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Thoughts of a Bibliophile


I reached 600 follower on Instagram! Instagram is one of my favourite platforms to use and I love taking bookish photos and looking at other bookish photos (nerdy I know but I really don't care because they are so beautiful!) But I have to say I have found it one of the hardest ways to build a platform on. For me every time I get a single follower I get excited and to have reached another 100 mark is just amazing!

So to celebrate and show my appreciation, I am giving away a signed copy of Children of Blood and Bone that has these beautiful sprayed red edges!

If that sounds like somthing you would like then have a look at my instagram post below for all the details on how to enter! 

If you already follow me on instagram, thank you so much for already getting me to where my account is now! If you don't but would like to, thank you just as much! 

Good luck!


A post shared by Kizzi May (@thoughtsofabibliophile) on Aug 14, 2018 at 2:14am PDT
10:21 No comments

Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Release: 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ★★★☆☆

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Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

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How has it taken me so long to read this trilogy? Six of Crows was one of the first fantasy books I read and is still one of my absolute favourites. I loved its characters and fun plot, but I did always feel as though I was missing a lot of the backstory from having missed reading the Grisha Verse. And I am so happy to be finally getting more into this world. 

It has one of the most unique magic systems in any of the books I've read. Yes, there is a lot of elemental magic which is pretty typical, but the way it works is so interesting. There are three main groups, which are then specialised further. The Corporalki is the order of the living dead. They are split into two, Healers and Heartenders. The former is pretty obvious and the latter can slow your heart down and kill you. They literally have death stare. Then there are the Etherealki, the order of Summoners. They are split into three, the Squallers who control air pressure, Inferni who control fire, and Tidemakers who control water. Finally, there are the Materialki, the order of Fabirkators, who are split into Durasts that can manipulate metal, stone and pretty much any other solid material. There are also the Alkemi who dabble in poisons and explosions. Pretty cool right?

I loved following Alina as she is thrown into this world of magic and her attempts to try and fit in. To be honest, she's a bit all over the place and doesn't really know what she's doing or who she really is. But for me, I thought this made her much more believable as a character and I liked her more for it. Who really has their life all sorted out at 17? 

I do want more from the villain. I feel like this book only brushed the surface and I want to know more about them and their motive. At the moment it's a bit clique with the whole hungry for power and destruction vibe but I hope I will find out more in the next two books. I won't say who it is as big spoilers there but I'm not sure yet. I also feel like he needs to do more evil. We didn't see a whole lot of evil actions from this character until the end and I want some more please!

Finally, the love interests. This is one of the things our main character is confused about and I have to say I did like one over the other. But that could never work and I'm not too keen on where it left off. Which I think makes me a bit evil as it is quite nice but I'm just not feeling it. I also don't feel like it really can work in their situation which makes it slightly less believable. I feel like that very abstract but I am really trying not to spoil anything! If you've read it, I hope you know what I mean and comment if you agree or completely disagree and are currently cursing your screen. Sorry!

And there we go! What did you think of the first book of the Grisha Verse or are you like me and so far behind you're only just getting to it/ haven't picked it up yet?

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15:16 No comments

Title: A Reaper at the Gates
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Release: 2018
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

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Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger.

The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable, while the Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power. As Helene searches for a way to hold back the approaching darkness, her sister's life and the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance.

Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer. But while hunting for a way to bring him down, Laia faces unexpected threats from those she hoped would aid her, and is drawn into a battle she never thought she'd have to fight.

And in the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as Soul Catcher. But in doing so, he has vowed himself to an ancient power that will stop at nothing to ensure Elias's devotion--even at the cost of his humanity


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I've decided not to do a proper review of A Reaper at the Gate, mainly because it is the third instalment of the Ember in the ashes quartet so I feel like a review would be pointless. It is still a review of a kind, but more discussiony, maybe a bit more spoilerish but if you haven't read it I don't think it will ruin anything. 

The first point I want to talk about is how faced paced it was! I a lot happens in quite a short time to a lot of characters. I think this stemmed from having three points of views so each storyline didn't have enough time to go into lots of detail, and sometimes it was just too rushed. I'm the kind of reader that likes some description to ground the scene, and I like a lot of time to read about my favourite characters. At some points, somthing quite significant or interesting would happen in one paragraph, and already it was moving on. I don't see how the POV could have been done any other way as there needed to be three points of views to tell all that was going on logistically, (although I did find myself wanted to race through Elias and the Blood Shrikes chapters to get to Laia's) but I would have been quite happy if the book had been bigger. After all, who wouldn't want to spend more time reading this series?

I also really hope to see more of Musa, the character who acts like Laia's (kind of) fairy godmother, in the last book. I felt he left way too early. He brought a lighter feel to the book with a lot (A LOT) of death and hurt and destruction. And whilst he definitely does not have a light past, he represents the hope for the future that Laia had almost forgotten about in her determination to destroy the Nightbringer. 

Speaking of the Nightbringer, I loved reading about his history. It seems so relevant and I can completely imagine some human going in and ruining something that didn't need to be interfered with and therefore dooming the rest of their kind when the king they destroyed comes back to utterly destroy them in return. But are we to feel sympathy towards the Nightbringer? Whilst I don't think I do because he's still done very evil things, I can understand why he is now so hateful. And he is definitely getting his revenge. I would love to know more about that world before. It's moments when reading bits like this when I wonder whether or not Sabaa Tahir already had this background planned out even from the first book. It seems so far from the Blackcliff setting of An Ember in the Ashes but looking back, it all links and makes complete sense. Authors are magic I swear. 

I did find myself wanting to throw the book in frustration a few time, but then not being able to as I had to keep reading to find out what happened next. If you haven't read this yet then prepare yourself for the number of devastating things Laia, Elias and Helene have to go through. If you have read this, are you hanging in there? Or trying not to go and cry in a corner like I am... I had a lot of moments when I wanted to ask Sabaa Tahir how she could be so cruel and wondered if there could be another way but nope. The characters were to be destroyed one way or another. Hopefully the next book everything resolves itself with lots of sunshine and rainbows with a nice pink bow on top, leaving everyone happy and perfect. Yeah, probably not but a girl can hope!

That's pretty much all I have to say, what were your thoughts? 

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15:26 No comments

As this month started off a with a pretty slow start for reading, I think I actually managed to read quite a bit and read some really good books! July was the first full month of my holidays (I've just left school so this summer is long one) and I hope I am able to keep this reading momentum going throughout August. 

Here I have my monthly wrap up for July and my TBR for August which I hope to read all of but I have just bought two new books which may take priority as I have been wanted to read them for soooo long! I hope everyone had a good month of reading and don't forget to comment below any amazing books you read this month. I really feel in the contemporary mood so if you have any recommendations for those, I would love to hear them! 

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Title: Circe
Author: Madeline Miller
Released: 2018
Genre: Adult Fantasy and Mythology
Rating: ★★★★☆
Dates Read: 29th June to 9th July

Circe is a retelling of the Greek god Circe and takes you through pretty much her entire life. It is a beautifully written and interesting book to read and if you are at all interested in mythology, should be very near the top of your to-read pile. There are droplets of other stories other than Circes woven into the background which made me more and more intrigued to learn more about the many mythologies there are. As someone who knows very little on the subject, I learnt more about the birth of the Minotaur, the Trojan War and general godly going ons than I thought I would. What this book also made me realise that they are a lot darker and disturbing than reading Pery Jackson and the Lighting Theif would let one... 

Whilst it took me quite a while to read as it is a dense book with heavy topics and the pace of the story wasn't exactly rapid, I felt like that was best for the story it was telling. After all, an entire lifetime (or eternity as she is a god) banished to an island wouldn't expect to see much drama so Circe really had a much more exciting life than would be expected.  

If you want to know more about what I thought, read my full review here! 

Title: To Kill a Kingdom 
Author: Alexandra Christo
Published: 2018
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆
Dates Read: 9th July to 13th July 

I read the first 150 pages of this very quickly whilst on my flight back from holiday, and read the rest in a similar way once I have caught up on some much needed sleep. This is a book of sirens, princes and adventure and my only real issue with it was that it was too short. 

I love the friendships in this, the reminded me a lot of the Dregs from Six of Crows. They have a similar banter and made me smile a lot whenever they appeared back on the page. The romance was good, if not completely predictable but for me a felt this was a much more lighthearted fantasy and it fit with the story. As it was so short and is a stand-alone, it is difficult to get into all the political elements that normally accompany a fantasy, which in some ways is good as it does make for a much lighter read than a normal fantasy, but in otherwise it left me feeling as though the story could be a lot more fleshed out. I also wanted to see more of the characters as I wasn't ready for it to end. 

If you want to know more of what I thought, you can read my full review here!

Title: Legendary
Author: Stephanie Garber
Release: 2018
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆
Dates Read: 13th July to 15th July 

I wrote a review of Caraval, the previous book to Legendary and it wasn't one that raved like all the others I had seen. I felt disappointed that I didn't seem to love it as much as everyone else and it left me not too keen to get onto Legendary. This was the second time I had picked up this book, the first time I only managed to read one page before putting it down, but I am so glad I returned to it.

I feel as though I now have to same love for this book as everyone else seemed to have for Caraval. In Legendary, there is so much more depth to the world and Tella, who you find out is a much more interesting character than I would have thought previously. I loved reading from her perspective and I hope it continues from that in the next book. 

If you want to know more of what I thought, you can read my full review here! 

Title: Eleanor and Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Release: 2012
Genre: YA Contemporary 
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Dates Read: 16th July to 17th July

After reading quite a lot of fantasy, I definitely felt as though I needed a break. I picked up Eleanor and Park at random and sat down to read it, and I read it in pretty much one sitting. About a boy Park who is the son of an ex-army soldier and a hairdressing mother, who sits next to the new girl Eleanor one day on the school bus. Eleanor is the new girl who wears strange clothes that are far from cool and who everyone avoids until park begins passing her his comics to read, and then his music.  But it isn't all so nice and happy. Eleanor comes from a very broken home, with a father that doesn't care all the much and a mother who is remarried to an abusive and neglectful man. 

I enjoyed this read and it was a nice break. Eleanor and Park's romance was very cute and the kind teenagers dream of, especially when they feel they don't entirely fit in - which I am sure is how most teenagers feel no matter what it looks like from the outside. But for me, the ended was a bit of a disappointment. The tension built for a while, but then it all just fizzled down and I was left feeling meh. I was hoping for a bit more drama (but is that me just being a bit of a pessimist and hoping something worse was going to happen? Probably!)

Title: More Happy Than Not
Author: Adam Silvera
Release: 2015
Genre: YA Contemporary, LGBT
Rating: ★★★★☆
Dates Read: 24th July to 25th July

Have read History is All You Left Me and crying my eyes out, I was excited to read Adam Silvera's debut novel. Whilst I managed not to cry at this one, that doesn't mean it wasn't as filled with deeply moving and emotional topics. 

More Happy Than Not is a story about a sixteen-year-old boy who is dealing with his depression just a few months after his father committed suicide. Not only that but he is also discovering confusing feelings for his new friend Thomas and has to cope realising who he is in a society that doesn't fully accept him. 

This book has so much involved in it that I am sure I have missed things. There are so many different things to take away from it but I loved the sense of hope that I thought it portrayed, even with the many harrowing topics it dealt with. 

If you want to know more of what I thought, you can read my full review here! 

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I have some pretty chunky books here and a very busy month ahead so whilst I hope to read maybe one or two more then these, I decided it was best not to overestimate what I could achieve. I few of these books have been on my TBR for a long time now and I really want to tick them off. 


I really want to get stuck into a series as I've been reading either a lot of stand-alone or new releases of series which I always think makes the story feel a bit more disjointed. I only have one book that is part of a series so I may change what I end up reading, but this will give me a bit of guidance when I don't know what to read next. 

The four books on my TBR are:

The Queen of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

Spinning Silver my Naomi Novik 

Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine 

They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera

*two books just arrived in the post this morning so I may have to read them too! They are:

A daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor 

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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So there we have all the books I read in July, and all the books I hope to read in August! What is on your August TBR?

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I would also love to be a friend on Goodreads,  you can find me here!

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13:00 No comments

Title: More Happy Than Not
Author: Adam Silvera
Release: 2015
Genre: YA Contemporary, LGBT
Rating: ★★★★☆

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Life hasn't been easy for sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto, but with the help of his girlfriend, he's slowly remembering what happiness might feel like. 

Then Thomas shows up...

Thomas is smart and funny, and before long Aaron is spending all his time with him. But as Aaron's feelings for Thomas intensify, tensions with his other friends start to build. 

Soon Aaron is faced with a choice - one that will make him question what it is he wants, and how far he'll go to get it. 

Why does happiness have to be so hard?

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** Trigger warning for suicide, depression and homophobia. 

More Happy Than Not is a beautifully written, coming of age contemporary about a boy who has to deal more than his fair share of teenage problems. Adam Silvera’s debut novel deals with the struggles of finding your identity, how to pressures of society amplify that struggle, coping with depression and most likely more. I feel as though this is a novel that has so many layers underneath that I could read it multiple times and notice a new thing each time.

Aaron Soto, our protagonist, is a sixteen-year-old boy who loves to draw, comics and lives in a one bedroom flat in New York, sharing a sitting room with his game playing brother. His mother works two jobs and his father committed suicide just five months previously. Already it’s fair to say Aaron has had to deal with much more than I hope to ever have to.

Not only do we follow Aaron as he figures out how to cope with his father’s death, but also his changing friendships which greatly affect his life. His conflicting feelings for his new friend Thomas leads onto new issues, including the deterioration with his girlfriend and coming to the recognition and accepting of his own identity.

The novel is quite isolated from the rest of society, set mostly in Aarons small block of flats and the immediately surrounding area. This makes for a very focused and realistic insight into Aarons life and reflects how his entire life revolves around what happens in the very small community. And a community that doesn’t fully accept him.

Despite coping with such harrowing events and Aarons own depression, Adam Silvera balances this with a sense of hope that is what I thought resonated most after I finished the last page. Whilst the title may not seem to be the most optimistic title, it reflects more the reality of life, and the reality of Aarons life which holds very few of the luxuries others would say are necessary for a happy life. Instead, it shows how a change in mindset is what is needed to instead, not to try and see the happiness in everything as that’s almost impossible, but to see it more often then you don’t.

This is the journey that you will witness when reading More Happy Than Not. The journey of a boy who struggles to find out who he is with his conflicting feelings for his friend, coming to terms with who he is in a society that doesn’t wholly approve, how to come out the other side with hope for happiness and the determination to find it. 
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18:00 No comments
I am attempting to write my first book! To write my own book is a dream and whilst I have no idea if it will ever get published or if anyone apart from myself will ever read it, I thought I would share bits of my journey on here. Hopefully, it is useful to some people out there who are thinking of writing a book and have the same thoughts as I do, (as I am sure someone out there is doubting as much as I have), but also so I can look back at it and see how far I've come, or not come.

Here are some of my thoughts that I had as I was writing the first 10 000 of my first draft. It was difficult and I haven't had much time as I would like to work on it but hopefully, once I get in a routing, I'll have an update for you for the next 10 000 words!

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1. Tenses are hard - I don't know if this is just me over thinking it, but I changed which tense I wanted to use multiple times throughout the first two chapters.

2. Dialogue is hard - how to writers write it without it feeling fake? Also how to lay it out takes a lot more thinking time than I thought it would have.

3. I should have probably planned more. A lot more. 

4. I'm not very patient... I want to get to the middle bit of the writing and get all the character building and interesting stuff down but it takes a looooong time to get there.

5. I work really well with word sprints - the NaNoWriMo timer is what I use and I am able to write quite a lot when I use it! Not that much of it is good but at least it's down on paper.

6. I am going to have to do a lot of drafts - there are so many layers to writing there is no way I am going to be able to get everything I want in on the first go. And most likely things will change slightly as I go and my ideas expand.

7. Creating interesting and fun characters is difficult - I have so many ideas on how I want my characters to come across but it's much harder write it down on paper than it is just to think it! But, the more I write the more real they are becoming.

8. Writing is hard.

9. Like, very hard.

10. But I can keep going - a few times I wanted to stop thinking that this idea wasn't any good anymore or if it was, I couldn't do it justice but I kept going and will continue to keep going until I at least have a finished draft. I want to prove to myself I can do it, and so I will! 

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Is anyone else writing a book? How is it going? 

I know these seem a bit negative, but it was a lot of realisation and a bit of a reality check, but now that I have had that check, it's onwards and upwards to, hopefully, creating some pretty amazing character and a plot to match! 

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09:00 2 comments

Title: Legendary
Author: Stephanie Garber
Release: 2018
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

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WELCOME TO CARAVAL... THE GAMES HAVE ONLY JUST BEGUN.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating but Tella isn't yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend's true name. 

The only chance of uncovering Legend's identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more - and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets... including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can't fulfil her bargain and deliver Legend's name, she'll lose everything - maybe even her life. 

But if she wins, Legen and Caracal will be destroyed forever. 

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I wasn't a huge fan of Caraval. I thought it was an ok book but was one that was overhyped which only lead to disappointment. So I'll try not to overhype Legendary, Caraval's sequel, and do the same thing, but this book was so much better than the first! Whilst it had all the same magical, trippy and surreal elements to it as Caraval did, the driving force behind the plot was so much stronger and made me not want to put it down. In fact it almost made me late for work the two days it took me to power through it. 

I found reading about Tella much more interesting than Scarlett, which is somthing that I didn't expect as I was wary about reading a sequel told from a different POV.  Especially one we didn't see much of in Caraval and what we did see, I didn't particularly like. Tella however, had so much more character and depth than I expected. I loved reading what she was thinking, her conflicts and how she dealt with them as she developed throughout the novel. In Legendary, you get a much deeper insight into what drives her, as well as other sides to her personality that weren't expanded on or even looked at in Caraval. 

The ending is probably where I have my biggest problem. It was pretty predictable and I would think most people would have guessed it. But there are so many questions left unanswered, it almost feels as though it wasn't an ending at all but just a small break before it continues.(I just looked it up and there will be a fourth and final book in this series, Finale, which should be released mid next year. Ok, I am now so excited for that! I hope all the unanswered questions are actually answered though...)

There are a few more characters that I would have liked to have seen more of, or at least got to learn a bit more about them. Jacks, for example, is a very intriguing character, and in true Caraval style, I am not sure what to believe about him and what not to (or if that's me over thinking things too much.) I hope to see more about what makes him tick than just the typical "because he's evil" line as I really hope there is more to it than that. 

I also was completely drawn into the romance. I don't think this is ruining anything as it is pretty clear who the romantic interest is in by the second page of the first chapter, but I was completely rooting for Dante and Tella. Sometimes more than at other points in the book, but Dante was one of the characters I wanted to read more about from Caraval and I definitely got to in this book. But again, more please for the next! 

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It is clear to say that I loved Legendary, a lot more than I expected! If you are unsure whether or not to carry on the series after Caraval, give it ago as you might be like me and completely change your mind!

If you've read Legendary, what did you think? 
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09:00 No comments
 

Goodreads is one of my favourite ways to keep track of all the books I've read, how fast I read them, when I read them, and how I rated them when I was finished. When I was looking back over the books I have read this year, I realised I have only one book I have rated 5 stars, and even that was a re-read. And when I scrolled through all the books which I rated 4 stars (there are a lot of these) some of them I thought I would have rated them higher, and some a lot lower. Which got me thinking as to why I give books the rating I give and is it really better to wait a few weeks to see how to book sticks with you before deciding on which star to give it. 

Three-star and down, I think are pretty solid and all the books I give those rates, normally stay the same. But I am wondering if I am too picky when I first finish a book on whether to give it 4 or 5 stars. A few of my 4-star ratings like Strange the Dreamer and Children of Blood and Bone I would say are now some of my favourite books, but they aren't five stars. They are definitely more highly rated than some of my other 4 star books like Empire of Storms or The Wrath and the Dawn, but those two are definitely 4-star books. 

And there are a few I also think need to be lowered. Leah on the Offbeat for example, especially after reviewing it, and Turtles All the Way Down, are books I thought were ok, but I didn't enjoy as much as I hoped. So really they should be 3 stars, not 4? I think these were definitely influenced by what I wanted to rate them, as many other people love them, not by what I actually thought. 

I think I need a better definition of what I think each category means and what a book should do/have to be in them. 

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5 STARS: This has an amazing book that as soon as I finish, I want to read it again or move straight onto the sequel. I loved the characters (especially) and the plot with very few faults in the entire book. I very very very rarely give a book 5 stars as I feel this is reserved for my absolute favourite books of all time. I have thought about them a lot even a while after finished them.  

4 STARS: This is a book I really loved, really loved, but I didn't have the same level of excitement needed when reading to give it a 5th star. The characters are amazing but there are a few more faults. These books are what I think most people would rate 5 stars unless they're as harsh as me!

3 STARS: These are good books. I enjoyed reading about them but will probably not pick them up again and I'm not too bothered to continue on with the series. Most of the time I probably will because I don't like not reading the ending but it wouldn't be a priority. 

2 STARS: Yeah, I do not like these books. I most likely found them dull, had real issues with the characters or plot and would not recommend. I probably did finish it as I could still get through it but I wish I had picked up another book instead. 

1 STAR: I have never given a one star on all the books I have on good reads but that probably because if it was this bad, I would not have kept on reading. I can't think of a book that I have read that I think warrants only one star but if there was not, I would warn everyone to never, ever, ever go near this book as it is that bad. 

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Hopefully, by expanding what is needed to get a 5 star rating and having clearer categories for me to follow,, when I give a book a star rating, it should have these qualities and reflect more accurately what I thought both whilst reading, as well as after. 

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How do you group your ratings? Is there anything you think is essential to a particular star that I've missed? If so, let me know and I'll update my definitions to suit! 

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09:00 No comments

Title: To Kill a Kingdom 
Author: Alexandra Christo
Published: 2018
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

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I have a heart for every year I've been alive.

There are seventeen hidden in the sand of my bedroom. Every so often, I claw through the shingle just to check they're still there. Buried deep and bloody.

Princess Lira is siren royalty and revered across the sea until she is cursed in humanity by the ruthless Sea Queen. Now Lira must deliver the heart of the infamous siren killer or remain a human forever. 

Prince Elian is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world, and captain to a deadly crew of siren hunters. When he rescues a drowning woman from the ocean, she promises to help him destroy sirenkind for good. But he has no way of knowing whether he can trust her...

Blurb from the UK paperback edition.

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Sirens, hunters, ships, sea and romance - what more could you want from a fantasy? This is a novel that manages to fit a whole lot of action into just 357 pages, a length I was quite shocked at as that is very short for a fantasy and did have me a bit anxious to dive right in (pun intended...) Whenever asked if I like series or one-offs, I am always for a series as I love to get more involved with the characters and see them develop over time. This is very hard to do in one book and rarely happens to the same level. So not only this being so short but also a stand-alone, it is a rare species to find in the fantasy book world. 

But I have to say I am annoyed I didn't pick it up as soon as I got it. It ticks almost all the boxes for a good fantasy and some that are often missed. For me, my favourite part of this book is the friendships within it, especially amongst Elian and his crew. They made me smile and I just wanted to read more about their lives together on their ship. 

If you have read Six of Crows and loved it, I would definitely say to give this ago, or vice versa, as the friendships in this I kept reminding me of the other. Six of crows is one of my favourite books, mainly because of its friendships (and so much more but we won't get into that now) so to read somthing so similar in that respect was great. 

I would describe this as a darker version of the Litte Mermaid crossed with Six of Crows. Sounds good right?

My only problem is I would like to have seen more of the characters, which isn't a bad problem to have. With it being so short and being told from a duel person, it is just not possible to have to depth or time to get to really know the characters as much as I would have wanted to. I wanted to see more plot as it did feel a bit rushed, and more of their every day lives on the ship that just the main bits of plot.  That's why it just can't get a 5 star rating despite being so close. 

What is your favourite fantasy retelling? I seem to be really enjoying those right now so would love some recommendations! 

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About me



Hi, I'm Kizzi, and welcome to my blog! I am a UK blogger who loves to talk anything book related!

The main genre I read is fantasy as I love their elements of weird and wonderfulness!

I am currently working on outlining my first novel and I want to keep a record as I work my way through it, so plan on posting updates every now and again when I get to any big land marks but I post more updates on my Instagram account so feel free to check that out in the link below.

If you have any book recommendations or reviews you would like to see, or writing projects you want to discuss, I would love to talk about them with you so please email of dm me on Instagram :)

Thank you for visiting my blog and happy readings!

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