BOOKS, mythology and Feels.
Hello lovelies!
I am thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for How Moon Fuentez Fell In Love With The Universe. As soon as I read the synopsis and saw that it was marketed as “The Hating Game meets I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter”, I knew I had to ask to be a part of the tour!! I am happy to say that this book lived up to my expectations and more!
Continue reading “Blog Tour – How Moon Fuentez Fell In Love With The Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland. Book Review & Favourite Quotes”Hello lovelies!
I had a 24hour readathon on the last sunday of June and I finally picked up One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston which was one of my most ancitipates releases of 2021! I am happy to say that it lived up to my expectations! 🥰
Continue reading “One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston – Book review, aka marry me Jane Su 💕✨”Hello lovelies!
Welcome to day 23 of blogmas! I’m going to talk about the latest book I gave 5 stars to: Faking Under the Mistletoe by Sara Shepherd!
Title: Faking Under the Mistletoe
Author: Ashley Shepherd
Synopsis: Olivia Langley is the human embodiment of Christmas cheer, and she has absolutely no problem spreading it around for all to hear.Christmas sweaters? She has twenty. Christmas cookies? She’ll take three dozen. Christmas movies? Yeah, she’s seen them all. So it’s no surprise when she’s put in charge of Loveridge & McGowan’s holiday festivities. Secret Santas? Yep. Ice skating? Of course. Holiday trivia? Duh. Christmas-themed bar crawl? That’s one big jingle bell hell yes. Kissing her boss at a Christmas tree lighting in front of his ex-girlfriend? Well… it is the season of giving. And Olivia does not come with a gift receipt. No exchanges. No returns. No refunds. All sales are final. In an effort to ungrinch the grinchiest man she’s ever met, Olivia enlists herself, Santa’s Executive Helper, to scheme up a plan that includes sleigh rides, snow days, and one too many mistletoe kisses, which certainly gets Asher’s tinsel in a tangle. She’s pretty sure that she sleighed this whole fake dating thing. Well… until she realizes there’s nothing fake about her feelings for Asher, and suddenly tangled tinsel, unsolicited Christmas trees, and celebrity heartthrobs are the least of her worries. (Goodreads).
5 stars: Persephone – Queen of the Underworld and Goddess of Spring. Persephone is my favourite goddess because she is full of contradictions – she represents both strength as queen of the underworld and a softness as a floral maiden. She teaches me how it’s okay to be both. If Persephone appears, that means that the book was one of the best books I’ve ever read, that it holds a particular place in my heart and that it is now part of my favourite books ever.
Iris– Goddess of rainbows. Nothing new here, we all know that rainbows represent the LGBTQ+ community so this Goddess will be featured whenever a queer relationship or character appears. Here: secondary characters (married lesbians with a child, gay grandmother?)
Medusa – Gorgon. She is mostly known for being a monster, but before she was a monster, she was a beautiful mortal woman with beautiful hair who has been sexually assaulted by Poseidon in a temple dedicated to Athena. As a punishment she was transformed into a monster. This goddess will be featured whenever sexual assault is mentioned in a book. It will also be a trigger warning. CW: mentions of sexual assault.
This book was the best Christmas book ever. It’s the Love Actually of Christmas books. I read it in a day and almost pulled an all-nighter for it (I still went to sleep at 4am). I couldn’t put it down. I nearly turned down watching a Christmas movie to keep on reading (I still watched the Princess Switch and it was cute).
There are so many things that I loved about the book.
The writing style was superb. I mean there were cute and funny pop culture references, the banter was incredibly witty and the characters are all fleshed-out and endearing. What more could this girl need? There were so many moments in the plot that could have been caricatural and cliché especially since the main character, Olivia thinks she’s in a Hallmark movie, but it went way beyond that. Usually, in the fake dating trope, when the couple tries to make an ex jealous, the ex is usually caricatural and two-dimensional. Here, the author chose another route and actually decided to show women supporting each other, being kind and have a healthy relationship with one another. It felt like a breath of fresh air. The women stood together and helped each other, especially when there was a situation of sexual assault and I nearly cried. The whole talk about men taking advantage of women, treating them like sexual objects was so refreshing and I wanted to hug the characters and clap. This book was so much deeper and more profound than I thought it would be and it nearly brought me to tears because of some things that were said and done.
The chemistry between Asher and Olivia is incredible. The banter, the banter, the banter!! It was amazing. It showed how much the love interests were in sync and it was delectable. This book confirmed that I love the fake dating trope – that moment when the characters realize that this is not pretend and that they’re falling in love for real? Yes, yes yes.
Olivia was a true delight; I would kill to have a friend like her. Her confidence is so inspiring and I wish I were like her. She has a lot of things going against her and she faces so many bad things but she lets herself feel them. She’s still a positive person and tries to see what’s beneath appearances. She gave me so much hope.
Asher was really unique. He made me laugh so much. He is brave, demanding and weird but he knows what he wants and he is so loving and attentive. I loved reading about all the small gestures he did quietly and secretly. It made my heart stop.
The other characters were all relevent and I grew attached to them all.
I loved the first person narrative oh so much.The writing style is very fluid and makes the story easy to follow. I think that’s why I couldn’t put it down because everything was coherent and moved perfectly. The dialogue was fantastic and all of the characters had their own distinguishable voice and it gave the story authenticity. I almost wish I hadn’t read it so fast because it was so good and I don’t know what I should do with my life now. This book is perfect if you’re looking for a funny, cute and deep Christmas story!
Have you read this? What are some of your favourite Christmas movies/ Tv shows?
Let me know in the comments!
Karla xx
Hello lovelies!
I haven’t posted a review in a while so here you go for my review for Caraval by Stephanie Garber.
Title: Caraval (Caraval #1)
Author: Stephanie Garber
Summary: Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. (Goodreads)
3 stars: Apollo – God of archery, music and dance, the Sun and light, poetry, and more. I really like Apollo and what he represents. That means that I really enjoyed the book and my experience reading it. That means the book is worthy of Apollo.
Pheme: The goddess of fame, gossip and renown – This goddess will be invoked when a book has received a lot of attention and is praised by critics and the book community. She will be featured whether the book lived up to my expectations or not.
I was very hesitant to pick up this book because of all the mixed reviews I had seen from reviewers I trust (I’m so easily influenced sadly). However, I was still very curious about the series and I liked how the title sounded like “Carnival” so I decided to purchase the audiobook.
I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this series. The world-building was great and it was perfect for the audiobook format. I really liked both the semi-spooky atmosphere mixed with the constant anticipation of “what’s next?’ of the game; I liked all the riddles and enigma surrounding the game and I got exactly what I came for. There were so many twists that I did not see coming and I had to stop listening at some point and take a deep breath.
Some of the book’s strongest assets is the relationship between the characters, starting with relationship between Scarlett and Donatella. I love family dynamics in books and I loved seeing their love for each other and how far they were willing to protect each other. It was so beautiful to read about and their love was so pure and selfless. We tend to focus on romantic relationships and it was nice to see a different kind of love, just as powerful. But still let it be know that I was pleasantly surprised with the romance!! I did NOT expect to be this involved by the romance and I found myself rooting for the characters. They have undeniable chemistry and I’m currently reading the third book in the series and the chemistry is just as strong.
The character development was well-done too. I think all the characters were a bit caricatural at the beginning: the naive sister, the bold one, the charming bad boy etc. But as the story progressed, the characters evolved and I think they all changed for the better. It wasn’t forced and it was very subtle which I greatly enjoyed.
However, there were too many confusing parts and things that didn’t always make sense to me. I had a lot of unanswered questions when I finished reading (which are still not developed in the third book) and it kept me from giving the book a higher rating. I also just expected…more. I feel like the Caraval aspect could have been pushed further; there were so many interesting parts which were underdeveloped.
Overall it was a nice enjoyable read and if you’re hesitant about picking up this book, you totally should!
CW: child abuse (violent parent), mentions of suicide.
Karla xx
Hello lovelies!
I read this book a while ago and I think it was a good prequel! I’m going to be honest here and say that I don’t ever remember reading a prequel – because that’s just not what I’m into. I thought I had little care for the vents which precede a beloved book. Boy, was I wrong. My sister and I are huge fans of the Hunger Games series and when we saw that it was centered on President Snow when he was a student at the Academy we were…less than excited. However I was as fascinated as ever by “The Games” and very curious about its early stages; it was only the 10th Edition of the Hunger Games and the aftermath of war between the districts and the Capitol was still very much visible; starting with the once prestigious Snow family’s newfound poverty.
Title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ( The Hunger Games #0)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Synopsis: It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute… and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes. (Goodreads)
3 stars: Apollo – God of archery, music and dance, the Sun and light, poetry, and more. I really like Apollo and what he represents. That means that I really enjoyed the book and my experience reading it. That means the book is worthy of Apollo.
Pheme: The goddess of fame, gossip and renown – This goddess will be invoked when a book has received a lot of attention and is praised by critics and the book community. She will be featured whether the book lived up to my expectations or not
It was nice to see how Coriolanus navigated the fact that he had to hide his poverty and maintain his image and prestige. I liked how Suzanne Collins did not try to redeem him but instead showed how truly ruthless and power-hungry he already was at that age.
All the politics, the lies and the intrigue were fascinating and I really enjoyed the first two parts of the books, especially when the Games started. The new Games in this were not as elaborate as they become later on but they were still deliciously wicked. I also liked how we got an explanation of the whole thought process that went into creating The Games. The whole mentor-tribute dynamic was very well-thought and I think Lucy Gray Baird, – Snow’s tribute and lover, was the star of the book. I don’t know why, but I felt lukewarm about the romance. I understand how necessary it was, but knowing Snow, I knew something was wrong.
In the third and last part of the book, because Coriolanus Snow slowly became future “President Snow” and I both hated and loved that. And that’s what is genius about this book. We don’t like Snow. Even from a young age he is selfish and thinks about his own interests, even with Lucy Gray. But that’s a good thing; that’s what makes him a great villain. I loved to hate him.
I liked all the references to Katniss and the way Lucy Gray Baird made us think of her: her fierceness, her love of mockingjays -even the song “Hanging Tree! And the fact that she came from district 12. There are mentions of a “previous victor from District 12” in the trilogy and all evidence seems to show that she is the one mentioned. No wonder Snow hated Katniss so much. The ending of the book frustrated me but I think it was still good as it is a prequel about an infinitely complex and diverse character.
Bottomline: The book was as wonderful as it was confusing.
Now, can we get a Prequel about Haymitch, please and thank you?
Hello lovelies!
You would think that I would post more during this quarantine, but truth is, my lazy self points its ugly nose and I just spend my day procrastinating. However, I have a lot, of time in my hands and thankfully I manage to read a little. So here is my review for A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer.
Ttile: A Curse so Dark and Lonely
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Synopsis:Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world. Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Continue reading “A Curse So Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer – Book Review (with Spoilers!)”Hello lovelies!
I am back with a review which took me a month to write because I needed to gather the broken pieces of my heart. (Yes, I’m a drama queen; what about it?)
Title: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely fine
Author: Gail Honeyman
Synopsis: Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. Ultimately, it is Raymond’s big heart that will help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one. If she does, she’ll learn that she, too, is capable of finding friendship—and even love—after all. (Goodreads)
Hello lovelies!
Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners. The meme is pretty easy to follow, to participate simply choose a random book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it!
Title: Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)
Author: Jay Kristoff
Synopsis: Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves. Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?
Rating on Goodreads: 4.31/5
Continue reading “Goodreads Monday, October 21st 2019”Hello everyone! I just finished reading this gem last night. It might be my favorite book of the year yet. Enjoy 🙂
Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reig
Blurb: Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ’80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways. (Goodreads)
Format: Audiobook
Rating: 5 HUGE STARS
Continue reading “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Book Review”Hello everyone! I just finished reading this gem and I thought I’de share my thoughts! Here we go 🙂
Continue reading “Crown Of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas – Spoiler-Free Review”
Anotherbookworm 