Here’s a wrap-up of the books I read in August (I didn’t stick to my original TBR as usual…). The first part of this post is the list of all the books with the links to the complete reviews and it’s followed by quick reviews of them. Hope you’ll enjoy!
Please find below all my readings for August:
- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
- The Wicked King by Holly Black
- The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk
- Kingdom of the Wicked by Kari Maniscalco
- The Ravens by Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige
- China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians #2) by Kevin Kwan
- A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Themes: fantasy, romance, assassin/spy, betrayal, royalty
My rating: 5/5
Synopsis:
Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. One terrible morning, Jude and her sisters see their parents murdered in front of them. The fearsome assassin abducts all three girls and brings them to the world of Faerie. Mocked and tormented for being merely mortal, Jude soon realises that to survive in the treacherous, dangerous world of the royal court, she needs to be as cunning and deceitful as the Fey themselves. But the stairway to power is fraught with shadows and betrayal. And looming over all is the arrogant and charismatic Prince Cardan.
Quick review: My new favourite series! All is there: plot, characters, worldbuilding, writing… This book is just perfect! I loved how Jude and Cardan are morally grey. Jude is a true strong character (not one who wants but fails to be one), ambitious and manipulative. If you’re looking for plotting characters, betrayals and a dangerous world, this book is for you!
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Themes: fantasy, romance, assassin/spy, betrayal, royalty
My rating: 5/5
Synopsis: no synopsis in this post to avoid spoilers 😉 To have one, click here
Quick review: I absolutely loved the sequel of the Cruel Prince and is currently reading the last book, which seems to be as good as the others! The characters and plot are still a pleasure to discover and the world building is fabulous (there’s so much different types of faes that my head was spinning)!
The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk
Themes: fantasy, romance, against the system
My rating: 3,5/5
Synopsis:
Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress who practices magic in secret, terrified of the day she will be locked into a marital collar to cut off her powers. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged mage, but her family are in severe debt, and only her marriage can save them.
Beatrice finds a grimoire with the key to becoming a mage, but a rival sorceress swindles the book right out of her hands. Beatrice summons a spirit to help, but her new ally exacts a price: Beatrice’s first kiss . . . with the sorceress’s brother: the handsome, compassionate, and fabulously wealthy Ianthe Lavan.
Quick review: I was disappointed by this book, even if though it’s not a bad one. It has all the elements to be interesting with a world inspired by the Regency era and mages but was not fully developed. The characters lacked depth and the Regency aspect is almost non-existent. It remains a good read and I was drown into the plot at the end but it was not an exceptional book.
Kingdom of the Wicked by Keri Maniscalco
Themes: fantasy, mystery, romance, witches, demons
My rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. Until one night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant.
Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin . . . desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost – even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.
Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked – princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island.
Quick review: Another disappointement, given the hype surrounding the book. I really enjoyed my reading and particularly the exchanges between Wrath and Emilia. Keri Maniscalco succeed perfectly in creating the setting and makes you travel to Italy. But the majority of the characters are not worked on enough and I had issues to understand Emilia. Despite a confusing ending it’s that part that makes me impatient for the sequel! Worth to give it a go 😉
The Ravens by Kass Morgan & Danielle Paige
Themes: fantasy, revenge, witches/witchcraft, college
My rating: 5/5
Synopsis:
At first glance, the sisters of ultra-exclusive Kappa Rho Nu–the Ravens–seem like typical sorority girls. Ambitious, beautiful, and smart, they’re the most powerful girls on Westerly College’s Savannah, Georgia, campus.
But the Ravens aren’t just regular sorority girls. They’re witches.
Scarlett Winter has always known she’s a witch–and she’s determined to be the sorority’s president, just like her mother and sister before her. But if a painful secret from her past ever comes to light, she could lose absolutely everything . . .
Vivi Devereaux has no idea she’s a witch and she’s never lived in one place long enough to make a friend. So when she gets a coveted bid to pledge the Ravens, she vows to do whatever it takes to be part of the magical sisterhood. The only thing standing in her way is Scarlett, who doesn’t think Vivi is Ravens material.
But when a dark power rises on campus, the girls will have to put their rivalry aside to save their fellow sisters. Someone has discovered the Ravens’ secret. And that someone will do anything to see these witches burn…
Quick review: I trully enjoyed this book. Even if Vivi is a bit one-dimensionnal, the other characters are well developed and I enjoyed meeting them. It answered to my desire to read a fantasy in a college setting and for once I thought that the witchy word was well crafted. Maybe the plot is a bit forseeable (even though I didn’t see it coming) and some elements a bit flat but it was such a pleasant read that I gave it 5 stars.
China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians #2) by Kevin Kwan
Themes: romance & friendship, social fiction, Asia
My rating: 4,5/5
Synopsis:
On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiancé willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won’t be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore’s It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband. A romp through Asia’s most exclusive clubs, auction houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China, introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it’s like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich.
Quick review: A good book denuncing the excesses of the very rich Asian people (and of rich people in general I believe). The narration is original as we have a lot of different narrators and style of narration (dialogues, sms, emails, papers…). I enjoyed seeing the various relationships to money according to the age of the fortunes (old or new money) and the countries. The book perfectly shows the diversity of Asian countries and cultures.
A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Themes: romance & friendship, YA, fantasy, curse, witch, royals
My rating: 2,5/5
Synopsis:
Harper is not living the best time of her life: her father is gone, her mother is dying and her brother trying to pay back the family’s debt. So, she’s not very pleased when she’s kidnapped and brought to Emberfall to break the curse of Prince Rhen of Emberfall.
Prince Rhen has been cursed because of his arrogance and carelessness. He is now condemned to live his eighteenth year forever unless a girl falls in love with him and breaks the curse. And he has little time before he transforms into a blood-thirsty beast.
Quick review: A disappointing book despite all the hype surrounding it. The author doesn’t go further than the original tale and creates blank characters. I hate giving low grades to books but even if I enjoyed the reading in a sense (or at least didn’t hate it), it just does not live up to it promise.
A Book by the Fire 