Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard

Book Title: Bloodwitch

Book Author: Susan Dennard

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Would I Recommend: Yes! 

Publisher: Tor/Forge

Hello, Book Friends! I hope you all have been having an awesome month!  Mine’s been filled with way too many family events, social events, and working with people and I just wanna crawl back into my introverted space for about a year or so, mmkay?  >_<

My reading life has taken a back seat to everything, and I was hoping to be able to include it more, but noooooooooo. Life happens.  Anyway, I’m here to talk about Bloodwitch and not myself so here we go.

I recieved a copy of this e-book sampler from the publisher through Netgalley.  Any opinions expressed here are my own.

I chose to request this sampler copy WAYYYYYYY back in January, (has it really been that long ago?) because I enjoyed Truthwitch and Windwitch.  Honestly, I was really surprised that I got approved for it and it was an unexpected read for me.

For some reason, I kept putting this off, until one day in February I finally decided to sit down and read it. As I started to read it, I realized that I had forgotten everything about the first two books.  I knew who the characters were, but I had no idea where they are and why.  I needed to go back to the first two books and refresh my mind on what was going on.

Apparently, it’s a good idea to read Sightwitch first.  I didn’t, so I don’t have a background story on some of the characters.

At first the writing seemed slow, and from what I did recall from the prior books, the characters have not been moving very fast throughout the series. Don’t get wrong, there’s a long going on –  it just seemed like it was in slow motion to me for some reason? So I read some of it.  A lot of the sampler. (I think it has a lot of pages for Sampler or was that just me?) I couldn’t finish it.

About a month later I picked it up from the library, because I figured it’s been a few months – why not just try reading it in book form instead of e-reader format.  And it sat on my desk for weeks.  I didn’t want to pick up. I think I’m in some sort of book slump because I’ve only ONE book in April.

Determined I finally sat back and decided to take another stab at reading this book.  I finally finished sampler part of it.  (Nineteen chapters, I think it was?) And at the last two chapters of the sampler is where everything really started to pick up.  So, naturally I had to know what happens next. It wasn’t long until I finished the rest of the story.

If you’ve read any of the previous books, you know that this story has many points of views.  I really enjoyed reading about Aeduan’s story. And yes, I’ve definitely been looking forward to his story.  There were plenty of things happening among the other characters story arcs as well, so you weren’t left in the dark with everyone else. I enjoyed Iseult’s story. There could have more action to Safi’s side and I was disappointed with Merik’s story.  (I can’t say too much more about that without spoiling it!)  I’m amazed that some of this stuff hadn’t happened before now. It was a very long journey for some of them.

There was plenty of action after the first half of the story and I am all for action! The writing style flowed really well, and I followed along seamlessly as our characters always seemed to fall into despair. This is why we love them though! The writing has definitely improved since the first book! 🙂

The world-building in the book is amazing. This book is darker than the first two, but I think that makes it awesome.  And those plot twists that came out of no-where, especially towards the end were golden.

Of course this ends on a cliffhanger (I’m dying for the next book over here!), and I can’t wait to find out what happens to our beloved characters next! 🙂

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  It read slowly for me in the beginning, but picked up around chapter seventeen, and that’s when I became invested in the story once again.  I couldn’t put the book down after that.  The world-building and plot were amazing, and the character growth was amazing too.  It was darker than previous ones, but who doesn’t love a dark story? The plot twists were fantastic.  It ends on a cliffhanger and I can’t wait to find out what happens next in the story! 🙂

If you want to find out more about the story you can check it out here:  Bloodwitch
And if you want to find out more about this author you can check it out here: Susan Dennard

 

 

 

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Book Review: Romanov

Book Title: Romanov

Book Author: Nadine Brandes

Book Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: May 7, 2019

Page Count: 352 Pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Would I Recommend: Yes!

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. 

Hello Book Friends!  I hope ya’ll have had a wonderful week! (And previous ones!)

Way back in November I think, I decided to request this book on Netgalley. I absolutely loved her book Fawkes and you can check out my review of that here! (Also, I just got a physical copy of Fawkes and I am so happy to have it in my hands! 🙂  You can imagine my excitement when I was approved to read her newest book (squeals were released, lol) being released in May 2019!

I couldn’t wait to jump into this book! It releases TODAY and I can’t wait to pick up this copy.  (Also, my birthday was last week, so I plan on getting this soon as a present to myself >_<)

I was and still am super-hyped about this book!  I read this all in one setting, I couldn’t put it down!  I loved every second of it!

As with the story of Guy Fawkes,  I haven’t much historical knowledge about Russia’s former royal family the Romanov’s, besides the fact that they existed way back when. (Actually to be honest, I’ve never even seen the Disney version of Anastasia, and had no idea until now that it was a Romanov family retelling.)

In the last two years, I’ve really started to take a liking to historical fiction novels and this book is definitely lives up to that potential. Also, I think it’s awesome that the author lets you know in the back of the book what historical facts she used to write the story.

I really felt like I was brought into the story, standing there with the Romanov family. I loved how close knit this family seems to be (mine is definitely not like this, lol :)). This is definitely a very heart-felt story, and I really felt for the characters.

Like her books Fawkes, I enjoyed the writing style. It keeps me captivated throughout the story. Without any historical knowledge of the Romanov’s, I thought that the plot twists were amazing.  (If you know any of the history you might have seen it coming, but NOT I) And the magic was awesome too.

The romance is always there, but not pressing at the forefront and it’s cute and adorable.

Also, the cover looks so pretty, too. You can check it out or on the authors website listed down below! 🙂

So, overall I really enjoyed this story.  I loved the plot, I loved the writing style, I loved the heart-felt characters.  I loved the family aspect, I loved the magic, I loved the romance. I was sad to see the story end.  I highly recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction re-telling with a hint of fantasy!

Anyways, these are my non-spoilery opinions and thoughts about this book! Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below! Also, thanks for reading!

If you want to find out more about the story you can check it out here:  Romanov
And if you want to find out more about this author you check it out here: Nadine Brandes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Lady Smoke

Book Title: Lady Smoke

Book Author: Laura Sebastian 

Book Rating: 5 out 5 stars

Would I Recommend: Yes! 

 

Hello Book Friends!  I hope you all are having a wonderful Monday! I wasn’t able to post last week because I started a new part time job! It’s very time consuming and I haven’t been able to figure out a balance to my work/blogging schedule just yet, but I think it’s starting to come together.

I saw this book at the library one day and knew I had to get it because I really enjoyed Ash Princess!  You can check out my review of it that I posted back in September here.

If I thought I loved the first book, I loved Lady Smoke even more so!   This was one of the best books I’ve read in months! I love the main character, Theo!  There’s so much more character development for her in this book and she’s growing stronger every day in her beliefs. You also get a more in-depth view of how the other characters are growing as well, and you read about them a lot more in this book too.  So much character development!

The book picks up right where Ash Princess left off. Everything in this book is well paced, and the writing style had me hooked.  I sometimes have difficulty reading things from one person’s POV, but I couldn’t put this book down!  Every step was carefully calculated, and something was always happening, so it was always exciting! There were new challenges that Theo and her friends needed to overcome and they were very well thought out.

I enjoyed reading about new kingdoms and the new people in these kingdom, and discovering what happened to them and how they dealt with things during the events in the first book.

I also enjoyed the fact that there wasn’t just the one villain, but several villains that Theo had to deal with as the story progressed.

The romance in this book was much more adorable than in the first! It was paced well, and it wasn’t as involved throughout the whole story as the first book, which made it so cute! *cue fan-girl squealing here*

The only thing that was slightly disappointing in the book were the events that happened at the end.  I can’t say a whole lot without spoiling things, but there were things that went down way to quickly, and had me like “that was it? or “that’s all it took?”

But, I still absolutely loved everything about it.

Overall, I give this book an A.  I loved the characters, the character growth, the challenges they had to put up with, how it was handled and much more! The writing style had me drawn into story immediately and loved every second of it. There was action, romance, and everything was so well-paced.  I highly recommend this book, especially if you loved Ash Princess.

If you want to find out more about the story you can check it out here:  Lady Smoke
And if you want to find out more about this author you check it out here:  Laura Sebastian

 

 

Feb Wrap Up and March 2019 TBR

Hello Book Friends! March got here so fast!  Unfortunately, we have snow on the ground here today, but I’m so looking forward to spring arriving!

I happened to finish 3 out of the 4 books I put on my TBR last month!

1.  King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo.  I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars because I was expecting so much out of this book than I got, but I did enjoy reading it and learning about the characters. I wish we would have seen more Nikolai in this book, than was given. You can read my review about this book here: King of Scars
2. Geekerella by Ashley Poston.  I gave this a 5 out of 5 stars. This was definitely my most favorite read of the month! It was a super cute, geeky, fairytale retelling and it was completely relevant in my life.  You can read my review about this book here: Geekerella
3. Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas.  I am giving this a 4 out of 5 stars.  Its a cute story about family, friends, and love. I can see the Throne of Glass comparison with the main character though, and that it why I don’t want to give it a 5 out of 5. It lacks a bit of originality of a completely new character. (Tower of Dawn showed a completely different side of Chaol, and that’s sort of what I was hoping for here.

I failed to finish the Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard excerpt on my kindle. I plan on finishing it this month, because I’m at least a third of the way through it!

Okay, so here’s my TBR for March!

 

1. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.  I’ve been meaning to read this one for years and I think I put this on a prior TBR and didn’t get to it.  (I’ve started it several times and it’s been good, I just haven’t put the time into reading it and I don’t know why?)
2. Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian.  To be honest, I’ve already started reading this one, (I’m about halfway through already), and it’s fantastic so far! It is the second book in the Ash Princess series, and I’m definitely enjoying this one more than the first one.
3. Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry.  This is the eighth book in an adult fiction series (There’s ten books in total, I’ve just been extremely behind in reading these lately and it’s hard to keep up with my ever growing TBR pile) that I’ve been reading for the past several years .  It’s more graphic and violent than most of the young adult books I read, but it involves zombies, and I absolutely love the main character Joe Ledger.  I had this scheduled to read later on in the year, like October, but I totally feel like reading it now.
4. Poison Study by Marie V. Synder.  This is an E-book I’ve had this on my kindle ever since I got my e-reader yet it’s been on there forgotten, but not this month! 🙂 

And there you have it, my TBR for March 2019! As always, thanks for reading! Comment below and let me know your thoughts of these books!

Book Review: Geekerella

Book Title:  Geekerella

Book Author:  Ashley Poston

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Would I Recommend: Yes!

 

Hello Book Friends! I hope you all are having a great Monday!

I chose to read this book this month because I’ve had it sitting on my bookshelf for a year, and so many of people have recommended this book to me! It also has a little bit of romance which is perfect for February! It’s a very cute, yet nerdy contemporary book (one of the few contemporaries I will probably read for the year!) with a cute fluffy romance and a Cinderella retelling! It really did feel like a Cinderella retelling story with a twist, and I felt like I was reading that story with a geeky twist.

I loved every moment of this book.  One of the main characters Elle, was so relatable in many ways.  In fact she really reminded me of one of my closest friends!  Character and personality wise, she is just like her!

I loved the “fairy god-mother” in this story, she’s fantastic!  There was a lot of character growth in this story, especially with the side characters and that was nice to read about.

The romance was super cute.  Some people have said they thought it was a bit unrealistic to  happen so fast, but I don’t think so.  I think that the two had no real experience in that area and so it happens that they find someone they can relate to so well, and they are just so lonely – it didn’t take much for that to blossom.

Also, the writing was well written and this was a fast paced read for me. It didn’t take me long to finish at all.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story.  The fandom aspect was amazing, it was a fun fairy tale retelling, and super super cute!  I recommend this to anyone looking for a cute contemporary read, and anyone who loves fandoms!

Anyway, these are my non-spoilery opinions and thoughts about this book! Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below! Also, thanks for reading!

If you want to find out more about the story you can check it out here:  Geekerella
And if you want to find out more about this author you can check it out here: Ashley Poston

 

 

Book Review: King of Scars

Book Title: King of Scars

Book Author: Leigh Bardugo 

Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Would I recommend: Yes

Hello Book Friends! I hope you all are having a fantastic day! It’s yet another Monday and time for a review!

The reason I requested this book from the library is because I absolutely LOVE the Six of Crows duology. Now, before you all go and tell me that I should have read the Grisha series first let me say that I already did! I just didn’t like it a whole lot.  However, Nikolai was my favorite person in the whole series. So, since this book is about Nikolai, I totally jumped on the idea of getting this a.s.a.p.

There were a lot of disappointing things for me with this book, so I’ll begin with that this time around.

Disappointment #1. Though this book is about Nikolai (well a little bit of it is), it’s mostly about Zoya and Nina.  While Zoya is an awesome character in this book, I could have done without Nina’s. Nina’s story could have been done in a whole new book with a more concrete plot to be honest.

Disappointment #2.  I was hoping (and this is totally my own thinking) that style of the story line of this book would be more Six of Crows then Grishaverse.  Well, it wasn’t.  It was totally Grishaverse style.

Disappointment #3.  There was not enough Nikolai-ish things happening from Nikolai. There were a few, but not enough compared to the Grisha series.

Disappointment #4.  There didn’t seem to be much of an antagonist side of the story.  That’s so important to the story!

Disappointment #5.  Things that happen at the end! I can’t say much without spoiling anything, but I felt like it was conflicting with the rest of the story!  I can’t believe that happened.

Disappointment #6.  It was slow and boring at times.  This is totally a set up for the next book.  I get that books are like that, but this was 500 pages of set up. Too much.

Okay, so six isn’t as many as I thought, but still. That’s quite a lot compared to some of the really awesome books I’ve been reading. This book was nothing like I expected. I had too many high hopes I guess?

The entire book was setting up for what’s going to happen in the next book.  Will it be better?  I hope so. Will it involve Ketterdam and Kaz and his crew?  I sure hope so. It might liven up the story a bit.

Zoya, Tamar, Tolya, Genya and David were as amazing as I remember from the Grisha series.  They went through so much and came out so much stronger for it. Nikolai should have been among them, but I felt his character just wasn’t there.  However, these people made the story more compelling and fun to read.

The ending cliffhanger was a good one though, and even though I didn’t LOVE this book, there were aspects of it, I did enjoy.  The last hundred pages are where the story starts to pick up and everything is coming to order.

The banter was great, and Zoya being Zoya was great. Learning a bit of Nikolai’s past and a lot of Zoya’s was entertaining.  These characters are clever, daring and adventurous which is always something to look forward to. I think the next book has the potential to become something greater, and I do look forward to seeing what comes next in this series.

Overall, I liked this book even though I had VERY HIGH expectations that it didn’t meet -which is why I was very disappointed. However, if you LOVED the Grisha series – especially Nikolai, I highly recommend this book.  Even though there should have been more written about him, you do find out a lot about how he’s trying to be the King his country, Ravka, needs. Zoya is my new favorite character, and I think she’s fleshed out very well in this book.  This book seemed more centered around her than it did Nikolai, though she’s basically with him the whole story. Anyway, she’s cool.  You’ll love her.  And Nina is her ever-loving self. If you loved her in Six of Crows then, you’ll love her here too.  My only issue with this is that she’s on a completely unrelated mission to the rest of the team, and her story seems out of place with Nikolai’s and Zoya’s. It will probably come together in the next book, hopefully! I still have to know what happens so I WILL be reading the next book.

Anyway, these are my non-spoilery opinions and thoughts about this book! Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below! Also, thanks for reading!

If you want to find out more about the story you can check it out here:  King of Scars
And if you want to find out more about this author you can check it out here: Leigh Bardugo

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Spectacle

Book Title: Spectacle 

Book Author: Jodie Lynn Zdrok

Book Publisher: Tor Forge

Release Date:  February 12, 2019 

Book Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars 

Would I Recommend: Yes

Hello Book Friends!  I hope ya’ll are having a fabulous Monday!  It’s snowing outside right now, and the weather is perfect for reading! (Or writing a blog post like I’m currently doing at the moment! :))

I requested this specific book from Net Galley first of all because it’s a historical fiction (what can I say, I’m obsessed with these things now!).  Secondly, because it takes place in Paris! And it’s a murder mystery! (Be still, my former CSI loving heart!)

Also, the cover – (I currently don’t a have a picture to use, but check it out on goodreads when you have a moment!) reminds me a lot of the Jackaby series – which I absolutely adore, so there’s that too!

I think of this book as a Stalking Jack the Ripper/Jackaby crossover! I loved both, so of course I loved this one as well! 🙂

Immediately, I was drawn into the setting of book. The story was extremely well written, and flowed amazingly.

The protagonist, Nathalie, is a strong willed, independent female character.  I love that she works at a place that’s “technically” a man’s role in this world, and she’s excelling at it.  I love that her best friend is also equally strong willed and independent.

There are some “grizzly” aspects to this story, as the protagonist is a morgue reporter and visits the morgue on a daily basis. (My zombie loving self enjoyed every moment of it), but similar to Stalking Jack the Ripper, it’s also a murder mystery!

There is something of a bit of a romance in this story, but I really enjoyed how it’s very subtle throughout the story, instead of right in your face as a reader.  It’s also very cute!

The supernatural aspect of the book was definitely different than what I expected and I thought that it made the story more intriguing too.  Also, I loved that there were secrets that the protagonist had to uncover. I guess that’s why it’s a mystery, lol.

I really enjoyed the plot twists that happened in this book, they definitely caught me off guard!

This book sets up the story really well for the next one, and I am looking forward to reading what comes next.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I loved the all the characters, the plot was amazing, intriguing, grizzly, cute at times, and mysterious.  It was really well-written and easy to follow.  As a reader, I felt like I was right there with the protagonist, helping her decide her next course of action. The plot twists were unexpected and it made for a great story.  I can’t wait to to find out what the author plans to write about in the next book! 🙂

I received a copy of this e-arc from the publisher through Net Galley! 

Anyway, these are my non-spoilery opinions and thoughts about this book! Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below! Also, thanks for reading!

If you want to find out more about the story you can check it out here:  Spectacle
And if you want to find out more about this author you can check it out here: Jodie Lynn Zdrok

 

 

January Wrap Up and February TBR

Hello Book Friends! I hope you all have been having a great Monday! I can’t believe that it’s finally February!

I ended up reading SIX books this month – I know, I outdid myself this month, lol! 🙂

Also, I finished ALL five books on my January TBR, go me! (And an extra!)

 

 

1. Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa.  This was a 5 out of 5 stars book for me.  I loved every minute of it and I explain that in my latest review which you can check out here! Shadow of the Fox
2. Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok.  This is a super cute historical fiction set in Paris! If you didn’t know these type of books are quickly becoming a favorite of mine! I received a copy of this from Netgalley and it releases on February 12th!  My review of this book will be coming next week!
3. Blood Rose Rebellion by Roselyn Eves.  I promised myself that I would read at least one book a month from from my TBR shelf and I chose this one! It’s also a historical fiction book set in Hungary.
4. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen.  This is another book off my TBR shelf about a girl on a mission to take her place as rightful queen!
5. Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu. I read Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo a couple years ago and for some reason I kept putting Batman off.  I don’t know why though because I love Marie Lu’s books and this one was no exception!
6. Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare – I unexpectedly received an e-book copy of this book from my library much sooner than I thought I would!  After that last cliffhanger, I had to know what happened next!

And now here’s my TBR for February. I lucked out in January, managing more than FOUR books last month, but I’m not going push it for this month. Here’s the FOUR I’ve chosen for this month.

 

1. Geekerella by Ashley Poston.  Everyone has told me, how much they loved this book.  And what better month than February to read about a geeky romance and fandom convention?
2. Catwoman:Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas .  On the heels on of Batman, I decided to continue on with the DC Icon books and read this one as soon as possible.  Besides I’m a big fan of her Throne of Glass series (though ironically Tower of Dawn is my favorite book and main character isn’t really even in that one)!
3.  King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. Continuing on with the Grisha and Six of Crows saga, this book is all about Nicolai!  He was my favorite character in the Grisha series and I can’t wait to see where this goes!
4.  Bloodwitch (A Preview Excerpt) by Susan Dennard. Like it says this is just a preview excerpt of the next book, but I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review! Also, I enjoyed Truthwitch and Windwitch so I can’t wait to read this book!

And there you have it, my list of FEBRUARY books I plan to read!  As always thanks for reading! If you’ve read any of these let me know your thoughts! 🙂

Book Review: Shadow of the Fox

Book Title: Shadow of the Fox

Book Author: Julie Kagawa

Book Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Would I Recommend: YES! 

Hello Book Friends!  I hope ya’ll are having a fantastic Monday! 🙂

After a month hiatus from my local library,  I went and visited last week. (I racked up a hefty fine over the holidays because I had SO MANY books out even though I was only four days late.  I didn’t want another one so soon so I took a short break, but I’ve returned, finally.)

I’ve seen Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa on bookstagram lately, so when I saw it at the library I decided to give it a go.  I LOVED her Iron Fey series.  Not so much the Talon Series, and I haven’t even attempted the Immortal Series yet. (I’d love to know if any of you’ve read it though, and what you thought of the series!)

I’m SUPER HAPPY I decided to check this book out! 😍 The synopsis sounded amazing, and so I decided to dive right into as the FIRST book to read on my 2019 TBR pile.  Even though I made up my mind about only reading 4 books a month which I already planned out, I just couldn’t RESIST reading this one.

It was AMAZING!  I must say that this is my favorite book of hers that I’ve read so far and I loved EVERY minute of it! It involves Japanese folklore (which I love learning about!) – specifically a kitsune (a.k.a. fox or fox spirit) as well as other yokai (supernatural spirits, demons, and monsters, etc.), ninja, samurai, and ronin!   This book had my past anime and manga loving-self squealing with delight! 😍 (Also my dear anime friends – does this not have an Inuyasha vibe to it? Because I keep picturing it!)

It’s written mainly from two, but sometimes three point of views and I’ve read that in so many books lately I sort of expect it these days! 🙂

I absolutely ADORED the two main characters, Yumeko and Tatsumi, SO SO VERY MUCH! They were very well-written fleshed out-characters.  There is a lot of character development and set-up, and it is all so very cute! Also, there are a lot of character introductions and the pacing is done extremely well.  I loved the side characters and villains too!

Needless to say, I loved the fantasy world-building and thought it was done fabulously.  I was immediately immersed in this world.  Some might say the story is a bit slow, but I disagree. I’ve read books in this type of setting that were much, much slower.  I thought this one was set at a good pace, and I wasn’t bored for a second! I thought that there was plenty of action throughout the book and a lot of risk-taking on everyone’s part. Everything is super-exciting and fun to read.

And again, there’s a cliffhanger!!!!! Aaah! I want the next book in my hands asap!

So, overall I absolutely LOVED this book so much I have the heart eyes and all. 😍😍 It’s going to be a difficult reading year, because all the books I read in the future now need to live up to this standard! I loved the world building, the characters, the pacing, the action, the plot, and pretty much everything else about the book!  I highly recommend this to anyone interested in Japanese folklore or culture, and anime and manga fans. And people who like fantasy. (Basically everyone, because I loved this okay?)

Anyway, these are my non-spoilery opinions and thoughts about this book! Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below! Also, thanks for reading!

If you want to find out more about the story you can check it out here:  Shadow of the Fox
And if you want to find out more about this author you can check it out here: Julia Kagawa

Book Review: Restore Me

Book Title: Restore Me

Book Author: Tahereh Mafie

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Recommendation: YES! 

Hello Book Friends!  I hope y’all had a FANTASTIC weekend.  It’s snowing here, which is nice because I’ve got nowhere to go today and it IS perfect reading weather, so yay!  It’s also a pajamas all day kinda of day.  Because YES! ❄

Ok, so onto this book!  I was so happy to finally get my  hands on a version of it. I finally found it in AUDIOBOOK form.  My library doesn’t have it, which is quite a shocker because I usually always find the newest books there! I have been looking for over a year! I didn’t want to go out and purchase it right away because I have the paperback versions of the first three books in the series! Though, I might eventually give up and get it because patience is not always something I have! >_<

Also, these covers are gorgeous and I’m gonna be kinda really upset if there’s a cover change, again. Just saying.

So, this book takes place not long after the events in the first three books (which if you haven’t read, I totally recommend!).  I was really excited going into the book to learn what happened to Juliette, Kenji, Adam, and Warner.

Personally, I think each book gets better and better story wise and the plot twists were GREAT in this book. Some of things that were confusing in the first trilogy were wrapped up with book and now it makes more sense!

Both Juliette and Warner struggle a lot in this book with various things, but they also have some character growth in this installment. I expected her to be a bit more understanding with certain things in this book, so I did find the main character slightly annoying.  But there were some characters that I wasn’t too happy with in the last book that didn’t seem as bad in this book, so I think there’s been some character growth all around. Also, there are new characters introduced which I REALLY enjoyed reading about too. And Juliette actually made a friend that wasn’t a guy – so props to her!

Kenji is a significant, albeit small character in this book, and I absolutely loved him. He’s my FAVORITE character in the series, and the whole reason I stick around for so much of the book. FYI, there is a Kenji Novella coming out this March called Shadow Me, and I think I might just go buy it hardback and all. >_<

As I was listening to the audiobook, you can really see how it’s setting up for some major things to happen in the next books, and I cannot wait to find out!

But what’s significant here is that plot twist that happens right at the end.  🙊 I can’t say too much without spoiling anything, but it had me like o_0.  Like, are you for real? I need the next installment in my hands a.s.a.p.  The cliffhanger had me wanting more.

The writing style has definitely improved since the first book, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audio book.  I also enjoyed listening to the different points of view throughout the story. Also, the audiobook make it easier to understand which POV I was listening/reading from.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  It was a great next installment in the series and I am SO looking forward to what happens next in the series.  The plot twists were awesome, it had plenty of character growth, certain questions were resolved, and it was fun reading about all these characters once more.

Anyway, these are my non-spoilery opinions and thoughts about this book! Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below! Also, thanks for reading!

If you want to find out more about the story you can check it out here:  Restore Me

And if you want to find out more about this author you can check it out here: Tahereh Mafi