BOOK REVIEW : ONE TO WATCH BY KATE STAYMAN-LONDON
One To Watch is the debut work of Kate Stayman-London. The story follows Bea, a successful plus-size fashion blogger who has a massive following on her platform. She candidly criticizes and scrutinizes the lack of diversity in media and the very famous reality dating show called Main Squeeze. Main Squeeze is the fictional version of the most popular Bachelorette franchise. Because of her criticisms, the show is being called out by the public and they decide to cast her as the next lead on Main Squeeze. She goes on this adventurous journey filled with glamorous locations, swoon-worthy dates, and handsome suitors vying for her attention. The fantasy worthy journey is…
BOOK REVIEW : THE BURIED WORLD (THE GRAVE KINGDOM #2) BY JEFF WHEELER
The Buried World is the second book in The Grave Kingdom series. The series is Chinese inspired with a fantastical world and a great cast of characters carrying the story forward. I read The Killing Fog, the first book in this series last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it. This series picks up from where the story left off in the first book. We follow Bingmei as she and her ensign is fleeing from Echion and his army of mercenaries. Kingdoms have fallen; Echion is raging war against anyone who dares to defy him. He is forcing Iron Rules on his subjects. Things are rapidly changing in the entire world. Echion…
BOOK REVIEW : A CONJURING OF LIGHT (SHADES OF MAGIC #3) BY V. E. SCHWAB
A Conjuring Of Light is the third and final book in the Shades Of Magic series. VE Schwab has yet again done a fantastic job of creating a story that will captivate and fascinate you throughout the book. I was in the mood for binge-reading the series and was able to fly through it effortlessly. I have to say I am a confirmed fan of VE Schwab, and she will be an automatic author buy for me. The finale not only lived up to my expectations, but it also is a favorite of mine. I loved every moment of reading this series and in particular this book. The new developments…
BOOK REVIEW : DJINN BY SANG KROMAH
Djinn is a YA urban fantasy with Djinns as the fantastical creatures. The story is told from Bijou a young teenager's perspective. We follow her move to the new town filled with new beginnings. Bijou has been following her grandmother from place to place uprooting her life. The new town where they planned to settle hoping for a normal life gets turned upside down when supernatural events happen. Bijou finds herself finding truths about herself and her past making her question her whole life. The story started out being promising and then somewhere down the line went downhill for me. I was extremely intrigued by the concept of Djinns and…
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BOOK REVIEW : WHERE THERE BE HUMANS BY REBEKAH L. PURDY
Where There Be Humans is an interesting story about a half-goblin who struggles with her identity. In a world where being half-goblin is looked down upon she has to fight her way to be respected and accepted. This is a romantic fantasy that mainly focuses on Ivy's journey than world-building. The world was fascinating with different fantastical species and creatures. The magic system was minimal. There was lore that sounded intriguing but was not expanded upon in the story. The book is easy to get through and fast-paced. There were some aspects of the story that reminded me of Harry Potter, with certain characters and their interactions. While the story…
BOOK REVIEW : A GATHERING OF SHADOWS (SHADES OF MAGIC #2) V.E. SCHWAB
I picked this up after the first book. I was in the mood to binge read the series and I couldn't wait to start. I was quite excited to see Lila, Kell, and Rhy's journey and where life would take them. A Gathering Of Shadows picks up 4 months after A Darker Shade Of Magic ended. Let's just say that this book kept me hooked to the story from beginning to end. I don't know how to talk about anything without giving any part of the story away, because of major SPOILERS!!! The book is set up with the expansion of the world or to be more precise, Arnes, and…
BOOK REVIEW : THE SECRET NOTEBOOK BY D A D’AURELIO
The Secret Notebook follows the young protagonist Riley Green. She loves science and makes a lie detector pen to elevate her status in the school where students whose influential parents study. Her lack of confidence and her insecurities about her life is evident in her thought process. Her plan is derailed when her teacher goes missing and leaves her with an important document to protect. The book was a fun ride, with adventure and sleuthing to figure out the culprit who is planning to steal the document. Riley and her friends plan to take out the person. As the story progresses we get to see the kids solve the problem…
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FFBC BOOK TOUR – BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY : HALF LIFE BY LILLIAN CLARK
Half Life by Lillian Clark is a YA Sci-Fi novel that tells the story of Lucille, an overachieving teenager who joins an experimental clone-development program to help resolve her problems. After a constant stream of failures and disappointments in her life, she decides to have one more of her will help remove the issues she has. She can be the perfect daughter, perfect student, and the perfect friend and still find time for some fun. Lucille is not the perfect heroine one would expect, she is flawed, self-absorbed, and has issues with communicating with people around her. She hides behind her snark and at times uses jokes to take attention…
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YA BOUND BOOK TOURS – BOOK REVIEW : LIVE LIKE LEGENDS BY KATE CORNELL
Live Like Legends is a typical starter YA fantasy with a stronger focus on romance. The story is a fun, entertaining, and engaging read that you can easily pick up and finish in a day. While the world-building and character arcs are not fleshed out to their fullest extent, the story still managed to capture my attention and keep me interested till the end. I liked how the story took two characters from different cultures, backgrounds, and languages to be married to fulfill a prophecy. The whole idea of an immortal beast destroying a country by killing the royal family also added to the dark theme of the book. Kalista…
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BOOK REVIEW : WHERE THE LOST WANDER BY AMY HARMON
Where The Lost Wanderis a romantic historical fiction set on Oregon Trail and it tells us the hauntingly beautiful love story of Naomi May and John Lowry. They meet on their journey to California in search of a better life. Their journey was hard, filled with labor, pain ,sweat and tears. The book describes the reality of families who set on the path to a better future and having to endure the worst of hardships, sicknesses, and ugliness. This is not a sugar-coated version of the journey and the author pulled no punches in delivering a raw, unimaginably tragic story of love, loss, and hope. The story was so difficult…
