Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Published: March 6, 2018
Publisher: Henry Holt Company
Pages: 544
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy. 

This is a book that I bought as soon as it came out but for some reason, it took just shy of two years before I picked it up. I am ashamed that it has taken me so long but I’m so happy I have finally gotten to it. Tomi created a glorious tale that tackles current events in our world as she pieced her fantasy tale together. My heart was breaking left and right as I read though this first novel. I am shocked this was a debut novel but I am not surprised from all the wonderful things I had been hearing for this book. The magic system was so intriguing as well as the mythology created to go with the world.

Tomi Adeyemi created such a stunning piece of work that I was shocked to find out this was a debut novel. I knew she has never written a book before but with the way she weaved a story together made my heart feel otherwise. Tomi confused my heart in more ways than one. I would love and then quickly dislike a character before loving them once again. Each chapter that lead me closer to the ending squeezed my heart more and more. Zélie is a character who is flawed yet still so agreeable. I loved her and her friendships as well as her relationship with her family.

While this is easily a five star novel, there was one thing I wish I had more of. The magic system was created from scratch and I love created mythology and magic systems. There are the tables to help explain the system as where it came from but I was still left wanting more stories and more magic development. I wanted more of the world created but knowing this was the first book in a trilogy, I am going to get more of the mythology and more of the magic system.

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
Publication Date: April 11, 2017
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance,
Pages: 337
Rating: ★★★★★

“Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.
Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back. 
There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?”

The thing about this book is, I see too much of myself in it. Molly is basically me while I was in high school and even in college. I was ready to DNF this book because it was causing me some serious issues and even caused me to have a depression episode for a few hours. That being said, I loved this book so, SO much.

What I loved most about Molly, besides the fact that she is me, 10 years ago (oh god, I’m old) is that she has moments where she stands up for herself. I never did that when I was in high school. People would talk shit about me and my size and I would just shrink away, not saying anything. This would include family, much like Molly’s twin Cassie and their grandmother.

I do wish there had been some trigger warnings for this book. Molly is the victim of fat shaming and and also suffers from anxiety because of it. Had I been prepared, I feel like my own issues would not have come to the surface as harshly or unexpectedly. I have never had a book effect me the way this one did. I even told Chelsea I was having a hard time with it messing with my brain.

All that being said, I loved this book. I loved it so much it might becoming one of my favorite books of all time because I am finally seeing myself in a character and relating to her on such a level I did not think possible. If you have not read this book, please do yourself the favor and pick it up.

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Publication Date: May 14, 2019
Publisher: Griffin
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, New Adult
Pages: 423
Rating: ★★★★☆

“A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…
First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.
The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him. 
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?”

This book had something I didn’t know I was looking for at the time. Humor. I listened to this book on audio while I was with my mother after she had her knee replacement surgery. It was a week full of no sleep and high anxiety for me. While I would lay in bed unable to sleep because I would open my eyes at every sound thinking she had gotten up, I would just put this audiobook on and giggle to myself while my mom slept through the night.

The characters are incredibly easy to relate to as well. Ellen, the female president and mother of Alex, brought a realness that made me think of my own mother. The relationship Alex had with his sister made me think of my relationship with my brother. We’re siblings but we’re also best friends and it was nice to be able to see a dynamic sibling duo like that. Henry was everything, just total swoon worthy prince.

Another thing that I loved about this book was how real Alex was. I mentioned before that it is very easy to relate to the characters and to kid of see yourself in them. As someone who just came out as bi-sexual, Alex struggling to find out if he was attracted to women or men or both, was something I battled while I was younger. Like I said, all of the characters in this book are relatable in one way or another.

While I did only rate the book at a 4.5 stars, there was nothing really wrong with the novel. I enjoyed it and if given the chance, it is a book I would read again and I am sure I would enjoy it just the same. I think because I listened to it instead of physically read it, there was just something missing for me. That is just my experience. I want you to read the book to find out how you feel about it yourself!

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Publication Date: June 4, 2019
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre/Subject: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 456
Rating: ★★★★★

“All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.”

I started this book mid-July (07.18) because I was between audiobooks and Chelsea reminded me that we had this out on loan from a library. When we had one day left, she ended up getting it on Audible and that is how I finished it, earlier this month (08.6). This is the first book I read by Rogerson and while I can’t say she is an author I will add to my auto-buy author list, I do want to read the books she publishes. This book had all kinds of drama, romance, and a magic system that I kind of loved!

The magic system is tied to sorcerers who give up decades of their lives to higher ranking demons in order to wield magic. There are grimoires that hold magic for specific subjects (necromancy, elements). I found this very intriguing and I wanted to learn a little more! There are also colors that deal with the types of magic the sorcerers wield. I wanted more of that too, mostly I wanted the explanation for what it means.

The book is very fast paced and I felt myself instantly drawn in from the first page. It might have been because I was listening to the book on audio but the atmosphere was incredible. The atmosphere led to me loving the characters, especially the main character Elisabeth. She ends up questioning everything she has ever known but comes out stronger with a mission. I loved that about her.

The only issue I had with the book was the ending and while I have not read her previous work, the books by Margaret Rogerson will make me feel like the same. The ending of this book left me wanting closure and left me with a couple of questions. I figured since there was no #1 listed with the book, this was the ending of the story for Elisabeth and her life after the acts of sabotage. I just closed this book at the end wanting something else, I wanted closure.

Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1) by Kat Cho
Publication Date: June 25th 2019
Publisher:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Genre|Subject: Young Adult/Fantasy/Romance
Pages: 429
Rating: ★★★★★

“Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret–she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt. But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process. Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl–he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to humans. He’s drawn to her anyway. With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s.

I started this book on July 31st on audio during the drive home with Chelsea from Atlanta. We managed to get about 53% of the way through before I got dropped off. I finished the book on August 4th and it was an instant Five Stars for me. There was something about this story that just took me and ran. I think it was the fact that there was Korean mythology that made my heart so happy.

Like I mentioned, I was instantly drawn into the story and the urban fantasy that Kat created. I am a huge fan of the urban aspect because it takes place in Seoul, South Korea. The cool thing about the book it that there is a glossary for the Korean vocabulary used in the book. I loved that there while the book is written in English, there were Korean words added to the conversations in order to remind me that the atmosphere is Korean.

With how fully I was pulled into the world, I was not shocked that my heart hurt with the characters. That I smiled with happiness for them. I loved Miyoung and Jihoon so much that I rooted for them from the first meeting. I really fell for Miyoung as a character because I related to wanting to please your mother regardless the situation. I gasps at the twists and turns then felt my heartbeat quicken until a resolution was met.

When the book came to an end, I knew if I could, this would be a 6/5 star rating because I needed book two instantly. I still feel that way while writing this review three days later. I am very happy that this is going to have another book. Kat Cho became an author that I will follow for a long, long time.

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Publication Date: March 8, 2016
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre/Subject: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal
Pages: 688
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

“The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.
It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.
Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions.
Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?”

I first started this book in 2016 after it came out because I had just finished The Mortal Instruments and was still knee deep in my obsession with the series and the Shadowhunter world. What I did not expect was to hate Emma the first time meeting her. So, I got 90 pages in and stopped. I was not in the mood for her or her attitude.

Coming back to it now that the trilogy is complete and having finished it on audio, I can say, I hate Emma a little less. While she is still arrogant and annoying, she is a little more tolerable. I did however fall head over heels in love with the Blackthorn family. Julian has been the acting head of their household and the love he has for those children broke my heart, but in a good way.

My main issue with this book is, it was too long. I usually have no issues with the length of Cassie’s books but I feel like this was about 100 pages too long. The beginning was incredibly slow, even in audiobook form. Then I got about 250 pages in and I found myself avoiding the book entirely. Things really started to pick up around the 400 page mark when the ball actually started rolling on the plot and things were happening.

I understand the desire for world building and expanding since this is a new group of characters and a new Institute but having come from the previous books and knowing how the Shadowhunter world works, it just seemed redundant. That being said, the addition to this world and the new information we were given was very interesting and I am curious to see how the rest of this new trilogy goes.