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Top Ten Tuesdays

Books I’ve Read but Don’t Own

by amyleighreads10 Comments on Books I’ve Read but Don’t Own

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is books I’ve read but don’t own. Since I’ve started utilising my local library a lot more this year I’ve acquired a few books now that I have read but don’t own. I kind of have a mild obsession with owning all of the books that I’ve read, but I’ve started to restrict myself to only purchasing books I’ve rated 4/5 stars or higher. Just so I only own books that I know that I absolutely love! I’ve really cut down on just randomly purchasing books based on reviews without actually reading them first!

So these are 10 books I’ve read and rated 4 stars or higher that I will be purchasing soon:

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

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Final Girls by Riley Sager

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Spinning Silver & Uprooted by Naomi Novik

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Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

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The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

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Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey

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Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo

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Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

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Wilder Girls by Rory Power

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Reviews

Vow of Thieves Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on Vow of Thieves Review

*THERE ARE A FEW SPOILERS*

34196663Absolutely loved this!

Vow of Thieves continues on about a month after the ending of Dance of Thieves. Kazi and Jase are on their way back to Tor’s Watch to let everyone know that the Ballenger’s will no longer be outlaws, they will be recognized as the First Kingdom in the Empire. However, a warning they receive on the journey forces them to rush back and they are ambushed on the road before they enter town.

I really love the direction the plot went. I assumed all of the conflict in the book was going to be between Kazi and the family trying to rebuild the trust that was broken at the end of Dance of Thieves, but I enjoyed this storyline so much more! Straight off the bat Jase and Kazi are thrust apart after being together constantly and are fighting tirelessly to be reunited all while trying to topple the King and reassert their power over Tor’s Watch.

All of the torture and imprisonment that Kazi had to deal with over the course of the book and still not break and relent was an amazing feat. She really proved how committed and in love she is with Jase after she assumed he was dead and to still stuck around and complied with the Kings’ demands in order to save the kids. She endured so much and come out of it still swinging which I love about her!

Jase also really proved his commitment to Kazi above all else. I really thought for a minute that he would focus on overthrowing the King and assuming his Patrei role but he was insistent upon getting better in order to go and find Kazi. The level of dedication he has for her over his family as the Patrei and the wrath he shows when he finds out they handed her over to the King was wonderful to read. You can really see the depth of his love for her and just the way that he expresses that to his family in his rage really encompasses everything that they’ve dealt with thus far. That was a really pivotal moment in the book for me, and the remorsefulness and guilt that they show after the fact proves to me that they are a real family and would do anything for their own.

This book was really a roller coaster from start to finish. Usually with political fantasy I get bored easily and loose interest but the amount of action and intrigue packed into this storyline really grabbed my attention and was highly engaging throughout the course of the book. There was some really touching and emotional moments spattered throughout the plot as well that tugged at my heartstrings and even brought a tear to my eye. I absolutely loved this book and this duology in my opinion really built on the foundation that the Remnant Chronicles forged and just surpassed it!

⭐️5/5 stars AMAZING 100% RECOMMEND

Reviews

King of Fools Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on King of Fools Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

44783320._SY475_After I completed Ace of Shades I immediately knew I had to pick up King of Fools straight away!

King of Fools continues immediately after the events of Ace of Shades. Enne saved Levi’s life in the Shadow Game and now her identity of Séance has become a legend around New Reynes. Now that the Chancellor of the Republic is dead both Enne and Levi have massive bounties placed on their heads. With a street war brewing and the Vianca forcing them to play a dangerous game of crime and politics their demise seems imminent!

There was quite a lot of political maneuverings happening with the election and that kind of threw me off a little. I felt like the plot was leaning more in that direction instead of the more fantastical, fast paced, highly entertaining storyline I came to love from the first book. I am not that big of a fan of politics in fantasy and that was one factor that brought the book down a little for me.

On the other hand I love seeing the progression of Enne’s character. Now that she knows that he mother has passed and she has come into her Mizer powers she has really become this whole new character, who is unapologetically unique. She has embraced her past at the etiquette school and incorporated that into the Spirits which I loved! Their whole aesthetic of being female only, wearing their signature white lace gloves was fantastic. I just wish she tapped a little more into her families powers and made some volts. I would of loved to see her and Levi working together more in this book.

I felt like Levi really struggled throughout the storyline. He has so much riding on his partnership with Harrison and also has to worry about the Irons and building up their empire as well as his decision to send Jac into the underbelly of the Torren crime family. Some of the decisions he made throughout the book was questionable but I felt given the gravity of his situation they all felt realistic. He’s had a slow progression in this book but I think he came out of it stronger and ready to fight!

I like that there are always consequences in these books. The characters don’t really get a pass for anything that they do which makes the stakes so much higher. I thought the ending was a little rushed to be honest and a little all over the place. I really had to slow down my reading and focus on what was happening and who was doing what, which brought me out of the story a little. Definitely ended with a bang and the book went into a lot more detail about the gangs and the north and south side of New Reynes.

⭐️4/5 stars Really liked it, didn’t love as much as Ace of Shades!

Tags

⚡️Harry Potter Book Tag⚡️

by amyleighreads6 Comments on ⚡️Harry Potter Book Tag⚡️

I’ve seen this tag on a few blogs now and I thought it was very fitting for this month since I’m currently in the middle of the NEWTs Magical Readathon! Since the books came out I have been an avid Harry Potter fan and when I saw this tag I knew I had to give it a go! There are definitely spoilers if you are one of the few who haven’t read this series, I would suggest not reading on!

Favourite Book

My favourite Harry Potter book is definitely The Deathly Hallows. Just having the whole story coming together and weaving into the amazing finale that shook me to the core when I first read it has really made this book cemented as my favourite in my heart!

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Favourite Movie

Definitely Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone!  It was whimsical and magical and everything that I wanted, the series just went downhill from there for me.

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Least favourite book

Would have to be Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix… Just the way that Dumbledore treated Harry and how angsty he was and Dolores bringing down the joy and wonder of Hogwarts and how everything inevitably ended up with Sirius, just dampened me feelings on this one!

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Part of the books/movies that made you cry

The death of Dumbledore! When I first read this scene in The Half Blood Prince I had to put the book down for a good few weeks just to process what happened.

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Favourite character

I honestly don’t have one in particular; I would say the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione are definitely my favourites!

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What would your Patronus be?

My first thought was a fox

If you could have the Resurrection Stone, the Invisibility Cloak, or the Elder Wand, which one would you choose?

Definitely the invisibility cloak … I would put that to good use!

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What house would you be in?

I initially thought I would be a Ravenclaw or Slytherin but I was sorted into Gryffindor!

If you could meet any member of the cast, who would it be?

Rupert Grint or Tom Felton!!

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If you were on the Quidditch team, what position would you play?

A chaser or a seeker!

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Were you happy with the ending?

I thought it was honestly perfect, beyond my expectations!

How much does Harry Potter mean to you?

This was the series that propelled me into reading! It just has so much nostalgia attached to it and I will forever love this series and continue to reread it over and over again!

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Reviews

The Bride Test Review

by amyleighreads5 Comments on The Bride Test Review

39338454Khai has no interest in dating or marriage so when his mum goes over to the Vietnam and brings a potential wife back to live with him for the summer he is outraged. Forced to cohabitate Khai starts to get used to the idea of Esme living with him and she is starting to see that he does have feelings after all.

I absolutely loved this story! It was a very fast paced, quick read for me that I finished in one sitting and I came out of it with just warm fuzzy feelings. I think the book really explored the cultural differences between the generations.  Like how Khai’s mum is perfectly comfortable interviewing for potential wives for Khai and trying to push him to get married ASAP and how uncomfortable and resistant Khai and Quan are about the whole situation. Also Esme’s mum telling her to seduce Khai just to marry him quickly because he lives in America and is handsome.

I love how unique and interesting Khai’s character is. I thought his autism was represented very well throughout the course of the plot and his reactions to certain situations was consistent and felt real. The way he struggled to understand other people’s emotions when he processes things in a very different way was interesting to read. He felt like a truly well rounded character and his naivety and inexperience really endeared him to me. The whole conversation he had with Quan and Michael after his first time was super cute!

I had some mixed feelings about Esme throughout the course of the book. I was a little skeptical about her reasoning’s for accepting the deal in the first place and I can’t help but feel that she was intentionally trying to just seduce Khai at first without even attempting to get to know him. But as the story progressed I definitely warmed up to her as she started to dig into her own background and better herself whilst she was there; trying to find her father and going to back to school and getting her GED.

The whole concept for the story I found super entertaining and I just can’t help but think that this kind of situation really happens in real life; mothers pushing their sons to get married because everyone else in their families is getting married. I don’t know if they would go as far as to return to their home countries to pluck a random girl from a bathroom but that’s the beauty of fiction. I was highly entertained and engaged throughout the book and I can’t wait to see what Helen Hoang comes out with next!

⭐️5/5 stars Loved it!