An Ember in the Ashes by Sabba Tahir

August 12, 2019August 13, 20197 Comments

“Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after.”

There is something incredibly hard about going into books that are massively loved, and I’m happy to say I now fall into this category. AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is set in a fictional world, and follows the dual perspective of Elias and Laia. Even though this book is pretty big, it flew by. Its such a faced paced book that sucks you in from the beginning. I never wanted to put it down and had to know what would happen next. This definitely did not read as a debut novel, it was incredible! I expected this to be like every other YA Fantasy that came out around the same time, but oh boy was I wrong.

I am in love with Sabaa Tahir’s writing, her prose is freaking beautiful! There is so many quotes in this book, and as you know I’m a sucker for beautiful prose. The story starts when Laia’s parents are murdered by a mask and her brother is arrested. She is left on her own with nothing, she seeks out a group called the resistance. They are skeptical of her at first until Laia explains who her parents were, in the end they agree to help her rescue her brother. But one one condition, she must enter the academy and pose as a slave to the commandant to gain inside insight on what the empire is planning.

Laia – is one of the Scholars – now ruled over by the Martial Empire, when her brother is arrested, she seeks out Resistance for help. They make a deal with her, in order for Laia to earn there trust she must enter Blackcliff Military Academy as a slave in order to spy on the Commandant. She starts off as weak, and sacred but as the book progresses she becomes stronger. Her character development was so well done.

Elias – He is the son of the Commandant, and a mask in training. He is another really complex character, he wants to live up to his destiny and please his family while on the other hand he wants to escape. He does not believe is all the methods of the empire, he was never afraid to show his feelings.

The Commandant – Is a ruthless and scary ruler, She treats everyone around her like there disposable.

Helena – She is a mask in training, she is also Elias best friend. She is strong, independent and full of fire. She’s a really complex character, truly loyal and devoted to what she believes in.

“There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that drowns you until you’re useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose.”

What I wasn’t expecting was how violent this book is, some scenes get pretty gory, it really doesn’t hold anything back. There is trigger warning for rape and sexual assault which I was not aware of going into this book. Even though these topics are very horrible, it showed how desperate hopeless these characters are. Laia’s treatment was awful. I was appalled over and over again by the way the slaves were treated. I loved the trials, there were done so well, and I never knew what to expect.

There is also a hint of a love triangle but it really wasn’t the focus of the novel, maybe it was have a bigger importance in the second book. Overall I really enjoyed this book and will be picking up the sequel really soon.

Trigger warnings for violence, rape and sexual assault.

August TBR 2019

August 3, 2019August 3, 20199 Comments

Hello friends! Can you believe its August, it feels like summer just started and here we are with only 4 weeks left. I know the first day of fall isn’t officially until September 21 but to me fall starts when school is back.I don’t usually make TBR’s because I’m a mood reader and I never stick to the lists I make but this month I have a lot of book club picks, so here we are. I’m not saying I will read all of these books, the book club books, yes i will read. However the books i list from my TBR are a tentative selection but at the time of writing this post they are the book I’m excited to pick up.

Book Clubs and Readathon’s

Renegades by Marissa Meyer
Its a Hardback Life Book Club

New Moon by Stephanie Meyers
August 15- 31
#Twilightreadalong

I was Born for This by Alice Oseman
Heartstopper Vol 1 + 2 by Alice Oseman
#aliceosemanreadathon Hosted by Romie
August 10 (24 hour readathon)

Ironside by Holly Black
#faerieathon
August 12-16

The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai
Dragons and Tea Book Club
August 19-24

Books from my TBR

Get a Life Chloe Brown by Taliah Hibbert
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Naturally Tan by Tan France
The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

July Book Haul

July 30, 2019July 30, 20196 Comments

Hey friends! July was a pretty good month, I originally planned on not buying any books this month. But guys, that is really hard. I caved in on Prime day, because there was a couple I had to get and it’s hard to say no to a good deal. Plus I was in vacation so that’s a good excuse right there. I’m so excited to get to these books.

Physical Books I Purchased

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

Ghost of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare

The Last Guest House by Megan Miranda

Whisper Network by Chandler Baker

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Bridgid Kemmerer

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Final Girls by Riley Sager

E-Books I Purchased

Crown of Lies by Pepper Winters

Lessons in Thorns by Sierra Simone

Necessary People by Anna Pitoniak

Arcs/Edelweiss/ Netgalley

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

There we go, that is all the books I got in the month of July. Have you read any of these, let me know down below what you thought of it or what book I need to read right away.

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

July 10, 2019July 10, 20191 Comment

“When you’re constantly treated as a pariah and labeled bad, you might begin living up to that expectation.”

When I first heard about this book I knew it was going to be one of my most anticipated releases of 2019. After being denied an arc from Edelweiss I impatiently awaited the release date. This book was so good! I struggled with the beginning, because the Korean words threw me off but once I got used to it the book flew by. This book was everything and more 💖

This is a Korean lore fantasy story about a Gumiho, a fox with nine tails. This story is set in modern day Seoul, following Miyoung. She is on a hunt for Gi, a humans life force. She must consume Gi at least once a month in order to survive. On this particular night, she runs into a Dokubai, a large goblin, attacking a teenage boy. In the attempt to save his life she loses her fox bead which contains her soul.

Miyoung – A 16 year old high school student who is half Gumiho and half human. A nine tailed fox who takes the form of a beautiful girl. She tries so hard to pleas her mother Yena, an old but gorgeous Gumiho. Miyoung struggles with her human emotions, which usually leads to trouble.

Jihoon – A high school boy, who lives with his grandmother over the restaurant she owns. He finds out that Miyoung is a Gumiho and when she starts going to his school, he really wants to befriend her. He has two best friends, who are absolute gems! He is so soft and adorable! I loved him so much.

“When you’re constantly treated as a pariah, and labeled bad, you might begin living up to the expectation. “

I really loved the friendship and later in the book, romance between the two characters. There early interactions reminded me of Twilight which I’m currently reading. Miyoung tells Jihoon to stay away from her and is grumpy when he talks to her in the halls. Eventually she starts to let her guard down, and there adorable together! They both have such strong character arcs, and have a lot more in common than you’d believe a Gumiho and a human boy would have. Such as absent parents and trying to figure out how to fit in.

I also loved Jihoon and his grandmothers relationship, there so tender and sweet, but also hand so many funny moments. I wasn’t expecting this book to make me so emotional but I cried more times than I’d like to admit.

Besides all the cute moments there is also a lot of action. The second half of this book had so much conflict. This was the first book I read that was set in Korea and I need more. The setting and atmosphere was beautiful. Kat Cho is such an amazing writer I can’t believe this is a debut novel, her words transported me into Korea and the I never wanted to leave. This book was an absolute joy to read.

I cannot wait for the sequel! I highly recommend Wicked Fox.

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

July 3, 2019July 3, 20195 Comments

“On the island of By-the-Sea you could always smell two things: salt and magic.”

SUMMER OF SALT is an incredible atmospheric and magical novel that follows Georgina and her family who live on a strange island called By-the-Sea. Her family own the only Inn on the island, and ever summer a large group of people they call birdheads visit the island in search of a special bird they call Annabella. She fly’s to the island every summer to lay her eggs, except this summer she is missing.

Georgie – Our main character, who is a twin and it’s the summer before leaving for college, she struggles with having to leave her home on the island. She is a lesbian, and a witch who has yet to discovered her power.

Mary – Georgina’s twin sister, who has discovered her power since birth, she has the ability to float in midair. She is the wild sister, the free spirit.

Vira – Georgina’s best friend, her full name is Elvira and she works at the local ice cream parlor. She is aroace, and she is freaking adorable .

Harrison – Is a new guest to the island, he is researching Annabelle.

Prue – Is Harrison’s sister, she is bisexual and developing feelings for Georgie.

“In a family full of girls, you realize quickly that no girls are ordinary”

Georgie takes it upon herself to find out what has happened to Annabella. Mary has been acting depressed and secretive, Georgie is determined to help her sister, while also trying to figure out if she will manifest her power before her 18th birthday. I loved how this story was about family, friendship and unconditional love. The romance between Georgie and Prue was really adorable!

This book also explores some darker issues, about rape and rape culture throughout the story. I was not expecting these issues to be explored and was a little shocked, so please be cautious if that is a trigger for you.

Overall, I really loved this book, I can see myself reading it again. It’s whimsical, atmospheric and queer, and so much more! It is the perfect combination of sweet and dark.

Content and trigger warnings for off the page sexual assault, underage drinking, drug use, animal death.

June Wrap Up

June 30, 2019June 30, 20193 Comments

Hello loves ! Can you believe June is over, that we’re halfway through the year already. June was a really good reading month, I participated in two readathons. This didn’t complete all the challenges for either but it was still a lot of fun. I think June has been one of the best reading months I’ve had all year.

I know I’ve been slacking on the blogging, I have so many reviews to write and a few other posts to finish up. I promise there is going to be a lot of content from me coming up. I’ve also been toying with the idea of YouTube. I tried starting a channel before I ever made my blog but I let my anxiety get the better of me. However recently I’ve been thinking about it again.

Book’s Read In June

> Vicious by LJ Shen

This was the first book I read for #Smutathon, I’ve been really interested in this book ever since Melanie first mentioned that it reminded her of Cardan. Oh boy was she right! I loved every minute of this book. This is very much an enemies to lovers story, Vicious is an even bigger bully than Cardan, so fair warning if that’s not your thing than you probably wont enjoy this book.This book is told between flashbacks of when Emilia is in high school and present day. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series !

> Hate Notes by Vi Keelan and Penelope Ward

My second read for #Smutathon, this book surprised me. This was a fun book, it starts when Charlotte goes into a shop to return her un-worn wedding dress. S. While in the shop she spots a beautiful dress and finds a blue handwritten note. he decides she needs to now who has written the note, but soon she finds herself working for that same man. This was a cute hate to love office romance.However near the middle of the book, things took a turn and it became more serious than I expected.

>The King of Bourbon Street by Thea De Salle

My third and final book I finished for #Smutathon. The writing is amazing, and it has has such amazing representation. The MC is fat and doesn’t shy away from her body. Rain is a heiress, and used to being in the spotlight. After a sex tape scandal that she orchestrated to upset her mother, she fly’s to New Orleans with her brother, and Corgi. Where she immediately meets Sol, the hotel owner, who is also bi. Sol and Rain were such a great characters! There is very explicit sex scenes, so if that’s not your thing you may not enjoy this book. I’m really looking forward to reading the companion novel.

> Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

This was a re-read and now that I’ve finished it the rest of Cassie Clares books are new to me! I love this book so much more than all the Mortal Instrument books. I love Tessa so much more than Clary. Jem remain my favorite character. I have somehow managed to avoid all spoilers for this series, thank God. I’m extremely excited to continue on with this series but first I need to go back to the Mortal Instruments.

>Tithe by Holly Black

I re-read Tithe as part of #faerieathon and this was my first time coming back to this book after almost 10 years. I first read this book way back in the early 2000’s when it was first released and I fell in love with Holly Blacks writing and Fae world. I’m currently working on writing a full review, as i have many thoughts and cannot begin to write them all in this short paragraph. Basically, I really enjoyed being back in the world of fae but had some issues I will discuss in my review.

>A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

This book will make a great Beach read. It is suspenseful and has a lot of twist that will draw you in and keep you turning the pages to find out more. I read this book in a day, I needed to know what was going to happen next. A Stranger on the Beach was my first of Campbell’s books, but it wasn’t my last!

>Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey

What first drew me to this book was because I loved the cover. Just look at it, it’s adorable, I am loving all the illustrated romance covers!This is the first book I’ve ever read by Tessa Bailey and I thoroughly very much enjoyed myself. I expected Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey to be light, fluffy but oh boy was I wrong! There was some really cute sweet moments but this book was so steamy!I ! I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS BOOK!.

>City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

This book was a hot mess, I’ve always heard this book wasn’t the greatest and that’s what put me off with continuing with the series.I’m glad I did read it because now I can move on. Jace is literally the worst, in each new book he seems to annoy me more. Simon had some bad choices in this book as well, and I love Simon but i was really disappointed in him. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers so I’ll just finish off by saying that I’m so happy the next book is Clockwork Prince!

> Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling

I cannot honestly tell you how many times I’ve read this book, when it was first released I read it over and over. I am loving this re read with the audiobooks, its such a different experience. This book introduces us to so many amazing characters, Lupin, Sirius, Crookshanks (I know hes a cat but I Love him) and the Dementors. One of my favourite things about this series is Harry and Hermione’s friendship. Hermione has so much character development in this book,which makes me love her so much more. The movie really left a lot of things out, which makes me so sad because this book is just so good!

>Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

I can’t express in words how much I love this book. I want to scream from rooftops about how amazing and stunning this novel is. What drew me to this book was the promise of a witchy F/F relationship.This book was so much more than I was expecting.SUMMER OF SALT is an incredible atmospheric and magical novel that follows Georgina and her family who live on a strange island called By-the-Sea.I really loved this book, I can see myself reading it again. It’s whimsical, atmospheric and queer, and so much more! It is the perfect combination of sweet and dark.

>Well Met by Jen Deluca

THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE ROMANCE BOOK! I loved everything about this book. This is Renaissance Faire-inspired contemporary romance, and a debut novel. This book follows Emily, who has moved in with her sister and niece after her sister was in a car accident. Her Niece wants to participate in the Faire and Emily is told in order for Cait to be able to that Emily must also volunteer. This is where she meets Simon, a grumpy English teacher who is a stickler for the rules. This is a slow burn romance and it is so cute! Everyone needs to add this to there list of book to be on the lookout for in September.

Well there you have iot, all the books i read in the month of June. Let me know down below if you’ve read any of these or if there on your TBR. Also what was your favorite book you read this month? I love hearing your guys thoughts. Have a Happy Canada day tomorrow !

June Book Haul

June 29, 2019June 29, 20191 Comment

Happy Saturday, I hope your all having a good weekend. Can you believe June is over. I really wasn’t expecting to haul so many books this month! But I am so thankful and blessed to have gotten books from publishers and I won a giveaway. I’m really excited about all of these.

Physical Books I Purchased

> Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

> Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

> Tithe by Holly Black

> Valiant by Holly Black

Sent by Publishers / Giveaway I Won

> Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle

> The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

> That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert

> Silver in the Woods by Emily Tesh

> Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki

> Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan

Ebooks Bought / Kindle Unlimited

> All Fired up by Elle Kennedy and Vivian Arend

> On the Way Down by Ella Fox

> On the Rocks by Kandi Steiner

> Getaway Girl by Tessa Bailey

> A really Bad Idea by Jennie Colette

> Center of Gravity by K.K Allen

That’s all for this month! Let me know down below if you got any of these books 😊 To all my Canadian followed, I hope you all have a happy Canada day on Monday ❤️

Summerathon TBR

June 19, 2019June 19, 20196 Comments

THE DATES:
June 21 – June 27

THE HOSTS:
Amy @ A Court of Crowns and Quills

Jen @ Pinot and Pages

Heather @ Bookables

Aimee @ Aimee Reads

Reading Challenges

THE CHALLENGES:
1. A Beachy Read: this can be either a book set at the beach or just a book think would be perfect to read on the beach or poolside.

Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno

2. Sunrise colors on the cover: pink, orange, yellow, purple, blue…really, there are so many directions to go for this.

Josh and Hazels guide to not Dating by Christina Lauren

3. Book with a roadtrip, traveling, or vacation

Next Year in Havana by Chanel

4. Book set in the summer

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

5. Food on the cover (Or drink! Make it your own!)

Natalie Tans book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim

6. Drink your favorite summertime drink while reading!

I’m going to leave this challenge open in case I pick something up I really want to read and it doesn’t fit the other challenges.

I’m so excited for all of these books ! Are your participating in this readathon? What are some summer-ey type books your reading?

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

June 6, 2019June 6, 20197 Comments

ARC provided by the publisher though Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Like many of you I fell in love with the authors debut, The KISS Quotient last year and was really looking forward to her sophomore novel. I didn’t love this installment as much as I did The Kiss Quotient, but I still think that this book is a gem.I just need ya’ll to know the Helen Hoang is my new romance queen.

“Girl loves boy loves girl.”

Just like The Kiss Quotient, this is an ownvoices novel, Helen is Vietnamese and is Autistic. One of my favourite things about this book is seeing the difference between Stella from TKQ and Khai who is the main character of this book. I love how Helen brings enlightenment to the Autism spectrum and how each person has an individual experience and feelings. As I said in my review for TKQ my brother has Aspergers, and people seem to group everyone with autism in the same category. And this book does an amazing job at showing the differences each person experiences.

The Bride Test is written in dual perspective following Esme and Khai. The premise of this book is that Khai’s mother wants him to get married. Khai does not want to get married but his mom believes if she just finds him the perfect woman he will change his mind.

Khai – Vietnamese, Autistic, he is Michaels cousin from TKQ. He believes he can never fall in love, because he feels differently than other people he doesn’t recognize some emotions he experiences. He is a successful accountant at a large company. I really loved him as a character and thought his ba k story was really well written.

Esme – Biracial (Vietnamese and white), living in Vietnam with as a single mother with her daughter, mother and grandmother.She has never met her birth father. She works as a housekeeper in a hotel, where she meets a woman offering g her a chance to fly to California and marry her son, Khai. As the story goes on she developed real feelings for Khai. I really liked Esme as a character, she’s ambitious and hardworking, while being sweet and funny.

“My heart works in a different way, but it’s yours.”

I adore both Khai and Esme! Their chemistry was amazing and I loved how there relationship organic grew. They’re vastly different, but also worked so well together.I LOVED the relationship between Khai and his brother Quan. I really hope the next book will be his story!

My few complaints: As a parent I really didn’t like how Esme hid the fact that she had a daughter. Her child is a huge part of her life and ordinarily the main reason she agreed to come to California. She wants to give her a better life but yet she doesn’t tell anyone about her. I also wasn’t to thrilled about the Epilogue but I can’t talk about that because I don’t want to spoil anything.

Overall, The Bride Test wasn’t on the same level as The Kiss Quotient but it was still incredibly enjoyable.

Pride Month: LGBTQIAP+ Book Recommendations

June 4, 2019June 4, 201911 Comments

Happy June which is also Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈 I’ve seen a lot of people posting TBR’s and recommendations so I wanted to jump in and share some queer books I have read and at the end I listed some I have not read yet.

Books I Have Read

These titles below are LGBTQ+ titles I have read and loved. Of course I couldn’t include them all. I also tried to mention the representation in the book.

Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Rep: Gay character and Bisexual character (MC)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rep: Bisexual character (MC), Lesbian Character

Simon vs the Homosapiens agenda by Becky Albertalli
Rep:Gay character(MC) , gay side character and bisexual side character

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
Rep: Bisexual (MC), Demi/Ace Character,Lesbian and gay side characters

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton
Rep: Poly relationship And everyone is queer

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Rep: Gay character, bisexual character

Lets Talk About Love by Claire Kann
Rep: Ace character

Books on my PRIDE TBR

These LGBTQ+ books are on my TBR and I am going to read a few of these for PRIDE MONTH! I don’t like to make TBR’s because I never stick to them so I stead I’m just mentioning a bunch I want to read.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Heart Stopper by Alice Oseman

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking up With Me by Mariko Tamaki

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta

Switchback by Danika Stone

If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann

Let me know in the comments what id you favorite Queer Book? Or what Queer books are on your TBR for June?