Once Upon a Broken Heart - Review

Book Review:
Title: Once Upon a Broken Heart
Author: Stephanie Garber
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
I received an early copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"Always promise less than you can give, for Fates always take more.
Do not make bargains with more than one Fate.
And, above all, never fall in love with a Fate."

For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in happily ever after. Until she learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, and her dreams are shattered.
Desperate to stop the wedding, and heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.
But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game – and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy... 

21 Things To Expect From The Simon Snow (Carry On) Trilogy

Blog Post:
Title: 21 Things To Expect From The Simon Snow Trilogy (Carry On, Wayward Son, Any Way the Wind Blows)
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: PanMacmillan

“Just when you think you're having a scene without Simon, he drops in to remind you that everyone else is a supporting character in his catastrophe.”

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savour his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him.
His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he'll be safe.
Simon can't even enjoy the fact that his room-mate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can't stop worrying about the evil git.
Plus there are ghosts.
And vampires.
And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down.
When you're the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savour anything.

If We Were Villains - Review

Book Review:
Title: If We Were Villains
Author: M.L. Rio
Publisher: Titan Books

“But that is how a tragedy like ours or King Lear breaks your heart—by making you believe that the ending might still be happy, until the very last minute.”

Oliver Marks has just served ten years for the murder of one of his closest friends – a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened ten years ago.

As a young actor studying Shakespeare at an elite arts conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same roles onstage and off – villain, hero, tyrant, temptress – though Oliver felt doomed to always be a secondary character in someone else’s story. But when the teachers change up the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into life.

When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.

The Jasmine Throne - Review

Book Review:
Title: The Jasmine Throne
Author: Tasha Suri
Publisher: Orbit
I received an early copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"She could make herself into something monstrous. She could be a creature born of poison and pyre, flame and blood."

One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne.
The other is a priestess searching for her family.
Together, they will change the fate of an empire.
   Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of powerful magic – but is now little more than a decaying ruin.
   Priya is a maidservant, one of several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to attend Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, as long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides. But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled...