wings and fables

Review: Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

May 3, 2021May 8, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables2 Comments

it was wrong to justify what sort of hurt mattered and what didn’t. anything that left scars came from hurt. only now was she realizing the scars she bore and had trained herself not to see.
janella angeles

Series: Kingdom of Cards #1

Release Date: August 25th 2020

Publisher: Wednesday Books

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

Page Count: 464

Source: I received an advance reader’s copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Goodreads Summary: In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes. As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Rating:

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TBRs

TBR: May 2021

May 1, 2021May 6, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables6 Comments

Hey, everyone! I hope you’re having a great day/night so far. This month I plan to participate in a readathon in the middle of the month from May 16th-21st so my monthly TBR is a little shorter to account for that. I will be posting my TBR for the readathon closer to the date it starts but I will be attempting to complete 3 books during that week. So here are the other 4 books I’m hoping to finish this month!

1-2. Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get through the Six of Crows duology before the Shadow and Bone show dropped on Netflix but I’m even more intrigued to get through them now that I’ve seen some episodes of the show. I’ve heard that many readers prefer the characters or the storyline of Six of Crows to Shadow and Bone so I’m hoping I’ll join their ranks soon! Six of Crows is a spin-off sequel to Shadow and Bone and takes place in a different part of the fantasy world. The books follow a group who are trying to pull off a deadly, unlikely heist.

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Toxic Relationships in Literature

April 30, 2021May 25, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables14 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 Mikaela @ Mikaela Reads and is Tackling Toxic Relationships in Literature.

When it comes to fiction how should toxic relationships be handled? Is it okay to portray toxic relationships?

This is a really complex topic and I’m really interested to see what others opinions are for this subject. Personally, I think it’s okay to portray toxic relationships in literature. Books mimic real life and unfortunately there’s probably not a single person who hasn’t experienced a toxic relationship themselves. Comfort can be found in characters and plots that a reader can relate to and sometimes all we really need is to know we’re not alone in things we’ve dealt with. I know many people who choose to read their traumatic experiences in fiction as a coping mechanism and a way to heal. I also think portraying them could be helpful for readers who have been gaslighted so much that they don’t realize something they’re experiencing is wrong until they see it happening to someone else. It’s incredibly common for us to accept toxic behavior from people ourselves but when we see the same thing happen to our friend or loved one, we immediately seek to protect them and stop it from happening.

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Wrap-Ups

Wrap-Up: April 2021

April 29, 2021April 29, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables11 Comments

Hey, everyone! I had a really productive April so I’m not going to waste much time on an introduction (also because I’m eager to jump back into watching Shadow and Bone on Netflix haha). I read 6 books in April along with 2 novellas and I also made some changes to some social media accounts for this blog. I hope you all had a great month and let’s jump right in to the books I read these past few weeks.

Books I Read in April:

After reading so many fantasy books in March, I decided to take a breather and jumped into a fantasy/paranormal mash-up series that I’d received for review. Of the Blood and Of Fire and Water by Cameo Renae are the first two books in her Heir of Blood and Fire trilogy. The books follow a young girl whose life is turned upside down when she finds out her family is part of a generations’ old grudge. She is turned into a vampire by a well-meaning vampire prince in order to save her life, but things get even more complicated when Calla finds out her heritage runs so much deeper than she ever anticipated. And that she might have to fight her own blood in order to save herself. The final book is meant to be released around late June of this year. I have a post with my thoughts on both books already up on the blog, so if you’re curious, you can find it here, but overall I found the premise to be really interesting with some great unique worldbuilding, but disliked some aspects like the way every man fell for the main character instantaneously. If I get a chance to review the third book however, I will definitely read it. Especially because there is now a curse to be dealt with and I’m eager to see what happens with it.

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Lists, New Releases

11 Anticipated Young Adult Releases of May 2021

April 28, 2021April 29, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables11 Comments

Hey, everyone! Today I’m sharing my most anticipated young adult releases for May 2021. I was trying to narrow it down to 10 but it became impossible so here are 11 of the books I’m looking forward to releasing in the upcoming month. Hopefully you’ll find a new book or two to add to your to-read list!

1. Sunkissed by Kasie West

Publication: May 4th 2021 by Delacorte Press

A lighthearted and swoony contemporary YA romance by fan-favorite author Kasie West about a girl who finds that a summer spent at a family resort isn’t as bad as she imagined…and that falling in love is filled with heartache, laughter, and surprises!

After being betrayed by her best friend, Avery is hoping for a picture-perfect summer. Too bad her parents have dragged her and her sister to a remote family camp for the entire summer. And that’s not even the worst part. Avery also has to deal with no internet, a cute but off-limits staff member, and an always-in-her-face sister. But what starts as a disaster turns into a whirlwind summer romance as Avery embarks on an unexpected journey to figure out what she truly wants and who she wants to be.

Note: I am part of the blog tour and have received an ARC of this book so please look forward to my stop and review (+ a book-inspired playlist!) on May 6th 2021!

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Top 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Tuesday: Graphic Novels

April 27, 2021April 24, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables10 Comments

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

Admittedly if we’d been limited to only graphic novels for this week, I wouldn’t have been able to participate. BUT since we’re able to also include comics and webtoons, I definitely have a few to share!

1. The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way; Art by Gabriel Bá; Color by Dave Stewart

I’ve read both the first and second volumes of The Umbrella Academy but have yet to read the third. I also haven’t watched the Netflix show yet which is probably a cardinal sin since even people who haven’t read the comics enjoyed the show. Regardless, it’s such an interesting series filled with complex characters born with unique abilities who work as superheroes and who have a supremely dysfunctional family relationship with each other. The first volume has such a twist with who the villain turns out to be and so far the second volume has been my favorite which focuses on the Kennedy assassination as a backdrop for the story.

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Book Tag: The Aesthete Blogger Award

April 26, 2021May 25, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables18 Comments

Hey, everyone! Today I bring you my very first book tag. Thank you so much to Ariel @ Gemini Book Nook for tagging me! Please check out her blog if you haven’t gotten the chance to yet! (Also I have to mention I’m a Gemini sun too because Gem solidarity lol). The award was created by Ashmita @ The Fictional Journal and I’m honored to be tagged!

About the award

“This award is to honor every creative person, irrespective of their number of followers and views. Because, as long as you create, that is all that matters. This award is for those bloggers who put an insane amount of thought in each of their posts and for those who spread creativity like wildfire! Just wow!” -Ashmita

Rules

Use the official logo/graphic of the award and display it on your blog.
List the rules.
Show some love to the one who nominated you!
Mention the creator (Ashmita @ the Fictional Journal) and link it back to the original post.
Tell me something about this world that you admire.
What is your favorite form of creativity?
Nominate 7 lovely people and notify them by commenting on their posts; spread some love!
Ask your nominees 4 questions.
Share something you created. (can be anything!)
And lastly, just so you know: I LOVE YOUR CREATIONS!

Tell me something about this world that you admire.

I know it’s kind of a cop-out but creativity is something I truly admire. It’s amazing to see how much life can be brought to words and how entire worlds can be built by authors. I love seeing how different book bloggers build their blogs and aesthetics and what they choose to write about. I love seeing how art has transformed over the centuries through different periods. How we’ve all changed the way we dress as different trends go in and out of style. The way that music has become so blended in its genres now. Creativity is infinite and I love it.

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