Tag: talkingbookworm

Adult Fantasy, NA Fantasy, New Adult Fantasy, Reviews, Special Review

Book Review: Till Death by Miranda Lyn (#1 in The Ever Sky Series)

Veronica Porras (TTB)

About Book:

Till Death by Miranda Lyn is the first book in The Ever Sky Series. Till Death is a standalone novel but will be a part of a series of standalone novels that are connected.

Goodreads Summary:

Long ago, Requiem was plagued by war and abandoned by the gods but Death saved the suffering people, giving each soul a hundred years of immortality. With that grace, he also sent two Maidens. One of Life, for healing and comfort, and one of Death, the only person in the world with the ability to kill.

Generations later, the Life Maiden is missing and Princess Deyanira is nothing more than a trained weapon. A hunter. A murderer wrenched into Death’s dark court to have the name of her next victim seared onto her palm.

She is the enemy of this land. But, when she’s given the chance to bring peace through marriage and finally show her father’s kingdom her worth, she is viciously tricked into marrying the wrong man, ruining the future of the damaged realm. Her only hope to give something back to the world is to find the missing Life Maiden.

Now, eternally bound to her enemy and dragged into the dark burlesque show her new husband is bound to, she must fight to keep herself free. And her heart. Especially when she becomes the hunted.

Review:

Where do I even begin. This book took me for a whirlwind of a ride and I have been dying to give you all my thoughts! I am going to try my best to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but just in case my vagueness doesn’t feel so vague, you have been warned.

Deyanira is the MC we wanted… and needed! The beginning of her journey is tough as she is born to be the death maiden. Her first kill was her mother’s life and her father, the king, has never let her forget it. Her life’s duty is not just to kill those Death tells her too, but she is also the first Death Maiden to be royalty. Her duties as princess and death maiden have been at odds several times, for which she ultimately pays the price for. Her desire to do her duty as both leads her down a path that unravels everything she has ever known and begins on a journey of self discovery and growth.

We, of course, have a male main character that plays his part very well in the enemies to lovers arc. The tension between them is so palpable, even those around them can clearly see it, and we can feel it too! The delicious tension between the two characters builds in such a way that makes the “lovers” party oh so satisfying to see happen!

I have not enjoyed a standalone novel as much as this one in a while. I was a little skeptical at first, but it did its job well and Miranda broke it apart in many acts that it felt like I was reading a series of books and not a standalone novel. Nothing felt rushed and the pace was great! At one point in the story, I personally felt it dragged a little but that is the only “fault” I found. This is the only reason I knocked it down half a point.

I hope you pick up this book today. I can guarantee you won’t regret it!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Disclaimer: I want to thank Miranda Lyn and The Realm Studios for an advanced reading copy. My review is 100% honest and my own thoughts.

Adult Fantasy, NA Romance, New Adult Fantasy, Reviews, Smutty

Book Review: A Light in the Flame (Flesh & Fire #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Veronica Porras (TTB)

Goodreads Summary:

The truth about Sera’s plan is out, shattering the fragile trust forged between her and Nyktos. Surrounded by those distrustful of her, all Sera has is her duty. She will do anything to end Kolis, the false King of Gods, and his tyrannical rule of Iliseeum, thus stopping the threat he poses to the mortal realm.

Nyktos has a plan, though, and as they work together, the last thing they need is the undeniable, scorching passion that continues to ignite between them. Sera cannot afford to fall for the tortured Primal, not when a life no longer bound to a destiny she never wanted is more attainable than ever. But memories of their shared pleasure and unrivaled desire are a siren’s call impossible to resist.

And as Sera begins to realize that she wants to be more than a Consort in name only, the danger surrounding them intensifies. The attacks on the Shadowlands are increasing, and when Kolis summons them to Court, a whole new risk becomes apparent. The Primal power of Life is growing inside her, pushing her closer to the end of her Culling. And without Nyktos’s love—an emotion he’s incapable of feeling—she won’t survive her Ascension. That is if she even makes it to her Ascension and Kolis doesn’t get to her first. Because time is running out. For both her and the realms.

Review:

The cliffhanger at the end of A Shadow in the Ember (ASITE) had me reeling, trying to connect all of the dots between what we learned in that book and what we have learned so far in the Blood & Ash series. Some of you (or most likely most of you) will know that the Flesh & Fire series is a prequel to the Blood & Ash Series. That saying, this has definitely filled in some knowledge gaps, but at the same time brought up a lot of questions that remain unanswered.

A Light in the Flame (ALITF) starts off right where we were left off at the end of ASITE. We learn more about the prophecy and the consequences of both Sera’s and Nyktos’ actions. To be truthful, this entire book had me holding my breath, waiting for the next big reveal to drop. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and seemed to not give me a moment of rest. There were some moments when things slowed down a bit, but overall it was an anxiety-ridden ride that I loved.

I do want to address that some have an issue with JLA’s writing style and her storytelling. If you are that person who has not liked her past books and are holding out to see if this will be the one that gets you to love her, then I suggest not to read this one either. I myself am a fan and do acknowledge a few issues with her writing style at times, but overall I enjoy her stories and the way she writes them. I throughly enjoy her novels and this is one I devoured within a span of a few days.

ALITF did not disappoint and was a solid second book in the Flesh & Fire prequel series of the FBAA universe. If you’ve enjoyed the FBAA series, I believe you will also enjoy this book. You may even be like me and be more Team Daddy Nyktos than Team Casteel (but we still love him dearly).

Rating: 5 out of 5

Editor Letter, Random

End of the New Year, But Same Old Me

Veronica Porras (TTB)

The last time I wrote to you was at the start of the year 2021 and we are less than a month away from the end of 2022 and the start of 2023.

As you last checked in on me, I was re-reading ACOWAR because ACOSF was going to come out in February… I laugh at that Veronica since I have not only read ACOSF but read HOEAB and HOSAB (aka Crescent City series). Yes, the Sarah J. Maas addiction is alive and thriving.

I am currently partaking in Rosebud’s Realm Maas-Read-Along. We just finished re-reading the TOG series and are onto ACOTAR in the new year.

I am also in the middle of reading A Light in the Flame by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I am utterly amused that she used the phrase ‘Daddy Nyktos‘ in the book. She definitely follows the fandom closely.

I hope to make my review of ALINF my first comeback review after not actively reviewing books on here since 2018.

Until the next time…

Editor Letter

Update

Veronica Porras (TTB)

Hello Everyone.

It has been some time since Liz or I posted something on the blog. Both of us have gone through major life events and needed to take a hiatus.

For many that do not know, I am now married and my one year anniversary is coming up on the 24th of this month. I can say that so far it’s been great being married. I was lucky enough to marry someone who is my other half, my Étienne. Yes, very corny but it is the truth.

Now, onto the blog. I will be planning on restarting doing reviews again, but I will be much slower than before. Please only except a few reviews a month at most.

Thank you to everyone who still follows us, you guys are the real MVP. I wish everyone a Happy Belated New Year.

Tuesday Meme

Top Ten New-To-Me Favorite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015

Liz Brooks

TopTenTuesday

Thank you to The Broke and The Bookish for this wonderful meme! If you want to learn how to participate, click here and check it out. Promise you won’t regret it.

Top Ten New-To-Me Favorite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015

Liz’s Picks

I have read so many books by so many author’s this year that I hadn’t heard of before 2015. Each author is perfect in their own way and their own writing. I am so looking forward to these author’s releases in 2016!

Laini Taylor

Laini Taylor Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)

Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater The Raven King (The Raven Cycle, #4)

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Deity (Covenant, #3)

Marie Lu

Marie Lu The Young Elites (The Young Elites, #1)

Amy A. Bartol

Amy A. Bartol Inescapable (The Premonition, #1)

Blog Signature

Reviews, YA Dystopian

Book Review: Legend by Marie Lu

Veronica Porras (TTB)

Marie-lu-legend

Goodreads Summary:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths – until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

My Initial Thoughts:

I really can’t write anything here this time… Why? because it’s been so long, I have no clue what I had initially thought.

Review:

(WARNING: TONS OF SPOILERS BELOW!)

One year. That’s how long it took me to read this book. Why? Not because it was bad, but because of the FEELS.

Metias was my favorite character until Ms. Lu killed him off. I read a few more pages after that and stopped. I was furious. It took several months of convincing on behalf of Kayla, and me [sort of] getting over Metias’ death to the point that I was able to continue to read Legend.

Oh my gosh, the action… it was so good! I was at the edge of my seat the entire time. And when June decided to help Day escape, OMG, I was biting my nails because of how anxious and stressed I was. I almost couldn’t take it. (This is where I questioned my sanity and told myself I was crazy for putting this book down in the first place all those months ago.)

What really surprised me was Metias leaving a blog behind for June to find. Metias seemed like such a goody-good that in no way did I think of his death as fishy at first or that he would do such a thing. And. Oh My Word, I couldn’t believe that Thomas killed Metias… he killed his own best friend! Now that was a twist I did not even see coming. Apparently, I didn’t see a lot of things coming.

I had all this stuff I wanted to talk about, making this review more analytic and well thought-out, but this review has now boiled down to me just fangirling and I shall be okay with that. 🙂

Legend is a great first book, and darnet, I cannot wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Other

Let’s Talk About… Most Owned Authors!

Veronica Porras (TTB)

I was recently catching up on my YouTube subscriptions and I saw Katystastic’s (a YouTube Book Blogger) video talking about her Top Ten Most Owned Authors. She went into detail that the authors on her list were not just authors whom she owned the most books by, but also that they were on her auto-buy list (if you want to watch the video, click here!) So, I thought to myself, I should do that too. Why the heck not right?

So today I will be talking about my Top Ten Most Owned Authors that are also on my Auto-Buy list. Here we go!

 

1

 

If you know me really well, this is not surprising. I own 12 of her books. All of the “Vampire Academy” Series and all that is out of the “Bloodlines” Series. I also have in my possession both “Age of X Series” books, “Gameboard of the Gods” and “The Immortal Crown”. Anything this woman writes, I love. Whether it be her paranormal young adult novels or her new adult series that has Fantasy, Dystopian, and Science Fiction themes in it, I read it all. Her writing has the ability to suck me in and make me forget reality for a couple of hours.

2

Now this may come as a surprise to many because I hardly ever mention Ms. Ally Carter. Probably because I read most of her books before I started my blog December of 2012. I own all of the Gallagher Girls Series, and all three books of the Heist Society Series. Total of 9 books. She has a new series coming out soon and I have no clue what it is about, but you can bet I will buy it without reading the synopsis.

3

A lot of people think of her as the YA Contemporary Queen of the early 2000s. Her books were crazy popular with good reason. Although I don’t click with the characters in two of her books, I will buy any book she writes. Her writing is poetic and beautiful. Some of my favorite quotes come from her books. She knows how to write a coming of age story that will sit with you for years.

4

She recently became an auto-buy author for me. The first book I ever read by her was “The Disreputable History of Frankie-Laundau Banks”. That novel was eery and haunting. The emotion was raw and deep. I felt things I never had before reading this book and really brought to light the issues we have with romanticized rebels (or criminals). Two years later, I listened to her read her new book  “We Were Liars” at the LA Times Books Festival and it prompted me to buy it. “We Were Liars” left me breathless. After that I went and bought most of the books she has published. I have 6 of her books in my possession.

5

There was a time in my life where I wanted fun summer contemporaries that still gave me some substance, but I also didn’t want them to be too serious. In comes “The Daughters” Series by Joanna Philbin. She’s another author whose writing just sucks me in. I feel as if I know her characters personally and I am their friend. It’s that intimate. I own 5 of her books.

6

Isaiah & Noah. That’s all you need to know. Okay, okay, just kidding. I’m not ending it there. 🙂

I own 4 of her books because that is all she has published. If she had more books published, I would own them all by now. What I love about her stories is that her characters are real. Their issues are real. You could say she uses the same freaking formula in each book, but she writes it in a way that doesn’t feel like she’s using the same formula to tell the story, and I freaking eat them up. She writes grittier young adult contemporary and she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty when it comes to writing her books. She learned how to drive stick just so she could legitimately write the car scenes in “Crash Into You”. If that is not dedication to your work, then I don’t know what is.

7

We now have Ms. Sarah Ockler. Gosh Darn her stories make me happy. Her stories aren’t really always happy per say (“Twenty Boys Summer” broke my heart), but she writes them so well that I will sob through her books if that’s the price I have to pay to read them. I say she falls in the same category as Katie McGarry’s books with the whole characters dealing with real issues, but Ockler’s characters are a little less rough around the edges. I proudly own 3 of her books (and I need to get my hands on #Scandal as soon as its out! *grabby hands*).

8

My lovely Morgan Matson. How I love her so. I know that sounds a little weird, but I have been a faithful fan of her writing since “Amy and Rogers Epic Detour”. I waited for “Second Chance Summer” for an entire year, and now I have “Since You’ve Been Gone” in my hands. Although the premise for SYBG doesn’t sound as intriguing to me as the other two, I still wanted it and got it (Thank you Kayla you are the best!). Her writing takes me a little bit longer to read, nonetheless it entertains me and makes me happy. Even though her books are seen as sad, I don’t feel sad when I see them or read them. I get all giddy and happy. Yes, I’m weird. Deal with it. 🙂

(proud owner of all three books!)

9

She’s actually a last-minute addition because I didn’t think I owned enough books to add her to this list, but alas I do! I own 3 of her books and a novella. Jessica Park wrote “Flat Out Love” which is one of my favorite contemporaries of 2013. I loved it so much that I went on and read “Flat Out Matt” and “Left Drowning”. I devoured them. I recently purchased “Flat Out Celeste” her newest novel in the “Flat Out Love” world. (Kayla I know you’re gonna be mad, but I bought the kindle version okay! It was only 3.99. I couldn’t resist!!). I think the reason I am so amazed by her is because she is an independent author. She does not publish her books through a big publishing house, but through an independent publisher. Her books are edited so well that I almost want to pee my pants at how happy it makes. She’s an indie author who got it right. It gives me hope for future indie authors and indie books.

10

Surprised to see this? I know I’m not. Why? Because I’m one of those few people who loved “Allegiant”. I loved the Divergent Trilogy as a whole. The world she created, the way she wrote it, the trilogy sucked me in and I never wanted to leave it for the real world. Sadly, I had to, but if she publishes something in the near or far future, even if it sounds boring, I will buy it. I don’t care. I love her that much. (And honestly how can we forget Divergent? That was one of the best first books in a trilogy I have EVER read!) I own three of her books (and soon four! haha get it?! Because the new book is titled Four and it’s the fourth book!!! No… I just think it’s funny… okay… *walks away shamefully*).

11

Lastly, we have an honorary mention because if this woman had published “Isla and the Happily Ever After” sooner, she would have been able to make it on the list officially. We all love Stephanie Perkins and we all know why. I feel like she is the recent Queen of YA contemporary and no one has come close to dethrone her. At least not in my book. Her books are all sugar, sweet, and honey. They make you feel all happy and bubbly inside. BUY HER BOOKS!

 

We have finally reached the end of this really long post for which I apologize, but I did have a lot to say and yet I feel like I didn’t say enough. I’m going to go ahead and tag Kayla over at The Thousand Lives and demand she do this because I want to see what she comes up with, and I think most of you might want to know too! If anyone decides to write a post like this, please let me know and send me the link. I want to read your posts and have discussions about our most owned authors that are also on our auto-buy list.

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Reviews, ya contemporary, YA Dystopian, YA Paranormal

Mini Book Reviews #1

Veronica Porras (TTB)

I’m starting a new series on here which I’m calling Mini-Reviews. Clever name right? Yeah, I know. I’m a genius. (The sarcasm is so strong.) The reason I’m starting this new series is because there are some books that I’ve read that I have things to say about them, but not enough to dedicate an entire post on them. Each Mini Review post will have 3 mini reviews. Here we go!

Mini Book Review: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

openroadsummer_hires_cover no quote.jpg

 

Kayla over at The Thousand Lives almost threw the book at me and said READ IT! I, like the good best friend that I am (see what I did there) did, and let me tell you I’m glad she said I had to read this book. I fell in love with summer again. The last time I was in love with summer was the year 2012. I truly cannot believe this is Emery Lord’s debut novel. The writing is impeccable and wonderful. I loved the main characters voice and the sass, oh my, I freaking loved the sass. Also, Matthew is the perfect boyfriend. Can he be real, please? If you are looking for a heart-clenching [in a good way] summer contemporary, then this is the book for you. 100% recommend this book to anyone.

Rating: 5/5

Mini Book Review: Coldest Girl in ColdTown by Holly Black

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Vampires + Holly Black = perfection. What amazes me about this book is that it is a stand alone. I had never read a book that can build a new world, has all of the background information, action, plot twists, and just everything that we crave that is normally given to us in trilogies and series, in ONE book. Yes, you read that correctly. Holly Black does it all with one book. The ending satisfied me. This book does vampires justice and makes me sigh happily. These vampires can beat the crap out of any sparkly vampire’s butt.

Rating: 5/5

Mini Book Review: Altered by Jennifer Rush

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I saw polandbananasbooks book talk of Altered a long time ago and have been wanting to read it since. I went over to Kayla’s one day and saw that she had it in her possession. I of course begged her to let me take it home with me and she did. This book was not what I was expecting, and boy it was wonderful. I screamed, I jumped, and it stressed the heck out of me. The twists, the action, the science fiction nerdy-ness of it, I loved it all!

Rating: 4/5

Other

Alternate Reality Giveaway: The Post Apocalyptic World

Veronica Porras (TTB)

Alternate Reality Giveaway

 

When I was in middle school, there were two types of books I loved to read and one of them was the “Post Apocalyptic World” type. The Post Apocalyptic sub-genre exists within the dystopian genre. Today, I am going to talk about why I love this sub genre the most, and why it attracts so many of us.

First, I want to start of by giving you a definition of the word apocalyptic. We all have some idea of what is it, but I wanted to find a universal definition. What does apocalyptic mean then? It means “Describing or prophesying the complete destruction of the world” or something “Momentous or catastrophic” (Source: Oxford Dictionary). Now, a post apocalyptic book would be a book after a war that destroys the world. There are several series today that can fit in some way or form in this sub genre. Those are The Divergent Trilogy, The 5th Wave Trilogy, The Testing Trilogy, and a couple more. A lot of the series I’ve mentioned have been in the New York Times Best Seller List, have been made into movies, or a film company has bought the movie rights. This sub genre is very big in our day in age and I think I know why.

The Post Apocalyptic stories give us survival stories. We like to believe that even if the world would come to an end, some of us would survive. The stories within this genre are inspiring. They give us hope. They empower us, making us feel like we too can do brave, life-altering things. These stories give us hope in humanity, that even though some destroyed it, there are a few who can restore once again. This sub genre brings out the best and worst in human nature, and for some reason, we love to see that.

I myself love these type of stories because they empower me to be stronger. There are so many horrible things happening around the world today, that sometimes it feels like some of the stories I read will become reality. The stories in this sub genre give me hope for the future. They provide not only prove me with entertainment, but a view into what might happen if that event or war occurred. I know some of you may say “Veronica, this is fiction we are taking about,” and I totally agree with you, but a “human being” is writing the fiction. I think that says a lot more than we sometimes want to think it says.

I initially thought I was going to write a fun post about the Post Apocalyptic sub-genre, but this is what came out instead. Oops.

 

So tell me, why do you love to read stories in the Post-Apocalyptic World sub-genre? or the Dystopian genre in general?

 

If you would like our giveaway, click the link below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Editor Letter

Update: Blog News

Veronica Porras (TTB)

Hey guys! Veronica here.

Sorry the blog has been a little slow for the past two weeks. Both Anjie and I have been really busy and have fallen out of practice with blogging, but fear not, I will try to keep the ball rolling again next week.

I do want to mention that I will be doing a review of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell for the new official Tumblr Book Club. I was one of several book blogs over at Tumblr that were chosen to be official correspondents. For the month of September, Tumblr partnered with Rainbow Rowell, and I can’t wait to see who they partner with for the month of October.

I hope you guys are having a wonderful week and keep on reading!