The Bride of Glass | Review

Greetings readers!

I am not much of a thriller, horror kind of person. I’m just too much of a scaredy cat. Literally, I am weak. I am however, a fantasy kind of person. If the two are mixed…well that spells a whole lot of fun for me! And if the story is super intriguing, a little bloody and perhaps some kissing here and there: I’m all for it!

The Bride of Glass by Candace Robinson

via giphy.com

Perrie Madeline is trapped in Vale’s clutches as the Bride. Can Perrie find a way to escape her mental prison?

Maisie Jaser is on a rescue mission to retrieve her cousin and best friend, Perrie. Together, she hopes to bring down Vale and rid the world of the destruction he has caused.

Will Vale prevail?

*I was provided a copy by the author in exchange for an honest review*

 

So back at the end of the first book, Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault, I was immediately like: there better be a sequel…no way in hell it can end like this!!! Thankfully, Candace fulfilled my wish and wrote a sequel! Hoorah! Luckily, it was just as entertaining, fun and spookalicious as the first one!

What I liked:

Characters:

Perrie: I really liked Perrie in this one, she was fighting for her own conscience which I found very intriguing for the first half of the book. She doesn’t have it easy and a lot of bad stuff happens because of her. She has to accustom herself to a completely new life, without some of the old comforts she had. She has to forgive herself for some of the evil she herself unleashed. Yet, despite all this she is thoughtful and brave!

Maisie: Stole the show for me! She was the best! Very quirky, funny and oh-so courageous. She had a minor role in the first novel, but this book really showed off her best self! She doesn’t always think twice about her decisions, but since her gut is right a lot of the time, we’ll allow it!

Vale: Oh so intriguing. Another character fighting for conscience and moral. His back story was very interesting, though I wished a little bit of it had been established in book one. That would have elevated it so much more in this one.

And Neven, sweet Neven. He just got a lot of “awwww”s from me!

Plot: I thought the overall story itself was done well.  It connected well with the first book and closed all those hanging moments very nicely. I liked the backstory chapters in between the present day chapters because they really helped to give insight into the characters motives and actions. It also brought in those historical and mythological figures that were featured in the first book, which I loved.  It focuses less on being inside a traditional fantasy setting and brings the problems and the evil outside to the real world.

That Cover: Glorious. Symbolism is like used to the max on it and I love it! Plus it’s purple!!!!!!

Romance: Ship! Ship! Ship! TWO SHIPS! The first ship was a little scary. It started out as abusive….but changed because *things happen* and though this book does not in any way promote the abuse as romantic, it was there and I was a little hesitant to cope after it in the second half. The other ship however: SHIP SHIP SHIP!!!!

What I Disliked:

The Flow: My biggest complaint. All the good drama as battle stuff doesn’t happen until the very, very end. I’m talking last chapter. There was not enough time put into that drama which was what I wanted. The first 80% of the novel was just the characters walking, talking and some small backstory bits. Not to say that they weren’t entertaining and had some suspenseful elements, it’s just that the end was super squeaky clean!The big epic finale didn’t happen. The part where I was supposed to be biting my nails and going OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG didn’t happen and I was very disappointed!

What did happen wasn’t even that intense. The author opened up a great window, but didn’t use it! I was hoping for a little more on that factor!

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Overall, I did enjoy this book! It was fast and when I did read I couldn’t put it down!! The characters are what made this book great, so if your a character kinda person like me, definitely check it out!

Rating: 3.75 / 5 Stars

Recommend: Like your books a little bloody, a little spooky, and a whole lot of intrigue? Perhaps with a little fairy tale elements here and there? Then yes!!

This book came out September 1st, yesterday! Please go out and support out fellow blogger author Candace @ Literary Dust by giving her book a read! (But read the first one first!! Obviously!)

Let me know what you think. What are some of your favourite historical figures you would love to see get YA twists?

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

The Get to Know Me Tag

Greetings readers!

Ages ago, I was tagged by the lovely Angelica @ The Book Cover Girls to do this tag! Angelica has a really awesome blog (reviews in English and Spanish What???? I know!!! Soo cooool) I think you should all go over and visit, just click the link! Thank you, Angelica!

Alright people, I figured it is a good time to do this tag since my birthday was just under two weeks ago! So why not get to know me a little more, now that I am a year older!

via giphy.com

All About Me:

Name: Not Rendz (It’s a pseudonym I creating for the sole purpose of this blog)

Nicknames: Ummm….Rendz (sometimes spelled Rends) XD

Birthday: Earlier in July! I spent it doing nothing, but collected some more funds for books!!

Star Sign: Cancer

Occupation: Right now, I’m a summer-bum. Oh and I blog. Read. Get artsy at times!

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Appearance:

Hair Colour: Dark Brown, with a red patch. (It’s literally a patch near my temple and it’s natural!)

Hair length: Half-way down my back (It’s curly-curly so it’s probably longer!)

Eye Colour: Dark brown. Not the intense blue from my grandfather *curses*

Best Feature: Oh geez. The first feature that popped up into my head is not one I want to share over the internet. SO let’s go with skin. I was lucky enough to go through my teens with very few blemishes.

Braces: Never had them. I was lucky enough to have straight enough teeth! They aren’t perfect, but good enough for me. Though I did sleep with a night-guard for a while.

Piercings: Just my ears. And they are not even. My grandmother did them for me when I was a baby, with…ummm…very traditional methods.

Tattoos: No. (My parents would kill me.) But I do want one. I often think about what I would get, but I don’t think I will actually ever do it! 1. Needles freak me out and 2. I’m far to indecisive to come up with a concrete design that will be on my body forever!

Right or Left: Right handed! I suck at writing with my left! I have tried to train myself many, many times.

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Firsts:

Holiday: I’ve never been on a real-real holiday. I’ve only ever gone back home to visit family in El Salvador, which is always fun and my aunts and uncles always take me to cool places. But I have never been a true tourist. I want to be a true tourist!

Best Friend: My first BFF was way back in the first grade. I feel really bad because I don’t remember too much about our time together, but I know we did everything together! She left our school the next year so I moved on to another friend and from then on we added a third person to our trinity. We were inseparable. I really miss those days!

Award: Growing up with two older sisters who had such great achievements in school, put on the pressure. I worked my absolute hardest in school and all the work paid off. I won leadership awards, many academic excellence awards, but my very first award was a Future Ace award for Co-operation. Baby Rendz was really proud of herself!

Sport: You grow up in a Hispanic family, you play soccer. You grow up in a school that holds regular floor hockey tournaments, you play floor hockey. I did both. And loved both! I haven’t played either in years –yeeeaaarrrssss — so if I play now, I would suck more than I did way back when! I did play ice hockey one year for my school. We were the first ever team and boy did we suck. I SUCKED. We scored one goal for the whole season! It was a rough season to say the least! XD

Concert: I would say that it was the Toronto Symphony Orchestra but that wouldn’t be exactly true because it’s not what I would consider a “concert”. However, I will be headed to a REAL concert later this summer! My sisters and I are going to see Daddy Yankee!! *screams*

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Favourites:

TV Shows: Once Upon A Time, Alone, America Ninja Warrior, Face-Off, a lot of “reality” TV (it is an addiction…) and yeah I don’t watch too much TV otherwise.

Colour: I have never had one favourite colour! It depends on my mood, but I usually tell people purple. Or rather Maroon.

Song: Again, I don’t think I have an absolute favourite  but Kelly Clarkson’s “Break Away” will always touch my soul deeply. Also “A Moment Like This”. Kills. Me. Every. Time.

Books: What a long list! Okay…let’s begin! The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lunar Chronicles, The Penderwicks, The Winner’s Trilogy, An Ember in the Ashes, Six of Crows, The Falling Kingdoms and the list goes on!

Shoes: Snuggley slippers. They are the only things I can (sort of) walk in!

via giphy.com

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Currently:

Feeling: Slightly overwhelmed and tired. Thinking about the future does that.

Single or Taken: Real life Rendz is single, but Rendz-Rendz has quite a long list of lovers, boyfriends and husbands.*

*They may or may not be fictional.

Eating: Just had lunch. Pollo guïsado. Yum

Thinking about: The future as mentioned. Sometimes school is a stress-maker, even on vacation.

Watching: Nothing. Maybe I’ll watch a Disney movie later, to cheer myself up!

Wearing: Pyjamas!! (And it is the middle of the afternoon here!)

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Future:

(Oh look here we go again!)

Want Children: Yeah, but like not now or anytime soon. (Now if we are talking fictional children, I am a mother of many.)

Want to be married: Yeah! I mean I kind of want the “first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage” thing. But again: if we are talking fictionally, I am a wife of many!!!

Careers in mind: I really want to avoid this subject on every level. I am studying to teach languages, is it exactly what I want?I don’t know since I don’t know what I want in life. *If I ever write my books though, I’ll let you know XD*

Where you want to live: Geez, I want to go everywhere! I want to see every place! *Hence the “I wanna be a true tourist!”* But I’ll probably stay in Canada and settle myself in this city or another one, I don’t know!

via giphy.com

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Do You Believe In:

God: Yup. I gotta keep the Big Man up to date with real life Rendz’s going-ons.

Miracles: To quote a song from the Prince of Egypt (aka the movie that Rendz is constantly quoting and singing) “There can be miraclessssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!! When you believeeeeeeeeee”

Ghosts: Yes/no. I’m not a true believer, but if put in a dark strange place I will scare myself into thinking there are ghosts!

Aliens: There’s gotta be something else out there guys. We can’t be the only ones!

Soul mates: Yes/no. I don’t know. I would like to think that there is one true person out there for me, but I get scared thinking about it too! Like, what if I accidentally end up picking the wrong person. It’s just scary to think about for me!

Heaven: That’s the goal.

Hell: Really want to avoid this place.

Kissing on the first date: No. Not enough “get to know you” time has passed. Even if the date went super awesome, it’s a no to the smooch for me.

via giphy.com

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The END! Huzzahh! I hope I entertained you all with these little facts about me!

I Tag…

*Now pressure to re-do this tag*

May @ Forever and Everly

The Book Raven

Books, Coffee & Passion

Readers Rule

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I hope you all enjoyed getting to know me a little bit more! It was a very fun tag to do and I hope you all laughed (even just a little bit)! Let me know if we share any common interest as I am always looking to fangirl!!

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

Zero Repeat Forever Review

Greetings readers!

This is a review I should have written ages ago, but for some reason I got lazy (it’s summer people, let me be). So I’m coming with it to you now! I recently wrote about this book in my ARCstravangaza post, but now it’s time to get to the nitty gritty!

I present to you:

A Great Canadian Apocalyptic Adventure

Ft. Aliens, District 13, and Beauty & the Beast

Zero Repeat Forever by G.S Prendergast

via Goodreads

Goodreads Summary

He has no voice, or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind.

Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.

His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting.

Until a human kills her…

Sixteen year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade, annihilating entire cities, taking control of the Earth. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her friends have only a fragment of instruction from the human resistance.

Shelter in place.

Which seems like good advice at first. Stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn’t like feeling helpless but what choice does she have?

Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend.

Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival comes to depend on trusting each other…

*ARC was provided through a Goodreads giveaway. My review is all honesty and contains no brainwashed info whatsoever!*

This was a great book. I honestly didn’t expect it to go exactly as it did. Firstly, I didn’t know it was set in Canada!! What???? Yeah. Usually, Canada is like never mentioned in any dystopias or it was sucked under the rule of the UK or merged with the US. I loved that this book strayed away from that. SO what was this book? Crazy, dizzying and a well-rounded “If it were real, Rendz would probs wet her pants” adventure!

What I Liked

Characters:

Raven: Raven was not your typical “hero” character. She was a “troubled youth” to put it in words. She was working in a camp as her community service for a crime she committed with her group of friends. After suffering through the death of her boyfriend Tucker, she finds herself a bit lost.  She deals with a lot during her time in this perilous world. She goes through a lot of inner turmoil, thinking about her past actions, her family, her decisions, her racial identity, death. A whole lot of death. Did I enjoy reading from her perspective? Yes. Sometimes her action/words would rub me the wrong way, but I understand her reasoning for them.

Eighth: Cinnamon Roll. Cinnamon Roll. Cinnamon Roll. He was an interesting character to read from for two very cool reasons. One. He has such a pure conscious, for someone who is supposed to murder people in cold blood. He is a gentle creature. He knows what he does is wrong, but doesn’t know why! Two. He thinks and feels. He is bullied because of those things and eventually he rebels. His rebellion leads him to Raven and for once his good nature is appreciated instead of ridiculed. (Well…after she stops thinking of him as a predator) He is still rather mysterious and deals with an identity crisis too, but honestly: Cinnamon Roll.

Side characters were not all that important to me. I hated Topher. Let’s just put that out in the open. I didn’t even really liked Tucker. Others were not as important but they do serve for a lot of death.

Sign Language: What I really liked about this book was that the Nahx (aliens) communicated in sign language. And as the reader, there would be descriptions of their actions which communicated what they were saying. There were of course the actual words being spoken in sign written in the book, but I found it fascinating that the signs were being explained for the reader to visualize! Plus, that was the only way Eighth could communicate with Raven so the readers learned alongside her.

Canada and District 13: As mentioned, this book is set in Canada specifically Alberta (I am going to assume). The characters do travel to Calgary for a time and stay there for a while. The city isn’t really explored, I just liked seeing the name of a city I actually knew (although I’ve never been there.) Classic patriotic Rendz. Also, there is a part in the book that was reminiscent of District 13 from The Hunger Games. It was an underground haven, where people would ration food, train to be soldiers if possible and where a grey-haired lady ran the whole show! Sound familiar? Considering the similarities in the set, it is still quite different because this “District 13” was in no shape able to defeat the oppressor.

Beauty and the Beast Elements: This is not a B&B retelling, rather it has those classic elements that keep the reader hooked. The sharp and witty beauty, living with this mysterious and rather temperamental beast. Both sides knowing nothing and walking circles around each other at first, until they finally grow to understand each other. No talking furniture though. Bummer.

Romance: Very little. This story is more of a build up of the relationship between Eighth and Raven, so smooching factors low. I mean Raven does have relationships with others but in now way, shape or form would I ever count those as romantic. Eighth is a hopeless romantic sap (like me) and Raven is not. Plus she is mourning the death of a boyfriend, so making her open up is about 400 pages in time.

Action Packed and a very Twisty Ending: It does have quite a bit of action and suspense. It doesn’t all happen at once and is spaced out within the novel, so while in some areas it’s a bit dry in other it’s more “omgomgomgomgomg”. This is a book on survival, so the characters are running (for their lives) a lot. Was not expecting the ending at all. But I had my suspicions….

Seasonal Divisions: This book is split up into 4 parts, one for each season. And what I love about it is that Summer and Spring are literally 1/4 the size of what Autumn and Winter are! It was an excellent formatting decision. The hardest and most grueling part of the year being the cold season were the longest and held the most trauma, while the warm season had the lighter and more pleasant (though not all pleasant) events! Plus if we’re being honest Winter in Canada is about four times longer than Summer! XD

What I Disliked

200 pages Before I Actually Got Sucked In: The first 200 pages were really just not cutting it for me. Raven and her group were either walking to a near death encounter or in the “District 13” doing nothing, while Eighth was just walking and slowly (ever so slowly) abandoning his unit. After those 200 pages however, the pace really picks up and far much more fun and interesting things begin to happen! Trust me, just get through the first 200 pages and then you’re golden.

No Backstory: I was hoping for more backstory on Raven’s part. I don’t know why she is a “troubled youth” and the crime that was so shameful. I got her family history (kind of), but I was hoping for more from her to understand her inner dilemmas. As for Eighth, there are *reasons* for his lack of backstory so understandable.

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Overall, it was a great book. Really fun to read and it definitely has a great cliff hanger. *Death, death, death!!!* Just a hint! I can’t wait for the next novel, but alas I have to wait over a year!!!! *Cries* ALSO COVER AND TITLE EPIPHANIES. HOLY CANNOLI! When the light bulb when off in my head for the title I was like “yesssss” and for the cover I was like “Yaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssss”.

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Recommend: Yup. Yup. Yup. Apocalypse for the win.

This book comes out August 29th, 2017 so be sure to check it out!

What do you think are your chances of surviving a not so friendly alien invasion? I’m curious! If you want a chance to have a read of this book I *believe* there are copies available to request on NetGalley (Can/US/UK/AUS)!

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

The Hundredth Queen Review

Greetings readers!

A while ago I was on a Net Galley splurge and I stumbled upon The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King that had been making some buzz on my twitter feed. Lucky me, I got approved! This book sounded pretty awesome, so I was expecting some pretty awesome things from it.

But I found it okay?

The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King

via Goodreads

Goodreads Summary 

As an orphan ward of the Sisterhood, eighteen-year-old Kalinda is destined for nothing more than a life of seclusion and prayer. Plagued by fevers, she’s an unlikely candidate for even a servant’s position, let alone a courtesan or wife. Her sole dream is to continue living in peace in the Sisterhood’s mountain temple.

But a visit from the tyrant Rajah Tarek disrupts Kalinda’s life. Within hours, she is ripped from the comfort of her home, set on a desert trek, and ordered to fight for her place among the rajah’s ninety-nine wives and numerous courtesans. Her only solace comes in the company of her guard, the stoic but kind Captain Deven Naik.

Faced with the danger of a tournament to the death—and her growing affection for Deven—Kalinda has only one hope for escape, and it lies in an arcane, forbidden power buried within her.

In Emily R. King’s thrilling fantasy debut, an orphan girl blossoms into a warrior, summoning courage and confidence in her fearless quest to upend tradition, overthrow an empire, and reclaim her life as her own.

*I was provided a free copy from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review, thank you so much!*

This book was okay. Neither entirely amazing, nor completely boring. It was just meh.

via giphy.com

Sometimes it was great, other times it was just like “Okay people, let’s move on with our lives!”. It held so much promise for me, but I just couldn’t find that feeling of enthrallment or intense interest. So yeah…meh.

What I Liked

Characters: 

Mathura: She was literally in the book for not even ten pages and had very little amount of dialogue, but I found her interesting! She was the wise woman that Khalinda could turn to and ultimately helped her in many ways.

Khalinda: She was the MC, yet I got annoyed with her frequently. I loved her dedication to Jaya and the ways of the sisterhood. I also liked her obliviousness to the world outside the Temple and reading her grow to understand the ways in which the world of men worked. Yet, she was a tad bit too hot-headed for me. She never really took the proper time to think things through. Hot-heads frustrate me so much!

There are other good characters, but none of them really stuck out to me.

Emphasis on Sisterhood: I really enjoyed the strong relationships between women in the book. Khalinda and Jaya in particular who were very much connected. There are more female relationships that Khalinda obtains throughout the course of the story, each one unique and different. I really liked how the author used this as a way to resolve the conflicts instead of making them the conflict. You know what I mean?

Action: There are a lot of fight scenes. Some that could have been avoided, but when you have a hot-head MC they are inevitable. I might sound like a blood thirsty maniac, but the action was really brutal, gruesome and I liked it! It reminded me an awful lot of Gladiator, because the women would fight to the death in an arena with hundreds of people watching them!

What I Disliked

Vague Characters:  One of the reasons I didn’t love this novel is because I found the characters so vague. There was nothing about them that really stood out to me. Yes Khalinda was hot-headed, passionate, fiery and bone thin with gorgeous locks. But that’s it, that is all I got from her. Deven, the swoony captain didn’t even capture my attention enough to claim him as a book boyfriend, he was just there serving his role as the swoony captain. The Rajah was probably the most interesting, his motives for being the bad guy were very twisted, but not too much time was spent around him either! No one else stood out to me!

Romance: #InstaLove. Deven and Khalinda were travelling for what two/three weeks? And they is sparking already. Okay, fine, acceptable. A week in the palace and they are devoted to each other, willing to die for one another. And I’m here like: -_- ok then. They didn’t really get to know-know each other. They just started feeling things about each other….sigh. It was far too quick for me.

The Lack of Development in the Culture/Religion: This book had a very interesting culture that could have elevated the book a little bit more, had it been further developed. The traditions and religious practices were mentioned and explored just not as deeply as I hoped they would be. I wanted to know more about their gods, the stories, this magical book that was so important! It had some info, but still very vague to me.

The Meh-ness: Nothing blew me away. It was an action filled book but I was never invested enough with the characters to truly feel something. This story was not bad. I liked the plot, the events but…it just…nothing. I don’t get worked up when I think about it. Just meh. Even the magical elements were meh for me and I love all kinds of magic!

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Overall, it was okay. Nothing spectacular in my opinion other than the great sisterhood aspects. I would be interested in reading the next book just to see how things unravel. BUT after reading the synopsis, things seem love-triangle-y so………that might get put off!

Rating: 3 / 5 stars

Recommend: Are you looking for sisterhood but without travelling pants and more knives? Then pick this one up!

Have you read this? Let me know what you thought and perhaps you can change my mind about some of the meh-ness I found!

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

Hearts Are Like Balloons Review

Greetings readers!

I was able to meet my goal this month and get to the last book on my TBR! *cheers* It was a difficult two weeks in the middle of June because of exams and school and all that fun stuff! *woohoo* Thankfully I had some great books waiting for me including Hearts Are Like Balloons by Candace Robinson!

I flew through this book. And When I mean flew, I mean flew! One day, less that 24 hours is all I needed! I haven’t read a whole book in one day in years! (Or ever really!)

So, thank you Candace for providing me with a copy and letting me read your work again!

Hearts Are Like Balloons by Candace Robinson

via Goodreads

Goodreads Summary

May Falkner’s past two years have been a rough road. When her father suddenly passes away, May needs to find a job to help out her mom and regain some control over her life. Working at the bookstore helps her heal, laugh, and hope again. It also leads her to cross paths with Nico Evitts, who begins as just a co-worker, but becomes so much more

When it all becomes perfect, because there is no perfect, life steps in to prove once again that it all can crash down harder than before. This is a story about finding yourself, love, and the things in life that are still here.

Hearts are like balloons. Sometimes they inflate… Sometimes they deflate…

A contemporary that just kept me glued to the pages. It was just something I could not put down and I think it’s because the drama and situations that May went through just really struck me hard. I mean, I have never been in any of May’s situations but reading her struggle just kept me enthralled and wanting more!

What I Liked

Characters:

May: I really enjoyed May’s character. She went through a lot of emotional trauma and grief. She experienced such sorrow, that I cannot even fathom how hard it would be to live through that. She grew a lot in this novel. Discovering herself and learning how to open herself in times of need and distress. She had a love for art (like me!) and she used it as a way to channel some of that grief out of her system.

Nico: I wish perfect boys like him existed. Okay maybe that is a stretch of a sentence. He’s not all perfect, but he’s like 3/4 of the way there. And maybe there are boys like him out there and I just have to get myself a job at a bookstore to find out! Seriously though. Swoon. Plus his full name is Nikolai. I have a thing for Nikolais. Nico was honestly so sweet, charming and totally supportive of May. He was always there for her, through thick and thin! HE IS JUST SO CUTE!!

Violet: The sass. The sass. THE SASS. She was funny, professional and very, very purple.

Emotional Roller-coaster: Chapter one and I felt like crying. The heart strings start getting pulled from the very start of this book, there is no room for a sense of calm. It’s just a shot of pain followed by more and more pain. This is how it goes:

The beginning of the book hits you and May hard.
Then you both get kind of better. Healing.
Cute ship stuff.
Then.. BAM
All hell breaks loose again.
More cute ship stuff.
Then…BAM (again)
The pain is never ending from here on out.

Themes of Grief, Loss:  The events in May’s life really tested her. She went through two painful losses that I know, I would have had a hard time getting through.  But May does. She gets through it. The thing about grief is that it is a never ending feeling. It nags at you and keeps you awake at night. It never completely leaves, it is a reminder of a moment that you wish to forget. The thing is, we remember more bad moments than good moments because of grief. May’s pain doesn’t disappear. She learns to keep it but not let it interfere with her growth. She doesn’t let it stop her from living.

The Epilogue: I needed this. I needed this. The book would have ended off with a great ending, with this epilogue or not. BUT I SERIOUSLY WANTED THIS EPILOGUE AND I’M SO HAPPY I GOT IT!  It ascertained all my wonders about May’s life after the final chapter. It closed off every question I had! AND GOSH I WAS SO HAPPY!!! It gave me all the feels once again and just left everything off nicely!

What I Disliked

Time Jumps: This book spans almost four (five?) years. And often times things would just go so quickly that I had very little time to digest one moment in time before getting thrown right into another one! It was just slightly confusing because I would have to keep count of May’s age (even if her age was stated later on in a chapter).

The Title: Don’t get me wrong, I like the title. The title is great and there is a connection to the story. But……………….I just felt that when the time came to introduce the meaning, it lasted a good five seconds. It was kind of just forced upon me, instead of that epiphany you are supposed to get. This is obviously me being picky…but I like my epiphanies!

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Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I read it in one day! It was a quick read, but it was not an easy, fluffy contemporary. It was a lot of heart-string pulling and just waves of emotions everywhere! But it’s great! I hope you consider picking it up and getting hit with all the feels too.

Rating: 4 / 5 stars 

Recommend: Yes, for those looking for a more emotional contemporary!

Alright, thank you again Candace! For letting me read your work and giving me that epilogue! Hearts Are Like Balloons comes out TODAY! Run and get your copy! 

Finally, let me know which book (contemporary of not) left you with the most amount of feels!

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

Bentwhistle in A Threat from the Past Review

Greetings readers!

I finished this book a little while ago, but it isn’t until now that I can finally sit down and have some coherent thoughts about it. This book was provided to me by the author, Paul Cude. Thank you Paul for allowing me to read your work!

Bentwhistle the Dragon in A Threat from the Past is an adventure story children and adults alike will love, about the present day world in which dragons disguised as humans have infiltrated the human race at almost every level, to guide and protect them. Three young dragons in their human guises become caught up in an evil plot to steal a precious commodity, vital to the dragon community. How will the reluctant hero and his friends fare against an enemy of his race from far in the past? Fascinating insights into the dragon world are interspersed throughout the book. Ever wondered how dragons travel below ground at almost the speed of sound? Or how they use magical mantras to transform their giant bodies into convincing human shapes? In an action packed adventure that features both human and dragon sports, you’ll get a dragon-like perspective on human social issues and insight into what to do if you meet a giant spider grinning at you when you’re wearing nothing but your smile! You’d be flamin’ mad to miss it.

 

Well…hmmm…what can I say? It is just not for me. The dragons disguised as humans had potential to make a great story, but I just couldn’t mesh with this story in particular. It was too juvenile for me and I never found my self truly entertained.

What I Liked

It Was Funny: I will not lie there were some parts of this book where I was laughing. It wasn’t outrageously comedic, but some of the scenes or comebacks that the characters came up with had me cracking up. This definitely made up for some of the more boring scenes in the story.

Peter Was Not Broody but Still Fun: A lot of the main characters in a lot of fantasy books, especially those who are male, are typically dark, mysterious, cunning, know-it-alls . As much as I like that type, it is also a breath of fresh air to see and MC who is not all “Follow me, peasants. I actually know what I am doing.” Peter was different, he was very soft and unsure of himself. He did have times where his anger would cause him to make unwise decisions, but that happens to all of us, so we forgive him.

The Transition from Dragon world to Earth: It was fun to read about how the dragon world worked in relation to modern earth time. It was a neat setting to explore, although I wish it could have spent a little more time there.

What I Disliked

It Dragged On!: Holy cannoli. Geez Louis. I could have been finished this book a lot sooner if there weren’t so many unnecessary scenes. There were two problems. Either a whole lot of nothing would happen and a whole week would pass in book time OR one scene would stretch on forever and ever. This book should have been shorter.

Plus the chapters were so looooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg. Rendz cannot do long chapters. That is a NEGATIVE.

I Could Spot the Plot Revelations A Mile Away: I knew who the bad guy and secret hero were as soon as they walked onto the page. There was no surprise. I knew how things would go down! There was maybe one thing I didn’t see coming, but still. One is never enough.

First Chapter Fumbles: I found the whole first chapter insignificant to the rest of the story. It DOES have a connection, but that connection could have been explained in a paragraph, maybe two. Instead it got a whole chapter!

The Writing Style: It was not my favourite. He would often put something in brackets to highlight certain expressions. (Like this!!! It would literally be in the book like this!!!) I’m not even exaggerating the use of exclamation marks. The writing was very juvenile, it was choppy and just not for me, sorry. 

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Overall, it was just not my cup of tea. I had to drag myself into finishing it because I felt like I had already postponed this for far too long. So yeah…I am supposed to read the next two books as well, but I don’t think that will happen any time soon….

Rating: 2.5 / 5 stars

Recommend: I can’t really recommend anything under 3 stars…

Alright, so I am currently under a lot of blog stress as I have much to do in a short amount of time! This is what I get for Net Galley binges!

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

The Crown’s Fate Review

Greetings readers!

I am still making my way through these May reviews! I think this is my last one for May? Yes…maybe not….Oh well we shall see. I’m coming to you today with a long awaited sequel that I hope you enjoy reading about. And as always it is totally spoiler free. Though I wouldn’t read the synopsis if you haven’t read the first one…just a tip!

Goodreads Summary

Russia is on the brink of great change. Pasha’s coronation approaches, and Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but the role she once coveted may be more difficult—and dangerous—than she ever expected.

Pasha is grappling with his own problems—his legitimacy is in doubt, the girl he loves loathes him, and he believes his best friend is dead. When a challenger to the throne emerges—and with the magic in Russia growing rapidly—Pasha must do whatever it takes to keep his position and protect his kingdom.

For Nikolai, the ending of the Crown’s Game stung deeply. Although he just managed to escape death, Nikolai remains alone, a shadow hidden in a not-quite-real world of his own creation. But when he’s given a second chance at life—tied to a dark price—Nikolai must decide just how far he’s willing to go to return to the world.

With revolution on the rise, dangerous new magic rearing up, and a tsardom up for the taking, Vika, Nikolai, and Pasha must fight—or face the destruction of not only their world but also themselves.

After the ending of The Crown’s Game, I was in major shock and heartbreak because *certain things happen*! Anyways, this has been a book I was waiting on forever for! I didn’t get a chance to read an ARC, but I put an early hold on it at my library. I read this in two days. I read 100 pages on night one and then on night two I distinctly remember saying “Ah F*** it, I might as well just finish these last 300 pages of the book tonight.” And I did!

What I Liked:

Characters:

Vika: Fierce. Powerful. A little too hot-headed but I loved her in every way! She is an inspiration and so brave! I wouldn’t be able to go through half of the things she went through. I love her and her sense of style. A simple green dress with a yellow sash is all you need!

(pssstt….Mandy….she is totally Merida!)

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Nikolai: He takes a dark path in this novel, but he is still such a gentlemen. He goes through some major changes and struggles I just wanted to hug him all the time. There were other times when I wanted to throttle him, but I still rooted for him through and through. It wasn’t his fault, but he needed to find away to get out of the bad situation!

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Pasha: The cute adorable prince. I struggled with him a little because he had no spine for most of this novel. He had to find a way to build a backbone, to believe in his ability to become Tsar. I know it is not an easy thing to do, but what Pasha did in this novel was grow and learn to trust himself!

Renata and Yuliana were meh. I neither liked or disliked them. Sometimes Yuliana was just so mean and ugh!, but I loved her cold demeanor too!

Replace “fabulous” with intelligent, cunning and royal and you’ve got Yuliana…never mind just keep fabulous as well!

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Romanov Russia: I know nothing about the Romanovs or the history of Russia during their rule. BUT I adored the setting. It felt cold, imperial and very majestic. I thought the world was well thought out and I could imagine St. Petersburg square perfectly, despite never having actually gone there! It definitely fit the direction of the story!

Magic! Magic! Magic!: I loved the two types of magic in this series. there is Vika’s nature-y magic and Nikolai’s more technical tailored magic. There was also some heavy dark magic used  in the story and Renata’s tea leaf readings, which still amaze me!

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A Second Unofficial Crown’s Game: The original Crown’s Game is very different from the “Crown’s Game” played by the characters in this novel. It was a lot darker, sneakier and more ruthless. This book held a war, both within the characters and between the characters themselves. It was highly entertaining. There is a reason it is called The Crown’s FATE!

The Romance: Hmmm…well this one is a doozy. Since it is a triangle. And although this book doesn’t focus too much on the “love” aspect, I felt that certain characters were influenced too much by their feelings of love…or jealousy. That being said, I wouldn’t say it bothered me too much because the #2 reason (in my opinion, #1 being power) that humans enter into conflict is because of emotions. Jealousy, cowardice, anger and even love lead us to make some not-so-smart choices that can lead to some not-so-great things!

The Words “And I didn’t forget”: *heart mushes*

What I Disliked:

It Was Slow: A whole lot of nothing happened in many chapters. Many of the chapters were short and sweet, which I liked, but I never got INVESTED into the characters story line. Nikolai’s chapters in particular carried similar content. I will not disclose it, but it had a lot of dark stuff without the excitement!

The Random Addition of Folklore: If this Fish king Voyandoy or whatever was worth mentioning then why was his story never developed, or explored. Or that scene with Vika in the volcano with the fire nymph or whatever. Like hello…what was this for? I’m curious!

It Was An Ending…Yet…I Was Just Left Hanging: The ending battle scene and after-battle scenes were perfect. It game me some major TLC vibes for a particular reason, hence why I love Vika even more by the end! All was glorious and filled my heart. BUT…this darn BUT. It just was an ending…not THE ending. I needed to know more! More! More!

It Is Not Love Just A Like: I did not LOVE this sequel, I ENJOYED it IMMENSELY but it just could not grasp me. Perhaps it is the meh ending or the course that the story took. It was really dark and I was hoping for more fluff. I don’t know…it’s just I didn’t love love it and I wanted to love love it but I can’t because the events of the story do not stick to me and haunt me! It’s more of a like-love. You get me?

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Yet, despite everything I really enjoyed it! I will miss these characters so much! I wish and dream and hope that Evelyn will write more stories about these characters! I am however, curious about the ALTERNATE ending that was floating about with the pre-orders. I’ve entered a contest to try and win…so here is to hoping!

If you want to read some of my favourite quotes accompanied by some funny gifs, just scroll down my twitter feed or check out #TheCrownsFate.

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars 

Recommend: Yes, if you’re in the mood for a little historical fantasy in Russia! Go for it!

That’s all for me. If you have read this book feel free to comment your thoughts below! Or tell me about your favourite historical fiction book! I love recommendations!!

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

Three Dark Crowns Review

Greetings readers!

This is the fourth book I read in May…I’m falling behind on reviews! Life has become busier and while I get reading done, finding time to write is hard! Still I have this done for you all and more coming on the way! Enjoy!

via Goodreads

Goodreads Summary

When kingdom come, there will be one.

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown.

I should have read this novel a long time ago! I have had it since October and only until this month did I finally pick it up! It has gotten some mixed reviews but overall I enjoyed it! It was the dark fantasy I was expecting but something was missing. Read on for more!

What I Liked:

Characters:

Arsinoe: She was ultimately my favourite queen of the three. She was fierce, funny and gave no Fs. Yes she was “weak” in the sense that she had no power to use and everybody in her Naturalist city hated her for that fact, but I loved that she lived through it anyways. She found a way to strong without magic. She had bite and snark and I just totally loved her!

Katherine: (aka ME) She is my adorable cinnamon role that I need to protect and love! Kat had a suckish life. Like her life sucked! She had it rough. She was also weak but she had been trained anyways, having to consume poison after poison. Constantly getting sick and suffering the effects, in other words…her life sucked! Yet I found her quite charming and as we got to know her she became stronger! I wish that she had been explored further because her story got cut because of other characters that lived in her city. Still I loved her and cannot wait to see her get her vengeance because let me tell you her LIFE SUCKED TO THE END!

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JULES: MY PRECIOUS CINNAMON ROLL WHO SUFFERED SO MUCH. OH MY GOD! IF I THOUGHT KAT’S LIFE SUCKED, READING HERS WAS THE ULTIMATE TORTURE! This girl could never catch a break. Never. She was not a queen, but as a Beltane Begot (a person born on the same day as the queens) she is special. She is powerful. I loved her relationship with her familiar, Camden. A mountain cat! So cool. I also loved her friendship with Arsinoe, especially when they went through their rough times! Jules was loyal, fierce, caring and brave! She deserves all the happiness in the world!!!!! GOSH KENDARE CAN SHE JUST BE HAPPY FOR ONCE!

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Billy: He is a secondary character but I found him adorable and quirky. He is SO passionate and funny, especially when he is around Arsinoe. His loyalty to Arsinoe was so precious and I loved that they have a friendship……even though I secretly hope it becomes more……

As for Mirabella, I don’t hate her…I was just never particularly too concerned with her or her story line. I found her quite petty actually and there are some things I just might never forgive her for even if she didn’t know certain other things!

Setting: Having the map really helped organize the three different power houses. It was interesting how Fennbirn worked and how each city had different traditions to celebrate the queens and Beltane. It gave off the dark mood perfectly. It was never sunny in this world to me, everything was always dark and gloomy, much like the lives of the characters!

Magic system: I thought it was really cool. The Poisoners were obviously my favourite! Hello, you cannot die after consuming poison! The other two powers, elemental and naturalist were cool. They were almost too similar but as the book went on I understood the differences and the techniques that each power system used.

The Beltane Plot: Okay so I’ll be honest it took me a while to figure out what Beltane was and then I read the summary again and realized that it is the day the Queen is chosen. Am I right? Anyways it was super interesting and super dark. It is literally the day one sister is chosen and two others are put on the chopping block. The Beltane happened rather quickly and soooooooooooooooooo many things happened. So many! It had the action, the magic and the suspense that the beginning of the book lacked.

The Short Chapters: I LOVE SHORT CHAPTERS. THAT IS WHEN THINGS START GETTING INTENSE! IT JUST MAKES THE PAGE FLIPPING EVEN MORE FUN! AND LET ME TELL YOU THESE SHORT CHAPTERS WERE KILLER!

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What I Disliked

Who are these Warrior people, I didn’t get it?: Okay so maybe I understand it now, after careful reflection of the story, but as I was reading it, I just had no clue who they were and what their purpose was! I felt like they were just thrown into the story for fun. Perhaps in the next one they will have a grander reason to be present.

Slow and Confusing Beginning: So many people were introduced, it was all too much to take in at once. There are the three major queens and they each have three or four side characters! I was confusing people many times and since the chapter headers are locations rather than names I had to take the time to figure out where we were and who was there!

Side Character Over-Shadowing: I’m sure you’ll hear more about this from my sisters, but the side characters especially in Katherine’s and Arsinoe’s stories almost take over their voices. Arsinoe gets her spotlight eventually, but I feel like Katherine was pushed back by Natalie so I never really got the chance to see good development from Kat which makes me sad because she is my queen!

It Didn’t Blow Me Away: Don’t get me wrong it was great story..it just didn’t knock off my socks. It was mellow in some areas and I was able to predict the end twist from the beginning of the story which made the ending very anti-climatic! I mean I was happy that I was right *yay theories*….but I also wanted to be wrong. XD There was a lot of information thrown in this novel but not enough time from the queens themselves. 

Doesn’t take away from the story but…:

DEAR KENDARE,
CAN JOSEPH SAUNDRIN PLEASE FALL OF A CLIFF AND INTO A BLACK HOLE IN THE SEQUEL. YOU SEEMED TO HAVE CUT THAT PART OUT OF THIS ONE!
THANK YOU,
~ RENDZ

I hate that guy and Madrigal.

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Overall it was a good book. Not exactly the mind-blowing fantasy with three queens I was hoping it would be but I did enjoy it a lot. It had me raging for quite a while, so that it always a good sign! It was definitely dark, I’ll tell you that. A lot of death. A lot of betrayal. A lot of suffering!

Rating: 4 / 5 stars ( Not a love 4 stars, but a good 4 stars! In other words I need to update my rating system so I don’t confuse myself!)

Recommend: It’s summer! Do you want something dark, cold, and magical? Then try this! 😉

So this is MY review. There will be reviews coming from my sisters in the near future once I wrangle them! If you missed the announcement I’m reading this book with my sisters! Rendz, Kez and Maz Read Three Dark Crowns is going to be three reviews (mine included) and a spoiler-y discussion post in June! If you have read the book, stay tuned for that post!

That’s all for now, let me know what the darkest book you have ever read is! Or the happiest! I’m good with either!

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

Special Guest Report! Three Sisters Read Three Dark Crowns!

Greetings readers!

I don’t know if any of you remember but back in my May TBR post I said I would have special guest appearances well presenting….

Rendz, Kez & Maz Read Three Dark Crowns: A Sister Buddy Read

So ever since I found out that Three Dark Crowns (3DC) revolves around three sisters who are competing for a crown, my first thought was that the youngest sister (aka ME) better win!

My second thought was that I should read this book with my own two lovely sisters, formerly known as K & M but are now officially called Kez and Maz!

After much convincing and pleading, my sisters finally jumped on board with the idea and I have them reading the book right now! Each of us will have our own review, posted here on my blog so you can see us battle on the internet. Won’t that be fun.

A little more on our trio.

Maz is the eldest, therefore the most serious and experienced one of us all.

Kez the middle sister, always feels as though she is loved the least and spits the most fire. We love her for that reason

And..Rendz, the youngest, yet most talented, creative, funny and fabulous of them all!
*Lol I edit this post*

Alright, so dear sisters of mine how about you each give a little introduction about yourself and the types of books you like to read!

Introducing Maz…

Hi everyone, I’m Maz the eldest of these three sisters. I first got into reading in high school, that is where my obsession for YA began. But back in the eighth grade I fell in love with the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery. (I am the reason Rendz now loves it too!) (Rendz: That is true!) Gilbert Blythe was my first book boyfriend ever! I am also a huge Pride & Prejudice fanatic! Hello, Mr. Darcy! Today I read a mixture of YA and NA. I will admit I am a huge Romance junkie. I love a good happy ending!

 

Introducing Kez…

Hey! My name is Kez and I am the middle sister of this fun fab fam which also means I am the one with abandonment issues. 😛 (Rendz: See what I mean she always feels unloved) Anywho… I remember having a really strong reading phase in grade 3 when I became obsessed with the Magic Tree House series. Those books were everything and I did my best to read them all in order. After that I am not sure what happened but my reading love affair just tapered off. In terms of my favourite book genre I would say I am all over the place. I like romance, fantasy, and contemporary  is an addiction. The Selection series (not including the daughter additions because I feel they were unnecessary) and The Lunar Chronicles (Rendz likes to rub it in my face that she introduced me to them. I let her so she has some self esteem) (Rendz: See what a good book pusher I am!)  are like my all time favourite series. I love happy endings and that is my biggest hope which means I HATE LOVE TRIANGLES — they are a waste of space and should rot in hell.

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Sorry. So give me a good book with an amazing cast, story plot and romance ❤ but no love triangle; and well you’ve got me hooked!

Rendz: As mentioned Kez likes to spit fire, especially in rants about Love Triangles!

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As mentioned we will all have our own reviews and it will be really interesting to see how much we agree and disagree with each other. By default we are going to go into the book supporting our respective queens in order of birth. But who knows! Perhaps by the end of book one we like different queens and the battle for the crown will get much more interesting!

I’m sure things will get more intense once the sequel comes out and the victor is really chosen! 😉

I hope you join us when we discuss the book in our reviews! If you have read the book feel free to support whichever one of us you agree with more!

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

Ouran Host Club Book Tag

Greetings readers!

I was tagged by the lovely Mandy @ Book Princess Reviews to do the Ouran Host Club Book Tag created by the lovely Icebreaker694! I have never watched this anime or read the Manga, I am not a big anime watcher actually! But back in the day, little Rendz had her fair share of anime shows. (I’m looking at you Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, DN Angel…if those count, I’m never sure!) Anyways, this tag looks really fun so thank you Mandy for tagging me and Icebreaker for creating it!

THE RULES

1. Thank the person who tagged you!
2. ALWAYS PINGBACK TO CREATOR (icebreaker694 ) she wants to see your post.
3. Answer all the questions below! (You don’t have to watch the show to answer them.)
4. Tag 8+ bloggers!

THEME SONG – A MISLEADING CHARACTER

Tella Dragna from Caraval by Stephanie Garber for reasons….

HARUHI – A CHARACTER EVERY OTHER CHARACTER LOVES

Gupta from The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
You cannot help but love this guy, he is so funny, adorable and smart!

TAMAKI – A CHARACTER WHO STARTED A MOVEMENT

*Stealing Mandy’s answer because it is the best answer*

Cinder! Cinder! Cinder! She is a fierce, passionate and inclusive leader. She knew that she had little chances of beating Levana, but she did it anyways! Love her.

KYOYA – A CHARACTER WITH PARENTAL ISSUES

Kestrel and her dad from The Winners Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski
General Trajan does not have a close relationship with his daughter. He will never truly see Kestrel for who she is and how powerful she can be. It will always be marriage or military for him.

KAORU & HIKARU – BROTHERLY LOVE

Chaol Westfall and Dorian Havilliard  from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

My ultimate brOTP. I love them together. I love that they love each other and would fight for one another regardless of the situation. My love for them is limitless and I want more of them!!

MORI – A CHARACTER WHO IS SCARY ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT A BUNDLE OF FLUFF ON THE INSIDE

Magnus Damora from The Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

He can be real mean, but he is an adorable little puppy on the inside. He may be cold and distant but he is really just a sweetheart!

HONEY – A CHARACTER WHO LOVES TO EAT.

*Again stealing Mandy’s answer because it is the best*

Nina Zenik! She loves to eat, she has no shame. I love to eat, I have no shame! Honestly every time she was craving food or thinking about food I found myself smiling and getting more and more hungry. Waffles anyone?

RENGE – A TAG ALONG CHARACTER

Attia from the Incarceron duology by Catherine Fisher

I honestly loved her character. I loved how bitter she was to everyone except Finn. She added more bravery and intelligence to Finn’s gang. (Also I secretly shipped her with Keiro)

NEKOZAWA – A CHARACTER WHO LIKES THE DARK SIDE

Keenan from A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Again reasons….

I Tag:

*If you’ve already been tagged or you’re not interested, don’t sweat it!*

Maya Hearts Books

Too Much of a Booknerd

Books Coffee and Passion

The Book Cover Girls

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Alright, that was fun! Thank you again for tagging me Mandy! I hope you all enjoyed this. Until next time,

Happy reading!

~ Rendz