Reading round up (90)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week. 

7th September

This week I'm reading Cruel Beauty because I need a pick-me-up and this is one of my all time favourites. Today I read 136 pages.

8th September

I finished Cruel Beauty (154 pages), basically binge reading this, and I feel way better. I also started Queen of Shadows, because I feel a lot steadier emotion wise, and like I'm okay to handle book feelings as well as my own. I read 54 pages and it's already painful and epic!!


9th September

I read 108 pages of Queen of Shadows and I LOVE IT. Not seeing how Chaol has been ruined or twisted into someone completely different - he's clearly been affected by a deep, beheading-and-friend-enslaving trauma. That would fuck up anyone, so give the guy a break.

10th September

I read 102 pages of QoS. I like Elide. Huh. Never expected that. (also I thought Nesryn was Elide and I'm slightly grumpy that she's not.)

11th September

Read another 153 pages of QoS and this shit just got EPIC and HIGHLY DANGEROUS real quick.

12th September

I finished Queen of Shadows (I read a crazy 239 pages in one day!!) and everything is a little in pain right now. But happy ending? Thank you Sarah J. Maas, I can only assume this won't last.

13th September

I can't leave Erilea just yet, so I'm finally reading The Assassin's Blade. I read the first novella (77 pages) and oh no I like Sam. (I DON'T WANT TO BECAUSE HE'S GOING TO DIE AND IT'S GOING TO HUUUURT.)

Books finished this week: 2
Books DNF'd this week: 0

For review:

Sequel to a book I enjoyed.

One (3.5 STARS)

Crimson Bound (ARC Review)

Crimson Bound | Rosamund Hodge

Published by: Balzer+Bray, May 5th 2015

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling

Pages: 448

Format: Ebook

Source: Balzer+Bray, via Edelweiss

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

(This is a standalone novel, not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe.)

For the most part of this book, I was enjoying it but I wasn't in love with it. But now I've finished Crimson Bound, I seem to remember the same thing happening to me with Cruel Beauty. The thing about Rosamund Hodge is her stories creep up on me. I enjoy reading them, their fantasy elements, their wonderful worlds, and their effortlessly real characters, but it isn't until everything starts to go to pot and my heart is absolutely wrecked that I discover I love the story. There's a part in this book where Rachelle says she didn't realise she trusted Armand until that trust was broken. That's the way of this book for me.

Crimson Bound had all the wondrous torment I expected, the terrible and alluring magic, the twisty, painful plot, and the heart-pounding desperation. There are so many parts of this story that I enjoyed. I loved the clever inclusion of woodwife charms, how it was set in historical France and still had that high fantasy enchantment, how the Forest was a character in itself, how Rachelle was always yearning to be good even when she had the purest intentions of all of them. Throughout the pages of this book I felt despondency, soaring hope, staggering betrayal, hopelessness, aching love, and purest hate - and the effect is that I'm left reeling, confused, and satisfied all at the same time.

My reviews of Hodge's books are always founded more in emotions than any sort of rational criticism, and that speaks the most about how much I love these books, because even while I didn't love Crimson Bound for half of it, I fell deep by the end and I would now recommend it to literally everyone. To sum up my feelings in actual words: A flawless, taut, devastating story of hope and heroes and salvation.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world building ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★★

Reading round up (55)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week.

1st December

Didn't read any of Fire and Thorns today because I just gorged on fanfic all day.

2nd December

I finished Fire and Thorns (148 pages read), mostly because I made myself, not because I enjoyed it. It was alright, though at no point did I love any element of the book.

3rd December

Started Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge (4%) and so far I'm not able to get into it but hopefully that's just my mood today.

4th December

Currently Reading: Crimson Bound | Rosamund Hodge
Current page/percent: 23%
Read today: 19%
Thoughts: Liking this but not loving it so far. Maybe I put too many expectations on it. Or maybe it's not really got started yet.

5th December

Read nothing of Crimson Bound because I finished The Fallout by Everythursday (WHY DOES IT HAVE TO END????? I AM SLAIN.)

6th December

Currently Reading: Crimson Bound | Rosamund Hodge
Current page/percent: 61%
Read today: 38%
Thoughts: I DON'T LOVE THIS YET AND I AM UPSET ABOUT IT. I really fricking like it, but I haven't fallen head over heels for it yet.

7th December

Currently Reading: Crimson Bound | Rosamund Hodge
Current page/percent: 100%
Read today: 39%
Thoughts: It got much better toward the end. But oh, Rosamund Hodge why must you always torture my emotions? You do betrayals and taut emotions so well!

Books finished this week: 2

I went to the £1 book store in Skipton again, stocked up on Christmas presents (EVERYONE IS GETTING UNSPOKEN!) and bought a few lovelies for myself.

I don't have a picture because they've already been assimilated into my TBR mountain, but I got Aprilynne Pike's Sleep No More, Dan Well's Fragments, Abigail Gibbs's The Dark Heroine, and the third Desert Tales manga by Melissa Marr (I don't have the other two but it was too good to pass up.)

I also got this from Amazon because it's less than a pound:

Still don't like that cover though. What's special about it? For a massively hyped book, it looks indie.

(Girl of) Fire and Thorns
Crimson Bound (scheduled for 29th April 2015)

Reading round up (21)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress and my thoughts on each book as I read it. Starting Camp Nano this week so my reading should be interesting. Will I read more because I'm in a more productive mood, or will I read less because busy?

31st March

Started Proxy by Alex London (19%) and whoa is this good so far, and Amity by Micol Ostow (5%) and I'm not impressed yet.

1st April

Continued with Amity to 19% (read 14%) and I'm still very much on the fence. BUT but but butttt I bought Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge (Cruel Beauty) and started reading it (4%) and it's HOLY SHIT AMAZING already!

2nd April

Finished Gilded Ashes (read 94%) and lord knows I can't wait until Rosamund Hodge's next book. I mean literally. I CAN'T FUCKIN' WAIT. I'm not gonna last. I need it right the goddamn now. I'm sorry for the cursing but this author!!

3rd April

Currently reading: Proxy | Alex London

Current page/percent: 46%

# of pages/percentage read today: 27%

Thoughts: Shipping Knox and Syd SO hard.

4th April

Wanted a book to read when I'm not feeling in a Proxy mood and lord knows Amity was not it, so I started The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (21%). You know the book. Everyone knows the book. It's great so far.

5th April

Currently reading: The Winner's Curse | Marie Rutkoski

Current page/percent: 60%

# of pages/percentage read today: 39%

Thoughts: Oh! The angst!

6th April

Currently reading: The Winner's Curse | Marie Rutkoski
Current page/percent: 100%

# of pages/percentage read today: 40%

Thoughts: These two are killing me.

Books finished this week: 2

Gilded Ashes (Review)

Gilded Ashes | Rosamund Hodge

Published by: Balzer + Bray, April 1st 2014

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 111

Format: Ebook

Source: Bought

A romantic and fantastical reimagining of the classic Cinderella tale,Gilded Ashes is a novella by Rosamund Hodge set in the same world as the author's debut novel, Cruel Beauty.

Orphan Maia doesn't see the point of love when it only brings pain: Her dying mother made a bargain with the evil, all-powerful ruler of their world that anyone who hurt her beloved daughter would be punished; her new stepmother went mad with grief when Maia's father died; and her stepsisters are desperate for their mother's approval, yet she always spurns them. And though her family has turned her into a despised servant, Maia must always pretend to be happy, or else they'll all be struck dead by the curse.

Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn't believe in love either—not since he discovered that his childhood sweetheart was only using him for his noble title. What's the point of pretending to fall in love with a girl just so she'll pretend to fall in love with him back? But when his father invites all the suitable girls in the kingdom to a masked ball, Anax must finally give in and select a wife.

As fate would have it, the preparations for the masquerade bring him Maia, who was asked by her eldest stepsister to deliver letters to Anax. Despite a prickly first encounter, he is charmed and intrigued by this mysterious girl who doesn't believe in love. Anax can't help wishing to see her again—and when he does, he can't help falling in love with her. Against her will, Maia starts to fall in love with him too. But how can she be with him when every moment his life is in danger from her mother's deadly bargain?

Oh my heart! I can't deal with these Rosamund Hodge books. They always destroy me (and then, kindly, remake me.) I love her writing and her world building and the gorgeous, gothic feel of her books. Reading them is opulence.

You know I love a book when I go into really bad metaphors, right?

Anyway the review: Gilded Ashes, a mesmerising Cinderella reimagining, blew me away. I wasn't sure what to expect - I loved loved Cruel Beauty, so obviously I had pretty high expectations, but I never expected such wonderful character development and a heartfelt relationship and the plot - oh! the plot. Such a brilliant retelling. It's recognisably Cinderella but so far removed from the original tale. It's a thousand times better, more emotional, more wonderfully written, with the darkness and lush writing that it simply Hodge.

I'm not doing this novella justice, but please - just do yourself a favour and read it. Don't let the fact that it's a retelling of a popular tale put you off. This is unlike any Cinderella tale you have read before.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world building ★★★★★

Writing Style ★★★★★

Cruel Beauty (ARC Review)

Cruel Beauty | Rosamund Hodge

Published by: Balzer + Bray, January 28th 2014

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 352

Format: Ebook 

Source: Balzer + Bray via Edelweiss (thank you!!)

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

Addictive, endlessly beautiful, and powerfully emotional.

Cruel Beauty tells the tale of Ignifex, the prince of demons who rules over the town of Arcadia, and his bride Nyx who has sworn to kill him to end the plight of her people. Despite her vow to kill the Gentle Lord, Nyx finds herself falling in love with him - but she will have to choose between ending her people's suffering, and saving the man she loves.

This book is stunning. It's effortless and beautiful and so much more than I expected. It captivated me from the beginning, drawing me in with the awesome, ever-changing rooms of Ignifex's house, the enigma that is the man himself, and the unwavering determination and razor-sharp wit of Nyx.

Cruel Beauty is utterly faultless. Hodge's writing is lush and descriptive, her world building is wonderfully detailed, and the way she writes romance took my breath away. Rosamund Hodge is, perhaps, the only author about whom I will talk in terrible, gaudy cliches.

The story, the plot, the romance was intense on every page, culminating in a heart-wrenching happily ever after. I have been ripped apart by sadness, love, elation, and loss - all in the space of a chapter. The only way I can explain it is this: I feel raw and made of jagged edges. It doesn't make sense but it's all I've got.

A magical debut, Cruel Beauty will ensnare and enchant you, no matter what genre of book you read.

 Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world building ★★★★★

Writing Style ★★★★★

"A dazzling and clever retelling, CRUEL BEAUTY is delightfully dark, lushly romantic, and utterly spellbinding. I adored it, and can't wait to read Hodge's next novel!" 

- Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series

"What a stunning debut. This is a book you will want to read as fast as you can for the intricate plot and as slowly as you can to savor the gorgeous world-building and the ravishing love story." 

- Sherry Thomas, author of THE BURNING SKY