Non-Spoiler Book Review | “Again, but Better,” by Christine Riccio

• Rating: 4 out of 5
• Pub Date:  May 7th, 2019
• Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
• Publisher: Wednesday Books
• Product #: 9781250299253
• Pages: Hardcover, 377

Just finished reading this gem around 2 am Monday morning and although I did not know what to expect of it, I truly enjoyed reading this refreshing new story. I don’t follow Christine anywhere and I’ve only watched a couple of her videos, I know she’s super popular in the BookTube community and I did get to meet her last year in Yallfest. However, I read this book because I’m directing the YA Barnes and Noble Club and this book is their first pick of the month and I did enjoy it.

In this story, we follow sweet, introverted, shy Shane. She gets to go to London for a study abroad program in creative writing. She’s a junior in college and apparently, she has been doing college all wrong. She has no friends, no dating experience whatsoever and she’s looking for a fresh new start in life that she thinks will happen in London. And to give her credit she does do well, at least for the first part.

If you get over how annoying her self-pitying and self-loathing go, you can actually really enjoy her character. She’s so funny, outgoing, and sincere. Multiple times throughout the story I found myself laughing and smiling and I even cried once, so there’s that. But this story has an interesting turn of events that you really don’t see coming. Like everything was fun and games until we got to the second part of the book, and I was like “wtf?!” but later on I realized why. And I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give anything away but the turns of events are for the better.

She meets this boy whose name is Pilot (seriously, that’s his name), and they hit it off immediately, that is until she finds out he has a girlfriend and then things get awkward from then on. But the story is still interesting. Their dynamic is unique and they make a really fun couple, and their jokes are totally adorable. Pilot is funny and charming and their connection is incredible. Again, I genuinely liked their relationship.

Shane is fun and quirky and we as bloggers have a lot in common with her. She blogs, she writes for passion and she’s just as lost in this world as we all are. The element of traveling was a nice addition to the story. The characters that we follow in this book not only go to London but they go to many European countries and Riccio does a great job of describing them to us. More than once I felt like I was in one of the sceneries that she painted throughout this book and since one of my goals is to travel the world, I appreciated that she brought a little piece of the world to me.

Anyways, I don’t know what else to say without giving too much away. There’s an element of surprise throughout the middle of this book and what you thought was going to be a story about a girl who lost something important to her ends up being something much more interesting. Shane ends up getting a second shot to relive her past in London and fix her future, but how? I guess you’ll have to read and see.

I would recommend this book if you like traveling book like “Love and Gelato,” and “Love and Luck” by Jenna Evans Welch. If you like the books by Stephanie Perkins, you know “Anna and the French Kiss,” and so on. If you like “I see London, I see France,” by Mlynosky (I think that’s how you spell her last name). If you like books by Kasie West and Morgan Matson you’ll also enjoy this. Anyone 14 years old and older can read this book. And as always guys, thank you for taking the time to read my post, I’ll see you on the next one.

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Non-Spoiler Book Review | “Bloodleaf,” by Crystal Smith

• Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
• Pub Date:  March 12th, 2019
• Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
• Publisher: HMH Book for Young Readers
• Product #:9781328496300
• Pages: Hardcover, 373

You guys, this was a surprisingly good book. I really enjoyed reading this one. I read it in a night. It was such a great book. There´s a little bit of everything in this story, magic, love, tragedy, adventure and even suspense.

In this story, we follow the protagonist princess Aurelia and her struggle to use magic. In her world witches and magic are viewed as things that need to be oppressed and destroyed, if the tribunal finds out that anyone is practicing magic they will be executed immediately. So Aurelia has pretty much hidden inside the castle her whole life without being able to perform the magic that calls to her. But that didn´t stop people from wanting to kill her. There were rumors running around the county that she was a witch and that she could perform magic and in one crazy night, someone attempts to kill her. This is when she runs away betrayed by those she trusted the most and ends up alone in this foreign city with only her horse as her companion.

That´s when she meets Zan, he finds out that she can do magic and in turn, he offers her a deal if she helps him balance out the turmoil that´s about to happen within these two countries. The betrayal, the surprises, the suspense, and mystery are all just an added bonus that makes this story really more interesting. Its a story worth reading and I don´t want to go into too much detail because I´m afraid I’m going to spoil it for you guys, but I promise you that this is worth your time.

If you liked the Kanin Chronicles by Amanda Hocking, The Black Witch by Lauren Forest, The Bone Witch by Chupeco, then this will be the book for you. I can guarantee you that this is not your typical damsel in distress book that needs help getting her kingdom back, it is so much more. If you are 14 years old and older you can read this book. It is also a very quick read so you’ll enjoy it. And guys, thank you for taking the time to read my post, I truly appreciate it.

Non-Spoiler Book Review | “Sky Without Stars,” by Jessica Brody & Joanne Rendell

• Rating: 2.5 out of 5
• Pub Date:  March 26th, 2019
• Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings
• Publisher: Simon Pulse
• Product #: 9781534410633
• Pages: Hardcover, 582

Wow, this book was a tough one to follow. Apparently is Les Miserables by Victor Hugo retelling and since I haven’t read that book, I couldn’t compare. However, I’ve seen the size of that book and it’s pretty long and I’m pretty sure that’s what the authors of this book were trying to accomplish.

That’s one of my first problems right there. The book was unnecessarily long, like too long for its own good. I dragged myself to finish this book but it was so hard. I wanted to DNF it so bad but somehow I managed to pull through. Like seriously, nothing happens in this book, it’s like you dragged yourself through 500 and some pages to only be truly interested in the last three chapters of the book.

In this story, we follow three characters: Chatine, whose a thief that’s trying to get off the planet in which this book is based on, Laterre. Marcellous is the grandson of General Bonnefacon and he tries to follow in his footsteps so that he can show his grandfather how worthy he is of being the next general. And then there’s Alouette, she lives underground under the protection of the sisters that protect items and books from the first world. She’s a very curious kid and has a thousand questions that for some reason are never answered in the book.

The story is set in this dystopian post-apocalyptic world set in space where Laterre used to be what was considered France on earth. There are three estates that dominate this planet and the third estate is the biggest estate of the planet but also the one that’s most marginalized. The people are extremely poor, there’s a lot of social injustices and the situation doesn’t get any better for any of them.

But seriously nothing happens in this book, there’s way too much time spent in describing characters emotions and feelings and less time spent developing the story itself. Like, we literally get nowhere throughout this entire book. At the end we learn three things about the different characters and to save you some time, just read part 6 of the book and you’ll know everything you need to know about the entire story (and honestly, I still feel like it’ll be too long). The only reason I gave a 2.5 is that I appreciate the French vocab utilized throughout this story, but that genuinely it.

I would recommend it if you like the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Skyward by Brandon Sanderson, and Enchantee by Gita Trelease. Anyone can read this book, to be honest, there’s like a tiny kiss that doesn’t last long and the build-up to it sucks, so there’s that. But do give it a try and don’t just take my word for it, you may end up enjoying it. And as always guys, thank you for taking the time to read my post. I truly appreciate it.

Non-Spoiler Book Review | “Field Notes on Love,” by Jennifer E. Smith

• Rating: 3 out of 5
• Pub Date:  March 5th, 2019
• Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary
• Publisher: Delacorte press
• Product #: 9780399559419
• Pages: Hardcover, 320

Aww, you guys, this book was adorable.

In this book we follow the story of Mae and Hugo. Mae is got accepted to go to school in California, where she’s trying to get into the film program. When she applied, she got accepted into the school but, unfortunately not into the program itself, so now she needs to start over. She wants to film something worth sending back to the school so that they can admit her into the program.

On the side of the Atlantic is Hugo. He’s from England and he’s also a sextuplet. Yep, that’s right. He’s whole life has been mapped out for him because of the little fame they gained in England for being born in a group of six kids. Him and his girlfriend Margaret are going on a train-trip across the states to drop her off at her new school in California as well, that is until they brake up right before the trip. Hugo decides to go on this trip until he realizes that the tickets are all under Margaret’s name. Then he proceeds to ask the internet for help, and that’s when he and Mae cross path, because Mae has the same name of his ex-girlfriend and is a perfect replacement for the tickets.

Now, there are two points of view to follow through the story. We have Hugo who doesn’t know what he wants in life and has to discover so much from it, and then there’s Mae who’s full of life and all she think about is making films. Both of them are an odd match but completely adorable nonetheless. Each one of them are dealing with their own personal issues and they both agreed to go on this trip with each other trying to find a way to find an answer to their questions.

Hugo, is charismatic and playful. He’s very funny and is very attentive. Although maybe a little bit forgetful at times. Mae is the opposite. She’s still funny but she’s very closed off and she’s very hard to get to know. A week on a train together seems to break the barrier between her heart and things start to look better as they get to meet each other more.

Now the big issue that I had with this story was the fact that it was so short, the book felt rushed. Smith doesn’t necessarily gives us enough time to mule over the characters emotions–I honestly don’t think that she gives the characters enough time to settle over their emotions either, which is why I felt like it needed to be a little bit longer. Also, throughout their road-trip, Mae decides to work on her film by interviewing random people on the train and I just wished the author would’ve developed more on those stories.

It would’ve also been great to see more development with the process of her film and everything that went into it. Something else that I would love to mention is the fact that Mae annoyed me a little bit, whenever Hugo would ask her questions about herself, like very personal questions, she would always close herself off and get bothered, so it literally felt like we were getting nowhere with her. And at the end of the book the author doesn’t give us enough reconciliation on her part if that makes any sense.

Although short, I did enjoy the story. It’s a quick, fun read, for everyone. If you like Morgan Matson, Jenna Evans Welch, and Kasie West, you’ll enjoy this book too! Again, it doesn’t matter how old you are, if you want to read the book–read it! I, once again, want to thank you for taking the time to read my post. I truly appreciate it.

Non-Spoiler Book Review | “Furyborn,” by Claire Legrand

• Rating: 3.5 out of 5
• Pub Date:  March 22nd, 2018
• Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ+
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
• Product #:9781492656623
• Pages: Hardcover, 501

Guys, I really wanted to like this book. I really did. I have two friends who’ve been telling me two read this book for forever now, and I’m sorry to say that I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to.

In this book, we follow the story from two different points of views, Rielle and Eliana. Furyborn is placed between two different time frames. In this world, people have the power to control the elements. Water, earth, fire, and water, etc. Rielle, who is the first pov we follow, can control all of them and no one on the face of the earth has been able to do that. So for her whole life, she’s been trying to hide against her own will for her protection. However, there’s this accident that happens while she’s trying to protect one of the people she loves and her secret is discovered. Now, she has to take these trials in front of everyone to prove to the world that she’s loyal to the crown and wouldn’t betray anyone.

Eliana, on the other hand, is a hunter. She catches people on secret missions for money until her family is threatened. Then, she has no other option than to ally with the enemy to save her family while simultaneously trying to help her enemy with another mission. Her life is turned upside down when she realizes who she truly is and what is really going on in the world.

Now, here’s to the problems that I had with the book. First, the Prologue of this book! What the hell is that prologue doing there? The prologue confused the fu*k out of me, I’m not sure what’s it doing at the beginning of the book. The prologue is the total opposite of what the book is like, and since its at the beginning, you normally think that the book is going to take after that. But no, honestly, you’d be better off reading the prologue after you finish the book because, to be honest, I was confused all throughout that book with that beginning. Like the prologue makes sense to an extent, but it does not resonate with the main story of the book at all. I guess it would make more sense if it was like a prologue for the whole series, but not for like one book.

Which leads me to my next problem, when the book ends it doesn’t answer any of the questions created by the prologue. Like when I read the prologue, and when I was reading the book, I was expecting that the ending will answer some questions, but it didn’t. Matter of fact, the ending is what I liked less of the book. It didn’t feel rushed but it felt like this book was ending for forever. And, can I say that this book was unnecessarily long? That ending was placed there to cut the book and like finally bring it to an end if that makes any sense. It felt like it was forced to end that way.

“People like us don’t fight for our own hope … We fight for everyone else’s.”

Now with that being said, Rielle and Eliana are very different characters. In this world, there’s the threat of angels coming down to reign upon the face the earth. Angels and humans were enemies and a long time ago angels and humans fought each other. Humans won the war and succeeded in traping the angels in this gate thing. Now, some angels have escaped and are trying to invade the world again and it is up for them to stop it. Each of these characters has a separate purpose on this book, while for most of the time we follow Rielle through her trials, we follow Eliana running away from the people that are trying to kill her.

I honestly don’t know what else to say about this book other than I hope that Kingsbane answers all of my unanswered questions. If you like Red Queen, Girls of Paper and Fire, Everless, Ash Princess, And I Darken, then this is the book for you. I’m still confused over the whole thing because of that damned prologue, but I feel like answers shall be found in the next couple of books in this series. Please give it a try if you haven’t read it and let me know what you think. And as always, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my post, I truly appreciate it.

Most Anticipated March YA New Releases | 2019

Hey guys, a new month has started and I’m here for it. Actually, not really, LOL. There aren’t many books coming out this month that I’m super excited about but there are still some that I most certainly look forward to reading.

February was a slow reading month for me, and I plan to read many books from my TBR pile this month since I don’t have that many new releases that I truly look forward to reading. As always, I will have a link to their description on Goodreads so that you can read more about it there.

March 5, 2019

• You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook: The only reason I’ll maybe read this book is that I have an ARC and I want to make sure I show the publisher my gratitude for receiving it. But this book is a mystery/ thriller book and that’s my least favorite genre to read in YA because it never manages to grab my attention. So, hopefully, I’ll enjoy this one.
• Field Love Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith: I love Smith, she’s adorable and we are best friends (lol, not really). But she’s very sweet and I’m super excited about reading this book. She always writes light-hearted fluffy romances and I cannot wait to read it!
• Opposite of Aways by Justin A. Reynolds: Don’t know much about this book other than its been talked a lot in the community. I’m not going to lie, I’m mainly reading because of its cover.

March 12, 2019

• Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith: I got this ARC at Yallfest and it looks very good. I’m excited about this one, its fantasy and that’s the only thing I’m going to tell you.
• The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees: This seems like a fairy tale retelling, which I’m very interested in reading. I don’t look into these books before deciding if I’m going to read it or not LOL. I just look at the cover, see if it has popularity and the community and then I add it to my TBR shelf, and then hopefully I enjoy it at the end. 🙂

March 19, 2019

• Internment by Samira Ahmed: All I know that this book is POC and it looks very badass. It looks fiction but apparently, it has a fantasy aspect to it.
• The Best Boys by Mary Weber: This I’m not excited about. I’ll see if I get to read it or not. I looked at it and it seemed interesting, but we’ll see.

March 26, 2019

• Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody: This I’m very excited about. I love France and this has to do traveling and maybe space, I’m not entirely sure. Or maybe even time travel. I really do hope I enjoy this book though because it looks very good.
• Voices by David Elliot: This is a story about Joan of Arc–a retelling of sorts. It’s a short book and the only reason I want to read it is that I have the ARC. So you know, I want to give it a chance.
• Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta: Oh, and this one I do know about. It’s an Arthurian retelling. Gender bending, LGBTQ+, fantasy packed book. I’m very excited!

So yeah, this is my month. This does not include my TBR pile that I plan to read in between reading these. This one is just for the new releases. Now please, let me know about your new upcoming releases that you look forward to the most this month. Do we have some of the similar reads? If so, which ones? Also, what are you excited to read this month that I didn’t include in my list? I’m always open to recommendations.

Monthly Wrap-Up | February 2019

Well, we all know that February is a short month, so it is needless to say that this month flew by. I didn’t get to read as much as I wanted to, but still enjoyed the books I did read. This month I got to read greatly anticipated releases and other books from my TBR that I wasn’t able to read before. I even read a couple of adult romance ebooks that I counted as reading one book because they were a series of shorts books.

So, without further ado, here are the books that I’ve read this month:

1. On the Come up by Angie Thomas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
2. Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
3. Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
4. Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
5. Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6. Blooodwitch by Susan Dennard ⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte ⭐️⭐️⭐️
8. Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
9. Furyborn by Claire Legrand ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
10. Two Weeks Notice and Naughty Boss by Whitney G. (Between the both) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve yet to post a review for Furyborn and my reviews for the books of Whitney G are short and are only available on my Goodreads page. But anyways, I enjoyed this month very much. I might be able to read an extra read tonight, so I’ll update this post if I get to finish reading it tonight. Also, I refused to write a review for Bloodwitch because of how disappointed I was with it. I was expecting so much from it and well, a three-starred review is all you get to know about it.

I want to know how your February reading were, let me know if we got to read the same books this month, let me know which ones I haven’t read that you get to read. And as always, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my post, I truly appreciate it.

Non-Spoiler Book Review|”Five Feet Apart,” by Rachael Lippincott

• Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
• Pub Date:  November 20th, 2018
• Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary
• Publisher: Simon and Schuster
• Product #: 9781534437333
• Pages: Hardcover, 288

Aww, guys, this book was adorable. It was way too cute, and I spent the last 100 pages crying.

The reason I read this book was that it’s our YA ON ANOTHER LEVEL Book club pick for the month, and well, since the movie is out I decided to read it. And I’m not disappointed.

In this story, we follow different POVs from two different characters that are going through the same thing. Stella and Will both suffer from cystic fibrosis. Each of them has been in and out of hospitals for the majority of their lifetime. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a sickness that has to do with someone’s lungs and the fact that they can’t breathe properly. For two CFrs to come into more than six feet apart from each other can be deadly in some cases, so it is crucial that people that have CF stay at least six feet apart at all times. The case with Will and Stella though is unique. Will has B cepacia, which is deadly to people with CF, and if Stella gets it her immune system would be compromised and she can kiss that opportunity of her new lungs goodbye.

“Everyone in this world is breathing borrowed air.”

Stella is a character so full of life, and despite her being in a hospital for most of her life, she’s a character that looks at her sickness as a form of survival. She has a youtube page where she updates her followers on her battle with CF and where she talks about improvements on an app she’s built. Her family is a mess, they divorced 8 months prior to the setting of this book and now she believes she’s all they have left before they completely lose it. So, she fights for her life just so that her parents can have more time with her.

Will, on the other hand, is tired. Her mom has taken him to every hospital in the world trying to find a cure for him but he’s done. He wants to live his own life, no matter how short it is. He wants to take back everything CF and B cepacia has taken from him. That is until he meets Stella. Being a spoiled brat and having a complicated relationship with his mom, make him impossibly annoying at the beginning of the book. He treats his life so carelessly, and Stella can’t stand it. So, she takes it upon herself to help him with his treatment–just because he’s careless about his life doesn’t mean that she is going to let him die. Not under her watch.

This story about friendship, love, and loss, will have you crying from the point when you reach the middle of the book until the end. Do not read it in public, I repeat, DO NOT READ IT IN PUBLIC. This is a very short story that you’ll finish within a night and I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy. The movie is out with Cole Sprouse in it and I’m excited to see how he plays Will in this film, and am I ready to cry in public [again]? Yes, the answer is yes.

If you read The Fault in Our Stars or anything else by John Green for that matter, you’ll really enjoy this book. If you are a fan of All the Bright Places, Things We Know By Heart, Made You Up, Me Before You, then you’ll enjoy this book as well. I would recommend this book for readers 10 years old and older. I also want to thank you for taking the time for reading my post. I truly appreciate it.

Non-Spoiler Book Review | “Four Dead Queens,” by Astrid Scholte

• Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
• Pub Date:  February 26, 2019
• Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
• Publisher: Putnam
• Product #: 9781984814128
• Pages: Hardcover, 432

This story was very interesting, to say the least, but it was hard to get through.

Now, before you jump into conclusions, I want to say that this 3 starred review is not a bad review, nor because I said that this book didn’t do it for me doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. I just felt like the overall story wasn’t interesting to me. The storyline was great, the actual characters we very well developed, and yet, the story fell flat to me.

In this story, we follow the young character Keralie, who ran away from her parents to become a thief under the command of one of her good friends. In this world, there’s a nation divided into four quadrants, each of which has its own queen. The queens live in one palace all together, and from there they rule their respective quadrants. There’s an assassin in this story trying to kill the queens and Keralie has taken upon herself to stop the killings from happening and warn the queens before its too late. With the help of her friend Varin, they set into an impossible task of sneaking away from dangers and trying to save their lives at the same time.

“Loving someone means risking your heart being broken,” … “But those moments you are together triumphs over any darkness.”

As for the logistics of the book, there was a lot going on and too much information to process in the first 5 chapters. I was so overwhelmed by the time I reached chapter five, I had to stop reading the book for a couple of hours and rest my brain for a little bit because of information overload. The writing of the author was odd too. She would use weird words to describe her characters’ physical appearance, which at often times it made her writing seem a little careless. On the other hand, there were times where her writing excelled. She wrote some very powerful and emotional scenes where she could really make us feel what was going on.

The characters were well written, but I still feel like there was much going on. You see, besides Keralie’s POV, there were other POVs throughout this story. The most important ones were the POVs of the queens. Each had their own dedicated chapters to them, but those chapters were so full of information that it was hard to process everything at once. Something that I appreciated about Keralie was how funny she was. She managed to stay upbeat and always looking forward, despite all of her problems. Her connection with Varin was very cute and I absolutely loved their chemistry.

Scholte spends a lot of time in world-building, which I think its a great thing because of the way her world is structured. Her story wasn’t too long but there were times when the story seemed to drag on forever. And I don’t know why, but the ending seemed a little bit rushed to me. I feel like authors struggle with this a lot, they focus so much in giving us a great beginning that they forget about the ending. Although the ending in this book was okay, it still felt rushed but there wasn’t a major cliffhanger that left you feeling incomplete.

Yes, there were some things that fell flat for me in this story but other ones that didn’t. There are many things to look forward for in this book, so please give it a try!

If you like Three Dark Crown, Red Queen, Blood Rose Rebellion, Six of Crows, The Gilded Wolves, etc., then you’ll most certainly enjoy this book. If you are 12 years old and older you can read this book. And as always I want to thank you for taking the time for reading my post, I truly appreciate it.

Non-Spoiler Book Review | “Warrior of the Wild,” by Tricia Levenseller

• Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
• Pub Date:  February 26, 2019
• Genre: Ya, Fantasy, LGBT
• Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
• Product #: 9781250189943
• Pages: Hardcover, 336

Amazing! This book was absolutely great!

An ax swings for my head.

That’s the first line on this book–I was so here for it!

I’ve never read anything by Tricia before, but if her other books are anything like this one, then I’m pretty sure I’ll be reading more of hers in the future. Such a great refreshing story that’s based on Vikings (it is not a retelling perse, but more like a general idea of them) that will have you wanting to read this book in one sitting. It’s also short enough for you to do so.

In Warrior of the Wild, we follow Rasmira Bendrauggo, daughter of the leader of the village and heir to the position to be the next leader. Told from her point of view, we get to see the way these warriors have been training their whole life. In her village, kids at the age of 8 get to choose a career of what they want to do for the rest of their lives and Rasmira choose to be a warrior. Ever since then, she’s been training to become the best warrior in her village, which she achieves with no problem. The day of her trail though, she gets sabotaged and its sent to the wilds to complete a task that ensures her death if she ever wants to return home. So armed with nothing but her ax and a few supplies, she sets off to this dangerous world outside the village where monsters lurk and death is around every corner.

What she doesn’t expect to find, however, are two other guys that have been banished previously from their own village after failing their trails, living in the wilderness. And what she doesn’t expect too, is to form a connection with either of them. Soren and Iric become her annoying friends throughout this journey and they find a way to make each other survive out there in the wilderness.

A man who finds his masculinity threatened by a powerful woman is no man at all.

Now, I want to talk about how badass Rasmira is. She literally fights anything. Like, her and her ax can take anyone or anything for that matter. She’s a great warrior, and despite the fact that she’s only 18, she shows strength and courage like no other. When she goes to the wild, she doesn’t cower and admits defeat over not being able to complete her impossible task and return to the village–but rather, she finds a way of making her task possible and proving herself once again to her people, to her family. She helps Soren and Iric become the best versions of themselves they can be, and together, they make living in the wilderness a little bit more tolerable.

It’s not about giving in to the first boy who ever acted interested. It’s about being interested in the boy who is finally worth it.

In this story of friendship, finding one’s true self, courage, and love, Levenseller shows us that things are not always what they seem. That sometimes, difficult times are better spent with people who truly care and support you and that above all else, you should believe in yourself. Her writing is consistent, never once you get lost in this story. This was a very easy read, and I mean that in a good way. She didn’t drag this story longer than it needed to be, she didn’t linger too much of characters emotions and dragging on the same issue on and on and on, while at the same time making us feel like we were always in connection with the characters in the story. Her world building was great, there’s no cliffhanger, characters are well developed and this story felt very original to me.

If you like Red Queen, A Curse so Dark and Lonely, Everless, Crown of Feathers, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy this quick read. For readers 13 years old and older. And as always, I want to thank you guys for taking the time to read my post, I truly appreciate it. Also, check out my Goodreads page for more updates on my readings 🙂