Lightlark

Title - Lightlark
Author - Alex Aster
Release Date - August 23rd 2022
Genre - YA Fantasy
Synopsis
Welcome to the Centennial.
Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.

Isla Crown is the young ruler of Wildling—a realm of temptresses cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with. They are feared and despised and are counting on Isla to end their suffering by succeeding at the Centennial.

To survive, Isla must lie, cheat, and betray…even as love complicates everything.

Read - January 15th to January 16th 2023
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review -

“I'm not sure what I enjoy more. Seeing the way you grip a sword…. Or the way your dress grips you.”

Never trust booktok. They rave about bad books and cause the rating of fantastic books to tank. I am so glad I picked this up. This book was magical and very well written. I loved all the characters and had become so connected to them that when the twists happened I was angry or sad along with the main character.
Do we already have Hunger Games? Yes.
Do we already have All Us Villians? Yes.
But before that, we had Battle Royal and we still gave those other books a fair chance. Aster has a way with words and a way with creating a beautiful world, hyping you up on characters and their relationships and then tear them out from under you. I loved every moment of this book and wish I had picked it up sooner.

Stop listening to booktok. 

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Edgewood

Title - Edgewood
Author - Kristen Ciccarelli
Release Date - March 1st 2022
Genre - YA Fantasy
Synopsis
No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions.

When her grandfather disappears, leaving only a mysterious orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. She enters the forest she has spent years trying to escape, only to have Hawthorne Fell, a handsome and brooding tithe collector, try to dissuade her from searching.

Refusing to be deterred, Emeline finds herself drawn to the court of the fabled Wood King himself. She makes a deal—her voice for her grandfather’s freedom. Little does she know, she’s stumbled into the middle of a curse much bigger than herself, one that threatens the existence of this eerie world she’s trapped in, along with the devastating boy who feels so familiar.

With the help of Hawthorne—an enemy turned reluctant ally who she grows closer to each day—Emeline sets out to not only save her grandfather’s life, but to right past wrongs, and in the process, discover her true voice.

Haunting and romantic, Kristen Ciccarelli's Edgewood is an exciting novel from a bold, unforgettable voice in fantasy.

Read - January 7th to January 9th 2023
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review -
Masterpiece. I knew it would be a five-star read before I was 60% though. It is the perfect blend of romance and fantasy, with amazing world-building. unique and enchanting characters, and many unpredictable twists.
I want more, I want to read it again for the first time, and I want to be a part of this world. It has been a long time since I’ve felt this way about a book.

If you are looking for that one book that is going to immerse you into an enchanted wood, curses, and fantastical creatures I can't recommend Edgewood enough. Plus the cover is absolutely stunning.

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THE BOY WHO WIELDS

The Boy Who Wields Thunder

by Gibson Morales

Release Date: December 23rd 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

In 2060, the Naga are in charge. Humanity lives off of 1940s technology and teenagers are expected to spend their post-graduation lives serving a Naga overseer. Living with his adoptive parents in an upscale human city, Olton Sorrell has studied hard to have a great career serving under his father’s Naga friend. 

But as graduation nears, Olton meets the enigmatic Orun, a Naga who reveals the truth about his species’ arrival on Earth and sympathizes with the anti-Naga human resistance. Upon learning the secrets of the Naga, Olton must choose whether to stay true to his family or true to his past. What will happen if he does the unthinkable and serves Orun instead of his father’s friend? 

Olton’s decision will take him to the labor camps of a land once called Greece. Now a slave under the Naga, he is assigned to a top secret operation that may change the world. As Olton navigates dangers both ancient and new, two questions trouble him. What are he and his fellow slaves digging for? And what will he do once they find it?

THE TWISTEDLY TRUE TALE OF RUBY HOOD // BOOK BLITZ

The Twistedly True Tale of Ruby Hood

by Stephanie Greenhalgh

Release Date: October 1st 2013

Summary from Goodreads:

In the small town of Woodsville, self-assured Ruby Hood becomes tangled in more than traditional teenage angst. With the Homecoming Dance looming, everything at Woodsville High appears normal, but things are not as they seem. Ruby meets a cute boy with a lopsided grin, Dylan Hunter. She flirts shamelessly with the football star, Kent Wolf, and finds herself in a barrage of harsh verbal altercations with his stunning yet wicked sister, Kayla Wolf. Thankfully, she finds solace in her friend, Lilly Fair. Through a series of odd and painful events, Ruby discovers her true calling and the responsibilities that come with her new power and position. Despite her heartache and sorrow, will Ruby find the inner strength not only to protect herself, but also to keep the Wood safe at all cost?

TAKING A BREAK

As some of you may know I'm a full-time university student and I am finding it incredibly hard to keep up with my second year of university as well as blog tours, book posts, and reading for fun in general.

Sadly I have come to realize that I have to cut this part of my life temporarily. I won't be answering any further emails, or posting for a bit because of this. I'm also debating a change when I come back to remove some people from my past. I have also shut down my instagram for this reason as well.

I hope that everyone can understand that situation I am in. Thank you much for your support!

THE WHISPER KING

The Whisper King by Wil Radcliffe

Book Genre Dark Fantasy

Synopsis 

There is a monster sleeping deep inside of you, and The Whisper King is coming to wake it up…and rip it out! 

My name is David Kinder. And this is my story... every goddamn bloodstained word of it.

About 25 years ago when I was six my parents died in a car crash. I was bounced around a few state homes until they finally settled me at Meripitt Hill, an orphanage just outside of Lansing, Michigan. It was there that the shadows started visiting me. Not normal shadows. These shadows moved on their own accord, and whispered strange, alien things to me. Scared the piss out of me.

Wasn’t until Donna Elizondo moved to Meripitt Hill that my life started to actually become bearable. She became my best friend. Taught me to love music and to dance. That kept the shadows away. That kept me safe.

That year we were an epic story of two. We danced. We laughed. Hell, I suspect I was falling in love with her, if kids could really know what love is.

But then she was taken away from me. Adopted.

That’s when the shadows returned for me. That’s when they took me to the Shadow Mountains to serve the Whisper King.

For 25 years I learned how to fight. How to kill. I even learned how to transform myself into a Cuthach…a monster. There were thousands of us being trained there. Thousands of us learning to reach deep inside and unleash the monsters in our guts. 

When a spot opened in the Whisper King’s elite guard, the Silent Heart, I was chosen to fill it. But first I had to take one final test. A test that would determine once and for all if I was destined to be man or monster.