“Now hear me. Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a nightingale.�
The Bear and*Spoiler Free*
“Now hear me. Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a nightingale.�
The Bear and Nightingale is a Russian folklore set in medieval times with Slavic mythology and Christianity playing a big role. Our main character is Vasya, at first a child and then a woman towards the end of the story. Vasya grew up honoring their household spirits by giving them offerings for as long as she can remember. She has always been wild child and her father decides it is time to marry once again to find a wife to help Vasya behave. Vasya comes head to head with her new stepmother and the new Christian priest the new wife brings to their village.
The beginning of the book were a bit slow for me but as we continued the story became hard to put down. I found myself infatuated with the demon and fae like creatures of slavic mythology. Each had unique capabilities and responsibilities in the story itself. There were nature based creatures, animal based creatures, a jack frost of death, and even a hearth demon. Like I said, truly unique.
The Bear and the Nightingale is a perfect read for the winter. Most of the setting is found in a frozen wintry setting. The prose is written so you feel as though you've stepped off into the world itself. The descriptions are just so vivid.
This book has a great casting of characters on top of the beautiful prose. You have the ever present hero, the barely there characters, the evil characters, and you even have a set of morally gray characters. All of these combined make for a very interesting story.
I am very excited to read the Girl in the Tower. If you are looking for the perfect wintry read to get cozy with I definitely recommend this one. You don't even need to step out your door and catch a chill....more
“We forget our dreams, but our nightmares linger with us evermore.�
I was pretty disappointed with The Beautiful. This is one of those popular books th
“We forget our dreams, but our nightmares linger with us evermore.�
I was pretty disappointed with The Beautiful. This is one of those popular books that people either really love or loathe with a passion. I was somewhere in between. In the beginning I was having a hard time getting through it and it didn't seem to be picking up until I reached 60%. At that point I became attached to Celine (Our main character) and a few select others like the handsome devil Bastion.
The Beautiful is set in New Orleans during the late 1800's. It gives us a gorgeous back drop and stunning descriptions. Celine has just escaped a troubled past and heads to a convent where she will teach french. Along the way she meets Pippa from Yorkshire who will always be dear to her. Celine's life begins to take shape in New Orleans complete with romance and a world she never knew existed. Will her troubled past life mess everything up? Will the truth of why she left Paris come to haunt her?
This story had all the great makings of a great book but it fell incredibly short for me. I found my attention wavering at several points which made me sad because I was really invested in Celine's choices seeing her character evolve. Unfortunately a key plot point towards the end just didn't sit well with me. I felt like maybe I had missed some clues? I was also confused about clues being given in general and honestly I don't even know if they were explained. I was devastated when a key character had a huge mishap and I'm still really upset over it because that character made the story for me. I'm not complaining about the mishap either! I hope things in the sequel balance it all out and that it was not all in vain!
“One day, someone should tell you how beautiful you are in the moonlight," Bastien said softly.�
I was granted The Damned on Netgalley and I'm not quite sure if i'll be able to pick it up. I know I know... I feel privileged to have gotten it but i'm just not sure this story was meant for me. It does have some great things going for it and it talks about some important issues like Race, inequality, and status. I was actually quite impressed with those. I just wish the story had made more sense.
“He thinks we’re what we look like on the outside: nice Southern ladies. Let me tell you something…there’s nothing nice about Southern l*Spoiler Free*
“He thinks we’re what we look like on the outside: nice Southern ladies. Let me tell you something…there’s nothing nice about Southern ladies.�
The beginning of this book was fantastic and I was entranced. You wouldn't think that a book club could be so intriging, but this one became intriguing. I really loved the characters and how different each one was with their flaws and how they all seemed like they were strong female characters. I enjoyed the last section of the book as well because things really picked up and I didn't want to put it down, needing to know what happened. There were character redemptions, growth, and the setting was also really unique, mainly because it was in the late 80's to the start of the 90's (This is unique to me, because I haven't read a book based in those time frames that I can recall).
Now, let's talk about why this book is SUPER problematic. First off, misogyny... and it is not short on it. This book portrayed these women as the weaker sex when it came to their men. They were submissive and self doubting and it was extremely irritating when they kept going back and forth, back and forth with it. There is also a white savior complex, (Rolls eyes), which in itself is terrible. I will state that when I read the book I imagined our main character as black and I kept that throughout the book. I don't think it even stated that the min character was white but then again I have a terrible memory. I think I read someones review stating that the main character is white, but Idk.
Let us also talk about how absolutely gross some of the scenes were in this book (definitly my personal thoughts), This is not a sterotypical vampire...Forget the neck biting, it's so much worse and for the sake of spoilers that is all I am going to say. TRIGGER WARNINGS for Rape, nazi symbolism, and gore.
There is probaly a lot more I could say about this one, but I feel the need to move on to my next read....more
"A woman with a little power was terrifying to some."
Kerri Maniscalco is like the goddess of relationships in the YA world. And ya'll I am so here fo
"A woman with a little power was terrifying to some."
Kerri Maniscalco is like the goddess of relationships in the YA world. And ya'll I am so here for it. The Kingdom of the Wicked definitely makes my top ten reads of the year and left me wanting so much more. I need book two right now! 5/5 stars because Maniscalco has done it again with this outstanding piece of young adult fiction.
Emilia and her sister Vittoria live in a small village in Italy working in their families family owned restaurant where they serve up amazing Italian cuisine. Emilia and Vittoria were born on a stormy night and each given a talisman to bare. They are both witches like their Nonna. They hide their true selves from the locals. One day Emilia discovers her sisters body desecrated in the nearby monastery. She vows revenge for the death of her sister. Regardless of what it may cost her.
If you guys have been following me for awhile you'll know that I like my YA PG for many reasons. Mainly, I'm asexual. There are other reasons. I just love how Maniscalco is able to create a steamy romance mixed with a powerful female protagonist. It had my heart racing and really wanting more. Like a lot more. If you don't like waiting a year to resolve a major cliffhanger you might want to wait on this one. That cliffhanger was brutal and a bit confusing. But omg, I will be pre-ordering the sequel because I must know what happens.
"Once you've caught a demon princes attention, he'll stop at nothing to claim you. They are midnight creatures, born of darkness and moonlight. And they seek only to destroy. Guard your hearts; if given the chance they'll rip them from your chests and guzzle your blood as it steams in the night.
The characters in this book are so broad it's beautiful. One almost seems to be morally gray, another vengeful, and of course seductive. I really enjoyed the descriptions of each character and found myself rather attached to a few of them. I really can't wait to find out what happens in book two. I also really need you all the read this! The setting was pretty amazing in this book. Maniscalco uses her actual families recipes incorporated throughout the book and that touch was magical. I now want to cook all of it. YUM! The plot was a bit stretched. It wasn't going where I thought it was going and yet it was somewhat kind of easy to guess. I'm hoping book two will blow my mind even more!
I highly recommend The Kingdom of the Wicked and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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