All the Books.

"Aleys believes she's meant to serve a higher purpose, that her life should be devoted to love and serve God. When her father offers her hand in marriage to a wealthy merchant, she gets her chance as she runs off to join the Franciscan brotherhood as a way to escape her fate. Little does she know that her service to God will take her places she probably never imagined."  ⭐⭐⭐ Pros:  The plot was complex and intricate enough to keep me reading/Marte was a great character, thoughtful but quiet, rarely letting on how much she notices or hears. Cons:  Aleys could be a bit overbearing and arrogant at times/The tension with Friar Lukas at the end was just cringe-worthy. Yes, it led to the insane conclusion but at the same time, parts of it were just gross and unnecessary.  Full Summary: Aleys has always loved the stories from her mother's Psalter. She doesn't understand the words but the images and teachings have always stayed with her. She knows she's meant for some...

"When Zelie, the daughter of a powerful Maji (person gifted with magical abilities) helps the princess Amari escape with a sacred magical artifact, in hand, it sets them on a dark, dangerous and deadly course with cataclysmic consequences."  ⭐⭐⭐ Pros:  Adeyemi is unflinching in her portrayal of an oppressed people and you truly feel for the Diviners and hope the Monarchy pays for its horrendous crimes.  Cons:  It wasn't until about halfway through that I felt the book hit its stride/Betrayal, forbidden love, enemies to lovers, this book had its moments where it was one cliche stacked upon another.   Full Review:   Orisha was once a land flowing with magic. The 10 tribes of Maji, people gifted with control of a certain aspect of Sky Mother's soul (power over earth, air, fire, water, metal, disease, time and even death) were immensely powerful. And of course, Saran, the King of Orisha, was terrified that all that power would turn against him. So, he had ...

"Like "Mary Poppins" only with books, Fay Revil and her magical Bookshop appear when you need it most. Luckily for Jo, Kye and Adelaide, they'll discover the Midnight Bookshop together and it will change their lives for the better. It was silly and cliche but sometimes a book that doesn't require too much thought is a nice change of pace."  ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ Pros: It was quaint and fun at times. Predictable but sometimes that's nice.  Cons: The solution to Adelaide’s problem was very convenient/The book coulld very easily have ended 50 pages sooner.   Full Review:  Jo, is in her early twenties, with well off parents and so, she's never really wanted for anything. Her Mother is obsessed with appearances and is always disappointed in her daughter, who's never amounted to much. She dropped out of University and spends most of her days reading, when not getting a cheap thrill from shop-lifting.  Kye is living with his sick mother and his drug-dealer brother., ...

​ "Kate Harker and August Flynn's dissonant notes collide to create a beautiful ending to this truly unique symphony by Schwab. It had a real Urbany Fantasy, "Romeo and Juliet" feel and in her seeminly effortless way, Schwab just made it work. This was definitely an interesting series."    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: August and Kate do have good chemistry/Ilsa is just a genuinely good soul/The ending kind of broke my heart but it worked.    Cons: Kate’s attitude can get a little tiresome, the whole, "I'm the only one who can do it"thing/The ending felt a bit rushed, like Schwab was running close to deadline.  Full Review:   ***Disclaimer***If you have not read This Savage Song   by Schwab, please do so and then come back and read this at your leisure. That way you'll know what I'm talking about 🙌.*** It's been six months since the harsh end of This Savage Song. Six months since   Kate and August went their separate ways .  Kate made her way to the t...

"Though dark, disturbing and at times, truly disgusting, Blakemore has created an unforgettable character in Tarare and his sad, sordid tale. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time for many different reasons and to me, that's a sign of a great read."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ Pros: Tarare wasn't a monster, it just seemed that the world was against him/I liked Lozeau and his strange band of misfits/Dr. Dupuis seemed like a genuinely good person, or at least, he had his moments.  Cons: Some of the timeline/people of the French Revolution were just white noise to me/Courville was a despicable man.  Full Review:  The Bottomless man, the Glutton of Lyon, Tarare the Terrible. The man who has many titles but who's name is simply, Tarare, is dying in a hospital in Versailles. Citizen Doctor Tissier has written to his friend, Dupuis, in hopes that he'll be able to cure this mysterious illness that plagues Tarare. For now though, he lays, chained to his bed and waits for...

"We're given an interesting glimpse into a day in the life of Bast, Kvothe's student, who also just happens to be Fae. Some of it makes sense, some of it doesn't but through it all Bast shows that though he's powerful, he also has a heart and in the end, will do the right thing."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: I do love Bast for the fact that he could easily kill all the people who come to him and yet he doesn’t. He has a heart, though he’s sly, dark and mysterious.  Cons : I’m curious as to what happened between Rike and Bast that created such animosity but the lack of an explanation didn’t take away from the book as a whole.   Full Review:  ***Disclaimer***If you have not read  The Name of the Wind  or  The Wise Man's Fear  by Patrick Rothfuss, please do so and then come back and read this at your leisure. That way you'll know what I'm talking about 🙌.*** Bast is sneaking out of the Waystone Inn early, for what purpose, we don't know but just before he ...