Guys, I am obsessed with this book. When it says The Cruel Prince meets A Court of Thorns and Roses, they weren’t lying. I think that is one of the most accurate taglines I have ever read and I cannot emphasize how good this book is. I read it in one day because every second I wasn’t reading, my mind drifted to this book. To what was happening. And I had to know what was going to happen next. And now that I’ve finished it … I need the next book immediately!
I finally finished this book! It has been so hard trying to find time to read these past few weeks. If you weren’t aware, my fiance and I are currently in the process of buying a house! And at the same time, I’m also unfortunately dealing with some medical issues and too many doctors appointments. Oh and this week is the week of Passover.
I’m a little busy. So trying to read has been pretty difficult. But, I finally found time to finish this amazing book and I’m so desperate for more!
I am so excited that I am able to participate in the book tour for Wench by Maxine Kaplan! Thanks to TBR & Beyond Tours for allowing me to participate and thank you to Amulet Books for providing me with an e-ARC of the book for review. This has not impacted my review and all thoughts and feelings are my own.
Be sure to check out the tour schedule to see all of the other amazing posts for this tour! And stay tuned to find out more information about the giveaway TBR & Beyond Tours is hosting!
Today I am reviewing Soulswift by Megan Bannen. No joke, this book is a perfect combination of Serpent & Dove and Wicked Saints in terms of some tropes and the overall vibes. Forced marriage between two enemies? Check. Religious differences impacting the fate of the world? Check. Creepy, disturbing monsters hunting main characters in the woods? Check again!
I am so excited for this post! This is the first blog tour that I am participating in and it’s for a book that I really loved, YAY! I received an eARC of The Boundless by Anna Bright in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss/Fantastic Flying Book Club.
Be sure to check out the other amazing reviews/posts from this tour!
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
This breathtaking sequel to The Beholder will take you on a journey into a darkly sparkling fairy tale, perfect for fans of The Selection and Caraval.
When Selah found true love with Prince Torden of Norway, she never imagined she’d have to leave him behind. All because the Beholder’s true mission was a secret Selah’s crew didn’t trust her to keep: transporting weapons to the rebels fighting against the brutal tsarytsya, whose shadow looms over their next port of Shvartsval’d. A place Selah hoped she’d never go.
But gone is the girl who departed Potomac filled with fear. With a stockpile of weapons belowdecks and her heart hanging in the balance, Selah is determined to see the Beholder’s quest to its end.
Let me just add, The Beholder killed me. If you haven’t read the first book, feel free to check out my spoiler free review of The Beholder! It’s like The Bachelor – cruise ship edition.
To start, where we leave off in book 1 is where we start for book 2. And it broke my heart. I want Selah and Torden to be together and I was not happy that they were separated. It made me so upset! This book is less of the romance, happy times kind of book and it dives into a much darker tone.
I thought this shift was brilliant. As Selah gets closer towards the Imperiya, the stakes are raised. Not only do we not want to go there, but if she makes it that far, there is a serious chance of certain death. Since Selah has found her prince, there was no reason to continue with the romance hunt, so we dive into more political aspects.
I think I like The Boundless more than The Beholder for that reason.
Selah undergoes HUGE changes in this story and anyone who complained she was “whiny” or “weak” will be proven wrong in this book. She gets a strengthened back bone and learns to fight for herself, and the people she cares about. It’s such a needed and appreciated growth that it makes me like her character a lot more.
This book is dark, terrifying, and heart racing. I didn’t want to go past the beginning because I knew we were going to enter a much more serious section of the book – but it had to be done.
Now, the ending – LOVED IT. I thought this was a great wrap up and while I wish we could have had a book 3, I think Anna does an amazing job ending this story and giving us not only a tale we can enjoy, but one we can learn from.
Since I like this book more than The Beholder, I think it deserves a better rating. There wasn’t much that I didn’t like about the story, though I didn’t want it to end. I have to give The Boundless 
// 5 stars.
Thanks again, Fantastic Flying Book Club for letting me participate in your blog tour of The Boundless by Anna Bright! This book releases on Tuesday, June 9th, so if you are interested in reading the sequel to The Beholder, be sure to preorder a copy through the links below!
Anna Bright is an indie bookseller by day and an author by night who still gets in trouble for reading when she’s supposed to be doing other things. When not hiding out among books, she loves concerts, roller coasters, and adventures at home and abroad. Anna lives with her husband and cat in a charming cobblestoned neighborhood in Washington, DC, but you can find her online at http://www.annabrightbooks.com and on Twitter and Instagram at @brightlyanna.
AUTHOR LINKS
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17310926.
Anna Bright Website: https://www.annabrightbooks.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brightlyanna
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightlyanna/?hl=en
Tumblr: https://merryandbr1ght.tumblr.com/
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If this book sounds interesting, be sure to check out The Selection by Keira Cass.
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If you liked this review, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
I don’t remember requesting this book on Edelweiss, but I guess I did since I got an email saying I was approved for this title. I received an eARC of Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This book releases on September 1st, 2020, so be sure to preorder a copy!
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
A timely feminist YA novel in verse about periods, sex, shame and going viral for all the wrong reasons.
BLOOD MOON is a YA novel about the viral shaming of a teenage girl. During her seminal sexual experience with the quiet and lovely Benjamin, physics-lover and astronomy fan Frankie gets her period – but the next day a gruesome meme goes viral, turning an innocent, intimate afternoon into something sordid, mortifying and damaging.
This was a book I didn’t know I needed. I related to Frankie, our main character, so much that I found myself crying when she cried, laughing when she laughed, and overall understanding her journey. The thing that was hardest to read was her fall out with her best friend Harriet (Harry). We’ve all been in that situation before, when we need our best friend most but they’re not there, either because of a fight or you’re simply no longer friends anymore. It made the emotional impact of this book much greater and I found myself getting into the story.
This book is written in prose, similar to an epic, but no rhyming. I usually am not a fan of prose because it can be distracting, but this suited the story so well I can’t imagine reading it any other way. The creativity and emotional impact of the writing hit home in a way that I didn’t think was possible. It was so empowering too. I loved getting to read a story in this way and it made it easier to get through, honestly.
I didn’t expect to like this book, but after the first few pages, I was hooked. I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading the book basically in one sitting. I think any menstruating person and anyone who was a teen will relate to this story, especially if they have been a teen within the last ten years. Nowadays, going viral, especially over something embarrassing, is a common occurrence. Teens will definitely relate to this story because I know I did.
And I loved the message it rings out.
So even though I didn’t think I would enjoy this book, this is, without a doubt, 
// 5 stars. I wish I had this book when I was in high school.
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If this book sounds interesting to you, check out Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin.
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If you liked this review, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
I recently started using Edelweiss after hearing how some people have become active and successful on the site. So far, I have been approved for the one book, The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson. I loved The Storm Crow and I was so excited to read the sequel!
This e-ARC of The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson was given to me in exchange for an honest review. This review will be spoiler free, but may discuss events that occurred in The Storm Crow. If you have not read book 1, feel free to visit my review on The Storm Crow and be sure to order it to read today!
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
Princess Thia, her allies, and her crow, Res, are planning a rebellion to defeat Queen Razel and Illucia once and for all. Thia must convince the neighboring kingdoms to come to her aid, and Res’s show of strength is the only thing that can help her.
But so many obstacles stand in her way. Res excels at his training, until he loses control of his magic, harming Thia in the process. She is also pursued by Prince Ericen, heir to the Illucian throne and the one person she can’t trust but can’t seem to stay away from.
As the rebel group prepares for war, Res’s magic grows more unstable. Thia has to decide if she can rely on herself and their bond enough to lead the rebellion and become the crow rider she was meant to be.
I have to say it, I thought the first book was better. Hear me out! The Crow Rider starts off with us traveling to rally the other kingdoms and save their home! But then, things start to slow down. We’re hit with immediate action and fighting then there’s a lull. And it felt like a lull for most of the book.
Now, though there was a lot of talking, the banter was awesome. Thia makes new friends, we get some sassy Prince in the mix, and everyone has moments of genuine happiness. It was a good mixture of politics, relaxation, and sprinkles of fighting to the death.
But let’s talk about one thing that I thought could have been done a little smoother and cleaner, the relationships. We get lots of back and forth on the relationships – who is interested in who, people ending things – and what not. I felt like a certain relationship that came across strongly, ending suddenly. I’m not mad it ended, I’m mad it went from intense to dead within seconds.
I wanted it to end a little more subtly – especially since there was so much time at the beginning to show the relationship fizzling!
But besides that, I loved this book. I mean yeah, there were some slow moments when I didn’t feel like that in the first book, but that’s it! Maybe that’s because we get a lot more intense fighting and action in this book compared to the first, so the slower moments feel slower. I’m not sure. And ok, I wished the relationships were explored a bit more, they felt a little rushed – but honestly, those were minor things in comparison to the intensity of this book. The continuation of the plot was seamless, characters didn’t feel different or unfamiliar, just changed. We get to see how other nations in this world think and work. And, I mean, the writing! It’s so good!
But lets talk about what I loved – because I did love this book. 1) We get to see more of Thia’s background in terms of memories, relationships to other nations, so on and so forth. 2) As I said before, we get to know more about the other nations in this world, which was exciting. 3) We explore the effects of war in terms of depression and PTSD which I think doesn’t get talked about enough.
I loved the new people Thia became friends with, they added a new perspective to the story. Also, Res is grown! And he is a sassy character and I love it. And through it all, I found myself excited and genuinely interested in what was going on and what was going to happen next. It’s a great ending to this duology and I think people are going to love this book.
So, though there were some moments I wish had been changed/improved on, this is still one of my favorite duologies. I am definitely giving this a .5 // 5 stars.
If you haven’t preordered your copy of The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson, here are some links to popular sites you can get this book from! This book will release on July 7th, 2020 – so be sure to preorder your copy asap!
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If this book sounds interesting to you, be sure to check out The Raven and the Dove by Kaitlyn Davis
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If you liked this review, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
We Write At Dawn 