Romance – Page 2 – Portable Magic

Posted on August 7, 2021 by Hermione · 1 Comment

The Queen Will Betray You-A Book Review

Eeeeeeeeee! I finished The Princess Will Save You before last month and I am awfully glad I read this book! Not considering the fact that the third book of this series is to be released next year.😭. WHY?? It is coming out in in August 2021…..I’m SEETHING!

⚠ WARNING!! This post DEFINITELY contain spoilers for the first book so please don’t read ahead!! ⚠

I’m dropping a link for my review of the first book in the series: The Princess Will Save You (Kingdoms of Sand and Sky#1)

Title: The Queen Will Betray You
Series: Kingdoms of Sand and Sky #2
Author: Sarah Henning
Genre: YA Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Retellings
Publishing Date/Publisher: July 6^th 2021 by Tor Teen

*falls in love with the cover and the way the artist portrayed those two characters*

Does anyone know who designed this cover? If you do please tell me!

⚠ WARNING!! AGAIN. IF YOU DON’T WANT THE FIRST BOOK SPOILED THEN FOR BOOKS’ SAKE DO NOT CONTINUE READING!! ⚠

Don’t say I didn’t say I didn’t warn yaaaaaaa!! *tries not to sing the lyrics out loud*

Amarande will have to separate with her true love and best-friend, Luca in order to reclaim her kingdom and for Luca to prove he is the heir to the throne in Torrent which is currently ruled by a Warlord after the whole royal family of Torrent was believed to be wiped out.

Surprises are always there of course and in the most unexpected situations. Amarande realizes that during her absence, her kingdom and castle has changed a lot and she discovered the unlikeliest surprises ever.

Meanwhile, Luca is constantly afraid of being discovered. Word has reached the Warlord’s ears and nobody wants the last of the royal family of Torrent which was supposedly eradicated, to come up, raise a rebellion, reclaim the rightful throne and the Warlord fallen forever.

Amarande and Luca’s mission to create peace in the whole of the Kingdoms of Sand and Sky and prevent any war from surfacing seems a very good idea but will they succeed?

About the Author:

Sarah Henning is a recovering journalist who has worked for The Palm Beach Post among others and who is also the author of many books, Sea Witch and Sea Witch Rising just naming a few. When not writing, she can be found hanging out with her husband and two kids.

My Ratings: 4.5/5

My Thoughts:

Well, there is me busy wondering what a beautiful name Amarande is whenever her name pops up. This is the way I pronounce it “Ah-mah-raan-day”. Isn’t the name beautiful??

It went WAY beyond my expectations and the end had me a little sad AND screaming I WANT THE THIRD BOOK NOW! I greatly recommend the whole series by the way and read it right now if you don’t mind waiting a lot. I MEAN A LOT.

It was nice getting back to all of these characters after so long and it picked up a few days after the ending of the first book I think. The book isn’t that big because I finished it in one day in one sitting (me reading for 4 hours straight). I don’t remember how much time it took me to finish the book because I could have started at eight in the morning and finished it before midday…

The book talks about so many things…there is Amarande discovering the hidden parts of her family and Luca discovering his true family and learning about them. There is the theme of loss, sadness, and betrayal above all and trust is something almost privileged. Before all of this chaos happened, the Kingdoms of Sand and Sky was a male-dominated place but now, it is almost female-dominated with Queens wanting to rule the whole of Kingdoms of Sand and Sky all for their own gain. And you imagine!! All of this started just with the death of the Warrior King, King Sendoa who is Amarande’s father! The tragic and sudden death of one powerful King sends all the of the Sand and Sky in complete mess. It is unbelievable the way Sarah Henning created such a story.

I am not sure if it was much better than the first one but there was definitely a little more action, suspense and things happening in the book. Amarande was as ruthless and badass as ever, Luca was as willing as ever to support Amarande and protect the ones he cares for and loves. This is what I love about Luca; his trust, humbleness, fierce protection of the people he cares about and bravery.

The person I found the most interesting in the book was Taillefer, Prince Renard’s brother. I didn’t like him AT ALL in the first book but he is now my favourite character. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of plants, potions and all these gruesome scary animals which he keeps in jars. I would love to meet him (he is not nice…he tortured Luca once with his Fire Swamp or whatever it is called) and we could be friends… I mean, in the book, we get to see him more often and sometimes feel a lot of sympathy for him because he is more human in this book. We get to see his fears, his sadness and hopes and dreams. He is very sarcastic (I mean VERY sarcastic) and with a weird sense of humour as well. I love his personality actually. Is he my favourite character? I guess so because I am not done talking about him😂. I think the end of the book didn’t do much justice to him and…I seriously don’t know why it his ending had to be this way. The only reason why I took half a star away is because of this😔.

I guess that is all for today! Next review will definitely be You Have A Match by Emma Lord because I finished the book yesterday so stay around for more!!😊😊

Lots of love,

~hermione

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Hermione · 3 Comments

Made In Korea-A Book Review

I never thought this book would brighten my day this way! It would be described as sweet and funny with a dash of sarcasm and fierceness. 😂

Title: Made In Korea
Author: Sarah Suk
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA Fiction
Publishing Date/Publisher: May 18^th 2021 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Isn’t the cover cuuuute! (since when did I become a person who started calling things cute? This is so not me 🤦‍♀️) And the treble clef is gorgeous!

Valerie Kwon has one dream. Bring her grandma to Paris this year. Along with her cousin, Charlie, they both run V&C K-BEAUTY, the school’s most famous and successful enterprise run by students. It has been almost three years now and Valerie has been saving all her share of profits in order to fulfil her grandma’s life-long dream.

Wes Jung is a new kid in school who dreams of pursuing a music career when he finishes school. The problem is? His parents have totally different plans for him and they want him to be a doctor. Knowing that he will have to earn his own money and pay music school, he is also trying to find ways to save money. Until the very golden opportunity comes right in front of his eyes. When his classmates find a stash of lip-balm in his bag, given by his mother in order to help him ‘make new friends’, he finds himself with 100 dollars and all the lip-balms sold out. Thus, the idea came to him, start his own student-run K-BEAUTY business.

What he doesn’t realize is that there is also another K-BEAUTY business in school and he became their biggest competitor and Valerie’s personal rival.

Wes and Valerie try their best to outsell each other and be the best business in school but things turn a little different. Some sort of fire set both of them alight and keeps on growing but Valerie knows that if her sales drop and Wes wins, she will lose and her Grandma might never be able to see Paris. Wes knows that if he doesn’t outsell Valerie, he will not be able to go to music school. The game is hard and none of them seem to be able to completely ignore their growing feelings for each other.

About The Author:

Sarah Suk (pronounced like soup with a K) lives in Vancouver, Canada where she writes stories and admires mountains. When she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the water, taking film photos, or eating a bowl of bingsu. You can visit her online at sarahsuk.com and on Twitter and Instagram @sarahaelisuk.

[picture and text taken directly from Goodreads]

My Ratings: 4.5/5

My Thoughts:

First thing…do they sell bingsu in Mauritius because I want to taste this dessert right now! Yeah….bingsu is mentioned a lot in the book so you may understand why.

Let’s get back to the book. This book was way heart-warming than I thought. I was constantly thinking about what if it had a sad ending or one that made me cry? Oh no, it was definitely perfect and this is the first book written by Sarah Suk.

Valerie… her confidence, fierceness and bravery… I could totally feel her anger when she learnt that Wes was starting his own K-BEAUTY business. She makes some good decisions as well as bad ones so she isn’t the perfect girl with a perfect life. She is the youngest daughter in her family who is overshadowed by her sister, Samantha. Her mother is always wanting her to be like Samantha and always criticizing the decisions she makes for herself. This is one of the reasons why Valerie wants to bring her grandma to Paris; to prove to her mother that she can do some great things too. I loved Valerie’s determination and courage in what she wants and the way she focuses in her goals and her self-confidence and occasional cold-heartedness.

Wes…is the type of boy who’s mostly soft and calm and who is also determined to win. He has a soft heart (and that includes saving his rival) and very good-natured. He is almost totally the opposite of fiery and fierce Valerie. He’s the person who’d settle an argument by talking rather than simply ditching that person out of your life (that is Valerie I tell you).

Sarah Suk’s style of writing is extremely beautiful and she definitely knows how to portray Wes and Valerie exactly and clearly. In such a way you can picture them in your mind (the cover helps as well).

I also have to say that the story is told in Wes and Valerie’s point of view and when you think about all the problems they both have and how they each want to succeed….you can’t really want only one person yo succeed. Throughout the book, I was constantly shipping Valerie and Wes the WHOLE TIME AND IF YOU READ THE BOOK YOU’LL DO THAT TOO. MARK MY WORDS!!

It is an enemies-to-lovers romance if you consider it that way but it was more Valerie who wanted to crush Wes into pieces at the beginning….

Have I written enough? Well, I guess I have written too much but I have one last thing to say….it is perfect for people who want a light read and are feeling sad for no reason right now. It will definitely cheer you up and draw a big smile on the face. I was constantly smiling throughout the book!

Okay, I’m stopping right now!

-Hermione💙

Posted on July 23, 2021July 24, 2021 by Hermione · 3 Comments

When You Were Everything-A Book Review

Hey everyone! How are you all doing? This is a review of a book I read…four days ago I guess…that looks like very long ago😂.

Title: When You Were Everything
Author: Ashley Woodfolk
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, YA, LGBT, Romance
Publication Date/Publisher: March 10th, 2020 by Delacorte Press

Everything started to shatter when another girl heard Layla singing and decided to let her join the Chorus Girls….

Cleo has been living the last month without her best-friend and she has been trying to forget Layla. She has been going to every place in town, saturated with memories of Layla and she has been trying to make new memories over there. The problem is, deciding to erase a person from your life is easier said than done. Cleo has been assigned to tutor Layla and after drifting away from each other, this is the very last thing Cleo wanted.

Lately, Cleo has been making new friends and Dom, a new boy has been catching her attention and she has been developing a fierce crush on him. Unfortunately, memories and the past never fade away….and memories of Layla always come back to haunt Cleo’s mind…

About the Author:

Ashley Woodfolk has loved reading and writing for as long as she can remember. She graduated from Rutgers University and worked in children’s book publishing for over a decade. Now a full-time mom and writer, Ashley lives in a sunny Brooklyn apartment with her cute husband, her cuter dog, and the cutest kid in the world. Her books include The Beauty That Remains, When You Were Everything, and the Flyy Girls Series.

[Picture and text taken directly from Goodreads]

My Ratings: 4/5

My Thoughts:

This book was….a huge collection of feelings. It had everything, sadness, happiness, anger, guilt, regret…

What I liked is that our main character, Cleo also had flaws and it wasn’t only because of Layla that their friendship broke, it was also because of her. It made it more realistic and not the type where it-is-all-your-fault-we-are-not-friends-anymore. I couldn’t love Cleo any more than that. She was such a sad and happy person and at times you can’t help but feel sad yourself.

Layla was a character whom I sometimes hated and at other times, loved. You see, in some ways, you just can’t blame Layla and Cleo isn’t totally innocent either because she also did some bad things towards Layla and vice-versa.

I have never read any book which talks about a perfect friendship which slowly shattered particle by particle until all what is left is dust and you seriously don’t know whether to just throw it away because there is no way to fix it or to keep it all in a jar until you find an impossible way to fix it.

That is, it talks about that other side of a broken-up friendship, not only the anger towards the person but the sadness blended into everything and how you miss a person but in some ways despise that person as well, even if there is no way to bring it back to normal.

At some point in the book, there are moments you may cry but yet manage to hold back the tears so don’t read this book at the dining table for example if you are an emotional person or people might ask you why are you blinking so much. I say it again, this is an emotional book and captures the reality behind every broken friendship out there. The book feels so real as if the book was gifted some emotions for itself.

At the end of the story, I’m not sure if I am happy or sad. The ending was a mixture of both of these feelings. It was beautiful. I’m definitely recommending this book for anyone who wants a light read to cheer you up or to sadden you because this book can do both and I myself haven’t decided if I’m happy or not.

My Favourite Quote:

”You can’t approach your whole life like its a homework assignment, Baby Girl.”
When You Were Everything-Ashley Woodfolk

So see you all until the next time!

-Hermione

P.S. I am going to read The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher next!

Posted on July 16, 2021July 22, 2021 by Hermione · 12 Comments

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue-A Book Review

Another 500 page book! Took me 3 days to finish…I guess I forgot to say hi at the beginning but never mind…

Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Author: Victoria (V.E) Schwab

Genre: Fantasy (not really though because it is set in our world but it has some magical elements), Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction

Publishing Date/Publisher: October 6th 2020 by Tor Books

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue — (BTW, the cover is so simple but yet so beautiful…)Source: Goodreads

Adeline LaRue lives an almost invisible life. She was born in the 1700’s in France when a simple moment in the early night before her wedding changed her life. She made a deal with the God of the Dark, in return of her soul, she will obtain her freedom. No one in their right minds would do such a deal but Addie was desperate…She could long as she liked until the day she got tired of living and will then have to surrender her soul…her curse or rather her bargain doesn’t end here either, people won’t remember her the moment they turn their heads and lose her out of their sight.

Till now, (2000’s), nobody has been able to remember 300 year old Adeline…until the day she enters a bookshop she had visited the day before and a young man remembers her…The thing Addie longed for the most, ever since she made that deal, to be remembered.

About The Author:

Victoria is the product of a British mother, a Beverly Hills father, and a southern upbringing. Because of this, she has been known to say “tom-ah-toes,” “like,” and “y’all.”

She also tells stories. She loves fairy tales, and folklore, and stories that make her wonder if the world is really as it seems.

[Picture and text taken directly from Goodreads]

My Ratings: 4.95/5

My Thoughts:

When I read the synopsis, I thought it would be something like The Picture of Dorian Gray (I absolutely loved this book…like one of my favourite classics) but it takes a whole new turn. Alright, let me tell you, you either like this book or don’t like it at all. There, now I told you we can continue…

There are so many things which can be said about this book. But if there is one main thing in my opinion is that the book mostly feels like a journey rather than a journey with a final destination. And adding that the journey was deeply and darkly beautiful. The writing had so much meaning and a depth that makes it like no other book I have ever read before. I can say that Schwab has really put her heart out while writing this book. Her writing style is….breathtakingly amazing and oh my god, deep! It conveys so many emotions.

So many things happen in the book of course and we get to read about what happened back in the 18th century and now, that is in the 21st century. Addie was a great character with her ups and downs and equal stubbornness but if there is the character that gets you hooked the most is Luc, the God of the Dark. His name isn’t really Luc because he doesn’t really have a name. Luc is the name Addie gave him. Just imagine a God which doesn’t look very much like a God and actually takes the shape of a dark curly haired man with deep green eyes just for Adeline.

Aaaaah, now we come to the part where I begin to ship Addie with Luc! I.Am.Not.Supposed.To.Be.Doing.This. Why did I ever begin with shipping Addie and Luc because now that idea cannot get out of my head. All throughout the book, I was like….ya know what I mean.

I do recommend this book to anyone. I haven’t read such a deep and dark book for a very long time. I think I could recommend it only for you to run your fingers under each line (I read the ebook😔) and savour the deep meanings and just breathe it in. It really has a unique magic of its own.

Well, I have written enough for this post and I ought to be off right now. I just finished the first chapter of Mexican Gothic and I am dying to know more.

See you later!

Hermione

Have any of you read this book btw? I WANNA BUY IT THE BOOK!

Posted on June 12, 2021June 12, 2021 by Hermione · 1 Comment

Winterwood-A Book Review

Hi everyone! Well, this is the second book I read written by Shea Ernshaw and it hasn’t disappointed me. If you have read The Wicked Deep you definitely have to read this one!

Title: Winterwood

Author: Shea Ernshaw

Genre: YA Fiction, Paranormal, Romance

Publishing Date/Publisher: November 5, 2019/ Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers (I had seriously no idea that this was published on my birthday!😂)

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw — Source of picture: Goodreads (BTW the cover is just so creative!)

Nora Walker is from a family of witches but unfortunately she hasn’t yet discovered her nightshade, that is her special kind of magic and that bothers her. Her mother for example, could work magic with honeybees. She could collect their honey without being stung and could even tame the wildest of them. Nora’s grandmother, for instance, could enter into people’s dreams and calm them to make them feel better.

One snowy full moon night, Nora enters the Wicker Woods, the forest believed to be magical and haunted and which only the Walkers could enter. She finds a boy, Oliver, lying on the ground, freezing to death in the cold. Nora decides to help him and she brings him to her place. Nora soon finds out that Oliver is a strange boy with forest green eyes who smells of the forest and pine but who also holds many secrets just like her.

Nora wants to trust Oliver but she cannot make herself trust him completely. Unless she finds out how Oliver could have survived for two whole weeks in the freezing cold of winter in those magical and cruel woods, she could never trust him because if she is sure of one thing it is that Oliver wasn’t alone that night his memory went blank…

About the Author:

Shea Ernshaw | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

Shea Ernshaw an American author is the New York Times bestselling author of Winterwood, The Wicked Deep and A Wilderness of Stars. Her debut novel, The Wicked Deep was released in 2018 of March. She also has a debut adult fiction novel, A History of Wild Places which will soon be released this December 2021.

Source of picture: simonandschuster.com

My ratings: 4.9/5

This book made me remember a time when I was little in which I went to Rodrigues and we went to a nature park. I remember about the tortoises (they were so big!) and then we went to visit a cave. Their was a nature guide who was leading us in and my sister and I were in the front and then she and I sang this song, it was a song my mother has downloaded in a CD along with other stories for us to listen in the car. It starts like this but I don’t think I remember it perfectly but here it is:

In the dark, dark woods…there was a dark, dark house…in the dark, dark house, there was a dark, dark room…in the dark, dark room there was a dark, dark shelf…in the dark, dark shelf, there was a dark, dark book…in the dark, dark book, there was a GHOST! *creepy boos*

Well, let us be serious now. The thing I love the most about this book is how everything is revealed almost at the end so all along the book you just wonder about Oliver and Nora. The fact that the characters are so well built and so mysterious is lovely but it had some similarities to The Wicked Deep as well, like Oliver had those dark green eyes just like Bo from The Wicked Deep and the fact that both Bo tries to keep Penny save and Oliver also doesn’t want to hurt Nora and vice-versa AND the fact that they fall in love with each other.

Otherwise, it was great and I really want to try out all those spells and instructions in the spellbook belonging to Nora AND thankfully *sighs out of relief* it doesn’t require a wand and complicated mutterings *phew*.

Would I recommend it? Well, yes! To all people who love Shea Ernshaw’s writing and who have read The Wicked Deep AND to all people who love a little dash of magic in the cauldron!

Happy Saturday! (and weekend)

~Hermione

Posted on June 9, 2021August 5, 2021 by Hermione · 2 Comments

The Princess Will Save You-A Book Review

Hi people! How are all of you? Doing fine I hope🤗

I guess I should start with the review right away but.I actually have one last thing to say: Hemhem, I heard that this book is a retelling of The Princess Bride though I haven’t heard of it or read it yet…oh and well, the cover is beautiful!

Title: The Princess Will Save You

Series: Kingdoms of Sand and Sky #1

Author: Sarah Henning

Genre: YA Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Retellings

Publishing Date/Publisher: July 7, 2020/ Tor Teen

The Princess Will Save You (Kingdoms of Sand and Sky, #1) — Source: Goodreads

Princess Amarande of Ardenia was utterly devastated to hear about the death of her father, King Sendoa but her sadness soon turned to fury when she learns that she has to get married to be able to rule as Queen in Ardenia.

Princes from all nearby kingdoms come in the hope of marrying Princess Amarande but their efforts were mainly useless because Amarande has something else in mind. She refuses to marry because she is sure that those princes don’t want her heart but only her crown and power. She is also suspicious of her father’s death and is determined to prove that he didn’t just drop dead from his horse but he was poisoned.

Another thing that bothers her is why her father didn’t change the law? Why does the rightful heir to the throne needs to marry to become Queen? Why can’t a Queen rule without a King?

With a hundreds questions swirling in her mind, Princess Amarande goes to her best-friend and her love, Luca, the stableboy, one of the only few people she trusts. When she reaches there, she finds no Luca but a note among the mess of the stable and horses. The note is addressed to her but it isn’t a note in Luca’s handwriting but in an unknown handwriting. It didn’t say much but it was a blackmail letter: Marry Prince Renard of Pyrenee or her love will die.

As stubborn and as strong as she is, Princess Amarande won’t marry Prince Renard, but she WILL find Luca no matter what it takes.

About the Author:

Source of Picture: goodreads.com

My Ratings: 4.5/5

It was a good book, very engaging and Amarande (her name is just so beautiful!) is such a bad-ass and fearless sixteen year old girl a little too perfect sometimes. I did feel like finding Luca was a little too easy but otherwise everything was nice.

I do regret reading this right now not because the book didn’t please me but because I have to wait to read the next book in the series, The Queen Will Betray You and I have to wait even more for the next book and final one, The King Will Kill You which is coming out NEXT YEAR!!

Seriously! I have definitely learned my lesson the hard way; before you read a book too fast, make sure the rest of the series is OUT for smooth reading….

I would recommend this book. DEFINITELY! But if you are like ME, then wait till next year to read the series so you don’t have to wait.

See you next time!

Hermione

Posted on June 6, 2021June 6, 2021 by Hermione · 1 Comment

Namesake-A Book Review

Hi people! I hope all of you are feeling great. I believe that this is going to be a great month because I am almost 100% sure I am going to read more books than last month. I am feeling very much in the mood of reading fantasy books right now and I think I am going to read, Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning next (I have been wanting to read this book for so long now). So let’s finally start with the review.

Title: Namesake

Series: Fable #2

Author: Adrienne Young

Genre: YA Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Publication Date/Publisher: March, 16, 2021/ Wednesday Books

Amazon.com: Namesake: A Novel (Fable, 2) (9781250254399): Young, Adrienne: Books — Source: Amazon.com

When Fable wakes up, she finds herself on board on The Luna, one of Zola’s ships. Zola promises her that she can return to The Marigold but only when she has finished the job he requests of her.

Fable isn’t very sure of that knowing Zola’s dangerous nature but clings to the hope that she will return to The Marigold one day even if it means escaping The Luna.

The Luna drops anchor at Jeval, the place Fable promised to never return. Fable doesn’t see anything interesting in Jeval that a big trader might want to trade but it looks like Zola is recruiting more and more dredgers and to Fable’s horror, Koy, the very person who swore to kill Fable if she ever set foot in Jeval again.

The Luna arrives at Bastian with all the gemstones the dredgers have found in the reefs and Fable, dressed up for a gala. Fable gets to meet Holland a very powerful gem trader and who is Isolde’s mother and realises that Zola brought her here at an attempt to regain his license to trade in Bastian by bringing her to Holland, who didn’t know she has a granddaughter.

Holland, old but powerful will do everything to gain much more power and dominate the whole gem trade not only in Bastian but also in the Narrows and that includes eliminating all of the most powerful traders in the Narrows, Zola and Saint.

Fable will do anything to stop Holland from killing Saint and knows that she isn’t stupid. She strikes an almost impossible deal with Holland: If she finds the lengendary gemstone, Midnight, Holland has to leave Saint alone. Finding a stone that has been missing for decades is an impossible task for Fable because if what Holland says is true and that Isolde really did steal the stone and run away, it should have been for a reason and tricking the person who controls the whole gem trade isn’t easy either.

About the Author:

Adrienne Young is a young American author who was born and bred in Texas turned California girl. New York Times, Indie and USA Today bestselling author of the Fable duology and The Sky in the Deep duology, she started writing at the age of 24 and only decided to pursue publication at the age of 26.(and is a big foodie and addicted to coffee)

Source of Picture: adrienneyoungbooks.com

My Ratings: 5/5

After finishing this duology, it felt like I had lost something in a manner of speaking because Fable had sort of grown on me and it felt a little sad to finish the book.

If I recommended the first book, it is obvious that I am recommending the second! It is of no disappointment because nothing is left out and you understand Saint, Isolde and West much better. Everyhting goes much in-depth in the book, and it moves at a quite fast-pace and West and Fable’s relationship becomes deeper. It was a marvelous and I am saying it again, this duology has become one of my all-time favourites and I am definitely going to read it all again next year perhaps;).

Love, Hermione.

Posted on June 3, 2021June 4, 2021 by Hermione · 1 Comment

Fable-A Book Review

Hi guys! How are all of you? Well, I hope some of you decide to read this book because this book didn’t disappoint me, not a little bit. This has seriously become one of my favourite books and I cannot wait to read Namesake, the second book in the duology!!!

Title: Fable

Series: Fable #1

Author: Adrienne Young

Genre: YA Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Publishing Date/Publisher: September 1, 2020/ Wednesday Books

Fable (Fable, #1) by Adrienne Young — Source: Goodreads

Fable has been dredging for pyre and trading them for coppers to survive ever since her father had abandoned her four years ago when their ship, The Lark sank and her mother drowned. She had been left all to herself on Jeval, one of the toughest places to live in.

Since four years, Fable has been saving every single copper she earns in the hope of returning to her father, Saint, one of the most powerful traders in the Narrows.

Surviving in Jeval was hard for Fable since nothing is free and every copper she earns for herself was equally precious. She mostly lived by her father’s rules:

Keep your knife where you can reach it.
Never, ever owe anyone anything.
Nothing is free.
Always construct a lie from a truth.
Never, under any circumstances, reveal what or who matters to you.

Finally after saving enough money, she decides to leave Jeval for good and be reunited with her father at her rightful place. She travel’s as a passenger in one of Koy’s ships but soon has to run away after Koy follows her and almost tries to drown her as she dives into the ocean to find pyre. With Koy gravely wounded by her kicks and punches and extremely furious, she screams for West another helmsman to save her.

Having paid for passage to Ceros with all the coins she had left The Marigold, West’s ship embarks with the crew and very relucantly, a passenger, desperate to find her father, Fable.

The sea to Ceros is a long and hard one with fierce storms and winds and Fable, well, she doesn’t know what her father will do when he will see her and if he refuses to take her as one of his crew, Fable doesn’t know what she will do because everyone made it clear on The Marigold, they all want her out of their ship as soon as possible and there is no turning back.

About the Author:

Source of Picture: adrienneyoungbooks.com

My ratings: 5/5

I absolutely loved this book and that is why I rated it 5 out of 5. It is a book full of unexpected things that really take you by surprise so I was always like, ‘Whoa. I didn’t even see that coming! Fable is such a lovable character with such a strong and brave personality I don’t think there can be somebody who will hate her even if they didn’t like the book.

Everything gets revealed little by little (for example about Fable’s mother, Isolde who even after the first book, is still so intriguing)so it just keeps you reading and reading because you cannot wait to see what happens next.

There is a cliffhanger at the end so nobody will be able to resist reading Namesake (which I am off to do as soon as I finish this post because the cliffhanger is killing me really!)

I would definitely recommend this book to practically anyone because it isn’t a such fantasy like Game of Thrones (with tons and tons of characters which requires you to memorise all the different places and seas though I am not complaining about it of course!) but a fantasy that is easy to understand with a good amount of characters, not too much and not too little that it isn’t focused only on Fable for example and the scenes happening mainly in Jeval, on the sea and in Ceros so no complicated geography guys!

I would also like to say a big thank you to the amazing author, Adrienne Young to have written this book because it has becme one of my all time favourites!

Thanks for reading!

Hermione.

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Hermione · 1 Comment

The Wicked Deep-A Book Review

Hi! This post is about one of the books I have just recently read (and finished in one-sitting) and I have to say that this IS one of the best books I have read so far. I am amazed at Shea Ernshaw’s writing skills. Haha.

Well, let’s start.

Title: The Wicked Deep

Author: Shea Ernshaw

Genre: YA Fiction, Paranormal Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Publishing Date/Publisher: March, 6, 2018/Simon & Schuster

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw — Source: Goodreads

It has already been 200 years since the Swan sisters, Margeurite, Aurora and Hazel Swan were drowned in the sea with stones tied to their ankles, accused of witchcraft by the local people of Sparrow.

But, the legend still lives on and at the start of the Swan festival, which takes place of the 1st of June, every summer, the Swan sisters return to take their revenge. During the course of two weeks, the three sisters inhabit the bodies of three young girls. Things don’t end here either, nobody knows which girl is inhabited by the Swan sisters and and each of the Swan sisters pounce on their prey, boys of equal young age are called to the sea by the charming sisters and are drowned only to find their bodies by the police or the fishermen floating in the sea. Nobody really knows what happens during the night because once a Swan sister has her eyes on you, you certainly won’t live long.

Penny Talbot lives on the island and seems to have accepted the curse of the town. She lives with her mother in a lighthouse ever since her father walked away from them. Penny knows that her father would never leave them alone but he hasn’t returned yet.

Just before the Swan festival, Penny meets Bo, a handsome young boy, a year older than her and an outsider looking for work who clearly doesn’t know anything about the legend of the Swan sisters. Penny is instantly intrigued by Bo, and senses that he is hiding many things from her and Bo is also intrigued by Penny and has the same feeling that she has deep secrets.

Soon, Penny slowly falls for Bo and is determined to do anything to save Bo because she can see the Swan sisters and already saw that Marguerite will not stop at any cost to take Bo from her.

About the Author:

Source of picture: simonandschuster.com

My ratings: 4.9/5

Definitely one of the most emotional books I have read. Probably the best book I have read in May. I ADORE the cover! I haven’t read many witchy witchy stories before but I absolutely LOVE this book. Penny and Bo’s relationship grew very quickly saying that they have just met each other but otherwise everything was great. The end still makes me smile sometimes and it surely will make you smile too. I definitely recommend this book to all people who like stories about witches, curses and bravery.

~Hermione

P.S. We are the 1st of June today…as a matter of fact.😉

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