A Curse So Dark & Lonely - Review

Book Review:
Title: A Curse so Dark and Lonely
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Bloomsbury
I received an early copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“I am always surprised to discover that when the world seems darkest, there exists the greatest opportunity for light.”

Fall in love, break the curse. 
It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.
  Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world. 
Break the curse, save the kingdom. 
  A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall...and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

King Of Scars - Review

Book Review:
Title: King Of Scars
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Orion Children's Book

“Nikolai had been told hope was dangerous, had been warned of it many times. But he’d never believed that. Hope was the wind that came from nowhere to fill your sails and carry you home.”

Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.
   Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal. 

Favourite Reads of 2018

I can't believe we've reached the end of 2018 already!
I can vividly remember sitting down an writing my Favourite Reads of 2017 post...and here we are again a WHOLE year later.
I was quite disappointed with my 2017 reading year, having read 40 books less that the previous year. FORTY. I was adamant of making 2018 better - but I did not succeed.
In 2018 I only managed to read 52 books, which by no means is terrible, but I just wanted more. Once again, the main culprit for this is University - it's a real time sucker. The work never ends, so I feel like I get barely any time to just sit and read and write up blog posts. It sucks, but that's life!

HOWEVER, even though it hasn't been the greatest reading year, I did achieve some blogger goals that I'm completely over the moon about:

1.) I got a personalised ARC with my name *printed* on the cover. OMG!

2.) I was quoted in a book for the first time, but not just any book, one of my favourite books of all time... STRANGE THE DREAMER! Again, OMG!

I'm forever grateful to work with amazing publishers and I can't wait to see what 2019 holds for me (probably just more university work, but a girl can dream)

But before I focus too much on the future, lets reflect on my favourite books of 2018!

Muse Of Nightmares - Review

Book Review:
Title: Muse of Nightmares
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Release date: October 2nd 2018
I received an early copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Once upon a time there was a silence that dreamed of becoming a song, and then I found you, and now everything is music.”

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.
   Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice--save the woman he loves, or everyone else?--while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of.
   As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?