Tag: demons

eARC Review – Unravel the Dusk

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Title: Unravel the Dusk (Blood of Stars #2)

Author: Elizabeth Lim

Publisher: Knopf

Publication date: July 7th, 2020

416 pages

4.5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

The thrilling sequel to SPIN THE DAWN, a magical series steeped in Chinese culture.

Maia Tamarin’s journey to sew the dresses of the sun, the moon and the stars has taken a grievous toll. She returns to a kingdom on the brink of war. The boy she loves is gone, and she is forced to don the dress of the sun and assume the place of the emperor’s bride-to-be to keep the peace.

But the war raging around Maia is nothing compared to the battle within. Ever since she was touched by the demon Bandur, she has been changing . . . glancing in the mirror to see her own eyes glowing red, losing control of her magic, her body, her mind. It’s only a matter of time before Maia loses herself completely, but she will stop at nothing to find Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country.

YA fantasy readers will love the sizzling forbidden romance, mystery, and intrigue of UNRAVEL THE DUSK.

Review

**Thank you to Knopf, Netgalley, and Elizabeth Lim for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review**

Unravel the Dusk is a stunning conclusion to a Chinese inspired story that is a mix of Mulan and Project Runway. Our main girl Maia is dealing with the aftermath of the events of Spin the Dawn, and is still working to save A’landi from the shansen. Her family is in danger, and Maia must make some very hard decisions in order to keep everyone safe, including herself.

I truly loved this sequel. Lim’s writing is so lyrical and beautiful that you feel transported to A’landi, seeing what Maia sees. Unravel the Dusk provides more background to other characters, instead of focusing mostly on Edan and Maia. The romance continues (no spoilers) but is still very PG and YA like. You get to see more of her family, the Emperor, Lady Sarnai, and the shansen – I liked this because Lim was able to add dimension to these characters.

The plot was a touch confusing and hard to follow at times, especially as it was reaching the climax. I had some difficulty following the potential consequences of Maia’s actions at any given time, and I think this is due to so many things happening. There were a few false endings where I thought the book was just about over, only to look down and see I was still only 77% through the book. This made the reading experience seem a bit disjointed as I got prepared for the “ending” only for it not to come.

I read through this book mostly in one day. It is a quick read, and I still loved the world that Lim created. I did not do a re-read of Spin the Dawn before I dove in, and I did not feel like I should have when reading. The plot picked right up from the ending and there were enough reminders in the text that I didn’t feel like I was missing anything.

Overall, a great conclusion and I am so lucky that I was approved to receive this book from Netgalley. I am so appreciative and can’t wait for this to be officially released! And, that cover is just gorgeous!

Happy reading, folks!

Book Review – City of Fallen Angels

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“Or maybe it’s just that beautiful things are so easily broken by the world.”

Title: City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Publication date: September 1st, 2015

425 pages

4.5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Review

You left me. You made a pet out of me, and then you left me. If love were food, I would have starved on the bones you gave me.

Cassandra clare, city of fallen angels

My first books of 2020 down! My parents gifted me the rest of TMI and TDA for Christmas, so January is a Cassie Clare binge! I’ve already read the first three TMI and TID, in the order Clare suggests. I have not read the short story compilations she has also released, but I’m pretty sure that aren’t necessary to do in order to understand the plot.

Moving on. I will keep this as non-spoilery as possible, but y’all it’s the fourth book. If you haven’t read the others, you really shouldn’t be reading this anyway, right?

Jace and Clary are my babies. I want nothing to ever happen to them, but it appears Clare doesn’t share my sentiment????? Why you do this Cassie??? So, Jace is being a prick in this book (again) because he’s having terrible nightmares that involve him killing Clary. Clary has no idea how to handle him (I mean, they’ve had it rough so far and she is getting NO break from this people). Simon is dealing with the fact that Clary gave him the Mark of Cain, making him a Daylighter. He already hates being a vampire, and now he’s basically indestructable. Also, he is simultaneously dating Isabelle and Maia which is just shocking because you wouldn’t think sweet Simon would be a player, but here we are.

The plot in this book was pretty standard. We need a new villain now that Valentine is gone, so we get one – in several different forms. Each character is having their own inner crisis and learning bits and pieces of the puzzle at a time. Problem is, they don’t TALK TO EACH OTHER ENOUGH to see the bigger picture of the puzzle. Firmly believe Cassie does this on purpose, because otherwise there would be no point to the book. More demons, more intense brooding, more drama. Nothing groundbreaking, but I still didn’t want to put it down because I am TRASH for these books.

My main problem with this book was that I feel important scenes were cut from the book. It almost felt like she just deleted whole paragraphs during editing, without fixing the transitions and making it seem like we just missed out on something. I wanted to read those conversations that were left out. It’s like I knew it was there, but I couldn’t have it – I could only read the aftermath. It was kind of frustrating, and I don’t remember feeling that way during the original trilogy.

I saw the ending coming a mile away. Do I care? Not at all, because it was a great cliffhanger that made me want to immediately pick up the next book to see what happens to my babies. I understand criticisms I’ve seen about these books, however I firmly believe this book is exactly what it is supposed to be. It is fluffy, YA fantasy, and will only ever be that. Either know that going in (because come on, they’re INSANELY popular) and don’t read it if that’s not your type of book, or don’t complain when it’s over as if you were promised anything more that that. Just my opinion.

Don’t mind me, just going to go distract myself from picking up City of Lost Souls because I have actual adult responsibilities to get to! Happy reading!