It's about that time! May is just a few days away, and like any other month, there are plenty of books due to be released. Because of the length of this post, please click below to view the full list of titles!
*Note: Review averages are from April 28, and may fluctuate throughout the month. *Note: Books are ordered by release date, then alphabetical order
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Hey guys!
This month the Invisible Library group on Facebook decided to try different tiers to the book exchange. So rather than just exchanging books from each other's Amazon wishlist, we had a few different options. I decided to participate in the highest tier, which is something a little like Owlcrate (or any book crate, really), with a twist. Everyone filled out a form on their likes and dislikes related to books and bookish things, and their exchange buddy put together a box based on that! I happened to have both Peter Darling and Unhooked on my Amazon wishlist, so my buddy sent me this Neverland themed box! It's super cute. I got two books that I've been wanting for a while, a cute little moleskin journal, keychain grab bags (where I pulled cutie Tic Toc and Smee), among a few other things. I'm super excited, especially to read Unhooked. If anyone's interested in joining the Invisible Library group, where you can participate in monthly exchanges, let me know and I'll invite you! Keep reading, Vylithylia It's the first! Which means I can finally show off my Owlcrate goodies without spoiling it for other subscribers! The theme for March was Across the Galaxy, so I knew I had sci-fi in store. While not my favorite genre, it's pretty up there, and I was excited to see what Owlcrate had chosen. So unlike February, when I ended up buying a copy of the same book Owlcrate had chosen, I hadn't actually heard of Heart of Iron before opening up my subscription box. However, I usually have my eye on all the upcoming fantasy novels, and not much more, so that doesn't really come as a surprise. To be honest, I much prefer it when the book is a complete surprise. This is (almost) everything that came in the March Owlcrate! (There was also a cute galaxy scarf, but I forgot to take a picture of it before I gifted it away...) Groot was from a little Guardians of the Galaxy grab bag, and probably the cutest thing I got! Although I might be biased since I think baby Groot is a precious little bean. He's sitting on a candle based off of the Illuminae series - there were two possible variations that came in the box, and I received the one based off the second book. To the left is a cute little coffee mug, based on Cinder, and behind them is a promotion from Nerdy Post, with art from Red Rising on the other side. There was also a Heart of Iron poster with the four main characters on it, and a cute galaxy bookmark with a Star Wars quote on it (which my husband proceeded to immediately steal, especially since he found it appropriate to use while reading the Star Wars novels). And, like always, the book wasn't just a new copy. The cover is slightly altered (though I believe on this copy, it's just the color of the title) and it's signed! Super excited about this box! Heart of Iron will probably be a bit low on my TBR list, from a mix of having so much on the list already and being in a very fantasy mood recently! But I can't wait to read it and let you guys know what I think! Keep on reading, Vylithylia Thinking about trying Owlcrate out? Check it out! It's definitely worth the cost, and they've been including more in the boxes every month!
Interested in Hearts of Iron? Get it here! Nerdy Post, which was advertised on my Red Rising print, is also a pretty neat little subscription box. It's focuses more on artwork, as the contents are generally art prints and bookmarks, with a few other optional items. It's not an expensive subscription box, either, with the cheapest at $9.99. If you're interested, message me for a discount code! Daughter of the Pirate King is one of the first YA books I’d read in a long time, and the first fantasies that I’d been able to read for a while. I’d like to say that it was my re-introduction to both, and it certainly did a good job of sucking me back into the addiction of reading both. It also reminded me that YA isn’t as innocent as I thought. There are a lot of sexual comments, wearing revealing clothing, etc - not exclusive to Daughter of the Pirate King, as it also occurred in Cruel Prince. I just wasn’t as shocked after seeing it here. Alosa is, surprise, the daughter of the (self-proclaimed) pirate king, and the main character. She’s also part siren. Honestly, with the title of the second book, Daughter of the Siren Queen, I had still somehow expected the novel to evade the fact that she was part siren - either revealing it at the end, or alluding to it and introducing it in the sequel. I was very wrong. Being the daughter of the pirate king, she’s sent on a mission to retrieve something from the enemy. Alosa believes this is because she is his most trustworthy, but it’s often mentioned that she’s likely only important to him, and possibly trusted with this mission, because of her abilities as a siren. The romance in this novel felt so cheesy and forced, in my opinion. She is stuck on an enemy boat full of men, but the first mate is so handsome and like no other pirate she’s met before. He’s stuck on a boat full of men and one beautiful woman - a woman that seems to be hiding something and is full of mystery. Their romance seems there to both distract her from her mission and make her question her morals and loyalty. If anything, it feels like it is lust - again, boat full of men - but they still end up caring for each other to the point that it’s a problem to both of them. Honestly, it felt a bit out of the character that had been built up for her to not be cold and heartless towards him. Overall, however, it wasn’t a bad read. I picked up Daughter of the Siren Queen on release day, and even got a cute little signed bookplate for pre-ordering it. Like many of the books I’ve read since, the original journey wasn’t finished, leading into the sequel. I’m looking forward to reading it, even if just to see what happens next. Despite feeling like the romance was forced, I do hope the sequel doesn’t eliminate him as a character. Keep on reading,
Vylithylia Interested? Pick up a copy! Daughter of the Pirate King (hardcover on sale for $5.99) OwlCrate Daughter of the Pirate King with signed bookplate Daughter of the Siren Queen Prejudice has always thrived in human culture, despite those who try to stomp it out. Often, prejudice in prevalent as racism, sometimes to the extent that other races are seen as lesser - made to be servants or slaves. Enslavement of another race was seen in the United States for over 200 years, until it was outlawed in 1865.
Why is this important? Red Queen reflects this history. Set in a world where some humans have evolved, marked by their silver blood and unique abilities, history repeats itself. The Silvers, as those with silver blood are called, see themselves above those who haven’t evolved, the Reds. While the Silvers are nobles and wealthy, the Reds are forced to work and live in poor conditions. The Silvers rule the kingdom, while the Reds are forced into the army as soon as they turn 18. While the Silvers go into battle as generals, staying away from the front line, the Reds are practically used as meat-shields to prevent the enemy from pushing further. I had a bit of difficulty getting into the first couple chapters. Aveyard does a wonderful job building the world and introducing it for what it is from the beginning. The status of the Reds are made known. The abilities, power, and cruelty of the Silvers are introduced very early on, through an arena display that the Reds are forced to attend and watch. The hierarchy is between the two is made clear from the beginning. It is a hard life that Reds live, and the main character, Mare, a Red, has accepted that there is no hope for escape. These are the lives they are forced to live, and it won’t change. Despite how well the world is built from early on, the first two chapters are slow. While there is the arena fight, there is very little action to it, and serves more to help build the world and the difference between Reds and Silvers. It took a little over thirty pages for me to finally get into the novel. Yet, it wasn’t a can’t-put-it-down type of book for me, either, after that. The ending also felt very dragged out, with a lot of twists and turns and dangerous situations that Mare barely scraped by to escape. I found myself wondering why I was still so far from the end, when it felt like it was coming soon. This isn’t to say that it was bad - everything about it was well-planned out and made sense. It simply seemed to slow down and carry on for a lot longer than it needed to. Overall, I enjoyed Red Queen and have even picked up it’s sequel. I’m glad that I took the time to get past the beginning of it, and I really love the world it is set in. The writing is spectacular, and I didn’t feel disappointed with the ending. I just hate that I dreaded how long it felt to reach it. Keep on reading, Vylithylia Interested in Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard? Pick up a copy today! Red Queen Red Queen Collector's Edition On the island of Fennbirn, the queen births triplet girls every generation. They are separated from their mother at birth, raised together until they are six, and then sent off - not allowed to meet again until after the Beltane festival in the year of their sixteenth birthday. There is magic in Fennbirn, and each queen is born with a different gift - war, sight (which are both rare and almost extinct), poison, elemental, or naturalistic. In this generation, there is Katherine, a poisoner, Arsinoe, a naturalist, and Mirabella, an elemental. The crown is not won by one of the three through a simple display of power or through winning over the people. Rather, after the Beltane festival in their sixteenth year, an event called the Ascension Year begins. The three queens are forced to fight each other to the death - not always in conventional ways, as the previous queen won the crown by poisoning her sisters.
From early on, it is clear that the nature of everything is very dark. The queens of every generation have pale skin, black eyes, and black hair. Their ceremonial garb is black. The crowned queen’s murder of her sisters is not only seen as acceptable, but it is required and revered. Very few see the loss of a queen’s life as a true loss - knowing that two of the three girls will die in the end. Fennbirn is cut off from the rest of the world by an unnatural mist - outsiders can enter on occasion but the queens cannot pass through. There is a common worship of the “Goddess”, who is said to be the cause of the magical gifts that queens, and sometimes the common folk, hold. Tales speak of the three queens as a gift from the Goddess - if anything, why else are they born in sets of threes every generation? This concept very interesting and this world is part of the reason why I loved the novel so much. Before starting the book, I had been warned that it had a very slow start, but it still took me a few reading sessions to get passed the first couple chapters. The first chapter drew me in quickly, however, the chapters switch between the three queens, and for over half the book, it follows Katherine and the poisoners, Arsinoe and the naturalists, and Mirabella and the elementals (and repeat). When the first chapter ended and it switched to Arsinoe’s view, it felt very jarring. After a few chapters, once all three queens and their situations were introduced, it was a lot smoother to read. You go into the book knowing that only one queen is supposed to survive. The author, however, does a good job in making the reader care about all three queens. I want to root for all of them, and when one is in danger, it doesn’t feel like it would be an obstacle out of the way. Instead, I don’t want them to die. I dread when the Ascension Year begins because I feel for all three queens and their situations. While the characters may want different queens on the throne for political or personal reasons, the reader isn’t looking at it from the mindset of the islanders. Why does only one get to survive? Unfortunately, there isn’t really an answer to that. It’s just the way things are. That’s how the island has always worked. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, rough start aside. Finishing the book made me wish that I’d gone ahead and picked up One Dark Throne, the sequel, as I’m not ready to leave the island of Fennbirn just yet. I have high hopes for the sequel. Interested in Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake? Buy it on Amazon. View my Goodreads reviews. |
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