so adorable I can’t even come up with a actual title

Written in the Stars – Alexandra Bellefleur

Romance, contemporary, fiction. 

Rating 11/10

Darcy never wants to be involved with love after her disastrous relationship that left her jaded. However, her brother sets her up with one blind date too far and she tells him that she can’t attend this speed dating because she is already into the blind date, his business partner, Elle. Her brother is happy that she found a potential partner. Elle is not amused with the lie that Darcy told and both agreed mutually that they will fake it until an expiration date. However, the stars have different plans for the two. 

I saw this trending and of course I had to read to see what the hype is all about. All I can say is that I think the hype was not enough. I love this fake it trope that leads to actual love and romance. This was really sweet and I found it so adorable. Love sometimes happens and one has to be fully prepared. My heart melted so many times while reading this and I can’t get enough of this romance. I wish this was longer but a standalone is just perfect and the length here was good. There are an awful lot of constellations and astrological references which all makes sense and I was like wow the author is into this stuff or did a lot of research. I felt myself rooting for Darcy to like being into the stuff but she gives in at some point. This book would be great for astrological enthusiasts. I loved this book and definitely would reread this book and or gift to others.

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be careful of who you give your heart to

Twice in a Blue Moon – Christina Lauren

Romance, fiction.

Rating 8/10

Tate is with her grandma, touring England. So is Sam and his grandpa. Tate and Sam meet in England and things start to become more intense. They have a fling that leaves her heartbroken and betrayed because he had ratted her out to journalists and paparazzi leaving her exposed and with no other option but become a star. To secretly have her face haunt him forever. Years later, on a movie set, their paths are crossed once more. She confronts him and he tells her the utter truth of why he did what he did. She hasn’t forgiven him at all for making that decision without her included but can’t be mad forever. Just when she thinks life can resume, her life is thrown into chaos and making her question who she can truly trust with her heart.

I’ve been on the fence and contemplated reading this novel for the longest of time. I like this novel and the premise is for sure intriguing. I try to read more romance and for me unless there is some sort of action or drama involved and involving science fiction, I do read it. However contemporary stuff I am unable to read due to the boringness some romance literature has. This was excellent and kept my attention with some comedic aspect and the intriguing plot too. I love the characters and the interactions they have with other characters. This author has an interesting way of having me come back to reading the author. I’ve read some of her works before and some of them are good and some of them I don’t care for much. I do recommend this novel.

another dark perspective…

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein- Kiersten White

Characters in literature, monsters, scientists, murder, Frankenstein, young adult, fiction. 

Rating 8/10

Elizabeth was orphaned at birth and was a great burden for her caregiver. Later on her caregiver hands her off into the Frankenstien household as Victor’s companion. She grew close to him and he grew close to her. After the death of his mother, he goes to university for a few years to resume further studies. When he doesn’t make contact Elizabeth for a few months becomes worried. She goes to find him herself and tries to make sense as to what happened. When she arrives, she finds him feverish and looks around his residence to find him collecting odd body parts. She worries for his mental state. He confesses to her that he failed and she should go back home and he would soon follow after he cleans up to start his research anew. A while after returning home, someone was found murdered and everyone is pointing fingers. Elizabeth finds the truth of who is the murderer and the murderer is Victor’s creation. 

I had been a fan of the Frankenstein novel by Mary Shelley who created science fiction because of a dare. That was a good book and I wished there was more to it. I found this novel that was about Elizabeth. This novel was great at doing the perspective of Elizabeth and the execution felt very science fiction with the side benefit of a thrill. The writing was excellent. The characters remained faithful to the original plot. I loved this novel but wished that this was longer but given it was only about Elizabeth only sort of was the downside. Either way I loved this novel and I do recommend this novel. This novel is more of a one sitting type of read honestly.

not Jughead…

A Werewolf in Riverdale – Caleb Roehrig

Archie comics, horror, young adult, fiction.

Rating  10/10

Dilton Doiley was found dead in the Riverdale graveyard, torn to pieces, and because of the loss of a student at Riverdale High, school was canceled for that day for the students to mourn the loss as well as seek counseling for this troubling time. Jughead Jones remembered a dream about chasing Dilton and witnessing a murder scene. Jughead begins to think he murdered Dilton. Betty Cooper blames herself for not ready for the werewolf attack. She knew it had to have been because no wild animal would create such carnage. Archie finds Betty’s behavior to be very suspicious and confronts her about it. She tells him that she is a Werewolf hunter of Riverdale and reveals to him that there are a few families with werewolf genes and one name that stands out is Jones, their best friend’s family name. Archie doesn’t want to believe in the possibility of his friend being this murderous werewolf. Grundy and Pop Tate are found dead and half eaten. Archie teams up with Betty to hunt down the Riverdale Ripper and face their choice that can save more lives.

I love all things Archie Comics and this book brought my favorite world of fantasy to the world of Archie Comics. My boyfriend and I were book shopping, he saw this on the shelf and snuck it into the book pile to be purchased. I have to say this novel was so worth purchasing and reading as well. I could not put down the book because of the fact that it had werewolf lore that was legit. Most books twist some lore and change it, this one remained faithful to the werewolf lore I come to know and love. However, this novel is not for the faint of heart because there are descriptions of violence and gore.

what an unsurprise!

Unbirthday – Liz Braswell

Alice in Wonderland, young adult, fiction.

Rating 11/10

It has been eleven years since Alice had visited Wonderland. She has wanted to go back but never was able to. She now has a new hobby that entails photography with the help of her aunt. One day a photo reveals Wonderland citizens in peculiar, distressed states. Alice fearing the worse she tries to go understand what is going on in Wonderland when she takes a photo of herself revealing Mary Ann who is in peril. Alice produces a way to go back to Wonderland and it involves returning back to the place where she first had discovered Wonderland, the park. She manages to successfully find her way into Wonderland, but things have became darker and more gruesome as she discovers that the Queen of Hearts has been murdering her own people. Alice hops through both worlds, her own and Wonderland, to balance out her personal issues while dealing with Wonderland issues. She is faced with the ultimate choice that would depend on the survival of Wonderland.

I had seen this book all over my feeds on my many platforms of social media and was waiting forever to find out when this book would come out. I had thought I needed to pre-order until my fairly recent trip to the Barnes and Nobles. This book is on shelves of select Barnes and Nobles. I’m a fan of the Wonderland stories and this one was by far the most interesting plot I ever had read. What made this novel interesting was Alice going back and forth from Wonderland to her own reality but the ways she would get back to Wonderland was peculiar and strange. At first, I thought this novel was going to be as dark as some of the other Twisted Tales, but this was all right. I loved the dialogues and character interactions plus the real-life iteration of Snakes and Ladders. That was interesting. Overall, I do highly recommend this novel for sure even if one has to pre-order the novel. I can’t express how much I loved this novel. I binged this novel faster than any novel I’ve read this year.

truth and freedom

In the Afterlight – Alexandra Bracken

Dystopian, young adult, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Ruby and the Legion of Children team figure out a way out of Los Angeles, California where the united states government took control and sent the national guard to blow up Los Angeles. As time progresses romances are formed, and more truths come forward. Getting out was the hardest part and the harder part is breaking kids out of the camps wasn’t going to be easy and will require sacrifices to be made. Once they had gathered necessary people and information, everyone is informed on how the kids changed. All are disgusted and angered, just enough to fuel the need to go and rescue more children from the camps. Ruby must make hard choices to guarantee safety of all the kids in those camps. She does this all for them and for herself.

This last installment of the series really messed me up in the head and I had to second guess my theory of how kids were changing. I was right about my theory of Vida and Chubs and their romance that blossomed. I mean certain circumstances make odd bed fellows. Overall, the entire series was really good to read and I highly recommend binge reading. The characters and the plot blend well in a balance that can’t be expressed. I cannot express more words for how much I loved the book series. I reread it the series twice before writing this blog.

A Dark Twist to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland

Alice – Christina Henry

Imaginary places, Carroll Lewis, Alice in Wonderland, thrilling, horror, fiction.

Rating 10/10

Alice went mad and was sent to be locked away at a mental asylum. One day, a fire breaks out at Hatcher, a man who lived in the cell beside hers rescues her and himself out of the fire. When the two escaped, Hatcher explains why the asylum went up in flames, it was because the Jabberwocky and the jabberwocky is angry due to its long-imprisoned life. Alice goes on with Hatcher on an adventure to find the blade. A bar keep tells Alice to avoid The Walrus and The Rabbit. Unfortunately, Alice had a run in with the infamous Rabbit long ago. She managed to escape but doesn’t remember due to all the drugs the hospital was giving her. Slowly as they’re journey progresses, she remembers taking the Rabbit’s eye and him marking her. The Cheshire Cat tells the two to go to the Caterpillar to find what they need to destroy the jabberwocky. Both take down the Caterpillar, the Walrus, and the Rabbit. Now the two must still find the sword to take down the jabberwocky.

I had thought that this novel was going to be innocent and a retelling of the classic, but I was glad I was wrong. This was no ordinary tale of a teenage girl following a white rabbit. The novel offered more and added horror and thrilling scenes. Christina Henry is excellent at the horror retelling of classic childhood stories into modernized tales for adults whom seek thrilling horror to enjoy. I enjoy classics but prefer to read the different variations of classic childhood tales as an adult. The theme was nothing was as it seemed in this novel. I recommend reading this novel for sure. I nearly finished this novel in one day.