-
Romanov
This Post is Spoiler Free! I made the mistake of not writing down my feelings directly after reading Romanov by Nadine Brandes, and now it’s been almost a week and I feel lost. This has nothing to do about how much I liked the book, because I liked it a lot. I just finished it at three in the morning, fell directly to sleep, and didn’t have time to write my review when I woke up. And then I procrastinated. But, it’s Tuesday, my usual blog post day, and I figured I should really, really get to this. So, here I am! Talking about Romanov! To start, I want to…
-
My Rating System!
I’ve been posting so consistently this month (on Tuesdays and Fridays), and I didn’t want to lose my momentum. The only problem is that I haven’t actually finished a book since Winterwood, so I’ve decided to finally write up something that has been on my mind for some time. I was looking through my Goodreads 2020 Challenge (I’ll write up more on that closer to the end of the year), and I realized the majority of the books I read, I rated either 4 or 5 stars. There are 5 books (out of 59) that I rated 3 stars. I didn’t rate a single thing below that. This isn’t to…
-
Piratica (I and II)
This Post is Spoiler Free! I’m going to be 100% honest with y’all… I forgot to write down my thoughts on Piratica by Tanith Lee before starting (and finishing) Piratica II. Normally, I’ll be fresh from finishing a book as I write my review (which is less an ordered review and more a slew of my thoughts and feelings), so this feels a little weird. Piratica But let’s look at Piratica. I’m going to start by saying that it took me nearly the whole month of November to read, however that was less because of the book and more because I was busy (and even when I wasn’t, my mind…
-
The Picture of Dorian Gray
This Post is Spoiler Free! Here’s the thing. I am not a fan of reviewing classics (it reminds me of school, which was a period in my life where I genuinely wasn’t loving reading or writing). But I’ve been reviewing every book I’ve read this year, so I will do the same with The Picture of Dorian Gray, though the review will be short. Basically, I read this book because I have a really close friend who shared the soundtrack with me and made me want to watch the movie, Dorian Gray with Ben Barnes (really, I’ll watch anything with Ben Barnes). The only problem is that I really, really…
-
Spoiled… How Rotten!
This Post Does NOT Contain Spoilers! Is it obvious that I’m a little salty about a spoiler I came across? Let me give you some background. So, I’m pretty good about staying away from spoilers. I somehow managed to only have ONE thing from the Avengers franchise spoiled, and I couldn’t tell you anything at all about the new Star Wars movies (I’m not joking… I’ve stayed so far away from it that all I know is the name Rey and that Adam Driver plays a bad guy and has a lightsaber that looks like a sword). I do this for a reason. I. Can’t. Stand. Spoilers. I will say…
-
Ella Minnow Pea
This Post is Spoiler Free! GUYS! THIS BOOK! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I am legitimately shaking right now. Or bouncing. I’m not sure which. Maybe it’s my brain that is shaking? I don’t even know. All I know is that Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn is now my new favorite book. It is a book I will cherish for the rest of my life. I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!! This is going to be more of a fangirling session than a proper book review, but who cares? I certainly don’t. This is my blog, and I will get as excited as I please on it! Okay so here’s the deal. I picked this…
-
9 From the Nine Worlds
This Post is Spoiler Free! Ah, I love Rick Riordan. I recently finished reading Magnus Chase: 9 From the Nine Worlds, which is a short story collection thingy in the Magnus Chase world. Each short story (there are nine of them) is from the perspective of a different character, including my two all time favorite characters, Heath and Alex! Each short story is connected by a little cameo from Thor, which is hilarious. Nothing is too intense. It’s just nine, lighthearted and fun stories told by the characters we all love (if you’ve read the Magnus Chase trilogy, that is). Seriously, give this collection a read. It’s fun and provided…
-
The Legendary Shiver
Alright. I’m going to start this review with two disclaimers. The author sent me a free copy of The Legendary Shiver in exchange for an honest review. I’m generally not a fan of anything in the Romance genre. While this book isn’t outright Romance (it’s a Contemporary), there are a lot of Romance undertones. With that taken care of, let’s get onto the review! The Legendary Shiver by J. H. MacAl is a story about the pop music industry and all of the good and bad that comes with it. It follows William (Will) Cooper as he follows his best friend Ruby (Shiver) Magenta as she chases stardom. It was…
-
Fangirl
So, here’s the thing. I recently finished Fangirl, and I wish I hadn’t. You might be thinking, “Wow, Lucy… was it that bad?” and the answer is an all caps NO! Fangirl was AMAZING! The only thing I didn’t like about it was that it ended at all. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure what it is about this book that I find incredible. I didn’t notice any particular techniques, or character related things that stood out to me, but I think that might be because I was invested? It didn’t feel like a book to me. It felt like I was diving straight into the memories of a…
-
House of Salt and Sorrows
I recently read House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Graig, and it was the first Fantasy book I’ve read in a while that I thought was kind of… eh. Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of things in the book that I liked (particularly in it being a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses), but the ending didn’t sit well with me. When the ending is off, it throws off the whole book. However, let’s start with the beginning. Erin Craig sets the scene, and she sets it fairly dark and dreary. It took some time, and I had the smallest amount of trouble getting into her…
-
Divan of Shah
Author Shah Asad Rizvi sent me a copy of his poetry book, Divan of Shah, in return for an honest review. Well, here it is! Let me start by mentioning that I don’t usually intake poetry via an entire book. Most of my experience with poetry has been focusing on a single poem, or maybe a small selection, at a time. That being said… I’ve read a lot of poetry, so I have a decent understanding about the way a lot of people write it—and the places people tend to get stuck. The biggest trap poets fall into is making their poetry incredibly dark and depressing. I’m not saying there…
-
Crooked Kingdom
This Post is Spoiler Free I finished Crooked Kingdom last night, and ow. It hurt, but goodness gracious it was worth it. That book was incredible. The whole Six of Crows duology was incredible. Leigh Bardugo is a genius—a brilliant writer and mystifying storyteller. My feelings about Crooked Kingdom are pretty similar to my feelings about Six of Crows (read my discussion here), in the sense where she employs the same writing techniques. Her descriptions are so in depth, that I felt like I was walking the streets of Ketterdam, and the way she utilizes flashbacks is just chilling. Both of these books felt alive. I lost track of time…
-
Life Update
Today, I just wanted to do a quick Life Update. It’s nothing big or special. Just kinda an overview of what has happened in the last week or so. As you may know, I moved out of my parents’ house and am now in a cabin. It’s honestly pretty big for me being the only occupant. I love it. There is enough space for my books! However, it is a cabin. An old cabin. So that… means bugs. I mean, it’s not that big of a deal. The biggest pest are ants, and boy are they a pest, but I’m heading to Walmart today to get some ant-killer. As for…
-
Six of Crows (but I… haven’t finished the book)
This post is spoiler free! Here’s the thing. I am just about to start part five of Six of Crows, beautifully labeled as “The Ice Does Not Forgive,” and I am nervous. I last read on Wednesday, less than forty-eight hours ago, but since then I’ve only had the odd half hour where I could actually read (because of work… laaaame), so I have gathered every ounce of self-control that I have in order to NOT pick up the book. The next time I read, I’m going to cease life until the book is finished. I need to make sure I have an adequate amount of time, because I do…