Book Review: Bring Me Their Hearts (Bring Me Their Hearts #1)

Bring Me Their Hearts

Sara Wolf

4/5

I love a good enemies-to-lovers romance, but when there are lives on the line I tend to get pretty stressed out. Zera is a Heartless, a race despised the general public due to their servitude to witches and their need to eat hearts. To prevent another war between witches and non-witches, Zera is tasked with stealing the prince's heart and making him a Heartless. If she does so, she gets her own heart back- the ultimate goal of all Heartless.

Obviously, she has to manipulate the prince to get this done. They have a lot of genuine moments, but it's all tainted by the fact that she will eventually have to kill him. I got very Throne of Glass vibes from this though thinking back on it I can't pinpoint exactly why. At the bare minimum, a girl with excellent sword-fighting skills is trying to deny her true nature to save a prince. There are other nuances that I felt there that I can't really explain.

For a kind of book that typically stresses me out, I still enjoyed this one a lot. It was a fun read with enjoyable characters (even though they could be kind of stupid at times). I won't be over that last scene anytime soon though it was very emotional and confusing. I really just want everyone to be happy so these reads are hard for me. I'd recommend it though and I'm looking forward to getting into the second book.

Book Review: White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

Robin DiAngelo

5/5

In an effort to re-educate myself on racial issues during this period of unrest, I've been trying to read some books about racism and systemic oppression. White Fragility forced me to think about how I interact with everyone, and my own intrinsic behaviors. The overarching message is that everyone is racist, that by turning the word racist into something that people only associate with lynchings and horrible acts of violence, we've only further internalized the problems that are truly oppressing POC in America.

This book is only around 170 pages, but it's still hard to get through. Not because it's boring, but with every highlight I made I had to think back to my own life. This book was written by a white woman, but she fully acknowledges her inability to fully understand how people of other races feel. It's a book by a white person attempting to communicate problems to white people that they are creating.

I'm a strong believer in the sentiment that everyone should do their best to self-educate themselves and try to stop themselves from offending anyone else. Race is a super tricky issue, but if everyone put the time in to try to read books like this and stopped to think about what they were saying, we might have a more inclusive society. I would recommend this to anyone feeling hopeless right now, there's always some way that you can try to make a difference.

Book Review: Murder on Lexington Avenue (Gaslight Mystery #12)

Murder on Lexington Avenue

Victoria Thompson

5/5

Another great book in the Gaslight Mystery series! When the father of a deaf girl is murdered, Detective Sergeant Malloy is called because of his relationship with the deaf community. He discovers a convoluted web of rivalries within the deaf and hearing community- along with among the family members of the murdered man. When the widow of the man goes into labor, Malloy can't stop Sarah Brandt from becoming involved.

I love the dynamic of these two characters at this point. Eleven books ago I would have never guessed that Malloy would grow so much on me, he's really an awesome character at this point. Sarah has also grown a lot, she has Catherine now and is much nicer to her neighbor (which sketched me out about her at first). Overall, I'm super satisfied with the progress of the internal arcs.

The mystery here was also super interesting. It shocked me, I really didn't see the murdered coming. Or maybe I saw it coming a little, but I definitely didn't anticipate all of the wild character shifts. I've said it before, but this is an amazing series because of how well it integrates the overarching plot development along with the small little mini-plots of each novel. I might be twelve books in, but I'm far from bored.

Book Review: Beach Read

Beach Read

Emily Henry

5/5

January Andrews is an author, she writes women's literature and she's proud of what she does. She usually writes happily ever afters though and she's in a place where she doesn't want to write that. When she finds out her new neighbor is her college nemesis, another writer who specializes in dark cult fiction, they make a bet. He writes a happy ever after, she writes a darker novel without one. First one to sell their book wins.

When I tell people that I like reading contemporary romances, this is exactly what I mean. The perfect balance between contemporary and cliche, utilizing characters that are serious with real-world problems but that have a world-changing romance. To top this one off, they're both authors and make constant bookish references. January writes women's lit which people constantly scoff at her for, I think that people constantly scoff at people who read it too which make her extremely relatable to her audience.

The relationship isn't instant-love and it also has that classic enemies-to-lovers feel. I love that trope, but it can get annoying when they spend too much time going back and forth and can't decide whether they want to be together. Here, there are obvious emotional traumas blocking them- they don't get completely stopped by it though. There's a flawless progression from their first meeting as neighbors to their romance, it feels simultaneously natural and fantastic.

I would 100% recommend this to fans of contemporary romance. I read it in one sitting, it's so fluffy and serious and had me laughing and crying. One of the best releases of 2020 so far for sure.

Book Review: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin #1)

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin

Roseanne A. Brown

4/5

I'm going to be honest, for the first 40 percent or so of this book I couldn't see myself getting into it. But then it took off and it totally shocked me. I've seen it advertised as "Jasmine and Aladdin if they were trying to kill each other" and that fits it pretty well. Malik is a poor boy from an oppressed people and Karina is the princess of the kingdom which has been oppressing them. His little sister makes a mistake and finds herself ensnared by a demon, he promises to kill her to save her life. Karina lost her mother by an assassination and needs the heart of a king to reincarnate her. She offers the role of king to the person who wins their much anticipated games that only occur every fifty years. 

Obviously, Malik fakes his way in in a typical Aladdin fashion and then lies about who he is. They're trying not to get close to each other because they're planning on murder, but they kind of just fall into place. I really appreciated how the prize of the games was offered regardless of gender- they normalize LGBT relationships on multiple fronts and I thought that was cool. I feel like every LGBT decision doesn't have to be a huge statement, casually including acceptance is cool too. 

I had some problems with Karina at points cause I felt she was being needlessly mean. By the end though I was supporting all of her choices because obviously everyone deserved it. Honestly though, the plot twist at the end redeems her pretty well so if you find yourself losing interest I would really recommend pushing onwards. 

If you love enemies to lovers romances then I'd recommend this series. The romance was kind of eh as it built up here and as they were both trying to kill each other but I think that a great foundation has been established. Can't wait to see where this series goes!

Book Review: King of Scars (Nikolai Duology #1)

King of Scars

Leigh Bardugo

3/5

I think I fall with the general majority when I say I didn't like the Shadow and Bone trilogy all that much, I loved Six of Crows, and I'm kind of indifferent here. Nikolai is a cool character, I'll never get over how Alina turned him down in favor of Mal like I understand it I just don't vibe with that choice. That being said, him getting a duology feels like a great move. It was good and I'm glad we see more about him, but I feel like I was losing track of his plotline in the mix of it all. It took me so long to read this book because I just kept getting sidetracked and I wasn't really interested in most of what was going on. 

The ending did surprise me. I think people were mad about it but it felt like the logical way to go for me. I won't spoil it cause you know why would I do that, I just think that it'll provide a necessary and more central conflict to the duology. The original trilogy isn't void because of it, it's just a continuation and if it's done well it'll be fine. 

I don't know if I should keep reading these books because like the hype is astronomical but they kind of fall flat for me. I don't know if I'll read the next one when she puts it out, but I'm glad I've gotten this far with the characters. 

Book Review: Between the World and Me

Between the World and Me

Ta-Nehisi Coates

5/5

I've recently realized a need to educate myself more thoroughly on the nature of race in America. This book was recommended to me by a friend on Instagram as a way to do so and I completely understand why. Told as a letter from himself to his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates narrates his perspective on the oppression which Black Americans feel every day. I think that this is a pretty essential read, especially given the confusion which some people are experiencing as they consider the nature of the current protests. 

I've read a lot of books, but I don't read a lot of non-fiction. When I do read non-fiction and they center upon tragedies, they make me feel more helpless than anything else. If a character dies in a fictional book, I get upset and maybe I cry about it and think about it randomly for years to come. But when an individual needlessly dies in a book and I know that nothing I can do or imagine could bring that individual back to life, I never forget those books. This is the constant fear of Black America, the fear of a random and meaningless death. A society which Coates suggests is built upon violence towards black people which is beyond heartbreaking.

If you don't understand what would cause a group of people to riot and protest during a global pandemic then you really need to read this one. I completely understand the need for everything happening right now and yet this book still taught me so much and gave me so much perspective. It's tragic and it's sad and it needs to be stopped. I hope that through books like this, people will be able to educate themselves and see beyond their personal interests for the more pressing need for change. 

Book Review: Murder on Waverly Place (Gaslight Mystery #11)

Murder on Waverly Place

Victoria Thompson

4/5

These books are so easy to read! I start it and all of the sudden it's over. Sarah's mother asks for Sarah's help, she wants to go to a seance and she wants Sarah to accompany her. It makes sense- she's still grieving over the loss of her daughter and the guilt she feels for causing it. What doesn't make sense is the murder of one of the other women in attendance at the seance, which has Sarah being involved in another of Sergeant Malloy's investigations. 

I liked the mystery because it was kind of double-tiered. On one hand, we're trying to figure out who committed the actual murder and on the other we're trying to figure out if Madam Serafina can actually speak to ghosts. We also find out a little more about Maeve, which was interesting and done in a better way than the complete take over in the last book. It was overall a pretty great addition, minus some lulls in the action that were kind of boring. 

Writing reviews for all these books is really just me asking everyone to read this series over and over, it's a really great series. Every book gets a little closer to Sarah and Malloy getting together (though I noticed him being called Frank by the narrator a lot more in this one and I don't know if I can call him Frank) so I'm really looking forward to that culmination. 

Book Review: Murder on Bank Street (Gaslight Mystery #10)

Murder on Bank Street

Victoria Thompson

3/5

I had the longest wait out of any books in the series for this one and maybe it was how long I waited for it, but it just didn't hit as hard as the others. After nine books and four whole years, Sarah is finally delving deeper into the mystery of who viciously murdered her husband and it's not looking good. With the possibility of tarnishing his memory and thinking about the safety of her adopted daughter, her nursemaid Maeve offers to step in and investigate. 

I've been waiting nine books, now ten, for Malloy and Sarah to get together and like I think it's some excellent build-up to it. But I'm not waiting nine books to read Maeve's point of view. I understand her relevance and why she's mentioned so much and I even like her character but I'm not reading Malloy and Sarah's story for huge asides into her amateur detective career. It's cool when Sarah does it but like Maeve's 17 and I don't like people encroaching on the turf of the main character this late into the game. 

That being said, I'm obviously not going to stop reading these books and I didn't think the mystery here was bad. I just think it was a lot of build-up to end with Maeve like this. I'm still recommending the series, this one was just kind of boring. 

Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha #1)

Children of Blood and Bone

Tomi Adeyemi

4/5

I kind of got Avatar vibes from this one? Maybe it's just because I've been rewatching the show, but it'd be great to hear if anyone else felt that way. Zélie has spent her whole life being called maggot after watching her mother brutally murdered on the streets. Her mother was murdered for a magic that she no longer possessed, a magic that Zélie has an opportunity to bring back.

I really liked the characters in this book. I feel like when I'm getting more than two points of view I automatically want at least one of them to go away. I think it was well executed and gave you unique perspectives, though I felt bad that Tzain didn't get his word in and I'd like him to have his own chapters in the sequel.

The plot flowed pretty well with great separation in scenes which made it much easier to follow. The book is over 500 pages but it honestly didn't feel too long. It annoyed me a little that Zélie was being blamed for getting everyone killed. Like she followed her instinct, and though it got her into trouble I think that it always panned out okay.

The thing that kept me from giving it five stars was the romance. I'm a big fan of enemies-to-lovers romances, it's one of my favorite tropes so I immediately wanted Inan and Zélie to be together. I feel like they both gave into it too quickly but simultaneously it wasn't really dealt with on a wider scale. Maybe because no one but their siblings really knew about it? I don't know it just felt very incomplete to me. Tzain and Amari just didn't have enough interactions for me to get behind it, I can see the potential though.

Overall, amazing read and I'd totally recommend it. I've been kind of away from YA fantasy for a bit because I haven't been able to find my groove there, this one was an easy read though.

Book Review: Beasts Made of Night (Beasts Made of Night #1)

Beasts Made of Night

Tochi Onyebuchi

3/5

In a world where people pay to have their sins removed, the aki who remove those sins are on the bottom-tier. Taj is the most powerful of those aki and is sick of being treated like dirt. He is summoned to work in the palace and finally is placed in a position where he can try to make a difference.

The premise of it was really good. The tattoos were cool, the powers were cool, the fight scenes not so much. I had some problems following it all, it felt sporadic and wasn't keeping my attention. I also felt like Taj transitioned too quickly, the book somehow was moving very fast but felt like it was moving very slowly. He was in the palace then just decided to go to the training grounds then was back in the palace and I didn't really get his reasoning as to why.

It was good for the overarching plot, but the world-building could have been better. I think I'll still read the sequel someday because I liked the idea of it, I don't know though because the characters didn't make a huge impact on me. It was ok it just could have been better.

Book Review: The Deep

The Deep

Rivers Solomon

4/5

Definitely different from any other book I've read on mermaids, The Deep provides a historically poignant look on merpeople. I loved the premise, I love most books that have historical facts that I didn't deeply consider prior to reading the book. I remember how angry I was when I was like ten and watched the Animal Planet documentary on mermaids only to find out at the end that it was all fake. This is a much more artful portrayal of deep-sea dwellers.

The criticisms I had with it were related to the story's pacing. I couldn't connect with the story because of the cuts, I didn't feel enough cohesion. I think that might be a personal preference for straightforwardness, it really wasn't as confusing as a lot of books I've read. I do appreciate that there wasn't needless explanations of the magic of the ocean, a lot of fell to the suspension of disbelief and the general hope that the abominations of slave trade could have had some small miracle.

If you like mermaids, which I always have, I think this is a great read. The author's note at the end really sold me, this story has gone through a lot before making it to this format. It's a super short read that really leaves you wanting more.

Book Review: Mustang Wild (Wild #1)

Mustang Wild

Stacey Kayne

3/5

I swear, someone needs to take my Kindle away cause I'm down the rabbit-hole of the western romance genre and I have zero regrets. Skylar Daines has been dressing as a boy for a good portion of her life to help her father tame horses. That's pretty cool, but she's sick of all the lying and of the nomadic lifestyle they've been living and demands better. She thinks she's going to get it until her father is murdered in a mutinous scheme. To try to save some piece of that future, she seeks out her father's business partner and finds his twin brother- whom she immediately accidentally marries.

I didn't mind Tucker as a character all that much. He was okay, and I do appreciate that both the brothers came to appreciate her skills. I wish she didn't want to be a wife and mother so much, since she's such a cool and prospectively independent character. The entirety of the plot was pretty simple and straightforward aside from her skill, so you can see why I wanted more.

I like the marriage of convenience trope, this one didn't really convince me it could have been all that accidental. It went against Skylar's later established character for her to make such an impulsive and forced decision. I didn't like that part and I didn't like how long they went back and forth between hating and loving each other. That's the typical problem I have with romances in the enemies-to-lovers categories and might just be my own impatience.

If you like simple western romances, which is really all I have the mental capacity for right now, then this is a perfect read for you. There's nothing all that problematic, it's not entirely clean but it doesn't have those awkwardly intense sex scenes either. It's pretty much middle of the road on all fronts.