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From Blood and Ash – Not for Me

Because I had so much fun reading the ACOTAR series, I decided to trust Audible’s recommendation of From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout. It’s another fantasy novel with another dark-haired, cocky, bad-boy type who we all know is trouble but will be another book boyfriend by the end of the series; in this case, his name is Hawke.

Poppy is the Maiden – chosen by the Gods to be a sacred woman in her kingdom (Masadonia) who needs constant protection and shelter from anything that would make her.. un-maidenlike? Of course, this means she is bored and wants some sort of excitement or adventure in her life, and in comes Hawke. Hawke is the way-too-handsome new guard appointed to protect Poppy after her old guard was killed in an Atlantean attack on her life. Surrounded by people who avoid her because she’s the maiden, men who covet her for the same reason, and guards sworn to protect her life, Poppy easily begins to fall for Hawke, who is the only one who treats her as a person, and not just “the maiden.” They, of course, need to leave the protection of the castle and start a journey where Poppy must trust Hawke despite knowing practically nothing about him other than how hot he is. Just as their relationship is seemingly starting to bud, Poppy gets some surprise information about Hawke, her Kingdom, Gods, and finally, herself.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- I’m just a reader and couldn’t imagine creating a world the way Armentrout did, but here are my thoughts on the novel. Everything about Hawke was painfully predictable for me. His speed was mentioned several times, he was incredibly strong, he was handsome enough to be a prince, and even had dark features to literally make him “the dark one.” I couldn’t stand how nobody was able to see this, especially Poppy, who fawned over the guy throughout the whole book. I also always can’t stand how the female leads in books like this are always extremely naive and are so quick to go from loving to hating their romantic interest once they find out who this person is at a very surface level. There’s also always the “I hate you, but I can’t control my body around you” element thrown in, too, which is definitely present in this novel. This perfectly sums up Poppy’s feelings about Hawke after she learns that he is the Dark One and she is held as his prisoner:

“What I felt was…it was messy and raw. I hated him, and…I didn’t. I cared for him, as idiotic as that was. And I wanted him—his kiss, his touch. But I also wanted to hurt him. We weren’t lovers. We were enemies, and we could never be anything else. I was surrounded by people who hated me.”

I highly doubt I’ll read the next novel in this series, but curiosity has gotten the better of me in similar situations, and I might be drawn back to them because man – Armentrout is fantastic at creating a lovable romantic interest and really steamy scenes.

I listened to this book on Audible per usual and enjoyed listening to the narrator, Stina Nielson. If you’d like to read this book, you can get it here: From Blood and Ash on Amazon and Audible.

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Arsenic and Adobo – A Filipino author for a Filipino reader

For AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) month, I chose to read Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala. I’m half Filipino, and like many others like me, I love to discover new works by my own people. This book is the first of her cozy mystery series A Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery, with a fourth installment coming in September of this year.

The book centers around Lila Macapagal, who studied restaurant management in Chicago and lived with her fiance until she caught him cheating. Heartbroken, she moved back to her fictional hometown Shady Palms, Illinois to help with her Tita Rosie’s struggling restaurant. The restaurant does of course serve only Filipino food, so prepare to crave adobo by the end of the book.

In typical Filipino fashion, the whole family is involved in the restaurant and in her personal life. Lila’s godmothers Ninang April, Ninang Mae, and Ninang June all love to gather and dine at the restaurant, while her Tita Rosie and Lola Flor run it. Despite their lack of business know-how, the restaurant managed to stay afloat because Tita Rosie’s cooking is widely regarded as amazing. Unless that is, if you’re reading a restaurant review written by Lila’s high school sweetheart Derek Winters. The couple broke up shortly after high school, and while Lila went off to college, Derek started writing negative reviews about all the family-owned restaurants in Shady Palms, even reviewing Tita Rosie’s several times.

The book starts with Derek visiting the restaurant with his stepdad (who happened to also be the landlord of the restaurant), looking to leave what was likely another terrible review. As usual, Derek ordered plenty of food and noticeably enjoyed it – scarfing down every bit in front of him and even making sure to sample all the new dessert recipes Lila was experimenting with. By the time he reached the desserts he was sweating and looked pale, which seemed to be a symptom of his diabetes until he dropped dead face-down into his food. Lab results found that arsenic was present in his food, and Lila became the number one suspect after other suspicious items were found in her work locker. Detective Park, a big-time detective from Chicago was assigned to the case and hit the ground running with accusations and investigations pointed toward Lila even though he was a regular patron of the restaurant and seemed to genuinely care about Tita Rosie.

Lila spends the rest of the book doing her own investigation with her best friend Adeena and ignoring the legal warnings of Adeena’s brother Amir, who also serves as Lila’s lawyer/childhood crush. Lila and Adeena visit the other restaurants with bad reviews from Derek and notice a pattern across the board. All the while, Lila enjoyed some intermittent baking, put up with her family’s match-making attempts, had some cousin rivalry, found herself in a very very PG love triangle between her cute dentist (Detective Park’s brother) Dr. Jae and Amir, got framed for other crimes, and generally did everything you shouldn’t do as a murder suspect before the big “so you’re the killer” reveal.

Before I get into my feels about this book, I should disclaim that this was my first cozy mystery and it was the first book I’ve read in a while without any….spicy scenes. I’m not sure if that’s what the issue was, but I didn’t feel any sort of anticipation or excitement from this read. This book had baking, mystery, small/hometown vibes, and meal descriptions that made my mouth water but I felt like it was… missing some ingredients… to make it worthwhile. As someone estranged from their family, it was also hard to read the point of view of someone who so clearly takes her family for granted and sparingly realizes how lucky she is to have supportive people in her life. Nevertheless, I’m glad I read it for sheer curiosity’s sake, and I thought that including the recipes was a cute idea, but I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone coming down from a smut binge. I would, however, recommend this book to someone looking for an easy read with no emotional drain. Also, be sure to have snacks on hand or a Filipino restaurant nearby because the food sounds GOOD.

As with most of my reads, I listened to Arsenic and Adobo on Audible and enjoyed the narrator Danice Cabanela because she had no issue with the pronunciation of Tagalog words. If you’re interested in giving the book a chance you can get it here: Arsenic and Adobo on Amazon.

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First read of May – Emily Henry’s Happy Place

Emily Henry’s latest book Happy Place is exactly what you’d expect from the author if you’ve already read some of her other work; it’s wonderful.

Happy Place follows main characters Harriet and Wyn as they are forced to pretend they are still dating after being broken up for several months. Their tight-knit group of friends invites them on their annual trip to Maine, and Wyn and Harriet don’t want to ruin the trip by announcing their breakup. Clearly still bitter about the breakup because of their apparent love for each other, the two straddle the fine line of pretending to be together and falling back into the comfortable relationship they shared.

None of her books follow the same characters, but it’s easy to imagine that they’re all part of the same “universe” because you can really feel Henry in each character. The relationships have issues that are relatable even if you haven’t personally experienced them yourself. Have I ever been in a relationship with someone for almost ten years before ending it and feeling like my heart is missing a piece? Big no. But was I crying when the characters felt heartbroken? No… someone was chopping onions very near to me. The magical thing is that there isn’t only one issue with the characters that makes real-life sense. Each character addresses their own faults and fears in a way that makes them seem human instead of villainous.

Harriet, Wyn, Sabrina, Cleo, Kimmy and Parth will all remind you of at least one of your friends, but together they make up a group that would be delightful to vacation with. Another added bonus of this book is that it appealed to me as a person who has been growing out of a life dedicated to my friends and into one all my own. Happy Place made me feel like the end of an era isn’t the same as the end of…well, me.

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Binge Worthy Book Series – A Court of Thorns and Roses

I just finished Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series and was so overwhelmingly entertained that I now need space to rant. After I finished it and wanted to discuss it with friends the way I do with trending shows/movies on Netflix, I remembered that I am the lone reader in my friend group. So for the other book-loving loners – let’s get into it! I’ll include the briefest five book run-through I can possibly manage toward the bottom of this post if you haven’t read it yet, and anything I consider a spoiler will be in a different color text. You have been warned!

There are five books that make up this series: A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and A Court of Silver Flames. Throughout these books, I couldn’t help but constantly admire the world Maas built. Even the small snippets of the courts that don’t get the same amount of attention as the Spring and Night Courts are appreciated. Every character feels vital, and their stories are as in-depth as they need to be to give you some insight as to why they are the way they are now. I will admit that while it made sense, Feyre’s hesitance to everything and everyone was annoying at times, and I kept feeling like I wouldn’t have acted the same if I were in her situation. Nevertheless, she’s a lovable and even more important – respectable heroine who goes through more than one person should have to endure in a lifetime. Her character growth is so gradual that you don’t even notice the changes until you look back at the way she was in the previous books, which to me, is the way it should be.

And now the rapid-fire spoilers. The evolution of Feyre as she realized the Spring Court and Tamlin wasn’t for her, just as she also began to realize how comfortable she found herself at the Night Court and with Rhysand is one of the most satisfying storylines I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Part of me feels that Tamlin has been hammered a little too far down after Feyre left him, and maybe he deserves to find happiness with someone else. I would love to hear more about the Lucien-Elain-Azriel triangle now that Nesta and Cassien had their time in A Court of Silver Flames. Also, the Morrigan and Emerie need to be a thing.

A Summary to Get You Started

Feyre Archeron and her family are poor and starving so she hunts to keep them all sustained.
While hunting, Feyre kills a big ‘ol wolf, and a towering wolf that can speak comes to punish her for killing what was actually a faerie by taking her to Prythian for the rest of her life.
Prythian is supposed to be the scary and dangerous magic land of high fae and other faeries that humans have been kept from for hundreds of years by a magic wall that they cannot cross.
When Feyre gets to Prythian she essentially has it made – it’s actually gorgeous, and she’s kept in the Spring Court with the powerful and handsome High Lord. (really felt for her here, poor thing)
The spring court has been cursed by an evil queen, and they cannot remove the animal masks stuck to their faces.
Things get crazy in Prythian, and she has to go through trials created by the queen to save Tamlin and break the curse put on the Spring Court before it spreads throughout the rest of the lands.
While going through the trials, Feyre meets the High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand. For some reason, the other very handsome high lord helps her through the trials while still acting like Damon Salvatore.
After going through the trials, Feyre stays in Prythian and has other challenges that help her find who she really is and a place to call home.

All in all, if you want a series that will take up a huge portion of your time (in a good way), then the ACOTAR series is highly suggested. I would at least advise to give the first book a try and go from there. You can start your addiction, er – purchase the first book here: ACOTAR on Amazon.

Well Now that You’re Here…

I am in no way a professional book reviewer. I’ve never imagined writing my own novel and don’t think I have any real merit in the book review community. I just love stories that take me out of my life for a little while. I’m here because it’s taken me a long time to realize that I’m not the only one who gets fully invested in a good story, and certainly not the only one excited to talk about it. I cry when sad things happen to the characters and audibly laugh aloud when something funny happens. I let out a good “hooey!” when characters get steamy, and I feel like I’m saying goodbye to friends I’ll never get to see again when I finish a book. I write how I speak, and aside from the missing hand gestures, I hope to come across as that girl you met in the bathroom holding a book you love.