The Cruel, but Absent Prince | Cruel Prince Critique

Rating:
Title: Cruel Prince
Author: Holly Black
Series: The Folk of the Air
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Reader
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Format: Kindle/Audiobook
# of Pages: 384
Synopsis:

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

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I’m having some deja vu with this book; I stayed up into the wee hours of the night to finish it, and while I enjoyed the book (and do plan on reading Wicked King) I’m not falling over myself to get it in my hands. If I had to choose one word to describe how I’m feeling, it’s underwhelmed.

So underwhelmed in fact, that I don’t even know if I should be writing this review. I finished this book at the beginning of the month and wanted to write one, but as I sit here at 12:01 AM on a Sunday night Monday morning, I. Have. Nothing. Soooo it looks like this is going to be a brief review. (I always say that and then end up writing a novel, so we’ll see what actually happens.)

Top Ten Tuesday| Ten Books I Meant to Read in 2018

Good morning lovelies and happy Tuesday! Today I’m coming back at you again with another installment of Top Ten Tuesday, a meme hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week she assigns a topic and we create a list based on that topic, then share it with all of you. 😊

This week the topic is: Top Ten Books I Meant to Read in 2018 But Didn’t Get to.

The easy answer for me is ALL OF THEM. Unless it was a poetry book or ACOFAS (review to come), I didn’t pick it up. However, I’ve been doing my research and watching “best of 2018” videos and I think I’ve come up with a nice list here, some of which are 2018 releases and others are books I just haven’t read yet. Are you ready to get pumped (for books you’ve probably already read)? 🙌🙌🙌 (I just discovered that you can do that on a PC now and I can’t stop, send help.)

A Court of Wings & Ruin – Sarah J Maas | Critique

Hello, my wonderful bookish friends! I know that I’m incredibly (like two years) late to reviewing this book, but I was going through my backlog of reviews and found this guy just waiting to be shared with the world. Mind you, this was written in 2017 when ACOWAR first came out and I finished the book (hence the first paragraph, but I liked the nostalgia of it), but my feelings haven’t changed.

Into the time machine, and back to 2017!

Top Ten Tuesday | Anticipated Releases for First Half of 2019

Happy Tuesday my fellow bookish friends! As my first book-related post of the year, I’ve decided to jump back on the Top Ten Tuesday train (it’s not only fun, but I didn’t have to put a ton of thought into it). For those who don’t know, TTT is a meme hosted by Lana @ That Artsy Reader Girl where we’re given a theme for the week and we create a list based on it. I’ve recently fallen back in love with making lists, so I’m especially excited for this.

Most of the books I chose are debuts or authors that are new to me, only two are by authors I’m familiar with and one is an author whose work I’ve actually read. As you can probably tell from the title of this post, the theme for this week is: Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2019.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Top Ten Tuesday | My Bookish Turn Ons

I know what you’re thinking, who is this Carrianne girl and why is she finally posting something? I may or may not have been slightly MIA for a majority of this year and I am so sorry. I just haven’t felt like reading and therefore haven’t felt like blogging (because how can I call myself a book blogger without writing about books?). I’m looking for inspiration to do bookish posts while I’m not doing much reading (although a reread of ACOMAF is coming up and I’m trying to talk my friend at work into doing a buddy read with me).

Anyway, that’s not why you’re here, is it? You’re here because it’s Top Ten Tuesday! This is a meme hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish where we make a list based on a bookish theme and post it for all you lovely people to read. (I’m in a really silly mood, so I apologize in advance.)

This week’s theme is Top Ten Things That Will Make Me Instantly Want To Read A Book.

Let’s dive into my vices, shall we?

March 2017 Wrap Up

Sooooo I dropped the ball and didn’t finish my post for my March Wrap Up. Sorry about that! In my defense though, my best friend and I decided to stop talking about going on vacation and finally do it and I’ve been planning it ever since, haha. Anywho, I’m currently dog-sitting for my other best friend and I decided to sit down and crank out a wrap up post for you guys.

I’d say that I did a decent amount of reading last month (though not as good as I’ve done in the past). Right now I have no clue what I want to read, so I’m in a bit of a rut. 😛 Enough of my jibber jabbering though. Let’s get to those books!

Mini Reviews | Playing Catch-Up

Soooo it’s Tuesday. I usually like to participate in the Top Ten Tuesday meme, but I’m not really feeling the theme this week. Instead, I decided to finally play catch up on reviews that I’ve tried to write multiple times, but couldn’t get out more than a paragraph or two for whatever reason. Without further ado, let’s get to it.

Monday Morning Cuppa | Alucard Emery

Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and your Monday is treating you well so far (I hope I didn’t just make the grammar police cringe). I wanted to apologize for the lack of posts on my blog; I’ve been reading books, it’s just that when I go to write about them I draw a blank.

Anyway, as I’m sipping a piping hot cuppa and burning a candle that smells like the Darkling, I’ve got an original rendition of Monday Morning Cuppa for you. This is a feature that I created to marry my love for books with my love for tea where I pick a tea and a character, share my reasoning, and write a quick review.

Empire of Strangers and Deja Vu | Empire of Storms Critique

Rating:
Title: Empire of Storms
Series: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Publication Date: September 6, 2016
Format: Kindle/Audiobook
# of Pages: 704
Synopsis:

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don’t.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin’s journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?

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I just want to say that despite my [few] problems with this novel, I really enjoyed reading it and I cannot believe that I [still] have to wait over a year for the finale. *sigh* I’ve got a lot to say about this book, so let’s jump right into it. (I swear this is when being a BookTuber would come in handy.)

**There aren’t any spoilers until I get to the plot. I’ve marked and hidden them.**

Brief Thoughts

• My best advice is to read The Assassin’s Blade first just because events are referenced (as they are in the other books) and it’d be good to have background information.
• I enjoyed most of the character development in the book, however, it felt stunted for a couple characters.
• The pacing was weird; while it felt like there was nonstop action, it also kind of dragged. It took me a while to finish this book.
• I felt like I was lied to a lot in this book; both by characters and Sarah.
• The ending felt like it was recycled from another book I’ve read and loved (you will know which one the minute you’re done).
• Lysandra’s loyalty and courage make a huge appearance in this book and I just love her so much.

Top Ten Books I Wish Had More/Less Romance

Hey, hello, what’s up? Today is Tuesday and that means that it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday! This is a meme hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and The Bookish where we compile a list of ten books based on a given theme for the week. This week’s theme is: Top Ten Books I Wish Had (More/Less) X In Them. In honor of Valentine’s Day next week, I decided to do more/less romance in them. I’ve got a lot of repeat authors/series, so I apologize in advance, but what can you do? It’s either that or smut……lol.