Book Review · Books

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare – Blog Tour

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I was lucky enough to be approached by LoveReading to review and join the blog tour for The Dark Artifices series by Cassandra Clare. Starting today, and posting every Wednesday, you will get to see what I thought about this series.

Series: The Dark Artifices

  1. Lady Midnight
  2. Lord Of Shadows
  3. Queen of Air and Darkness

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★★★★

Welcome back to a whole new series about the Shadowhunter world. If you haven’t read the Mortal Instruments, you will find this book full of spoilers on what happened before. You could still read it, though, but you will miss a lot of hidden gems throughout the book. I will try not to spoil a lot, but please proceed at your own risk 🙂

Lady Midnight is set in a time frame when the Mortal Instruments ends. This is a story about Emma, a fierce warrior who lost her parents in the war. This is also a story about her parabatai, Julian, and all the things he would do to protect his family.

A parabatai is your partner in battle. A parabatai is your best friend. Parabatai can be everything to each other – but they can never fall in love.

Emma was, without a doubt, my ultimate favourite character in this book. 

She is fierce and strong and always puts others before herself. Even though she has been through a lot, she uses that pain and channels it to keep going forward. She also never gives up and trusts her gut. She would give everything for the people she loves, even if it kills her.

I also loved Julian and how he was presented as the father figure in his siblings’ lives. After losing both parents, and his two elder siblings, he takes responsibility and grows so fast, realising that since his older brother is gone, he will have to wear the burden and raise his siblings on his own.

All great movies are about love. Love lost, found, destroyed, regained, bought, sold, dying, and being born. I love movies, but they’ve forgotten what they’re about. Explosions, effects, that wasn’t what it meant when I first got here. It was about lighting cigarette smoke so it looked like heavenly fire and lighting women so they looked like angels.

When the Sealies visit and make an offer to release Julian’s brother, Mark, for a price, Julian and Emma can’t refuse. It feels as if history keeps repeating itself and if you have read the previous books, you will know what I mean. Mark has been captured by the Sealie court when the war ended, and he has spent what seems like an eternity with them, forgetting who he really is.

While Emma tries to uncover the mystery of her parent’s murder, Mark is trying to decide whether he wants to stay with his Shadowhunter family that he barely knows or go back with the Wild Hunt and be together with the love of his life.

Cassandra Clare’s writing is absolutely incredible and even though the book is almost 700 pages long, I read it so quickly. I loved coming back to this world and I loved how fast-paced it was.

This book is all about love and I CAN’T even express my feelings on how happy I was when I was reading. So many emotions and pure sparks floating around. It was magical. Just like Magnus Bane’s cameo. Yes guys – he did appear – with all his sass. It was incredible.

When you love someone, they become a part of who you are. They’re everything you do. They’re in the air you breathe and the water you drink and the blood in your veins. Their touch stays on your skin and their voice stays in your ears and their thoughts stay in your mind. You know their dreams because their nightmares pierce your heart and their good dreams are your dreams too. And you don’t think they’re perfect, but you know their flaws, the deep-down truth of them, and the shadows of all their secrets and they don’t frighten you away; in fact you love them more for it, because you don’t want perfect. You want them…

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Books · Down The TBR Hole Tag

Down The TBR Hole #36 | Down The TBR Hole Tag

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Welcome to the 36th edition of my Down The TBR Hole Posts.

This weekend I have the hardest decision to make ever…

How Down the TBR Hole works: 

❤ 1. Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
❤ 2. Order on ascending date added.
❤ 3. Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
❤ 4. Read the synopsis of the books.
❤ 5. Time to Decide: keep it or should it go

Here’s the next patch:

down the tbr hole post diary of difference diaryofdifference after anna todd you armada ernest cline city of ashes cassandra clare mortal instruments uglies holly smale geek girl nadine brandes a time to die hollow city.

What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt

A love story, and a gift from my dear friend – this is a book I really need to get to soon. I don’t always love romances, but I think this one will be worth it.

Verdict: KEEP ☑

After (After, #1) by Anna Todd

With After being a Netflix hype now as well – I keep being told off for now reading it yet. The main reason I haven’t read it is because I don’t own it, and I have thousands of books I own already on my TBR. What to do, what to do…

Verdict: KEEP ☑ 

You by Caroline Kepnes

The very popular book, especially now, with the TV Show too. I must read this one, but as I said above, I don’t own it, and it hasn’t been a priority yet…

Verdict: KEEP ☑

My Sister’s Bones by Nuala Ellwood

I love Nuala Ellwood, and I loved her book Day of The Accident. But I will pass on this one for now.

Verdict: REMOVE ✖

Armada by Ernest Cline

I absolutely loved Ready Player One, and I hope Armada is just as good, even though reviews say otherwise. I am so curious to know and I am keeping this one.

Verdict: KEEP ☑

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, #2) by Ransom Riggs

Definitely a keeper, even though I had mixed feelings about Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children. 

Verdict: KEEP ☑

A Time to Die (Out of Time, #1) by Nadine Brandes

I loved the last two books from Nadine Brandes: Fawkes and Romanov. A Time to Die is the first book she has written and I would love to read it. I don’t own it at the moment, so probably won’t get to it soon, but I am definitely keeping it!

Verdict: KEEP ☑ 

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2) by Cassandra Clare

YES – do I even need to explain why?

Verdict: KEEP ☑ 

Model Misfit (Geek Girl, #2) by Holly Black

I loved Geek Girl, and I also loved Holly Black’s newest book, Happy Girl Lucky. My sister has borrowed me the whole Geek Girl collection, so I better get to it soon!

Verdict: KEEP ☑ 

Pretties (Uglies, #2) by Scott Westerfeld

I loved Uglies and I have to read the rest of them for sure!

Verdict: KEEP ☑ 

flower-divider-flower-dividers-clip-art-flowers-line-divider-stock-vector-illustration-of-elegantI only removed only 1 book this time. When it comes to genres I love, I have a weakness. I currently have 370 books on my TBR list. This is how my TBR list looks now.

Which books would you keep or remove? Let me know in the comments.

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Book Review · Books

Princess in Practice by Connie Glynn

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★★★★

From Connie Glynn comes the second book of the Rosewood Chronicles – Princess in Practice, and it is the adventure of a lifetime that we all have been waiting for. If you thought Undercover Princess was amazing – you will definitely love its sequel.

”Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

The story continues where it left off, with Ellie, Lottie and Jamie settling after the adventurous ending and getting ready for their second year in Rosewood. With the new school year starting, their enemies are on the rise again, plotting their new actions, and Lottie and Jamie are more than ready to protect their princess.

But as always, things are not as easy as they seem, and they never suspect that danger will be so close to them, now more than ever.

I loved that Lottie has her moment with her old best friend, when she visits the hometown, and tells him all about the princess world. It was soothing to know that she still cares about him, and always will, despite their lives being very different now.

Throughout the book, we don’t see any romantic scenes, but we do have a lot of subtle talks about them. I really loved the romance between Anastacia and Saskia. Maybe not the romance itself actually, because to be honest, as much as I love the author, she doesn’t have a skill set for writing romance. What I did love, was the dedication of the couple to stay together and what Saskia would do and sacrifice, just for the person she loves.

I was very upset with the author trying so hard to make Lottie and Ellie a couple. Yes, we know lesbian relationships are against the rules in the kingdom and Ellie’s father would be furious to find out. But Lottie had such a nice slow-burn romance going with Jamie, getting to know him and all. They even reminded me of Dimitri and Rose from Vampire Academy. They have a thing, and the author ruined it with trying to convince me Lottie likes girls. Well, I am not convinced. I already have my favourite girl couple, and it’s not Lottie and Ellie.

Princess in Practice was a better-written book than Undercover Princess in my opinion.

If I had to choose though, I would still prefer the first book, because of the whole set up. The friendship stories were better and even the villains were better in the previous book.

The villains we had in this book were plain, without a character, and I simply did not care about any of them. Even that last chapter, with the mysterious leader that stands behind everything, all I could feel was – MEH!

When it comes to the friendship, and the wider team that helps these three main characters, we didn’t really get to know them much more than we did from the previous book. My favourite was and will stay Raphael, who always makes me laugh.

”What? Why don’t I get to be a plus-one?” Raphael maned, tutting. 

”Because, Raphael,” Anastacia mocked, ”you’re not a trained bodyguards, nor are you a princess.”

To conclude, I loved reading Princess in Practice. It had a nice overall story and it was very easy to read. I will definitely be waiting for the third book to come out and will be desperate to read it! A great book during the summer period for sure. If you love princesses – that is 🙂

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Book Review · Books

The Serpent’s Mark by S.W. Perry

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DNF

The first book in 2019 that I didn’t manage to finish is The Serpent’s Mark by S.W. Perry.

I am sad and disappointed. If you know me, you will know how I don’t want to leave things unfinished, especially when reading books. I want to finish every book I read, so I can have a thorough opinion and valid comments.

I stopped reading this book at page 75, which is very early days, but I just couldn’t continue because of a few points.

Before I start, I need to mention all the things that attracted me to this book in the first place. I love mysteries, and this book promised conspiracy, murder and espionage in Elizabethan London. It is set in the year 1591, where a doctor is investigated of his questionable practices. This was, by itself a promising start. And if you haven’t seen the beautiful cover already, please do. It’s art to have this book on your shelves.

However, while reading those 75 pages, I haven’t encountered any murder. Conspiracy and espionage maybe, but it is so subtle, that everything else comes in first place, while I am here, flipping pages and desperately waiting for something to happen.

A book that contains a lot of politics and religion in a same chapter is just not the book for me. As a person that moved into the UK, I know a little bit about politics and not much about history politics, but I am also not very interested in it either. Documentaries, yes – but books for pleasure, not quite so much. This book was over-flooding with politics and religion, and it is something I just couldn’t put past me. After deciding to DNF it, I also realized that it was a second book of a series, but can also be read as a standalone.

I wish I enjoyed it, but I just couldn’t. However, if the book seems like something you might enjoy, please go for it, read it, and let me know how it went. We all have different tastes in book – and that’s OKAY! 🙂

Thank you to ReadersFirst, a UK based website that sends me books every month in exchange for my honest reviews. What you do it absolutely amazing!

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Books · Down The TBR Hole Tag

Down The TBR Hole #35 | Down The TBR Hole Tag

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Hi Everyone! I have new set of books this weekend, and I can’t wait to decide whether I’m keeping or removing them.

Welcome to the 35th edition of my Down The TBR Hole Posts.

How Down the TBR Hole works: 

❤ 1. Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
❤ 2. Order on ascending date added.
❤ 3. Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
❤ 4. Read the synopsis of the books.
❤ 5. Time to Decide: keep it or should it go

Here’s the next patch:

down the tbr hole the vapire diaries l. j. smith a clash of kings game of thrones george r. r. martin ash princess the wicked king holly black looking for alaska alexander the great book books blogging blog

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

This doesn’t seem like something I would enjoy right now. I am letting it go.

Verdict: REMOVE ✖

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

I am not sure. I am like, yes, and then no. And when I doubt, there is only one choice – it has to go. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have doubted in the first place.

Verdict: REMOVE ✖

The Awakening (The Vampire Diaries, #1) by L. J. Smith

I loved, loved, loved the TV Show when it aired a couple of years ago. And I remember then how bad I wanted to have and read the books. I still don’t have them, and I still haven’t read them, but I will. I definitely will do soon.

Verdict: KEEP ☑

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2) by George R. R. Martin

The glorious ”A Song Of Ice and Fire”! I own the whole collection, and need to read it ASAP! Did you guys watched the last season of the TV Show of Game of Thrones? What a disappointing ending is all I’ll say. Let me know in the comments what you thought. No Spoilers, of course 😉

Verdict: KEEP ☑ 

Ash Princess (Ash Princess Trilogy #1) by Laura Sebastian

I will definitely read this one, and soon. I love everything about it, and the book cover I have also has a little gap in the middle, so you can actually see where the fire is carved. Amazing!

Verdict: KEEP ☑

Looking for Alaska by John Green

I love reading John Green. He always sets me in such a chill mood, thinking about my life. I own this one and it’s sitting on my shelves. Should I pick it up soon?

Verdict: KEEP ☑

FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven

A violent book that is a mix of The Hunger Games and Battle Royale. I want it! So bad…

Verdict: KEEP ☑

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2) by Holly Black

I loved The Cruel Prince so much, and I still don’t know how in the world I still don’t own The Wicked King. I need it!!!

Verdict: KEEP ☑

Alexander: Child of a Dream (Aléxandros, #1) by Valerio Massimo Manfredi

As a Macedonian, Alexander the Great is a proud part of my history, and I have always admired what he did while he was so young. I have read ”Spartan” by the same author and fell in love with the style of writing. When I found out this series existed, I knew I had to read it!

Verdict: KEEP ☑

Alienated: Grounded At Groom Lake by Jeff Norton

An interesting children’s book of alien high-school. I won this as a giveaway and will definitely be reading it soon!

Verdict: KEEP ☑

flower-divider-flower-dividers-clip-art-flowers-line-divider-stock-vector-illustration-of-elegantI only removed 2 books this time. When it comes to genres I love, I have a weakness. I currently have 370 books on my TBR list. This is how my TBR list looks now.

Which books would you keep or remove? Let me know in the comments.

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