BookHearts Forever

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where do I begin with this beautiful book?

About how badass and brave Amani is?How I wished to travel with her so I could the wonders of the desert world and watch her too smart mouth get her in trouble?How she would get out of that said trouble with her sharp trigger finger. *Sigh*




I have a major girl crush on Amani.I am not ashamed to admit it.Now that we have got my fangirling over with,we will move on to the story.

What is Rebel of the Sands about?

It is about a girl who is tired of being treated like a crap and who desperately want to escape the place she was born.To see the places her mother told stories about.On the other side,there is a Rebel Prince who wants to take back his rightful throne.

So you could ask,that's it? No,that's definitely not it.

There was so much to this story other than the main lead,Amani.At first,even I thought that the story might revolve only around her.But I was wrong.

Amani gets to a shooting competition to get enough money to walk out of Dustwalk,her home.There she meets a foreigner Jim who helps her to get out (I won't tell you how!) and together they travel across the desert and get into so situations that are so frigging dangerous.

Half of the time I was:



And the characters are all amazing too.Jin and all the rebels warmed up to my heart very quickly.And a certain someone's death was unexpected and all I could think was,NO! THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!

The romance in this book was subtle.It wasn't too much and I thought it was done perfectly.

Jin was at my side, pulling his shirt on over his head. “Did you just shoot someone?”
“I got us hired, if that’s what you’re asking.” I scratched the back of my head and tried to look sheepish. I was sure I wasn’t successful judging by the look Jin was giving me. “And I only shot his glass.”
Jin hooked one arm around my shoulder, leaning on me. “I knew I liked you, Bandit.”

The author does a fantastic job by putting forward a colorful world of desert magic and mythical beings called First Beings,Barqui and Djinns.I didn't feel bored,not even once.

And the ending was a bit confused.I thought the attention was diverted at the end battle and I didn't know what happened.Perhaps,I was expecting too much?

Other than that minor detail,this book was great.I am very much looking forward to book 2!

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Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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This book is beautiful,lyrical and magical.

"You are,"I said,"the monster I claim."

That's the words I would use to describe this book.I am just blown away by the writing and the characters.I am conflicted whether to rate this 3.5 or 4 stars.But after reading and thinking about this,let's go with 3.5.And is that the ENDING?!

There were so many things I loved and there are things that irritated me.So this review will reflect all of them.

THE PLOT

Wintersong gives the story of Liesl or Elisabeth who is daughter of an innkeeper.She comes from a family of artists.She loves music and bases her composition around the Goblin King.She feels plain and dull compared to her beautiful sister,Kathe.But when Kathe is taken by the Goblin king to be his bride,Liesl ventures into the Underworld to rescue her sister.But in turn,sacrifices her life for her sister's.She offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King.

THE WRITING

Many of the people already know that this is a retelling of Labyrinth.This is also the debut book of author but for some reason I honestly didn't feel that.Wintersong's strongest point is it's writing.Such beautiful words,Oh my god.I just wanted to hug my kindle (that totally makes sense,by the way).The Underworld is described as a cruel place and the Goblin King is written in a way that makes you curious about his character.And the quotes at the beginning of each part of the book were brilliant too.

THE CHARACTERS

I adored Liesl(about 50% of the book).She had such a low opinion of herself in the beginning that she hides away her true spark and watches from the shadows.She wishes things to be different but in real world,that is not possible.She loves and cares about her family and I related so much to her.

"You have something much more enduring than beauty,"she said severely.
"And what is that?"
"Grace,"she said simply."Grace,and talent."

So as I continued to read the book,I thought if this continues in the same way,I will love this book but that wasn't the case.After halfway through the book,the character did a complete 180 for me.And from there on,I struggled through the book and the love I had for Elisabeth's (Or Liesl's ) character just drifted away.

Goblin King,the Lord of Mischief,was supposed to be seductive.Maybe he is.But I didn't have any feelings towards his character.Yes,I was excited when he was first introduced but then his character became a bit dull,I guess? I mean this is the story of Labyrinth,so I expected a bit more.

There was a prettiness about him that was almost girly,and an ugliness about him that was just as compelling.

But towards the end,I understood him a little bit.I saw who he was and what he was.

THINGS I LOVED

♦️ the cover (did you look at that)?
♦️ the writing.You need to read this just for the writing even if you don't like retellings.
♦️ this book has music.Since I love anything that features music,that made me happy.So if you are a music lover,go for this.
♦️ the characters.Especially Liesl (even if I hated her later.)
♦️ the ending.


THINGS THAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME

♦️ the ending (yes,I loved it and hated it.)
♦️ the characters (Yes,I am a conflicting person.)
♦️ this has a bit of a slow start

I would definitely recommend this if you are a fan of Retellings and music.

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The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book is freaking AMAZING.It's EPIC.

And I was this close to screaming my head off when it ended.




When I was starting Alchemists of Loom,I had no idea what I was getting myself into.I read the blurb and the words "notoriously unscrupulous morals to contribute to a thriving underground organ market" caught my eye.Those words screamed that this was my kind of book.I knew I just had to start my year with this book.And now I can honestly say that 2017 started with a bang.

What is this about?

This book tells the story of two kingdoms: Loom and Nova.Loom is where the Fenthri live under the rule of Dragon King and Nova is where the dragons live in the sky.The Dragons and Fenthri hate each other.The Loom has people which belong to either of the five guilds: Harvesters,Alchemists,Ravens,Revolvers and the Rivets.

Arianna (known as Ari) is a master Rivet who is a organ thief (see why I loved this book :) ).Cvareh is a dragon who wants to see his sister usurp the Dragon King.Their journey to the Alchemists Guild along with Florence (Ari's pupil) gives us this fabulous book.

Elise Kova writes a beautiful world in this book.This is a steampunk novel so I was excited to see how she would represent the world.This novel has airships and weapons that would make you drool to be honest (atleast they were appealing to me).

The story is told in four different pint of views(Arianna,Cvareh,Florence and Leona) and you can see the contrast so easily.I personally loved Arianna and Florence's chapters.They were so different from each other.



(Images from author's pinterest)

CHARACTERS:

Arianna:The White Wraith.My favorite character in the book was probably Ari.I loved her so much.Finally I met a heroine who wasn't gorgeous by default.Ari is describes as dull with white hair and purple eyes.She isn't always right and she makes mistakes which was refreshing to read.She is passionate about the old Loom(which wasn't ruled by dragons) and the way she was with Florence just made me read about her more.I loved her with the daggers too. <3 <3



Cvareh: Every time he insisted to be called by his full name,I laughed out loud.Cvareh isn't one of those all powerful alpha heroes.He loves his sister and respects his Dragon House Xin (too much,if you ask me).The friendship he develops with Florence was good to watch.Even when Ari didn't support him,Florence did.You can see him grow up,I mean he was a stuck-up at first (no offence,Cvareh) but then he gets used to the guns and has sassy retorts at hand.But that scene where he...




Florence: This girl is so kind,sweet and total opposite of Ari.She is like a baby sister to Ari and the level headed one to Ari's temper.She balanced the story perfectly in my opinion though to avoid too much violence (I know,I can't believe I am saying it).



Leona:This lady is one crazy bitch TBH.I mean I get that she is the King's Rider so her loyalty is to the King but she takes it to extremes.I just wanted to skip her chapters (I didn't,though).



At times,I was like "NO WAY" this is not happening.I was rooting for each and every one of them (except Leona).

You guys have to read Alchemists of Loom.If you love a fantasy packed with action and beautiful writing,this book is for you.

*ARC provided by the publisher for an honest review


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The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I love Joshua Templeman





I just read the entire book for him.He is humble,a total gentleman and an asshole too (does that make sense?).He is just AHHHH.I have no words.

Lucy irritated me so many times tbh but I love Josh.I love his matchbox cars (can I please have one?) and his blue bedroom.

Just go read this book guys.If you want something cute and funny with amazing banter,THIS BOOK IS JUST MADE FOR YOU.Go read it.



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