosen is the more crunchy in terms of the human condition and the things we will do in order to be loved and accepted.

A lot of the time I honestly didn’t know if The Unity Project was a cult or even bad–the reader has no real insight, and we go in the same ride as Lo in trying to figure our what gives with this organization that seems to have taken Bea away from Lo. Maybe it isn’t the organization at all and it was Bea all along who wanted to stay away, not be responsible for a child at only 19 years old. Maybe Lo has created a reality in her head that just isn’t the truth…and Lo is all about finding the truth. It is genuinely interesting seeing cults from this lense, as you get to see the appeal and why so many people decide to join into this world. Or maybe Courtney Summers can just make anything work with her magic writing. Could be.

PS; Just going to point this out… THIS IS NOT YA. The MC is 19, her sister is 25. It does not read as YA either–It reads like new adult. New Adult has a bad rep at the moment; as far as I can tell the market is mostly over saturated with heavy romance or erotic novels, which makes it hard to market this kind of book to the adults who like reading YA so The Project is ergo being marketed as YA (also the author has a YA history). It is like saying ACOTAR is YA when we all know it is NA.

PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!

Publication date: Feb 2nd 2020

352 PAGES

BY Wednesday Books

The One Where I liked Reading The Mask Falling (Bone Season #4) by Samantha Shannon #BookReview #Adult #Fantasy ☆☆☆☆

Published on January 26, 2021January 20, 2021 by forthesakeofreadingyaLeave a comment

Dreamwalker Paige Mahoney has eluded death again. Snatched from the jaws of captivity and consigned to a safe house in the Scion Citadel of Paris, she finds herself caught between those factions that seek Scion’s downfall and those who would kill to protect the Rephaim’s puppet empire.
The mysterious Domino Program has plans for Paige, but she has ambitions of her own in this new citadel. With Arcturus Mesarthim-her former enemy-at her side, she embarks on an adventure that will lead her from the catacombs of Paris to the glittering hallways of Versailles. Her risks promise high reward: the Parisian underworld could yield the means to escalate her rebellion to outright war.
As Scion widens its bounds and the free world trembles in its shadow, Paige must fight her own memories after her ordeal at the hands of Scion. Meanwhile, she strives to understand her bond with Arcturus, which grows stronger by the day. But there are those who know the revolution began with them-and could end with them…

I liked it, it just dragged for me a little. At times it felt slow and chock full of description; however it sets up the field for future books as it is the middle book of the series.

A LOT happened–a lot of truths were revealed. A lot of friends/enemies made. Still don’t know what to do about Jaxon, but at least we don’t get as many repetitive “Oh my lovely” phrases. The thing about the characters in The Bone Season series (and I just re-read the entire series in anticipation of The Mask Falling) is that the books feel a lot more plot driven than character driven; I don’t feel a close connection to any of the characters aside from Paige and Warden. If any of them died I wouldn’t bat an eye, but don’t you get your grubby hands on Arcturus or we going to war.

It took me a long time to get through-the book is a beast! A lot of times I felt like we were relying too much on things that have already been done (Paige being captured for example), and a lot of others things seemed too convenient. Paige’s powers fluctuate in effectiveness; She should be a power house but most of the time she still feels like Paige from book one in how her powers aren’t reliable.

The addition of the “spy” network felt weird, but I got used to it. I hope in future novels we branch out into different scenarios–I have no idea what is going to happen in this series that can fill up three more books, but kind of curious to see how it develops.

PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!

Release date: jan. 26th, 2021

514 PAGES

BY Bloomsbury Publishing

The One Where I liked Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell #Adult #Romance #Sci-fi #EarlyReviewBUZZ ☆☆☆

Published on January 25, 2021January 21, 2021 by forthesakeofreadingyaLeave a comment

Ancillary Justice meets Red, White & Royal Blue in Everina Maxwell’s exciting debut.
While the Iskat Empire has long dominated the system through treaties and political alliances, several planets, including Thea, have begun to chafe under Iskat’s rule. When tragedy befalls Imperial Prince Taam, his Thean widower, Jainan, is rushed into an arranged marriage with Taam’s cousin, the disreputable Kiem, in a bid to keep the rising hostilities between the two worlds under control.
But when it comes to light that Prince Taam’s death may not have been an accident, and that Jainan himself may be a suspect, the unlikely pair must overcome their misgivings and learn to trust one another as they navigate the perils of the Iskat court, try to solve a murder, and prevent an interplanetary war… all while dealing with their growing feelings for each other.

Like, I love the characters and the romance but couldn’t give two shits about the space politics? That’s my vibe.

But then again, that is what this book is. A space opera romance, with a convoluted plot and uninteresting political drama. The world building was lacking, the sci-fi aspects (like gadgets and entities) were confusing–I still don’t know exactly what a Remnant is– but if you push that all aside there is a shining romance in between the pages.

What Winter’s Orbit has in abundance is inclusion. In the Iskat Empire anybody can feel free to be their authentic self, if you wish for others to know what gender you identify with you need only illustrate it by using the right kind of accessories. Seems superficial, but it works in a pinch. There are high ranking officers who identify as “they” as well.

The characters really breathed life into the book. I loved Prince Kiem, his self deprecation, his genuine drive to do the right thing even if he goes against his family, his willingness to really listen to his partners needs and even learn his culture… Kiem is a national treasure. At the beginning of the novel he was a little sheltered, by his own choice. Politics was not his thing and he seldom paid attention. Instead he volunteered in charities and tried to rehabilitate his image from troublemaker #1. By the end he grows up so much, taking charge and using his charisma for the greater good.

Jainan! T_T oh my goodness. I knew from the first interactions between him and Kiem that something wasn’t right. He seemed too guarded, always trying to anticipate Kiem’s needs in a very fight or flight way, always holding his tongue… He broke my heart. There is a lot of miscommunication between Jainan and Kiem, mainly because Kiem lives in a world where Domestic Violence isn’t a thing (he has no experience with it) and Jainan assumes all royalty will expect the same kind of treatment. Again, it is heartbreaking, and the moment these two finally get close enough to trust in each other what they are really thinking/feeling I shouted HALLELUYAH! It does drag along in some scenes, the same misunderstanding, but it builds in a realistic way.

While I don’t think Winter’s Orbit does a great job in the sci-fi aspect, I do think it shines when it comes to the romance and the respectful way it treats domestic abuse within a queer relationship. I felt close to the characters, both the main ones and the side characters, and wish we could maybe have another novel with Bel (Kiem/Jainan’s aide) as the MC.

Release Date: 02/02/2021

432 PAGES

BY Tor Books

GR Rating: 4.26

The One Where I sort of liked Lore by Alexandra Bracken #YA #GreekMythology #UrbanFantasy ☆☆☆

Published on January 20, 2021 by forthesakeofreadingyaLeave a comment

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.
Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family’s sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man–now a god–responsible for their deaths.
Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.
The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to bind her fate to Athena’s and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost–and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

I am very conflicted when it comes to LORE. On one hand, it is a neat concept–the old gods are punished by Zeus to run along and be hunted by mortals every 7 years. Once a mortal kills the original god that mortal then takes over that god’s abilities. On the other hand the execution was… so so.

I was not a fan of the entire novel being set in NY–I love NY, for the most part it is a great setting, but in Lore it felt constricting. If it had branched out, maybe to the god’s home turf for example, in order to discover the origin of the Agon and make Athena confront her past transgressions in that way, and maybe even get an actual confrontation with Zeus…

Maybe it shouldn’t have been a stand alone? Perhaps a duology would have served it well. That way not everything would have been so clustered together, you would have gotten some time to fall in love with the characters,etc. A LOT happens, a lot of characters are at play, and maybe they didn’t all get the page time they deserved.

Overall my favorite characters would have to be Lore and Miles–in fact, if this entire novel had been just them facing Lore’s past I would have been fine with it. Miles is the regular best friend to Lore. He is funny, he is brave, and a joy to have on the page. Lore is complicated and conflicted. In her heart she wants to fight, but she also knows that is not the right path. She battles her inner demons/desires on a daily basis, but once presented with the opportunity for revenge from Athena she is hooked.

Athena is seriously fun to read about. She is one of the few original gods left, and feels oh so disgusted to have to go to a mortal for help. Her dialogue is fantastic. She gets confronted by Lore about her past, in one of the best chapters of the entire book, and has to tell her side of the story when it comes to her neglect or even her seemed attack on women (aka Medusa). And I mean, is anybody surprised that the patriarchy would have used her stories to further their agenda? I don’t think so.

I really think Lore should have been bigger, longer. It feels like a story that is being chocked by its limitations. It is a lot of fun, and a lot of interesting things happen, but if it could have been expanded it would have been truly great, and those reveals would have punched us a little harder.

PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!

Release Date: 01/05/2021

480 PAGES

BY Disney-Hyperion

GR Rating: 4.12

The Camelot Betrayal (Camelot Rising #2) by Kiersten White #BookReview #YA #ArthurianRetelling #Magic #Chaos ☆☆☆☆

Published on November 18, 2020 by forthesakeofreadingyaLeave a comment

EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE IN CAMELOT: King Arthur is expanding his kingdom’s influence with Queen Guinevere at his side. Yet every night, dreams of darkness and unknowable power plague her.
Guinevere might have accepted her role, but she still cannot find a place for herself in all of it. The closer she gets to Brangien, pining for her lost love Isolde, Lancelot, fighting to prove her worth as Queen’s knight, and Arthur, everything to everyone and thus never quite enough for Guinevere–the more she realizes how empty she is. She has no sense of who she truly was before she was Guinevere. The more she tries to claim herself as queen, the more she wonders if Mordred was right: she doesn’t belong. She never will.
When a rescue goes awry and results in the death of something precious, a devastated Guinevere returns to Camelot to find the greatest threat yet has arrived. Not in the form of the Dark Queen or an invading army, but in the form of the real Guinevere’s younger sister. Is her deception at an end? And who is she really deceiving–Camelot, or herself?

“The constant dissonance of being both queen and witch, Guinevere and not-Guinevere, was disorienting. It would be so much simpler to be just one thing.”

We are BACK in Camelot! Dare I say, it is looking better than ever. It could be because of the addition of Sir Lancelot, could be the borderline dirty dreams Guinevere keeps having of Mordred (yes girl, get it), or it could be that there is danger on the horizon due to the big bad having been resurrected at the end of Camelot Rising #1. Any of those are valid.

I loved that Guinevere got to have her own quest this time around. All of her choices are difficult, and unlike Merlin she doesn’t have the foresight to know if what she is doing will eventually damage or help humanity. It is her constant struggle, apart from not really knowing who she is or where she belongs. She wants to belong in Camelot, to fight the good fight, even though her heart is calling her to the forest, the chaos, Mordred…

I’m just going to outright say it–I am team Mordred and not Team Arthur. I just can’t buy into the Guinevere/Arthur pairing. He is so vanilla, and she is fire. He treats her like a friend, like a business partner, and not a lover or someone he has any romantic feelings towards. Even their “romantic” interactions felt awkward.

Aside from the little romance we get with Guinevere, there is a lot more of Tristan and Isolde and Brangien. We get their full story with new developments! I really enjoyed that entire side of the story–I also liked how Kiersten White structured the stories inside the book–kind of like real life fairytales inside the book with their own twists that shed light into different aspects of Arthurian legends (specially when it comes to the woman’s POV versus the male). It gave them a more magical feel than just the characters discussing among themselves what happened. We get a lot of revelations, some more surprising than others, but still I can’t wait for the next book because I NEED ANSWERS.

The ending left us in this sort of cliffhanger, yearning for answers. The first book in the series started off slow, but The Camelot Betrayal lit a fire to the story. I cannot wait for the sequel (and the probably gorgeous cover that will come along with it).

PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!

Publication date: NOV 10th 2020

384 PAGES

BY Delacorte press

The Bright and Breaking Sea (Captain Kit Brightling #1) by Chloe Neill #BookReview #Adult #AltHistorical #Sea #Magic ☆☆☆☆

Published on November 17, 2020November 18, 2020 by forthesakeofreadingyaLeave a comment

Chloe Neill brings her trademark wit and wild sense of adventure to a stunning seafaring fantasy starring a dauntless heroine in a world of magic and treachery.
Kit Brightling, rescued as a foundling and raised in a home for talented girls, has worked hard to rise through the ranks of the Isles’ Crown Command and become one of the few female captains in Queen Charlotte’s fleet. Her ship is small, but she’s fast–in part because of Kit’s magical affinity to the sea. But the waters become perilous when the queen sends Kit on a special mission with a partner she never asked for.
Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliffe, may be a veteran of the Continental war, but Kit doesn’t know him or his motives–and she’s dealt with one too many members of the Beau Monde. But Kit has her orders, and the queen has commanded they journey to a dangerous pirate quay and rescue a spy who’s been gathering intelligence on the exiled emperor of Gallia.
Kit can lead her ship and clever crew on her own, but with the fate of queen and country at stake, Kit and Rian must learn to trust each other, or else the Isles will fall…

An intriguing start to a brand new series by Chloe Neill full of sailors, captains, strange new magic, the sea, and roguish yet fancy love interests.

Kit Brightly is a clever woman who is the captain of her own ship. She deals with misogyny from other captains with style, and is willing to go to the end of the world for her crew. She also has strong ties to the woman who raised her, along with her six other sisters. The Bright and Breaking Sea is set in an alternate reality in which women seem to have a lot more freedom and respect, though misogyny is not entirely gone. It is also a world full of magic, and Kit is very good at toeing the line between overusing the magic (which leads to catastrophe) and gently manipulating it.

There is a lot being set up in The Bright and Breaking Sea, and if this is like Neill’s other series’ then we are in for the long haul. In TBABS we deal with traitors to the crown, a tyrant who wants his power back, the experimentation of magic (and its consequences), the oppression of the people who are aligned (can somehow feel the magic imbued in the sea, the air, or the earth, and sort of manipulate it), and the beginnings of a slow burn courtship. I think there is a lot to like here.

At some parts the story is a bit slower than I would have liked. I want more chapters were the crew come together as an unlikely family. You do have a lot of adventure at sea, but it is a couple of small missions with not a lot of tension. I was missing that goal at the end of the book. I felt the revelation of the spy was also kind of anticlimactic, as I wasn’t hugely invested in the character that was revealed to be the culprit.

Overall it is a great start to a new series! I look forward to the next installment.

PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!