Ok. ok thats a little dramatic. but you get my point right? lol
But this month was nothing like that. like AT ALL. I was really blessed this month and last month with books like I had received. I ended up receiving two books from the authors' in which they gracefully signed. One which was featured in my April favorites. The other book was Nemesis By Brandon Reichs. Theres something so exciting about turning the first pages and enjoying the personalize signature.
Then I received two books from Blogging For Books, in which I work with. I request the books I want to review & the lovely people send them straight my way. I literally have no complaints about the program, its great ! (: I also ended up getting sent Defy The Stars by Claudia Gray from the publisher & Dreamfall by Amy Plum from Epic Reads. Both anticipating reads I can't wait to binge read.
A post shared by jacqueline garcia (@distantandlocal) on
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Book mail thanks to @CenterSqBlog! Beautiful signed copy by @daniellempaige & some awesome book merch sunnies. Can't wait to read! (: pic.twitter.com/strrsqbb6I— jacqueline garcia, (@distantandlocal) May 3, 2017
& now I'll leave you to admire the book spines, because they're just as beautiful as the covers! (:
Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn EvesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
It has magic. It has a unique setting. It has "Rebellion" in the title. I had good hopes for this book.
The premise of the story was sufficient enough that it caught my eye. And a lot of people were comparing it to the Red Queen series, which I did enjoy. So I thought, "yessss, get me on board." But I found that the only similarity was that people were separated by their class & magic abilities.
The character, Anna is among the higher class of people called the Luminate who are granted the the power of magic during a binding ritual. It is said that she however is barren & the ritual didn't take. But during her sisters' debutante spell casting, Anna breaks the spell & reveals a power that other's would either take advantage of for a rebellion or kill her to prevent one.
It had me there. I was pretty much stoked to have her be a kickass character and not let others define what she should do. But she wasn't. She was ehh. Honestly her cousin Matyas seemed to outshine her. I was also hooked to be introduced to this awesome rebellion that could happen. But it somehow didn't stand out as much as I would have liked it to. And as much as I enjoyed the magic system or the abilities characters throughout the book had, it wasn't enough to binge read through.
However, I did really enjoy the historical setting. And how the author intertwined Hungarian mythology and 19th century history in a fictional fantasy setting. It's probably the only reason I kept reading. I'm also happy that she included a glossary to help the reader get informed about the right way to say and read Hungarian names and phrases. I would recommend that you read that first or bookmark it to reference back to while reading.
Although, the book didn't end on a high note with me, I'm glad I read it. It's not often I will read a book and end up wanting to read about the actual historic events during the period. But I did, and I wouldn't have known about the authors' choices for adding/inventing certain things for the book if I didn't read towards the end for her authors note.
It's not often I dislike a book. I hate it when I do. I actually enjoy most books I read. And try my best to always see the great things the author did in the story. And despite what I didn't like, the author still did really great things. And I would recommend it for just that. If you enjoy mythology, read this. If you enjoy a Eastern European setting, read this. If you enjoy a good easy read, this isn't a hard book to get through. And most importantly, if you enjoy debut books from authors, read this.
*disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.*
View all my reviews
April Wrap Up:
Boy, did April go by fast! I thought i'd wrap up this April before getting to the things I really had enjoyed this month. Although this month started somewhat relaxed, it was towards the end of it that it started picking up. It first started with telling myself I would read all the books that I have been putting off and strike some books off of my TBR (to be read) list. This month I also spent a lot of time helping my mother search for a dress to an upcoming occasion. The experience made me realize that the options for plus size/curvy women were slim to none. The options were either really aging or they were very modest. And if you ever met an curvy woman, you know that those options suck. The stores we went to had maybe 5 dress options for plus size and within those 5 dresses, you either looked like you were in the Victorian era going to a funeral or the silhouette destroyed your beautiful figure. In the end, we picked out a lovely ensemble with a touch of glitter that she loved.
& now to my favorites!
