April 2021 – Page 2 – wings and fables

Review: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

April 21, 2021April 24, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables9 Comments

“why won’t you leave me alone?” i whispered one night as he hovered behind me while i tried to work at my desk….”because i’d be alone, too,” he said.
leigh bardugo

Series: Shadow and Bone #2

Release Date: June 4th 2013

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | High Fantasy | Romance | Adventure

Page Count: 432

Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary: Darkness never dies. Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long. The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Rating:

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Top 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Tuesday: Debut Novels

April 20, 2021April 21, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables6 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly series created by Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan Reads. This week’s topic is Top 5 Debut Novels.

This topic has really blown my mind in a few ways as there are so many books I thought I could include on my list and it turned out that the author’s debut novel was not the one I thought it was! Google really saved me this week.

1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder was the first book that popped into my head when reading this week’s topic. I think it’s so cool that it started out as a Nanowrimo project—talk about a success! This book absolutely captured my heart and it’s still one of my favorite series to date. I haven’t had a chance to read Meyer’s other novels yet apart from this series, but I have purchased them and will eventually get to them on my lengthy to-read list.

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Reviews

Review: A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer [Spoilers!]

April 17, 2021April 21, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables4 Comments

“yield to yourself. yield to forgiveness. yield to happiness. yield to this moment. it’s not hers. it’s yours. it’s mine. it’s ours.”
brigid kemmerer

Series: Cursebreakers #3

Release Date: January 26th, 2021

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | High Fantasy | Romance

Page Count: 408

Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary: Face your fears, fight the battle. Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone—even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace. Fight the battle, save the kingdom. Meanwhile, Lia Mara struggles to rule Syhl Shallow with a gentler hand than her mother. But after enjoying decades of peace once magic was driven out of their lands, some of her subjects are angry Lia Mara has an enchanted prince and a magical scraver by her side. As Grey’s deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs. As the two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and a dangerous enemy returns, in this stunning conclusion to bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series.

Rating:

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: What Makes You Pick Up a Book

April 16, 2021April 21, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables4 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Rafaela @ The Portuguese Bibliophile and is What Makes You Pick Up a Book.

What makes you pick up certain books? Is a pretty cover enough?

Word-of-mouth is the most powerful influence for me as a reader. If I see a lot of hype, positive reviews, or a friend recommends it, I’m almost guaranteed to pick the book up. As far as browsing on my own goes, covers are the very first thing I notice about a book, before the title and the author’s name even. And I am fully guilty of purchasing books based on their pretty covers and nothing else. Sometimes this turns out great and I fall in love with the book. And sometimes I wish I had actually read the summary or a Goodreads review or two so I’d realize the subject matter wasn’t something I was actually interested in. But since I am a frequent shopper of discount bookstores, I don’t usually count it as such a loss since I didn’t spend much money on the book to start with.

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Reviews

Double Review: Of the Blood & Of Fire and Water by Cameo Renae

April 14, 2021May 8, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables5 Comments

“when a wicked heart remains in the darkness too long, it begins to crave that darkness, until there is no light that can drive it out.”
of the blood, cameo renae

Series: Heir of Blood and Fire #1

Release Date: May 10th 2020

Publisher: Victory Editing

Genre: New Adult Fiction | Fantasy | Paranormal | Romance

Page Count: 432

Source: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Summary: Raised in a war-ravaged continent, temptation comes to Calla Caldwell in the form of a charming and mysterious stranger. Giving in to his intimate seduction, her world is forever changed by a single bite. Calla quickly learns the handsome stranger is vampire prince, Trystan Vladu. His bite was an attempt to claim and save her from a plot of vengeance generations in the making. However, the claws of that ancient vendetta are scraping ever closer. Thrust into a new nightmare by the Prince of the corrupt kingdom of Morbeth, Calla is captured, tortured, and starved in the dank confines of his dungeon. While in captivity, she takes part in a séance with a witch of light where she contacts a departed relative—a Princess of Incendia—who bequeaths a gift to Calla that will tip the scales of good and evil . . . if she can learn to harness it. With a dark tapestry of secrets, lies, and murder unraveling around her, Calla must learn to embrace the power roiling through her veins, or be snuffed out by the strangling fist of a malevolent darkness.

Rating:

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Top 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Tuesday: Books You Would Re-Rate

April 13, 2021April 21, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables5 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly series created by Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan Reads. This week’s topic is Top 5 Books You Would Re-Rate.

I am a chronic re-rater. If you follow me on Goodreads, you might have seen me rate a book upon finishing it only to change the rating when I post my actual review. The more time I’m able to really think about a book and my feelings about it before diving into the next one, the more likely I am to change the rating by a star, either positively or negatively. Here’s my top 5 books that I would rate differently now if I were to re-read them:

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I make it no secret that ACOTAR is one of my favorite series so it might be surprising that this book is on my list. However, the first time I read it, I truly didn’t get the hype. I was new to the fantasy genre (I favored dystopian at the time) so I was left with a lot of questions about things that didn’t make sense to me. Now that I’ve expanded my fantasy reads, I understand that logic is one of the worst things to use when reading them. Fantasy is meant to be enjoyed with the way the writer chose to create the world. It’s not meant to be compared to what makes sense in ours. If I read this book again, I’m sure my 3 star rating which felt generous at the time would be higher by at least a star.

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Book Boyfriend Qualifications

April 9, 2021April 21, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables9 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly series hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic is Qualifications for a Book Boyfriend/Girlfriend.

I always see LTB posts on my dash every week and always enjoy reading everyone’s thoughts on the weekly topics but I’ve yet to be organized enough to participate. This week I’ve finally managed to be able to write my thoughts down on a topic so I’m really excited to be able to join. April’s topics look amazing and I can’t wait to read everyone’s posts!

Do you have any book boyfriends/girlfriends?

Yes! Isn’t one of the best parts of reading books falling in love with a character? It always amazes me when I take a step back to look at a book objectively just how much work some authors put into creating their characters. You can tell how much thought and backstory they’ve poured into them even if it doesn’t always make it onto the page. They often spawn fanfiction even because readers love the characters so much and want to continue their stories in some way or place them in an alternate setting and explore their reactions to it. Some of my favorite book boyfriends are:

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