QUOTES
"You could rattle the stars," she whispered. "You could do anything if you only dared." --Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass

"To the stars who listen--and the dreams that are answered."--Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

"Sometimes it seems safer to hold it all in, where the only person who can judge you is yourself."-- Sarah Dessen

"Life is full of screw ups. You're supposed to fail sometimes. It's a required part of the human existence."--Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

December 2020 Wrap Up 📚🎄🎁

 The Month of Re-Reading


This month I had to play massive catch up to hit my Goodreads goal (50/50). When December hit I was about 6 books behind schedule...YIKES. I decided to do a re-read of one of my favorite series, the Addicted Series & the Calloway Sisters Series. It's heavy in the Ritchie Twins content & light in new reads. I did finish two audible books, City of Bones & The Cruel Prince. We were liars was a quick read too. This will be a short post because I only have 3 reviews to do. The rest have already been reviewed and the links will be copied at the bottom. 
Fingers crossed 2021's reading goal will be met BEFORE December. 😜

New Official Reviews
The Folk Air Series: 
The Cruel Prince (Book #1) ⭐
By: Holly Black
About The Cruel Prince: 
Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself. 

Not going to lie, this was a struggle bus to get into. I see sooo many readers rave about how good this series is and how they loved the story. I wasn't one of those readers. My mom read the series and she wasn't overly impressed either, so I didn't feel bad about my attempts to read this. I tried reading the book & didn't get into it a few times, so I bought the audible version. That didn't go well either. It took me over a year to finish it and I had to push through. The reader for audible wasn't my favorite, but she did a decent job changing her voice up for different characters. I will say I didn't pay super close attention while listening & I still understood what was happening. So, it's a pretty easy read/listen. Jude seems like a character who will keep growing as the story line progresses. I am curious to see how Cardan will be. I've seen a lot of cosplays for him so he's clearly got some redeemable character arc coming. Because I hate not finishing a series, I will continue on to book #2 and I'm hoping I can get into it quickly. 

The Wicked King (Book #2)
By: Holly Black
About The Wicked King:
The enchanting and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince.

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

The Queen of Nothing (Book #3)
By: Holly Black     
About The Queen of Nothing:

He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.

Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.

Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics.

And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity…

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, comes the highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (Book# 3.5)
By: Holly Black
About How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories:

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, tis 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.
We Were Liars 
By: E. Lockhart
About We Were Liars:

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE

Okay so I started this book and read half of it in one sitting. I didn't even mean too...I just couldn't put it down. This book captures your attention from the very beginning and I'm not going to give anything away but man did I try to guess outcomes the whole time. E. Lockhart makes you stop and think while you're reading his story. I stopped to process things multiple times and I re-read a few pages just to make sure I was fully understanding the words/story. This isn't my normal aesthetic for reading, but I'm so glad I gave this book a chance. I definitely recommend this mysterious book about liars. 

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments Book #1) 
By: Cassandra Clare
About City of Bones:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... 
Note: I'm in the process of re-reading the Mortal Instruments books, so a full review post will done at a later date.

Links to Existing Reviews

Addicted & Calloway Series Reviews: New Authors Alert: Twin Sisters, Krista & Becca Ritchie
A Court of Frost & Starlight Review: Official Review: For All of Sarah J. Maas Books


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