Month: August 2019

ARC Review | Our Wayward Fate

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Our Wayward Fate

Author: Gloria Chao

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: October 15, 2019

Categories: Family, Folklore, Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Seventeen-year-old Ali Chu knows that as the only Asian person at her school in middle-of-nowhere Indiana, she must be bland as white toast to survive. This means swapping her congee lunch for PB&Js, ignoring the clueless racism from her classmates and teachers, and keeping her mouth shut when people wrongly call her Allie instead of her actual name, pronounced Āh-lěe, after the mountain in Taiwan.

Her autopilot existence is disrupted when she finds out that Chase Yu, the new kid in school, is also Taiwanese. Despite some initial resistance due to the “they belong together” whispers, Ali and Chase soon spark a chemistry rooted in competitive martial arts, joking in two languages, and, most importantly, pushing back against the discrimination they face.

But when Ali’s mom finds out about the relationship, she forces Ali to end it. As Ali covertly digs into the why behind her mother’s disapproval, she uncovers secrets about her family and Chase that force her to question everything she thought she knew about life, love, and her unknowable future.

Thank you to Simon Pulse and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eArc.

This book was so full of many things: Ali’s experience living as a Taiwanese girl in Indiana, the secrets her parents are keeping, Chinese folklore, and a budding romance.

I love Ali! She’s outspoken, strong and spirited, she made me laugh out loud, a lot. I mean the girl isn’t even afraid to talk about pooping! 😂👏🏼 But Ali is tired of the racism she experiences in the all-American town she lives in. She’s tired of walking on eggshells at home where her parents never interact with each other and her mom never seems happy. Then one day a new boy comes to her school and he’s Taiwanese too. She was ready to dislike him for disrupting her school life, but having him around opens her eyes to a lot of things.

I felt for Ali and just could imagine how stifling it would be to live in a home where her dad is there but not present. Where her mom’s resentment just infects their way of life. I understood in the end where her mom was coming from but wow, the lengths she went through to ensure Ali’s future happiness, without knowing what would really make her daughter happy…it was a big miss on her part as a parent. Yet, like I said, I understood her mom’s fears, but it just made me sad.

Ali and Chase, are so cute together. It was so nice seeing Ali have someone to relate to because her high school friends were so not it. 🙄 I love Ali and Chase’s banter. Those kung-fu scenes just heightened the tension between them, I loved it. They are so silly together and fun. 😍

As for the larger issue in this book with the Chinese folklore and the history of Ali’s family. That was fascinating and it also made me realize, I don’t recall much about the history between China and Taiwan. You get a little idea of it in the book, but I really need to do some research on it.

This is a wonderful story about confronting family secrets, shame and regret. I really enjoyed reading about Ali’s journey as she faces the truth about her family and herself. Watching her come full circle with her family’s history is inspiring.

Get it here: Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!


Book Review | Circe

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Circe

Author: Madeline Miller

Format: Hardcover (owned)

Pages: 391

Categories: Greek Mythology, Adult Fiction

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

I saw this book everywhere and was intrigued, so I finally bought it. I can see why so many people fell in love with this book!

I am not a hard-core greek mythology fan. I remember learning about them in school thinking the Gods were just so wild. The way Athena was born was pretty crazy, straight from Zeus head, kinda cool, kinda weird. Also there was nothing relatable to me about the greek Gods. They were all too powerful, their epic battles and adventures were pretty awesome, but I couldn’t relate since I was not a god.

But this book Circe, is relatable. Obviously I am a mere mortal, but Circe is so unlike the Titans and gods in her family or those on Mount Olympus that she almost felt human. How can that be?

The writing is exquisite, the story-telling just sucked me in, much like Charybdis and her whirlpool! I felt like I was there with Circe. Now one of the reasons reading greek mythology challenged me was the family tree. Because they are pretty much related to one another. There is the incest – then again, they are Gods – what is the meaning of sex or sexuality to them? Not the way we mortals perceive sex that’s for sure. But yes, I usually need a visual family tree to follow greek mythology. The author, Madeline Miller, did such a good job telling this story, I didn’t get lost or confused. I mean Circe lives forever – so keeping her story linear through centuries, without boring me or losing me, was impressive. Also there is a helpful Cast of Characters list in the back of the book in case I forgot who was who, but I didn’t. Yay!

Circe is so unwanted. She is not goddess material, or so everyone tells her. She’s not tricky enough, not smart enough, not hard and vicious enough, she was not pretty enough. All her life she is told she is not enough. And it takes her awhile to learn some hard lessons but soon she learns who she is and accepts her strengths.

Just knowing what Circe had been through for centuries, at one point in the story, I agreed with her sister Pasiphaë, Circe was just being walked all over and she didn’t fight enough. But when she does fight back, it is glorious.

What touched me most about this story is Circe is a survivor. Through centuries of not being wanted, of losing her family, her home, her lovers and child even, she comes through. She is quiet and strong and always want to do the right thing. And when she becomes a mother I laughed because Circe is a goddess and even she was tired taking care of a mortal child! Same, I could relate, though I am just a mortal mom! Telegonus, her son, sounded like my son who was colicky as a baby. 😂 Watching their relationship grow, is so bittersweet. Okay wait, I didn’t laugh though, when she gave herself a c-section 😫, I had two c-sections myself and oh hell no would I want to perform that on my own.

This story is truly epic, in story-telling, scope and emotion. It doesn’t shy away from the violence of the gods or that they were incestuous, and had a thing about mating with magical bulls or cows. 👀 These gods and goddesses were often blood thirsty or just cold alien beings. At times I thought, is this story about Circe because she seems to have no power or is it about everyone else who has more power than her? In this book we read about the glorious stories of Daedalus, Odysseus, Helios, Scylla, Perses, Pasiphaë, Achilles, Athena and everyone under the sun and ocean it seems. I enjoyed it because I didn’t know half the stories. But what of Circe? Is she just there to be witness to all their greatness and nothing more?! I was so frustrated for her. Because let’s be honest, they all seemed more fascinating than Circe.

But it was the fine line she walked, wondering if she was a worthy goddess or more like a mortal, that was the most interesting thing about her. She may have seemed weak against goddesses like Athena, but her true voice was brave and strong. She stood up for what she believed in, no matter how they tried to suppress and threaten her. Her love for her child knew no bounds and she took care of herself and the both of them all by herself! You go, woman!

As for immortality and power, would you leave it all behind to become mortal? I ended that book wondering what I would do in her place. In the end, her choice was brave, it made me tear up. It takes courage to chose a life knowing it will be short but filled with love, despair, joy, pain and happiness. And death will be waiting in the end. Brave, that is what Circe is. The goddess and the book.

All my life I have been moving forward, and now I am here.”

Circe, Madeline Miller

The Reader Problems Book Tag

I saw this book tag on A Little Haze Book Blog and it looked fun. Check out her blog for more fun book tags and awesome book reviews. So let’s get to it!

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How do you decide what to read next?

With that many books, I’ll just pick whatever I’m in the mood to read. By the way, who has 20,000 books on their TBR? Because…wow, that’s a list to get through. 😅

2. You’re halfway through a book, and you’re just not loving it; do you put it down or are you committed?

I put it down and try to pick it back up again. If I borrowed it from the library, I may renew or just return it and pick it up some other time. If I’m reading an ARC, then I try to finish even if I don’t like it, just so I can give it a fair review.

3. The end of the year is coming, and you’re behind on your reading challenge; do you try to catch up? And if so, how?

I’ve already met my Goodreads goal, and I think early in my blogging I put up the Pop Sugar reading challenge, but I’m pretty sure I’m not going to complete it. And it’s TOTALLY ok…🤷🏻‍♀️

4. The covers of a series you love do not match, how do you cope?

Yikes..not sure if I’ve had that problem yet. But if that did happen and it’s a series I absolutely love, I’d buy the series with matching covers and donate the other one not matching.

5. Everyone and their mother love a book that you do not. Who do you bond with over your shared feelings?

Sometimes my hubby, but mostly on my blog – because there are always readers out there who share your feelings. They are out there!

6. You’re reading a book in public, and you’re about to start crying; how do you deal?

I do most of my reading at home so I’ve never dealt with this problem! I’d probably do a laugh/cry kinda thing if it did happen.

7. The sequel to a book you loved just came out but you’ve forgotten a lot of what happens. Are you going to reread it?

I used to reread when I wasn’t a mom and had more time to do so. These days, I usually just jump into the sequel and pray things from the previous book resurface in my brain.

8. You do not want anyone to borrow your books. How do you politely say no when someone asks?

This is so hard because I’m the only one who buys books among my friends and family. 😩 So I usually let them borrow because I want them reading something! lol

9. You have picked up and put down five books in the last month. How do you get over this reading slump?

Take a break and not read for a few days. Watch TV shows, I just binged the 1st season of Euphoria on HBO without meaning to! I realized I didn’t read for or write a blog post for two days and it was kinda nice. It helped me jump into a few books I was struggling with and write posts that I’ve been meaning to.

10. There are so many books coming out that you are dying to read. How many do you end up buying?

I don’t. I have kids, lol, money goes to their needs first. Thank god for my public library, online library, and recently – Book Outlet (so many discounted books)! It’s been a lifesaver and I just learn to be patient.

11. After you purchase all of these books that you’re dying to read, how long do they sit on your shelf before you read them?

I usually read them right away but lately the TBR list has grown very long and ARCs usually are a priority for me to finish.

I hope you enjoyed this book tag post, just to switch it up a bit from book review posts. Feel free to do it if you feel like it and if you do, please drop your links in my comments so I can see your answers. 😘

First Lines Fridays

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

Happy Friday book lovers! Another week in August is coming to an end and I just learned my son will have a spelling test every Friday. 😩 That emoji is the face I will be making every Thursday when I tell him it’s time to study for his test. 😂 I can already picture his face of annoyance. Sigh…oh well! So what book have I been reading this week?

“WHEN I WAS BORN, the name for what I was did not exist. They called me nymph, assuming I would be like my mother and aunts and thousand cousins.”

💛

💛

💛

💛

💛

I am slowly savoring this tale of Circe, I can see why so many people love it. I haven’t read a Greek mythology retelling in awhile because I felt like there was so much out there already. But this one feels fresh and the writing is beautiful, my goodness Circe’s siblings are such bullies though! Okay gotta get back to my book so I can write up a review for it soon. 😘 Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Book Review | Wicked Saints

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Wicked Saints

Author: Emily A. Duncan

Pages: 385

Categories: Dark Fantasy, Romance, Blood Magic

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. 

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy..

This book is such a mood. A dark and bloody mood. There is a lot of self-harm in blood magic, so beware if that’s not something you can read. Now I keep going back and forth with my rating of this…sometimes I think okay it’s 3.5 because by the ending I was like hmmm, it was pretty good but for some reason I felt like something was missing…just don’t know what. But 4 stars because I really like the whole gods vs blood magic thing going on? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Nadya is a cleric living in a monastery in the kingdom of Kalyazi and the gods talk to her, giving her powers when she asks. The Kalyazi worship the gods. Neighboring Travania has been at war with them for fifty years. Travania is home to blood magic and blood mages, they do not believe in gods.

Right away this book throws you into action which I liked. The world-building is detailed as we learn the differences about Kalyazi and Travania which is inspired by Russia and Eastern Europe. This book was more focused on Travania and what a scary place it sounds like with blood mages called Vultures ruling adjacent to the king of Travania. Vultures are the monsters. They are the mages that have delved so far down into their blood magic that they are altered and now are becoming a threat.

High Prince Seferin has been on the front lines for a few years but back in Travania, his father is hatching a plan that could be devastating to both kingdoms. He needs to find out what’s going on and stop his father before his plans come to fruition but he can’t do it alone.

And then there is Malachiasz, who was once a Vulture, and will always be a monster. Is it weird to say that Malachiasz is who I wish the Darkling (from the Grisha trilogy) could be? I know it’s not a popular view, many people loved the Darkling and the Grisha trilogy but I didn’t even finish book three of that series. 🤭 For me Malachiasz was mysterious enough, that I didn’t know how far deep in his rabbit hole he had dug into. We find out later it is pretty far down and not even Nadya can save him from his plans for power. It’s tragic.

Nadya is light, and Malachiasz is dark and though they come from different kingdoms, they agree to work together to take down the king of Travania. Nadya knows that Malachiasz’s use of blood magic feels all kinds of wrong to her. Everything about him feels wrong but he still manages to get beneath her skin. Talk about falling for the bad boy – Nadya, falls for the bad boy, the one she thought she could trust.

Now as for my reading experience – I enjoyed this bloody, stark world these characters live in. But the names were challenging to say in my own head (yes, I shorted Malachiasz’s name to Malachi…because I didn’t know how to say it!) that it took awhile for me to warm up to a few of them. Also this is told in dual perspective between Nadya and Serefin and it didn’t flow easily for me because I was more interested in Nadya’s journey at first so the middle of the story felt like there was a slight lull. Despite the lull I was still intrigued with the whole gods versus blood magic theme of the story, it’s what kept me reading.

I’m intrigued enough to want to keep reading the series. I want to see how much lower Malachiasz can go and what this means for Nadya and Serefin. So if you like dark and bloody, with a pinch of a tragic love story and monsters, you may like this one.

Get it here: Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!


ARC Review | The Grace Year

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: The Grace Year

Author: Kim Liggett

Pages: 416

Publication Date: October 8, 2019

Categories: Horror, Thriller, Suspense, Young Adult, Dystopian

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.

Girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.

Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for their chance to grab one of the girls in order to make their fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.

With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between. 

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this eArc.

I just wanted to get through two chapters and fall asleep because it was already past 10pm. But what happened? Five hours later, at 3 in the morning I was done with the book! 👀 And by the way, that book cover depicts this story so well – it’s pretty pink with petal outline designs and then that dripping red ribbon. This is not a sweet story, it is dark. This book kind of terrified me. Kid you not, the first thing I muttered after I finished the book was “that was so f-ed up”. 😅

I do not ever want to live in the world The Grace Year takes place in. No woman should ever have to live in a place like that.

But what is the grace year? It’s a year where a group of sixteen year old girls get sent to an encampment to rid themselves of their “magic”…because it’s what makes them crazy. Uh huh. 😕 They have to exorcise the magic out of themselves or die trying.

Every year girls get sent outside of the county where there are poachers, tales of ghosts haunting the woods and girls and women who live on the outskirts of the county because they were thrown out. Not all the girls come back home, and when they do come back, most come back very different from who they were before.

Tierney James, is sixteen and all she wants is freedom. But it’s finally her time to experience the grace year and when she’s there, all hell breaks loose. Think…Lord of the Flies. 😳

Horrible things start to happen, but was it because of real magic in the girls? Was it the beginnings of insanity? Was it ghosts really roaming around haunting them? And then there are poachers that want to take girl’s parts waiting in the woods. NOPE.. Nope, I would not survive the grace year at all. Tierney has to survive the girls, the poachers, the woods, and even herself if she wants to ever see her family again.

The story is fast paced, raw and gritty, and it doesn’t shy away from violence and blood. It paints a picture of how the men in this county view girls and women like chattel, or should I say, like cattle? They prey on the women, both the poachers and the men in the county. 😠 I had many “Oh hell NO” moments while reading this book, I was so pissed off.

Tierney’s journey in this book is nothing short of a miracle. It is heartbreaking, but in the end there is hope and I even teared up. The message in the book is powerful. Women are stronger, together, not tearing one another apart. There’s a multitude of issues that this book touches on.

The Grace Year is a riveting and brutal story about women’s place in society and how we survive and the fight to endure and try and change the system.

Get it here: Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out her awesome blog to check out other Top Ten Tuesday topics! This week’s topic is Cover Redesigns I Loved/Hated (submitted by Rachelle @ Shell’s Stories).

Shatter Me by. Tahereh Mafi

Definitely love the redesigned cover more, it’s so pretty. Looking at them side by side, wow, what an upgrade the new design is!

Throne of Glass by. Sarah J. Maas

The original is pretty but the redesign is much more fierce!

The Luxe by. Anna Godbersen

I read this a long time ago and don’t remember much about it. But I just saw the redesigned cover on Book Outlet and had to wonder if it was the same Luxe I read! It’s so different. I don’t love the redesigned cover.

City of Bones by. Cassandra Clare

I remember buying City of Bones when it was first published and I’m partial to how the original looks more vibrant. So I’ll say I like the original better, the new one looks so bland.

An Ember in the Ashes by. Sabaa Tahir

I thin both these covers look great in their own way. I think I’m more drawn to the first one because of the lettering and colors. For some reason I’m not feeling the red coloring in the new design.

Shadow and Bone by. Leigh Bardugo

I love both covers but the original just embodies the mood of the series I think. Dark, a bit steampunk and Russian inspired.

Vampire Academy by. Richelle Mead

I love the redesigned cover more for sure. I love instead of Rose’s face, we get a rose dripping in blood.

Judith McNaught Books

This goes for all Judith McNaught books, but I had all the books that didn’t have a woman on the cover and I really loved that about her books. So I’m definitely going for the original versions.

Jane Austen Books

I don’t think you can go wrong with Jane Austen book covers! I mean look at these beauties! I can’t compare them to the original, but I bet even the original cover is amazing.

Harry Potter – by. J.K. Rowling

Remember the original? For the middle grade kids that read the original, it’s a totally charming cover. I’m sure there are lots of versions out there but yes I definitely love it with redesigned covers.

Leave me your link to your top ten or top five in the comments! Would love to read your post. 😘

ARC Review | Tiger Queen

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Tiger Queen

Author: Anne Sullivan

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: September 10, 2019

Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**


In the mythical desert kingdom of Achra, an ancient law forces sixteen-year-old Princess Kateri to fight in the arena to prove her right to rule. For Kateri, winning also means fulfilling a promise to her late mother that she would protect her people, who are struggling through windstorms and drought. The situation is worsened by the gang of Desert Boys that frequently raids the city wells, forcing the king to ration what little water is left. The punishment for stealing water is a choice between two doors: behind one lies freedom, and behind the other is a tiger.

But when Kateri’s final opponent is announced, she knows she cannot win. In desperation, she turns to the desert and the one person she never thought she’d side with. What Kateri discovers twists her world—and her heart—upside down. Her future is now behind two doors—only she’s not sure which holds the key to keeping her kingdom and which releases the tiger.

Thank you to Blink and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this eArc.

Here we have another story about a Princess, who needs to prove herself in order to be the next ruler of her kingdom. There are so many similar books out there so I started reading Tiger Queen without any expectations and I was pleasantly surprised.

Princess Kateri can kick-butt. Kateri has to be the best fighter because the only way her father will let her rule is she has to defeat royals in the arena. Rodric, the captain of the guard and a ruthless fighter himself, is her trainer and then some. Now the enemy in this story is supposedly the Desert Boys, a group of stealthy urchins who steal water from the wells of Achra. Being a desert kingdom, water is precious, water is life, and when there is not enough to go around, the person who controls water, rules the people.

When Kateri finds out the truth about what is going on in her kingdom, she learns she has to be able to beat the last opponent in the arena or else she will lose her dreams of ruling and helping her people. She starts her training in the desert and only the strong survive there.

Achra is not a place I would like to visit. I am not someone who is seduced by sand, unless it comes with an ocean. 😅 Just knowing the people in this book were so thirsty made me feel parch reading this book. I can definitely understand and feel the desperation these characters have for water. And another reason I wouldn’t enjoy Achra? Oh the snakes, poisonous lizards, blood beetles and scorpions that seem to be everywhere in this landscape. And if avoiding them is a problem, well – guess what is on the menu in Achra? Yup, snakes, lizards, scorpions…😂. I thought it was actually really funny how most books usually make me hungry with their description of food but nope, not this book!

There is a lot of action in this book and the fighting and training scenes were really exciting. This book moves at a fast pace which was nice. The story is predictable but not in a bad way, I still found it enjoyable even though I knew what was going to happen. I also loved that there was no magic in this book, the characters had to rely on just skills and learning the ways of the desert. I love magic, but sometimes it’s just cool to see people fighting with their wits.

The stakes are high in Tiger Queen because who can live without water? No one. I enjoyed this story a lot and I think if you like desert landscapes in books, then you will really like it too.

Get it here: Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!



ARC Review | Sapphire Flames

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Sapphire Flames (Hidden Legacy, #4)

Author: Ilona Andrews

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: August 27, 2019

Categories: Urban Fantasy, Adult Fiction

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

In a world where magic is the key to power and wealth, Catalina Baylor is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, and the Head of her House. Catalina has always been afraid to use her unique powers, but when her friend’s mother and sister are murdered, Catalina risks her reputation and safety to unravel the mystery.

But behind the scenes powerful forces are at work, and one of them is Alessandro Sagredo, the Italian Prime who was once Catalina’s teenage crush. Dangerous and unpredictable, Alessandro’s true motives are unclear, but he’s drawn to Catalina like a moth to a flame.

To help her friend, Catalina must test the limits of her extraordinary powers, but doing so may cost her both her House–and her heart.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eArc.

If this book was good already without me even knowing what the series is about, I can only imagine how amazing the previous books are. Yes I requested this book not knowing it was part of a series and read it anyway.

Without knowing the backstory, I jumped right into the magical urban fantasy world of Primes, and the head of her House, Catalina Baylor. She is smart, funny, compassionate, and so brave. Her surrounding friends and family are memorable characters too and that alone wants me to read the other books in the series.

Also there is a seriously hot guy character named Alessandro and he’s an assassin/Italian count, what? 🔥😍 There is an attraction between Catalina and Alessandro but I’m not sure what their history is. Their relationship doesn’t overtake the story, which is nice, Catalina means business when it comes to her job and I admire that about her.

I can see why Ilona Andrews books are so popular. It has everything I enjoy in an urban fantasy novel. Smart kickass women, an intricate magic system, assassins, hot guys, friendships and tight family bonds. This book is fast paced, fun and engaging!

Get it here: Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!


ARC Review | Permanent Record

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Permanent Record

Author: Mary H.K. Choi

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

Categories: Coming of Age, Debt, Family, Mental Health, Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

After a year of college, Pablo is working at his local twenty-four-hour deli, selling overpriced snacks to brownstone yuppies. He’s dodging calls from the student loan office and he has no idea what his next move is.

Leanna Smart’s life so far has been nothing but success. Age eight: Disney Mouseketeer; Age fifteen: first #1 single on the US pop chart; Age seventeen, *tenth* #1 single; and now, at Age nineteen…life is a queasy blur of private planes, weird hotel rooms, and strangers asking for selfies on the street.

When Leanna and Pab randomly meet at 4:00 a.m. in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn, they both know they can’t be together forever. So, they keep things on the down-low and off Instagram for as long as they can. But it takes about three seconds before the world finds out… 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this eArc.

This book is so relevant for young adults today because it confronts the topics of student debt and mental health issues like depression and anxiety.

Pablo’s full name is Pablo Neruda Rind. Yeah, like the poet! Someone with a name like that will definitely have an interesting story and he sure does. Pablo is half Korean/half Pakistani-American and lives in New York City. He had one semester at NYU and dropped out. Pablo works at a deli just cruising by and ignoring the bill collectors calls and credit card bill statements that pile up at his apartment. His parents are very worried about him and his future.

Oh Pablo, the mom in me was so worried about him. I remember what it felt like to have student loans after college, and definitely not knowing for sure what I was going to do with my life. But what scared me most about him was that he dealt with his fears by running away from it. He was getting anxiety and giving me anxiety. Meeting a celebrity, Leanna Smart, who whisks him away to luxurious hotel rooms helps him forget all his problems for a moment but they always come back to slap him in his face when he’s at home and away from her.

The romance is sweet but it isn’t about that. It’s a coming of age story about a young man who is trying to find his way: what does he want to do with his life? What is he passionate about? Is he going to work in a deli the rest of his life? Is he happy with those prospects? He keeps hearing people say he has so much potential but he doesn’t know what that means. What is his potential? He doesn’t know and time feels like it’s ticking down with debt collectors coming after him and he’s only twenty years old!

Thank goodness for Pablo’s roommate Tice who tells him point blank what his problem is. I also appreciated how though Pablo thought he was alone, he really has a supportive group around him, he just needed to reach out and get some help. His parents are separated but you know they love him and want the best for him.

I really related to this book so much and can’t stop thinking about it, because I wonder if that will be my son one day. I told my husband about the book which led us to another discussion about our kids and their futures. I told my friend about it, she has no kids but wants kids, but we were both college students once upon a time, there were some things we wish we did differently. As a parent I worry about my kids and their future. We always think about if will we have enough money for my son’s college education and what if he doesn’t want to go to college? So many questions but in the end we just hope he is happy and can survive the “real world” when he graduates high school Yes, my son is going to be seven in August…🤣 but I am a parent and these are my worries. So this book hit home on many fronts.

I loved the whole city vibe of the book as well. I went to NYC only once and it was a time I was at a crossroads in my life and the city woke me up. It lit something in me that was dead for awhile and I love that I can feel that energy in this book.

This is an engaging book, relevant for teens and college students, also important reading for parents too! I loved it.

Get it here: Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!