Top Ten Tuesday: Great Reads That I’m Thankful For!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish.

Since U.S. Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday this week’s theme is books/bookish things we are thankful for! There are plenty of books out there that I’m thankful for but these are a few that just really stick out for me!

I will link reviews for each title if I have one and these are in no particular order!

10.) Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

This was the first book I read by Jay Kristoff and I am thankful for it because I found him and he’s now one of my favorite authors! He’ writes very beautifully but also NEVER fails to throw in a ridiculous amount of shocking twists and turns, and he also knows how to write a badass female protagonist! “Stormdancer” has great world building, a badass heroine, a talking animal companion, and an intense/action packed plot. What more can I ask for?

You can read my full review for “Stormdancer” here.

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9.) The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

I’m thankful for “The Diabolic” because it’s a book that really got me interested in reading more YA sci-fi, which I was always interested in but now it’s a favorite genre of mine! This book also had tons of action, another badass heroine, political intrigue, and a romance I could actually ship!

You can read my full review for “The Diabolic” here.

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8.) Vicious by V.E. Schwab

This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I highly doubt there’s anything even close to it out there in the book world either. It’s got morally gray characters with super human powers along with an “edge of your seat” plot line, I need the sequel desperately. Schwab’s writing is absolutely fantastic and I will pretty much read anything and everything she writes. I’m thankful for her because she puts out so much unique and creative content!

You can read my full review of “Vicious” here.

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7.) Night Film by Marisha Pessl

It’s a perfect blend of horror and mystery and thriller, seriously this book was like winning the jackpot for me. There was plenty of suspense and I just adored it to bits and pieces, I am really hoping Pessl will release something just as good soon!

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6.) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I don’t think I need to explain why I’m thankful for this gem, this is such a powerful and beautifully written book and I think it deserves to be read by everyone.

You can read my full review of “The Hate U Give” here.

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5.) Red Rising by Pierce Brown

I’m thankful I finally read this amazing book! It’s such an awesome blend of some of my favorite genres such as fantasy and sci-fi, but it’s also full of great characters (that I became overly attached to) and shocking plot twists. THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!

You can read my full review of “Red Rising” here.

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4.) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

This is a brutal book full of some great world building and even greater characters, there are some magical elements as well. This BOOK kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and it’s just great, I need to read the sequel!

You can read my full review of “An Ember in the Ashes” here.

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3.) Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

I honestly don’t know how to describe how great this book but it’s about children who came back from other worlds (similar to the Chronicles of Narnia) via different doorways and learn to cope at a home with other children. After reading books such as the Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter as a child I found this book extremely relatable and very magical as well.

You can read my full review of “Every Heart A Doorway” here.

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2.) The Wicked + The Divine Series by Kieron Gillen

One of my absolute favorite graphic novels series I am SO thankful I found! The plot is intriguing, the characters are all amazing, and the art is stunning!

You can read my full review for Volume 1 here.

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1.) Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

I’m very thankful for this beautiful book right here not only because it’s incredibly diverse and has a TON of pop culture/geeky references but because the anxiety rep was so spot on. I thought it was so great to see a main character with anxiety being represented so well, since it’s something I suffer from as well and it was just very relatable.

You can read my full review of “Queens of Geek” here.

What are some books you’re thankful for?

Have you read any of these, what did you think?

Let me know in the comments!

Books I’d Like to Finish Before the End of the Year

So of course I’m going to be pretty busy this month and next month with ARCs but by the time November and December roll around what will I be reading? It’s been a bit of a chore with certain posts to not discuss my planned October TBR, why is it so secret? Just for fun! I have quite a few spooky books set up for October. However, there are a couple books I would for sure like to squeeze in before the year ends that aren’t going to be a part of my Halloween TBR for October. Here are just a few of them!

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Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

I just purchased this book and would LOVE to dive into it soon since it promises to be pretty dark and full of some serious plot twists. If it’s anything like Thomas’s other book “The Darkest Corners” then it’s sure to not disappoint!

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The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

I’m actually ashamed that I haven’t read any of his books yet since I’m an avid fantasy reader! Plus on top of that EVERYONE keeps telling me I must read this series and I know they’re right. I’m really hoping I can manage to make some room for it before the year is up.

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Because You Love To Hate Me Edited by Ameriie

I’m sad I couldn’t fit this in any sooner but the ARCs got the best of me! This should be a fairly quick read since it’s an anthology by some fantastic authors and all about villains. Can’t wait to get to it!

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Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

I’m all for anything that seems “Alice in Wonderland” inspired and I also have been meaning to give Tahereh Mafi a try. I just got a copy of this book and hoping I can test it out soon, especially with that gorgeous cover!

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The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

I know, I know how can I NOT have read the Heroes of Olympus series yet? I read and adored and loved the Percy Jackson series but just haven’t gotten to this one yet. Fortunately I got a fantastic deal on a box set so now I have no excuse to not just dive into this series finally!

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A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

I have zero excuses on this one, especially now that the trilogy is complete! I’m hoping I can finally get started on the sequel to the fantastic “A Darker Shade of Magic” because Schwab is Queen!

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The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst

This book is a little bit more under the radar but I thought it sounded interesting and I have heard good things about it. I’m all for interesting magic systems!

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Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

I’ve been meaning to read this ALL YEAR and still haven’t gotten to it yet! So I’m hoping I can finally read it especially since I adore Laini Taylor’s writing to bits and pieces.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

Do you have any of these on your TBR as well?

Have you read any other books by these authors?

What books are you trying to squeeze in before the end of the year?

Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Loved The Year I Started My Blog

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Another week, another Top Ten Tuesday! This week’s theme is a throwback freebie so it can be anything you’d like to discuss about older books such as: books published 10 years ago, older books you forgot you loved, or books from the year you started blogging (which I’m doing!).

There are so many books I read a while ago that I don’t talk about enough and some of them I do talk about plenty. This is going to be a list of my favorite reads from 2015 back when I started this blog!

These are in no particular order and I do have reviews up for each of these books but I’m not going to link them since they’re older and slightly embarrassing! Still though they are available if you want to hear my full thoughts on some of them.

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10.) A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

This was one of the first books I read when I started my blog because there was a ton of hype and glowing reviews for it! Of course I’m super happy I gave Schwab a try because she’s one of my favorite authors now.

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9.) Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

I had read “Gone Girl” as well as “Dark Places” before I gave this one a go because I really enjoy the way Flynn tells her stories, they’re also super twisted. This one is probably one of my favorites of hers now as well because of that twist at the end!

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8.) Slasher Girls & Monster Boys stories selected by April Genevieve Tucholke

This was a new release when I started my blog and I had heard a few good things about it and I’m ALWAYS looking for some great, creepy YA horror books. This is an anthology and pretty much all of the stories were fantastic plus some of them definitely did not fail to give me nightmares!

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7.) Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

I actually mention this book quite frequently but when I first started blogging I was digging around for some great books to read that I hadn’t heard of before. “Lips Touch” was one of the ones I found and it definitely is very underrated. It’s three short stories told by Laini Taylor and her writing here is just as beautiful as it is in her other book “Daughter of Smoke and Bone”. Highly recommend checking out if you’re a fan of hers!

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6.) The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco

I bought this book when I got “Slasher Girls & Monster Boys” as well because I had heard mixed things about it and was looking for more scary reads. I’m really terrified of Japanese horror stories every since getting nightmares in the fourth grade from the movie “The Grudge” so I was easily scared reading this book, which was fun!

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5.) The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

I hadn’t actually heard much about this book but I saw it in my local bookstore and the cover was so intriguing and creepy that I HAD to buy it. It’s also told in a really unique format consisting of transcripts of video footage, journal entries, and even drawings. It’s an interesting and pretty suspenseful psychological thriller.

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4.) The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This book….broke my heart! It came highly recommended when I was searching Goodreads for new books to read since I started my book blog and while it was fantastic and very well written….it was also completely emotionally devastating!

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3.) Alice by Christina Henry

Okay, okay I KNOW I mention this book all the time but that’s only because it’s so fantastic! I think it’s pretty good for me to still be recommending a book two years after reading it! This is a very twisted, gritty retelling of Alice in Wonderland and is very much worth reading through in my opinion.

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2.) Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

This book was actually recommended to me by one of my blogging besties Arianna @ The Quirky Book Nerd and I of course always take her recommendations to heart! This was such a hilarious graphic novel and I enjoyed every minute of it, it’s a great book to brighten up your day!

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1.) Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Probably my most highly recommended book I’ve read and I was pretty proud reading two of Schwab’s books in half a year too when I started all of this! It’s got morally ambiguous characters with freaking superpowers….so yeah I was definitely impressed. I’m also DYING to read the sequel!!!!

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A Few Honorable Mentions:

• You by Caroline Kepnes
• The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
• The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters
• Uprooted by Naomi Novik
• The Martian by Andy Weir
• Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Have you read any of these books as well? What did you think?

What are some of your favorite books from the year you started blogging?

How about some older favorites in general?

Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday: Required Reading For SFF Lovers

Hello fellow book lovers!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jamie @ The Broke and the Bookish.

Time for another Top Ten Tuesday and this week’s theme is “Back To School” which can be anything from books you read in school or books you think should be required reading etc. So I decided to go with books I feel are required reading for any Sci-fi and Fantasy lovers out there!

I do have full reviews for each of these titles (which I am not going to link this time around) if you’d like to check them out!

These are also in no particular order and there are equal amounts of sci-fi and fantasy books here!

10.) A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

This book is simply amazing and definitely something you should check out if you’re a fantasy lover! Schwab weaves together some incredible world building and an action-packed plot focusing on a main character who has the magical ability to travel between the 4 parallel versions of London.

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9.) The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This is technically sci-fi but while reading you don’t get very many vibes of this except for the alien type creatures and some plot information you receive later on. It’s sci-fi though trust me! This is about a boy living in a town of men who can all hear everyone’s thoughts and when he learns a secret about said town he must flee for his life.

Very heartbreaking story but so, so good.

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8.) Vicious by V. E. Schwab

Yes, another Schwab book! Basically if you’re a lover of SFF then just check her out period! This book is probably my favorite of hers and it involves morally ambiguous characters and super powers, what more could you ask for? It’s definitely a page turner!

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7.) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

This is one of those books that may not be for everyone but with the super unique formatting and the literal non-stop action I can’t help but recommend it for all sci-fi lovers. It has everything from a self-aware AI to creepy space viruses! There really is never a dull moment.

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6.) Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

 I honestly recommend this book ALL the damn time but here I am again with it! This book has such creative world building and the characters were amazing too, tons of plot twists, and plenty of action as well. All around amazing fantasy book with all of the fantasy elements I personally look for. Who doesn’t love talking animal companions?

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5.) Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West

Another fantasy book I recommend all the time which is also very underrated, it has some very unique world building along with four different retellings weaved into the plot as well (Hua Mulan, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Jane Austen’s Emma). It’s got some very heart warming and heart breaking moments for sure, overall amazing story though!

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4.) The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

This is sci-fi but the political intrigue and plots are very reminiscent of fantasy as well, the pacing is insanely fast and there’s non stop plot twists and action! You’ll also love the complete badass main character, Nemesis, who pretty much just kicks ass the entire book. She’s one tough cookie!

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3.) Red Rising by Pierce Brown

If I were going to sum up why this should be required reading it’d just be me screaming because of how awesome this book is.

There are so many wonderful characters and it’s like a much more brutal and violent version of the Hunger Games except in space….well Mars but you get what I mean.

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2.) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

The world building is very Ancient Roman inspired, there’s loads of action,  fantastic characters, and plenty of shock worthy plot twists. This has all of the wonderful fantasy elements most of us look for and is extremely entertaining!

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1.) Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Very short, sweet, and to the point this book is magical and actually has some great world building for how short the story is. It’s about a home for “chosen one” children who have been kicked out of their magical worlds and must learn how to cope back in reality.

Have you read any of these books as well? What did you think?

Do you think these should be required reading for SFF fans?

What are some books you’d consider required reading for SFF lovers?

Let me know in the comments!

Top 5 Wednesday: Books Without Romance (Or Very Little)

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Thoughts on Tomes and created by Lainey @ Ginger Reads Lainey. You can check out the group’s Goodreads page for this month’s topics!

This week’s theme is Books Without Romance or they can be books with very little romance as well. I personally am a huge fan of books with little to no romance, it’s a big pet peeve of mine when romances cloud over the plot and all other happenings. I’m very happy to find books like this and share the ones I’ve read as well!

I will link up my reviews for each title as well if you’d like my full thoughts!

5.) This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

While I suppose it could be debated a little bit since it sometimes feels like the two main characters are developing feelings for each other throughout, this is still very much romance free. This is a story about monsters and monstrous humans and that’s where the focus stays, there’s no getting muddled up in any lovey-dovey moments here!

You can read my full review of “This Savage Song” here.

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4.) Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Um…yeah here she is again! Schwab really is a master at keeping the plots of her books straight and interesting without getting too lost in any romance. This is a very complex novel about two men that gain “superpowers” and turn into enemies but the lines between who’s good and who’s evil blur very much.

One of the characters does have a girlfriend and the other character loves her as well but it’s very briefly mentioned and serves more as a motivator in the story than it does an actual romantic subplot. So no romance!

You can read my full review of “Vicious” here.

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3.) Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Have I talked about this book enough on my blog? Yeah, I don’t think so either. This is an amazing fantasy story with fantastic world building and a brutally unpredictable storyline, plus the heroine is a badass! I digress, there is a point in the story where Yukiko becomes a bit smitten with a boy but it is extremely brief and hardly mentioned. Plus when you get to the end of the book you definitely wouldn’t say there is any romance either…..trust me.

You can read my full review of “Stormdancer” here.

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2.) Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

I cannot recommend Christina Henry’s books enough, honestly, and them being very romance-light is one of the reasons. With “Lost Boy” there is a point in the story where a character has a crush on someone but other than that it’s very romance free. It was nice to see a female character whose sole purpose wasn’t to be the love interest.

You can read my full review of “Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook” here.

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1.) Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

What’s great about this book is how diverse it is with the characters’ genders and sexuality. We see both a transgender character as well as an asexual character, which I though was absolutely fantastic! Plus there was no romance at all, it was really great that we got to see such diversity like this and the author didn’t feel a need to push any of the characters together.

You can read my full review of “Every Heart A Doorway” here.

Have you read any of these books as well? What did you think of them?

Do you agree about the “non-romance” in any of these books? Disagree?

What are some books you’ve read with little to no romance? (please tell me I love these kinds of recommendations!)

Do you find that you enjoy books with little to no romance more or less?

Let me know in the comments!

Book Review: This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab

 

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

I really wish I could rate this higher, and don’t mistake a 3.5 for bad by any means, but my expectations were so high  for this book and I felt more than a little disappointed with it. I was expecting to absolutely LOVE this book after loving her other two books “A Darker Shade of Magic” and “Vicious” but I really don’t think this book is anywhere near that level (regardless of the fact this is YA and the others are not). So I enjoyed it but not nearly as much as I was supposed to.

I absolutely loved the concept for this story I think it’s unbelievably interesting as well as unique but I think it was still a little lacking. First of all I thought the entire world was extremely underdeveloped, which I may forgive depending on how the next book goes, but still! We are essentially thrown right into the story with absolutely no clue as to what’s going on or why or anything really and then out of nowhere we are hardcore info-dumped which only confused me more. All in all I think we had a lack of information and when we received it, it didn’t really do a whole lot to help.

Even though I felt this way I still thought the world building was fantastic! We have some terrifying monsters who feed off of humans and humans who not only fight the monsters but also each other in a territory war for V-City. So the monsters are probably the most interesting part because they all have different classes, weaknesses, and strengths etc but there’s also a very Romeo & Juliette feel to the story as well with Kate and August on opposite sides of the territory war.I thought overall this made the story super unique and interesting, this is what kept me reading!

I also really loved how good and evil are blurred in the story it’s all one big grey area which is actually what I kind of expect from Schwab’s stories. We are meant to question who the real monsters are in this book (which come on who doesn’t love that right?).

The plot is also slow to start and takes a little time to unravel and for me it felt like I read half the book before things got really good. So I wouldn’t expect fast pacing and action around every corner because “This Savage Song” doesn’t have that, what it does have is some pretty great thrilling and intense scenes. Although I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was unputdownable for me.

No romance! That’s right guys there is no typical, cliched YA romance in this book! No insta-love, no love triangles, no romance period! What we did get was a very nice friendship between the two main characters, will it develop into something more? Maybe, only time will tell. I thought this overall was a breath of fresh air for a YA book.

Also the ending! I both loved and hated it because on one hand it was absolutely amazing and unexpected but also because it was such a cliffhanger, I’m torn between hating cliffhangers (because I lack patience) and loving how they make me crave more!

I did really like Kate and August both but at the same time I felt like they were a little flat and underdeveloped, like everything else.

Kate was strong, determined, and definitely not a damsel. All she wants is to prove herself to her father who runs the North half of V-City. Although I will say she got a little annoying at times because her stubbornness lead her to make the not-so-greatest of decisions.

August is quiet, shy, and clever I actually liked his character more than Kate’s. I felt more sympathetic towards him and his problems versus Kate’s because of his nature.

I also really enjoyed how the friendship developed between Kate and August I loved that they grew so close throughout the story and yet remained out of the romance zone.

The secondary characters could have all done with a development overhaul since as important as they were to the story they didn’t seem like it, they were pretty boring and lacked the complexity I thought they deserved.

Overall I did enjoy this book but I didn’t find it particularly game-changing or mind blowing, I definitely expected to love a book by Schwab much, much more. It’s a good book and I can see how everyone enjoyed it a little more than me but I was a little disappointed.

What I Liked:

• The overall premise/concept of the book
• Morally ambiguous plot/characters
• World building (even if it lacked a little)
• No romance
• That hellish but wonderful ending
• The writing because it’s Schwab of course

What I Didn’t Liked:

• The extreme lack of information especially at the beginning of the book
• Info-dumps (when we actually got information)
• Underdeveloped world building and characters
• Slow pacing throughout

I actually would recommend reading this since it is an interesting concept and it wasn’t terrible but I’d say if you’ve read Schwab’s other books (such as “A Darker Shade of Magic” or “Vicious”) than I’d maybe lower your expectations for “This Savage Song” or just give it a skip all around because this doesn’t even compare to them.

Links: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository