Month: May 2021

ARC REVIEW: The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Francesca Lucy2 Comments

*Thank you to Orbit for gifting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

It’s nearly the end of the month and I should probably be posting a monthly wrap-up BUT this month was a somewhat… small reading month. Instead of reading ten books like last month, I read the grand total of three (and, honestly, one was just okay and another was just plain bad).

Because of this very tiny reading month though, it’s with great confidence that I can say that The Bone Shard Daughter is the best book I read in May. So, instead of a wrap-up, here’s my review:

The Bone Shard Daughter tells a lot of intertwined stories, but primarily follows Lin, the Emperor’s daughter, as she tries to unravel her family’s secrets and face her father’s declining rule. She’s unhappy with her life in the palace and desperate to discover what her father is hiding behind all of his closed doors, but the more truths she uncovers, the more complicated everything suddenly seems.

Meanwhile, revolution is stirring across all of the Emperor’s isles, and Jovis- the nation’s most renowned smuggler- and Phalue – the daughter of one of the isle’s governors – find themselves becoming dangerously wrapped up in it.

What combines these stories is a fascinating and intricate narrative of magic, revolution and a hunger for power and justice.

This book is dark, magical and incredibly well written. For the first few chapters, as more and more perspectives were being introduced, I did find myself quite confused as to what tied all of the stories together and, honestly, who I should be rooting for, but the more sucked into this story I got, the more captivated I was by every single chapter. Jovis and Mephi were probably my favourite characters in this story, but I adored Lin’s chapters as well, especially as her story got progressively darker and much more dangerous.

The bone shard system and magic in general within this book is unlike anything I’ve read before, and it was so fascinating to discover everything as Lin, Jovis, Phalue, Ranami and Sand did. It was also so unique to see perspectives of all sides and how they tied together, including inside the palace, at a local governing level, and deep inside the rebellion’s HQ.

I was really intimidated by this book at first so it took me longer to fall in love with it than I thought it would but, by halfway, I was completely hooked. There were moments that broke my heart, moments that made me terrified for what was coming next, and plot twists that I absolutely did not see coming. I’m desperately awaiting book two and can’t wait to see how much darker and more intertwined all of these stories can get.

Rating: 4/5

ARC REVIEW: Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim

Francesca Lucy1 Comment

If you follow me on Twitter (@rarelyinreality, come say hi!), you’ll probably know that I am obsessed with the Blood of Stars duology by Elizabeth Lim (and that I just ordered the Fairyloot special editions and could cry at how beautiful they are).

I talk about this series all the time but only just realised I never shared my review of Unravel the Dusk so… here we are.

As with book one, THANK YOU to Hodder for the eARC!!

Unravel the Dusk follows Maia, the newly-appointed Imperial Tailor, as she struggles to cope with the raging war, her recent sacrifices and all of the traumatic events that she suffered in Spin the Dawn. She finds herself on a new mission, this time without the help of her Enchanter, to help end the war before she loses herself to the magic that is overtaking her.

Spin the Dawn is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I’m so glad that I found myself as completely blown away by its sequel. Unravel the Dusk is much less of an adventure-based story than its predecessor, but the action is infinitely more dramatic. Maia’s inner turmoil and physical struggle with herself make up a large part of the book, but these slightly more reflective scenes were balanced really well by the scenes of war, the intense battles and some incredibly dramatic sacrifices towards the end.

My favourite thing about this book was definitely the character growth. Maia’s strength by the end of the story is incredible and it was so fascinating to see her develop from the brave-but-wary tailor at the beginning of Spin the Dawn to the powerful and motivational leader that she finally becomes. In much of book one, Maia is completely reliant on Edan and his magic, so seeing her grow on her own is both fascinating and empowering.

Lady Sarnai’s growth was equally incredible and she went from a character that I liked but didn’t love to one of my favourite characters in the entire duology. It was wonderful to see her also develop her own identity and fight for what she believed in, rather than following the people she had always been forced to listen to.

Reading Spin the Dawn is an absolute must before reading this book, but I cannot recommend the duology as a whole highly enough. It’s magical, beautifully written and completely gripping, and I will absolutely be buying everything I can get my hands on by Elizabeth Lim going forwards.

Rating: 5/5

The *beyond* beautiful paperback edition of this book publishes on June 1st 🙂

ARC REVIEW: Things To Do Before the End of the World by Emily Barr

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Things to Do Before the End of the World follows Olivia, an introverted seventeen year old girl who, along with everyone else on the planet, has just discovered that she has less than a year to live. The world is ending and she realises quite suddenly that she has absolutely not been living life to the fullest.

When a long-lost cousin shows up and takes over the task of getting Olivia out of her shell by sweeping her through Europe and teaching her to perform street tricks, Olivia finds herself becoming an entirely new person. But the longer she spends with Natasha, the harder it is to figure her out.

What started as somewhat of a contemporary about a young girl changing her life for the better turned quickly into a page-turning thriller about revenge, mistrust and, as expected from the title, the impending end of the world. Olivia was a somewhat naïve girl who, in trying to become more outgoing, found herself completely wrapped up in a potentially-final summer that she absolutely didn’t sign up for, and it was fascinating to see her react to her situation in exactly the way a somewhat amenable but intelligent teenager might.

Natasha was a fascinating character, and my opinions about her changed back and forth so rapidly that I spent the majority of the book completely confused as to how I should feel about her. There was a side of this to most characters in this book, including Olivia’s mother even, so I was completely hooked and desperate to find out who to trust the entire way through.

It was hard to figure out where this book was going but the ending did not disappoint. Although I found some of the recapping and discussion towards the end slightly unnecessary, I was so shocked by some of the twists that the book didn’t lose its page-turning quality for a second, and I felt that the story was wrapped up and explained fairly tidily when everything was finally revealed.

This was a really fun, unputdownable story that combined the excitement of a coming-of-age contemporary with the suspense of a thriller. It was fast-paced and completely unpredictable and, if you’re looking for a book to devour in one go or a thriller to get hooked on, I would absolutely recommend it.

Rating: 4/5

*Thank you to Penguin Random House for gifting me an eARC of this book in exchange for a review*

ARC REVIEW: From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn

Francesca Lucy2 Comments

First of all, thank you thank you thank you to Sam Bonner at Penguin Random House for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I’ve been anticipating this book forever so cannot express how excited I was when I received it in the post…

From Little Tokyo, With Love tells the story of Rika, a Japanese-American teenage girl with a love for martial arts and a slight anger management problem, as she embarks on a journey to find her long-lost mother with the unlikely help of celebrity sweetheart, Henry Chen. What starts off as a mutually beneficial adventure shared between two near-strangers develops quickly into a companionable search for their own identities and where they truly belong.

This book was easily one of the best contemporaries I’ve read this year. It was sweet, romantic and heartfelt, with a meaningful message about how it’s not all that important to fit in and an exciting quest to top it all off.

In terms of characters, Rika definitely gave off a slight I’m-not-like-other-girls vibe at first with her hatred of all things girly and all things Disney, but instead of this being a fault, I found her to be a completely believable and unique protagonist. I loved her sisters as well, particularly the adorable young Rory, and Henry was the ideal YA love interest with his popular, beautiful persona, and his sweet, uncertain heart.

The story was definitely a little cliché at times (as can only be expected from any kind of fairytale), but I foresaw this going into it and can easily say that, if you’re looking for a cute and swoony read with a little bit of insta-love, you have come to the right place with this book. What makes it unique, though, is that it’s also an important and overdue modern fairytale-retelling about how you don’t always have to be a typical princess to get your happily ever after, and how being a little different (and, more specifically, a little temperamental and obsessed with monsters) isn’t something to be ashamed of.

This book is a great combination of cutesy and serious, and I honestly loved it. It tackles some very important and not-often-discussed-in-YA social issues – including racism within both Asian-American communities and Hollywood – whilst also being a sweet and charming adventure. I would absolutely recommend this if you’re looking for an easy, romantic read that’s a little more serious than usual, but that still hits those YA contemporary tropes that we all know and love.

Rating: 4/5

From Little Tokyo, With Love publishes today! (May 11th)

April Wrap-Up

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Happy May! I have high hopes for this month because, once again, I surprised myself and had a really good reading month in April. I’m really happy with my progress on my GR challenge (30/50 so far!) and I’m crossing my fingers that I can keep going at this rate…

Anyway, here’s a wrap up of the honestly-amazing books that I read in April:

You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao – When I saw that this book was available as ‘Read Now’ on NetGalley, after obsessing over the cover since it was first announced, I knew that I needed to read this asap. It’s a very emotional, very sweet book about dealing with grief and learning to move on, and I really enjoyed it. 4/5

The Block by Ben Oliver– My review for this is right here. I loved loved loved this book and all of its creepy, dystopian elements. I’ve been looking for some old-school YA dystopia (think The Maze Runner and The Fifth Wave) and this was definitely it. 5/5

Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim– If you’ve read my Spin the Dawn review (right here), you’ll know that I fell in love with Elizabeth Lim’s writing as soon as I started it, and this sequel absolutely did not let me down. It was magical and unique and I am obsessed. 5/5

Things to Do Before the End of the World by Emily Barr – I’d already read a contemporary, a dystopia and a fantasy book in April, so for my fourth book of the month, I picked a thriller. This was a fun, unputdownable book that took place across Europe and gave me definite holiday envy, about what people do when the world is about to end. I didn’t connect hugely with the characters but it was exciting and unpredictable for sure. 3.5/5

We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman – New. Book. By. Gayle. Forman! I’ve loved so many Gayle Forman books in the past that I knew I had to read this one immediately. It’s a sweet story about young love, coping with trauma and, most importantly, saving a bookshop. It was very clever and very much Gayle Forman’s style so, if you’ve liked her other books, you’ll likely enjoy this one too. 4/5

The Forest of Stars by Heather Kassner – My review for this one is right here. I don’t read a lot of middle-grade books but this one was a mystery about a carnival that I knew I had to read. It’s perfect for its target audience but, honestly, I loved it as an adult too and would absolutely recommend. 5/5

Dear Azula, I Have a Crush on Danny Phantom by Azura Tyabji and Jackson Neal – I kind of requested this poetry collection on a whim as soon as I saw Azula in the title. I don’t read a lot of poetry so don’t have a huge amount to compare it to, but it was a fun, nostalgic and very short read. 3/5

From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn– When my copy of this book got delivered, I legitimately screamed. I’ll be posting a review soon, but it was a really fun book about fitting in, learning to love yourself and community spirit, with the added bonus of an adorable relationship, and I really enjoyed it. 4.5/5

Up All Night by Laura Silverman– the group of authors that wrote this book is incredible. It’s a series of short stories by some of the best YA contemporary, fantasy and thriller writers of the last few years, and it was another completely unputdownable book. It contained thirteen stories that I got through in a day, and it was such a varied collection that I wasn’t bored for a moment. 4.5/5

And that’s it! I’d love to hear what your favourite read of the month was and add it to my ever-growing TBR, so please drop a comment if you have any exciting recommendations 🙂