The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon – ARC Review

Thank you to Bloomsbury publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Dreamwalker Paige Mahoney has eluded death again. Snatched from the jaws of captivity and consigned to a safe house in the Scion Citadel of Paris, she finds herself caught between those factions that seek Scion’s downfall and those who would kill to protect the Rephaim’s puppet empire.

The mysterious Domino Program has plans for Paige, but she has ambitions of her own in this new citadel. With Arcturus Mesarthim-her former enemy-at her side, she embarks on an adventure that will lead her from the catacombs of Paris to the glittering hallways of Versailles. Her risks promise high reward: the Parisian underworld could yield the means to escalate her rebellion to outright war.


As Scion widens its bounds and the free world trembles in its shadow, Paige must fight her own memories after her ordeal at the hands of Scion. Meanwhile, she strives to understand her bond with Arcturus, which grows stronger by the day. But there are those who know the revolution began with them-and could end with them.

I have to say I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked some parts and some not so much. I enjoyed the slow burn of Paige and Warden’s relationship. I think in this book we finally get to see their relationship develop as they have the chance to actually discuss how they feel.

I liked seeing other parts of this world and what’s happening outside of England and the characters we are introduced to and some characters we had previously met made an appearance again but I really missed Nick and Eliza. I hope we get to see them again in the next book! They were y favourite side characters and I truly think this book was weaker without them in it with Paige.

I had issues with the pacing and how slow the book was. It took me a while to get through it as I would put it down and not pick it up for days but the ending was more interesting. A lot happens at the end and I wish we could have gotten more of that instead. We get lots of revelations that have been building up in the last two books and it was interesting to get some answers of some of the mysteries and revelations of who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

I’m still not sold on Paige and Warden as a couple though. I still think we don’t know much about Warden and how he feels and thinks outside of Paige’s perspective and it just meant that I couldn’t really connect with him despite being four books in. We get some more information about the Rephaim but they are still very much a mystery. By this point it made them less interesting as characters especially as we barely see them in the book. Also I feel a bit annoyed by the fact that some Rephaim have names like Arcturus and Terebell and yet the antagonists have PoC sounding names like Nashira and Suhail.

This book deals a lot with Paige’s recovery and how she manages after being tortured and the PTSD she has. I thought it was dealt with quite well seeing her struggle and freeze because of it. The lasting effects it had on her body physically. I really liked seeing that in the book.

When we first met Paige I really loved her and I loved how much she grew in the Mime Order but since I have felt she has become more reckless and runs head first before thinking things through which resulted in a lot of problems in this book and I just felt that someone who is supposed to be running a revolution needs to be less reckless. I think that’s why I missed Eliza and Nick a lot too because I felt they grounded her and guided her to be less reckless and think things through. The ending especially regarding Warden and how Paige dealt with it was something I wasn’t a fan of because we see them develop and yet Paige easily believes what happens at the end without questioning it until it is too late.

Overall I liked this book but I do have some issues with pacing and Paige’s arc (or seemingly lack thereof). I feel like there wasn’t a lot of progress in the book as to her goals to lead a revolution. It takes her the whole book to make the alliances necessary. I am hoping that the next book will have some more progression and we will hopefully see the characters from previous books again.

Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew – ARC Review

Thank you Walker Books and Netgalley for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The topic of the book intrigued me so I had to request it. I didn’t realise it was written in verse so when I started reading it, it was a nice surprise. I absolutely loved it!

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

BLOOD MOON is a YA novel about the viral shaming of a teenage girl. During her seminal sexual experience with the quiet and lovely Benjamin, physics-lover and astronomy fan Frankie gets her period – but the next day a gruesome meme goes viral, turning an innocent, intimate afternoon into something sordid, mortifying and damaging.

This book was incredible and I loved that it was written in verse. This is a topic I am passionate about I am glad that it is being discussed more and that there are even books being published that deal with periods and how it is normal and nothing that should cause someone to say eww.

This book deals with period shame and how something natural results in a girl being shamed and humiliated and bullied. It touches on how it can affect her whole life from her self worth to her self confidence and her mental health. It also deals with friendship and girls supporting girls and more.

When I started reading I was quickly hooked and then before I knew it, it was 4am and I had reached the end of the book which left me feeling a mess of emotions. I was angry and sad and hopeful and I just wanted to scream about this book.

This book was difficult to read at times because of the awful ways that the other teenagers treat the main character and anyone who tries to stand up to her. But also how quickly one bully can get so many supporters not only in their school but also on the internet. People think it is okay to humiliate a girl on the internet and won’t have to take responsibility or deal with any of the consequences of doing so. But in this book we see what the consequences of the humiliation and bullying is and it was heart breaking. No one should have to go through this especially as periods are nothing to be embarrassed about.

I hope we get more books that deal with periods and shaming women for their periods. I think the only thing I wished we had seen more of in the book was including women of colour and how it can affect them too and how it can be a different experience and the issues they deal with may be different to the ones that the young women in this book had to deal with. I also hope we get more books dealing with period poverty as that also has a huge impact on young people.

There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool – ARC Review

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw the cover of this book it instantly made me interested and when I read the synopsis I just knew I had to read it. This book was such an intense and thrilling read and I absolutely loved it!

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

THE AGE OF DARKNESS APPROACHES. FIVE LIVES STAND IN ITS WAY. WHO WILL STOP IT . . . OR UNLEASH IT?

For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations – until they disappeared, one hundred years ago.

But they left behind one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As a dark new power begins to make war on the magically gifted, five souls are set on a collision course that will determine the fate of their world:

A prince exiled from his kingdom
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up

One of them – or all of them – could break the world. Will they be saviour or destroyer?

This book had me hooked right from the beginning and I just could not put it down once I started reading. It had me captivated and I just needed to know what would happen next and how these characters lives would intersect.

We get five points of view but each one had their own distinct voice that it was easy to distinguish between them. This is a very character driven story yet there is still plenty of great plot with some crazy plot twists that left me reeling. I actually loved all the characters which is rare for me, but it just shows what a great job Katy did in bringing the characters to life.

Each of them have an important role to play in the 100 year old prophecy but we don’t know what that role will be but we do get a clearer picture by the end. It was interesting to see how their lives get tangled with each other and what events causes them to go in the direction they do.

Hassan is a cinnamon roll and must be protected at all costs. He is passionate and driven by trying to save his people and his family and his own battles with himself and learning to accept that even though he isn’t graced he is still capable of being a leader was so wonderful to see.

Ephyra is known as the pale hand and murders people who avoid justice by their powerful position and essentially sucks their essence to be able to keep her sister Beru alive. Their story is so tragic and I thought she was such a badass and a great morally grey character. Especially events at the end between the sisters has me really intrigued where their story will go.

Jude is our oblivious yet highly skilled leader who is desperately trying to avoid his feelings because he is supposed to remain celibate. I can already see that this will not work out well for him. And lastly we have Anton who is snarky and sarcastic and on the run from someone who he is terrified of. He has an important role in this prophecy especially once his lives intersect with Ephyra and Jude.

The ending leaves things open ended for all five of our characters and there are some crazy plot twists that left me reeling and I seriously need to know what will happen next!

April 2019 Monthly Wrap Up

Hey booknerds! April has been a month, I have been so busy over the Easter holidays with my family coming over and then I went to my parents for the week so I actually didn’t read as much as I had planned. I’ve also been feeling a little slumpy although I’m not sure if that is because I ended up reading several books this month that I didn’t enjoy.

I had planned on taking part in #ARCApril and #MagicalReadathon and I actually managed to get through several arcs but I didn’t finish all the prompts for the magical readathon unfortunately. Hopefully will finish them this month!

Anyways here are the books I read this month:

1 Obsidio by Jay Kristoff – I have been putting off reading this book for so long but I finally read it and it did not disappoint!

2 The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty – why yes I did reread this book and yes it did in fact destroy me, again. You can read my review here

3 Emiliy Eternal by M.G. Wheaton – my first disappointing read this month. I really wanted to like it but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me

4 The Rise of Winter by Alex Lyttle – a middle grade book which I really enjoyed reading! You can read my review here

5 The Extinction Trials Rebel by S.M. Wilson – I absolutely adore this trilogy! The last book was so good and I really hope we get to see more in this world

6 The Kingdom by Jess Rothernberg – ahh I really wanted to love this book but I just didn’t. I’m so disappointed.

7 My So Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma – a Bollywood style romance and I am so here for it! I loved this book!

8 Nocturna by Maya Motayne – I really enjoyed this book and the whole magic system and I love Finn! Can’t wait to continue the series

9 The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Lee Mackenzi – another book I was disappointed with. I had heard such amazing things and it just didn’t live up to expectations for me.

So these are the books I read this month. I haven’t had the greatest reading month but I’m hoping May will be much better! I didn’t quite manage to finish Nevernight or my reread of Six of Crows either.

I also reviewed these books on my blog in April:

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer – a favourite childhood book that I reread and I still completely love!

Ayesha Dean – The Seville Secret by Melati Lum – I love this series and it’s so amazing to see the main character be unapologetically Muslim!

I also wrote about attending an evening class by Yasmin Mogahed. You can read about it here

What books did you read in April? What do you plan on reading in May?

Top 10 Tuesday – (First Ten) Books I Reviewed

Hey booknerds! I’m taking part in another week of Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. You can find more information here

So this weeks topic is to share what books were the first books I reviewed. I cannot remember what books I reviewed first on Goodreads so I decided to share what books I reviewed first, here on my blog.

As I was looking back at them I realised just how much I’ve grown in the past year!

Especially as April makes it one year since I started my own blog! I’m really proud of how much I’ve progressed and accomplished in this past year.

So here are the very first books I reviewed on my blog:

1 The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – one of my favourite reads of 2017!

2 The Outcast by Taran Matharu – I love the Summoner books so was super excited when I won the arc!

3 The Ganga Shift by Mary Bernsen – One of the first books I received from a publisher for review

4 Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed – another book I received for review which I was super excited about as I love her books!

5 The Lines we Cross by Randa Abdel Fattah – I won this book in a giveaway and so glad I did as I loved it

6 She Wore Red Trainers by Naima B Robert – my favourite halal romance!

7 Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh – one of my most anticipated books last year!

8 Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed – one of the few books which actually made me cry

9 The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman – my first non-fiction review and actually made me realise I should post more reviews of the non-fiction books I read

10 Between the Sea and Stars by Chantal Gadoury – another book for review which I really enjoyed

So these are the first books I reviewed on my blog! I’ve also included the links to the reviews if you want to check them out.

Have you read any of these books? What books were the first you reviewed?