Review: These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan

 

Goodreads / Amazon / My Bookstagram

 2.5~3 stars

I'm sad to say I don't think this book was for me. :( Considering the popularity and glowing reviews, it's definitely a case of "it's not the book, it's me" lol. 

*sorry, rant ahead*

I was very excited to start this series, as I have a weakness for Fae books, but sadly it didn't deliver, in my opinion. The potential was there, but... I didn't really feel it.🥺

"Cruel Prince meets ACOTAR"??*smh*. Clearly. Add a bit of Iron Fey in there too and it's not much left to the actual story.

I could see pieces of those series throughout the book (like even the wine drinking and dancing scene 🙄) but otherwise, it added little on the originality front.

The premise was good, with the relics, the two courts, hidden agendas and heroine stuck in the middle of some immortal power struggle, but the plot twists were predictable, the characters made annoying decisions and the world could have been developed more.

And the love triangle... *sigh* That's usually my least favorite trope, but my not loving the story had nothing to do with that. I just didn't believe them. I didn't really care for Brie, 'Prince Ronan' was too good to be true (just too soft and dreamy to be believable, there was something off about him) and Finn needed more presence in the book to keep things interesting and balanced. He is actually the only character I liked 😁 - and not because he was the supposed villain (and we all love our villains, am I right?) but because he was the only one who was authentic. Who meant what he said (albeit a little harshly) and whose actions spoke more than his words.

On the plus side: the writing was beautiful and engaging, the worldbuilding was not bad and Fae court intrigue is always fun, so I'll settle for 2.5~3 stars (though I almost DNFed at one point🙊).

I will read the second book, as I want to see what happens after that cliffhanger and how it all ends and I enjoy Lexi's writing, but I'm just not getting into it with very high hopes this time. 

xo

Deea

Underrated Summer Books You Need To Read

 Hi everyone, happy Monday! 🌞

I know our summer TBR piles can be a little overwhelming and a lot of fun new titles are coming out lately, BUT I wanted to give a shout out to some books and authors that never failed in the Romance department, especially when it comes to fun, adventure and summer vibes. ☀️🌊

So, from the series 'books/authors you should read at least once in your lifetime', I present to you... 📚

• Float Plan by Trish Doller (a story of self discovery, healing, new beginning, new chance at love; set on a boat at sea⛵️)

• That Boy Series by Jillian Dodd (one of my all times favorite series - and one of the most immersive, realistic and fun writing out there. I just LIVE with these characters when I read it; we follow these characters since they were kids, so we literally feel like part of the family)

• Suddenly One Summer by Julie James (one of the queens of women's fiction, strong characters and banter; I highly recommend the audiobook, it's almost like watching a Rom Com at the movies)

• Rythm, Chord & Malykhin by Mariana Zapata (we should all be familiar with Zapata's slow burn romance and charming characters by now, but with this one we go on tour on a bus with a band, so basically we get all the summer festival vibes + a romance story )

• The Field Party series by Abbi Glines (or anything she's ever written really ~ small town romance, sports romance, field parties, all the young, angsty and restless vibes - YA/NA romance)

• The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary (sweet, adventurous, hilarious plot and characters 👌)

Have you read any of them?

I hope you all have a fun and productive week!

xo

Deea

Book Review: Falling Princess by Joline Pearce

 Hi guys! 

I always loved finding hidden gems in the bookish community, so I was very happy that I received this book in exchange for a honest review from the Book Sirens and I really enjoyed it! 

Falling Princess (Fallen Realm Book One)

Goodreads / Amazon

My post on Bookstagram

My rating: 4 stars

*Some things could have been done better, like the world building or like the transition from enemies to lovers, and the drama could have been less dragged out, but overall, it was a great read and I would recommend it to Forbidden Romance/College Romance/ Princess and Bodyguard lovers.

Falling Princess was such a nice surprise! A very unique interesting story and I enjoyed it more than other highly popular books out there, so I wish it got more attention.

Tropes:

- Royal life

- Princess/Bodyguard

- Forced Proximity

- Forbidden Romance

- Slow burn

I guess I would call it realistic or modern romantic fantasy - here we have a Princess of a mysterious falling kingdom trying to live a little in the real world before she embarks on the royal life set out for her. The description is a little misleading, as we deal with far more than a princess and a knight and their forbidden romance. We see Princess Zosia juggling college life, romance, inner turmoil, loneliness, assassination attempts, royal balls, meetings and school project deadlines. Quite the mix! The plot is character driven, so I wish we got more action, world development and background on the Falling Kingdom.

We probably got the most interesting twist on a love triangle ever - because of her status, if the Princess has to go to "experience college life", she has to go with her newly appointed bodyguard and other royals in toe. So the relationship between them all got all kinds of tangled and twisted up to the point we don't know who loves who and who to trust. LOL

The f*cktangular love pentagram strikes again.

Which leads to a lot of questions, forbidden interactions, slow burn, hiding and heartbreak. ALL IN FORCED PROXIMITY of course.

The enemies to lovers trope is on point - Lorcan is everything you would want from a brooding knight, he is so hard to read, their interactions are a delicious slow torture. Zosia's feelings towards him went a little too fast from enemy to hero worship, but I can't say I really blame her... The story is told from her POV and she is a very likeable, relatable heroine. So bonus points for that too. :)

And speaking of action and the falling kingdom, the story ends on a cliffhanger so I will probably read the next one soon too.

xoxo

Deea

CARAVAL Series by Stephanie Garber

 Hi everyone! 

Goodreads

Overall rating: 4.5 stars

I recently finished The Caraval series by Stephanie Garber and it was amazing! Highly, highly recommened to anyone who loves YA Fantasy, magical worlds, spellbinding writing, romance and mysterious enchanting heroes. 

I posted more about it on my Bookstagram, so please check that out for reels, images and quotes. 

My Instagram Post

Legendary (book 2) was still my favorite of the entire series, it was superb! ♠️♥️

In Caraval (book 1), it took me a while to connect to the characters and their story and Finale (book 3) was great, action packed and had fun twists, new characters and the ending wrapped up perfectly, but I spent a lot of time daydreaming about Jacks and his HEA lol.💔🍏

Anyway, I loved it, a really spellbinding series, just like it says, and I would read it again and again if I had the time. ❤️ Stephanie is easily becoming one of my favorite authors.

Summer Book Haul (Part I)

Hi guys! 

Now that my love for books has resurfaced, I can't seem to stop buying new books with every opportunity, though of course my TBR pile is already massive and overwhelming. But we've all been there, right?:D 

*I blame it all on bookstagram and booktok

Here's some books I added to my physical TBR pile lately (I'm well on the way of not enough space to store them. Oops.). 

1. Romanian Editions from Bookfest 

- Good Girl Complex - Elle Kennedy

- The Spanish Love Deception - Elena Armas (already read and LOVED)

- One Italian Summer - Rebecca Serle

- Six Crimson Cranes - Elizabeth Lim 

- Shipped - Angie Hockman

- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid 

- A Touch of Darkness - (Hades & Persephone #1) Scarlett St. Clair 

2. Fantasy Books Mail 

- Once Upon a Broken Heart - Stephanie Garber (Loved the Caravel series!)

- The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea - Axie Oh 

- The Atlas Six - Olivie Blake

- A ​Court of Silver Flames (ACOTAR #4) - Sarah J. Maas (!!! SJM is my all new times favorite)

- The Prison Healer - Lynette Noni 

- Hotel Magnifique - Emily J. Taylor 

- A ​Sky Beyond the Storm - (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir (loved this series, excited about the finale!)

- Daughter of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan (sounds like a great story, but that cover!!)

Have you read any of these books? I don't know where to start!! 

xo

Deea