Review: Tess of the Road

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley, for giving me a digital ARC of this book! All thoughts are still my own and not influenced in any way.
Release Date: February 27, 2018

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman is about Tess, the rambunctious sister of Seraphina from the Seraphina books. Tess is always getting in trouble and not as well-liked as her sisters, and her parents want to put her in a nunnery. Of course, Tess runs away, and an adventure ensues.

This isn't a typical runaway adventure book, though. Tess of the Road is a slow read where Tess literally just goes from place to place, all the while haunted by her past. I thought her travels were very lackluster, but her backstory was honestly so impressive that it boosted this rating up 2 stars. She's such a unique character from what I'm used to for many reasons (which I can't really get into because this isn't out yet), but I'm obsessed. There were so many things I'd never seen before with a 16-18 year old female protagonist in young adult books.

If you're reading this for dragons, prepare to be disappointed. There really weren't any. The ones that were there were so humanoid, which was super disappointing.

I've also never read the original Seraphina books. I still got the gist of things though, and you can definitely read this without the originals! I'm sure I'd get more little things in the book, but nothing too important was referenced where I was like, "What the f is this???

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Review: The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One

The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One by Amanda Lovelace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced reader's e-book copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One by Amanda Lovelace is a poetry book about the patriarchy, sexual assault, and women finding their own voices. The poetry itself has been heavily debated in other reviews - is it "tumblr text" or actual poetry? My answer: both?

The poetry definitely has a tumblr text post aesthetic to it. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. It reminded me a lot of the ever-so-popular Milk and Honey going around in 2017. While very similar, this had its own passion and style.

This book had me S H O O K. As a woman who has been harassed on numerous occasions, this spoke to me a lot. It had me angry again, and it was really nice to see that other people have had the same thoughts as me.

This does paint a bad picture of men, though, which can have people butthurt. The unfortunate reality though, is that a lot of women do have these experiences and these thoughts of many different men. "Not all men, though!" Sure, not all men. But many. Enough.

This poetry book was incredibly empowering, and I am so glad I had the chance to read it.

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Review: Ash Princess

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW! What a page-turner!

Ash Princess is about a girl named Theodosia, a princess whose kingdom gets conquered. Instead of dying, she's kept as a prisoner for years. This book is about her trying to become free.

This was sort of a generic YA fantasy book, but darker. There was a lot of whippings that went into detail, so stay away if that makes you queasy.

The characters weren't all lovable, and I think that makes the story great. You're not supposed to love every character. Some are despicable. Some I want to love, but hate. Some I want to hate, but love. A perfect mixture, to be honest. There is a bit of a love triangle, but it's not the main subject of the book - thank goodness. It also leans a lot towards one boy instead of torn between two most of the time. That makes it a bit more bearable.

The writing was very well done. It wasn't jaw-dropping, but it definitely kept my attention and there are some quotes I would have loved to put in here (but I can't because it's an ARC :( )

Definitely read this if you like YA fantasies!

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Review: Gemina

Gemina by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE YEAR I PUT GIFS IN MY REVIEWS. I'M A NEW WOMAN. NEW YEAR NEW ME.

My first and foremost thought: I didn't know that Marie Lu could draw so well?!

Other thoughts:
This book was great, but Illuminae (the first book) was still better.

This book was thrilling and fun to read, but it seemed to drag on for me. I found myself trying to read smaller books in between to feel more accomplished, but all it did was rack up the "currently reading" books and leave me stressed.


The format, of course, was unique and super cool as before. In this case though, AIDAN wasn't really there, so I didn't get as much of a feeling of Love and Doom in this book. (No worries, though. There is still a lot of Doom in Gemina.) One of the main reasons the formatting was so noteworthy in Illuminae was because of AIDAN, and I feel like I got sort of gypped here.

The characters seemed to be basically the same as before but with slightly different appearances. I really don't feel like I met anyone new, and that upsets me.

Story: 3 stars
Creativity: 4 stars
Final score: 3.5 stars (rounded up before because I'm sometimes nice)

I know I'm starting to complain now, but I'll still definitely be getting the next book when it comes out.



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