Duology

A Magic Steeped in Poison | Book Review

- Bunny Leave a comment

About The Book
Desperate to save her sister from a deadly poison, Ning enters a competition to become the kingdom’s top shennong-shi, a master of magical tea-making. The winner gets a favor from the princess, which may be her only chance. But as Ning navigates ruthless competitors, deadly politics, and a mysterious boy with a dangerous secret, she may be the one in the most danger.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3N25DM0

My Rating

In my opinion, this book is a hidden gem in the fantasy world, and I’m excited to see how the duology wraps up. What grabbed me right away was the unique and captivating plot. It’s unlike anything I’ve read before and follows a determined main character on a high-stakes mission to cure her sister from a mysterious poison. The urgency of the quest and all the twists and turns kept me hooked from beginning to end.

As for our main character, Ning, she was likable, though I’ve seen stronger female leads in other books. I felt there wasn’t a ton of character growth throughout the story. That said, her devotion to her sister and willingness to do whatever it takes for her family made her easy to root for.

The writing was excellent. Judy I. Lin’s style is vivid and really pulls you in. While I’m not usually a fan of a lot of world-building, I get that it’s needed for the first book in a fantasy series. The author handled it well, giving a solid base for what’s to come in the next book.

“There is a difference between living the suffering and reading about it.”

Now, let’s talk about the romance subplot. I was really glad it didn’t take over the story but still played an important role. We didn’t get to know the love interest very deeply, but I’m happy it wasn’t one of those insta-love situations. Ning felt a connection to him, but her priority stayed on saving her sister.

The plot twists definitely caught me off guard, and the last few chapters were super fast-paced and full of action. The ending left me completely shocked, and now I have to know what happens next. I have no idea where the story is going from here, but I can’t wait to find out.

Overall, I think this book deserves more attention. It’s got so many things I love in a fantasy series, including a unique plot, likable characters, a well-balanced romance, and an ending that sticks with you. I’d totally recommend it to anyone looking for an underrated fantasy read.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve read this book. Don’t forget to like and share this post with fellow book lovers. And if you want to get notified when there’s a new post, follow my blog.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

All Of Us Villains // Book Review

- Bunny 2 Comments

Synopsis
“The blockbuster co-writing debut of Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman, All of Us Villains begins a dark tale of ambition and magick. You fell in love with the victors of The Hunger Games. Now, prepare to meet the villains of the Blood Veil.”

When I read the synopsis, I assumed that I would be getting a ‘Hunger Games’ type of story. And, while there are similarities to ‘The Hunger Games’, the books differ dramatically when it comes to the main storyline. This book is all about magic and there was a lot of focus on world building. The authors went in-depth to explain the magic system, but I was still confused by the magic aspect.

In this book, we follow 4 characters: Briony, Alastair, Isobel, and Gavin. The characters are the chosen ones amongst their families to participate in this magical fight to the death. Honestly, I think the battle must be done because of some sort of curse. However, I don’t think the whole history behind this competition was explained well enough.

The main four are from different classes in society, and each have their reasons to win the battle. Obviously, they don’t want to die, but they also want to make their families proud. But I found their families to be rather cold and heartless. Alastair’s family is very well known in the magic world, and he has a lot of pressure to live up to his families reputation. He was my favorite character of all, and I found myself sympathizing with him.

Isobel was forced into the battle. You could tell that her family only cared if she won, despite knowing that she might end up dying. She was the typical ‘pretty girl’, which I didn’t care for. I could tell that she and Alastair were going to be romantically linked, but I found their relationship boring, and it didn’t add anything to the story. It would have been more interesting if they developed a brother/sister type of bond instead.

“What is happily ever after to the child is a nightmare to the monster.”

Briony’s character was strong and smart. I could compare her to Katniss in some ways. She was, to me, the most likeable of the characters. She did make some bad decisions, but was honored to be a part of the competition. You get to see her grow throughout the book, and a lot of her opinions changed. I think that she got a bad rap from the other characters, because of her past actions.

As for Gavin, I wanted to like him, but he was very whiny. He blamed Alastair for all his problems. He was cold and ruthless, which is what he accused other of being. I didn’t find his chapters to be all that interesting. Each of the characters made decisions that had dire consequences, and there was a lot of manipulation going on.

There weren’t many side characters, since the authors wanted to focus on those core four. I think there is a lot of things happening in the story, and because of that, they chose not to have any more characters that were developed in depth. Especially since the plot was heavily character driven.

One of the things the book lacked was action. We spent a good 60% of the book waiting for the competition to start. It left me bored and struggling to get through it. When the main plot is the magical battle, I want it not to take most of the book for it to start. I do, however, understand that we needed to get each character’s backstory in order to establish some sort of connection with them.

The ending mainly left me confused. I am completely unsure of what actually unfolded. Even going back and rereading the last chapter didn’t clear things up for me. Maybe this book went over my head, or there were just too many elements at play. For me, young adult fantasy is always a hit or miss type of genre.

Overall, this book isn’t something that I would read again. And, maybe should have DNF’ed it at the halfway mark. This is a duology, but I am unsure if I will be picking up the second book.

In the comments, leave me your YA fantasy book recommendations. The audiobook for this book is available on Everand, and you can get a free trial of the service by using my link (click here). Don’t forget to follow my blog for more of my book reviews!

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

My 2021 Must Reads

- Bunny Leave a comment

Hello bookish friends,
I wanted to do a post about my must reads of the year. There are so many books from past years that I have never gotten too, so this year I am making a yearly tbr, of sorts, for myself. These are the books that are my top priority of the year, but I am not putting in pressure on myself. I find that I read better when I am doing it for fun instead of need. However, I would be very proud if I got to all of these books by the end of the year. I want to quickly note that the last two on this list are authors and not specific books that I want to get too.

Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao: This trilogy is about Anastacya Mikhailov, a crown princess, who has the ability to control blood, a power she has kept secret for years. However, her lifes turns upside down when she becomes the prime suspect in her father’s murder. She must turn to a crime lord, Ramson Quicktongue, to help clear her name.

This series is completely out of my comfort zone, but the cover has me sold. The first book, in the series, was released in 2019 while the second was released early this month. I haven’t heard practically anyone talk about these books, so I will be going into them pretty blind. I will for sure do a review on each book or the trilogy as a whole once I read them all. I would really like to start this series soon.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: This is the story of the March sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. We follow the girls as they grow-up, fall in love and face tragedy. I don’t think this book needs much of a description since it is a classic and has had countless movie adaptions released. I am a big fan of the Little Women story and movies, but I have never read the actually novel. I am not the biggest classic books fan, yet I hope to get to this one. I am giving myself a break if I don’t complete the book by the end of the year, still I would like to have started it.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig: This is a dark retelling of the twelve dancing princess. The main character, Annaleigh, grows suspensions when four of her sisters lives are tragically cut short. Each of their deaths written off as an accident and the villagers think that the family is cursed. Once Annaleigh meets a mysterious stranger she decides to uncover the truths about these death before her life is taken as well.

Honestly, I know nothing about the twelve dancing princess story, so I am not really looking at this book like a retelling. I have been intrigued by this novel since it’s release. It is a dark, twisted tale that I don’t typically pick up, but I want to get into horror and thrillers this year. I will probably be reading this in October for Halloween, yet I might get to it sooner if I am in a spooky mood.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan: This trilogy follows Lei chosen as one of the king’s Paper Girls. Each year, 8 girls are selected to serve the king, but this year is different because there is a ninth girl, made of fire. This series is all about secrets, revenge and forbidden love.

I am mix of emotions when it comes to starting this trilogy. I haven’t heard a lot of good things about it, still the synopsis sounds interesting. However, I feel like the plot could be a bit slower and not as fast paced as I would like in fantasies. I haven’t read anything from this author before, so I am willing to give it a chance. Also, there is supposedly LGBT representation in the book, which is awesome.

Kasie West: I have been a fan of hers for the last few years and usually love all her books. She has quickly become one of my favorite YA contemporary authors to read. I know for some people her books fall short, but for me they are fast, lighthearted reads that I enjoy. I have read three of her books, yet there are so many more that I haven’t had a chance to get too. I would love to pick up some of her older titles this year. She is mostly known for her contemporaries, but she does have a fantasy duology out that I am interested in reading. I am not sure how many of her books I will be able to get to by the end of the year, still I am going to try to catch up on her works.

Jenn Bennett: This is another author I am hoping to get to in 2021. As you probably know by now my love for contemporaries run deep, and people rave about Jenn Bennett’s contemporaries. I am a slightly nervous to read one of her book, because she gives me Sarah Dessen vibes, which is an author I don’t typically enjoy. However, people tend to hype up her books so I am going to try to give her a chance. I am unsure of what book I will read by her, yet I was leaning towards “Serious Moonlight” since it is a contemporary with a mystery element to it. I would love suggestions from other readers about which of her books I should pick up first.

Those are all the books on my yearly tbr, but don’t worry I will still be doing my monthly tbrs. I have so many other books that I am hoping to read this year and plan to have a very fun year of reading. Please support my blog by liking and sharing this post. You can follow the blog to get notified when I post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny