Hello there guys!!
I hope all you US peeps had a brilliant weekend with the 4th of July and the Women's World Cup win, and I hope that my fellow Europeans are surviving the bloody awful heat wave!
Today for Mark This Book Monday I have two mini reviews for two books that have been part of a very good reading binge, until I ended up with a massive book hangover last weekend. Both count towards my 105 Challenge, one as a 2015 Release and the other as Fantasy book! And since one of them is also a debut, it counts towards my 2015 Debut Author Challenge!
Burn by Paula Weston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is what a final book in a beloved series needs to be! And this is the perfect finale for this series, with the good and the bad and the fights and everything! 5 stars doesn't start to describe it properly!
Writing a proper review of this one is gonna be rather difficult, given how easily I might end up spoiling either this book or any of the previous 3, but given how the summary tells you the big ending of the previous book... Just trust me, start reading this series now!
Gaby has to be quite one of my favourite female characters with her flaws, her loyalty and her way of fighting what doesn't make sense and accepting things once they are proven. And I love that despite getting all the missing pieces, she still made herself anew!
We get quite a few twists and surprises when it comes to getting all the pending information, and trust me, we do get it in spades! Some of the twists are quite game changers for all the characters. Some unexpected alliances happen, and some moments of hilarity also unexpectedly happen!
The romance in this series is the most awesome mix of attraction/slow burn/complicated relationship that you can find, and even if we find out what happened in the past between Rafa and Gaby... it made me root for them both even more!! *happy sigh*
Another thing that I loved about this book is how important the relationship between siblings is, because Jude and Gaby and their relationship really is pivotal on everything that happens, the good and the bad. Splitting apart and getting back in touch... and you gotta love how even when choosing different sides, it is a great depiction of a familiar love!
And I don't want to fail to mention how much I loved that friendships are also very much important in this book. Between Rafa and Jude, Gaby and Maggie, and how those friends stand various tests, one of the biggest the revelation of not being human and fighting demons!
If you are a fan of angel books, you NEED to read this series. If, like me, you really aren't too keen on books about angels... you NEED to give this one a try, as I did!! Aussie angels are different mate! ;)
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! THE NEXT BOOK!!! I NEEEEEED IT!!!!!
*takes a deep breath*
Okay, now I feel like I can attempt to write a somewhat coherent review, now that a pair of days have passed and I still feel very strongly about the book but not as lost for words!
First of all, I haven't read 1001 Nights properly, but I do own a gorgeous edition of the books, and I've read quite a few of the stories as children's stories and know a bit about the general plot of the book.
That might have been for the best given how this one is a loose retelling, and although we get some stories told at night here too and those I was quite familiar with, we get more of the day to day of Shazi and Khalid and how their relationship changes in unexpected ways for them both.
The writing and descriptions are fantastic, lush and visual and I was completely immersed in the book! So much that I completely devoured it in a day! The clothes, the architecture... the FOOD!! I'm still craving Indian and Persian food after reading this book because so much amazing food!!
I loved Shazi as a character, she's loyal, she's fierce and her internal monologues where always very sincere. I love that she can be trying to achieve her goal and protect her family, but she finds herself learning more and her feelings change and she never really lies to herself.
Khalid is a more difficult character to relate at first, because we know so little about him, but we also know there's so much more about him, about the deaths and about his fight for his kingdom, and as Shazi discovers it, so do we. I feel like I fell for Khalid right beside Shazi!
Political intrigue, magic and love, this book has them in spades! Add to that a completely heartbreaking ending and you find yourself as I did, screaming for a sequel! A fantastic debut very much worthy of 5 stars!
View all my reviews
I hope all you US peeps had a brilliant weekend with the 4th of July and the Women's World Cup win, and I hope that my fellow Europeans are surviving the bloody awful heat wave!
Today for Mark This Book Monday I have two mini reviews for two books that have been part of a very good reading binge, until I ended up with a massive book hangover last weekend. Both count towards my 105 Challenge, one as a 2015 Release and the other as Fantasy book! And since one of them is also a debut, it counts towards my 2015 Debut Author Challenge!
Burn by Paula WestonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is what a final book in a beloved series needs to be! And this is the perfect finale for this series, with the good and the bad and the fights and everything! 5 stars doesn't start to describe it properly!
Writing a proper review of this one is gonna be rather difficult, given how easily I might end up spoiling either this book or any of the previous 3, but given how the summary tells you the big ending of the previous book... Just trust me, start reading this series now!
Gaby has to be quite one of my favourite female characters with her flaws, her loyalty and her way of fighting what doesn't make sense and accepting things once they are proven. And I love that despite getting all the missing pieces, she still made herself anew!
We get quite a few twists and surprises when it comes to getting all the pending information, and trust me, we do get it in spades! Some of the twists are quite game changers for all the characters. Some unexpected alliances happen, and some moments of hilarity also unexpectedly happen!
The romance in this series is the most awesome mix of attraction/slow burn/complicated relationship that you can find, and even if we find out what happened in the past between Rafa and Gaby... it made me root for them both even more!! *happy sigh*
Another thing that I loved about this book is how important the relationship between siblings is, because Jude and Gaby and their relationship really is pivotal on everything that happens, the good and the bad. Splitting apart and getting back in touch... and you gotta love how even when choosing different sides, it is a great depiction of a familiar love!
And I don't want to fail to mention how much I loved that friendships are also very much important in this book. Between Rafa and Jude, Gaby and Maggie, and how those friends stand various tests, one of the biggest the revelation of not being human and fighting demons!
If you are a fan of angel books, you NEED to read this series. If, like me, you really aren't too keen on books about angels... you NEED to give this one a try, as I did!! Aussie angels are different mate! ;)
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee AhdiehMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! THE NEXT BOOK!!! I NEEEEEED IT!!!!!
*takes a deep breath*
Okay, now I feel like I can attempt to write a somewhat coherent review, now that a pair of days have passed and I still feel very strongly about the book but not as lost for words!
First of all, I haven't read 1001 Nights properly, but I do own a gorgeous edition of the books, and I've read quite a few of the stories as children's stories and know a bit about the general plot of the book.
That might have been for the best given how this one is a loose retelling, and although we get some stories told at night here too and those I was quite familiar with, we get more of the day to day of Shazi and Khalid and how their relationship changes in unexpected ways for them both.
The writing and descriptions are fantastic, lush and visual and I was completely immersed in the book! So much that I completely devoured it in a day! The clothes, the architecture... the FOOD!! I'm still craving Indian and Persian food after reading this book because so much amazing food!!
I loved Shazi as a character, she's loyal, she's fierce and her internal monologues where always very sincere. I love that she can be trying to achieve her goal and protect her family, but she finds herself learning more and her feelings change and she never really lies to herself.
Khalid is a more difficult character to relate at first, because we know so little about him, but we also know there's so much more about him, about the deaths and about his fight for his kingdom, and as Shazi discovers it, so do we. I feel like I fell for Khalid right beside Shazi!
Political intrigue, magic and love, this book has them in spades! Add to that a completely heartbreaking ending and you find yourself as I did, screaming for a sequel! A fantastic debut very much worthy of 5 stars!
View all my reviews
