The Laughing Listener
April 2019
*I was graciously given a free copy in exchange for an honest review*
Format: eBook ARC
Overall Rating: 5 BEAUTIFUL BLOODY STARS

THIS BOOK WAS SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!! I’m trying to rein myself in and be constructive, but also I JUST LOVED THIS SO MUCH???? This book was dark and gritty and bloody and UGH. My Black Parade emo heart is so happy right now.



Reading this was such a goddamn pleasure. There’s action right off the bat within the first few pages and I couldn’t put this down. And then when I HAD to put it down to do things like eat and sleep (damn you basic human needs *shakes fist*), I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Everything in this book is beautifully crafted. The whole world seemed so well thought out and intricate without being overwhelming and I loved all the Russian influence. To me, this had a hint of a few other book series I love like The Remnant Chronicles, Grishaverse, and Throne of Glass, but somehow still managed to be in a category completely on its own. Nothing ever felt cliche or trope-y and even when I guessed what was going to happen, it didn’t play out the way I thought it would.

And the characters. THE CHARACTERS.



I could write a whole dissertation on how kick ass the characters are because they were just so rich and compelling! I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book where I loved all the characters equally like this. There’s no clear cut villain. No good or bad, evil or saintly, black or white. Everyone is just so wonderfully grey! All of them are just people with their own complex histories and motivations pushing them to do what’s best for themselves and their country.

Also, can I get an amen for YA books that aren’t all about the romance?? This had just enough to make me swoon without making my eyes roll.



FINAL WORD

READ. THIS. BOOK. It’s such a wild ride from start to finish and everything is so lush. I loved it all. Already can’t WAIT to get my hands on book two!!

#1 ↦ The Wicked Saints ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:Untitled|40126121|Untitled (Something Dark and Holy, #2)|Emily A. Duncan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|62232493] ↦ ????
#3 ↦ [b:Untitled|42068067|Untitled (Something Dark and Holy, #3)|Emily A. Duncan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|65595267] ↦ ????

______________________________ .

↬ November 2018

Got and ARC for this today and I AM SO FREAKING STOKED!!!! I can't wait!!

The Laughing Listener
Format: ebook
*I was graciously given a copy of this in exchange for an honest review*
Overall Rating: 5 Stars

When I saw this pretty cover with the awesome-looking Zera brandishing a giant sword and read the title, I was pretty much sold on this. Then I realized that she was actually, LITERALLY trying to take the prince's heart and I was gone. I needed to get my hands on this thing and I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to read it! IT WAS SO GOOD.

THE GOOD

So many amazing things! Where do I even start?!



Okay, first of all, the sassy wonder Zera was my favorite. Wearing fancy dresses and kicking ass, all while dishing out the snappy one-liners! I loved watching her grow over the course of the book and make new friends after being alone for so long. She's a flawed character that's had her fair share of hard times (to say the least), but I loved that Zera still kept her spunk and humor even in the darker moments. Such a relatable quality to me. Despite having a hard outer shell, she had a great sense of loyalty and love that I really admired.

And of course, I OBVIOUSLY loved Lucien the dark haired prince with a heart of gold. The banter between him and Zera was great fun to watch and their romance was adorable. But the real relationship that I enjoyed watching was the one between Zera and Y'shennria. Good parents and/or guardians are always lacking in these young-adult books and it was so refreshing to see maternal relationship take center stage for once. To say they had a rough start would be an understatement, but by the end of the book, watching Zera and Y'shennria together gave my heart all the warm fuzzies!



Lastly, I thought the world building was awesome! I was really fascinated by this little universe Wolf created and it was fun learning all the rules. The contrast between the witches in the forest and the snooty nobles in the city was interesting. I’m curious to see how those opposing sides will merge if/when they fight in a war against one another.

Oh, and by the way. MALACHITE IS THE BEST AND I LOVE HIM. Just saying.

THE UGLY

I wouldn't change a thing about this book, it's perfect the way it is. There's only one thing I need to say and get out of my system...

THAT ENDING WAS THE SO DIABOLICALLY EVIL!!!! ARGGGG I NEED THE NEXT ONE NOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!



FINAL WORD

Perfect. Wonderful. Excellent. A medieval, stabby, sassy delight! I need the next one. Tomorrow. Now. Yesterday. GIVE ME MORE!!!

The Laughing Listener
July 2018
Format: Kindle Ebook

DNF @ 18%

I should probably start this by warning everyone of my only child status, which causes me to have a disconnect with sibling relationships in books sometimes. I don’t really know what’s it’s like to be or have a sibling and I think I can judge characters too harshly because of this. That being said, I thought Sophia in this book was WACK.

Right off the bat I could tell this world was well thought out. I was intrigued by it, but dang, we’re thrown right in the action and it was kind of jarring. The opening scene is of sisters Sophia and Kate fleeing their terrible orphanage in a high action chase. But having just met these characters, I found myself weirdly disinterested in the outcome. I wish there had been a bit more build up to it. It would have been great to have a small glimpse of their life in the orphanage and their familial bond before seeing them run away. I would have cared a lot more.

After they ditch their pursuers, Sophia and Kate must decide what to do next and they have very different opinions. With Sophia being more feminine and soft and Kate more rugged and strong, they are “two sides of the same coin” (as the book says). I really admired Kate’s strength and her longing for freedom. She wanted to flee to the countryside where they could learn to fight and take care of themselves away from prying eyes. Ummm, which makes perfect sense??? But Sophia comes up with some wacko plan to become a royal. She wants to go to the castle and just blend into high society. Because yeah, THAT’S TOTALLY HOW IT WORKS.



When I left the book they decided to part ways. Kate is going to run off and learn how to fight while Sophia goes to the castle to carry out her insane plan to blend into royalty and land herself a sugar daddy. I have no doubt that Sophia will probably succeed somehow, but I REALLY don’t feel like sitting around and watching her carry out a plan that’s riddled with holes and problems. If this book was just about Kate, I’d probably keep reading, but Sophia killed this for me.

Plus, it’s pretty apparent that Sophia knows what happened to their parents and Kate doesn’t. They’ve spent years in a crappy orphanage and poor Kate has no idea why. Sophia refuses to share it with her for whatever reason and I thought that was so sucky!! Maybe Sophia’s reasons were good, but Kate still has a right to know what happened to her own parents! Ugh.

Sorry guys, this one just wasn’t for me.

The Laughing Listener
Format: Ebook
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: 5 Stars

Wow. Just… wow. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that’s touched my heart as much as this one has.



Maybe this is just me and where I’m at in my life right now, but this book struck a chord. The exact thing I needed to read at the exact moment I needed to read it. Isn’t it funny how different things effect different people at different times? It took me a little longer to read this because it put me in a weird, contemplative mood every time I did, but I’m so happy I was able to snag a copy of this.

THE REHASH
Varya, Daniel, Klara, and Simon are all siblings growing up in New York in the 1960’s. As kids they are very close, but each one has a distinct personality all their own. As the oldest, Varya is the responsible one. Next is Daniel, who is tough and practical. Klara is the magical, free spirit of the family. Simon is the shy baby. When Daniel overhears a conversation about a fortune teller, his interest is piqued. Apparently she can tell people the date they’re going to die and Daniel drags the four kids out to visit her.

Each one gets a different date that impacts their life in dramatic ways. As they grow up, the siblings drift a part to live out their own lives, but no matter what, they still have one thing in common—they know the date of their deaths.

THE GOOD
I grew so attached to these four kids and fascinated at the idea of knowing the date of our death ahead of time. When I first started this book I thought, no way would I would ever want to know if given the chance. But now I’m not so sure…

The first two sections about Simon and Klara were my absolute favorite. Simon was just… UGH. I could read a whole book on Simon alone, I loved him so much. At the end of his part I wept like a friggin’ baby.



There’s a lot about Simon and Klara that I see in myself. Their creativity, their loving nature, independence, thirst for adventure—we all have that in common. Despite their sad endings (spoiler alert, this entire book is filled with sad endings. FEELS), I found an odd kind of relief in their stories. They actually LIVED, and since my personality is so similar, it was weirdly reassuring to realize I haven’t taken life for granted. Admittedly, I’m not doing anything as amazing as magic or ballet, but I’m not afraid to actually LIVE my life and this book makes me want to push that further. To love more, see the world, take more chances, be fearless.

Varya’s section of the book also deals a lot with OCD and I really appreciated the way it was handled. As someone with no experience with this disorder, I was fascinated by the descriptions of Varya’s idiosyncrasies and it felt like a great insight into what it’s really like.

THE UGLY
I will say that I had a hard time with Daniel’s section, and parts of Varya’s. During the first half I felt such a strong personal connection to Simon and Klara, but that was completely gone in the last half. I’m a fairly practical and responsible person, but Daniel and Varya take it to a whole new level and it was hard for me to rationalize some of their actions. This is more of a personal preference thing on my part though, and I loved the writing style so much I didn’t even mind.

Also, it was a bummer that the little knocks that we see in Klara’s section weren’t really explored more in later chapters.

I really loved the idea of Simon communicating with Klara from the “beyond” and when her part ended, I excitedly kept reading to see how that would play out. How would the practical Daniel handle something so fantastical?? What would Simon and Klara say to him??? But it’s never mentioned again and the author even makes it sound like bipolar disorder could be the cause of her behavior. It was such a sad, hopeless explanation. Realistic sure, but this IS technically a fantasy book.

There was so much potential in there and I would have loved seeing the siblings speak to one another using those knocks. The ending was still great, and I loved seeing Varya’s character transformation by the end, but I couldn’t help but be a little sad.

FINAL WORD
This book probably isn’t for everyone, but I highly recommend it anyway. It gives an emotional, powerful message that I’m not going to forget for the rest of my days.

The Laughing Listener
June 2019
Format: eBook
*I was graciously given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Overall Rating: 5 Stars

When I read the words “Mulan retelling” and saw the beautiful cover, I was totally on board for this. I’m a sucker for a good retelling, especially when it involves badass female heroines. And guys. Let me tell you. This DID NOT disappoint. I’m so excited to be sharing this book with everyone because it was so unexpectedly creative and wonderful!



I’ve heard a lot of people say this book is Mulan meets Project Runway and it’s true! Similar to Mulan, Maia goes to the palace in place of her father, but as a tailor. There’s a contest to determine who the best tailor is for the emperor and it gets CRAZY. I loved the competition aspect of this book because it sucked me right in and I couldn’t put it down. But I also want to emphasize that this novel is SOOOO MUCH MORE than that. It was actually shocking to me how little real estate the contest takes up in the book as a whole. Lim takes us on such a wild ride with this story and it was amazing!

Any y’all, don’t even get me STARTED on how beautiful the writing is. From page one, this is styled like an old fairytale and it was perfect. The language was so pretty and flowed so well, it was such a pleasure to read. Plus, a lot of the fantasy and magical elements added to that fairytale feeling and it was wonderful. Hearing Maia and Edan talk about all the gods was fun and Lim did such an excellent job bringing them to life.



FINAL WORD

This book is MAGICAL. It’s a fun story about an amazing female character and you all NEED to read it. I already can’t wait for book two!

#1 ↦ Spin the Dawn ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:Untitled|36683940|Untitled (The Blood of Stars #2)|Elizabeth Lim|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|58477276] ↦ ????

______________________________ .

I JUST GOT APPROVED FOR THIS ON NETGALLEY!!

The Laughing Listener
May 2020
Format: Hardback

Story Rating: 4.5 Stars

This book was so good! Exactly what I needed when I needed it. I’ve had this on my tbr for a hot minute and was impatiently waiting for it’s release. I mean, 17th century France AND magic??? Umm, yes please. I was over the moon when I received it in my Once Upon a Book Club box a little while ago. Fast forward a couple months and I’m four weeks into quarantine, neck deep in crazy fantasies and romance books. I desperately needed something more low key and this was the perfect choice!

I absolutely LOVED the way this was written. It was like a really cool hybrid of historical fiction and magical realism. I almost believe this is actually how the Palace of Versailles was created.



There isn’t a lot of action and the plot is very subtle in the way it moves, but I never once lost the urge to keep reading. It was all about political intrigue—mind games and chess moves—and I kept wanting to see what would happen next and who the murderer was. And the magic!! UGH. I’ve never read a magic system that worked this way and I was fascinated by it. Very subtle like everything else in this book, but no less interesting.



By the way, Henriette is low key my hero now. She was such a strong female character, but in a quiet way. Watching her grow into her own and get closer to Philippe was great to watch! And Philippe’s amazing sense of style and flamboyant personality completely won me over. I’m super curious to see how their relationship progresses in the coming novels. I’m also very stressed about what’s going to happen to these characters I’ve grown to love because I know what happened to them in real life and I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE HAPPY. *Sobs in a corner*

FINAL WORD

This is getting two thumbs way up from me fam. If you like magic and political intrigue, give this a go.

#1 ↦ [b:In the Shadow of the Sun|41067779|In the Shadow of the Sun (In the Shadow of the Sun, #1)|E.M. Castellan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559632998l/41067779._SY75_.jpg|64145751] ↦ (4.5/5) ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:Untitled|44222521|Untitled (In the Shadow of the Sun, #2)|E.M. Castellan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|68751203] ↦ ????

The Laughing Listener
June 2019
Format: Audiobook & Hardback
Narrator: Full Cast
Length: 14 hours & 4 minutes

Story Rating: 3.5 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4 Stars

What a fun book!! After having the busiest May ever, I was definitely stuck in a reading rut. I kept starting book after book, but nothing was holding my attention. This amazing cover has been staring at me on my shelf for a little while, but I promised myself I wouldn’t read it until I finished some of the other books I started. Then I saw the audiobook sitting on Scribd and broke down. I’M WEAK YA’LL.



But it was so worth it because this super fun story definitely got me out of my reading funk!

THE GOOD

Having just finished Illuminae in May, I went into this with high expectations. That book was so awesome and I knew Jay and Amie wouldn’t let me down. Although I don’t think this book quite lived up to the magic of that novel, I still really liked this one. And let’s be honest, it’s mostly because of the characters. Squad312 is AMAZE BALLS.



First of all, Fin is a Sarcastic cinnamon roll and I love him?? I just REALLY wanted to give him a hug the whole book and his jokes were top notch. I also loved my sass queen Scarlett, who was definitely my favorite girl of the crew and I’m REALLY gonna need her and Fin to get together. #FINLETT NEEDS TO BECOME A REALITY IN MY LIFE. Tyler and his killer dimples were the best alpha a girl could ask for. And I’m super intrigued by Zila! I can tell that she has a story and I’m really hoping that we get to learn more about her in the next book. Last but not least is Auri, who my heart went out to. Her strength and resilience were admiral and her level headedness was a nice calm in this insane storm.

It was also really fun reading this story. There are some crazy twists and the whole plot went off in a direction I REALLY wasn’t expecting, so hats off to Jay and Amie! This was a great adventure that I couldn’t put down and I can’t wait for the next book to see where this crazy story goes.

And just so everyone knows, THE AUDIOBOOK IS MAGIC AND YOU ALL NEED TO LISTEN TO IT. The full cast did an excellent job and there were some really awesome sound effects. LOVED IT!!

THE UGLY

After starting this book, I had everyone paired off within the first few chapters. I thought I had it all figured out and was looking forward to the fun romance side of this story. The relationships that ended up playing out, however, were soooooo not what I had expected and the pairings were just so… weird. There were two main romance subplots in this story and I didn’t think either of the couples jived well together. It was even a bit distracting at times. By the end of the book I didn’t hate who ended up together, but I still wished it had played out differently. Or maybe had been eliminated all together. Tossing the romance wouldn’t have made me love this book any less and I think the book would have flowed better.

I mean,

the alien mating thing was just so random???? Not really sure that had to be part of the story at all.

*Shrugs*

Also, Jay and Amie have ruined succulents for me for life and I DON’T APPRECIATE IT.



FINAL WORD

This was a really fun sci-fi adventure and I can’t wait to see what happens!!

#1 ↦ Aurora Rising ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
#2 ↦ [b:Aurora Burning|40516960|Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2)|Amie Kaufman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574498270l/40516960._SY75_.jpg|62875661] ↦ (4.5/5) ✦✦✦✦✦
#3 ↦ [b:Untitled|40516976|Untitled (The Aurora Cycle #3)|Amie Kaufman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|62875712] ↦ ????

______________________________ .

↬ December 2018

WHY YES, HELLO. IT'S ME. THE GIRL WHO'S TRASH FOR ANYTHING CHARLIE BOWATER TOUCHES.