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.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo – Book Review

After my reread of Six of Crows I just had to read Crooked Kingdom and even though I knew what happens I was still not ready for that ending. This duology is one of my all time favourite books!

You can read my review of Six of Crows here

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Kaz Brekker and his crew of deadly outcasts have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives.

Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties.

A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets – a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.

It’s no secret that I adore everything that Leigh Bardugo writes and of course this book did not disappoint. This was a reread via audiobook and I highly recommend listening as it’s a full cast and amazing!

This book starts where Six of Crows ends and it’s set entirely in Ketterdam unlike Six of Crows where they travel to Fjerda and back. So this story is a little different but no less enthralling and action packed. As usual the characters are absolutely wonderful and I love seeing their character development. I also loved seeing cameos by some of my favourite characters from the Grisha trilogy!

Once again I was completely enthralled by the story and the characters. The banter between the characters is my favourite thing ever! They always seem so much older because of what they’ve been through but then they squabble and fight and sass each other just like your regular teen and it would just remind you how young they really are.

The development of my ships was another thing I absolutely loved! The angst and the slow burn between them and how each couple is so different from the others and each go through their own journey and together as a couple and then on another growth in their gang together. Leigh had their character developments in all different areas of their life and did it so well.

My favourite ship is of course Kaz and Inej. The slow burn between them and their own hardships and barriers they’ve built that makes it hard for them to even admit their feelings for each other. It just killed me! But I really love how Leigh handles Kaz’s PTSD. He cannot touch people and I loved that he wasn’t “magically cured” because he wanted to be with Inej. He struggled with it, it prevented him from being able to be close to Inej and it felt so much more real.

This story is quite different from Six of Crows as it isn’t just one quest that they go on throughout the book. They have to make multiple plans and deal with lots of different groups of people. It was absolutely amazing to see how their plans came together. This book will take you on a wild ride!

The ending of this book is so satisfying in so many ways but will also break your heart and drag it through the mud and run it over with a truck. I first read this book in 2016 and I have never gotten over a particular thing that happens at the end. They had so much potential and it was ripped away from them. BRB going to go cry.

Anyways I highly recommend you go read this duology and all the Grishaverse books because they are amazing! I absolutely love all the grisha books but this duology will forever be my favourite!

My YALC Experience – Part 2

So in my previous post about YALC I wrote about the issues I had with the event, which you can read here. But this post will be all about my favourite parts of YALC!

Of course some of my highlights include just generally nerding out with my sisters and the others who were there because we all shared a love for books! I bumped into a few people I know through bookstagram and it was lovely to finally meet them but it was so crowded that even though I knew some others were there I literally could not find them all day! Hopefully I will get to meet them another time.

My favourite day was definitely Friday as I got to meet some of my absolute favourite authors! The reason why I actually decided to book the tickets so I could finally meet them.

Renee Ahdieh: I had to get front row seats to her panel and then of course was ridiculously excited to meet her! I have been waiting for absolutely forever for her to come to the UK so I could not miss this opportunity. She is absolutely lovely and I really hope I get to meet her again! I was also seriously fangirling when I gave her a painted book of TWATD and she loved it and gave me a hug!

Eoin Colfer: He is one of my favourite childhood authors and I never thought I would actually get to meet him. I also gave him a painted book and then I had the most surreal moment where he asked me to sign it for him. *dies* He was so funny and me and my sisters had a great chat with him while getting our books signed.

    

Yasmin Rahman: I also met Yasmin on Friday after chatting to her on twitter and absolutely loving her book. I finally had a book that dealt with mental health but also from the perspective of a Muslim girl. It was also amazing to see an author who looked like me there. Seriously I cannot explain how much it means to me. She is so lovely and funny and I hope I get to meet her again!

I also went down to comiccon in search of Cake in a Jar and it was so worth it! Her cakes are delicious!

Then on Saturday I met another two authors that I love!

Vic James: Talking to Vic James was amazing! I love all of her books and I loved talking to her about Sanctuary as it was so relatable and the parallels to the real world were pretty terrifying. I could have honestly talked to her for ages.

Alwyn Hamilton: It’s no secret that I love the Rebel trilogy and when she said she would be at YALC to have an exclusive event for her new book I just had to be there! Discussing theories with her and now I am absolutely dying for her new book!

   

I wasn’t too fussed about winning ARCs when I went but I really wanted to win The Fowl Twins ARC or Kingdom of Souls ARC and on Friday I actually won The Fowl Twins and I literally could not contain my excitement! I am so ready to be back in the world of Artemis Fowl!

Lastly I want to add that I loved meeting Bex Hogan at the BKMRK stand and talking to her about how much I loved Viper! And I spent ages at the Harper Voyager stand talking to them about my love for The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty.

So I did have a good time overall and I am especially glad that I got to meet some of my favourite authors and attend some really great panels.

Queen of Ruin by Tracy Banghart – ARC Review

Thank you to Hachette Children’s Group and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Grace and Fury was one of my top reads last year so I have been eagerly awaiting the sequel and it did not disappoint! Queen of Ruin is just as amazing as Grace and Fury! Tracy Banghart has now become an auto-buy author for me!

If you haven’t read Grace and Fury I highly recommend it! You can read my review of Grace and Fury here.

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Banished by Asa at the end of Grace and Fury, Nomi and Malachi find themselves powerless and headed towards their all-but-certain deaths. Now that Asa sits on the throne, he will stop at nothing to make sure Malachi never sets foot in the palace again. Their only hope is to find Nomi’s sister, Serina, on the prison island of Mount Ruin. But when Nomi and Malachi arrive, it is not the island of conquered, broken women that they expected. It is an island in the grip of revolution, and Serina–polite, submissive Serina–is its leader.

Betrayal, grief, and violence have changed both sisters, and the women of Mount Ruin have their sights set on revenge beyond the confines of their island prison. They plan to sweep across the entire kingdom, issuing in a new age of freedom for all. But first they’ll have to get rid of Asa, and only Nomi knows how.

Separated once again, this time by choice, Nomi and Serina must forge their own paths as they aim to tear down the world they know, and build something better in its place.

Guys! This book had me up reading ALL NIGHT! As in I started it at 11pm thinking oh I will read for a little while and suddenly it’s 6am and I’ve finished the entire book! If that doesn’t tell you how much I adored it then I don’t know what will.

Serina and Nomi are so amazing though I do love Serina a little more. They both went through such a huge change in their lives and an unexpected one at that. Yet they handle it so well, they have such great character development and their relationship is tested again and again yet they come out stronger each time. The story is very much driven by the choices the sisters make and it really focuses on them two, rather than following lots of others around.

It’s safe to say that I loved the female empowerment in this book and in the duology, I loved how different ways to be empowered are shown, how different women were empowered in different ways and the things they did differed yet still was an act of rebellion which they were punished for. I loved seeing the women supporting each other, being their for each other and being able to rely on each other. It’s so nice to see rather than women being pitted against each other we see a lot in YA books.

I really like how it ended too, it wasn’t a perfect happily ever after, there was lives lost and compromises made to ensure that things will change for the better. It was a new beginning rather than a happy ending. Though I would have liked to see a bit more in how the changes that were spoken about at the end would be implemented especially dealing with the hostility that they will no doubt face from men and especially other men in power.

I also really liked seeing how men can be ally’s and actually support women without it diminishing them in the least bit. We see them actually supporting Nomi, Serina and the other women and not just being all talk. They also didn’t expect to be praised or put on a pedestal just because they supported the women. They just did what needed to be done.

I think one the things I would have liked to see more of is more development of Malachi and Asa, we barely see Asa in this book and although Malachi does want things to change for women I wished we could have seen more of him and his character development. I also would love to see more of the world, other places are mentioned in the book but we only g et glimpses so I would love to see what it is like for women living in these places and whether it’s much different for them.

I think what I’m getting at is that I want another book! A duology just isn’t long enough for me and I just want to spend more time in this world and with Nomi and Serina and see them be the badasses they are and change things for the better!

So if I haven’t said it enough, I really loved this book and the duology as a whole and I highly recommend you read it!

The Chosen by Taran Marathu – ARC Review

Thank you to Hodder Children’s Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having loved the Summoner books by Taran Matharu I was so excited when he announced his new series The Contender especially as it was set in a world with dinosaurs! And this book did not disappoint!

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Throughout history, people have vanished with no explanation. A group of teenagers are about to discover why.

Cade is settling into a new boarding school, contemplating his future, when he finds himself transported to another realm. He soon discovers their new world is populated with lost remnants from the past: prehistoric creatures, ancient relics, and stranger still — people. Overwhelmed by his new surroundings, Cade has little time to adjust, for soon he and his fellow classmates are forced to become contenders in a brutal game, controlled by mysterious overlords.

But who are these beings and why did they choose these teens? Cade must prepare for battle . . . because hiding is not an option.

The Chosen opens with Cade already in this alternate world faced with a creature he’s never seen before so right from the beginning we’re thrown into the action. I really liked that as it made me even more intrigued about the story and how Cade ended up there.

We get the backstory of Cade and his classmates throughout the book through Cade so we slowly get an idea of why the characters behave the way they do with each other. It was interesting to see the dynamics between them all and how they had to try and get a long because of the situation they were in. They have conflicts and don’t always agree on things but I wish we had gotten to see more of that in the story.

The story is fast paced and lots happen throughout the book. They have to face dinosaurs and lots of other creatures. I really loved how immersive it was and how he weaved real history and fiction together, the history nerd in me totally loved all mentions of historical facts! The history is actually an important aspect of the story too and one of the reasons that Cade is chosen to be taken to this world.

I really liked Cade and how he thinks before taking action, it’s unusual for a teenage boy to think before he barrels into things so that was nice to see. I really liked seeing the own voices rep as Cade is half Indian and how his culture and family dynamics are. We also see the racism and discrimination he receives from some of the other boys because of it. He is looked down upon because of his lower social class and everyone assumes he is guilt because of how he looks and that he isn’t rich. I liked that he does battle with these emotions and how it makes him feel despite being a top student his opportunities are taken from him. I really hope we get to see more own voices rep in books.

Another character I really liked was Quintus, who Cade meets in this world, he helps Cade and the others and even teaches them how to use some weapons. He has hearing difficulties and we see how he is unable to communicate with others and how that makes him feel isolated and lonely. Cade also meets a group of teenage girls while on this world and they also help him and I loved seeing them flip stereotypes that girls aren’t as capable as boys.

Throughout the whole story we are left to wonder why Cade and the others have been sent to this world. There is a lot of intrigue and mystery and it made me want to read just one more chapter. The ending of the book was so intense and kept me on the edge of my feet. They have to face these terrifying creatures and there are some things that happen that I was not expecting at all which left me reeling. We only get an idea of why Cade has been sent to this world right at the end which of course is then left on a cliffhanger and I just want to know what will happen next!

This book is full of action and intrigue and unlike any other book I’ve read. If you love dinosaurs and history then I highly recommend you pick up The Chosen! I am already dying to know what will happen in the next book!