Spoiler Free Review Finished reading 31 January – 12 March 2023 Less than 5-word critique: Thought-provoking, adorable, witty, and compelling This is a great YA contemporary romance about taking a stand when things have gotten too far and what to do about it along with a group of people who also want to make a change for the better. In Chen’s debut YA novel, we follow Olivia Chang, an Asian American who’s been a self-proclaimed social isolationist all her life but when queen bee Mitzi makes a racist comment, Olivia, having had enough, stands up to her. This grabs the attention of the sec ..read more

Spoiler Free Review Finished reading 1 February – 1 March 2023 Less than 5-word critique: Compelling, unexpected, and binge-worthy Siege and Storm is a great sequel to Shadow and Bone, showing the favourite old and new characters facing danger together and the actions and choices they must make in the process of saving the world. Without spoiling details from Shadow and Bone, Alina and her best friend Mal have escaped after what happened in the first book. It’s not long before they are captured and have to come up with a plan, along with old and new allies, to find creatures of magica ..read more

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Spoiler Free Review Finished reading 24 – 30 December 2022 Less than 5-word critique: Compelling, intriguing and binge-worthy. This was my last book of 2022 and it did not disappoint. Also, I can’t believe how relatively fast I finished it. In this Russian inspired world of Ravka, we follow Alina Starkov, an orphan who quickly discovers she is a Sun Summoner, someone who according to legend can break down the Shadow Fold, a wall of darkness filled with flesh-eating monsters. But once she begins training as a Grisha, people with magical abilities, with the myst ..read more

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black Spoiler Free Review Finished reading 30 December 2022 – 15 January 2023 Less than 5-word critique: Intriguing and captivating. Despite some hard to read bits in the story, The Cruel Prince is a good faerie story full of political intrigue, fitting in, and betrayal. In this first installment of The Folk of the Air series, we follow Jude Duarte, a girl who is snatched from the human world along with her sisters after a fairy murders her parents at seven years of age. Now several years later, she struggles living in Elfhame, the fairy world, in large part due to P ..read more

The Siren by Kiera Cass Spoiler Free Review Finished reading 20 September – 2 October 2022 Less than 5-word critique: intriguing, romantic, compelling and binge-worthy. Remember when I said that after watching the new Little Mermaid remake teaser trailer, I suddenly felt like diving into mermaid stories literally? Well, this is one of them and I was not disappointed. It’s good to get back into Kiera Cass’ storytelling and her portrayal of the mythical sirens is interesting. Speaking of Cass, I still need to finish the rest of The Selection series. We follow Kahlen, pronounced Kay-lin, a girl ..read more

A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass Spoiler Free Review Finished reading 14 November – 9 December 2022 Less than 5-word critique: unexpected, compelling, and as Cass describes it: sweeping. Imagine my surprise when I got approval by NetGalley to read Kiera Cass’ latest novel A Thousand Heartbeats. It was a bit slow during the beginning for me but then it got more grabbing somewhere close to the middle. Definitely quite a heart pounding adventure. I really hope this gets picked up for a film or TV series. In the author’s first dual POV YA romance book, we follow Annika, a feisty yet compassion ..read more

Spoiler Free Review Finished 18 January – 8 February 2023 Less than 5-word critique: Compelling, romantic, and binge-worthy  I loved Cinder & Glass! Best Cinderella retelling by far. Plus, it’s perfect for Bridgerton fans. Definitely one of my favourite reads of the year. Would I re-read it? Totally! Set in 17th century Versailles, we follow Cendrillon, a young girl whose life changes when her loving father dies suddenly shortly after getting remarried to a lady who reveals her true stepmother colours and turns Cendrillon into a slave of her own home. Luckily, she has her t ..read more

Your Dream For Me by Alison Schaffir Spoiler Free Review Finished reading 14 – 29 January 2023 Your Dream for Me is a cute and compelling story about first love, and following your heart and dreams. Schaffir’s debut novel centers on Scarlett, a high schooler and aspiring fashion designer whose world changes when she meets the talented, kind, and handsome aspiring actor Nathaniel Wilder. Their romance is tested by unforeseen events, one of them being Scarlett’s best friend’s unfortunate occurrence, that they could never expect. The writing is both fun and excellent. The characters are an intri ..read more

Cinder by Marissa Meyer Spoiler Free Review Finished reading 21 July 2022 – 18 January 2023 Less than 5-word critique: Unique, unexpected, and compelling. This is perhaps my fave Cinderella retelling so far. And I’m so glad I finally started with the popular and hyped series The Lunar Chronicles. And oh man, the twists in this one. Wow. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the books are as well as its upcoming animated film adaptations. In this first tale of The Lunar Chronicles, we follow Cinder, the titular heroine and cyborg, who is a brilliant mechanic but unfortunately shunned by society an ..read more

Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka Spoiler Free Review Finished reading 4 July 2022 – 16 January 2023 Less than 5-word critique: Funny, sweet and compelling. This is my first book by the real-life couple duo, Emily and Austin, and I really enjoyed it despite some behaviours displayed in the story. And I’m a sucker for theatre, so, that was another win. In this young adult romantic comedy, the novel centers on Megan Harper, an aspiring theatre director and who sadly gets her heart broken more times than she can count due to the partners falling for someone else ..read more