BOOK REVIEW | Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Edition: Illumicrate | Edition fr: Romans Casterman| Saga: Aurora Cycle, #1 | Status: ongoing | Buy it here: Bookdepository | Price: 18,00€

★★★★,5/5

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THEMES: science fiction ; young adult ; fantasy ; space
TRIGGER WARNINGS: blood ; death ; undead ; violence ; war

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— SYNOPSIS  —

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch:

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass tech-whiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into her squad leader, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

Nobody panic.

“A lot of those stars actually died millions of years ago. It’s just they’re so far away, the light they created before they died hasn’t finished reaching us yet.” He waves at the galaxy beyond the glass. “You’re looking at a sky full of ghosts.”

― Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, Aurora Rising

Wow.
I mean… WOW!
You got it. I absolutely loved this books. I read it with my sweet friend Agnès and we had lot of pleasure. We read it in three days and it was so fun sharing our theories about this curious universe. We both had our favourite but we definitely agreed to the fact that every characters is nice and very attaching in his own way. So yeah, we really are excited for book two and to know who was right (or if we were both completely mistaken haha).

BOOK REVIEW | Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zhao

Edition: Harper Voyager (Illumicrate Edition) | Saga: Blood Heir, #1 | Status: ongoing (one book out) | Buy it here: Bookdepository | Price: 20,10€

★★★★★/5

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THEMES: fantasy ; young adult ; retellings
TRIGGER WARNINGS: slavery ; torture ; death ; blood ; starvation ; abuse

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— SYNOPSIS  —

In the Cyrilian Empire, Affinites are reviled. Their varied gifts to control the world around them are deemed unnatural–even dangerous. And Anastacya Mikhailov, the crown princess, is one of the most terrifying Affinites.

Ana’s ability to control blood has long been kept secret, but when her father, the emperor, is murdered, she is the only suspect. Now, to save her own life, Ana must find her father’s killer. But the Cyrilia beyond the palace walls is one where corruption rules and a greater conspiracy is at work–one that threatens the very balance of Ana’s world.

There is only one person corrupt enough to help Ana get to the conspiracy’s core: Ramson Quicktongue. Ramson is a cunning crime lord with sinister plans–though he might have met his match in Ana. Because in this story, the princess might be the most dangerous player of all.

“Keep it, and remember this. Your heart is your compass, Ramson of the Quick Tongue.”

― Amelie Wen Zhao, Blood Heir

This review will be quite hard to write. I personally loved the book, but it raised quite a lot of discussions around the controversial themes in the book readers  community. So much that the author decided to stop the release of the book at some point. But the book is now out and you can definitely buy it. In my opinion, you should buy it, because it is a gorgeous story. But I want you to be aware of all of this, so I’ll talk a bit about what I learn online.
I really am sorry for those who aren’t interested by all of this. I separated this little explanation with my actual review, so you just have to skip the first part of my review if you are not interested.

New Releases | January 2021

Hi Pumpkins

I’m a bit late for this article, but here are the January releases I’m interesting in!

hiuhuoijok

Blood Heir
(Aurelia Ryder, #1)
by Ilona Andrews
Released date: January 12th by NYLA
Themes: urban fantasy ; paranormal ; magic ; romance ; adult

Summary:
From Ilona Andrews, an all-new novel set in the Kate Daniels World and featuring Julie Lennart-Olsen, Kate and Curran’s ward.

Atlanta was always a dangerous city. Now, as waves of magic and technology compete for supremacy, it’s a place caught in a slow apocalypse, where monsters spawn among the crumbling skyscrapers and supernatural factions struggle for power and survival.

Eight years ago, Julie Lennart left Atlanta to find out who she was. Now she’s back with a new face, a new magic, and a new name—Aurelia Ryder—drawn by the urgent need to protect the family she left behind. An ancient power is stalking her adopted mother, Kate Daniels, an enemy unlike any other, and a string of horrifying murders is its opening gambit.

If Aurelia’s true identity is discovered, those closest to her will die. So her plan is simple: get in, solve the murders, prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, and get out without being recognized. She expected danger, but she never anticipated that the only man she’d ever loved could threaten everything.

One small misstep could lead to disaster. But for Aurelia, facing disaster is easy; it’s relationships that are hard.

BOOK REVIEW | The Cauchemars series by Sophie Fischer (French)

Edition: Voy’el | Saga: Cauchemars, #1 et #2 | Status: en cours (trilogie, deux sortis) | Buy it here: Cultura | Price: 18,00€

THEMES: fantasy ; fiction ; young adult ; paranormal ; ghosts
TRIGGER WARNINGS: asile psychiatrique ; folie ; deuil ; violence psychologique

— SYNOPSIS  —

À seize ans, Niamh O’Bannon est persuadée d’être folle. Quand sa psychiatre l’envoie rencontrer un certain Mr Mardling pour un travail, la jeune fille croit n’avoir aucune chance de décrocher le poste… mais elle découvre, non sans stupeur, qu’elle a toutes les qualités requises pour celui-ci. Car non, elle n’a pas d’hallucinations. Les fantômes qu’elle voit sont bien réels ! Embarquée dans une enquête pour apaiser un esprit frappeur, la voilà forcée de collaborer …

“Pour ce soir et pour un peu plus longtemps, Niamh choisit de basculer du côté des esprits.”

― Sophie Fischer, Dullahan

J’ai été vraiment étonnée par cette série que j’ai découvert grâce à une amie sur bookstagram. Ça semblait être la lecture parfaite pour l’automne, et en effet, je me suis régalée !

December Wrap-up | 2020

Books
Hi guys! Time to make a little wrap-up of the last month. :

― A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday
― Vous Faites quoi pour Noël?  by Carène Ponte
― A Rogue of One’s Own (A League of Extraordinary Women, #1) by Evie Dunmore
― Dullahan (Cauchemars, #2) by Sophie Fischer
― Faking Under the Mistletoe by Ashley Shepherd
― The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) by Jessica Townsend
― Mr. Malcolm’s List by Suzanne Allain

I didn’t read a lot this month, mostly because I was really tired and had lot of sleep to catch up. And of course there were Christmas and all so I spent lot of time with my family. But now I’m ready for 2021 and am super motivated to read!

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Movies and TV shows
Finally, I didn’t watch lot of Christmas movies this year! I mean, due to my classes I never had time to watch afternoon movies, so I always put on a list the ones that intrigued me. But in the end, I didn’t have time to watch them. I’ll try watch some of them this month!
During the holidays, I started re-watching my favorite tv show ever: Mentalist. I am in utter and complete love with Patrick Jane (yes, the character, even though I also love the actor). I could spend my life watching Patrick Jane smiling and irritating people. Wish I could.

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Music

And that’s it!
I had a beautiful month, and beautiful holidays. I had time to rest and plan the new year. I have some ideas for my bookstagram account! I also started thinking about my bookish resolutions for 2021, and am preparing a little article. Hope you are all doing okay, and may January (and 2021) be good to you.
What about you all pumpkins? Did you have a good month? What did you read?

Book Bla-Bla | My 2020 favorites

Hello pumpkins!

That it. 2020 is over. I didn’t see it pass. I think we’ll all agree to tell that this year wasn’t the best of our life. Thankfully, if I’m only considering books, then it was quite a good year since I had exactly 21 favorites. That’s enormous, I know. I have to say that I with all that was happening this year, I almost only picked books I was pretty sure to love. But still, 21 books over 100 read? That’s a really good amount. So here are all my 2020 favorites:
(I know I have lot of French following me, so I’ll tell you if the book has been translated and published in France)

BOOK REVIEW | Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Edition: Little, Brown Book Group | Saga: The Brown Sisters, #1 | Status: three books in the series (two released, standalone) | Buy it here: Bookdepository | Price: 11,40€

★★★★/5

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THEMES: romance ; contemporary ; fiction ; adult
TROPES: haters to lovers, deal
TRIGGER WARNINGS: car accident; chronic pain ; emotionally abusive ex-relationship

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— SYNOPSIS —

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family’s mansion. The next items?

• Enjoy a drunken night out.
• Ride a motorcycle.
• Go camping.
• Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
• Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
• And… do something bad.

But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.

Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.
But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…

“I started feeling afraid of my own body, like it was a torture chamber I’d been trapped inside.”

― Talia Hibbert, Get a Life, Chloe Brown

I really loved this romance. First, I’m a huge fan of haters to lovers romances, so I loved this aspect of the book. But also, there were unusual representation in this book, and this was even more interesting!

MMFA | Alice Oseman, British author of YA fiction

Hi pumpkins

We meet again for a little « Meet my favorite authors »!
This time, I’ll introduce you to Alice Oseman. I discovered this author with Heartstopper. This graphic novel quickly became my favorite of all. I completely fell in love with Nick and Charlie, my two favorite characters of all the bookish world. But hey, I’m not here to show my undying love for them (even though it is really tempting haha). After that I decided to discover more of Alice Oseman’s books, because if I had been really touched by all the cuteness of her story and drawings, I was also super happy with how she includes important topics in her books. This is also why there are so many trigger warnings in her books. She talks about things that can triggers lot of people, but even though you’re afraid by it, I really think you should read her books, because I’m pretty sure that it can helps some of you. And well, for those that aren’t triggers by all this, then her books are great lessons for everyone!
Also, you may want to know that every Alice Oseman’s characters are kind of linked, and main characters often appears in her others books. They can be read in any order, but for those who like chronological order: click here
So let’s see what gorgeous book she wrote!
(You can click on the title to go to the Goodreads page of the book or series)

BOOK REVIEW | A Deal with the Elf King (Married to Magic, #1) by Elise Kova

Edition: Silver Wing Press | Saga: Married with Magic, #1 | Status: standalone (second book for November 2021) | Buy it here: Bookdepository | Price: 13,97€

THEMES: fantasy ; romance ; young adult ; fae

— SYNOPSIS  —

Perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Uprooted, this stand-alone, fantasy romance about a human girl and her marriage to the Elf King is impossible to put down!

The elves come for two things: war and wives. In both cases, they come for death.
Three-thousand years ago, humans were hunted by powerful races with wild magic until the treaty was formed. Now, for centuries, the elves have taken a young woman from Luella’s village to be their Human Queen.
To be chosen is seen as a mark of death by the townsfolk. A mark nineteen-year-old Luella is grateful to have escaped as a girl. Instead, she’s dedicated her life to studying herbology and becoming the town’s only healer.
That is, until the Elf King unexpectedly arrives… for her.

Everything Luella had thought she’d known about her life, and herself, was a lie. Taken to a land filled with wild magic, Luella is forced to be the new queen to a cold yet blisteringly handsome Elf King. Once there, she learns about a dying world that only she can save.
The magical land of Midscape pulls on one corner of her heart, her home and people tug on another… but what will truly break her is a passion she never wanted.

A Deal with the Elf King is a complete, stand-alone novel, inspired by the tales of Hades and Persephone, as well as Beauty and the Beast, with a « happily ever after » ending. It’s perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for just the right amount of steam and their next slow-burn and swoon-worthy couple.

“You are perhaps the one thing in Midscape I find terrifying.”

― Elise Kova, A Deal with the Elf King

This book immediately tempted me with the « inspired by the tales of Hades and Persephone », then I fall a little bit more with « as well as Beauty and the Beast », and finally with the « a « happily ever after » ending. » So yeah, clearly, this book had everything to be a big crush. And it totally was!

Bookopoly | December 2020

Hi pumpkins

This month, I wanted to try something new. I’m always having a hard time picking my next read. And I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one with this kind of « problem » (such a hard life we have haha). So I tried doing a TBR. But well… it was also hard to create it, and I rarely stick to it haha. I wanted a way to create a TBR so I wouldn’t lost hours staring at my shelves, but I wanted to do it in a funny way. That’s when I discovered all these TBR games on youtube. The Bookopoly (discovered on Becca’s youtube channel) immediately got my attention because I’m a fan of monopoly. I spent hours playing it with my father when I was young. So yeah I wanted to do this one.

New Releases | December 2020

Hi pumpkins

November is already here! So it’s time to take a look into all these new books who’ll soon hit the libraries shelves. As always, I’ll share first the French releases, and then the English ones. I’m a bit disappointed for the French ones, not much releases interested me this month. But it seems to be some gold nugget in the English ones!

 This little gif will warn you about spoilers!

Here are the French releases:

November Wrap-up | 2020

Books
Hi guys! Time to make a little wrap-up of the last month. :

― Jack O’Lantern (Cauchemars, #1) by Sophie Fischer
― The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club, #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams
― A Deal with the Elf King (Married to Magic, #1) by Elise Kova
― Get a Life Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters, #1) by Talia Hibbert
― Brambles (Dauntless Path, #0.5) by Intisar Khanani
― Thorn (Dauntless Path, #1) by Intisar Khanani
― Il Faut Parfois Déplier les Étoiles by Erika Boyer
― Meet at Christmas by Morgane Moncomble (re-read)

I’m really happy, because much of those books were really good reads. There are even three favorites in all of these! Three out of eight! That’s a pretty good number. So yeah, a really good month.

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Movies and TV shows
I definitely started watching *drum roll* CHRISTMAS MOVIES!
I watched Dash and Lily (wonderful little tv show), but also Holidate that I also loved, and then Operation Christmas Drop (loved it again, because I’m a Christmas fanatic).
And right now, I’m re-watching forThe Proposal for the millionth times. Absolutely love this movie. And Ryan Reynolds.

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Music

And that’s it!
It really was a good month for me. I got new propositions from publishing houses, and I’m really excited to start these new partnerships.
What about you all pumpkins, Did you have a good month? What did you read?