brittmariasbooks's Reviews (1.45k)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the Extended Chapter Sampler of Witchshadow by Susan Dennard.

It was great to read the first 25 chapters/190 pages of this book just after finishing reading Bloodwitch. The sampler ended at a perfect moment for me to want to immediately pick up the book so I can continue reading!

I had a very mixed experience reading this fourth instalment of the Witchlands series. Mostly because I like some characters more than others

Spoiler

but also because I really did not like that Aeduan's body was hijacked...

I still don't know how I feel about this series. I'll have to see if I'm still interested in picking up the next book next year.

Reread 2021:
2016 me was not ready for Glass Sword and rereading it now I was dreading what I still remembered. But I realised as I was rereading it that I did not remember much of Glass Sword, especially compared to what I remembered from Red Queen.

First read 2016:
My heart is a little bit broken. I have a lot of feels right now.

Spoiler

I hope that Mare will realize what she has done. I think that Cal was right about saving those Silvers. I think everyone needs to stop to look at the colours of blood. And God how I'll miss Shade. I really liked him with Farley.

Thank you to Netgalley and Cambridge University Press for providing me with an ARC of The Picky Eater's Recovery Book: Overcoming Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.

This self-help book provides some nice information about Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) and a lot of tips and worksheets to overcome it. I do not have ARFID myself so I cannot judge how effective these tips and worksheets are. However, I do think that for individuals with ARFID, especially adults, this book might be a great help. A lot of literature and self-help books surrounding ARFID and picky eaters are focused on children so it's nice that the authors chose to create a self-help book for adults with ARFID who face different challenges, for example, difficult social situations surrounding food (eating in a restaurant, on a date or with family).

Personally, I learnt a lot about ARFID in the first couple of chapters. I was not familiar with this eating disorder at all so I am glad that I got to learn about it. These chapters might be nice to give to loved ones so they can understand the person with ARFID better.

The Not-So-Friendly Friend: How to Set Boundaries for Healthy Friendships is such a great picture book! Setting boundaries is so important and something I still struggle with sometimes as an adult. It makes me wonder if I had a picture book like this one if I would have been better at setting boundaries early on. Furthermore, the art is nicely done as well making for a great picture book.

King's Cage was a journey. SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading about Mare's imprisonment was truly heartbreaking but very well written. I really felt for Mare. Aveyard's decision to do multiple POVs in this book was a good one. With Cameron's POV, the reader keeps up to date with the Scarlet Guard. And Evangeline's chapters give a perspective of the Kingdom of the Rift.

The battle at Caesar's Square and Mare finally getting freedom back and also Evangeline helping Mare escape was something I was waiting for! The time spend in Piedmont afterwards felt like a quiet moment before the War Storm ;) I liked that the pacing slowed a bit down and that the characters got to develop as well as their relationships.

I loved meeting baby Clara and Mare just being oblivious of Farley's pregnancy the entire time while most readers will know from the end of Glass Sword. I also really appreciated the morning-after pill scene. For younger readers, this might be too subtle but I appreciate it all the same.

I find the underlying dynamic of Evangeline not wanting to marry Cal (she gay!), Mare not wanting him to be king, and Cal being absolutely in love with Mare about also wanting the throne so interesting.

I wonder what the Scarlet Guard has planned. What everyone is scheming about and what the endgame will be.

I thought this would be a sapphic retelling of the Eros and Psyche myth. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't. The art is beautiful. The first four issues set up quite a mysterious, slightly dark academia story. I'm intrigued to read more but as for now I feel similar towards Eros/Psyche as I did towards The Wicked + The Divine.

That ending was not okay. I'm just glad I can start Muse of Nightmares right away.

When I started reading Strange the Dreamer, I was very intrigued. Lazlo's early life as a monk and librarian, and the mysteries of the city of Weep drew me in. From the end of the first part and the start of the second, I really got Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire vibes because Lazlo is such a Milo with being obsessed with a city that disappeared and the crew the Godslayer put together also low-key reminded me of the crew in the movie.

At the end of part three and the beginning of part four, I started to slightly lose interest because I was not sure where it was going. However, the ending of the book is suddenly so high stakes that it regained my interest.

Besides the mysteries of the Unseen City, the characters in Strange the Dreamer were so well written. Besides Lazlo, most characters were very grey characters. Lazlo is such an optimistic, sweetheart. In general, I enjoy Laini Taylor writing. It's a bit flowery but I just love reading it.

Overall, Strange the Dreamer is a great escapism book. It is a very original fantasy (SFF) book which I expected since Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy was also a unique story. If you enjoy flowery writing and original SFF stories, Strange the Dreamer might just be the book for you.

Thank you to Little, Brown Young Readers and NetGalley for providing me with the audiobook for review.

Amira & Hamza: The War to Save the Worlds is a very fun middle grade with a lot of Rick Riordan Present vibes (I'm slightly surprised it isn't). Amira and Hamza are such fun characters. Their sibling dynamic reads very nice. Hamza's MCU references gave me life.

The siblings get in a bit of trouble one evening when stargazing. When the moon starts to break and time stops, they come face-to-face with jinn. The jinn reveal that the siblings have a role to play in an ancient prophecy. Together, they must journey to the mystical land of Qaf, battle a great evil, and end a civil war to prevent the moon—the stopper between realms—from breaking apart and unleashing terrifying jinn, devs, and ghuls onto earth. Or they might have to say goodbye to their parents and life as they know it, forever.

I recommend Amira & Hamza: The War to Save the Worlds to anyone who enjoys the Rick Riordan Presents books.

I very much enjoyed War Storm, the conclusion to the Red Queen series. Victoria Aveyard writes battle scenes really well. I never really know what will happen and enjoy every minute. The different points of view we get in this book were all I ever wanted (though I did miss Cameron's POV a bit). I especially loved the battle of Harbor Bay. The stakes felt so high and Aveyard made great use of all the newblood abilities. It felt really dynamic and had me on the edge of my seat.

I think the paths the characters went on made sense. They all had their own motivations and most of the time I cheered them on. Especially Evangeline! I loved her chapters and I am glad she, Elane and her brother made it safely to Montfort. Though I hoped that Mare and Cal would get together, I am glad she did not go there (in War Storm at least. I'm hoping for some more closure in Broken Throne but we will see.)