Hey there guys!
Yes, surprisingly enough, I'm back here to continue with a bit of a catch up on reviewing some of the books I've read so far in 2017! I will not be trying to catch up on all them, because they're many, and I don't want to kill the little motivation I have with trying to do too much!
Today I'm reviewing two highly awaited ARCs that I got approved for this year, to my surprise and delight!
A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
After adoring The Star Touched Queen I was sure I was going to equally love A Crown of Wishes, and when my "wish for it" was granted on Netgalley I was squealing and more than ready to dive into it straight away!
I knew I was going to love it, but I didn't expect it to love it even more than I did TSTQ! Right after finishing ACOW, I was ready to re-read it right away, and that's always the mark of an amazing book for me, because I don't want it to end and I don't want to leave its world!
A Crown of Wishes is a companion/sort of sequel to TSTQ and it shares the same amazing brilliant and lyrical writing, the same immersing descriptions and narrative and the same magical and threatening vibe throughout! It's a wondrous world you'd want to visit but once there you might not be entirely sure if it was such a good idea after all!
Roshani Chokshi always manages to ensorcell me with her words, makes me crave desi food like there's no tomorrow and makes me want to read more Indian/Hindu mythology books! I feel like rushing through the book to find out what comes next but slowing down at the same time to savour every word and description!
I was very happy when I heard that ACOW would be about Gauri because I adored her as Maya's spirited little sister in TSTQ and I simply loved who she had become in this book, strong and full of thorns and I loved her path to realize who she could be and how to became the person she really wanted to be. And I simply adored her interactions with Vikram, the Fox Prince, charming, cunning and entirely too irresistible if irritating at times!
They are to be allies to win the Tournament of Wishes and they don't entirely trust each other too much, although most of the resistance comes from Gauri. They do make quite a fantastic team and their banter is simply perfect! I love how they goad each other, how Vikram challenges Gauri and tries to get to know the fascinating and utterly dangerous girl better without getting himself killed in the process. Just thinking about these two I'm itching for a re-read already!
I just loved the beauty and danger of the tournament and their unexpected allies and enemies and how the different tasks of the Tournament challenge them to work together and to discover things about themselves and about each other.
Brilliantly written, full of magic, wonder and dread! Highly recommended!
The Broken Ones by Danielle L Jensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was so happy when Danielle announced that she was writing a prequel and it would be the story of Marc and Penelope!
I knew the story was heartbreaking but it also gives us so much insight about the characters we meet in the Malediction Trilogy and really helps us understand them better too!
Reading from both Marc and Penelope's POV was the perfect way to see their friendship and love emerge, even if they both thought it was one-sided in the beginning. I had wanted to know more about Penelope and not only reading about her story but having her POV was the best way to see how strong she was and how messed up her family really was. The power plays and the political intrigues more common than any sort of affection. Marc I had always liked as a character but in this book I got to love him even more. Torn between duty and his heart and trying to juggle what's right with what he wanted and see him struggle with the choices he had to make and see others make was so heartbreaking!
We meet and get to know Anäis as a different person that the girl she has become in Stolen Songbird, and her love for her sister and how she behaves and puts the cause and others before her own ambition made me see her in a very different way. Tristan we get to see from Penelope's eyes and from Mark's eyes and it's so clear how he presents himself to the world and how she has to hide his cause and what he wants to do. Tristan does have quite a bit of growing up to do in this book, and it really broke my heart how he treated Marc sometimes.
For some reason I expected the story to be centered about Marc and Penelope and had completely forgotten how very shrouded in power struggles and political manouvering everything was in Trollus, and how their story could not have been otherwise. The Duke of Angouleme and his power games with the King and how he tries to manipulate everything, how Tristan tries to hide his real self and real purpose, how Marc and Penelope struggle to find their own happiness within that maelstrom, it was all both fascinating and so very heartbreaking!
If you've read The Malediction trilogy, you really NEED to read this one and if you haven't read the trilogy yet, what are you waiting for??
View all my reviews
Yes, surprisingly enough, I'm back here to continue with a bit of a catch up on reviewing some of the books I've read so far in 2017! I will not be trying to catch up on all them, because they're many, and I don't want to kill the little motivation I have with trying to do too much!
Today I'm reviewing two highly awaited ARCs that I got approved for this year, to my surprise and delight!
A Crown of Wishes by Roshani ChokshiMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
After adoring The Star Touched Queen I was sure I was going to equally love A Crown of Wishes, and when my "wish for it" was granted on Netgalley I was squealing and more than ready to dive into it straight away!
I knew I was going to love it, but I didn't expect it to love it even more than I did TSTQ! Right after finishing ACOW, I was ready to re-read it right away, and that's always the mark of an amazing book for me, because I don't want it to end and I don't want to leave its world!
A Crown of Wishes is a companion/sort of sequel to TSTQ and it shares the same amazing brilliant and lyrical writing, the same immersing descriptions and narrative and the same magical and threatening vibe throughout! It's a wondrous world you'd want to visit but once there you might not be entirely sure if it was such a good idea after all!
Roshani Chokshi always manages to ensorcell me with her words, makes me crave desi food like there's no tomorrow and makes me want to read more Indian/Hindu mythology books! I feel like rushing through the book to find out what comes next but slowing down at the same time to savour every word and description!
I was very happy when I heard that ACOW would be about Gauri because I adored her as Maya's spirited little sister in TSTQ and I simply loved who she had become in this book, strong and full of thorns and I loved her path to realize who she could be and how to became the person she really wanted to be. And I simply adored her interactions with Vikram, the Fox Prince, charming, cunning and entirely too irresistible if irritating at times!
They are to be allies to win the Tournament of Wishes and they don't entirely trust each other too much, although most of the resistance comes from Gauri. They do make quite a fantastic team and their banter is simply perfect! I love how they goad each other, how Vikram challenges Gauri and tries to get to know the fascinating and utterly dangerous girl better without getting himself killed in the process. Just thinking about these two I'm itching for a re-read already!
I just loved the beauty and danger of the tournament and their unexpected allies and enemies and how the different tasks of the Tournament challenge them to work together and to discover things about themselves and about each other.
Brilliantly written, full of magic, wonder and dread! Highly recommended!
The Broken Ones by Danielle L JensenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was so happy when Danielle announced that she was writing a prequel and it would be the story of Marc and Penelope!
I knew the story was heartbreaking but it also gives us so much insight about the characters we meet in the Malediction Trilogy and really helps us understand them better too!
Reading from both Marc and Penelope's POV was the perfect way to see their friendship and love emerge, even if they both thought it was one-sided in the beginning. I had wanted to know more about Penelope and not only reading about her story but having her POV was the best way to see how strong she was and how messed up her family really was. The power plays and the political intrigues more common than any sort of affection. Marc I had always liked as a character but in this book I got to love him even more. Torn between duty and his heart and trying to juggle what's right with what he wanted and see him struggle with the choices he had to make and see others make was so heartbreaking!
We meet and get to know Anäis as a different person that the girl she has become in Stolen Songbird, and her love for her sister and how she behaves and puts the cause and others before her own ambition made me see her in a very different way. Tristan we get to see from Penelope's eyes and from Mark's eyes and it's so clear how he presents himself to the world and how she has to hide his cause and what he wants to do. Tristan does have quite a bit of growing up to do in this book, and it really broke my heart how he treated Marc sometimes.
For some reason I expected the story to be centered about Marc and Penelope and had completely forgotten how very shrouded in power struggles and political manouvering everything was in Trollus, and how their story could not have been otherwise. The Duke of Angouleme and his power games with the King and how he tries to manipulate everything, how Tristan tries to hide his real self and real purpose, how Marc and Penelope struggle to find their own happiness within that maelstrom, it was all both fascinating and so very heartbreaking!
If you've read The Malediction trilogy, you really NEED to read this one and if you haven't read the trilogy yet, what are you waiting for??
View all my reviews
I'm so scared to read The Broken Ones! I've no doubt it'll be great but my feels T.T
ReplyDeleteYou will need to prepare your feels indeed, Eileen dear!
DeleteYeah! I'm so glad you loved A Crown of Wishes. I definitely loved it too. I think I liked it more than The Star-Touched Queen.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, ACOW was so awesome!
DeleteHi Pili! *waves* It has been a long time since I've been over here and I am sorry for that. :O I'm so glad you loved both of these! ACOW was even better than TSTQ, for me. Have you read the novella, Death and Night? I loved it so much. =)
ReplyDeleteGreat reviews, lady! Have a wonderful week. =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Hiya dear! You really haven't missed much, my blogging has been rather erratic! Yep, I read Death and Night and boy, did I love their banter sooooo much!!
DeleteAwesome reviews Pili :) Glad you enjoyed them both a lot. <3 I still haven't read the first book by Roshani, but sooon :D I have them both; so excited for them. Thank you for sharing. <3
ReplyDeleteYessss I absolutely adored ACOW as well, I loved Gauri and Vikram so much and how they bickered with one another! Def one of my fav romantic tropes. I still need to read Stolen Songbird, it's been on my shelf forever!
ReplyDeleteSo A Crown Of Wishes is a companion book and not a sequel. I did not know that. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these books!
ReplyDelete