A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz

There's a big difference between hating someone in peace and hating someone during war

This book comes out August fourth. I was hoping to review it way before it came out but I got so swamped with NaNo and life. But here we go! My first ARC review!

Stats:

Genre:  Fantasy

Feelings: Not really, actually

Happiness: Eh

Cuteness: Did not ship anything. Like. How many people is Beckan gonna make out with?

Fast pacing: Slow, but still it did a good job of engaging me

Series: Nope

Read if you like: ...Weird books. Unique fae type things,

Content: LOLOLOL what does this book NOT have.
a) cursing? Check. A lot of it.
b) Sex? Definitely. Nothing graphic and most of it off page.
c) Prostitute faeries? Why not.
b) Lesbian? Yep. Totally caught me off guard. Like. Wot.
c) Violence? You could say. It's just got some weird concepts
d) Thematic elements? lololol yes

In one sentence... Told back and forth from past and present, a very unreliable narrator tells the story of Beckan and her friends, and the struggles and conflicts with gnomes and other creatures, filling in the gaps with whatever he wishes.

Thoughts: glitter and dirt

Messages: It's kind of got some really neat family vibes here. And a lot about honesty. 

Overall:

Rating: 3/5

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits:

This was...a weird book. I am so conflicted about it. More so then I ever have been.

-Characters-

What was Beckan. See, I saw her from our narrators POV. And our narrator was...special. Beckan was spirited and crazy, but still realistic. She was a damaged, far from perfect character and I had fun reading about her. But I still don't think I'll really care about her.

Then there's Tier, the weirdo. Piccolo, who was random but totally fascinating. And Scrap. Scrap made me feel feelings.

See, there's no character that really stand out. I'll have to give it to Hannah Moskowitz. She knows how to write some crazy realistic damaged characters in a story with as many crazy concepts as this one did. Each one was so...human. Which was surprising, giving they were faeries, gnomes and tightropers. These were some nasty people. Nasty, sad, hurting. 

You have to give me a tiny break because I just got back from a writing workshop and I'm noticing more successes in books. This story had a very big struggle, a very good thing for a book.

-Writing and Structure-

The story just had...such cool concepts. Seriously. I love weird concepts. And this story had a lot of them. The worldbuilding, though sparse, was really fascinating. There was little description but there were just enough hints dropped that I could paint a picture of what I pictured it to look like and I loved that. This is one of those books where I am happy about the lack of descriptions.

The story had very little Big Events, but it did such a good job of getting into your head. I think it's good that it was short. It's hard to pull off a "no the writer did not write this the character did" book but Moskowitz did this so masterfully. It felt like someone had actually found this old notebook with the story in it and typed it up. I read this on a weekend trip and half the time forgot I was sitting curled up in a bunk bed at the beach because I was so tangled in this story.

-Messages and other-

This is a light-theme book, but the themes it does have were beautiful when you dug them out. There was a lot about redemption, and war, and recovery. All of it fit well with these characters.

The Less Lovely Bits

For as much as I loved it, there was a lot I didn't care for.

Okay. First off. It was just weird. I mean, I love weird books. I live for weird books. I write weird books. 

I think what happened is I really didn't know what to expect. I did not expect prostitute faeries that swear every single sentence. I did not expect this wacky world, these wacky characters. Everything was so random. And on one hand, it added to the texture of the story and the whole " a character wrote this not the author" vibe, but it also felt off.

There were definitely some scenes that just felt extremely random. As stated above, there is a gay scene towards the end. I didn't get it. I'm sorry, it's not that I had a problem, it was just that I really didn't get why it needed to be there. 

I don't know, man. This book is a weird one. I think a lot of people can really care about it. It's a concept and character driven book. But that's the problem.

You have to care about the characters to enjoy the book. If you don't, you'll hate the book. And if the character are impossible to dislike that's fine. But I can see how it would be easy to dislike this cast, which is what makes it a tricky book.

See, there was nothing blatantly bad about this book. Nothing that made me a Rage Monster and want to burn it. There was nothing truly wrong. The whole story as a whole just didn't sit perfect for me as a person. This can be different for everyone. 

I honestly thought this was a debut at first. Because I didn't know going in this was written as a character-written-book so it felt very off. As I got into it, I saw more clearly what Moskowitz was trying to do, but starting out it seemed like she had written a NaNoWriMo and published it without edits. (But I do seriously know that's not true because if all NaNo first drafts were like this then we'd be all lucky)



Overall, I did like it. I defintly found myself thinking about it a lot, even if it was less fondly then I wanted. If you can handle some randomness, I'd give it a shot. It really was a fun book.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Do you really want to know where we come from?" she said. "In every century, in every country, they'll call us something different. They'll say we're ghosts, angels, demons, elemental spirits, and giving us a name doesn't help anybody. When did a name change what someone is?

Well, finally, I'm here with a review for a book I read the end of February. Do not judge me. 

If you like crazy cool faeries, dark atmospheres, and messed up characters, try this one out. For all the little things that bothered me, it's an enjoyable book.

Stats:

Genre: Faerie paranormal. 

Feelings: I didn't connect with the book as much as I wanted to, except for sibling love.

Happiness: See above

Cuteness: I personally didn't ship it. At all. 

Fast pacing: It was a steady solid story, but because of some reading problems I had going on, it dragged at a few parts.

Series: No

Read if you like: Faeries! Dark faeries. Changeling stuff, awesome sibling characters, POV characters who think they're awful but they aren't.

Content: Some kissy kissy touchy touchy. Some bloody stuff, some bits where Mackie mentions girls chests and other bits, so if any of that bothers you...well. Also profanity, teenage drinking, and stuff like that.

In one sentence... Mackie Doyle is a changeling and because of that dark magic is coming, and he is determined to stop it and rescue a missing child from the fate like his.

Thoughts: Cold wet grass and cold air. 

Messages: Not a message-y book, but it sent a lot of nice messages about the whole "You're not as dangerous and awful as you might think" thing.

Overall:

Rating: 3.5/5 I really liked it, but I don't think it was the right time for me to read it and get more out of it.

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits:

This was a lovely book through and through. Not perfect, but lovely. It had some great vibes and prose, and plenty of cool characters.

-Characters-

Mackie was a very interesting main character. I love reading about changelings, so getting a first person POV from one was really neat. He was likable, mainly because of how much he almost despised himself. That was really powerful.

Tate was definitely a refreshing character, though I didn't like her as much. She was far from the submissive female side character, and that was appreciated. I'm not saying that in the Blue-Sargent-Raging-Feminist way, but more of, it was a different character trope I hadn't seen for a while.

 Emma, on the other hand, I loved. I really love a good sibling relationship, and this one was effortlessly flawless. There dialogue and actions were relaxed and done so beautifully without shoving there sibling love on the reader.

The Faeries and villains? They were cool. They were twisted and evil, far from any type of faerie I have read about. 

-Structure and Plot- 

The plot was well thought out which perfectly led up to an epic climax. I liked the slow and steady pace, with the perfect amount of excitement scattered throughout. Other than that, there really isn't much to say about plot and stuff.

I'm just upset that this is Brenna's first book and it's this good.

-Messages and Other-

Mackie felt like he was not normal, or he was dangerous, but he proved multiple times that he was good. And that in itself is a really interesting thing. 

Brenna's prose was like fire. It flickered steadily, but occasionally burst up in a beautiful one liner or paragraph that you just grinned at yourself because you like it so much. I definitely want to read all the others of her books. They sound brilliant.

The Less Lovely Bits:

I don't really know why or how it dragged at one point, but it did. It's weird to be, because I loved the prose and characters and concept, but the whole story seemed almost flat. I'm really not sure why? Looking back I can't find anything that really threw me off. 

I think it's a combination of many little things that bugged me. I think the main problem is that I hadn't known what to expect really. And the atmosphere was more modernly scary that I thought. When I hear Faeries, I think something more ethereal and lightly dark if that makes sense. This one was like a punk rock faerie story, which will appeal to many and even me, but not what I had been expecting and wanting to read. 

Mackie is one of those characters that was interesting, and I felt like I should totally connect with, but I just didn't. Maybe it's because he was so distant. Maybe it was the constant complaining about the people of his town being fake, or the constant lust after that one school girl. Or the weird back and forth with him and Tate. I don't know what it was, but I didn't connect as much as I really desperately wanted to.

Overall, I really think a lot of people will enjoy this. It's got some real cool concepts, and some great rock vibes, and interesting characters.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

There's a monster in our wood. She'll get you if you're not good. Drag you under leaves and sticks. Punish you for all your tricks. A nest of hair and gnawed bone. You are never, ever coming... home.”

I did just review the Raven Cycle series, but I am determined to catch up on my reviews. You can read that here!

And I really needed to review this. Because Holly Black has blown me away once more.

Stats:

Genre: Paranormal, and fae.

Feelings: Some sibling-ly feels.

Happiness: Siblings.

Cuteness: Siblings!

Fast pacing: Ish

Series: Nope.

Read if you like: Fae, twisted creatures, dark secrets, and magical towns.

Content: It depends on how conserved you are. There is some swearing, and quite a lot of kissing. If you're more sensitive to gay characters, keep that in mind. There are three-ish gay characters in this book.

In one sentence... In a town where Fae and Humans live side by side, there's a horned boy in a glass coffin deep in the woods, and he's waking up, sucking Hazel and her brother in a dangerous journey, uncovering secrets from the past and future.

Thoughts: Muddy footprints, shattered glass, a broken sword.

Overall:

Rating: Tentative 4 stars. I really liked some bits, but only /liked/ a lot of other books. But this book is just too good to be only three stars.

This review has LIGHT ROMANCE SPOILERS in the negative section

The Lovely Bits:

Holly Black is a stunning storyteller. After Coldtown, I was rather conflicted. I don't like vampires, but it was so good?  Her stories are strange and thoughtful, weird and lovely. This whole book is lovely, slow parts and all.

The character were great. Everyone dislikes some character, for various reasons. Sometimes I find that people dislike certain characters because of morals, or actions. I feel like Hazel is one of those characters that many people may dislike, because of her personality. But for me, she was a very interesting character. She was a well written girl, with flaws and all. She was realistic. Not perfect, not always happy, and not too optimistic.

I am also very happy with the diversity. I find it annoying that it's hard to find gay characters in fantasy or books like that. It's either a contemporary distinctly about homosexuals, or the character is a side character you don't see much of. While the effort is appreciated, I'm sure that there are many people out there who would love to have a gay character who you actually see a lot of. Those subplots did catch me a little off guard, but it was one I know people will be happy about.

Holly Black's stories are always dark, and strange, and deep. It's so easy to get lost in her books. When I was finishing this, I blanked out on the fact that I was sitting in the library listen to two other people geek out about comics. All I cared about was Hazel, the Alderking, and what the heck was even happening. 

I really did like how Holly Black only hinted at this story in the synopsis. Automatically, I thought I knew what was going to happen. I have this thing I call the OTP Sensor. I can usually tell right away what romance is going to happen.

This one totally messed up my scanner, man. I had it all figured out. The guy in the coffin+Hazel. Yep! Done. Figured it out.

Yeah that didn't happen. I'll cover the love stuff in the next section.


The Less Lovely Bits

This book seemed to have a bit of the middle cycle disease? Either that or the story arc is a lot different than most books.

The beginning started out strong. I was sucked in for about 150 pages. But then it felt almost....jumbled? We spent a lot of time of sub plots that seemed out of place and rushed. It all made sense, and the pieces got put together at a nice pace. It might be that I was in a tad of a slump. After all the mystery happened, I was less interested. Still, there were twists I enjoyed. I just think it could have had some stuff cut. 

As much as I liked Hazel, there were some weird bits. Why the heck did she keep Jack's gum, guys. Why. 

(LIGHT ROMANTIC SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT. You can skip to the very end if you want to be surprised, though I will say you can kind of see what's coming)


On to the romance. I didn't hate it. But I just didn't love it. And it was /crazy/. I made a diagram, a lot like what I made for Kill Me Softly, but the romance pentagon thing wasn't as annoying.

Disclaimer: The "Connection" section is debatable. I am simply saying that it's either "a crush", or "You're pretty sure they're going to end up together" or "They are together at some point,"

Yeah it was crazy. And odd? I really liked Jack, but I didn't care for him and Hazel. I wish there romance hadn't been in it as much? The end seemed a bit cliche, for me, which is weird. I'm a hopeless romantic, and yet I didn't like them as much,

Still, Holly knows how to write a crazy cool couple.




Overall, this was a lovely book. I'm not sure how to write what I didn't like, but I didn't love it as much as I hoped. Still, I highly recommend this. Like a lot. I loved this a lot. And that epilogue? Agh. I have feelings.

I WANT A CHANGELING BOYFRIEND.

The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas

They had survived, when so many had not. And no one ­else could understand what it was like to bear it, unless they had lost as much.


Recently, I have finally finished the third book in Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series, or what I like to call it: The Maas of Lots of Pain series. See what I did there?

Anyway. Long story short this series is amazing. In this post I will be writing quick reviews for the first two books and a longer one for the third. I read the first two last year, but I didn't want to just review the first two of a series.

Also. This is a post for the currently released books, seeing as there are going to be three more in the series.

Throne of glass is probably my least favorite out of them? It was amazing, but after reading all three, ths one isn't the greatets to me.

Stats:

Genre: High Fantasy

Feelings: Angry sympathetc ones

Happiness: Some? I just love Celaena

Cuteness: Not at this point, because I didn't like Dorian in this book.

Fast pacing: Ish? 

Series: Duh.

Read if you like: Kicking butt assasins who are still HUMAN and competitions and fantasy

Content: Violence, some swears.

In one sentence... The most feared assasin is hired as the kings champion in a fight to the death for freedom.

Overall:

Rating: 4/5

The Lovely and Less Lovely Bits:

This was a fun book. Instantly, I really liked Celaena. She was fierce and strong but still like pretty dresses even though she had daggers tucker underneath. Maas is a very good storyteller, and you could really see it. It was engaging enough to keep you into it, though at first all the competition stuff seemed a little cliche. 

The world was well crafted and you felt like you were really there decoding wyrdkeys with her. The characters were really fun to read, even the evil ones. I really love Sarah J Maas's writing. She's got a very to the point style, no tiring paragraphs about uninteresting things. 

This book was a little more info-dumpy, and really, a bit eh for all the hype this series gets. I am still completely happy that I continued in the series. It keeps getting better.

Crown of Midnight is lovely. It's fast and has some more interesting events in it. I had major book hangover after this one.

Stats:

Genre: High Fantasy

Feelings: Yes. A lot. 

Happiness: YES. OTP's that finally become canon.

Cuteness: YES.

Fast pacing: More engaging than the first.

Series: Gee....I wonder.

Read if you like: The first book? Hidden secrets, lying, more killing and more cute.

Content: Two characters sleep with each other off the page. Swearing, violence.

In one sentence... Things get more serious fast as secrets begin to come out about Celaena, her work, and her past.

Overall:
Rating: 5/5

Mild spoilers below about book couples.

The Lovely and Less Lovely Bits:

This one tore my soul out. Instantly you fall back into this world, and realize just how dense this story is. So much happens in so little pages. I have a lot of thoughts about this one.

First off, happiness. My OTP came true. Chaol and Celaena were so adorable and I love them so much.

You really got a lot more development on Celaena. Before she was cool, but a lot of her traits seemed really forced. In this one you get to see more of her, and I really appreciated that. A lot of characters you were so-so about begin to come out more, and you also get more about the pasts of characters.

There's a lot of twists. A lot of hidden secrets come out, and reveals that were next to impossible to see coming. Loss, love, determination. You will be left mouth hanging open. I still think this is my favorite of the series.

And finally, Heir of Fire. I was very much excited to read this. While it wasn't quite what I expected, I did enjoy all of it, and the ending left me out of breathe. 

Stats:

Genre: High Fantasy

Feelings: Mega ones

Happiness: Oh yes.

Cuteness: Eh?

Fast pacing: Ish.

Series: Guess.

Read if you like: FAERIES AND DEATH.

Content: Swears and violence.

In one sentence... More secrets are uncovered, new people are met, and darker dangers revealed.
Thoughts: Breaking and being fixed and breaking all over again.

Overall:

Rating: Tentative 5/5 

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits: 

The writing. The writing has matured quite a bit by now. The story is now denser, the characters a lot differnt. The changes you see in Celaena from book one to three are heartbreaking. I am so pumped to see how she changes. 

The story gets a lot more depth. Now we have witches, wyverms and Fae all bunched together. The Fae was a really intersting culture to read about. These weren't like any "faeries" I had ever read about. I don't want to give away too much, so I'll just leave it at that.

Also, the witches. Maas doesn't take shortcuts in developing the specie's in her stories. She doesn't call them just witches and leave you to picture warty old ladies in point hats. Nope. She describes their second eyelids, there way of life, even giving them iron teeth and claws. They're freaky, okay.

Sarah J. Maas really has a way of making you love and hate characters at the same time. She does that many times in this book. You start of hating someone and then all of a sudden you love them? What? She messes with your head. You're all set to want some character to go die in a deep dark hole but then suddenly you're clutching to them while crying.

Yeah. That's what this book is.

And Celaena's back story. The whole chapter where we learn everything that happened tore my soul to shreds. It was very different than what I was expecting.

Basically, this whole book was glorious.

The Less Lovely Bits

This book was freaking long. Honestly, I skipped most of the witch chapters. I was so engaged in everything else I wasn't that interested in the witch stuff. I felt like it should have been shorter or not there at all. 

While it was nice to have mean characters be actually good, it did get a little old. What was wrong with having a jerky character that wasn't on the evil side? There didn't always have to be some justifying reason to be cold.

The romance witch Sorscha and Dorian was really cute, but also felt a little rushed and unnecessary, though it did have some good character development.

Sarah J. Maas tends to have a POV chapter from every character. That is nice, but it's another thing that could be annoying.

Honestly, there wasn't much I didn't love in this. Everything was well thought out, but very dense.

Overall, I highly recommend this series. It's unlike anything I've read. It's a very unique way of storytelling, so I don't think it's for everyone. But I would defiantly give it a shot.