Book Reviews

Malevolent King by Mila Kane [Dark Romance Book Review] 1

 in Book Reviews / Books by

A Dark Mafia Romance – Made of Mayhem Duet Book 1

MATURE READERS ONLY! Read TW on authors website.

Summary

“When this sheltered mafia princess meets a bratva devil on the run, neither of them will ever be the same.

When my cousin bets me in a poker game, I catch the eye of a predator who will never look away.

Nikolai Chernov is infamous in our world. Unhinged, brutal, merciless. A hot-blooded killer with a deadly laugh and a sinful body to match.

He won’t leave me alone. He says I belong to him. His prize. As time passes, I can’t tell if I want him to win or lose.

He’s a dearly devoted psychopath,,, and he has his sights set on me. Nothing can stop him. Not even being imprisoned by my father.

I’m about to learn the hard way… When the villain doesn’t get the girl.

He takes her.

Malevolent King is Book 1 in a duet, and therefore ends in a cliffhanger. The story resolves in Runaway Queen. This is a dark mafia meets bratva romance, and as such contains dark themes which may not be to everyone’s tastes. Please read with caution.”

-From Amazon.com

Summary

So it’s been a HOT MINUTE since I’ve ready a good kind of smutty book. I’m not usually a huge, huge fan when there is quite literally no story and this one absolutely was not that! There was totally a story, good character development and progression and all the good stuff! I’ll also say it’s been a while since I’ve read a dark romance book as well and Bookstgram has been recommending me a ton of books in my list, most notably the Haunting Adeline (which I may or may not read, not decided just yet). So, decided to give Kindle a month free trial to see what they have there and BOOM, immediately, recommendations. And this was one of them.

DARK but still enjoyable

So this is classified as dark romance and it absolutely is. There were some heavy themes that may not float your boat, some of which definitely wouldn’t float my boat for real life stuff but for a book I was like, hmm okay I can go with this. You’ll see what I mean in the TW on her site but definitely having a psychotic kind of character as the male makes it a pretty heavy book. And of course it’s a mafia story so there’s some other kind of weird and creepy under themes to it but honestly it does kind of add to the story. I don’t want to say mafia romance books are ever realistic, because we know that mafia and romance do not go together (let it stay in your head ladies and gentlemen) but dark mafia romance usually has the level of twistedness that makes it a bit closer to ‘reality’ for lack of a better phrase. But don’t get it into your head to find the nearest mafia hangout spot to try and catch their eye!

Steamy and kept the pages going – but vulgar.

Now I am absolutely not a prude. I love a good steamy scene as much as the next person, but there are certain words that I am not a huge fan of, some of the more…seriously extreme and crass words (it’s used in Australia as a friendly greeting to give a hint). I’m sure you can guess which ones I’m getting at. And well, the main character Nikolai loved to used some of those words and it was kind of a slap to the face. I absolutely know that it comes with the territory but you can get the dark point across without a use of a certain word, or used as much. Especially normalizing it’s use in books or making it seem sexy. Now, I now everyone has their own personal preference and this is just one of mine. But just be aware, not only is it dark but it is going to definitely expose you to new words which may or may not be your thing.

But if you want a steamy book, then this definitely may catch your interest! It kept me with the pages turning and I wanted to know more! Not only from the steamy side but also the story side.

Psychotic Development – Caged Bird Freed

The main character Nikolai definitely did progress a little bit over the book, going from the crazier person to someone with a little more heart. As well did Sofia going from a bit more of a timid-ish young woman to trying to kick some butt a little bit in her own way. It’s was certainly interesting to see that develop over the book and see how their stories entwined, especially with the running theme of the mafia and mafia families in the background. To also see some of the background of the families and how they all got to where they were, well that was certainly an added bonus to get some of that additional view.


Overall, I definitely enjoyed the read and can see myself reading this book again just to pick up on a few other bits and pieces going on – you know, wink wink nudge nudge. But in all seriousness, it was an enjoyable read and certainly one I’d recommend if you like more mature romance and dark romance in general. It does end in a cliffhanger and book two was definitely enjoyable too (review coming soon-ish).  It’s free on Kindle but you can also grab yourself a paperback!

Happy Reading!

Get yourself a copy here, or read it on Kindle Unlimited!

 

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We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson [Book Review]

 in Book Reviews / Books / Books-to-Movie by

Summary

“Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

This book honestly was not even on my radar until I saw a trailer for the movie coming out soon. So immediately I had to read the book. I adored Jackson’s other book, The Haunting of Hill House, and was really curious about her other works. I certainly wasn’t disappointed with this wonderful read.

A perfectly manageable size.
This book is honestly the perfect length. It’s about 150 pages and a relatively quick read. With my course load at the moment, I’m trying to avoid really meaty texts (which is why Anna Karenina is taking me so long to get through) so something that is more bite sized is my style. But don’t be fooled that just because it is a small book doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot going on with lots of underlying meanings and messages.

A slow beginning and then suddenly a twist happens.
This book isn’t going to keep you on the edge of your seat or biting your nails, like I’m sure the movie will. The movie, while looking fantastic, will definitely need to spice the book up because it was relatively simple with just a few darker themes and ideas. Nothing creepy. Just kind of a ‘woah’ moment. If you choose to read this, don’t feel discouraged that nothing is happening. The twists begin about 3/4 through. The beginning is a large set up to really give this atmospheric vibe to the town and the family.

Giving life to houses seems to be Jackon’s ‘thing’.
While this did book didn’t give life to the house like it did in The Haunting of Hill House, there certainly were these underlying ideas of this house being alive. To me, I loved that. This book didn’t have any ghosts or anything like that, but you constantly were questioning if there was something more going on. But never really got to know. I adored that because it made it real but with this supernatural air about it.

This is one of those books that keeps you guessing as to what is going to happen next. You are constantly wondering if there is something supernatural going on or if it’s just your imagination. It’s fantastically written with all these little ideas being weaved throughout the pages which makes you need to keep reading to find out what happens!

Honestly, I can’t say too much about this book because it was incredibly short. It’s a simple book with a few twists that just kept me reading. It was honestly amazing. I read it and my mum read it as well and we have a generation between us but we were able to share an experience and it was so wonderful. It’s a ‘read in a day’ kind of book. And with the movie coming, this is definitely one to read.

 

5 teacups

Happy Reading!

 

The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal [Book Review] 7

 in Book Reviews / Books / History / Older Readers by

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.

Summary

“A 2014 Michael L. Printz Honor Book

A young seamstress and a royal nursemaid find themselves at the center of an epic power struggle in this stunning young-adult debut.

On the eve of Princess Sophia’s wedding, the Scandinavian city of Skyggehavn prepares to fete the occasion with a sumptuous display of riches: brocade and satin and jewels, feasts of sugar fruit and sweet spiced wine. Yet beneath the veneer of celebration, a shiver of darkness creeps through the palace halls. A mysterious illness plagues the royal family, threatening the lives of the throne’s heirs, and a courtier’s wolfish hunger for the king’s favors sets a devious plot in motion. Here in the palace at Skyggehavn, things are seldom as they seem — and when a single errant prick of a needle sets off a series of events that will alter the course of history, the fates of seamstress Ava Bingen and mute nursemaid Midi Sorte become irrevocably intertwined with that of mad Queen Isabel. As they navigate a tangled web of palace intrigue, power-lust, and deception, Ava and Midi must carve out their own survival any way they can.”

– From Amazon.com

Purchase here!

Review

An absolutely refreshing read that I’m super happy I picked up.

A definite cover grab for me.

Yup, this was another one that I got because of the cover. I’m super guilty of this but with all the books out there, with how many there are, you need one to grab your attention and this one did. I think for me it was the bright pink at the top that it looked like it was glowing. Something about it really just dragged me in. Also the fact it had a big fat award symbol on the front which always gets me. I like checking out books that have been nominated or won awards.

Older YA due to themes and writing style.

Honestly this was unlike any other book I’ve read in a while. It’s straight historical fiction and really feels like it. At moments I was waiting for something fantastical to happen but it was just basic historical fiction. The themes though I should probably address as a warning.

Trigger warnings would be: rape, miscarriage and violence.

To me, I liked these themes because it made the book real to the time period. People slept with one another to gain power, men used the servants for their own purposes, miscarriage was a thing during that time and could be prevalent. To me, I think it added to the book. I’ve read a lot of historical fiction and sometimes their lives are a little too simple and nice to be believeable. In this one, you felt the pain and struggle of the characters and to me that was so beautifully done.

Love, betrayal, hurt and revenge – you go girls!

Most of the main characters in this book were women, so we had some bad-asses and you got to see them develop from being these weaker females to formidable ones and watch them go up in power. And ultimately get revenge on those who hurt them later on. It was such a wonderful thing to read about and I loved it. It was maybe a little unbelievable in how it happened, maybe but I’m not an expert on this time period and I don’t really mind. To me I loved it.

Diverse characters and positions.

I really liked how you didn’t just get to see the life from one point of view. You got to understand royalty, those who were vying for more power in the castle and then see it from the view of servants. You got a broad view of life in a castle and to me it was such a journey.

Writing was a little challenging at times.

I’m not meaning the book was written in old english or anything, but some of the sentences were longer and had some bigger ideas and for one of the characters, when it was from her perspective, you really got into her mind and since she was uneducated, her speaking was much more choppy with words missing. I really really really liked that as you got to understand her more and really connect with her. But it did take some time to get used to.

Overall, fantastic read! Highly recommend!

This book was just so fantastic. I really loved it. I personally give it 5 tea cups out of 5. It was different and I liked that. Maybe I’m a bit biased as I don’t really read tons of historical fiction currently so it may be more of a novelty to me, but I know for a fact with everything it’s a solid 4 out of 5 but personally I give it a 5. I do recommend checking this one out. It is a bit longer and I read it in chunks as the themes were sometimes a lot. It is an older YA read because of the themes and adults would love it too because it would definitely keep you entertained!

5 teacups

Happy Reading!

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black [Book Review]

 in Book Reviews / Books / Fantasy / Otherworldly / Young Adult by

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.

Summary

“Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

 
And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
 
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.”
Review
I had really high hopes for this book because literally everyone is talking about it all over Bookstagram  and I kept getting emails from book blogs that I followed reviewing the book and raving about it. Now, don’t get me wrong, it was a really well done book and really enjoyable but for me I felt like it was…kind of like a lot of other YA fantasy books out there.
Strong female character who was powerful too!
You know me. I love me a good strong female character who takes charge and kicks butt. Jude definitely hit that on the mark. She was badass, she was powerful and she kicked butt. I would have liked to see her develop more as a Spy though. I felt it was kind of glossed over…like she was a spy and got a little training but her missions were pretty lackluster. But as for her throughout the story, she went from being cool and strong to being a Kingmaker! How cool!
Traditional power struggle story.
The story itself, not looking at the fact that it had fae people, was a pretty common frame of someone being in charge and there being the evil brother and then overthrowing people and stuff. I don’t know, maybe I’ve just read too many of these kinds of books that I sometimes want something new or a new angle or something. The only reason I didn’t give it up was because it had these interesting fae creatures in it as well as it mixing between the fae world and the human world which was an interesting aspect – mixing these two worlds into one.
Quick read – writing was simple.
I know this is a YA book, so this is part of it, but the writing was really simple. The book was like…nearly 400 pages long I think and I got through it in about 6 hours which I was shocked about. It definitely caught my attention, so that helped, but also the writing was simple to read so this definitely was a middle YA book. Even with the ‘violence’, it is perfectly suited for mid to up YA (although most people reading it are adults I’ve seen LOL!)
Overall, I did definitely enjoy it and will read the second one.
Even though I had moments of being like ‘what is the hype all about’, I did ultimately enjoy the book. I want to read the newest one, The Wicked King, soon because everyone is loving that one as well and after the ending of this one, I do want to see what happens!
I do give it a 4 out of 5 teacups because it’s an enjoyable book and I think that it’s something to check out!
4 Teacups
Happy Reading!

Justice Gone by N. Lombardi Jr [Book Review]

 in Book Reviews / Books / Hot Off The Press by

Summary

“When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down. A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran’s counselor, is caught up in the chase. Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa’s patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers get there first, leading to Darfield’s dramatic capture. Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge? Justice Gone is the first in a series of psychological thrillers involving Dr Tessa Thorpe, wrapped in the divisive issues of modern American society including police brutality and disenfranchised returning war veterans. N Lombardi Jr. is the author of compelling and heartfelt novel The Plain of Jars.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. It is an ARC and will come out February 22, 2019.

I haven’t been taking many books for a review request for a while because I’m just so busy with school work and I really like to read for fun, and not as a chore, especially when it’s my free time. But when I got an email from Mr. Lombardi, I was really excited because the synopsis of this book immediately had me curious as well as it seeming like it would read like TV show episode. And I wasn’t disappointed at all.

Just like a crime show – decently paced.
Honestly, while I was reading this book, I kept thinking I was watching Law and Order as it was broken up in that way. It started with the incident, then would go to people who knew people involved, and then it would jump to the trial and so forth and I really liked that. I don’t generally read books that are set up like a show, as I just watch shows to get that kind of atmosphere, but now and then I do like these real-life books! To me, it was well paced and kept me guessing as to what was going to happen and to whom.

An interesting look at our justice system.
Besides it being an interesting story overall, it was also an interesting look at the American justice system and how flawed and corrupt it was. In a way it did stress me out, as it was incredibly accurate in how the situation took place and I wanted to shake the politicians and say ‘where is your honor you piece of s$%t’. It was just so infuriating how a Veteran, Donald Darfield, was treated – and it was a double whammy because he was also an African-American so that just brought in the race card as well. I really liked it because while it was a normal book, it was tackling quite a few issues in society and I always love me a book that does that and makes you really question things.

Not just our justice system, but Vets as well.
I haven’t come across many books with Vets in them, honestly. I mean sometimes they’ll make a passing comment about someone having been to war, but it is never the center of the story and this one was interest, addressing mental health issues, PTDS and how these individuals are treated in society, after everything they have done for their country. So seeing this issue, something which really isn’t talked about much, was really nice to see and new.

Great character development.
I really enjoyed seeing how the characters changed and grew throughout the story, depending on the situation that was presented to them. Especially with a situation that was controversial such as this, seeing how there was such a range of reactions to the situations was really refreshing as well. It was executed in a very realistic way.

Overall, a fantastic book!
I really did enjoy this book. Yes, there were a few moments that were slightly slow, like in the courtroom proceeding, but it didn’t exactly bother me because it was much more realistic and you got to see how the system worked, which I really liked. This book addressed some very important issues and I think is a book that people should read to maybe understand issues regarding our justice system a little better. It was an eyeopener and was written well, especially since it was like a TV show so it really kept you engaged!

I give this book 4/5 teacups!

4 Teacups

Happy Reading!!