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Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, LGBT

Rating: ★★★★★

WARNINGS: Sexual content.

Summary: Alex is the First Son of the United States with a badass mom as the President. Henry is the Prince of Wales, a member of one of one of the most prevalent monarchies. Both their own country’s version of royalty, the two often cross paths. But it’s not always friendly. When a falling-out between the two threatens his mom’s reelection campaign, Alex is forced to play nice with the prince until the press calms down. But a fake friendship starts to rapidly turn to something more and before he knows it, Alex is stuck with too many secrets with too much potential for things to go bad. He has to decide who he is and if being himself won’t just cause his downfall in the end.

Review:

I. Am. Obsessed.

I literally love this book with my entire soul. I read it in one sitting and I have never laughed this much at a book. It’s sooooo fluffy and cute and sexy and sweet and passionate and I can’t stop thinking about it.

First of all, the humor, as I mentioned, is top tier. Like I literally had to put the book down and wipe tears from my eyes and catch my breath from laughing so hard.

The dialogue. It was beautiful. I love banter and insults and play-fights. They are my weakness. I am especially obsessed with the email and text insights we get throughout the book like Alex and Henry own my heart.

The plot. Wonderful.

The characters were AMAZING. FUCKING REPRESENTATION FOR SO MANY OHMYGOD.

I am in love with every single character and their relationships, which the author wrote so amazingly.

I swoon over this book. I promise you will too.

[nosyreader]

She is oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. The same elements that are inside the rest of us, but I can’t help thinking she’s more than that and she’s got other elements going on that no one’s ever heard of, ones that make her stand apart from everybody else

Theodore Finch: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★★★★

Per request by @bluebellraven

Summary: Cath is an avid Simon Snow fan. Her whole life revolves around the series and more importantly, her famous fanfiction that she writes about Simon Snow. As kids, her and her sister Wren shared a love for the series that helped them cope with their mother leaving and their father’s episodes. As the girls go off to college, Wren seems to fall out of the fandom but Cath doesn’t want to let go. Now Cath is more on her own than she’s ever been in her whole life. How will she survive her first year away from home? How can she do it all and still find a place in her heart for Simon?

Review:

Holy shit this book is good.

I think the last time I read this book, I was in middle school? Elementary school? Regardless, reading it now was better than I ever could have remembered. I relate so much to Cath and her experiences. I see a lot of myself in her and I have a way better understanding of what she’s going through now that I’m older. This book is quirky and sweet, but also very real and honest, which is always the best kind of book to read.

I did read Carry On and Wayward Son when they came out and I, just like Cath, freaking adore Simon and Baz. Rereading Fangirl has made those two books unbelievably so much better. I tore through this book in a matter of days because I couldn’t get enough of Cath and LEVI and just everything in between.

[nosyreader]

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

I solemnly swear to take a *short* break from reviewing solely Leigh Bardugo books after this one

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

WARNINGS: Violence, war, torture, death, and inferred sexual content.

Summary: With the Darkling ruling Ravka, Alina and her army are forced underground in hiding to plan their fight back. They need to find a way to defeat him and his army, but they also need to find the third amplifier. Time is running out and Alina continues to uncover more and more secrets not only about her past, but about everyone around her. The search for the firebird will be dangerous, but it’s the only chance they have of defeating the Darkling, who will stop at nothing to get his Sun Summoner back.

Review:

In my opinion, this was the best book out of the trilogy. There is so much change happening within the characters as everything they’ve ever known is coming apart around them. Alina is a much better character in this book and Mal has plenty of improvements too. And the number of surprises and plot twists was incredible. Also, the dialogue is unmatched. This is something I rarely think of when reviewing books, but the difference between this book and the other two is insane.

I will say this, though: the ending was not my favorite. It was so good, but frustrating at the same time. It was definitely not one of those endings that made me regret reading the trilogy, but I had hoped for something a little different.

Anyways, if you haven’t read the trilogy, do it because THOSE FUCKING POSTERS AND STILLS LIVE IN MY MIND RENT FREE

[nosyreader]

Macbeth Witches’ Tag Game

I love this! Thanks for tagging me, @godzilla-reads​ !

I’m tagging @thebookbud .

1. “Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.” Recommend a book with a cat in it.

The series Warriors by Erin Hunter is about clans of wild cats. The first book is about the clans facing humans who are destroying the forest they live in. This is a perfect Halloween read!

2. “Harpier cries ‘Tis time, ‘tis time.” What is the next book you plan to read?

I’m torn between reading More Than This by Patrick Ness or Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin.

3. “Round about the cauldron go” Recommend a book that took you a long time to read.

As much as I loved it, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen took me a while to read. Classics are always hard for me to get into because of the language style.

4. “Eye of newt and toe of frog” Recommend a book from your childhood OR recommend a gross book.

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt is a book I read when I was younger that I fell in love with. To this day, it’s still one of my favorites. It follows a young girl in foster care as she is placed with the Murphy family.

5. “Make the gruel thick and slab” Recommend a book over 400 pages.

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult is amazing! She’s such a talented writer and I could barely put the book down.

6. “Double, double toil and trouble/ Fire burn and cauldron bubble” Recommend any book you like.

For any historical fiction fans, I’d highly recommend Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. It takes place during WWII and follows two British spies who are best friends. This book is filled with plot twists and soooo many emotions. Even if you aren’t into historical fiction that much, it’s still a great read.

[nosyreader]

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction

Rating: ★★★★★

WARNINGS: Death, torture, mention of sex work, slaves/indentures, PTSD, revenge, and graphic violence.

SEQUEL TO SIX OF CROWS (review here)

Summary: Kaz and the Crows return as they go up against Jan Van Eck in an attempt to get back at him. But first, they have to get the whole crew back. They venture on a dangerous rescue mission, immediately jumping into another life-threatening job. The Crows go up against greed, revenge, betrayal, and new problems that could never be foreseen (even by Kaz). Ketterdam’s streets turn into a battlefield and there can only be one winner.

Review:

Basically if you’ve read my SoC review, you’re already aware that I absolutely loved it. Spoiler alert: I loved this one too.

I have such an attachment to these characters now and finishing this book was so bittersweet. I just desperately need the third book because I can never get enough of Bardugo’s portrayal of love, loss, PTSD, and fear. She is such a gifted writer and I am so excited to read the rest of her work so get ready for several Grishaverse reviews in the future :).

I think a lot of times, authors get caught up in romances and relationships between characters that they decide those relationships solve all internal issues those characters face. But Bardugo was brutally honest with each person and his/her internal struggles. She allowed for those things to build up their personalities and gave an honest depiction of how their traumas impact them. I just cannot put into words how much I appreciated that.

[nosyreader]

The justifications of men who kill should always be heard with skepticism

The Monster: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

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Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

at this point, my account is a Leigh Bardugo /Grishaverse stan account. deal with it :)

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Rating: ★★★☆☆

WARNINGS: Violence, war, and capture.

Summary: Alina and Mal are on the run away from the Darkling’s forces. He has taken over and is building an army that is gathering strength every day. With the help of a mysterious privateer, she and Mal escape the Darkling’s forces and return to Ravka and the Little Palace where she is determined to fight back. However, as Alina grows stronger, she also starts to uncover herself and dangerous abilities that she never even dreamed of. There is so much pressure on her, between her power, her country, her enemy, and her love. Something's got to give.

Review:

I tore through this book in like a day. Personally, I liked it more than Shadow and Bone because Alina really experienced some breakthrough as a character. I liked seeing her change and evolve as her surroundings did. Mal was the most frustrating part of this book, though... 

This book had a lot more emotion? and a lot of serious tones to it. Shadow and Bone was more of a light-hearted beginning that obviously built the world, but was lacking that darkness and the twists that Bardugo writes so well. Siege and Storm was more mature, but not in a way that takes away from the young adult genre. It has the perfect amount of plot twists, romance, distress, and danger.

Also Nikolai??? my love

Ruin and Rising review coming soon!