2 Book Reviews: For Butter or Worse & Once Upon a Dream

For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The enemies to lovers were there. It was beautiful. I loved Nina and Leo's banter. But the fake dating just threw me off to the point that it made me mad. I'm sorry, you have to plan out your dates and let the paparazzi and everyone believe that you're dating, and not organically date and fall in love? Um, no. I'm sorry, I don't like the fake dating trope. It is confusing to me and I don't understand why they had to do it.

Now I loved how headstrong Nina was. She tries so hard to stay away from Leo and wants nothing to do with him. She wants to focus on her restaurant. But after quitting her cooking competition show after Leo's digs, her publicist came up with a great, but really stupid idea: why don't you two fake date after the paparazzi caught y'all in a very precarious situation. No. I'm sorry, but no. That is the stupidest idea I've ever heard. But the more I kept reading, the more annoyed I was about this trope and how I felt like it didn't work with the enemies-to-lovers trope as well. It didn't. It just confused me more, like why couldn't they fall in love organically, and then they can go on dates and whatnot? That was what I was hoping for. But instead, they just went on these really cute dates, not gonna lie, and then they fell in love.

Leo just...Leo felt boring. Yes, I felt sorry for him with his anxiety attacks and him just taking care of his father's restaurant, but he felt like cardboard and really wasn't interesting and someone I didn't think would work as Nina's fake boyfriend. I was falling asleep each time his parts came up. I wanted him to do something fun and exciting and do something grand...but I felt like in this book he didn't, which was sad because Nina needed someone like that.

I am glad they got together, but that middle part just...kinda ruined it, tbh. I wanted violence from cardboard Leo, but he just...didn't do anything. It made me upset that he didn't, but then he had the anxiety attack, which let him off the hook. But it did start with Nina sending that text message to the wrong person, and no, I'm not blaming her, but it did start with her.

I'm glad they aren't doing a show together anymore and all that, but I don't like the fake dating trope at all, but I'm going to give it another go to see if it's just this book that made me hate it.

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Once Upon a Dream by Liz Braswell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm so glad I FINALLY read this book because I enjoyed it. This is my first time reading a Sleeping Beauty retelling, and I enjoyed it. This one is about Sleeping Beauty (Aurora Rose) and how she was stuck in a dream world she created, but the only way to get out of this world she created, she had to defeat Maleficent. See, in the other world where she is sleeping, Aurora is sleeping and Maleficent is supposed to be dead...or is she? In the dream world that Aurora created, Maleficent is her aunt (weird, I know), they hold balls and dinners and stuff every month, and Maleficent keeps telling Aurora that she cannot go outside to the Outside World because "it's dangerous." Well one day, Aurora starts to realize that things aren't what they seem, and that everyone in the castle is starting to either disappear or act strange.

Disappear is right. One night Aurora goes up a tower and finds her dear Auntie Maleficent killed someone and dips her staff into the blood...and Maleficent gets younger and powerful. So what does Aurora Rose do? She escapes and goes to the Outside World, which was supposed to be poisonous, dangerous, and painful...but is cool, has breathable air, and animals that are alive and well.

It looks like "Aunt Maleficent" was lying to her.

While Aurora explores this Outside World, that's when she meets Prince Philip, and the two decide to team up and fight Maleficent, and also get her memories back. The more she's around Philip, the more she starts to fall for him, even try to remember him, but some parts cracked me up, like when she told him to shut up when she wanted to smack him upside his head....there were many funny parts in this book, but I cannot for the life of me remember. I do remember the parts when the memories of her life outside of the dream world and the Outside World collided and she had headaches. All of that-I got worried that she wasn't going to survive it. Still, she recovers, and the two move on and meet the fairies that were "bad" in Maleficent's world, but in reality, they were Aurora's real aunties, even though she was upset that they didn't tell her about the deal and why they had to take her away from her parents.

Speaking of her parents, they were in the book for a short moment before they were killed by Maleficent, which sucked by the way. But other than that, the fight between Aurora Rose, Maleficent, Prince Philip and the fairies was kind of a let down, tbh. I was hoping for the same thing to happen in the Outside Dreamworld, but instead it just...kinda fell flat because of the fact that it took Aurora to create a spindle, tear the needle off from the thing, and then stab her with it. Yes, it was fun and interesting and a nice twist, but the way Maleficent died...kinda made me a tiny bit sad, but at the end it ended nicely, without Aurora and Philip still together, but not married (thank god, tbh.).

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3 Book Reviews, 1 Post: A Venom Dark and Sweet, Hooky, and My Lady Jane

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again, this had The Apothecary Diaries vibes, but with a LOT of those C-Drama vibes, and it was a really good ending to the duology. I enjoyed the duel POVs with Kang and Ning, and how during Kang's POV, he was struggling with the position of being the Crown Prince, and all he wanted was to be his dad's son and help him rule the country. But thanks to someone leaving messages in a very delicious cake, there is something wrong in the court. Kang tries to find out what's going on, but he can't until he is sent to get an orb that Chancellor Zhang wanted...or so he thought.

Instead, the one who wanted the artifact was none other than the serpent Gongyu himself, who was possessing his father. When it was revealed that it was Gongyu who wanted all of this, Kang was shocked and also knew that everything that happened to Ning was a lie, because he was there when everything went down in the first book.

While all of this is happening, Ning and her sister, Shu, travel with Princess Zhen and her bodyguard/lover, Runyi, along with Astronomer Wu, to stop the poisoning and to stop Gongyu, but after the events of the first book, when Ning saved her sister from the serpent's bite, only to get bitten by the serpent herself, Ning goes around and tries to help people affected by the poison tea bricks and the serpent. One she didn't save, another she did, and when she reunited with Kang, she hated him in the beginning, but then as she works with him to get what the both of them needed and to stop Gongyu from devouring a thousand souls so he can come back to life.

Even though she didn't have her magic, I'm glad that Ning tried her best with what she got, which was fine with what she borrowed, which was something I really liked. I truly enjoyed this book and I'm glad I read it, can't wait to read what else Judy L. Lin writes.

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Hooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG THIS BOOK WAS SO CUTE.

I really enjoyed the artwork, the colors, and the characters. All of them spoke to me in ways I'd never thought I would like, but I loved every bit of it.

Hooky was really funny and also very cozy. My favorite character in this whole comic was Princess Monica. She knew what she wanted, and even though she was scared and then got brave, she was the best character ever, and I wanted to hang out with her. My second favorite character was Dani, who was very protective of her brother, and she also tried something new, which I enjoyed and also I liked her brother, Dorian.

This comic cracked me up, made me smile when the siblings did something, and this also made me glad that the second one is coming soon because I truly enjoyed where the story was going, and it made me want to pick up book two right now. I do have book three, but I wanna wait for book two to see how all of this picks up and ends.

I really enjoyed this comic, might be one of my new favorite comics that I've ever read in my life, and I need to read more.

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My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Lady Jane was a fascinating and quick read about Queen Jane Grey, who was queen for nine days. But this book's twist is that her husband, Gifford (call him G), can turn into a horse. That's right, a horse. And Jane? She can turn into a ferret, which I did crack up when I read it. I liked how they kept Edward Tudor in the story turned him into a kestrel, and gave him his happy ending, because yes, dear reader, I was worried that they weren't going to give him that happy ending, but when they did, I was so glad, because now he can live out his best life with Grace and also his dog, Pet, who is with Elizabeth I (who, it turns out, is a cat. That we don't see.)

I liked how Jane was such a bookworm and how she put those book facts to the test, she was slowly but surely falling in love with G, who was in love with her, but each time they had time to be alone or to talk about anything, he'd turn into a horse and have to be a horse until nightfall. The escape from the castle when Mary, Bess and Edward's sister, marched her army and took over the castle and usurped the throne from Queen Jane, she refused to denounce her husband and was locked up in the Tower of London, when she was trying to think about escape when she turned into a ferret and thanks to G and Peter Barrister, the both of them escaped and went to find help, so they can find Edward and take the throne back from Mary.

My favorite thing that the Lady Janies does with these books is make them funny, yes, but also they incorporate history into these books and make it really fun, exciting, and also, make history fun. I learn so many things about the people they're writing about, and it makes me want to learn more about the real people they are writing about, because it was so much fun reading this book. I also like the part when it turns out that Mary was a grey mule and she stayed liked that in the end. I also like that Edward gave up his throne and gave it to Bess, whom it turns out was a cat, but she didn't really show it.

I did love all of the characters, but I loved the grandmother. She cracked me up the most and reminded me more of my grandmother, and it made me miss her. I've read My Plain Jane from these ladies, and I cannot wait to read more of this series from them.

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Book Review: A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy L. Lin

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book had a whole bunch of C-Drama vibes and also a whole lot of The Apothecary Diaries vibes, which I love so so much, which I why when I picked this book up to read, I wasn't expecting it to be this good. I really enjoyed the competition that was going on to find the next Shennong-shi, and I also loved the political intrigue and everything. I'm so glad that I got the second book so I can read more of this series, and also enjoy this book as much as I did the first one.

I liked the concept of magic being used with tea because it was a very interesting competition, and learning about the many types of tea leaves that exist in this world is very interesting to me. Mix in the political intrigue and the love story between Ning and Kang/Bo, and this is a perfect book. I did enjoy seeing the people in the background of the Palace and how they helped with the competition, and how in the end Ning, the girl who came to this palace to compete so she can save her sister from poison, but at the same time, Ning is thrust into a terrible world of political intrigue, and meeting people that would do anything to kill her or thrown into the dungeons forever.

I wasn't expecting Ning to have a relationship with Princess Zhen and her bodyguard/lover, Ruyi. I thought the princess was boring and was just there for show, but when Ning finally met her and actually got to know her, it felt like Zhen could be her friend while she goes on this journey to win the tea competition and get her wish to save her sister, only for it fall in her face when the evil Chancellor decided to get rid of her for good, bringing up her mother and how it was supposed to be her sister that was supposed to compete, not her. Then he sentenced her to a lot of lashes that would kill her. But thanks to the Shadow and Princess Zhen, Ning left Jia, the capital, and went back home, after she discovered that the handkerchief her sister made for her had a recipe for an antidote-and all it took was some crushed pearls that Kang was giving to his soldiers, and it helped her get rid of the poison in Shu’s body.

In the process, she got hurt by the snake that was chasing after her sister, and now they are about to head on a journey to try and stop Prince Kang and save Jia. The whole entire thing kept me engaged and I wanted to read more, to see how this book will end, and I’m so glad that I brought the second book so I can read it, because it was so good that I was sucked into the world, and I didn’t want to leave it. I cannot wait to get back into this world, to see how all of this ends because this book was amazing and I enjoyed myself.

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Book Review: Moriarty the Patriot vol. 2 by Ryosuke Takeuchi

Moriarty the Patriot, Vol. 2 by Ryōsuke Takeuchi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reading the manga after watching the anime and remembering how it all went down was so fun--but also SHERLOCK HOLMES STOLE MY SKULL RING AND HE NEVER GAVE IT THE FRICK BACK.

(before you ask me how...I don't know how he stole it. He just did...darn it.)

Anyway, I read this after DNFing a boring book, and I'm glad I picked this book up. The beginning starts out with William being kidnapped--something I wasn't expecting, but I was wondering why the book started out like this, until I saw where it was going and how it all played out. I'm glad that Albert is now the leader of M16, the new shadow organization. And then once that story was over...we go to the Noathic...and the "werewolf" that ended up killing that guy and then everyone saw.

Seeing that storyline in the manga was pretty damn fun. I hated the Count and seeing Sherlock (WITH MY RING) show up and start to guess and go along with what was going on was so much fun to see, it was like I was watching the episodes all over again. I was waiting on Sherly to call William Liam, but then I realized that I had to wait for the other books to get to that, but I did enjoy how William and the others drove the Count to stab the dead body to make it look like he killed him right then and there. I was glad that he was exposed because I didn't like him.

The next one was basically a Study of Scarlet, but they called it 'The Study of S." I believe, and it was really funny seeing Sherlock and Mrs. Hudson and John getting together and Sherlock pulling a prank to see what John would do (WITH MY RING) and then the ending when he was falsely accused and arrested. Darn it. How will Sherlock get out of this one? I don't know, but I cannot wait to read more to find out.

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Book Review: A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair

A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was all over the place. I felt like Persephone was making a whole bunch of mistakes and isn't giving a damn about the consequences, and she's not caring for herself. She's not even thinking straight when it came to her friends and her relationship with Hades. She's just doing everything and damning the consequences, which is very bad in my opinion. Every time she and Hades have a conversation, she's either holding back on him, or she's yelling at him, which really doesn't make any sense at all. Why fight him, then turn around and smash him after you get done yelling at him? What kind of relationship is that???

Then the whole thing with Apollo just really...confused me? Like she made a deal with him to be his friend for six months because you wanna save your friend Lexa-which will be my next point of discussion when I get to it-and when he agrees after you nearly take off his penis with your thorns, the first thing he does he take you to a club and forces you to judge a contest that shows how ruthless you can be...like sir? The hell is your damn problem? And he gets mad when she chooses the other guy over you...is you dumb??

The whole Lexa thing was just....plain weird and plain selfish. Lexa wanted to DIE, and yet Persephone tried everything in her power to save her, only for it to backlash in her face...and you want me to feel sorry for her? Really? 'Oh she needed to go through this' BULLSHIT. I felt like Persephone wasn't thinking with her brain or her heart, she just went through it without the consequences. She should've talked this through and not just jumped in, wholeheartedly, into this. If she did that, I think she would've been fine and the book would've been much better. Will I finish this series off? I might, but not for a minute because this book was a hella mess and it's my least favorite one out of the series.

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Book Review: The Perfect Mistress by Victoria Alexander

The Perfect Mistress by Victoria Alexander
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Perfect Mistress, though funny, was just okay to me. Nothing to run home and tell Mama about, TBH. I like the banter and the spark between Julia and Harrison, the ghost thing was fun, and the parts in between chapters with the words Hermione wrote were fun to read. But the one thing that irked me and got on my last nerve was the writer who kept going along with Harrison's plan to take the memoir and write a very terrible book about it.

Julia has to be one of my favorite characters of all time. Yes, she is trying to save money, and the only way she can get money is if she sells her great-grandmother's memoir called The Perfect Mistress. Everyone is giving her an offer to purchase it-Mr. Cadweller, the author Mr. Ellsworth, and Harrison. At first, Harrison devises a plan to try and get her to see reason to NOT publish it-a story of his father is in the book, and he doesn't want scandal to touch the family. Well, it didn't go well, and then Harrison came up with another scheme to get her to not publish the book, which is both very smart and also very stupid of him: be her friend and then get her to not publish the book.

Sounds fun, right?

Nah. It doesn't sound fun at all.

Because after kissing her on the terrace at a poetry reading, that's when Harrison realizes that he's in love with her, and now he's warning her about men who might take advantage of her and all of that. And each time he and Julia are in a room, they are fighting and nearly ready to kill each other. Harrison even saved her before she was kissed by Ellsworth. I was happy that they got together, but then at the end it was just them arguing until they forgave one another--which was fine, and that was it.

I did enjoy myself, it was funny at some parts, but other than that it was okay, nothing to run home and tell mama about TBH.



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Book Review: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation volume 3 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 3 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reading this book and having SO MANY FLASHBACKS to The Untamed and going "oh no" with each page, knowing where this was going and how painful it was going to be. I almost cried at certain parts, and laughed at some parts. I even cheered when Yangli stood up to that guy whose name I've already forgotten because I hate his bloody guts.

And Wei Ying...poor Wei Ying...everyone hating him for what he did, and then everyone turning their backs on him because of what he did...ow. I felt sorry for him. Even when he and Lan Zhan met up again I just couldn't help but repeat the lines, Wei Wuxian!, Lan Wanji. Like it was like he said his name so calmly instead of shouting it like he did it in the book...ow my heart.

Reading how Wei Wuxian turned into the Yiling Patriarch almost made me cry, but also FUCK Wen Chao, and I'm glad he got what he deserves. Because I'm imagining what Wei Ying went through to start the Demonic Cultivation path...god that hurt. But now I cannot wait for the next volumes because I know they're going to be good, and also they might make me rewatch The Untamed again because goddamn this book was so good. Even the scene in the cave with Wei Ying and Lan Zhan in the cave cracked me up--and the shocking part when Wei Ying was blindfolded and Lan Zhan kissing him instead of the other way around. It was beautiful and it made me smile.

But my favorite parts is whenever Wen Ning showed up and just...just be baby. I love Wen Ning so much (as much as I love Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan). Wen Ning just needs to be protected at all cost.

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