Book Review: And I Darken by Kiersten White

“So the question becomes, Daughter of the Dragon, what will you sacrifice? What will you let be taken away so that you, too, can have power?” And I Darken was undoubtedly a book with a brilliant premise! Afterall, what is not to love about a gender - bent historical fiction seeking to re-tell the story…

Book Review: Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

“That's the choice. I love him, with all that, because of all that. On purpose. I love him on purpose.” Red, White and Royal Blue is an enemies to lovers novel that follows Alex, the first son of the United States, and Henry, the Prince of Wales, as they slowly realize they are in love yet have…

Book Review: A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

“Everyone’s immortal until they’re not.” A Gathering of Shadows is the second installment of Schwab's shades of magic trilogy, and was a book that unfortunately left me feeling slightly disappointed. While I afforded the first novel a full five stars, I felt that I could only give this one 3.5. This preference for the first…

Book Review: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

“And that was what destroyed you in the end: the longing for something you could never have.” *This review is going to be very very spoiler heavy and also very long, read at your own peril* Crooked Kingdom is the second installment of Bardugo's Six of Crows duology, and it is, amazingly, just as good…

Book Review: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

“When I lost my sight... people said I was brave. When my father left, people said I was brave. But it is not bravery; I have no choice. I wake up and live my life. Don't you do the same?” All The Light We Cannot See is a carefully constructed novel that takes place amid…

Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

“Do your kind even know what love is? Can you feel anything at all, or is it just... programmed?” *Small disclaimer before you read: I am in no way trying to discourage anyone from reading this book, nor am I trying to claim that people that have read the book shouldn’t enjoy it. I am…

Book Review: Circe by Madeline Miller

“Humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.” Circe is Miller's second novel and like the first it is a retelling of Greek mythology, this time focusing upon Circe, a relatively minor character in the tale of Odysseus. A complex background…

Book Review: The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R. Pan

“Once upon a time we were the standard colors of a rainbow, cheery and certain of ourselves. At some point, we all began to stumble into the in-betweens, the murky colors made dark and complicated by resentment and quiet anger. At some point, my mother slid so off track she sank into hues of gray,…

Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

“But the thing about people, Kell had discovered, is that they didn't really want to know. They thought they did, but knowing only made them miserable.” A Darker Shade of Magic is a beautifully crafted fantasy that explores the concept of four parallel but incredibly different versions of London that can be traveled between, but only by…