Showing posts with label raybearer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raybearer. Show all posts

Saturday, January 7, 2023

Book Series I Finished in 2022


This past reading year was an interesting one that I'm overall satisfied with. I read 63 books, of which a lot of those were rereads. And of all of those, I finished 8 book series. I am including rereads in that number, but only for series that I reread in their entirety during 2022. Let's go ahead and dive in! 




The first series I finished was the Sands of Arawiya duology by Hafsah Faizal which consists of We Hunt the Flame and We Free the Stars. These were the first two books I read in 2022 and the first series I finished. I rather enjoyed these books, though I do think I would have enjoyed them more if I hadn't read them as the first books out of a reading slump over the holidays. They needed more time and attention than I gave them. But I still enjoyed them and look forward to rereading them in the future. 

GOODREADS     |     BOOK 1 REVIEW     |     BOOK 2 REVIEW




The second series I finished this year was the Fable duology by Adrienne Young. These two books are in my top reads of the year and I had so much fun with this duology. I've enjoyed everything I've read by Adrienne, but I was pushed to read these ones sooner because a family member was raving about them. These books were pure escapism and fun for me. The world was so vivid and I felt like I never wanted to leave. I've thought about these books a lot since I finished them and I can't wait to dive into the spin-offs in the future.

GOODREADS     |     SERIES REVIEW




Up next, I reread the entire Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. This is one of my all time favorite middle-grade series from when I was younger. I was really in the mood for a middle-grade so I ended up just picking up the first one again...which spiraled into me rereading the rest of the series and the sequel series in one long binge. It was a pure joy being back in these books and going on these adventures again. I've loved these books since I was a child and there's so much nostalgia wrapped up in these pages that it was a very comforting reread. 

After Fablehaven, I decided to just dive straight into reading the sequel series, Dragonwatch, also by Brandon Mull. This series follows the same characters (and some new) on new adventures and trials. We got to explore a lot more of the world and it was so fascinating. Most of all, this series felt like a warm hug and a pure comfort. Getting to be back with characters I love but going on new adventures in new places was such a treat. I know that I'll be revisiting this series just as much as I revisit the original. 

GOODREADS     |     SERIES REVIEW




The fifth series I read was the Raybearer duology by Jordan Ifueko. This is an African-inspired fantasy duology that was so incredibly vivid and fascinating. I'd heard nothing but good things about it so when it was on sale I picked up a copy as fast as I could. I binged these so fast because I just couldn't put them down. The one thing I wish was different, though, is that there was more on-page found family. So much of the story revolves around protecting loved ones and connecting with family. But it felt like most of it was us being told how close this family was and not so much seeing it happen which I wished for. Though that's probably the only issue I have with them. 

GOODREADS     |     SERIES REVIEW




Then I reread the entire Curse of the Gods series by Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington. This is one of my favorite RH series and I just needed a fun reread so I picked it up. I also realized I hadn't reread these in a while and it was only my first time rereading the last book since it came out. It was so much fun being back in this fantasy romance. Overall, just a fun revisit to a great series that I love. 

GOODREADS     |     BOOK 1 REVIEW     |     BOOK 2 REVIEW




Then I read one of my new all-time favorites: the Mindf*ck Series by S.T. Abby. This is a five book series (though each book is pretty short) that I stayed up reading in one night. It's a super dark story with a bit of romance in it and I was absolutely obsessed. It's about a serial killer (though you're on her side) who falls in love with the FBI agent working to find her. Of course, the story is about so much more than that. I laughed, I cried, I got angry, I got scared...it was a whole emotional rollercoaster. It's also now one of my all-time favorites that I think about constantly, though I definitely recommend checking out the trigger warnings before reading. 

GOODREADS     |     SERIES REVIEW




The last series I finished in 2022 was the STEM-inist Novella Collection by Ali Hazelwood. These are three romance novellas focused around women in STEM. I definitely have my favorites within these novellas but overall I enjoyed them. They weren't particularly groundbreaking and I still prefer her longer works but it was still cute and fun. 

GOODREADS     |     SERIES REVIEW



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Sunday, June 12, 2022

Book Series Review: "Raybearer" by Jordan Ifueko


Series Title: Raybearer
Author: Jordan Ifueko
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Reading Order & Individual Ratings:
  1. Raybearer - 4.5 // 5
  2. Redemptor - 4.5 // 5
Overall Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

This duology is so slept on and I cannot believe more people aren't talking about this! I thoroughly enjoyed it and am definitely looking forward to revisiting this world in the future.

So I hadn't heard much about Raybearer online, just a few posts here or there which is strange as it is a NYT Bestseller. But it was always on my radar to eventually pick up. When it went on sale, I snatched it up quick. A few months later, here we are. 

I binged this duology back to back and it was wonderful. I was sucked in from the beginning and binged both books in about one sitting each. I was so invested in this duology and I just had to know how things ended. The first book was such an insane conclusion and the sequel picked right up off that energy and just kept that pace up. It was an addicting story that I couldn't put down.

This world is so vibrant and fascinating. I absolutely loved the magic system, world building, and just overall writing. I especially love the focus put on family and strong relationships and how magic was used within them. The world is a lot to take in, but we're given what we need to understand it and it's easy to understand once you get it down. Additionally, we don't get more information than we need to understand the story. This just means I want to know more about the world (through additional novels, informational guides, etc) outside of this story.

I loved the main character. Her internal struggles, her growth, her love for those around her, her desire to make the world a better place...she was great. I was sucked into her journey and she was such a compelling main character. Of course, I enjoyed the side characters as well. Overall, I just think that the entire cast of characters were really well written and fun to read. 

I will say, there were a couple things I wished were a little different. The first is that I felt like the story in the second book happened incredibly quickly for how built up it was. The second, more importantly, is that I wanted the found family to be a bigger focus. 

Now, so much of the plot of the two books focuses on the found family and how our main character interacts with them. Especially in the second book, everything she does seems to be primarily to preserve those around her (specifically this found family). However, the actual page time of the found family was a lot less than I expected and wanted from everyone raving about it. I loved the found family but I wanted more. For a duology focusing so much on found family, it felt like so much of it was the main character doing her own thing. That's not a bad thing, but I was expecting more of the found family dynamic at the forefront. 

Overall, this duology was incredible. The writing was beautiful, the story was addicting, the magic was fascinating, and the characters were compelling. I am so happy to have finally read these two and see what everyone else raved about. I also cannot wait to see what this author does next! 



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Wednesday, May 11, 2022

April 2022 Book Haul


Another month, another book haul! This month was pretty interesting in terms of hauling as I mainly preordered books for future months. However, I did get eight books this month which I'm quite excited about. Let's go ahead and just dive right in!



The first book I got was the Illumicrate edition of The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake. This is my third edition of the book and I haven't yet read it...oops. However, this edition is stunning and I've heard such good things. I was able to get this during the regular sale for retail price, thankfully, as the secondhand prices are insane! I'm hoping to finally read this later in 2022 when the sequel releases!

The next book I picked up was Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko. This is the sequel to Raybearer and I read both books in this duology in April. I really enjoyed this fantasy duology and have definitely grown to like the UK covers a lot more than I initially did. Did you notice that there's a face hidden in the cover? I was stunned when I realized! I also definitely love this cover more than the first book...something about the color purple makes me happy. 

Of course, when Heartstopper came out on Netflix, I got pulled back into the world. I picked up Heartstopper, Volume 4 by Alice Oseman and I'm pretty excited. I definitely think this is my favorite cover, seeing as purple is my favorite color. I haven't yet read the third and fourth volumes so I'm excited to have this one finally so I can catch up. Though, I might binge them all on Webtoon instead as there's content past this fourth volume on there. Also, if you haven't seen the show yet, you definitely need to! 

Up next, I grabbed the UK hardcover of Illusionary by Zoraida Córdova. This edition goes out of print when the paperback publishes and I've been collecting this series so I wanted to grab it before that happened. Now, my Hollow Crown duology collection is almost complete! These books are stunning. Now, to just finish reading it...I anticipate reading it in the very near future after an extended reading slump that prevented me when it first game out. 

Then I got the Broken Binding editions of The Unspoken Name and The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood. These are signed, numbered editions with absolutely stunning stencil sprayed edges. The edges on these are some of the most complex, intricate edges I've seen done on a book and I couldn't pass up the chance to own these before they ran out. 

The next book I got was the Fairyloot edition of The City of Dusk by Tara Sim. I was really intrigued by this book and when I saw that Fairyloot was doing it for their Adult box, I knew I had to have it. It has an alternate cover, sprayed edges, special artwork and embossing, and is signed. It's absolutely stunning and I'm so excited about this edition. Plus, the book itself sounds so intriguing!

The final book I got in April was Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore. I got the first three books in this series (the Graceling series) on sale. When this one popped up on sale as well, I knew I had to get it. With the sale price for these four books, I got the entire series for less than the retail price of just a single book. I'm pretty excited about that, plus these UK covers are stunning! I can't wait to binge these. 



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Sunday, May 1, 2022

April 2022 Wrap-Up


How are we already done with four months this year? 2022 seems to be flying by but it also feels like the start of April was ages ago. Either way, this month was pretty eventful, both in terms of reading and my personal life. I read a total of ten books this month, though I definitely could have read way more if I'd watched less TV...Either way, I'm really happy with what I read. 

I enjoyed every single book this month and didn't rate a single one less than 4.5 out of 5 stars. This year I've been mood reading a lot and I think that's why my ratings have been so high. I also finished three series this month! Two were brand new but I also reread the entirety of one of my favorite series. I guess you could say I'm pretty happy with how this reading month went. Hopefully this momentum carries into May! 


1. 
Title: Legend of the Dragon Slayer
Author: Brandon Mull

2. 
Title: Champion of the Titan Games
Author: Brandon Mull
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

3. 
Title: Return of the Dragon Slayers
Author: Brandon Mull
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

4. 
Title: Raybearer
Author: Jordan Ifueko
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

5. 
Title: Redemptor
Author: Jordan Ifueko
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

6. 
Title: Trickery
Authors: Jaymin Eve & Jane Washington
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-

7. 
Title: Persuasion
Authors: Jaymin Eve & Jane Washington
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-

8. 
Title: Seduction
Authors: Jaymin Eve & Jane Washington
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-

9. 
Title: Strength
Authors: Jaymin Eve & Jane Washington
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-


10. 
Title: Pain
Authors: Jaymin Eve & Jane Washington
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
-reread-





Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Sunday, April 10, 2022

Unboxing: Fairyloot's "Threads of Fate" (March 2022)


Another month...another Fairyloot unboxing. Fairyloot has been smashing it so far with the boxes this year and March was no exception. This box was beautiful and I'm quite happy with it. Like usual, not every item is a favorite but I don't think I've ever had a box where that's been the case. So, without further ado, here is my unboxing for March's "Threads of Fate" box. 



The first item this month was a woodmark inspired by Circe by Madeline Miller and designed by @avendellart. Woodmarks are absolutely gorgeous and I'm thrilled to add another one to my slow-growing collection. I haven't yet read Circe but it is on my TBR and I've enjoyed everything else I've read from Madeline Miller. Even if I don't like the book, this woodmark is stunning enough that I would use it anyway. 

The next item was a sticker sheet inspired by the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater and designed by @vvivaa. I have read the first book in this series and it was just okay. However, I've lately been wondering if I should give the series another chance. But, for now, I don't have much use for this item. Whereas some items can be used no matter the fandom, stickers of book characters are pretty specific. I'm not sure if I'll end up giving this series another go so I'm not sure if I'll end up keeping these.

Up next was a cushion cover inspired by Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko and designed by @blanca.design. This cover is absolutely stunning! Coincidentally, I recently ended up needing a new pillowcase for our couch pillows and I had yet to pick up a replacement. This one has some gorgeous colors and the back is just the design without text so it can serve as a neutral item if needed. I plan on reading Raybearer within the next few months and if I love it I'll definitely be happy to have this pillowcase.

The next item was a tea tin inspired by the book of the month, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh designed by @chattynora. This is actually the third tea tin I've gotten from Fairyloot and I'm always happy with the quality of it. These are great for little knickknacks (bookish or otherwise) and are great for keeping out dust and whatnot. I just hope that I like this book enough to want to keep this. I also am looking forward to the day that I have proper bookshelves again and can properly display this with my books.

The last item was a foiled deck of playing cards inspired by characters from four stories and designed by @naiivu. According to the spoiler card, "the artwork on the Diamonds suit is from Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim, Spades are from Jade Fire Gold by June CL Tan, Clubs are from Only A Monster by Vanessa Len, and the Hearts are from Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan." All of these stories were previous Fairyloot books and the art is beautiful. I do like a good playing card deck and this will definitely get used. 

The tarot cards of the month are from a new celestial deck (the old deck ended in February). This month's cards were illustrated by @arx28 and are The Fool and The Magician, featuring characters Xingyin and Wenzhi from Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. I do quite like the artwork on these but I wish the Fairyloot tarot cards were designed a bit differently this time. I wish they were sized differently and a bit higher quality considering the fact that they're doing another entire tarot deck after spending the last few years on it. As long as the artwork stays high quality, though, I am interested in collecting these this time.

The book of the month was The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh. This edition features an exclusive cover, two coloured stencil sprayed edges, artwork on the endpapers, foil embossing on the hardcover, and is signed by the author. Included was also an author letter with an art print designed by @naiivu on the other side. This book was one I was looking forward too and I'm in love with the edition. I can only hope that I enjoy this book as much as I hope I will. 





Overall, I liked this month's box quite a lot. I will be using most of the items (minus the sticker sheet, which is a small item anyway) and the book is stunning. I'm also quite enjoying Fairyloot's recent trends of including items inspired by their monthly books. I think it's a great way to incorporate new fandoms rather than repeating the same big ones (like Schwab, Clare, SJM, even though I'll never say no to SJM). 

I am skipping April's box because I'm not as interested in the theme or books as of yet and need to save some money. However, they've announced the May theme and I am quite looking forward to that one (the items and the book!). 

What do you think of March's box? Let me know in the comments!



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Friday, November 12, 2021

October 2021 Book Haul


So, it appears my small book hauls of the beginning of this year are over seeing as I hauled twenty-four books in October. Oops? I will be honest, I was not smart with book buying this month but I can't bring myself to be upset about any of them as I'm excited about all the books that I hauled this month. I will admit, I got a bit carried away after all the articles about the fact there's going to be a book shortage later in the year. So, I got a bunch of books I've been looking forward to and a bunch of cool special editions as well. But, seeing as I have a lot to get through, let's go ahead and just dive straight in?



The first book that I got was The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake. This is a book that has risen in popularity a lot lately and I've heard a lot of good things about. It's been on my to-read list for a long time and I even have the ebook. However, this book got picked up by a traditional publisher and will now be published with a new format and cover. While I am excited about that, I also love this cover so I wanted to snag a copy before it went out of print and became impossible to find. 


Up next, I have the Throne of Glass eight-book paperback box set. I have been wanting the US paperbacks for years now, and I actually figured out that the box set was significantly cheaper than buying all the books on their own. So I took the hit and got the set all at once. I'm very happy that I have these and I can't wait to start rereading the series and annotating the heck out of these books.

Then I picked up Rick Riordan's new book, Daughter of the Deep. This is his newest book and one of few not set in the PJATO universe. This is a Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea-inspired story and a standalone, if I'm not mistaken. I picked up the UK hardcover and it's absolutely stunning! The UK hardcovers of Rick's books are taller and shinier than the US ones and, while overall I prefer the US editions for the PJATO universe, I do love this edition a lot. 

I managed to snag an amazing secondhand deal with the Waterstones exclusive hardcover of Catwoman by Sarah J. Maas. I've been wanting this edition for a while, but not enough to actually pay the prices that it mostly sells for. However, I was just browsing one day and found this copy for an amazing price! It's in almost perfect condition and is signed by the queen herself. If you know me, you know that I like to collect Sarah J. Maas editions and I'm thrilled to add this to my collection. 

Next I picked up Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. This entire trilogy was on sale for less than $3 (after conversion) and I couldn't help myself. I was able to get the entire trilogy for less than the cost of just one of them at regular price. The first two I managed to get in September but this last one wasn't available until this month. It's lovely having all three on my shelf and I can't wait to actually dive into these gorgeous books. 

Then I grabbed the UK hardcover of Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco before it goes out of print. This hardcover is slightly different from the US one, but seeing as I'm living in the UK now and will get the others in the series in the UK edition, I wanted to have a matching first book. I also now am able to reread it easily before diving into the sequel.

Speaking of the sequel, I did pick up the signed Waterstones edition of Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco. It has gorgeous blue sprayed edges and I'm really happy with it. I'm not quite sure when I'm going to dive into this sequel, though, as I've heard there is a cliffhanger and I might just want to wait until the final book is out next year before putting myself through that. Either way, I'm glad to have this special edition in my collection now. 

Another new release that I was able to grab was a signed copy of Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. This is one of my most anticipated reads and I do hope that I'm able to get to it before the end of the year as I've heard so many amazing things about it from everyone who has read it. Chinese-inspired fantasy with a badass female main character and a poly romance? Count me in! 

Then I snagged the paperback of Lightbringer by Claire Legrand. I collect different editions of the Empirium trilogy and this is the final book. The paperback just released and I, of course, had to grab a copy. I brought my paperback editions of the first two books with me to London so now I have the full trilogy in paperback and ready for me to binge-read so that I can finally get to Lightbringer (I'm scared). 

Up next, I picked up The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas. I've heard nothing but amazing things about this romance and it has a bunch of my favorite tropes in it so I couldn't help but take the plunge and grab the paperback when I saw it was available here. I anticipate that I'll read this very soon, but I'm not sure if I'll manage to get to it before the end of the year. Either way, I'm quite excited.

Then I grabbed Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas. This is one that I actually read as an ebook and decided I needed a paperback copy of (a theme you might see throughout the rest of this haul). I read this book in one sitting and had a great time reading it. I can't wait to reread it and annotate this paperback because there were definitely some moments I read where I wished that I had a highlighter and pen to mark up this book with.

In similar fashion, I picked up Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas after I read the ebook and loved it. This book is over 500 pages and I read it in one sitting (and loved it, obviously). This book is messy and drama-filled and I loved every moment of it. I knew the moment I finished it that I needed to have a copy on my bookshelves. This is Penelope's first sapphic novel, too, and I was really happy to read it.

Then I snagged a copy of Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko. This was also on sale like Bitterblue and I've heard a lot of great things about this book from very trusted sources. Not only that, but I read somewhere that it's being adapted for screen? I, of course, want to read it before then so when I saw it on sale for so cheap I snagged it pretty quickly. 

Up next, I managed to find a hardcover of The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout in stock here in the UK. It's rare to find hardcovers of this series when you're not at Barnes & Noble in the US (which doesn't ship to the UK, FYI) so when I saw it available here I jumped on it. I want to collect this series and the prequel series in the hardcovers because they're a better format than the brick-like paperbacks. Also, it doesn't hurt that I loved this book! 

Like earlier, I picked up a copy of Dear Love, I Hate You by Eliah Greenwood after reading the ebook and loving it. I gave this book 5 stars and it is definitely one of my favorites of the year. I cannot wait to reread it (probably soon, if I'm being honest) and devour the rest of this author's books. I highly recommend looking into this if you're looking for a booktok romance book that's actually good! I cannot wait for the sequel to come out next year! 

I was then able to snag an ARC of Furyborn by Claire Legrand in a trade (cover does not match this picture). This is the Fairyloot ARC version, which means it was printed in the UK with stiffer binding and a shiny cover instead of matte. The differences are so slight that it was a low-priority ARC for me to add to my collection, but I always knew that if I was able to, I wanted to get it for my collection. As luck would have it, I managed to get a copy this month! 

The last book I hauled in October was The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling. I read this as an ebook before buying this paperback just like with multiple books earlier in this haul. This was a wonderful, spooky romance that was perfect for reading during October and Halloween season. I knew I wanted to add a copy to my shelves and I have no doubt that I'll be reading this in multiple Halloween seasons to come! 



Well, are your eyes tired yet? Because my wrists are tired from all the typing I just did. Either way, those were the twenty-four books that I hauled in October. Spot any favorites? Any books you're excited for? Let me know in the comments!



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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