May 2023 Book Haul

May was, once again, a bigger book haul than I was expecting. There were definitely some impulse purchases for sure. However, there were a few that I ordered and paid for ages ago that finally arrived so that makes it a little easier. I got 10 books this month so let's just dive in!

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The first book I got this month was Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. I caved to the hype and went out and got a copy of this the week it released. I then had to spend the entire work week until my weekend off waiting to be able to read it. I then read it in one sitting and have not stopped thinking about it since. It's a definitely new favorite of all time and I cannot wait for the next book coming in November. Because I loved it, I then decided to get the Australian paperback edition to annotate in the future. So I actually got two copies of it this month and I'm not upset at all. 

The next book I got was my preorder of the Waterstones edition of One For My Enemy by Olivie Blake. This is one of her previously indie-published books that has been picked up for traditional publication. I was lucky enough to get the indie version before it went out of print and I also wanted a copy of the new version. I decided on the Waterstones edition as it was normal price and I would get it on release over any of the book boxes. It is a beautiful edition and I'm very much looking forward to reading this one. 

Then I picked up a copy of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This has been a popular book for years and I've been intrigued by it but never picked it up until now. Then a friend was talking about wanting to read it and I saw a copy at the grocery store for cheap so I picked up two so that we could both get into it soon. 

I also grabbed a copy of Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson. I've been following Megan on TikTok for a couple years now and have always found her account interesting. She lives in the Tower of London and always has these cool stories about the history. She recently wrote this romcom and I knew I wanted to pick it up, so when I saw it for cheap I impulse bought it. I'm hoping to read it this summer.

Then my copies of the Crescent City Fairyloot editions arrived. I'm a massive SJM fan so of course I ordered these last fall and they've finally arrived. Of course, mine came damaged but replacements are being provided so I'll eventually have nice copies on my shelf. I'm still not sure how I feel about them. I was hoping having them in person would make me like them more after the initial reveal. I think mainly it's a difference in art style. I like the slipcase, the spine, the embossing, and the endpages. However, I don't particularly like the dust jackets or the sprayed edge design. I'll keep them for now until the final book comes out and then make my decision on if I'll keep them or not. 

Then I got Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent. I began my journey into reading the books of this world this month and I knew I wanted to read the novella as well. It's very beautiful and I had a good time reading it. The world itself is super intriguing and I am definitely excited to see how these characters play into future books. 

Then I got The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent. This is the second novel in the series and after I read the first book, I ordered this one alongside Six Scorched Roses. I'm currently reading it and enjoying it quite a bit, though I do think I currently prefer the first book. I've got about 200 pages left and I'm really wondering where it will all go. 

The last book I got was Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. This book has been very highly anticipated because of the rest of the author's books. I've read Babel and really enjoyed it while The Poppy War is still on my TBR. This one is a literary fiction and I've heard great things. It also addresses the publishing industry and, as an aspiring publishing professional, I think it's right up my alley. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Book Review: "The Serpent and the Wings of Night" by Carissa Broadbent

Title: The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Author: Carissa Broadbent

Series: "Crowns of Nyaxia" #1

Genre: New Adult Fantasy Romance

Page Length: 491 pages

Publication Date: August 30, 2022

Rating: 5 // 5 stars 

Goodreads

If you're anything like me, you'd have seen this book everywhere on booktok and bookstagram in the last few months. It has blown up and everyone and their mother seems to be raving about it. Even reviewers I follow who are notoriously tough on fantasy romance seemed to love it. So I bought it a couple months ago and this past weekend I decided to give it a go. 

I pretty much did not stop the moment I started this book. I read it in one sitting, in one night, and loved it. Carissa Broadbent just has a writing style that lets me fall into her books and not even notice how long I've been reading until hours later.

I'd say this book is The Hunger Games meets Throne of Glass meets vampires. Everyone keeps recommending it as similar to ACOTAR but I don't really get that vibe (only similarity is the love interests have wings?). Of course, I've not yet read the second book so maybe that's where people are getting that from.

But let's get into the actual book. In terms of our main character, I loved her. Oraya's story was addicting to read. I liked her as a character and I was rooting for her the entire way. She's a human in a world not designed for humans but that doesn't make her weak in any way. Entering the Kejari is a way to change things for her.

The Kejari, a legendary competition held by the goddess of death every hundred years, grants the winner one wish. This competition is the key to Oraya's future and finding her long-lost family. And it was addicting. I love competition and tournament stories and this one was so fun. I will admit, I expected it to be different than it was but the way it went was still quite good. 

Our love interest definitely had me swooning. Raihn is another vampire in this competition and he teams up with Oraya (though she's reluctant) to get through the competition to the end. He was so fun to read about. His wit, their back and forth banter, the slow unraveling of his secrets...I loved it. 

The world is fascinating. Vampires, gods, and humans...it certainly provides for an interesting mix. I am very eager to learn more about this world as there's supposed to be six books total in this series, with a couple spin-offs/companions already out. I love a big world we get to play in and I'm very interested to see this one unravel a bit more. 

The ending shook me, but was also pretty on par with a book like this. I think I'm beginning to see a pattern with my favorite fantasy romance books and how they end...because three of my all-time favorites have now ended this way in the past year and a half. It's a popular ending for sure and I thought this one was particularly well-done. 

There's really not much more I can say without spoiling things that I don't want to spoil. Overall, I loved this book. It was so fun to read and I loved every second. I'm cautiously optimistic about the sequel, though, as I've heard a lot of mixed things and I'm expecting it to be a lot different than this first one. Either way, I'm excited to know what happens next and to see more of these characters. I'm also intrigued by all of the companions/spin offs. In the span of the month this world went from one book to four so there's a lot of material I can catch up on for sure.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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