Hey all, Happy May! I can’t believe April went by in a blur. I unfortunately did not finish my TBR for the OWL readathon (hosted by @bookroast on IG), but I still read some amazing books so I’m not even mad 😂
Let’s get on with the books I read!
• Caraval by Stephanie Garber (YA fantasy)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Welcome, welcome to Caraval! The grandest show on land or by sea. Inside you’ll experience more wonders than most people see in a lifetime. You can sip magic from a cup and buy dreams in a bottle. But before you fully enter into our world, you must remember it’s all a game.“
– Caraval
Caraval is a magically woven tale full of twists and turns and deadly consequences. Donatella and Scarlett are sisters living under the fear of their father’s fist, too scared to make their own lives. When Scar gets tickets to the infamous Caraval, the miraculous show that is played like a treasure hunt game, Tella whisks her away, not daring to give up this once in a lifetime opportunity despite their father’s anger.
Game-master Legend has created the world of Caraval on his own personal island, drawing people from far and wide to witness this year’s game. Little do Scar and Tella know, that this is more than just a game for them.
When Tella goes missing during Caraval, Scar must face her inner truth, and her inner desires, in order to win the deadly game and get this year’s prize: her sister.
Remember… it’s only a game.
“Whatever you’ve heard about Caraval, it doesn’t compare to the reality. It’s more than just a game or performance. It’s the closest you’ll ever find yourself magic in this world”
– Caraval
• Legendary (Caraval #2) by Stephanie Garber (YA fantasy)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
“If you can convince yourself it’s true, you can convince anyone.”
– Legendary
(If you haven’t read Caraval and don’t want to know anything about it’s sequel, Legendary, scroll past!)
Set directly after the events of Caraval, Legendary is told from Tella’s POV.
The Empress’s birthday is here, and Legend is hosting a city-wide game of Caraval to celebrate. But if Tella has learned anything from Caraval, it’s that nothing is just ever a game…
Tella finds herself once again swept into the centre of Caraval, but this time she’s the one who must win. She has a debt to pay to a deadly stranger, one that she can only get if she wins the game- Legend’s true name.
With the clock ticking on Tella’s game, and her life, Tella must navigate the secrets of the court, of Caraval, and of the very people around her. And as Tella struggles to define magic from reality, she comes to face another problem…
Winning Caraval isn’t the end. It’s only the beginning.
“Only those who persevere can find their true ending.“
– Legendary
• A Pack of Blood and Lies by Olivia Wildenstein (YA fantasy)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(You can read my review here)
Ness left her all male pack years ago, running far away from the terror and misery brought into her family by their Alpha. But luck isn’t on Ness’s side forever- her uncle comes chasing after her, dragging her back to the place she tried so hard to escape.
Returning to the sexist pack is hard enough, given that she was rejected once before due to the fact that she was a girl. But when she returns, she finds the pack is in need of a new Alpha, and the son of the deceased Alpha is the prime contender.
Ness would do anything to piss off Liam, the Alpha to be, out of spite of his family. Including running against him. Ness sees it as a win-win: she doesn’t truly think she’ll beat Liam, but she’ll piss him off in the process, and when she loses she will be exiled and will never be forced to return.
But as the contest progresses, Ness finds herself coming to terms with her heritage, and enjoying the company of her would-be pack, including Liam. Can Ness truly go on with the contest and risk being exiled forever, or will she fight to find her place among the pack?
” (it) felt like running through a starlit field in my wolf form—the purest form of power and sensation there existed in this vast, dark world.”
– A Pack of Blood and Lies
• Ruin and Rising (Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3) by Leigh Bardugo
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(If you have not read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, you may not wish to read this section)
“I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but mine.“
– Ruin and Rising
Alina remains on the run from the Darkling, who now rules Ravka and wants the Sun Summoner to lay claim to the lands beyond. Stuck in the middle of a war she wished to stop, Alina is the nation’s last hope. But Alina’s last face off with the Darkling ended poorly, and Mal and the rest of her army may not be enough to face him again.
Broken and lost, Alina’s only hope remains in finding the last Amplifier. As she and Mal race against the Darkling to find the Firebird, she faces revelations that could alter the future of Ravka, and Alina’s own sanity.
“Na razrusha’ya. I am not ruined. E’ya razrushost. I am ruination. “
– Ruin and Rising
What did you all read in April? And what do you rate the above books?
If you want to know my current TBR, head on over to here !
Bookish Bex 