Victoria Moschou's Blog, page 90

BOOK REVIEW: KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND ~ ATTENTION, FOLKS! IT’S NOT YA!

“PAPA ONCE TOLD ME THAT, WHEN I LAY DYING -BECAUSE SOMEDAY I WILL, AS WILL WE ALL- I MUST NOT THINK OF THE THINGS THAT FRIGHTEN ME, AND I MUST NOT THINK OF MY PAIN. I MUST THINK OF EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER LOVED, FOR IF I DO THAT, THOSE THOUGHTS WILL FOLLOW ME INTO DEATH, AND THAT FAR BLACK PLACE WILL TURN BRIGHT AND GOLDEN, AS THE WORLD LONG AGO USED TO BE.”
~KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND

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Hello awesome people and happy Thursday everyone!

It’s the middle of the month already and I honestly don’t know how this year has gone by so quickly. I haven’t even read half of the books I want to!

BOOK REVIEW: KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND ~ ATTENTION, FOLKS! IT’S NOT YA!

“PAPA ONCE TOLD ME THAT, WHEN I LAY DYING -BECAUSE SOMEDAY I WILL, AS WILL WE ALL- I MUST NOT THINK OF THE THINGS THAT FRIGHTEN ME, AND I MUST NOT THINK OF MY PAIN. I MUST THINK OF EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER LOVED, FOR IF I DO THAT, THOSE THOUGHTS WILL FOLLOW ME INTO DEATH, AND THAT FAR BLACK PLACE WILL TURN BRIGHT AND GOLDEN, AS THE WORLD LONG AGO USED TO BE.”
~KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND

[image error]

Hello awesome people and happy Thursday everyone!

It’s the middle of the month already and I honestly don’t know how this year has gone by so quickly. I haven’t even read half of the books I want to!

BOOK REVIEW: KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND ~ ATTENTION, FOLKS! IT’S NOT YA!

“PAPA ONCE TOLD ME THAT, WHEN I LAY DYING -BECAUSE SOMEDAY I WILL, AS WILL WE ALL- I MUST NOT THINK OF THE THINGS THAT FRIGHTEN ME, AND I MUST NOT THINK OF MY PAIN. I MUST THINK OF EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER LOVED, FOR IF I DO THAT, THOSE THOUGHTS WILL FOLLOW ME INTO DEATH, AND THAT FAR BLACK PLACE WILL TURN BRIGHT AND GOLDEN, AS THE WORLD LONG AGO USED TO BE.”
~KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND

[image error]

Hello awesome people and happy Thursday everyone!

It’s the middle of the month already and I honestly don’t know how this year has gone by so quickly. I haven’t even read half of the books I want to!

BOOK REVIEW: KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND ~ ATTENTION, FOLKS! IT’S NOT YA!

“PAPA ONCE TOLD ME THAT, WHEN I LAY DYING -BECAUSE SOMEDAY I WILL, AS WILL WE ALL- I MUST NOT THINK OF THE THINGS THAT FRIGHTEN ME, AND I MUST NOT THINK OF MY PAIN. I MUST THINK OF EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER LOVED, FOR IF I DO THAT, THOSE THOUGHTS WILL FOLLOW ME INTO DEATH, AND THAT FAR BLACK PLACE WILL TURN BRIGHT AND GOLDEN, AS THE WORLD LONG AGO USED TO BE.”
~KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND

[image error]

Hello awesome people and happy Thursday everyone!

It’s the middle of the month already and I honestly don’t know how this year has gone by so quickly. I haven’t even read half of the books I want to!

BOOK REVIEW: KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND ~ ATTENTION, FOLKS! IT’S NOT YA!

“PAPA ONCE TOLD ME THAT, WHEN I LAY DYING -BECAUSE SOMEDAY I WILL, AS WILL WE ALL- I MUST NOT THINK OF THE THINGS THAT FRIGHTEN ME, AND I MUST NOT THINK OF MY PAIN. I MUST THINK OF EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER LOVED, FOR IF I DO THAT, THOSE THOUGHTS WILL FOLLOW ME INTO DEATH, AND THAT FAR BLACK PLACE WILL TURN BRIGHT AND GOLDEN, AS THE WORLD LONG AGO USED TO BE.”
~KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND

[image error]

Hello awesome people and happy Thursday everyone!

It’s the middle of the month already and I honestly don’t know how this year has gone by so quickly. I haven’t even read half of the books I want to!

BOOK REVIEW: KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND ~ ATTENTION, FOLKS! IT’S NOT YA!

“PAPA ONCE TOLD ME THAT, WHEN I LAY DYING -BECAUSE SOMEDAY I WILL, AS WILL WE ALL- I MUST NOT THINK OF THE THINGS THAT FRIGHTEN ME, AND I MUST NOT THINK OF MY PAIN. I MUST THINK OF EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER LOVED, FOR IF I DO THAT, THOSE THOUGHTS WILL FOLLOW ME INTO DEATH, AND THAT FAR BLACK PLACE WILL TURN BRIGHT AND GOLDEN, AS THE WORLD LONG AGO USED TO BE.”
~KINGSBANE (THE EMPIRIUM TRILOGY, #2), BY CLAIRE LEGRAND

[image error]

Hello awesome people and happy Thursday everyone!

It’s the middle of the month already and I honestly don’t know how this year has gone by so quickly. I haven’t even read half of the books I want to!

BOOK REVIEW: The Beholder, by Anna Bright ~ A slightly confusing world, but an enjoyable read nonetheless. *SPOILER FREE*

“Courage is the heart of me,” he said. “The thing I pray to be. And I see it in you. It’s in your eyes every time you tell me something you are afraid to say or try something you are afraid to do.”
~Anna Bright, The Beholder

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Hello awesome people and happy Monday everyone!

You said you wanted more book reviews from me and more book reviews you shall get. It’s a good thing that I read plenty of amazing books in July and I’m planning on doing the same this month.

One of the wonderful books I read in July was The Beholder, by Anna Bright, which was the featured book in the May FairyLoot box, UNLIKELY ROMANCES. It was pitched as “The Odyssey meets Cinderella, or Once Upon A Time meets The Bachelorette” and after reading many mixed reviews about it, I didn’t expect to enjoy it that much. To be honest, I’d glad that I did because it was proven, once again, that reading is 100% subjective and not every book needs to work for everyone.

With all that being said, let’s get to the synopsis of the book.

“Selah has waited her whole life for a happily ever after. As the only daughter of the leader of Potomac, she knows her duty is to find the perfect match, a partner who will help secure the future of her people. Now that day has finally come.

But after an excruciatingly public rejection from her closest childhood friend, Selah’s stepmother suggests an unthinkable solution: Selah must set sail across the Atlantic, where a series of potential suitors awaits—and if she doesn’t come home engaged, she shouldn’t come home at all.

From English castle gardens to the fjords of Norge, and under the eye of the dreaded Imperiya Yotne, Selah’s quest will be the journey of a lifetime. But her stepmother’s schemes aren’t the only secrets hiding belowdecks…and the stakes of her voyage may be higher than any happy ending.”

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Before going any further, let me remind you that this is going to be a SPOILER FREE review, so whether you’ve read or haven’t read the book yet, you can still read this post till the very end of it, without worrying about major revelations and plot twists.

First things first, in terms of writing style, The Beholder was an easy breezy, fast read, so it felt truly effortless to me to just delve into this peculiar, a little confusing world, and simply enjoy the ride.

What could’ve actually been executed better though was the character development. But since this is going to be a duology, I’m putting my hopes up to the sequel, which is going to be released sometime in mid-2020.

To get into more detail, despite the slightly complicated world (part fictional, part actual -but in a parallel universe of its own all together-), despite the fact that towards the middle of the book, the story became way more slow-paced than I expected it to, still, I enjoyed The Beholder, mostly because of the independent, fierce characters and the way the main protagonist, Selah, finally started discovering her actual place and purpose in this world.

I know that she seems like one of the many naive characters in YA lit, but she made tough calls. She made some really tough decisions that none of the other naive, young girls in the bazillion YA novels out there would’ve done. She chose to become a part of something bigger rather than to just sit and sea how things would play out.

Other than that, yes, I admit that I cringed sometimes, but the political schemes were truly fascinating and the whole Viking vibe I got from halfway point onwards was honestly a 10/10 for me! One character in particular reminded me so much of Ragnar Lothbrok that… OH MY GOSH! I just couldn’t help but love to hate him!

Also, at this point, I’d like to thank Anna Bright for including the opening of The Odyssey in her book, though it truly confused me how Homer, radios, a World War II inspired rebellion and a seneschal of a fictional country could be mixed up together. Still, everything’s allowed in fiction, right?

Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot, and I’ll definitely read the sequel when it comes out.

(I thought it was a stand-alone but now I’m happy I was wrong about that.)

Have you guys read The Beholder? Did you like it? Did you see the finale coming?

I look forward to reading all your thoughts, feelings and comments in the comment section down below.

Thank you all for stopping by once again. It means the world to me and I want you to know that I most certainly don’t take your presence here for granted, and I never will.

Have a wonderful week, you lovely bookworms!

Till next time… Toodles!

FAIRYLOOT UNBOXING ~ MAGIC IN THE CITY ~ JULY 2019

Hello awesome nerds and welcome to another FairyLoot unboxing!

A couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to receive a Golden Ticket, which granted me a box for free and, boy, I couldn’t be happier about it. Though I was thinking about skipping the July box, because some of the fandoms were pretty random to me, I’m glad I finally got it because HOLY FREAKING GUACAMOLE!

BOOK REVIEW: Sorcery of Thorns, by Margaret Rogerson ~ I expected it to be better…

“KNOWLEDGE ALWAYS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE DANGEROUS. IT IS A MORE POWERFUL WEAPON THAN ANY SWORD OR SPELL.”
~ SORCERY OF THORNS, BY MARGARET ROGERSON

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It’s always overwhelming to say the least when you expect to ADORE a book, and then you simply end up liking it; and not as much as you actually hoped you would.

I’m talking about Sorcery of Thorns, the second novel written by Margaret Rogerson, and one of my most anticipated reads of the year.

And yes, I know this is probably an unpopular opinion since, as far as I’ve seen, everyone and their mother have loved this book and they’ve rated it with 5/5 stars. Well, my rating is… slightly different.

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“All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.”

So, librarians, bookworms, grimoires coming to life and sassy magicians? If you’ve been following me here for quite some time now, you probably know that that’s my cup of tea (or actually coffee)!

BOOK REVIEW: Sorcery of Thorns, by Margaret Rogerson ~ I expected it to be better…

“KNOWLEDGE ALWAYS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE DANGEROUS. IT IS A MORE POWERFUL WEAPON THAN ANY SWORD OR SPELL.”
~ SORCERY OF THORNS, BY MARGARET ROGERSON

[image error]

It’s always overwhelming to say the least when you expect to ADORE a book, and then you simply end up liking it; and not as much as you actually hoped you would.

I’m talking about Sorcery of Thorns, the second novel written by Margaret Rogerson, and one of my most anticipated reads of the year.

And yes, I know this is probably an unpopular opinion since, as far as I’ve seen, everyone and their mother have loved this book and they’ve rated it with 5/5 stars. Well, my rating is… slightly different.

[image error]

“All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.”

So, librarians, bookworms, grimoires coming to life and sassy magicians? If you’ve been following me here for quite some time now, you probably know that that’s my cup of tea (or actually coffee)!