Four Aunties and a Wedding by. Jesse Q. Sutanto | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Title: Four Aunties and a Wedding (Aunties, #2)

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: 3/29/22

Publisher: Berkley Books

Categories: Adult Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery, Humor

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

Thank you to Berkley Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The aunties are back, fiercer than ever and ready to handle any catastrophe–even the mafia–in this delightful and hilarious sequel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, author of Dial A for Aunties.

Meddy Chan has been to countless weddings, but she never imagined how her own would turn out. Now the day has arrived, and she can’t wait to marry her college sweetheart, Nathan. Instead of having Ma and the aunts cater to her wedding, Meddy wants them to enjoy the day as guests. As a compromise, they find the perfect wedding vendors: a Chinese-Indonesian family-run company just like theirs. Meddy is hesitant at first, but she hits it off right away with the wedding photographer, Staphanie, who reminds Meddy of herself, down to the unfortunately misspelled name.

Meddy realizes that is where their similarities end, however, when she overhears Staphanie talking about taking out a target. Horrified, Meddy can’t believe Staphanie and her family aren’t just like her own, they are The Family–actual mafia, and they’re using Meddy’s wedding as a chance to conduct shady business. Her aunties and mother won’t let Meddy’s wedding ceremony become a murder scene–over their dead bodies–and will do whatever it takes to save her special day, even if it means taking on the mafia.

Content Warning: Drug Use

I absolutely struggled through this one which is the opposite experience I had with book one of this series. I read the first book in 2 days! This one…I could barely finish, it’s taken me a month and I basically skimmed it to the end.

What didn’t work for me? You have to suspend your belief A LOT for this one, and as much as I tried, I couldn’t do it. I don’t know if it was because of my reading mood – I wasn’t in the mood for slapstick humor? Meddy is getting married to Nathan and flies to Oxford, England for the wedding – her aunts and mom bring the chaos as usual and this time they’ve hired wedding planners/vendors to help them. What they don’t know is this family of wedding planners has a sinister motive for helping them with this wedding. When they do find out these planners/vendors are not who they say they are – it is straight chaos until the end of the story.

The aunties that made me laugh in book one, made me cringe a lot in this one. They try to learn how to talk like the British and it’s kinda funny at first but the more it keeps going on, it’s just tiring. It’s even more chaotic than book one and this all takes place at Meddy’s wedding! It was too much chaos for me. I wanted Meddy to take control of the situation and obviously she does not know how to do that. Plus she’s lying to her fiance/husband for 90% of the story. It’s supposed to be her special day, couldn’t she have told Nathan at least?

Some things I appreciated about the story? The Indo-Chinese represenation like in book one. No matter how crazy Meddy’s family is – she loves them.

Why you should read it:

you love chaotic, ridiculous, zany stories with slapstick humor
Meddy’s Aunts and mom are wild haha

Why you might not want to read it:

not in the mood for chaos

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed the first book and I wish I stopped there. You will enjoy this story if you want more of the chaos Meddy’s Aunts and her mother brings…they bring it even more in this sequel. Unfortunately, I couldn’t suspend my belief enough to enjoy the wild ride this story took me on.

📚 ~ Yolanda

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by. Holly Black | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (The Folk of the Air, #3.5)

Author: Holly Black

Format: eBook (borrowed)

Pages: 200 pages

Publication Date: 11/24/20

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Categories: Series, Illustrated, Novella, Fantasy, Young Adult

An irresistible return to the captivating world of Elfhame.

Once upon a time, there was a boy with a wicked tongue.

Before he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone . Revealing a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame’s enigmatic high king, Cardan, his tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan’s perspective.

This new installment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, danger, humor, and drama that enchanted readers everywhere. Each chapter is paired with lavish and luminous full-color art, making this the perfect collector’s item to be enjoyed by both new audiences and old.

Content Warning: Abuse

I’ve been wanting a copy of this for awhile. I don’t have the physical copy (will have to get it for my collection) but I did borrow the ebook and it was exactly as I expected it would be. The story brings us back to Elfhame but we get to know Cardan much better. We get a glimpse into Cardan’s childhood and his relationship with Nicasia. And I absolutely adored all the scenes he has with Jude, with her as his Queen. They are seriously too cute together. I enjoyed this installment very much.

Why you should read it:

if you love The Folk of the Air series, this is a must read
it’s short, a quick read and has illustrations
the magical writing of Holly Black

Why you might not want to read it:

it’s too short and you may want more lol

My Thoughts:

I absolutely enjoyed this illustrated novella and need it on my shelf!

📚 ~ Yolanda

A Deadly Education by. Naomi Novik | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

Title: A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1)

Author: Naomi Novik

Format: eBook (owned)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 9/29/20

Publisher: Del Rey Books

Categories: Series, Young Adult, Dark Academia, Romance

Lesson One of the Scholomance: Learning has never been this deadly.

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

Content Warning: Violence

This one did not work for me even though there were some parts I actually did like about the story.

I like how appropriate the title of this book is. It is a deadly education indeed! I like the tone – there are monsters everywhere, I don’t even see how these kids survive and not a lot do. El is the perfect main character for a place like this school – she is grumpy, sassy, rude, not someone you will like or relate to, definitely not a likable character but she’s smart and aware of her surroundings, she knows how to survive this school, I give her credit for that! Her relationship with Orion the hero of Scholomance is one of my favorite parts. They become reluctant friends, and eventually more than friends but that was the only time the story held onto my interest. I did think the world building is great, a school infested with monsters – sounds pretty crazy and they have to use their magic skills to stay alive and graduate.

What didn’t work for me is we are seriously in El’s head the whole time! This book is only 336 pages and took me 2 weeks or more to finish! 😳 It’s a lot of info dumping and rambling and I could not get through it fast enough. It would have been nice to have more dialogue with other characters. I skipped a lot of her rambling. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Why you should read it:

you are a fan of the author (this was my first book from her)
dark academia – these kids can’t leave the school unless they survive by killing monsters and then graduate!
El and Orion are such an unlikely pair, she’s the grump and he’s the nice guy

Why you might not want to read it:

you are in El’s head a lot, a lot of rambling

My Thoughts:

This did not work for me, I skipped a lot when all I was getting from the book was El’s thoughts. It might have been due to my mood as well because I did love the world building and concept. Also the action parts were great but the rest was just not working for me. I’m not sure if I will continue the series but I am curious to see what happens next.

📚 ~ Yolanda

House of Sky and Breath by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, #2)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Format: eBook (own)

Pages: 805

Publication Date: 2/15/22

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Categories: Series, Urban Fantasy, Adult, Fated-Mates

Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar are trying to get back to normal―they may have saved Crescent City, but with so much upheaval in their lives lately, they mostly want a chance to relax. Slow down. Figure out what the future holds.

The Asteri have kept their word so far, leaving Bryce and Hunt alone. But with the rebels chipping away at the Asteri’s power, the threat the rulers pose is growing. As Bryce, Hunt, and their friends get pulled into the rebels’ plans, the choice becomes clear: stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight for what’s right. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.

In this sexy, action-packed sequel to the #1 bestseller House of Earth and Blood, Sarah J. Maas weaves a captivating story of a world about to explode―and the people who will do anything to save it.

Content Warning: Violence

I have finally read the book and whew…it’s a long one at 805 pages. I love the cover, this series has good covers so far.

Bryce and Hunt are solid in this sequel. There is no question about whether they are meant for each other, they are mates (I know SJM is all about fated mates). Nothing can come between them throughout this book and we see their relationship get to the next level. There are a bunch of spicy scenes between Bryce and Hunt with the signature mind and space altering sex that always happens in a SJM book. These two are ride or die, besties, lovers, partners forever and I’m glad about it but also I felt like okay now that we’ve established that, let’s move on in the story. 😅

The world building is as intricate as ever. This urban fantasy has everything in it: angels, demons, fae, shifters, wolves, mer, humans and everything in between. So I am impressed as ever with how vivid this world is.

The side characters have a big, big role in this book. I’m glad Ruhn had a chance to shine in this one. I think he was my favorite in the book. Ruhn is really trying to figure out who he is without his apart from his royal Fae status and I appreciated his struggle. Also, I was so into his growing relationship with the mysterious Agent Day – I was actually thinking it reminded me of like an online relationship 😆, it made me laugh a little when things got spicy! But I love Ruhn.

There are so many characters who got a spotlight: Tharion (the mer), Ithan (the wolf), Cormac (Fae Prince), Sofie and then some. And then some!!! There are sooo many characters and honestly I thought it was too many at one time. Cormac was okay-not very interesting, Tharion is to be determined…we shall see where his story goes and Ithan is that younger brother type role. Honestly by the middle of the book I was wondering why Bryce always surrounded by guys in this one? Where was the female friends I loved from book one?! Why was Fury and Juniper barely in this book? I was bummed about that. One of the reasons why I loved the first book was Bryce and her girlfriends. It’s almost at the end of the book when she longs for a female friend and finds a new one in Hypaxia, Ruhn’s fiance.

Speaking of fiance…this is a fated mates story which means…everyone is going to find a mate by the end of this series. 💯 That’s a lot of fated mates lol.

The story unfolds like a mystery with Tharion, being the main detective and then he drags Bryce and Hunt into the search . And for something so secret – it ended up being a whole group knowing the secrets! There is a LOT going on in this story and at one point when a character referred to Hunt as Athalar, I was like, who’s Athalar?! LMAO 🤣. I was like did someone new come into the conversation? I was so genuinely confused…that’s when I had to take a break on reading. Can’t they all just call him Hunt? Like everyone else was being called by their names except Hunt/Athalar/Orion. I have a hard enough time keeping the Princes of Hel straight – where is the character name list? I need one.

The beginning is good with Sofie and then it got slow and some parts was just boring. There was so much dialogue about mundane things at times. I was hoping for more urgency in finding this child with Thunderbird powers. That story fizzled out into something else…but that was the main engine of the story until Danika’s breadcrumbs started to lead them to something more sinister. I wanted more action, maybe less of everyone’s point of view. I could have done without the romance dramas of everyone involved, but I get that this is a romance heavy urban fantasy. The whole story was about finding information and making all the pieces fit into the puzzle. When there was action, it was good and there is a major twist at the ending. I’m still trying to decide how I feel about it…I was like 😳😱.

I almost wish this was one of those series that gave each character a book because it seems like Ruhn deserves one, Tharion, Ithan, Ariadne too probably, and Hypaxia also. And I can’t forget the Hind and her backstory as well!

I did not read this in one sitting like I do with SJM books, it took me about 3 or 4 days. The writing is easy so at least it is easily devoured but like I said…there is so much going on.

Why you should read it:

you are an SJM fan and already invested in the series
Bryce and Hunt steamy scenes for those who were waiting for it lol
some really good twists, especially the ending

Why you might not want to read it:

long and wish it had more action
I think some characters need their own book to keep some of these installments shorter
you will either love or hate the ending

My Thoughts:

I thought I would have read this in one day, even with the 800 page count but if I thought book one was a 4 star read, for me, this was a 3 star read but the ending bumped it up a little. But I wish it didn’t take 700 pages for me to be wowed by the book lol…the ending is a shocker for sure, and I will definitely read book three to see how that goes. I hope it goes beautifully but I also have my worries about it as well. Overall, a pretty good sequel with detailed world building as usual and characters I came to care about but there were spots that were little too slow for me. I loved that Ruhn had more of a spotlight and of course this will definitely make Bryce/Hunt fans super happy…well, for the most part. 🤭 Looking forward to book three…hopefully we don’t have too long.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Series I Need to Finish | Part 1

I’ve seen this around on other blogs and finally got around to making my own post because I have a few series that I haven’t finished that I really do want to finish. I’m hoping by writing it down it motivates me to pick up the books and finish.

First series I’m putting here since I’m already going to start book two is The Green Bone Saga. I finally finished Jade City and with the story fresh in my head, I feel like I should just go ahead and plow through the whole series.

Next is a series I’ve had on my bookshelf for I think 2 years now. I read Scythe and was in the beginning of book two when my mood changed. So now it’s just a series waiting on my bookshelf. The world building for this series is definitely one that has been stuck in my head for awhile, so I really should finish it.

And last but not least, another series on my bookshelf just waiting to be read…actually I’m missing the 3rd book. This was popular a few years ago too and I found the books on bookoutlet for a great price but I was never in the mood to read it.