4-stars

8th Dec 2018 by CG @ Paper Fury 30 Comments (2)

Girls Of Paper And Fire by Natasha Ngan || Dark and Harrowing Asian Fantasy That You Absolutely NEED

This was magical and emotional and harrowing … and woah you should read this.

It’s such a dark premise and it’s handled so well. And may I just say the amount of Asian #ownvoices fantasies coming out at the moment is incredible?! Not only is GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE #ownvoices, it also features an f/f romance, demon kings and conquered realms, rebellions and secret assassins, empowering female friendships, and dresses that hide knives (YES THANKS). Also the cover…absolutely beautiful. I can’t even.

We have been blessed here tbh.

thanks to Hachette / @dateabook for the ARC…and I also got an exclusive signed edition from the November @owlcrate box!

➸ WORLD BUILDING!
dude, this was amazing. Complex and developed, with history and lore!! The world felt huge in scope and well developed (something I crave in YA fantasy but often find wanting?!) The author’s note said she drew inspiration from her own Chinese and Malaysian background and I think that’s incredibly special too. It was so easy to tumble headfirst into descriptions of the world, the politics, the palaces, the food (I’m so hungry now wow) — it made you feel IN the story.

➸ let’s talk about the dark premise, ok?
The Demon King takes teenage girls as concubines…so the premise is Lei being taken. Yes the book is about reap and sexual abuse and violence. (It also contains a content warning at the beginning of the book, which I felt was important!) It’s not graphic, but it is talked about thoroughly. At first I was like “This isn’t YA…” But you know what? I changed my mind. It is important to talk about these things with teens.

The author’s note sums it up brilliantly, where Ngan says: “While I realise these are hard discussions, especially for teens, it is of vital important we have them. Books can be safe places to explore difficult topics. While we cannot shelter young people from being exposed to sexual violence, whether through lived experience or indirectly, we can give them a way to safely engage with and reflect upon these issues. I hope Girls provides such a space.“

I couldn’t agree more. I think I read the stats somewhere that 1 in 6 women experience sexual abuse (it’s probably higher than that) and teens need to talk about it just as much as adults. And yes, this book is harrowing and it uproots your heart and makes you feel ill at times, it handles the topic so well. I still felt gutted reading it though afjkdslad I ached for these girls and I freaking hate the Demon king so viciously.

➸ a moment for our FAV GIRLS, Lei and Wren!
I loved Lei so so much! Her little snark quips gave me life. And she’s so real. She was emotional and unsure and made messy decisions and had messy feels (a true teen!!). I loved how she was fiery and brave, but also emotional and feminine. (This is NOTHING against stoic women, I just feel like it’s important to show books where girls don’t have to be “super super tough” in order to be brave and strong.) Also Lei @ seeing her crush? The dorky CUTENESS. It was perfect. I loved the romance, not rushed and yet not too slowburn either. Wren is mysterious and drop-dead gorgeous, and super badass. She has a Secret Thing going on too. (I really hope this, being a bestseller, brings more f/f romances into epic fantasy!)

➸ honestly this was just a Good Book™
Captivating and intense! It was a bit slow at the beginning, but eh, it took time to craft the world. I admit It didn’t give me all-the-feels-of-ever — but I am a tree stump. I acknowledge that. But, hello, the cast is like 80% women, with POC and queer leads, and the story was powerful. It’s not a light.

It’s heavy and unsettling but written very very well.

I want more from this world, this author, THESE GIRLS. I’m definitely pointing to this one ➸ very recommended!

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most cruel.
But this year, there’s a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.
In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after–the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. But Lei isn’t content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable–she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.

Goodreads | Hachette | Book Depository

tell me a book you’ve read that had very heavy/dark themes? do you think YA should explore all topics? have you read this one? (pls do!! you’ll thank me!!)

26th Nov 2018 by CG @ Paper Fury 38 Comments (6)

#MiniReviews || The Library Edition (Books I’ve Wanted To Read For AGES)

This last month I’ve been away from home and visiting my sister who…has a marvellous public library system.

Have I tried to read the whole library in a month? Why yes. Yes I have.

Actually I used to live in this town so I still feel like this is MY library. I miss it so so much. And I just freaking miss having access to free books?! I’ve never had a lot of money to spend on books (not until a year ago when I got a freelance blogging job that could pay for a few books per month!) so like libraries have always been my #1 one to sate my voracious bookish appetite. Also it’s a great way to try books you might not like. No wasting money. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also guess what I found on the library shelf!??!

There is a very very pleasant and circular feeling that comes from seeing YOUR OWN NOVEL in the library you spent your teens trying to read every book on the shelf. I am most gloriously happy.

anyway onto some mini library reviews!

also I apologise for not being caught up on comments/reading your blogs OR actually posting on Paper Fury afhsigosgso abandoning everything is new for me. But being away for a month really sent me behind and I’m rushing to do NaNo in like, um, 5 days. So bear with me!

THE IRON KING BY JULIE KAGAWA

★★★★☆ | Goodreads

I’m SO pleased I finally read this! I do love faeries and I loved Julie Kagawa’s Talon (although I still need to finish that series whoops) so why did it take me like 8 years to pick this up?! ShaME.

➸ IT’S FULL OF VICIOUS FAERIES AND BEAUTIFUL WILD WORLDS. Which is 1000% my kind of book. The plot was super fast, like you don’t get a chance to breathe with how much it throws at you. And it managed not to be graphic BUT be very bloodthirsty.

➸ IT DID HAVE TIRED TROPES THO. I’m so over boring love triangles and instalove lmaooo (not to mention you could fit all the diversity rep into a thimble).

➸ MEGHAN, ASH AND PUCK ARE ALL EXCELLENT. Well Meghan is about as dynamic as a smol loaf of bread and Ash is kind of funny with how melodramatic he is. But PUCK is the sassy light we all need. I know it’ll turn into a love triangle but Ash and Puck have actually more history, so like maybe they can just all kiss and move on to saving the world from freaky faeries. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

SEA WITCH BY SARAH HENNING

★★★☆☆ | Goodreads

Ok this just hurtled my limp body of the edge of Plot Twist Cliff and for that I am grateful. It’s not the antihero origin story I was hoping for though…it’s more like this chill/kind fisherman’s daughter gets forced into being the sea witch. I was hoping for morally grey mURDER JOHN. What does this say about me. One can’t say.

➸ SLOW START BUT THE ENDING WAS WOOOOAHHHH. Like it’s just Evie and this mermaid she rescued (Annemette) vying for the attention of two princes. There’s a fair. They chop wood and stuff. Threats to burn witches. Evie does lowkey magic and hides it. IDK. It also had a sort of love square happening which I actually liked for once!

➸ …BUT THEN THINGS WENT DOWN. The ending is PLOT TWISTS and vengeance and stabbing and dark magic!! It was perfect and surprising! But it like took 200 pages to get to?!

FURTHERMORE & WHICHWOOD BY TAHEREH MAFI

★★★★☆ | Goodreads

This was such a spot of delightful whimsy nonsense…!! It’s like an ode to Alice in Wonderland but not a retelling. And it totally reminded me of the magic and delight of middle-grade ahhhh.

➸ TAHEREH MAFI’S WRITING IS A DREAM, LET’S BE REAL HERE. I will read anything she writes just because of her style!! SO BEAUTIFUL. It’s a sensory feast. And this world is based heavily on colours so it was like falling into a shiny, glittery patchwork quilt. Although there were a few times when the prose got so purple it was a bit confusing. But mostly I just wanted to eat the paperback. They eat flowers and snowflakes that taste of sugar so I feel this was Mafi’s ultimate goal tbh.

➸ FURTHERMORE IS MORE RAMBLY THAN WHICHWHOOD. Although they both kind of suffer from the beginnings being really solid and interesting…and then the endings are rushed?!

➸ AND WHICHWOOD IS BEAUTIFUL AND MACABRE. Thriving on that combo. I truly am. Laylee (in Whichwood) washes dead bodies and if she doesn’t do it in time, they’ll take the skin off living people and zip into it like an ill-fitting dress. Lovely image!! I’m so glad children’s books like this exist to freak me out!!

➸ I PARTICULARLY LIKE OUR HEROINES. They’re both stubborn and intensely themselves and quite stolidly opposed to the unfairness of life. They weren’t squishy “likeable” girls either, and I looove this. Give me the fierce argumentative ones who jump into trouble and wear bells around their ankles or ancient armour and will start fights AND FINISH THEM.

THE FORGOTTEN BOOK BY MECHTHILD GLÄSER

★★★☆☆ | Goodreads

This cover is an actual gift to the world and blessing to my eyeballs. And cover judging aside? This was fun but I was pretty unsettled by the romance yikes. It’s also a Pride and Prejudice retelling! But the protagonist, Emma, finds this book where whatever she writes comes true. So basically a soft gentle version of Death Note because Emma didn’t become a mass murder. But fine. Each to their own.

➸ I DID HAVE FUN READING IT. It’s set in Germany (it’s actually a translated novel which is lovely) and there’s an old castle turned into a boarding school. Emma has two epic good female friends! And there are creepy woods behind the school and people disappear but nobody’s super worried etc etc. I mean kids wonder off and magically disappear sometimes. It happens.

➸ IT READS LIKE YOUNGER YA. Emma is pretty quirky and bouncy…and it’s not passionately romantic or anything. ALTHOUGH…that brings me to…

➸ THE ROMANCE IS ACTUALLY CREEPY. Darcy is 20 and Emma is 16 and apparently this isn’t unusual for Europe, but it’s actually illegal in Australia. Not to mention a gross imbalance of power and maturity. They’re not madly in love or making out the whole book, but my opinion is: a heck no.

THE BURNING MAZE (TRIALS OF APOLLO #3) BY RICK RIORDAN

★★★★☆ | Goodreads

My first question is: HOW DARE YOU. I am actually broken here because I come to Riordan books to have a funny, safe, and gOOD time and yet my heart has been punched across the Pacific Ocean. That death better have been a typo is all I can say.

BECAUSE HOW DARE YOU.

➸ UGH I LOVE APOLLO’S SERIES. I didn’t remember much of the previous two, whoops, so I can’t remember even what their goal is lmao, but I still just love the action! The adventure! The freaky emperor’s and the super high stakes (which were made higher by actually going through on a dARK THREAT AAFJKSDAL). Apollo continues to be hilariously vain and I love him.

➸ THE PACING WAS PERFECT FOR THIS ONE. I just wanted to burrow into the pages and read forever basically. Also the poor characters barely got to eat one cheese enchilada in the whole book. My children need a nap. Pls.

➸ WE ALSO GET MORE OLD FAVES BACK! The last book featured Leo again, this time we get Piper and Jason. I actually want to reread Heroes of Olympus now because I don’t remember how it ended??? (Why do I not have a brain.) And I love that Grover starred here too. He’s such a tin can eating dork.

➸ OH AND YEAH IT RIPPED OUT MY HEART AND I’M STILL NOT OK. Thanks for that. I had literally no. idea. what. was. coming ajfdsladfjkls. Best or worst Riordan book yet?! WHO KNOWS. But I’m so entirely pleased I can never grow out of Riordan stories. Love it.

tell me what you’ve been reading lately?! and do you use libraries? also if you’ve read any of these, pls do tell me your thoughts!!!

22nd Oct 2018 by CG @ Paper Fury 25 Comments (1)

Dry by Neal & Jarrod Shusterman || Reading This Causes Dehydration

I just want to thank Dry right up front for making me the most hydrated person I have ever been.

I have never been so freaking thirsty in my life — and then I read this book and suddenly I consumed like 40 gallons of water in 350pages. I’M NOT JOKING. 10/10 this book will remind you to HYDRATE. Forget all those “drink 6 glasses a day” challenges, just read Dry and you will start crying over a tiny cup of water in gratitude.

Also I want to say a special thank you from my anxiety and I to Neal Shusterman, who makes me so traumatised in every. single. book. of. his. I. read. (I LOVE IT, NEVER CHANGE.)

I find it pretty awesome that this is a father-and-son collab novel too! It’s great to raise your children as writers! Although if I ever had kids I would 100% raise them as chefs so they could feed me while I write. But this is a tangent excuse me.

SOME THINGS YOU CAN EXPECT

★ your mouth being weirdly dry all of a sudden ok wow
★ an apocalyptic road trip with a bunch of teens who are NOT FRIENDS
★ you can imagine the shenanigans that are coming
★ such a realistic setting and plot…you can imagine it happening to you
★ people being severely messed up
★ america being a problem (usual tho)
★ no romance actually
★ a plot that’s constantly go go go

I really enjoyed this! In a…traumatic kind of way. The stakes are super high (find water vs die) and it throws us into a world where you can’t turn the tap on and take a drink. In fact, there is no water anywhere. Obviously humans need water to survive more than anything, so watching the universe spiral out of control so fast and viciously was both terrifying and absolutely realistic. This book is dedicated to climate change and, woahhhhh, it is such a slap in the face.We all need this slap. why did we break our planet

It has quite a lot of perspectives to capture the scope of the tragedy.

This is good because –> we see how WIDESPREAD it is. But it’s also bad because –> I never really connected to anyone?? I feel like the book was all about the plot/premise, and…not the characters.

But anyway! We have:

Alyssa ~ her personality was honestly “being trustworthy” and while I liked her, I don’t feel like I knew her.
Kelton ~ he’s the next-door-neighbour-kid that Alyssa always thought was creepy because his dad is an Apocayplse Prepper (before it even happened! cue their house being a fortress and they have generators/stocks of food and water and weapons etc). I reeeally liked Kelton. He’s very earnest and super awkward.
Garret ~ he’s Alyssa’s 10yo little brother and kind of annoying because little siblings are ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Jacqui ~ I swear she is the best thing ever. She gets tangled up in their journey due to circumstances, but she is TERRIFYING and will bite things. She has bitten, will bite again. And is secretly so soft™ so basically my favourite.
Henry ~ he is a nasty little cunning piece of Slytherin. The actual slimiest. But I loved how he shook up the others’ story line and messed their dynamics up. He is intriguing and I hate him ahaha.

The plot was basically freak out –> travel –> lose hope –> keep travelling.

It’s very much action/adventure focused and it keeps things moving at a fearsome pace! I admit journey-plots aren’t my true love (I just wanna get there already) it kept my attention! It was so so taut. Is everyone going to die??? Is the world going to end??? I had no idea how to predict the ending! Shout out to how stressy the finale was! WOW.

It’s a good social commentary on how the world is today…and what it could become. And seeing it explore how depraved humanity can cave to so so fast is chilling. Like what would YOU DO FOR WATER if you were about to die?! There were so many chilling scenes too.

**Basically this is the book will make you think and I love that about it.**

AND IT MADE ME SO THIRSTY. That’s how vivid it was! It is more about the desperate race to get water and live as opposed to really developing the characters (it reminded me of the Gone series too) but it’s captivating and STRESSFUL and would recommend thoroughly!!

THANK YOU TO WALKER BOOKS AUSTRALIA FOR THE REVIEW-COPY. Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman is out October 2018!

★★★★☆

The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers.
Until the taps run dry.
Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbours and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don’t return and her life—and the life of her brother—is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive.

Goodreads Book Depository Booktopia Walker Books

do you actively think about what would happen if society collapsed?! and tell me your favourite end-of-the-world novels!! will you read this one???

15th Oct 2018 by CG @ Paper Fury 34 Comments (5)

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera || Does It Make Or Break Hearts?!

This book is so adorable and makes me laugh and then proceeds to throw my face-first into the void.

Which is a skill. I acknowledge this skill. I admit that firstly (1) I said “ooh I’ll review this later!” and forgot everything about it of ever, so I have in fact read it twice in 2018! And also (2) I do have mixed feelings about it (particularly the ending) but it’s still a good story.

Also I’d like to acknowledge that this is the DREAM COLLAB TEAM. The bio says that said they were collabing on this like right after their debuts sold!!!! They are so amazing!! I love both Becky Albertalli (Simon Vs is my fav from her) and Adam Silvera (History Is All You Left Me is my fav from him) so so much. Their signature styles and quirks were STRONG here and I loved how it combined.

WHAT TO EXPECT

✧ ok this is most definitely a romcom so squishy lovey feelings ARE the focus!
✧ it is a little bit about fate pushing two people together but also about how relationships take work
✧ it is queer here, there, and everywhere
✧ huge focus also on friendship dynamics and how they change as you move through highschool
✧ DESSERT APPRECIATION (if you take a chocolate chip cookie from Arthur then his face will collapse like the saddest puppy)
✧ dorks being adorkable
✧ scenes that will make you laugh so. much. ahhh!!!
✧ there are Easter Eggs about the Love Simon movie and one to Adam’s book (History Is All You Left Me!!)

The focus of this story?! CHARACTERS and solely characters.

I’m liiiiving for this because I just read a book that was so plot-centric that I missed getting to know characters so entirely and wholly. Ben and Arthur’s lives are the kind you can easily get caught up in. Both the boys wobble so delicately on the line that is “yes you are being a nasty little slug” vs “you are having tremendous growth and I love it you’re doing great sweetie”. Honestly my heart IS caught by both of them.

☆ ARTHUR: He is actual most hyper thing ever with zero chill. I mean, seriously, he can’t shut up, he is on speed 10000 at all times, he’s freaking hilarious. I love !! Arthur!! Although, honest time right now: I was frustrating how he was so so jealous/possessive of Ben and so easily jumped down his throat. But Arthur is 16. When I was 16, I was immature and deluded and jealous and also had never eaten a churro. So I think Arthur could be grit-your-teeth-frustrating, but he was so sweet and energetic and adorable. I have a weakness for characters with no chill.
☆ BEN: He is the softest introvert™ and just the fact that he loves living in his head, playing Sims and writing fantasy novels, afjdksald it just made me really connect to him. I absolutely think it was too early for him to get into a relationship after 2 weeks-post break up with Hudson but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the universe decreed apparently. Seriously Ben stole my heart and I adore him. I think he was a lot more humble about his faults too and willing to do better.

THESE TWO. Seriously the characters were incredible and just leapt off the page with the BEST banter.

The secondary characters were all great too! Dylan reminded me of someone who faceplanted out of a John Green novel. And both boys had such wholesome (albeit messy) parents which was nice!

Themes of “friendship breakups” were explored as well as romance.

I think that’s so important. And sure the focus of the story is Ben/Arthur with the “will-they-won’t-they-work-out” story line, but I appreciated how ti talked about friendship dynamics changing and how friendship-breakups can ALSO break your heart. I don’t think this gets discussed enough in YA!! How many of us have had a devastating friendship-fall-out as teens?! I sure have and it still haunts me 7 years later, so I’m glad this book explored both (A) forgiveness and working through it, and (B) letting go.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

It’s also a Quiet YA™ story.

I did like that about it. The world is about BEN and ARTHUR and their universes collide and tremble and change, but the world just moves on around them. It touches on homophobia and failing school and worry about divorce…but the central conflicts are mostly Ben and Arthur needing their heads knocked together because they ARE NOT PERFECT. Adorkable. But wow do they need work.

Can we have a sec to talk about the ending?!

SPOILERS!! Click at OWN RISK.

I’m actually a little doubtful if Ben and Arthur were truly compatible. Their rocky start isn’t so much the problem, more that they didn’t KNOW each other all that well in like 1 month of dating. They were so so cute, but Arthur was way immature.
I don’t understand how Arthur was so jealous over Ben even looking at Hudson, but then epilogue is Arthur is kissing boys, choosing colleges far from Ben, making no effort to get them back together…except for chats?!
BUT Ben is wAITING FOR HIM.
YOU JUST BROKE MEEEEE.
And my interpretation of those last 2 chapters was solidly: “Yay let’s be bros.” Like they decided the universe brought them together as friends???
um
did u boys not read the book that I read about u two hello
So I feel I have massively invested in 400 pages of their angst only to be rewarded with a cupcake made of sand.
Anyway. I CHOOSE to believe at some point Ben marched over to Arthur’s college, yelled at him, and they got back together.

So basically it is soft and sweet and entirely captivatingly written and dID THINGS to my feels.

Maybe the ending leaves me annoyed, but the rest makes up for it. Like the writing just draws you in and the characters utterly steal hearts. I can’t even. This book has so little chill I love that. (I just really love when books crack me up!) Although I don’t think it has the complexity of the authors’ other books.

ALSO BY THESE AUTHORS

THANK YOU TO SIMON & SCHUSTER FOR THE REVIEW-COPY. What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silver is published October 2018.

★★★★☆

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.
Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.
But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?
Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.
Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.
But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?
What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?
What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?
But what if it is?

Goodreads Booktopia Publisher Book Depository

ok tell me some of your dream-author-collabs!! who would you pitch together?! and have you read this one or any of Becky/Adam’s work?? Tell me your favourites!

1st Oct 2018 by CG @ Paper Fury 17 Comments (2)

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd || Darkly Delicious! I Am So Here For This

This was actually the most deliciously lovely thing.

This is the kind of book where the gorgeous cover thoroughly promises what you’re going to find inside. It was so good, OK?! I completely fell in love with the characters, the vivid world building, thE PASTRY APPRECIATION, and all the characters’ snark (despite them being about to die). Quality content right here thank you I will take 7 more of these books.

OK but where to even start?! (I FLAIL)

The setting! The world! The exquisite descriptions!

I freaking love Paris. I have I been? No. But that doesn’t stop me being a teeny bit obsessed with it. And the descriptions were gorgeous and vivid so it’s like the bookworm trip to Paris! Also Parisian pastries are keeping this world together, so 10/10 here for the appreciation they gave to them.

The descriptions are the kind that are very sensory and really pull you in with the taste of things and colours and the scruffy details of someone’s coat — I LIVE FOR THIS.

I loved that it’s from the perspective of the animals who are enchanted into humans.

You know?! Like in the Disney Cinderella movie where the fairy godmother turns mice into men, etc. THAT is what a “grim lovely” is. (They also call them “Beasties”.) So we have this witch and her 5 enchanted servants (she treats them as slaves too) but when she’s murdered they have 3 days to get someone else to cast a new humanising spell on them or GOODBYE.

Also we don’t know what their animal forms original were, but the 5 of them are: wolf, owl, cat, mouse, and dog.

So obviously we have a huge ticking time bomb here, which I looooved. Makes the pace fast! And stressful! Of course bookworms love stress haha, our grey hair and bloodshot eyes mean nothing, carry on.

I totally fell in love with Anouk as the story went on.

She’s so timid and demure to start with, and she doesn’t suddenly — ZAP — change into a saucy fighter or anything. She stays quiet and calm…but she gets confidence and she fights back and she believes in more than what she’s spoon fed. I LOVE HER SO MUCH. We need more soft™ protagonists! Her arc just ahhhhhh. SO good.

**Also the cast is BIG and amazing and I feel all the things for them.**

CRICKET: She’s like the badass older sister, made to be a thief, and she loves flowers and skulls and lipstick. Love her.
BEAU: So of course we must have a love interest (although it’s good that it’s the “we already knew each other” romance because otherwise a 3-day romance is always too hard to believe)…and I admit I DIDN’T LIKE HIM. He’s very overprotective of Anouk. Aka “no no Anouk you can’t do anythinggggg” and I wanted to slap him. I didn’t really see their chemistry? But he drives cars fast so I’ll give him that.
LUC: He’s actually missing when the book starts, but he’s the Big Bro figure and they all love him so bad.
HUNTER BLACK: he’s the trained assassin and actually starts off an enemy of the rest because he’s super close to the witch’s son. I feel many things for Hunter Black. Ugh the antiheroes get me every time I can’t even.
VIGGO: he’s NOT a beastie, but the “witch’s boy”. Basically a kid she stole to use as a blood bank (you need blood for magic) but also spoiled rotten and super rich thanks to the witch. He is AWFUL and we HATE him but by thE END….WHAT HAPPENED WE DON’T. GO VIGGO!!!

They have all the dysfunctional family vibes and I freaking LOVE IT.

Ok so a lot of people have expressed concerned over the Bury Your Gays trope appearing. I’ll put my thoughts in spoilers but I DON’T spoil the book. I’m just talking about the trope’s use:

THOUGHTS (Possibly Spoilery...mostly not)

I am very very rarely ok with this trope. Especially if it’s only the gay character who dies and no straight ones. However for Grim Lovelies: I don’t quite believe That Character is dead. Because they threw in a “probably” and there’s magic so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m hoping the author pulls through. Otherwise, people…it’s 2018 and you can’t have the ONLY death be a minority character. Enough of that. We deserve better.

So Pls Prepare Yourself For

☆ magic and witches and enchantments but in a modern setting
☆ Paris!!
☆ staying to eat pastries > running for your life
☆ dysfunctional family squad dynamics
☆ villains grudgingly doing good omg
☆ softest sweet hufflepuff being badass
☆ wickedly beautiful world building
☆ m a g i c
☆ sneaky evil plotting by people you think are sweet
☆ fashion appreciation, especially of epic jackets
☆ LIES AND MURDER

Yes I’m thoroughly in love with this one! It totally captured my imagination, from all the unique twists on old magic, and the fairy tales it wove in, to the gorgeous lush setting and the characters I wOULD DIE FOR. I’m chill as a person, for sure. I’ve wanted an intoxicating magical fantasy for a while and this !! is it !!

THANK YOU TO HMH TEEN FOR THE ARC. Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd is out October 2nd, 2018!

Seventeen-year-old Anouk envies the human world, where people known as Pretties lavish themselves in fast cars, high fashion, and have the freedom to fall in love. But Anouk can never have those things, because she is not really human. Enchanted from animal to human girl and forbidden to venture beyond her familiar Parisian prison, Anouk is a Beastie: destined for a life surrounded by dust bunnies and cinders serving Mada Vittora, the evil witch who spelled her into existence. That is, until one day she finds her mistress murdered in a pool of blood—and Anouk is accused of the crime.
Now, the world she always dreamed of is rife with danger. Pursued through Paris by the underground magical society known as the Haute, Anouk and her fellow Beasties only have three days to find the real killer before the spell keeping them human fades away. If they fail, they will lose the only lives they’ve ever known…but if they succeed, they could be more powerful than anyone ever bargained for.

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tell me which countries you’d like to see more books set in?! will you read Grim Lovelies?? do you like fairy tales from different angles??

2nd Sep 2018 by CG @ Paper Fury 40 Comments (4)

Blackbird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel || Harbingers, Murder Crows, and Unique Paranormal Excellence

Blackbird of the Gallows is all about harbingers, evil bees, music and paranormal tropes that get deliciously shaken up.

I AM SO HERE FOR THIS. This was just addictive, entrancing, and utterly beautifully told and I think I lost a little bit of my heart to this world and these characters. It’s also pretty dark and centres around destruction, death and chaos. And HI. I do like dark fantasy. Plus add in epic friendships, catastrophes and everything going badly wrong?!? We have such a good book omg I will recommend it to everyone so they can suffer with me.

Something that particularly impressed me is how it DID feature a lot of the old paranormal tropes we are a bit tired of…but it totally mixed them up and made them awesome. You know how the Hot Supernatural Boyfriend™ rolls into town? Well we HAVE THAT. But he’s not an aggressive alpha-male. He’s a super sweet athlete who is actually SO TIRED. Nine naps couldn’t fix this boy. And instead of the average vampires/werewolves…we have HARBINGERS AND BEEKEEPERS AND STRAWMEN. Instead of a mellow whingey heroine, we get blessed with Angie, a social anxious DJ who promised to deck Reece if he got uber protective instead of letting her be in charge of her own fate.

Ok but I LOVE ANGIE. She totally ruled this book and was so relatable and fun!

she acknowledged Reece was a Supernatural Hot Boy but also CALLED HIM OUT FOR BEING CREEPY
she had interests … like her life wasn’t consumed just by a boy omg
she had GOOD SOLID FRIENDS whom she loved and trusted a lot!
sarcasm is a great coping mechanism! are you sad and anxious? SARCASM IT OUT
she had a good relationship with her dad aww
sees a dog? loves the dog
ice cream > everything else

I’m just here for Angie appreciation until the crOWS GO HOME. (see what I did there??? instead of “cows go home”?! omg I am on fire with wit tonight)

I loved reading about harbingers and murders of crows!

The lore and backstore was fascinating and I enjoyed getting lost in this reimagined myth. The harbingers are immortal beings who turn into crows and follow around death and destruction. They arrive in town —> a tragedy goes down —> they feed off the energy. It’s a curse though and they aREN’T HAPPY. We also get creepy Beekeepers who vomit bees who sting people into madness…but at the same time you feel sorry for them and their curse too. ALTHOUGH…since I am allergic to both bees and honey, I kind of agree that it’s all evil. Finally. My opinions are recognised.

It’s about catastrophes, tragedy, death and loss and grief…and full of morally grey characters instead of black-and-white evil. I love how the book explored this! Like the beekeepers were awful but it was out of their control. And the tragedies were inevitable, but the book still talked about the devastation and how it affected the harbingers.

My only problems? Super small!

This may sound pedantic, but it just comes up a lot and I’m tired of it: making fun of healthy eating and allergies. It’s like this huge running joke in the book how Angie’s dad is a “fitness freak” and they all laugh and gag over not eating dairy etc etc. Ok look. This happens in books CONSTANTLY and, as someone also with a ton of food allergies, it’d be nice not to be mocked for once?!
And I don’t like the “uber protective dad” trope. Like if a boy looks at the daughter, the dad is all “I’ll get the shotgun lol lol”. It’s rooted in patriarchal ownership of women so I’m #tired.

Basically Blackbird of the Gallows was amazing and I fell in love with it. The plot was addictive, the pacing excellent. It had heartfelt messages and relatable characters in amongst DEATH and DESTRUCTION. I love that it talked about sadness and how deep it can run, how it’s a big deal and how it can affect your life. Solid YES (!!) from me.

Also tomorrow I’m reviewing the companion book, Keeper of The Bees! So watch out for it!

THANK YOU TO ENTANGLED TEEN FOR THE ARC! Blackbird Of The Gallows by Meg Kassel was published September 2017.

A simple but forgotten truth: Where harbingers of death appear, the morgues will soon be full.
Angie Dovage can tell there’s more to Reece Fernandez than just the tall, brooding athlete who has her classmates swooning, but she can’t imagine his presence signals a tragedy that will devastate her small town. When something supernatural tries to attack her, Angie is thrown into a battle between good and evil she never saw coming. Right in the center of it is Reece—and he’s not human.
What’s more, she knows something most don’t. That the secrets her town holds could kill them all. But that’s only half as dangerous as falling in love with a harbinger of death.

Goodreads Publisher Book Depository Author’s Website Amazon

what are your favourite paranormal books?! have you tried this one?? are there some myths/legends you’d like to see done in YA to shake up paranormal a bit??

30th Jul 2018 by CG @ Paper Fury 63 Comments (5)

Grace And Fury by Tracy Banghart || A Book Named After Me?! (Aww) Destined To Be Best Clearly

Grace & Fury was a book I was really really hoping to love and…SURPRISE. I ABSOLUTELY DID.

I was nervous because I don’t really like picking up books where it’s all “women are objects! women have no rights” because I’m very very tired of this and it just feels like another round of reality to be honest. (SOBS) But this book took that discussion and really explored it and had such a stunning cast of interesting women I was just !! So here for this!

Also let me be really shallow for a moment but: obviously my username is FURY and my middle-name is actually GRACE so…shout out to the author for naming a book after me ah hahha. (No really, it’s clearly FOR ME.)

(Also this book’s birthday is actually TOMORROW! So proud of myself and this on time review for once #GoMe)

☆ I have to say it’s the plot twists that really caught me!

I read a lot okay?! A lot of a lot. Being surprised by books barely ever happens anymore. And while these aren’t the sort of “SHOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF” twists…they are the subtle, clever twists that throw what could be an old tired trope on it’s head and leave you with a really interesting and unpredictable story. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH I CAN’T EVEN EXPLAIN. A+ for the twists!!

☆ It feels like a triumphant love letter to women who refuse to be ruled.

I adore that. You go, my somewhat stabby girls. You rise and you bite people. (I mean…no actual biting happened here, but I’m just saying, I support biting the patriarchy and eating it for breakfast.) Again, like I usually avoid these types of books, so it’s saying something that I like how this spun it! Also the book isn’t just WAITING for the girls to fight back. They’re fighting (even if internally) from the first page.

☆ Complex women? We have many. Collect a whole set.

I am all HEART EYES for this. There are (a) soft girls, (b) Slytherin scheming girls, (c) badass stabby girls, (d) perceiving and intelligent girls. This had such potential to just dump us with women competing, but it actually addressed and smacked down that trope. And everyone was dimensional and interesting (I freaking adore Maris!). This is how “strong female characters” should be written ok?!

☆ And yes, it’s a sister book!!

There names aren’t actually “Grace” and “Fury” but you get the idea. (Also I LOVE that by the end I don’t know which one was the Fury?! They are both so precious.) It’s dual-narrated by Serina and Nomi! Serina has been brought up to be a Grace (aka a future object owned by the king for pleasure/heirs), while Nomi is the spire-fitting surly sister who’s her sister’s handmaiden and HATES oppression and has taught herself to read. Which could get her murdered. But even though we’re presented with these polar-opposite personalities, they don’t stay in their boxes. I LOVED THIS. Both girls change and grow so much. Serina ends up such a badass. Nomi gets softer but I do wish she’d stayed snarkier ha.

They also love/hate each other continually and that’s so nice. I mean, WOW @ characters sacrificing themselves for thier sisters! I’d sell mine for an avocado but oh well!

(I’M SLYTHERIN NOT THAT YOU CAN TELL.)

☆ It’s set in (1) a vicious island prison and (2) a lavish castle…two sorts of prisons.

This was fab. I enjoyed this. Also the back-and-forthing kept it dramatic and lots of tension with fights and violence + schemes in the palace and conniving conversations.

☆ And um can we just say hello to the princes for a moment.

I CAN’T SAY ANYTHING BECAUSE OF SPOILERS. But I freaking loved how they were done. I love the evil. I love the twists. I love the schemes. I just !!!!

☆ And yeah there’s a cliffhanger.

Because authors function off our tears.

(NOT THAT I WOULD DO KNOW. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #Lies #AllLies)

Basically Grace And Fury is one you want to get your paws on. It’s full of complex and dynamic women, schemes and plot twists, with excellent pacing and characters you will hate AND be enchanted by. I will have 9 more, thank you.

THANK YOU TO HACHETTE AUSTRALIA FOR THE ARC! Grace And Fury (#1) by Tracy Banghart was published August 2018.

Bold, brutal and beautiful, this is a must-read with the glitter and romance of The Selection and the thrilling action and intrigue of Red Queen.
In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other on an island prison where women must fight to survive.
Serina has spent her whole life preparing to become a Grace – selected to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining example of the perfect woman.
But her headstrong and rebellious younger sister has a dangerous secret, and one wrong move could cost both sisters everything.
Can Serina fight? And will Nomi win?

Goodreads Hachette AUS Booktopia Book Depository

tell me your favourite sister stories?! and do you think we need more sister books? also have you read a book that had your name (sorta) in it?? and is Grace & Fury on your TBR!?

2nd Jul 2018 by CG @ Paper Fury 67 Comments (5)

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes || Historical Retellings With Magic and Guy Fawkes’ Son!? Yes Please

I’m always here for a good bit o’ dark magic and assassination plots, so I was excited to read Fawkes!

I actually know nothing about the original Guy Fawkes (except that isn’t there a day each year to burn pyres of him??? The British aren’t letting this go). So Fawkes is a reimagining of London (but with MAGIC) and follows the point-of-view of Guy Fawkes’ son! It has a devastating stone plague, an intriguing colour-based magic system with masks, and the whole point is to blow up the king. Because what else would one do on the weekend, I guess.

The whole premise was so unique!

Thanks so much to the author for sending me this ARC! (Nadine is the loveliest okay?!)

It’s narrated by 16-year-old Thomas Fawkes, who is hopelessly and dutifully honourable.

Awww!! He is the ultimate Gryffindor. HONOUR! GOODNESS! GENTLEMANLY PLEDGES! Giveth me mine sword and I shALL DEFEND THE WORLD. He’s such a good-hearted little dork, look at him go. But his life is in shambles because: (a) he needs his dad to gift him a mask so he can become a magician, and his DAD DIDN’T, and (b) Thomas is also infected with the plague, which will turn you to stone eventually. He’s blind in one eye and ostracised because of this. I actually get worried about “cure” storylines…but I felt the plague functioned a lot like cancer, and since it’d kill him eventually, he was absolutely desperate for the cure.

I really felt for Thomas as he grappled with the fear of his own illness killing him. And omg there was this one scene?! The writing so vividly described his agony that my hEART LURCHED.

(Although full disclosure…I am a Slytherin myself, so Thomas’ honourableness made me laugh aaaand it probably wasn’t supposed to. And I wish he’d been more messy and dynamic. I’m sORRY I’M A TERRIBLE PERSON.)

The magic system was also awesome!

It’s based on masks and colours! So my Phantom-of-the-Opera-obsessed-youth is delighted. Thank you. Basically everyone speaks to magic via colours —> but you can only do so when you have your mask. Thomas is maskless, plagued, and dismissed by his father, Guy Fawkes, so the story begins with Thomas doing everything he can to track down Guy and get his frikkin’ mask.

Do we have father/son issues? Why yes we do. Honestly Guy was horrible?! There was NO REASON to deny Thomas his mask, but he diiiiiid. But I do love books that focus on messed up family dynamics (WHO WANTS FUNCTIONALITY) and Thomas trying to decide if he (a) likes his dad, (b) and believes in the cause to blow up King James, and (c) what side of the warring magicians he’s on….it was all captivating.

Emma was my FAV secondary character. She’s badass, paints, isn’t going to let a sucky society pin her down, and the relationship between her and Thomas is slow and tentative. No instalove here!

The other secondary characters were historically accurate (!!) super cool. But I also got them all mixed up haha. I am bad with names, ok. I called my latest nephew Angus today. His name is…not Angus. It’s Atlas. Which isn’t even, close, Cait omg fix your life.

It’s a historical RETELLING (!) but there’s still plenty of accurate history there which made things so interesting
I like how it did a twist on the warring religions in London, but made them magicians!
The colour-coded magic was GREAT because I literally colour-code my life. Relatable content.
EMMA THO.
Lots of backstabbing.
Conspiracies!
Torn loyalties.
The ending is pretty frikkin’ tragic.
GUNPOWDER AND TREASON.

Fawkes is an enjoyable retelling of the infamous Guy Fawkes, but with magic amongst the gunpowder. It’s not fast paced at all, but it crafts such a detailed view of London! I enjoyed this twist and how everyone was rather dubiously morally grey!

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes is out July 10th!!

★★★★☆

Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England.
Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death. But what if death finds him first?
Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did it. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.
The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.
The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.
No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.

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is there a time in history you wish was retold?! (with like magic or anything??) and have you read Fawkes?? tell me aaall your thoughts!

16th Apr 2018 by CG @ Paper Fury 42 Comments (2)

Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein || New Favourite #LoveOZYA Thriller?!

Okay WOW, I absolutely glued my face to Small Spaces! It was so good!

I started off reading last Sunday afternoon thinking, “Eh I’ll read a few chapters before working” and then it’s an hour later and I’m flipping pages anxiously after shouting at the sun and checking under my bed 57 times and saying, “whAt iS GoING ONNNN.”

Solid stuff here. Am a fan.

Also three things to note: (1) I literally can’t check under my bed because my bed is on the floor?!??!!? So look what this book has done to me. And (2) I don’t actually usually like thrillers (I’m never thrilled #sob) but I enjoyed this one so so much!! My thriller-opinion is CHANGED. And lastly (3) I actually read an ARC so the first picture of this post is badly photoshopped. Enjoy my skills ah ha ha.

✓ The amazingly created characters is what made this one stand out for me! I do like a good solid twisty plot, but charactesr who are complex, diverse, dimensional and LEAVE ME FEELING THINGS?!? Heck yes I’m more here for that. Tash is an anxious (and slightly neglected) wreck. Morgan is like an over-excited puppy of love. Sadie is here to be so fabulous you can see her glorious light shining from the moons. Mallory is soft™ and must be protected at all costs. I!! love!! them!! Books that focus on characters first always make me care —> which makes the plot way more compelling.

✓ The plot was also frikkin’ fine. It’s about Tash, now 17, still trying to recover from her traumatic childhood where she (a) had a creeptastic imaginary friend named Sparrow WHO WAS LIKE AN EVIL SPLOT YOU’D FIND IN THE BASEMENT, and (b) she witnessed a 6 year old little girl get kidnapped. But obviously when an 8-year-old says “My imaginary friend kidnapped her!” everyone just writes her off as an attention-seeking brat.

My heart really broke for Tash and the way her mental health was treated. It was infuriating who everyone diminished her as “attention seeking” when she was obviously anxious, even as a kid. And her mother was awful and condescending (argghh) and I think the book really highlighted how isolated you can feel with mental illness and not being believed.

✓ So is the imaginary friend real or not?! It keeps you guessing and second-guessing yourself the entire time! Is it paranormal? Is Tash really seriously seeing things? Is someone mucking up her life? IS THIS THE BROTHER OF STEPHAN KING’S IT OR SOMETHING??? Obviously I give no spoilers. (Mwhahaha.) But I LOVED how it was handled. Sparrow was so flipping creepy. I was genuinely CREEPED. If I say “creep” one more time you can creep over and turn me into a crepe or something. I mean.

#CREEPIFIED

✓ The whole plot tied together reeeeeally well at the end. Possibly it was a bit tight/clean/tidy, but more importantly I’m sitting here lowkey wishing for a sequel from this fantastic-friendship-squad, who are all slightly damaged but super adorable little boxes of trauma! Aww.

✗ My only quibble is that it was slow to warm up. But we also know I have the attention span of a refried gnat, so take that onboard! I just felt it dragged a little too much at the beginning (although I get it was to build tension and set the scene) and some of Tash’s decisions were like: “WHYYY TASH WHYYYY.” I mean she literally had a traumatic experience at her aunt’s creepy house as a kid and now, at 17 is like, “I’M SURE IT’LL BE FINE TO REVISIT.” aGhighajfffsss Look once I ate a piece of lettuce and it had a grasshopper near it, so now I can never eat lettuce again. Be like me. Be safe. Learn.

Small Spaces is one of my new favourite thrillers! A+ characters who had me invested within mere pages and the type of creeptastic imaginary friend that will make you ban yourself from imaginary games forever! Such fun! I will take 9 more!

THANKS TO WALKER BOOKS AUS FOR THE ARC! Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein was published April 2018!

Tash Carmody has been traumatised since childhood, when she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away from a carnival. At the time nobody believed Tash, and she has since come to accept that Sparrow wasn’t real. Now fifteen and mute, Mallory’s never spoken about the week she went missing.
As disturbing memories resurface, Tash starts to see Sparrow again. And she realises Mallory is the key to unlocking the truth about a dark secret connecting them. Does Sparrow exist after all? Or is Tash more dangerous to others than she thinks?

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alrighty do you read many thrillers?!? and did you ever have an imaginary friend as a kid?? and tell me what you think of Small Spaces!!

9th Apr 2018 by CG @ Paper Fury 23 Comments (3)

I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman || Little Blue Bundle Of Emotions Told Over One Day

I Have Lost My Way is a little blue bundle of damaged characters, family angst, and emotional destruction.

Awww.

I had very little idea what this new Forman book was about but I really loved If I Stay (and the movie was also so good?! also #emotions…I do have feelings apparently) and I Have Lost My Way also tugged at those heart strings. So that was GREAT. However it wasn’t quite the perfect book for me, but we’ll get to all those reasonings soon. Patience.

Also SHOUT OUT to the Australian cover because it absolutely resembles my headphones when I put them in my pocket for two seconds.

+ It’s a Told Over One Day™ story!
Which is a trope I both love and hate. LOVE = how it’s short and powerful and I got so so attached to these characters after just seeing them over one day! HATE = how a romance over one day never works for me haha. Maybe that’s just me though considering I usually am not sure what someone’s name is after one day (names are hard to remember ok) so how the heck do you fall in love. However. There was no “WE’RE SOUL MATES” or romantic soliloquies here. So. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It was instalove (in my opinion) but not unbearable! And they were cute!

+ It also has 3 narrators: Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel.
It’s written so their backstory comes in 1st person chapters, but the bulk of the book (set in the present day) is written in 3rd. (Also 3rd person/present tense IS MY LIFE so I loved that!) Even though the book is really short, I felt we got to know these three characters so well. My only negative is that Harun’s narrative didn’t seem to really fit?? He had a great story with a full arc and everything…but you could’ve cut him out and it wouldn’t have affected the plot. #imSorryButISaidIt

FREYA: She’s a rising-star singer who suddenly can’t sing. We’re never sure if it’s nerves or a medical condition, but just one day she couldn’t sing anymore. She feels SO lost and is terrified that she’ll be fired from her singing contract and forgotten and never loved again. She’s also biracial/Ethiopian and has a sister, Sabrina, who started singing with her but then…#yikes.
HARUN: He’s from a strict Muslim family and very closely closeted and starts off the book planning to run away from his family due to something he’s agreed with that HE REALLY SHOULDN’T HAVE. He’s just broken his boyfriend’s heart and is totally lost and alone.
NATHANIEL: He is a very smol sad cinnamon son (WHOM I LOVED THE MOST) who’s very depressed after his home-life falls apart and so lonely. And so soft™ and sweet and will eat anything you put in front of him bless him.

+ They have the best #meetcute ever.
Freya’s on her phone lamenting the loss of her career and she trips and falls off a low bridge and knocks out Nathaniel. He is super concussed. Pukes on her shoes. Harun is nearby and offers to help because he recognises Frey’s fammmmous and thinks hanging out with her might get his boyfriend back. I JUST LOVED THIS. The three end up spending the day together and facing all their devastating tear-filled pasts.

+ It’s definitely got the emotional slap you’re looking for.
I got caught up in the story quite fast and wanted to know where everyone would end up! The themes of loneliness and loss and love where just poured so heartfeltly (shh that is now a word) onto every page.

+ I do have a few problems, because I am a sad egg deep inside.
As much as I like Harun as a person, his story honestly didn’t fit to me. It was completely disposable to Freya/Nathaniel’s story?! And being queer, brown, Muslim, and having the only fully tragic storyline of the three felt…Well, I’m never going to point fingers and say “who gets to write what story” but I wasn’t comfortable with the telling. I think Muslim (especially just featuring the negative parts) and tragic/queer stories should be told by #ownvoices. And also Nathaniel/Freya’s romance was FAST. So fast, mate, so fast. And surely we didn’t need so many POV changes in the one chapter?! And, lastly lol lol, it didn’t feel YA. The characters are 19+ and in college or work and it didn’t have the feel or essence of YA in my opinion.

Overall I did like I Have Lost My Way! It’s a short punch about grief and loneliness and finding people to share your struggles with. It’ snot about “love cures” but more “hey if you’re struggling, people CAN and WILL be there for you”…which is so so important to say! And the ending is SO oPEN and I kind of love it for all the unanswered questions.

THANK YOU SIMON & SCHUSTER FOR THE REVIEW COPY. I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman was published April 2018.

Around the time that Freya loses her voice while recording her debut album, Harun is making plans to run away from home to find the boy that he loves, and Nathaniel is arriving in New York City after a family tragedy leaves him isolated on the outskirts of Washington state. After the three of them collide in Central Park, they slowly reveal the parts of their past that they haven’t been able to confront, and together, they find their way back to who they’re supposed to be.
Told over the course of a single day from three different perspectives, this is a story about the power of friendship and being true to who you are.

Buy Goodreads Publisher

do you like stories told over one-day?!? (any others you’ve read?) and how many narrators do you like in a book? also have you read this one and is it on your TBR?!

This was magical and emotional and harrowing … and woah you should read this.

thanks to Hachette / @dateabook for the ARC…and I also got an exclusive signed edition from the November @owlcrate box!

Goodreads | Hachette | Book Depository

tell me a book you’ve read that had very heavy/dark themes? do you think YA should explore all topics? have you read this one? (pls do!! you’ll thank me!!)

This last month I’ve been away from home and visiting my sister who…has a marvellous public library system.

anyway onto some mini library reviews!

also I apologise for not being caught up on comments/reading your blogs OR actually posting on Paper Fury afhsigosgso abandoning everything is new for me. But being away for a month really sent me behind and I’m rushing to do NaNo in like, um, 5 days. So bear with me!

tell me what you’ve been reading lately?! and do you use libraries? also if you’ve read any of these, pls do tell me your thoughts!!!

I just want to thank Dry right up front for making me the most hydrated person I have ever been.

SOME THINGS YOU CAN EXPECT

It has quite a lot of perspectives to capture the scope of the tragedy.

The plot was basically freak out –> travel –> lose hope –> keep travelling.

Basically this is the book will make you think and I love that about it.

THANK YOU TO WALKER BOOKS AUSTRALIA FOR THE REVIEW-COPY. Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman is out October 2018!

do you actively think about what would happen if society collapsed?! and tell me your favourite end-of-the-world novels!! will you read this one???

This book is so adorable and makes me laugh and then proceeds to throw my face-first into the void.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The focus of this story?! CHARACTERS and solely characters.

THESE TWO. Seriously the characters were incredible and just leapt off the page with the BEST banter.

Themes of “friendship breakups” were explored as well as romance.

It’s also a Quiet YA™ story.

Can we have a sec to talk about the ending?!

So basically it is soft and sweet and entirely captivatingly written and dID THINGS to my feels.

ALSO BY THESE AUTHORS

THANK YOU TO SIMON & SCHUSTER FOR THE REVIEW-COPY. What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silver is published October 2018.

ok tell me some of your dream-author-collabs!! who would you pitch together?! and have you read this one or any of Becky/Adam’s work?? Tell me your favourites!

This was actually the most deliciously lovely thing.

The setting! The world! The exquisite descriptions!

I loved that it’s from the perspective of the animals who are enchanted into humans.

I totally fell in love with Anouk as the story went on.

Also the cast is BIG and amazing and I feel all the things for them.

So Pls Prepare Yourself For

THANK YOU TO HMH TEEN FOR THE ARC. Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd is out October 2nd, 2018!

tell me which countries you’d like to see more books set in?! will you read Grim Lovelies?? do you like fairy tales from different angles??

Blackbird of the Gallows is all about harbingers, evil bees, music and paranormal tropes that get deliciously shaken up.

Ok but I LOVE ANGIE. She totally ruled this book and was so relatable and fun!

I loved reading about harbingers and murders of crows!

My only problems? Super small!

THANK YOU TO ENTANGLED TEEN FOR THE ARC! Blackbird Of The Gallows by Meg Kassel was published September 2017.

Grace & Fury was a book I was really really hoping to love and…SURPRISE. I ABSOLUTELY DID.

(Also this book’s birthday is actually TOMORROW! So proud of myself and this on time review for once #GoMe)

☆ I have to say it’s the plot twists that really caught me!

☆ It feels like a triumphant love letter to women who refuse to be ruled.

☆ Complex women? We have many. Collect a whole set.

☆ And yes, it’s a sister book!!

☆ It’s set in (1) a vicious island prison and (2) a lavish castle…two sorts of prisons.

☆ And um can we just say hello to the princes for a moment.

☆ And yeah there’s a cliffhanger.

(NOT THAT I WOULD DO KNOW. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #Lies #AllLies)

Basically Grace And Fury is one you want to get your paws on. It’s full of complex and dynamic women, schemes and plot twists, with excellent pacing and characters you will hate AND be enchanted by. I will have 9 more, thank you.

THANK YOU TO HACHETTE AUSTRALIA FOR THE ARC! Grace And Fury (#1) by Tracy Banghart was published August 2018.

tell me your favourite sister stories?! and do you think we need more sister books? also have you read a book that had your name (sorta) in it?? and is Grace & Fury on your TBR!?

I’m always here for a good bit o’ dark magic and assassination plots, so I was excited to read Fawkes!

Thanks so much to the author for sending me this ARC! (Nadine is the loveliest okay?!)

It’s narrated by 16-year-old Thomas Fawkes, who is hopelessly and dutifully honourable.

The magic system was also awesome!

Fawkes is an enjoyable retelling of the infamous Guy Fawkes, but with magic amongst the gunpowder. It’s not fast paced at all, but it crafts such a detailed view of London! I enjoyed this twist and how everyone was rather dubiously morally grey!

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes is out July 10th!!

is there a time in history you wish was retold?! (with like magic or anything??) and have you read Fawkes?? tell me aaall your thoughts!

Okay WOW, I absolutely glued my face to Small Spaces! It was so good!

THANKS TO WALKER BOOKS AUS FOR THE ARC! Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein was published April 2018!

alrighty do you read many thrillers?!? and did you ever have an imaginary friend as a kid?? and tell me what you think of Small Spaces!!

I Have Lost My Way is a little blue bundle of damaged characters, family angst, and emotional destruction.

THANK YOU SIMON & SCHUSTER FOR THE REVIEW COPY. I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman was published April 2018.

do you like stories told over one-day?!? (any others you’ve read?) and how many narrators do you like in a book? also have you read this one and is it on your TBR?!

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**Basically this is the book will make you think and I love that about it.**

**Also the cast is BIG and amazing and I feel all the things for them.**