Dystopia, Home, Young Adult

Review: Queen of the Tearling

Queen of the tearling

Ratings: 3/5 3 out of 5

 

Kelsea Glynn is the sole heir to the throne of Tearling but has been raised in secret by foster parents after her mother – Queen Elyssa, as vain as she was stupid – was murdered for ruining her kingdom. For 18 years, the Tearling has been ruled by Kelsea’s uncle in the role of Regent however he is but the debauched puppet of the Red Queen, the sorceress-tyrant of neighbouring realm of Mortmesme. On Kelsea’s 19th birthday, the tattered remnants of her mother’s guard – each pledged to defend the queen to the death – arrive to bring this most un-regal young woman out of hiding…

And so begins her journey back to her kingdom’s heart, to claim the throne, earn the loyalty of her people, overturn her mother’s legacy and redeem the Tearling from the forces of corruption and dark magic that are threatening to destroy it. But Kelsea’s story is not just about her learning the true nature of her inheritance – it’s about a heroine who must learn to acknowledge and live with the realities of coming of age in all its insecurities and attractions, alongside the ethical dilemmas of ruling justly and fairly while simply trying to stay alive..

I’ll be honest, I had very low expectations for this book, partly because of the abundance of negative reviews this book has on Goodreads and partly because of Emma Watson’s apparent obsession with this book. Now that I have finally read it myself, I am pleasantly surprised: Queen of the Tearling is an intriguing, entertaining, well-written piece of fantasy and a classic example of why we should all read a book ourselves in order to form our own opinion instead of listening to what the mass people are saying. The characters were very interesting and well developed–Kelsea is by far one of my favorite female characters; she has her flaws like any nineteen-year-old but what sets her apart Continue reading “Review: Queen of the Tearling”

Home, Young Adult

Review: The Iron King (The Iron Fey#1) by Julie Kagawa

The Iron KingRatings: ☕☕☕☕☕

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth – that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart

Oh where do I begin?

The last time I read The Iron King was back when I was thirteen and the only other YA book I had read before was the Twilight Saga (before then I mostly would read Bengali titles and Classics). Obviously, since thirteen is quite an impressionable age, lately I couldn’t help but wonder if this book is actually as good as I thought it was. Hence the reason why I decided to re-read this book after nearly eight years of first reading.

And boy oh boy did I love it!

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The Iron King is a wonderful fantasy novel that has an excellent world building, and incredible plot, and characters who not only develop and change in major ways

Continue reading “Review: The Iron King (The Iron Fey#1) by Julie Kagawa”

Home, Young Adult

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

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Ratings: ☕☕ (2/5)

 

This review contains spoilers from the first book. Please do not read any further unless you have read City of Bones. You can find my review of City of Bones here.

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The second book of The Mortal Instruments series was a conflicting book for me–on one hand, I enjoyed it immensely, and thought it was much more well written than the first book. On the other hand, there was a certain problematic element in the book that I believed was never acknowledged: the incestuous relationship between Clary and Jace.
Continue reading “Review: City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments#2) by Cassandra Clare”

Home, Romance, Young Adult

Review: An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (Ember Quartet #1)

I have read many amazing YA fantasy books, but it’s not often that I read a YA fantasy that leaves me breathless with excitement and anticipation with every page, and keeps me up all night even when I have a midterm early morning the next day.

With a simple, yet captivating narration style, immensely likable protagonists, well-developed characters, and a uniquely diverse plot that explores Islamic/Pakistani cultures and myths, An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is a book that I recommend to everyone to read, especially to those who are looking for a bit of diversity in their reading.

Continue reading “Review: An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (Ember Quartet #1)”
Young Adult

Review: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

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Ratings: ☕☕☕ (3/5)

This is probably my fifth re-read of this book, and I gotta say, my opinion about this book have changed dramatically since the first time I read it, which made it very difficult to write this review. In the end, the question I had to ask myself Continue reading “Review: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare”

Home, Retellings, Young Adult

Review: A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston

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SEE GOODREADS BLURB HERE

Rating: 4/5 ☕☕☕☕

Last week I reviewed The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdeih, a retelling of the classic One Thousand and One Nights story, and I found myself having a rather negative unpopular opinion about it. Deciding that it would be best if TWATD and I parted our ways before our relationship could become more toxic, I chose to try my luck with E.K. Johnston’s A Thousand Nights instead. And I have a lot to say about it.

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Home, Stray Thoughts

Once Upon A Time In Retellings

Once Upon A Time In Retellings

Growing up, most of us have heard our fair share of fairy tales about knights in shining armor, princesses locked up in towers and wise caterpillars who smoked pipes and gave words of advice to young girls lost in Wonderland. Somehow, these fairy tales have played a huge role in shaping our childhood and fueling our imagination and creativity. In case of avid readers such as myself, these fairytales had turned me into a bookworm and inspired me to maybe write my own story about magic and myth someday.

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What I find really interesting is how these stories seem Continue reading “Once Upon A Time In Retellings”

Home, Other Bookish Stuff

Book Trailer: Red Queen + Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.
That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

 

If you found Red Queen heartbreaking, then be prepared with a stressball and a tissue box (maybe even two) before you pick up Glass Sword, the second installment in Victoria Aveyard‘s stunning YA series. The sequel was just as exciting and thrilling as the first book in the series, but what really took my breath away was the plot and character Continue reading “Book Trailer: Red Queen + Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard”

Home, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Thriller, Young Adult

ARC Review: Rose Petal Graves by Olivia Wildenstein

ROSE PETAL GRAVES

I recieved this book for free from the publishers in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Ratings: 2/5 ☕☕

SEE GOODREADS BLURB HERE

There. I did it again. I fell for a book with a pretty cover, and now I want back the 6 precious hours of my life I wasted reading a book with loosely tied plot, an irritating and selfish protagonist, and unrealistic bland characters I couldn’t care less about.

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Continue reading “ARC Review: Rose Petal Graves by Olivia Wildenstein”