Category Archives: Romance

Review: Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2)
Leigh Bardugo
Orion Children’s Books
March 30, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Rule of Wolves

The Demon King. As Fjerda’s massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm—and even the monster within—to win this fight. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king’s gift for the impossible.

The Stormwitch. Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much to war. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend. Now duty demands she embrace her powers to become the weapon her country needs. No matter the cost.

The Queen of Mourning. Deep undercover, Nina Zenik risks discovery and death as she wages war on Fjerda from inside its capital. But her desire for revenge may cost her country its chance at freedom and Nina the chance to heal her grieving heart.

King. General. Spy. Together they must find a way to forge a future in the darkness. Or watch a nation fall.

My Review

It took me SO long to finish reading this book! I think because it’s the last book in the King of Scars duology, AND it’s the last book set in the Grisha universe, which means it feels like the end in a lot of big ways. I think I wasn’t ready for it to be over.

I’ve heard a lot of mixed feelings about both KING OF SCARS and RULE OF WOLVES. Zoya wasn’t my favorite character from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, so I was not really invested in reading more of her story. And Nina was maybe the character I was least invested in from SIX OF CROWS. Nikolai was absolutely my favorite character from the Shadow and Bone books, though, so I was in it for his story for sure. As I read, I came to invest in Zoya and Nina’s parts of the tale, too.

I love that this book continues that big, sweeping feeling that the other books had. I love that it builds on all that we knew about the saints and Nina’s plan to change Fjerda’s perception of the Grisha through recognition of saints.

Most of all, I love that the book wrapped up some plot elements and relationships that I was really invested in. I was surprised by some of the things that happened, for sure. But I definitely came away satisfied and loving that I’d made the time to read this mammoth book. (It’s almost 600 pages!)

On the whole, I think readers of the Grisha books will not be able to miss this one. SIX OF CROWS is still my favorite, but this duology, KING OF SCARS and RULE OF WOLVES are ranked just behind it as my next favorites.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Nina is pansexual. One minor character is transgender. Zoya is Suli, a race of travelers who are not given equal status or treatment in Ravka.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl, two girls, and a trans boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
In Ravka, the people worship the saints, Grisha who did remarkable deeds and were martyred. In Fjerda, they worship the god Djel and believe the Grisha are witches who must be executed.

Violent Content
Multiple scenes showing battle violence, situations of peril, and some graphic descriptions of death.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of RULE OF WOLVES in exchange for my honest review.

Review: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

King of Scars (King of Scars #1)
Leigh Bardugo
Imprint
Published on January 29, 2019

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About King of Scars

The dashing young king, Nikolai Lantsov, has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war–and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, Nikolai must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha general, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried–and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.

My Review

Okay. So. I went into this book with some big reservations. When I read SHADOW AND BONE, I was pretty solidly team Alina and Nikolai, so I kind of never got over the fact that they didn’t end up together. I also really didn’t feel like I had a deep connection to or understanding of Zoya, so I wasn’t sure how to feel about reading her perspective. I was looking forward to reading more of Nina’s story, but also not sure I was ready for the wall of grief she’d be experiencing.

So that’s where I was when I picked up the book. It took me a while to get into Zoya’s character. I’m kind of a fool for witty banter, so the back-and-forth between her and Nikolai or her and other members of their team definitely drew me in. Her backstory also deepened her a LOT.

That last quarter of the book, though. Like, I was enjoying reading and getting more into the story all the way through, but once I got to that last 25%, I was definitely hooked. The stakes went up SO much. Zoya and the dragon. Just. Wow. Nina and her plot to change the game in Fyerda. So amazing.

So yep. I pretty much went from finishing the last page of KING OF SCARS to immediately opening up to the first page of RULE OF WOLVES because now I need to see where this ultimately goes. I’m calling that a win.

I think the SIX OF CROWS duology is still my favorite of the Grisha books, but this one is a very close second.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Nina is bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. A soldier makes a comment that a girl looks like she’d be fun in bed. Nina admires another woman’s beauty in a romantic way.

Spiritual Content
References and some deference to the Fjerdan god, Djel. In Ravka, the people mainly worship saints. There’s some exploration of what it means to be a saint and who should qualify for sainthood.

Violent Content
A horse nearly tramples a soldier, injuring her head. Poison and drug addiction cause injury and death. Some scenes show battle violence. An assassin kills someone and injures someone else. An army of the dead attack a group of soldiers and others.

Drug Content
A highly addictive drug called Jurda Parem changes a Grisha’s power (it’s fatal to non-Grisha) and causes immediate, intense addiction. Nina has taken it before in a dire situation and now carries a sensitivity to it. Nikolai has a team studying the drug looking for a cure or a form that enhances power without creating an addiction.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Girl, Unstrung by Claire Handscombe

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Girl, Unstrung
Claire Handscombe
Published November 23, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Girl, Unstrung

You might think it’s fun to grow up around Hollywood with semi-famous parents.

You’d be wrong, and Clara Cassidy would be the first to tell you so.

She’s fourteen, figuring out life with three siblings and a new stepmom, and navigating her freshman year at a stupid high school where she doesn’t even want to be. She was supposed to be at arts school by now.

It’s fine, though, totally fine: she’s going to practice her viola extra hard and get into LACHSA next year. She’s definitely 100 percent focused and not even slightly going to get distracted by Tim, the sophomore Scrabble champion with the swoopy hair and the chin dimple. Nope. Not her.

My Review

I liked a lot of things about GIRL, UNSTRUNG, but I feel like overall my review is going to be mixed.

One of the elements I loved were Clara’s relationships with her family members, especially her stepmom, Ebba. It’s complicated, emotional, and I felt like Clara actually grew the most as a person in the context of that relationship. It felt really real and rich to me.

I found myself wishing that she experienced similar development in her other relationships, though. Clara tended to be highly critical, and while that totally tracked for an overachieving musician, I felt like there were some points where her behavior became toxic. I found myself wanting those moments to be addressed in more than a passing way.

In the story, Clara lists her age as fourteen and a half, but she seemed older than that. It made me wonder about the decision to set her age there instead of bumping her up to fifteen.

That said, I appreciate that this book steps into the sort of dead zone between middle grade and young adult fiction. There are a few books with main characters at fourteen, but not tons. I think the book just felt a little bit divided to me on which age group it belongs in. The family relationships and pursuit of music as well as the first crush elements felt more like upper middle grade. But the obsession with sexy underwear and when to have sex felt more like themes you’d see in young adult lit.

Conclusion

I did really enjoy the descriptions of Clara’s passion for music and her ability, and her foray into the world of competitive Scrabble.

Like I said, I liked a lot of things in the book, but overall, kind of a mixed bag for me. I think readers who enjoy stories about musicians or blended families could find a lot to love here.

Content Notes for Girl Unstrung

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Clara is super interested in having a boy kiss her. She shops for sexy underwear and discusses how far she’d be comfortable going with a boy with one of her friends. A friend relates her own experience making out with her boyfriend with no shirts or bra.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some stories of devastating injuries.

Drug Content
Clara sneaks into her parents’ bathroom and grabs a Percocet from her stepmother’s prescription bottle.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of GIRL, UNSTRUNG in exchange for my honest review.

I loved some of the characters and relationships but struggled with other parts.

Review: You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

You Can Go Your Own Way
Eric Smith
Inkyard Press
Published November 2, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You Can Go Your Own Way

Adam Stillwater is in over his head. At least, that’s what his best friend would say. And his mom. And the guy who runs the hardware store down the street. But this pinball arcade is the only piece of his dad that Adam has left, and he’s determined to protect it from Philadelphia’s newest tech mogul, who wants to turn it into another one of his cold, lifeless gaming cafés.

Whitney Mitchell doesn’t know how she got here. Her parents split up. She lost all her friends. Her boyfriend dumped her. And now she’s spending her senior year running social media for her dad’s chain of super successful gaming cafés—which mostly consists of trading insults with that decrepit old pinball arcade across town.

But when a huge snowstorm hits, Adam and Whitney suddenly find themselves trapped inside the arcade. Cut off from their families, their worlds, and their responsibilities, the tension between them seems to melt away, leaving something else in its place. But what happens when the storm stops?

My Review

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is the nostalgic feel of Adam’s chapters. It’s a contemporary novel, set in the present day (minus covid), but Adam has a lot of love for bands his dad loved and for the vintage pinball machines his dad was obsessed with before he died. I haven’t played a lot of pinball in my life, but I felt like the descriptions of the game play and the machines made perfect sense and was really engaging. I also couldn’t help connecting with Adam and his complex, unresolved grief with all his nerdy amazingness.

Whitney is super different than Adam is. She’s sleek, cool, and incredibly driven, and yet I felt an instant connection with her, too. I really appreciated her wit and tenacity. She is definitely one of those characters who acts tough and has a soft heart underneath, and I love those!

In addition to all of that, there are some very fun social media situations and conversations, plus a community of indie business owners who all show up for each other. If you know me, you know community is another thing that I tend to adore in the books I read. It just feels so real, and makes the characters feel like part of a real world, you know?

YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY is the first book by Eric Smith that I’ve read, though I’m pretty sure I own his others! Reading this made me really want to read everything he’s written. I felt like the relationships were super real and the characters were really easy to connect with. I think readers who enjoy contemporary romance will have a lot to love in this book.

I suppose my only complaint is the ear worm that constantly happens to me every time I read the title. Every. Time. I guess I can live with a little music in my head. Ha!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Adam’s dad is Sicilian and his mom is Palestinian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to making out.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Adam tries to clean up glass from a broken pinball game and cuts his hand. A storm breaks some windows, causing some damage.

Drug Content
Whitney attends a party at her boyfriend’s house where kids are drinking alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Where We Go From Here by Luca Rocha

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Where We Go From Here
Lucas Rocha
Translated by Larissa Helena
Push
Published June 2, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Where We Go From Here

Ian has just been diagnosed with HIV.

Victor, to his great relief, has tested negative.

Henrique has been living with HIV for the past three years.

When Victor finds himself getting tested for HIV for the first time, he can’t help but question his entire relationship with Henrique, the guy he has-had-been dating. See, Henrique didn’t disclose his positive HIV status to Victor until after they had sex, and even though Henrique insisted on using every possible precaution, Victor is livid.

That’s when Victor meets Ian, a guy who’s also getting tested for HIV. But Ian’s test comes back positive, and his world is about to change forever. Though Victor is loath to think about Henrique, he offers to put the two of them in touch, hoping that perhaps Henrique can help Ian navigate his new life. In the process, the lives of Ian, Victor, and Henrique will become intertwined in a story of friendship, love, and stigma-a story about hitting what you think is rock bottom, but finding the courage and support to keep moving forward.

Set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this utterly engrossing debut by Brazilian author Lucas Rocha calls back to Alex Sanchez’s Rainbow Boys series, bringing attention to how far we’ve come with HIV, while shining a harsh light on just how far we have yet to go.

An absorbing debut novel about three gay young adults in Brazil whose lives become intertwined in the face of HIV, perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Bill Konigsberg.

My Review

I think it’s really hard to write an issue-driven story and have it read really authentically with facts and information presented in a natural way. This book does a pretty great job of that, though.

The premise had me intrigued already– the author wrote WHERE WE GO FROM HERE in part to address some misinformation and prejudices about HIV and AIDS. So judgments and myths do come up in the story as the characters face either their own diagnoses or their prejudices about people who’ve been diagnosed as HIV positive.

Splitting the story into three points of view, three characters all having different experiences or at different places in their experience helped the conversations feel organic. It allowed people to be in different places in terms of what they knew or understood. It allowed them to be in different places in their emotional journey, too.

Ian might have been my favorite character, but I loved Henrique, too. Both had a vulnerability that drew me into their stories. I thought the relationships they had– in particular Henrique and Eric’s relationship– were great. I liked that each relationship was different and handled things in different ways, but all of them showed love and support.

One of the issues the story explored was about the right to privacy versus the openness that comes with intimacy. Victor is really upset that he learned about Henrique being HIV positive after having sex with him. He has to wrestle a LOT with that issue. At first he doesn’t feel that Henrique has a right to privacy at all, even if he took precautions to protect Victor. I think in particular the way the story explored that issue, showing both sides and the broad range of emotions the situation triggered, made this a deep read.

Conclusion

The only thing that kind of tripped me up a bit was that some of the dialogue was a little stilted and awkward, probably just from being translated. (Which has to be an incredibly challenging job!) Other than that, I enjoyed reading the book, and it really made me think.

The cover copy above says readers who enjoy Bill Konigsberg or Adam Silvera should check this book out. I agree. I think it would appeal to those readers for sure.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All characters are Brazilian. The three main characters are gay men. One has a roommate who is a drag queen.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. References to sex and oral sex.

Spiritual Content
A couple characters examine whether they believe that being HIV+ is God’s judgment against them for being gay. They decide it isn’t.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for homophobia.
A couple characters have been cast off by their families because of who they love. There are some brief recollections of the hurtful things they’ve said. One character is outed by someone online and receives awful messages on social media and via spray paint on his building.

Drug Content
Several scenes show characters drinking alcohol. All the characters are of legal drinking age (at least 18) in Brazil.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of WHERE WE GO FROM HERE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Splendor by Breeana Shields

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

The Splendor
Breeana Shields
Page Street Kids
Published on September 28, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Splendor

The Splendor isn’t just a glamorous hotel, it’s a magical experience that gives its guests the fantasy fulfillment of their dreams. But The Splendor didn’t make Juliette’s dreams come true. It ruined her life.

After a weeklong stay, Juliette’s sister, Clare, returns from the hotel changed. Her connection to Juliette―the special bond they once shared―has vanished. In a moment of hurt and frustration, Juliette steals their meager savings and visits The Splendor herself.

When she arrives, she’s taken in by the lush and sumptuous hotel. But as she delves more deeply into the mystery of the place, and how they make their illusions work, she grows more and more uneasy. The Splendor has a seedy underbelly, but every time she gets close to discovering something real, she seems to hit a wall.

Meanwhile, Juliette meets Henri, an illusionist who lives and works at the hotel. Henri’s job is to provide Juliette with the same Signature Experience he gives all the guests―one tailored fantasy that will make her stay unforgettable. As he gets to know her, he realizes that not only is he ill-equipped to make her dreams come true, he’s the cause of her heartache.

My Review

This is another book that I simply couldn’t stop reading. I stayed up way too late finishing it, and even though I’m super tired now, I have zero regrets. I had to know how it would end.

Both Juliette and Henri are the kinds of characters that hit me like an arrow to the heart. They’re vulnerable and smart and loving and wounded, desperate to help someone they love. I loved the tension between them, but also that the story didn’t push the romance to the forefront. Like, sometimes their connection or their feelings for each other would be on the brink of becoming obvious, and all of a sudden, some big hairy bad thing would happen. After, they processed what had happened rather than being like “wow, we almost died, how about that kiss?” So it felt really organic the way their relationship developed and didn’t overtake the story. I really liked that.

I also liked the pacing of the story. So much happens. THE SPLENDOR is one of those books where there’s a really strong rhythm, and so many of the chapters ended with that stakes leaping higher or some new danger emerging. I loved that! It’s one of the things that totally kept me reading.

The only thing I wasn’t totally in love with was that the opening chapter reads a bit like backstory. It’s kind of bringing us up to speed on Juliette’s relationship with her sister and the significance of the hotel to the two of them. I think it would have been cool to have that chapter feel more immediate, like the rest of the book, and have that information woven into the first few chapters, but I can see why the author chose to introduce the story that way. It worked, it just felt a lot different than the rest of the book.

I think readers who liked CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber or THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater will love this story steeped in magic and mystery.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
The story is set in a French or French-inspired city.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
The hotel is built on top of springs that well up with magic. Hotel staff harness the magic and use it to create illusions and other magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some instances of gaslighting. A girl is murdered.

Drug Content
Juliette drinks a bubbly pink drink that changes how she feels. Most of the food and drink at the hotel is infused with a kind of magic that affects how people feel once they’ve consumed it.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of THE SPLENDOR in exchange for my honest review.