Book Review: Die with the Outlaws (a Matt Jensen, The Last Mountain Man novel) by William A. Johnstone

Die with the Outlaws by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

CW: Lynching

No gun. No horse. No water or food.

That is how this western started, when our last Mountain Man, Matt Jensen, woke up. He was in the desert when he did, and he started to remember that he was helping a couple who was targeted by some horse rustlers, thieves-basically the first thing I thought of when the “bad guys” appeared in this novel was “oh no, here come the republicans” (have no idea why I thought that.) But as I read on and saw how they did what they did to their competitors, I was wholly shocked as hell. Like WTF??? You lynched a couple and falsely accuse them of stealing some cows that wandered over to their farm, using the paper to put out a false story about the couple that got married a couple weeks ago and was living happily.

And don’t get me started on the judge that O’Neil and Kennedy was bribing to let the ones that did the damn lynching go. That pissed me off to high heaven when they did that because the judge was letting them off scott free. And then the worst thing they can do was hire someone called the Undertaker, to try and take out Matt, only to turn around and have Matt kill him.

This is gonna be my shortest (and last) read/review of 2020, so I’ll say that I did enjoy it, but I just didn’t like the lynching part of it, it just made me mad.

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Book Review: The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

CW: Mention of Rape

“I will sign my name Margaret Regina...Margaret R….”

So I have no problems with Margaret Beaufort. None at all. She’s ambitious, God-fearing woman who reminds me of my auntie and my late grandmama, She wants her son on the throne since she gave birth to him at age thirteen (WHICH, in my eyes, was totally wrong because at age 12 she was married off and then repeatedly raped by her dumbass husband, then nearly died giving birth to her son Henry).

But that line when she imagines writing her name as Margaret Regina just irked the hell out of me. For one, she would be the queen mother to the King of England, which is her son. Two, yes she served three queens without question-Margaret of Anjou, Queen Elizabeth Woodville, and Queen Anne Neville before she finally got to her position. I almost got irritated for a moment when she kept comparing herself to Joan of Arc, but I let it go because I then found it pretty damned weird for her to compare herself to a young woman who heard the voice of God and let an army to defend France, only to die on the stake (which is also fucked up).

But Margaret did everything she could to get her son on the throne, even though he was far away from her to do anything about it-he was sent around a couple homes while she married three-four times if we count her first husband, John de la Pole. But then came the War of the Roses and how Margaret tried everything she could to push her husband to war, only he didn’t want to. And she was jealous of Queen Elizabeth because she could give birth to many children, including her sons that would be the Princes of the Tower, then she tried to help her get her throne back, only for Elizabeth to did what she did in the White Queen.

And I don’t think Margaret had her hand in the fabled Prince in the Tower mystery, because I don’t think she would pull off something like that. And then my nemesis, the man that helped me pass my class, Richard III was there (in which I said Ah shit, here we go again), but at the end of the fight I did read how he actually die (or Philippa Gregory’s version of his death) and I did heave a big sigh of relief because Richard III got on my last damned nerves and I was glad that he died (like I wanted to celebrate how angry he made me this year, but then I decided not to).

Elizabeth of York was in this for like a hot second when she stayed at Margaret’s house for a while, and to me she was the perfect houseguest-doing everything she was supposed to do she did it without no fuss. But I actually enjoyed this book, though I did read that Philippa Gregory had some kind of grudge against Margaret Beaufort, though I have no idea why because I find Margaret quite interesting and I want to read more about her.

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Book Review: Gideon the Ninth (Locked Tomb #1) by Tamsyn Muir

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the myriadic year of our Lord-the ten thousandth year of the King Undying, the kindly Prince of Death!-Gideon Nav packed up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and she escaped from the House of the Ninth.

With just that opening sentence, Gideon the Ninth rocked and rolled, and it never stopped. This book was so damned good, that I didn’t even know that it could be a fantasy, even though it’s set in space. And oh my god I loved the setting of this story. First part started in Ninth House, where our title character, Gideon, is trying to escape the House of the Ninth, but she did leave Ninth House...but not in the way she wanted it to.

Gideon left Ninth House with her worst enemy, Harrowhark Nonagesimus, to be her cavalier. Now these two girls hate each other (well, actually Gideon hates Harrowhark), and they leave to go on a trial with the other houses to become the next Lyctor. In order for her to do that, they both had to train and cover their faces in black and white paint, that in the beginning Harrow told Gideon (or Griddle, as she called her), not to speak to anyone.

But as the story goes on, you meet more people, like Magnus and Amelia, and Dulcinea Sepimus and Jeannemary Chatur, until everyone. Starts. Dying. Mysteriously.

This then turns into a trial and a mystery a bit as the girls find out who is killing whom, until Gideon finds the head of the fourth house I think, in Harrow’s closet. She thinks of betraying Harrow, going to Palmedes to talk about it, even confessing that she killed Harrow’s parents. But after a heart to heart with Harrow, she learned that she was supposed to die as a baby (which, might I add, WAS FUCKED UP) so Harrow can be born and be the necromancer of Ninth House. I wanted them to kiss REALLY BADLY, like LET THEM KISS DAMMIT, but sadly it didn’t happen-one because after they went to see Dulcinea (I did say I wanted Gideon and Dulcinea to kiss, really badly), it turns out, after Gideon easedropped on her and Palmedes’s conversation, it was Dulcinea who did it…

But Dulcinea was dead.

Another one had taken her place.

And her name was Cytheria the First, a Lyctor.

The fight at the end was glorious-Gideon was badass with her longsword, Nonagesimus was spectacular, but at the end, it pissed me off, because I wanted, SO BAD, for Gideon and Harrowhark to kiss or to be in a relationship where they are together. But maybe in the next book they will be, but for now, this book was so good, even with the little memes, but it was still so good nonetheless, and I can’t wait to read Harrow the Ninth.

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Book Review: Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hello Becky, god I miss you so much.

I decided to read this book for the booksocietynet’s Let it Snow Event, and I’m so glad that I read this book this year. Because oh my god, Beck Brandon nee Bloomwood is so ME when I find stuff for people (or just me, because it’s me) and she’s also so relatable that I can see myself in Becky as she goes through one thing to another.

So Becky is having her best life right now with her husband, Luke, and their adorable daughter Minnie. She’s working with her best friend Suze at Letherby’s, and she’s doing what she does best-shop online and order everything she can before Christmas. But then, oh no, her parents moved to Shoreditch (I researched that place, actually...I want to move there) and are becoming Shoreditchians (is that a word for them?? Is it?? If not then I’m declaring it), and Jess is in town! But she got on my last nerve when she kept saying that ‘glitter is problematic (WHICH IT IS NOT)’ and almost every little thing is problematic.

But then, when her parents says that Becky is going to host this year’s Christmas…

One word came to her mind: NANI?! (okay, maybe not nani. But it was a WHAT when she found out that she’s hosting Christmas) and off she goes, trying to find everything for the perfect christmas at her place. She also wants to find the best present for Luke, and she thought she can get some aftershave for him, but sadly after trying some as he slept and nearly blinding the poor man while he slept (poor Luke).

But that didn’t work, so she wandered around until she saw the PERFECT gift for Luke: a portmanteau. But….it was at a raffle at a billiards club.

So what does Becky do in order to get this portmanteau?

Hatches a plan to join club
Conspires with someone to get into club
Forgets whole speech when it’s her time to speak, makes up whole speech
Is very terrible at billiards actually, and she only got in because people thought she was talking about sex.

While all of that was going on, enter Becky’s ex-boyfriend, Craig Cruton and his psychotic girlfriend, Nadine. When I mean this woman is psychotic, she was psychotic. One, she wanted to talk to Luke about business, then she presented him with a plan for her business, but Luke calmly turned her down. Then she SHOWED UP AT MINNIE’S BIRTHDAY PARTY and tried to talk to Luke, but once again, Luke turned her down, saying no.

So being the witch that she is, she made up an email that does even sound like Luke, and sent it to everyone, canceling Becky’s Christmas. Becky was devastated that her Christmas, the one she worked hard for, ordered a LOT OF THINGS for, was canceled. But when Luke came to the rescue and went to Jess’s place to ask what happened, Jess showed her the email-and it wasn’t even Luke’s work email, omg-and after a lot of explanation (and showing the WhatsApp to Becky about what happened) then Christmas was back on….

And on Christmas Eve, Becky hunted down a hamster for her daughter because she wanted a hamster for Christmas, not a hamper (Becky thought she wanted a cute picnic hamper to go with her tea set...BOY WAS SHE WRONG) and she did get that hamster for Minnie...and the portmanteau came just in time for Christmas. And also THE ENDING WHEN BECKY GAVE LUKE HER WORD TO HIM. OMG. I FREAKED OUT BECAUSE OF THE WORD.

I hope she’s writing the next book of the Shopaholic series about this, because THAT WORD. I still can’t get over it.

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Book Review: Cloaked in Shadow by Ben Alderson

Cloaked in Shadow by Ben Alderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book has been on my TBR since I heard about it. I’ve been following Ben on twitter and Instagram, and when I heard that he’s writing a book, I was eager, mouth salivating, waiting to get this book in my hands. Now that I’ve read the first book, I am proud to say that I loved every bloody bit of it. Every word, every character, the world. I absorbed it all, and I’m glad to have read this book, because I’m on the CIS train till I read every last word and love these characters to bits.

Speaking of characters, I have to say, I love my baby boy Zacriah Trovirn, who was the cinnamon roll throughout the book. He is always helping people, always trying to do what’s right, like finding out who shot the prince while they were exploring the forest where everyone died, or how embarrassed he gets when the prince calls him ‘Petal’, which I didn’t like at first, but then it grew on me each time he used it. But then when the cinnamon roll snapped...one, I was not prepared for it. I’m never prepared for the sweet people snapping. But honestly, I think he had every right to snap after he found out who shot the arrow and tried to kill those people, though once Nyah and the prince got him out, he felt horrible for doing it.

I also love Nyah as well. She’s so strong and always threatening to smack someone, even if they were the prince. Nyah made me laugh the whole entire time, and I’m glad that she and Zac are friends, because she’s always there for her friends, and she supports them, even though sometimes it doesn’t make any since.

And Prince Hadrian...the Dragori, the fire Dragori...I fell for him the moment he entered the room, but then as he and Zac started spending time together, I started to ship them, and the kiss before the duel...I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THAT KISS. I had to take a step back and compose myself because GOD WHAT A KISS. Honestly. It was. I loved that so much.

BUT THEN, IT WENT TO HELL AT THE END.

I got worried when Petrer or whatever his name was broke Zac’s hand to put the golden band on it, the King, WHO I SIDE-EYED THE MOMENT HE APPEARED and it turned out he was a druid who can turn into some kind of shadow beast, and Commander Alina was the one who shot the prince and is working for the Morthi, WHICH IS CRAP but I digress, it sucks so many balls, and I’m glad she’s dead, but I got worried after Hadrian snapped Zac back to his normal self.

I really enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to read the next two. Ben is a fantastic writer and it made me feel so many emotions, and I loved every bit of it.


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Book Review: The Halfling's Gem (The Legend of Drizzt #6) by R.A. Salvatore

The Halfling's Gem by R.A. Salvatore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, this book...has nearly torn me apart, made me jump and jerk a bit, and it also made me worry for Regis as HE GOT KIDNAPPED BY ARTEMIS ENTRERI.

But before I start yelling into the void about that, let’s go on with my book review.

So as I said, Regis is kidnapped by Artemis Entreri, and is going through hell. So Drizzt and Wulfgar went after him after leaving the Harpell’s mansion. They follow Entreri’s trail towards Calimport, where Regis is brought to Pasha Pook. But before they can even do that, they have to go visit a banshee named Agatha to get a mask for Drizzt, since people are still kinda bullshittingly scared of drow. They went to visit the village where Agatha is haunting. They ask where the banshee was hiding and they go to her. They had a little fight with her, and then they grabbed her mask and off to Calimport they go.

Though when Drizzt put on the mask, he looks like a surface elf, and I saw the battle waging within him each time he puts on the mask, until he went underground and took it off. I have to say, when the mask slipped off on the boat, I got worried that the captain was going to throw him off because of the color of his skin, but then after the men on the boat came up and said that yeah, the drow scares me, but at the same time he saved our asses, so I’m okay with the drow on the boat (they had to fight pirates thanks to the wizard doing the ‘Now All Of China Knows You’re Here’ meme)

But I’d never thought I’d see the fear in Regis’s eyes when he saw Pasha Pook again. I got worried about him because Pasha is a horrible piece of shit that needs to die, and I really don’t care about Lassiter or Rassiter, and I’m glad Entreri killed him. But then when Pasha sent Drizzt, Wulfgar, Cattie-Brie, and Bruenor to the other plane called Tarterus, where Catti-Brie NEARLY dies, but the good thing is that Drizzt saved her, AND THEY SHARED A TENDER KISS (actually Drizzt tenderly kissed her, though he’s still battling his feelings for Cattie-Brie, even though she’s with Wulfgar, and she was unconscious).

But the one thing I loved throughout the book was Bruenor Battlehammer surviving the fall thanks to Drizzt’s sword, Icingdeath. He fought his way back, but if it wasn’t for the Lady Alustrel’s help, then no more Bruenor.

But I was wondering where Guenhwyvar was, because we see bits and pieces of her in the book. But it turns out Artemis had her, and he gave it to Pasha, but even he couldn’t even control her as she took Regis to the astral plane, and she also helped him with the wererats problem by taking him to some other cats and let them loose at the wererats.

I really did enjoy this book and I am gonna read all of them (i ordered some more for Christmas, so next year is going to be FANTASTIC) and with each book I read, I’m loving each and every bit of it.

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Book Review: Black Witch Magic by Mila Nicks

Black Witch Magic by Mila Nicks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my first BWWM book I’ve ever read, and I’ve seen those books on Wattpad, but...but not like this.

A paranormal investigator who doesn’t believe in the paranormal, and a witch who’s cursed to never leave town?

I’m here for it. All of it.

I was skeptical in reading this book for many reasons: one, because I thought I was going to be reading a bunch of sex scenes that don’t make sense whenever I see book like this. But the more I read this book, the more I loved the characters, including the relationship between Selene and Aiden that bloomed because she had a date that ghosted her, but then Aiden shows her how to be in a relationship? Even though he freaked out because she revealed to him that she was a witch one night after she saved him from a car accident that nearly happened.

But the one thing that made me mad throughout this whole entire book is how they treated Selene. Yes she’s a Blackstone, yes she’s a witch, and yes, she can’t do things like normal people can. But to just downright shun her like that because of what happened to her grandmother and such...I’m sorry, but that’s complete and utter booty to me. Unless she does dark magic, which she hasn’t, then she’ll be fine, no shunning at all.

And Aiden...poor boy really doesn’t like Christmas, huh? I can understand why, because of his family and stuff, but good lord son, all they want is to have some quality family time. And also his friend, Eddie, reminds me of the two from the Buzzfeed: Unsolved guys, Ryan and Shane, or the Winchesters (yes I said the Winchesters) but for Eddie to try and force the issue on doing the story on the Blackstone curse...I’m glad Aiden said that he’s not going to to do it, because it meant exposing Selene and her being a witch, and that wasn’t going to happen.

I have to say, my favorite characters throughout this book has to be Selene and Aiden, but also Noelle and her auntie, Bibi. I love those two so much, especially Noelle, Selene’s friend. She reminds me so much of some of my friends, and also I can see myself in Selene, mostly because she reads, works in a library, lives in a big house and has a cute dog. And she’s a LUNAR WITCH, and yes, I squealed because I played a Lunar Witch once in a ttrpg (but she was a worthian and they were baby.)

But I have to say, I can see Selene as me, which I loved so, so much. We love to read, we wear glasses, and we’re bloody different from anyone else (but sadly I’m not a witch. Which sucks. Wish I was, though. This is a really, really good book and I wish more people can read it so, so much.

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Book Review: Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Silver in the Wood, though it is a short story, is actually really darn good one.

Silver in the Wood is about a man named Tobias who was living in the woods peacefully with a dryad named Bramble. He even had a tree in his backyard that I think he was tied to. One day, a man named Silver comes in his wood, and the two of them starts to spend time together, talking and such, until Silver is kidnapped by a Fay named Fabian.

Yeah, Fabian. Weird name for a Fay but I digress.

Then Silver’s mother, Mrs. Silver, comes in, and she and Tobias start to work together, finding monsters and things and putting them away. Even Tobias started to trim up a bit. I didn’t like it, though, when the first time they met. Mrs. Silver wanted Tobias to cut down the tree (and they did, and I hated it that she told him to do that. Like no, that was his HOME, lady. HOME. Tobias is part of the tree). But the shocking thing EVER was that Silver was alive, thanks to the Fay that kept him alive, I think???

But the only freaky part about that was, that Fabian used Silver’s face to get under Tobias’s skin, but it didn’t work, shaking it off. But I did clap at the end when Tobias kissed Silver, and I clapped when they did, because I wanted them to be together. Now I picture them all happy, living in their wood while inbetween helping out people and being together, because that’s all I want. That’s all I want, and I’m going to keep it like that, dammit, because they deserve to be happy.

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Book Review: Saga vol. 4-6 by Brian K. Vaughan

Saga, Vol. 6 by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here we are, the three books before seven eight and nine-the last volumes of the Saga comics. I am thoroughly enjoying the comics, I love love LOVE the storyline right now, and I also love Hazel, the sweet little angel face who’s baby. She’s just….gaahhhh I can talk about her all day and into the night, she’s so baby I love her. She even cried when Marko came to get her, saying ‘daddy’, even when he brought her back her doll she hadn’t seen in a long time.

And Marko and Alana working together to get to Hazel….the only thing that shocked me was Marko taking those drugs and getting high, and it took him from getting high to realize his purpose in life, to do any and everything for Hazel and make his way back to her...that right there is the reason why MARKO LIVES FUCKING RENT FREE IN MY DAMN MIND. And I was hoping and praying that he and Alana make it to where they can be with Hazel again, and they do, and the last part that cracked me up with when on of the prisoners who was with Hazel and Marko’s mother came through the portal and announced that Alana was pregnant again (which I’m so happy about)

The one storyline I didn’t think I’d like was the one with Prince Robot IV, who I thought was going to be a royal forever, but sadly his father cut him off, and he found his son, and him and his son are living on an island before Marko showed up, asking for help to find his family before he nearly got killed (in which I wanted to RAGE VERY NICELY BRO) but other than that I found it real nice that Prince Robot IV-excuse me Robot IV is now trying to be best dad and I love it??? So much???

The only weird thing about Saga is the Will and the weird spider lady called the Sniper or something like that, and only he can talk to her, I think it is??? Which it’s fine to me, but good lord son. And then his sister died and now he’s talking to her, after he kidnapped and used two lovely journalists to help him (more like force them, but what the hey) but I digress, this comic is so good and I’m going to finish reading them because I love them so, so much.

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Book Review: Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Serpent and Dove...a book that for some reason people don’t like and I have no idea why, but that is their opinion-this is mine, and I liked it, to tell you the truth.

I liked the story of a witch marrying a witch hunter, and trying to hide her past because of her mother-I’m writing a fanfic about something like that, all except it’s the father that scares the daughter (and has done terrible things to the couple). But as I read it more, I liked the magic system in the story, and even though the French part confuses me sometimes, I truly did enjoy this book.

I have to say that yes, I’ve fallen for Reid Diggory, and since he’s married, I’m going to look respectfully, because 1.) the man is tall 2.) he’s stiff as a damn board-like really, stiff as a board, but throughout the book you see him grow into a man who really cares for his wife, even when he finds out that she’s a witch and told her that she wasn’t his wife when she was revealed she was one (that one broke my heart when he said that, just...torn into little tiny pieces when he said that.

The sad part was throughout the book was Louise’s mother, Morgane, even though she came at the middle of the book, and holy hell that woman is giving me hella, hella crazy mama/Dahlia from The Originals season two, but good fucking god Dahlia wasn’t this fucking crazy. To stab your own daughter in the throat and then sacrifice her? The fuck, lady, the fuck.

I mean...I was so angry that I wanted??? To Scream??? Like what the hell?? Why U do that for??? But at least Reid was there to stop her (and also, press F in the chat for the Archbishop...that I don’t really like because he was an asshole, but he found out he was Lou’s father) but I have to say my favorite part of this book is when the witches attacked the Chassures and also when Reid and the others walk into the Dame Blanches’ home in those funny disguises. But the one thing that shocked me was when Reid could see a pattern and just acted on it, and it was revealed that he can see magic, and that he’s also a male witch, which I found exciting because it was so unexpected to see really.

But can we talk about sweet Ansel? Sweet, adorable Ansel, who didn’t trust Lou at first, but the more he was around her, the more I wanted to protect this boy. Even when Reid and Lou had a fight, he wanted to go after her (and he almost did) but after meeting up with Coco, Beau and Madame Labelle (Reid’s mama, by the by) and plotting to get Lou out of Chateau le Blanc and I loved it??? So much??? That I wanted more??? (Which I do have Blood and Honey, but I’m going to read it next year).

I cannot wait and see where this story goes and how Morgane survives, and if they beat her, because this was actually pretty damned good, if I say so myself.

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Book Review: Pray for Death (Will Tanner #6) by William A. Johnstone

Pray for Death by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pray for Death is just a straight up ‘get the bad guys and lock em up’ type book, but at the same time it’s also about the bad guys trying to get away from him and also trying to outsmart him. But sadly as time goes on, Will Tanner always outsmart the criminals as much as he can, even when he’s just trying to make sure everyone is safe.

But I find it kinda funny that he’s about to miss his own wedding, which when I read that made me go ‘ooohhhhhhh’ because he’s been chasing Ward Hawkins and Tiny MceGee, but I hope once I get done with this book that he does, because I really want him to get married. I also do like the fact that he acts like a marshall of the law and giving people the choice.

And the Hawkins gang...I started to give them the side eye because there’s something about them that I don’t like-I mean, Fanny basically shot Tiny McGee in the back of the shoulder because she couldn’t get a clear shot, and she told her boys to chase down the Marshall and string him up, which is really, really bad, though it was funny when Hawkins tried to maneuver him and tried to overpower him, but it doesn’t even work.

Then when they got back into town (he and Hawkins), and they had to see Doc, Hawkins THOUGHT that he could escape one last time, but at the end, it didn’t work as he got stabbed in the neck by Doc’s cook, and then got shot, which was bad on his part because he didn’t expect the cook to stab him in the neck.. But in the end, he got what he deserves, and Will came home, only to get punched in the face by Sophie when he came back, but at least he got married at the end.

I think this one is my least favorite one because yes there was a lot of action in it, and he was trying to get the bad guys and bring them back home. The last couple books of his were about rustlin’ cattle and fighting the bad guys, but this one changed the pace and I love it so, so much. I liked the lingo that I’ve been hearing almost all my life, like likker (liquor), and other words I can’t remember.

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Book Review: Ruin and Rising (Grishaverse #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book three.

Holy hell, I’m on book three.

And book three is slowly but surely killing me.

Why, you ask, is book three killing me?

Well one, Mal and Alina are currently with the Apparat, who, for the love of god, reminds me of Wormtail from Harry Potter, but worse, much, much worse, in the White Cathedral. The Apparat has been styling Alina as Sankta Alina and pretty much controlling her from the start, even when she didn’t have her powers. So one day Mal and the others decided to trick the Apparat and she got her powers back (yay) after she was tending to Genya’s eye (which thanks to Daddy Darkling….well...you know). Once Alina put the fear of the God back into him and told him to be in his rooms, she left the White Cathedral with her friends to try and find the firebird…

All except she can now call and see the Darkling now.

Through the bond they have.

Which shouldn’t have shocked me but it did as I read it.

And she kept it from her friends, even when Nikolai found them again on a new boat and traveled to get as far away as they can from the Darkling, only to find out that he really wanted Alina back. And he would do anything to get her back, even going to Keramazin to kill everyone she ever known, like Ana Kulya, telling her:

“I will strip away all that you know, all that your love, until you have no shelter but me.”

This quote will forever be in my mind, even as I write it down in my journal because it was that good of a line for a villain to say. And then on the boat when the Darkling found them and turned Nikolai into a monster….I turned to the left because I went OH NO MONSTER BOYFRIEND OH NO and then after that we found out something big. Really big.

One, is that Baghra is Morozova’s daughter (I felt like throughout the book we were focused on him and the Darkling) and...that Mal is the third amplifier for Alina. He’s the firebird.

And Alina is swearing up and down that she will never kill him because she loves him.

Which honestly, I’m going all the way to the ending, which sucked. So, so much.

I really didn’t want Alina to end up with Mal, I really didn’t. Yes he was the firebird, yes he did so many wonderful things throughout the story (like tracking) but...Mal is boring. So, so boring. I thought she would’ve at least chosen Nikolai or the Darkling (but that’s just me, I’ll choose the Darkling and me and him would be married without me even thinking about it, and I won’t have no regrets at all) but Mal? Boring old Mal? I don’t even see them being together, much less them having anything similar in common. But I mean, it was nice and all. They opened up a little orphanage and being all cute and a couple….BUT WHY THOUGH, LEIGH BARDUGO, WHY????

I wanted something else for them, this wasn’t it!!!!

But you know what, it’s all good, because I have the duolgy (got the first book,of it, King of Scars) and I pre ordered the new one, and I have the Book of the Saints, so maybe I can do a nice book marathon when Ruin of Wolves comes out (and I can’t wait for that, honestly).

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Book Review: The Shadowglass, a Bone Witch Novel by Rin Chupeco

The Shadow Glass by Rin Chupeco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The last book of the Bone Witch series...and, to me, the great series of 2020. This book broke me in many ways, and I’m sad that I have to say goodbye to my friends. But I’m sad that Tea and Kalen had to die (which sucked, by the way, really sucked). But the ending where the Bard was at the statue and two people showed up, I wondered if it was really them.

But also, the final battle between them and the Faceless, including Althy, who I thought was their friend but it turned out she was tricking them for so, so long. Like I don’t know why she did that, but she did. And also the Oracle, who turned out was Druji, which I was shocked about when I read it, and tried to turn Tea bad. And I also couldn’t believe that Althy would blight pretty much everyone, including Lady Likh.

But can we talk about Likh for a second? Whom I love and adore so much? She thought that she was born the wrong gender and really wanted to be a asha, but since she was a boy, she couldn’t be one, which was fucked up in my opinion. I’m glad Tea understood and called her Lady Likh, and I’m glad she told her feelings to Khalahd, and that they were together, though I got worried that it would be too late for them to be together. And I also wish there was a spell that’ll let Likh change her gender from a boy to a girl, because then she’ll finally live her truth and be with the boy she loved.

And Fox….Fox, Fox, Fox. You know that Tea didn’t mean to kill your sister Daisy, and you pretty much shut her out throughout the whole book, which sucked by the way. But I’m glad that in the end, you turned back human and married Princess Inessa. You honestly deserve all the happiness in the world.

I have to say, my favorite part throughout this book series is the story inbetween the actual story. We follow Tea in her journey to become an asha, then a Dark asha, then pretty much beating the crap out of the Faceless while at the same time, we read about how she took in the shadowglass, defeats the Faceless again, and disappears on her azi with Kalen on her side.

But can we talk about Kalen’s death, please?? LIKE NO, I DON’T ACCEPT THIS. I DON’T ACCEPT THIS AT ALL. I hated reading his death and all I wanted was for him and Tea to be together, BUT NO IT DIDN’T HAPPEN, I’M SO MAD I COULD SPIT. And the visions when she went through the mountain, and she failed because she couldn’t save Kalen? BOY WAS I MAD ABOUT THAT. But then he was fine and then they died together. Dang it.

I’m so glad that I found this book series and read it all. This would have to be my favorite series, hands down, of 2020. I don’t think any other book series would compare to this one, but honestly I don’t think I will. This book was so well put together and so well written that I couldn’t put it down-I had to devour every word of it. I would like to see these characters one day-maybe in a short story or what. But I want to see them again, because I miss them now, so much.

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Book Review: Saga (Vol. 1-3) by Brian K. Vaughan

Saga, Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have never read the comic Saga in my life. Haven’t even touched it. Haven’t placed a finger on it.

But when Anna said it was the book club pick of the month, I picked it up and…

And…

MARKO LIVES RENT FREE IN MY MIND.

Marko is best space dad, the best husband, and yes, I’ve fallen in his lap and I can’t get up, but sadly he’s married so we’ll just have to be friends. Darn it. But I’ll be okay because Hazel, his and Alana’s daughter, is such a cutie pie that I love so, so much. Such a bean. I can’t help but to awe each time she comes onto the page.

I love the family dynamic between Marko and Alana as they decide what’s best for their baby girl Hazel. I find it so real and raw that these two people who ran off and got married, is thinking about their plans and making sure Hazel is first, no questions asked. I also love the fact that Marko’s mother is accepting of them and is willing to take care of Hazel. Even their ghostly babysitter is along for the ride and I love every bit of it.

I also love the storyline with The Will and Slave Girl, aka Sophie. He just wants to be best dad to her, even when she was controlled and stabbed him in the neck. She even apologized once she stepped back. I was also shocked at the budding relationship between The Will and Gwendolyn, Marko’s ex-fiancee, though right now the Will is out of remission while Gwendolyn is confronting Marko about how to save him.

Though I didn’t like the fact that she called Alana a fat bitch and killed the author of the book, which sucked, by the way. Also I don’t know why, but I don’t like Prince Robot IV, but I’m slowly but surely liking him a bit-JUST A BIT. Not a lot, which is fine with me. Maybe in the next few books he’ll grow on me, The Will gets saved, Marko and Alana and Hazel become family and I finally just let all of them live rent free in my head, because they do need to live rent free in my head forever because I love them and I would do anything for them darn it.

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Book Review: Hit Me With Your Best Scot by Suzanne Enoch

Hit Me With Your Best Scot by Suzanne Enoch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*Arc sent for review

Hit Me With Your Best Scot...um...see…

*taps mike* Hello, My name is Brittany B, and...and...and I’ve fallen in love with Coll MacTaggert and I want to marry him.

So yeah...Coll MacTaggert, the Viscount of Glendarril...tall. Hot as hell. Talks in a deep brogue. I can’t understand half the stuff he’s saying, but I don’t care...I can listen to him talk all day and never get bored whatsoever. And he fights with his hands, which is a good thing. But what does a Highlander like him do when he walks backstage during a play and falls for an actress named Persephone Jones?

Basically: “Och,Máthair,I’m going to marry her!”

*cue gasps and groans and omg whys*

BUT it actually works out with them, because they fall in love...after finding out that Persephone is being targeted for something, and honestly, it’s pretty stupid really, and then we find out that Persephone Jones is Temperance Hartwood, a woman who was once supposed to get married to an old man, but he was horrible so she left and became an actress.

And somehow, someway...someone is trying to kill her.

Maybe because of the Shakespearian characters she plays….or because she’s the daughter of a lord...but whatever it is, someone is trying to kill her. Coll, even though he’s supposed to be looking for a wife, is actually trying to help her figure it out before he actually finds one, actually falls in love with her, and the two are about to get married at the end (or announced that they are)

I loved this book so much that glad that I’ve gotten an arc because the book was SO GOOD. I loved the characters and action and everything (yes, including Coll. Did I mention him? No? Okay, then I’m mentioning him again because HE’S MY HUSBAND NOW OKAY I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.)

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Book Review: The Heart Forger (Bone Witch #2) by Rin Chupeco

The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay...book two…you had me at book one. I loved book one. BOOK TWO, YOU GOT ME INVESTED.

Book two continues from Book One, where Tea and her friends are going to the Kingdom of Daanoris, trying to find the Heart Forger, who is missing. And on top of that, people, including Prince Kance, are falling into some kind of sickness. So they go to another kingdom to find the Heart Forger, but when they get there, they find out about so many things…

One, is that the Emperor, Emperor Shifang, wants to marry Princess Inessa, even though Princess Inessa is currently with Fox. Two, that Tansoong may or may not be working with the Faceless, but it turns out that he’s innocent, and that Bayzoi was actually working for the Faceless, and three….and this is important….Mikaelya’s heartsglass was with King Telemaine the WHOLE ENTIRE TIME.

I mean, Tea tried to ask King Vance where her heartglass is, and they started asking random questions, where he would say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. But the shocking part out of all of this was when Aneah and King Telemaine appeared, pretty much revealing that they were lovers and they wanted to kill everyone in that room. But they didn’t, and Tea got her revenge on the king by making him insane, thus making the prince exile Tea from doing what she did.

But once again, the world building of this book is pretty damned good, I must say. Each place she describes in this book are places I would like to go someday. I’ve also loved the little romances in the book, though the one that shocked me the most was Kalen and Tea. The reason why they shocked me because Kalen is a Deathseeker, and I thought he really didn’t like Tea, but it turns out that he does like Tea and even kisses her. He even goes out of his way to be exiled with her (I think he does), which I think is so cute.

I didn’t like the fact that she had her azi taken from her, but at the end the azi pretty much listens to Tea now without her controlling her or anything. I found that pretty darn awesome actually, and it sucks that now she’s not going to be in Ankyo anymore. I mean, Ananeah and the stupid king deserves what they did to Mikaelya, I’m sorry.

Still love this book series. I’m going to read the last book and cry because this book series is! So! Good!

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Book Review: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Collected from American Folklore by Alvin Schwartz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This would be the first time that I’ve ever read this book, and I have to say that it was very interesting to read a book of scary stories. None of the scared me though, I do have two favorites-the Hearst Song and Me Tie Dough-Tie Walker!. But the art in this book was fantastic. I loved every single picture I saw. I have listened to the Hearst Song about four times, and I have sung it before (actually sung it tonight now that I think about it, and I enjoyed it).

I do have a couple favorites that I liked in this book. My favorite stories from this book are:

Me Tie Dough-Tie Walker!
The Hearst Song
The Wendigo
The Viper
Aaron Kelly’s Bones
The Big Toe
The Haunted House

Since this book review is short, I really do recommend this book because one, though it’s not that scary when you get older, it’s a pretty damned good read and two, because it’s a pretty damned good read.

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Book Review: Siege and Storm, a Grishaverse Novel by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book two of the Grishaverse, something I really wanted to read, and on top of that the cover of this book is really beautiful. I’ve missed these characters so much (also Daddy Darkling...I mean, that’s why I’m reading this book series, right? No? Is it just me? Yes? Alright…) And I really don’t want this book to end...I really, really don’t. Thank god for the third book and the other books, am I right?

I picked up this book again after reading an amazing fanfic called ‘Out of Time” by Destinies (it’s on A03...READ IT IT’S SO GOOD) and this book introduced me to my love and best boy Nikolai Lanstov, the youngest prince of the Lanstov royal family. He’s introduced as Strumhond as first when Mal and Alina first met him, and then once they returned to Os Alta and revealed himself, that’s when things started to go wonderfully.

For one, Alina and Mal are running from the Darkling, and he caught them and took them on Stumhond’s boat, where they ran away from the Darkling and went to the Fold, where Alina started to see the Darkling, and she wouldn’t even tell Mal or anyone about seeing the Darkling, as if he was real. This book also introduces Tamar and Toyla, two Grisha working under Strumhond/Nikolai and became her guards when they reached Os Alta and Alina decided that she was going to fight the Darkling, using the First Army to do it.

They also, in this story, find the second amplifier of Morozova, and they kept mentioning Sankta Ilya (to the point that I preordered the Lives of Saints book and I need to read his story) and how he has three amplifiers-something that is totally different from the ‘Grisha have one amplifier’ rule.The first one is Morozova’s Stag, second is the water dragon, and third is the firebird. Now this firebird sounds like a Phoenix, and Mal keeps dismissing it, saying that it doesn’t exist, and also I’ve realized that Alina’s a bit power hungry, now that she has the fetter and the collar. I think it’s because she wants to fight the Darkling and beat him, but I found that interesting that she’s power hungry to get all three.

BUT THE ENDING.

Holy moly.

The fight between Alina and the Darkling, and her pretty much taking his nichvo’ya and turning them around to the Darkling before she was torn from him and then they had to go the White Cathedral, where the Apparat and his followers were waiting for her. And when she rested and looked at the mirror...her hair is snow white, and...and she has no more magic.

Oh...no.

What will happen next in the next book? I don’t know, but I’m going to be reading the last book and i’m probably going to be sad afterwords once this book series is over.

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Book Review: North of Laramie: A Buck Trammel Western by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone

North of Laramie by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This would be my third western of William A. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone’s books. I have to say, I quite enjoy them. They have surprised me more than one, and on top of that, I get so immersed in this world that sometimes I don’t want to leave.

Buck Trammel is one interesting character-one I really would like to fall in love with since he’s tall (Tall men + Brittany=Brittany Bait). But he is traveling with a man named Adam Hagen, which I’ve kept an eye on because one, there’s something about him that I don’t like. Yes, he’s a drunk and a gambler, but behind all of that is a schemer. I don’t know what it is about Adam Hagen that I don’t like, but I just...don’t...like...him.

And on top of that, the Bowman gang is coming after the both of them after Trammel killed two of their kin (which sucks, by the by). I understand you want revenge on the men who killed your family, but come on now. It is NOT that bloody serious (I mean, two people dying, yes. Getting revenge? Stupid as hell. At least, on my side of things). And they’re trying to make new lives in Laramie-Adam’s a hotelier and Trammel’s a sheriff after the other one just up and left and died after swearing him in.

I do like the characters in the story-Buck, Adam, Emily (I actually ship them). But my favorite parts have to be when we stay alone in Trammel’s mind and him trying to figure out if he wanted to stay being the law after being a Pinkerton man, then being in The Golden Lilly in Witchita as the bodyguard. I found those parts interesting, almost as character development because he’s trying to figure out if he wanted to stay being the law, or settle down somewhere, get married, have a couple kids. But with the Bowman gang after him, he didn’t think that he would, though I wish he did because he deserves everything (Adam doesn’t, but that’s another story for another time).

My least favorite would have to be Madame Peachtree (ha ha) and her men, because she wanted Trammel to look the other away while she did what she wanted to do (opium, her saloon), but he arrested her and her men, but then he found her leger that only Adam and Emily can read...oh BOY that’s all I have to say. OH BOY. That’s when I have to keep my eye on Adam, because it seems like the Bowman gang is in the background, and he’s working his own plans in the front of the story.

And boy, was I right-when they came into Laramie, and Lefty showed up to try and kill Buck, Adam went to talk to Lucien Clay, striking up a deal with him (and basically using Buck was a bargaining chip) which he didn’t like in the end. There was a gunfight between Buck and Lefty and his men, and he killed them all in self-defense. Then the end, when Hagen told him what he wanted to do in Blacktown (turn it into a Opium den) in which Buck downright refused to let happen.

I did enjoy this book so much and I want to read more! In! This! Series!

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Book Review: The Oracle Queen by Kendare Blake

The Oracle Queen by Kendare Blake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So...lemme get this straight….

A Queen named Elsabet is drugged every single day, not being able to use her god-given powers, right? And her husband is cheating on her left and right in front of her, and the one doing it, the poisoner, is watching from the back, pulling some strings so she can do it? Really? And on top of that the bad guys won?

What????

Basically this is my first time reading something from Kendare Blake, and I have to say, this book shocked me. One because you think that the Queen was going to win, she was going to dump her husband and that’s it, she’s still on the throne, nothing bad will ever happen to her, and she’ll be fine. But NO. It seemed like throughout the story, she was going to be betrayed by her Black Council, who locked her up (W...TF) and killed all of her subordiantes (once again...W...TF), and also killed the painter (W...TF) also accidentally killing the maid (for the people in the back...WTF).

So basically this whole entire short novella was about a queen falling from grace, getting locked up by her people, and her husband basically cheating on her. I did enjoy it, but I loved the world building the moment I started reading the first page. It was really good and I wanted to read more, even though the ending shocked the hell out of me. I fell in love with this world, and I wanted to read more (so I’m gonna read the Young Queens, because it turns out...The Young Queens is first, then The Oracle Queen, then the rest of the series…) because yes I would read the first book of the series, but I wanted to read the novella first, to see how they are before I throw myself reading the rest of the series.

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Book Review: The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1) by Rin Chupeco

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Bone Witch would have to be one my favorite witchy books of 2020. I have never read a book like this before, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

So, Brittany, what is it all about?

Well it’s about a girl named Tea, who one day resurrects her dead brother from the grave without even thinking about it. Then a bone witch, or a Dark asha, named Lady Mykaela, comes into her village and takes her and her brother Fox, which is now Tea’s familiar, to a village where she will learn how to become a Dark Asha. At first, she pretty much had to work for a woman named Mistress Parmina and it was brutal, hard work, though it was simple enough. I never really liked Mistress Parmina because of how hard she was and how much work she made Ta do before she became an apprentice. Then one night someone told her to go to a tea house to deliver something...and that’s when things got bad.

Zoya, the princess, I believe, kept taunting her, and Tea got really mad to the point that she summoned bone mice and the skeleton of a long ago dead king, right in front of Prince Kance and Kalen. Tea pretty much blacked out after it happened, and then when she woke up, she found out that she will be an asha-ka in training (or i’ve gotten it backwards, and she’s already an asha-ka in training already).

And she takes classes like defense, singing lessons, dancing lessons, even fighting lessons, She even learned how to block Fox out of her mind, which made him worry and make him pound on the door, because he thought she was trouble. Tea also have another familiar, a horse she named Cloud, I think, and the two share her mind-her brother and a horse. Then came the time she put down a daeva-well, actually she told it to go away once it came towards Lady Mykaela, since she wanted to protect her.

Once the dragon daeva flew away, her brother Fox called her foolish, but was glad that she was alright. Then she called in front of the Elders, and she took their test and passed, though she thought she failed (same, I think that each time I take a test.) Then she had to go to parties for three months, but the dragon deva, the azi, was still out there, still alive, so she and her friends and her brother went out to go and kill it, but Tea got into it’s mind and made it obey her, and it did, and then it flew off into the water.

But the shocking part was when she had to confront the Faceless, which turned out to be a maid named Fahi, who’s real name is Anaeha. She tried to control Fox, only to fail when Chief came in through the door and knocked her down. Now she has four familiars-Fox, her brother, Chief, her horse, the azi and Anaeha. But what I loved the most about this book was the world building. It was so good that I got sucked in immediately and wanted to be a asha-ka myself (in my heart, I will be…) The narration was fantastic, and I enjoyed myself reading this book so much.

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Book Review: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first time reading Miss Silvia’s work, and I have to say….I enjoyed every bit of it.

This book is about a girl named Noemi, and how she was ordered by her father to go to High Place, where her cousin, Catalina, is. Catalina wrote a strange letter to her uncle, asking him to send her cousin up to High Place, where the Doyles live. When it looked like Noemi was about to say no, her father made her her a deal: go and see what’s going on with Catalina, and when she comes back, that’s when he’s going to let her enroll in National University so she can study anthropology. She agreed, and off she went to the Mexican Countryside to High Place, where her cousin was with the Doyles.

When she got there...oh boy. The Doyles basically laid down some rules for her, and each time Noemi does something outside of the rules, they turn into the King and Queen and does the lovely Black Panther meme, “We don’t do this here” each time, and it frustrates her that this family is like this. Soon weird things start happened to Noemi-like she starts to have deams of the past, about what happened to Ruth and how she shot everyone and left Howard Doyle alive, and what happened in the past with Doyle and his incestual marriages, and also started to have dreams about her brother in law and Catalina’s husband, Virgil. She also started sleepwalking again while she was having these dreams, some of them really, really bad (mostly about Virgil, which makes me go yikes sometimes).

And Catalina. Poor Catalina. She’s stuck up in her room, not being able to get out because she’s sick. So Noemi is doing things for her, like going to a medicine woman named Marta, who gave her a tincture. Catalina took too much and had a seizure, which worried her, but the family thought that Noemi brought opium that triggered the seizure, but she really didn’t, and Francis, the boy she is close to and has to speak Spanish to because of the walls and the thing called the gloom that is in the house can hear

Speaking of the gloom, the whole house is covered in mold and darkness and they don’t believe in lights...I probably would’ve survived this house or left the moment I start having freaky dreams. But the worst part is that Howard Doyle is a “god” who lived for a three hundred years by transferring himself into the mind of someone else, have children with someone in his family, and then prepare them so they can be vessels of some sort. But she is going to marry Francis, the guy she liked.

But, you know those Doyles. Always one step ahead of them.

First they did the wedding backwards-they feasted first, then went up to dying Howard’s room to get married. But then after the wedding, things didn’t go so well. First off, Virgil came into her room and tried to rape Noemi, but thanks to the gloom she pushed back from him, knocking him out and taking the tincture he had in her pocket. Then she ran to Catalina’s room and tried to leave with her, but oh no, that didn’t happen.

The maid went feral and nearly choked the hell out of Noemi, but when Francis came and tore her off of her, she tried to choke Francis, so she pretty much killed her with the razor, but they weren’t fast enough for Florence. She darted out, in the hallway, WITH A GUN, and forced them into Howard’s room, where the doctor was tending to him, and said that it was time. They told FRANCIS to come to the old, pustible old man and they bowed their heads, said something before Catalina grabbed the doctor’s scalpel and stabbed the hell out of Howard’s eye.

Before they could even leave the room Florence and Noemi fought with a gun, and Florence broke Noemi’s hand before Francis tore her (I swear I feel for this boy because good god he’s been thrown all over the place) off of his new bride and shot her after rolling around fighting like wildcats. Then once Florence was dead and Noemi shot Howard, she, Francis and Catalina ran out of the house and underground, where they found the source of the gloom…

In which freaked me the hell out because IT WAS FUCKING AGNES.

Agnes got buried alive, and a whole lot of fungus and mushrooms and everything sprouted around her, and Francis and Catalina told Noemi not to look, but she did. And she saw what happened to poor Agnes, BUT OH NO

Like his (not-so-sucky) counterpart from Devil May Cry, Virgil appears, saying that Howard will die, and that he controls the gloom now, telling Noemi to drop the knife, and that “I should’ve let you bite your own tongue (paraphrasing),” when he and Francis were fighting. BUT THE GOOD THING WAS THAT CATALINA KILLED HIM WITH THE KNIFE BY DOING THE SAME THING SHE DID TO HOWARD. Then they escaped while the house was on fire, and then at the end, Francis slept for two days, the good doctor Camarillo helped them, and they kissed three times.

I have to say, this book broke me and it deserves TEN out of TEN stars. I loved it so much, and EVERYONE SHOULD READ IT.

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Book Review: The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #3) by Holly Black

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black is my last and final book of the Folk of the Air series, and also my last book for a while, since I pre-ordered How the King of Elfhame Learned How to Hate Stories. I’m going to be sad to miss these characters I’ve grown to love and hate, and admire, and wanted to throw into bloody faerie hell if I get the chance (or Jude does) one day. But for now, let’s hop into the book review of Queen of Nothing.

So it starts off with Jude and her exile and how she was spending it. She spent it taking care of her brother Oak and her sister Vivi, while also taking job for the faerie-for example, fighting Grima Mog on the roof and threatening to burn her red cap off. But during that fight with Grima Mog, she learns that Cardan, her husband, High King of Elfhame, bastard I want to yeet off a mountain and never see ever again, might be looking for a new seneschal. That surprised her, and once she won the fight against Grima Mog, she goes home and….

...and Taryn, her twin sister is there.

Taryn, who married Locke and then turned around and killed him. I was gonna do it, yeet him off some cliff and leave him there to die, but Taryn comes to Jude, asking her to go back to Elfhame because she’s going to be on trial for Locke’s murder, and she needed her to go back. Also Taryn’s pregnant with Locke’s baby, so that’s a shocker too. Then another shocker (I swear, I’m going to get more shocked to the point that I’m gonna have a heart attack-not really, though) Heather, Vivi’s ex-girlfriend, comes back to their lives after she got traumatized by the faerie the first time she was there, and also Vivi pretty much glamourizing her.

Jude decides to help Taryn, and she goes back into the faerie world, going to the court pretending to be her sister, only for Cardan to notice her (ah duh) and escort her to the back...when all hell broke loose. Jude went with some of Madoc’s men to go to his camp, findig out that Madoc wants to start a war and going right in and challenging Cardan to a duel for the crown (crown hungry, as my mama would say).

Jude tries to figure out how to escape while trying to pretend that she’s her sister, but then she was found out by Oriana, who knew that she wasn’t Taryn, and she helped her escape, but then Cardan and the Bomb came, and Cardan made a promise to take away her exile and to come back to the castle. She agreed, and they go back-but not before Madoc and her got into a fight and he wounded her, and Grima Mog, Taryn, and Vivi showed up, stopping him from killing her.

So they take Jude back to the castle where she’s healed and she is now reconized as Queen of Elfhame, and the people didn’t like it. They wanted her to rebuke her title, but she didn’t want to, especially when Madoc came to Hollow Hall and pretty much demanded a parley from Cardan, but Cardan had a mean girl moment when he snapped the crown in two...and turned into a huge serpent.

And now I know why there’s a bloody snake on the cover on the book.

Cardan turned into a serpent and everyone either screamed or ran away, leaving Jude to take care of the court while trying to figure out how to get Cardan back from being a snake. But at the same time she took care of some little things for herself, like getting a new knight, making Grima Mog her Grand General, and having her family there while she was making terrible decisions. But then when Madoc and the Court of Teeth came into court to make another deal with her-make Madoc the ruler behind Jude (like that was going to happen), and to bind the snake with the golden binder, making Cardan bound to her.

Though she didn’t like the idea (I sure as hell didn’t), she agreed to it, and they went to the battlefield, where the serpent was waiting on them. Jude had the binder with her, in her hands, but as she walked forward, she realized that she didn’t need it (I mean, she was in really beautiful armor) and just told him that she loved him...before cutting the head off.

All hell broke loose in the background, but then Madoc came to her, turned her around, and said “I will bend my head to you, and only you.” to her ear when Cardan appeared out of the dead serpent and said that the king is back, stopping everyone from fighting. They come back to the castle and have a feast, where everyone is pardoned, including the dismemberment of the Court of Teeth and Madoc living the rest of his days in the mortal realm, and Oriana going with him. Heather and Vivi are starting over, and Taryn has been pardoned for the murder of Locke and have been given his home and lands.

At the end, they went to the mortal realm, and Cardan went, and they had pizza of every topping you can think of thanks to Oak, and at the end, since I have the exclusive edition, he basically wrote letters to Jude that she never gotten thanks to Lady Asha, and they were so funny that I had to laugh at some of them, though the last one made me crackle when he wrote her name a hundred times, then PLEASE JUDE at the end.

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Book Review: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J, Maas

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Okay...this book RIGHT HERE guys....holy hell it was beautiful.

Dorian is the King of Ardarlan, but he’s traveling with Aelin and her court as Aelin and Rowan are trying to find some allies so they can go to Terrasen and Aelin can take her crown...or so she thought. The humans that was going to help her turn their backs on her, so she went to find some allies...in the Pirate King Rolfe, which refused her but then after helping defend Skull Island (and Lysandra being a badass turning into an actual sea dragon) to being a sneaky bitch about it and rallying Ansel to help.

But then there were others to help her-

For example, Manon Blackbeak, Wing Leader to the Blackbeak coven-and a Crochan Queen. Her. Thanks to the beating she’d gotten from her grandmother, who revealed to her that she is the last of the Crochan Queen, and that she killed her half-sister (well forced to). Shocked and wounded, she got on Abraxos and flew off to Aelin’s ship, where she became a prisoner for a while, then became Dorian’s lover (I SHIP THEM DAMMIT), and she has no idea if her Thirteen is still living or dead, since they’re scattered.

And Elide...who met Lorcan and was traveling with him, pretending they were married... I loved that, so much. They met up with a traveling troupe for a while until the ilken found them...and reveled who she really was (she was using her mother’s name) and that she was carrying a Wyrdkey to give to Aelin that Kaltain Rompier gave her in Queen of Shadows. Then they reunited with Aelin and Manon, which I’m happy about, but then Lorcan almost got bitten by Garviel, but then Elide got in the way and got bitten, and OH BOY did Lorcan get mad as hell (because he’s very protective of her).

BUT MAEVE….I thought we left her in Heir of Fire, but her ships are here, and she gave Aelin an ultimatum...but she wasn’t there, because she and Manon went into the Witch Mirror, and she attacked, and Rowan and the other tried to shield the rain of arrows, but some hit the other men. But it turns out that it was a distraction to get to the shore, where Elide was, and oh boy...that’s when I wanted to rage. Nicely.

No, not nicely, because I got mad at the end.

First off, Maeve pretty much started to control Lorcan, Gavriel and Fenris by using the Blood Bond, cutting off both Lorcan and Garviel, then when Aelin and Manon came back from the mirror, which was also fucked up because of what Elena did and Nehemia did and Rhiannon did, Aelin had to surrender herself to Maeve after she couldn’t beat her. And Maeve revealed so much terrible shit she did to Aelin, the things she did too Rowan...it was too much that she surrendered. And then she dd the most horrible thing I can’t believe she’d do.

She called on her cadre, Cairn, to first beat her ten times and Maeve wanted her to count, but she didn’t do it. Then that damned bitch put her in a iron coffin with iron chains, and strapped a beautiful mask on her face. In the end, once they were gone, everyone was pissed off at what happened-Elide was pissed with Lorcan, Aedion found out the plan that Aelin came up with-since she isn’t going to be alive enough to live her life the way she wanted it, and Rowan and Aelin got married way before this happened, and I hope to god that everything works out, because I really want Aelin to get back to her husband and live her best life. Fuck Maeve and I hope she dies in a blood-soaked faerie hell.

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Book Review: The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

CW: Mentions of Rape

So this is my first Courtney Milan book, and I have to say...I actually enjoyed it. Yes, there is a mention of rape in this book, because the female MC, Serena, was forced upon by a dumb-ass duke, annnd she’s pregnant. Oy. So what does a pregnant woman do when the baby daddy wants nothing to do with her? She stands outside the house everyday, hoping that the Duke can fix it.

Well, the Duke did...sending a man named Hugo Marshall, aka the Wolf of Clermont, to deal with her. The Wolf of Clermont was known to be a pugilist who has done some dark-ass shit for the duke, and then one day he met Serena, who’s hellbent on getting her revenge on the duke for forcing himself on her, and they fall in love, slowly. Even the passing of notes was cute, when he asked her to marry him, and she wrote, ‘Congratulations, you have scared me (I’m paraphrasing) and on top of that the wedding was adorable (though Hugo couldn’t remember any of it).

The consumating of the marriage...I felt that deep in my soul (have no idea that it would do that, but can I say that Courtney Milan writes really good sex?), but then Hugo had to mess it up when he said, ‘This is why I didn’t want to consummate the marriage’ afterwards, but when they did, the pin idea when they trade pins for an act was the most beautiful thing I ever did see before they consummated the marriage. But when he just...left her there so she can go to her small farm...I was mad as hell about it. She kept thinking that he loved her, and he would turn around and come back to her.

But I was really glad when Hugo got the truth out of Clermont-that he did indeed force himself on him. Hugo gave him a punch to the stomach and left to go to her, and that’s when they reunited (after writing letters back and forth to each other.) The last chapter in this novella was when we meet Robert and Marshall at Eton, where they find out that they’re brothers, and that’s when the ball started to roll…

I am going to read the next book in this series because it was so damned good! Can’t wait to read more!!

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Book Review: T'Witches: The Power of Two by H.B. Gilmore & Randi Reisfeld

The Power of Two by H.B. Gilmour
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book...I’ve read this book when I was a kid. I loved it as a kid? Now? I still like it, but...but now as I sit here and finish reading this book...I like it just a little bit less. Yes I’m older and reading this book makes me feel like I’m back in Elementary School again, but as I read it now, for nostalgia reasons, I realize that I’ve quite...outgrown this book and the world, but I still fell in love with it.

This book is about twins named Artemis and Apolla, who had to be separated because of evil warlock named Thanatos (cool name for a warlock, yo) is hunting down the baby girls for evil (now who does this sounds like? Hmmm….oh hello Klaus Mikaelson back when you hunted down doppelgangers to break a spell...and also Thanos from the Avengers). Ileana and Karsh, the ones watching over them, separated them so Thanatos wouldn’t find them.

Years later they meet again, but under different names-Alexandra “Alex” Fielding and Camryn “Cam” Barnes-and they are totally different people. Alex is a goth kid that changes her hairstyle almost every single day, but she can read people’s minds, and Cam is a preppy kid who can see the future. They met when Cam’s family went to Montana to Big Sky, where they met and saved a family who was about to fall from a ferris wheel. After doing some enchantments, they fix the ferris wheel so the family doesn’t fall.

Of course, the first time they met they didn’t think that they were siblings at all. But once Alex’s mother died and Karsh flew her to Marble Bay, that’s when they realize they were (well, after two things happened to the twins that they couldn’t explain and they had to get a DNA test to find out if they were), that’s when weird stuff started happening.

First, a very popular singer, Marileigh Cooper, has gone missing. Cam and Alex are trying to figure out what happened to her so they can bring her back home safely. Secondly, they start to have weird dreams about a man (who turns out to be Karsh) and they learn a couple tricks from him. While they were trying to solve the case of Marileigh Cooper, they find that Alex can read minds and Cam can see the future (not like Raven, sadly…)

But the solve the Marileigh Cooper case, finding out that Tonya Gladstone fake-kidnapped her so she can rescue her and bring her back home so they can be friends...yeah no, that didn’t happen. Because Cam and Alex found her, but at the same time they ran into someone (Thantos) before Ileana and Karsh dealt with him. In the end, the pop singer is safe and everyone’s fine. I don’t know if I’m going to read the rest of the series or just stop at book one (i fact, I’ll just stop at book one) but it’s an okay book. Might pick it up in the future.

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Book Review: Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My last and final book in the Kevin Kwan read-a-thon I didn’t even know I was doing, and I have to say, I actually enjoyed it. This book, though it made me long for the days of going to Shanghai or New York with Rachel and the Shang-Young family, but reading about the Chruchills and being in their world was a refreshing thing. The sad thing about the whole entire thing was Lucie’s annoying fucking fiancee, Cecil Pike. Honestly, I can tell right away when I met him that I didn’t like him: he treated Lucie like a fucking barbie doll, he didn’t know her at all, and on top of that all he wanted was to use her for Instagram likes and stuff, and he’s also so very fucking dramatic, and I couldn’t stand him.

But let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Let’s start with…

CAPRI

Lucie is invited to go to Capri by her best friend, Isabel, who’s getting married to Adolfo de Veechi. Coming along with her is her cousin, Charlotte Barclay, because Lucie had never been anywhere by herself, and she needed a chaperon (why. Why does she needs one? She’s fucking grown) but when she gets there, she meets George Zao, and….survey says...she hates him. Like really hates him. But how can she hate him when he kisses her in an ancient ruin? How can she hate him when they nearly had sex during the wedding reception, and then had to stop because of a drone catching them in the act? Why did he come back to check up on her when a man had a heart attack, and she froze on the spot? Not even the beauty of Capri can get Lucie away from George Zao, but she was wrong...totally wrong.

THE HAMPTONS/NYC

Lucie is engaged to Cecil Pike, and everyone in her family loves/hates him (I hate him with a passion). Everything that happened to Lucie in Capri is over...so over...or so she thought. Because once again, George and his mother appeared, and once again, Lucie cannot stand it. She tries so hard to get rid of George and his mother, but it has became useless. George and Lucie’s brother has been hanging out, and there was a movie where a certain scene was in it...and Lucie lied to go to the bathroom, but instead kissed George and told him to fuck her (in which I would like for this to happen, please...like seriously, I want this to happen). She freaked out as soon as she said that, and left him standing there, speechless.

Then when she found out that Rosemary Zao is moving into her apartment, she does the most horrible thing ever: write a really terrible recommendation letter to make sure that she never gets the apartment, and she tried to do a smear campaign against her when Cornelia Guest was in the bathroom, and she overheard her. Lucie caught up with her, and Cornelia said:

Lucie, I’m really trying to stay out of your business, but it seems like you won’t let it go. Who are we kidding here? You were in the middle of a takedown, a total smear campaign. Now, I don’t live in your building, I don’t know any of these people, and this really doesn’t concern me, but please have some self-respect and stop trying to bullshit me. Because the only person you’re deceiving is yourself. And from the looks of it the only thing you’ll succeed in doing is pissing off your mother.

….burn, am I right??

But at the end, Lucie apologized to Rosemary and she and George went back to Capri to live there (yay) and also they went back to the grotto where they kissed the first time. Also they’re together, so I’m very happy about that.

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Book Review: Wicked Fox (Gumiho, #1) by Kat Cho

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book piqued my interest because 1.) foxes and 2.) the beautiful cover on the book. So when I picked it up and read the first pages, I knew I fell in love with this book. This book and this world sucked me in, and I couldn't stop reading. It read like an actual K-Drama that I would totally watch a couple seasons of, because holy hell this was a really good book.

So this book is about Gu Miyoung, a gumiho who moved to Seoul because something happened to her in Osaka, and on top of that, we see her hunting down her prey. Then once she steals the gi of her prey, she gets into a fight with a dokkaebi. At the same time a boy named Jihoon comes in the photo with his small dog, and that's how the ball got rolling. I love the fact that Miyoung's mother was also a gumiho, but to be controlled by her own daddy by her fox bead, which, might I add, was messed up. Honestly. SO. MESSED. UP. And then the thing with Jihoon’s Halemoni was messed up as well-including the fact that Miyoung had to sneak into the hospital to try and save his halemoni, only to find out that she can’t.

But the stories inbetween the actual story, of the gumihos throughout the years got me. To follow the stories and tales about the gumiho was very interesting, and I hoped that the author writes more in the next book (that I’m going to pick up and read soon because OMG I love them so much??). But my favorite out of all these wonderful characters has to be Junu the dokkaebi. He cracked me up the whole entire time and I loved him, and I hope he’s in the next book because I would love to see him again. (also he kinda reminds me of Magnus Bane but different? I can't place my finger on it, but he does.)

I really do reconmend this book because in my head, I saw it as an anime/K-Drama and I wanna read more!!!

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Book Review: The Wicked King by Holly Black

The Wicked King by Holly Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hello there, Miss Holly Black, how are you? How's life? You're going good? Okay.

Oh, Cardan, you're here as well? Okay. Alright.

I only have a couple words for y'all since THIS BOOK BROKE ME IN A MILLION PIECES AND I PROBABLY WILL BE BROKEN FOR A DAY OR TWO BECAUSE I'M THAT BROKEN...



CARDAN...WHAT THE FUCK MAN. WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO HER. YOU LOVED HER DAMMIT WHY DID YOU EXILE HER LIKE YOU DID?!

Okay, Brittany, calm down, and let's explain the book review before you start cursing out everyone in this book...

So this book was about Jude being the senschal to the High King of Faerie, Cardan Greenbriar, for a year and a day. She has been working behind the scenes to make sure Cardan's rule goes perfect in a year and a day, and also to make sure the throne is perfect for her little brother, Oak. But...BUT...things don't go well as she thought. Well for once, Cardan is nearly killed by an arrow that was shot by Nicasia, two, someone close to Jude will betray her, which turned out to be the Bomb...WHO WORKED FOR FUCKING PRINCE BALEKIN, WHOM I HATE WITH EVERY PART OF MY DAMN BEING AND WANTED TO FIGHT WITH TINY HANDS.

Because OMG he was a clever Prince, siding with the Folk of the Undersea to take Jude, and then tried to glamour her into doing whatever he wanted, which one of them was kill Cardan so he can take the throne, but that didn't happen because of the geas Prince Dain gave to Jude so she wouldn't be glamoured. So she goes back, just in time to marry Cardan and become Queen of Elfhame, right?

Hurray!

But...but that didn't happen.

Oh, no, no, no.

Because ONE, Taryn tricked Cardan when he was fucking poisoned so Jude's father, Madoc, can fucking strike out against the crown, like what the fuck, TWO, CHAPTER FUCKING FIFTEEN and THREE, Cardan exiling Jude for the duel against Balekin, which resulted in his death.

And yes, that's why I'm saying fuck you, fuck this, fuck that, fuck him, fuck you CARDAN.


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Book Review: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*clears throat*

Hello, my name is Brittany, and this is my first sci-fi novel that I actually enjoyed.

I don't read sci-fi that much, but when Anna said that this was the next pick for the book club, I had to pick it up and read it, to see if I was either gonna hate it or not. It turns out that this cozy sci-fi story is actually pretty good. Sure it didn't have that much action in it, but it does have a tiny bit of romance in it, some really good sci-fi soap opera, and of course, space stuff. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was really good to the point that I just picked up another one (actually, Doc wanted to know someone's thoughts about the second book, and I just checked it out once I got done with this one to see if the second one exceeds my expectations like this one did.)

So this book is about a woman named Rosemary Harper and she was hired to be on this ship called the Wayfarers, and she meets the crew-Sissix, Kizzy, Ohan, Dr. Chef, Ashby, Jenks and a AI named Lovey. They get a job from the GC, and they go to different places to get their supplies and relax a bit before they go to Hedra Ka. Rosemary and Sissix get together and it was so cute that I was shocked when they did. To tell you the truth I didn't see it for a moment, but I think when they were in the market and she saw how Sissix handled that other Aandrisk woman, Rosemary felt sorry for Sissix and thought that there were something missing in her life. They even went to her homeplanet and met Sissix's children (or egg children or something like that).

I liked the relationship with Ashby and Pei. Yes, it's a sexual relationship, but the way they cared for each other and how they had to keep their relationship a secret because of the fear of the blacklash from the Aeluons. I liked how they like each other enough to care for each other, and then when she heard what happend to Ashby, she decided to come and see him, not giving a fuck about the blacklash or anything.

But the thing that shocked me the most was when I learned the Corbin was a clone. A clone. Now that...that shocked me the most. I thought he was a normal human who got on the Wayfarers, but it turned out that he wasn't. And reading his backstory of how he came to be...oh my god. That was the saddest thing I've ever read ever. I felt sorry for Corbin and who is father was. And that his father is in jail. Like Space jail. Holy hell.

I really enjoyed this book, and now I'm off to book two!

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