Book Review: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Hello hello hello Readers,

Today we are discussing The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe!

Goodreads Summary:

"A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history--the Salem witch trials. Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie's grandmother's abandoned home near Salem, she can't refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest--to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge. As the pieces of Deliverance's harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and she begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem's dark past then she could have ever imagined.

Written with astonishing conviction and grace, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane travels seamlessly between the witch trials of the 1690s and a modern woman's story of mystery, intrigue, and revelation."

My Rating: 

5/5 Stars!!! 

My Review:

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is an amazing historical fiction novel. It's pretty educational even though it is fiction. Sometimes with books like this one, the authors take liberties that ruin the historical significance. This book was not like that. The liberties taken by Katherine Howe added so much to the experience of reading this book. It also added to the story. Because of the liberties taken, I found the book to be a more emotional experience. 

In case you're wondering what historical even this is, it was the Salem witch trials of 1692. You learn about the women who were on trial. One in particular, Deliverance Dane. The story switches back and forth between Connie and Deliverance's family tree. I had never read anything about this time in history before now except in school. It was amazing.

My one complaint was that there were some continuity issues. Very minor ones. Not anything to get hung up on. 

All of that being said.......

This book has everything. 

Romance, mystery, history, suspense. 

Everything.

I loved this book so much. I think every single person ever should read this. It's amazing. 

Spoilers Ahead

MAJOR SPOILERS!!!

Ok, so there are so many characters that I loved and that I would really like to go into, but I'm only going to talk about Connie and Deliverance. 

Connie is living in the 1990s. She is getting her master's degree in Colonial America. Early in the story, her mother calls her and asks her to go to her grandmother's house and fix it up and clean it out so it could be sold. (Connie's grandmother died when she was very very young.)

Connie goes and finds the house in major disrepair. While looking through books in the house, she finds a Bible with an old key in it and a little piece of parchment paper with the name Deliverance Dane on it. At this point, she starts searching for who the woman was. 

Deliverance Dane is a "wise woman" who lived in the 1690s. She used herbs and things to heal people and animals. A child who was under her care died, and the father accused Deliverance of murder and of being a witch. 

Deliverance was then put on trial, but was found innocent. 

Later in the story, a bunch of little girls went nuts and started accusing random, INNOCENT, women of witchcraft. Deliverance was called into the court again and was found guilty. 

Connie slowly begins to learn who Deliverance is and what happened to her. She finds notecards in a recipe box with strange Latin on them. She reads these cards and she sees that they are spells and that she is able to use them. She later finds records of a "receipt" book and she starts searching for it. She suspects that it is a recipe book with healing and magical spells. 

It turns out that Connie is descended from Deliverance Dane. All of the women from Deliverance down to Connie can use magic. 

Her mentor is really pushing her to find the book and eventually she does. At this time, her boyfriend falls very ill. She suspects that he was poisoned and it turns out that he was. She does a spell to bring the evildoer to her. Her mentor then comes to the house and tries to take the book from her. He poisoned her boyfriend. Connie uses magic to stop him, a spell that brings the illness her boyfriend has back to her mentor. She throws the book into the fire so that he can't get it.  Her mentor becomes so ill that he is then forced into retirement. 

I can't even put memes in this review because I loved it so much and I just can't poke fun about it. It was so awesome. I devoured it. 

I know that back in 1692 magic like this was not used, but it was amazing that it was incorporated into this book without ruining the historical significance of the event. 

Please do yourself a favor and go get this book and read it. I don't think you'll regret it. 

XOXO,

Eden

Book Discussion: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Hello Readers!

 

I'm back with another book discussion!

Today is all about The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

 

I read this last month and I'm dying to review it because I have a mess load to say. Good and bad.

 

So here we go!!

 

Goodreads Description:

 

EVERYTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE....

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. He has no recollection of his parents his home, or how he got where he is. His memory is empty.

But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade,a large expanse enclosed by stone walls.

Just "EVERYTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE....

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. He has no recollection of his parents his home, or how he got where he is. His memory is empty.

But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade,a large expanse enclosed by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning, for as long as anyone can remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, for just as long, they've closed tight. Every thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift. And no one wants to be stuck in the maze after dark.

The Gladers were expecting Thomas's arrival. But the next day, a girl is sent up- the first girl ever to arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the maze that surrounds the Glade, they might find their way home... wherever that may be. But it's looking more and more as if the maze is unsolvable.

And something about the girl's arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different. Something is telling him that he might just have some answers- if he can only find a way to retrieve the dark secrets locked within his own mind. "

 

My Rating:

3/5 Stars!

 

My Review: 

 

So....this book is lacking. How's that for honesty?

 

I had a hard time with most of this book.

 

I saw the movie when it came out, so that may be some of the problem, but either way....I'm not satisfied.

Yes, I know there are more books in this series. Yes, I know the story isn't over and yes,I do plan on continuing on with them.

 

That being said, let me tell you what I had issue with.

 

First, Teresa's character is COMPLETELY unnecessary to the story line of the book. She made sense in the movie. NOT. THE. BOOK.

How does that even happen?! I've never read a book where a character felt so out of place and just ugh. Seriously.

 

Thomas was cool, but he couldn't actually reason anything out. Dude worked on gut instinct and feelings alone. No logic was used whatsoever. In my opinion any way.

In real life, we think things through. Yes, we do have gut feelings and instincts, but I'm pretty sure those are questioned before we act on them. Unless you're an idiot. I mean....really....come on.

 

 

Alby was a dick in the book. Like...excuse me what kind of name is Alby...and why the crap are you so mean to everyone?! Nobody is happy about being stuck in a damn maze. Get over yourself bruh.

 

Loved Newt. Super nice fella.

 

And CHUCK!!! I loved Chuck. What a sweetheart.

 

Basically, I only liked three characters in the book. None of them being the main characters.

 

All in all, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this. Especially not to someone who has seen the movie before reading it. It ruins this one.

 

 

 

 

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

 

 

 

 

Okay, so here come the spoilers.

 

 

Characters:

 

Thomas

Well....Thomas was not my favorite. Not by any means. I like him better than this one other character, who I will get to momentarily, but that isn't saying much.

Thomas is apparently supposed to be super smart and cute and just the bomb.

No.

He acts on gut feelings. His reasoning behind pretty much every decision ever was that he just knew he had to do it. That is not real life. We don't walk around going "Oh, I just have this feeling and I'm gonna act on it without even think it through."

That does NOT happen.

Thomas helped to design The Maze. He worked for WICKED. Which turns out to not to be a good organization. Or so we think......(Dum dum duuuuum!!!)

That annoyed the crap out of me.

Of course he did end up saving the day, and I finally liked him in the last few chapters of the book. That was clearly not enough to redeem him completely.

 

(Thomas' face the whole story)

 

Theresa

I hated Theresa. She added NOTHING to this story. Not a single thing. It felt like they threw her in there just so we would have a love interest and a female character.

Not cool.

I would rather have all male characters than have a random girl thrown in that doesn't add to the story at all. She freaking detracts from it!

And the love interest between Thomas and Theresa sucks! It is the absolute worst ever.

And please someone tell me why the heck Thomas and Theresa have telepathic abilities...What is the point?!!!!!! So stupid.

In the movie she actually added something and it made sense and there was no telepathy....much better in the movie.

Theresa helped design the maze. She sucks. Don't like her a bit.

 

 

 

Minho

This is my favorite character. Minho is the keeper of the Runners, which basically means the head Runner, leader of the Runners, boss of the Runners, king of the Runners, and so on. You get the point.

He is kind to Thomas pretty much right away and he is the reason that Thomas gets to become a

Runner in the first place. So go Minho.

 

(This is still totally how I see Minho in the book)

For real, if Minho dies in this series, I'm gonna be so mad. He's one of the only good things about it.

 

Newt

Newt is pretty cool. He is Alby's right hand man. He is one of the first to arrive in the Glade. He's also one of only two characters that is nice to Thomas as soon as he arrived in the maze.

Newt used to be a Runner and he got hurt, so he's stuck in the Glade now. I think that Newt is a pretty brave fella because at the end, he goes out into that maze so courageously. He inspires just about all of the Gladers to go out and try to save themselves.

You go Newt. You. Go.

 

Alby

I didn't like Alby. He was such a jerk to Thomas as well as every other Glader in the book. I thought it was unnecessary. I mean..yeah....you have to keep order, but can't you be nice and still have people respect you enough to listen to you.

Yes. Yes you can.

He was the very first to show up in the Glade. So I guess maybe he's depressed and that's why he's mean.

Alby was really awesome in the movie and I feel like they really rewrote him completely from how he is described in the book. Definitely prefer movie Alby.

Alby actually does some crappy stuff.

He burns the maps that the runners have been making because he's scared of what the world outside of The Maze is like.

In the end, he basically goes nuts and sacrifices himself to the Grievers. It was selfless, but also selfish. He thought he would save everyone if he died, and he also did it because he did not want to go into the outside world. He was terrified of what awaited them beyond The Maze.

 

Chuck

Oh my goooosh. Chuck. Chuck is my second favorite character. He is a very you kid. He's chubby and round faced and I love him. He's precious.

He is the other person to be kind to Thomas right away. He picks on Thomas and junk but he is a true friend.

I love the relationship that Chuck has with Thomas. He's a friend, but also like a little brother to Thomas.

Chuck was so so so brave in the end of the book. Not only did he go into the Maze to help Thomas and to escape, but he also sacrificed his life to save Thomas.

Yes...you saw that right....Chuck dies.

Chuck dives in front of Thomas when Gally throws a knife at him. Gally is crazy and can't help it, but he killed Chuck. So I hate him.

It was so sad, not only because Chuck was so young and innocent, but because Thomas had promised him that they would find Chuck's parents.

I cried at this part in the book. It's the only place I felt any emotion besides complete frustration.

 

 

 

Gally

I. Hate. Gally. He's an ass the entire story, and it only gets worse as the story unfolds. Gally was stung by a Griever and he got some of his memories back. He knows that Thomas helped to design the Maze, so he also thinks that Thomas is responsible for putting the kids in it.

I don't have a lot more to say about him...He was just an ass....

 

 

 

So that's all of the characters that are worth mentioning.

 

 

As far as the plot as a whole goes, I did like the premise of this book. The plot as a whole was good. I just hated the character interaction and development, except for a couple of characters.

 

The ending was really sad. I just hated that sweet little Chuck had to die. I don't understand that a bit. Probably just so people like me would cry about it....

I'm glad that Gally is gone, but at the same time, maybe he could have turned to the good side of things. Maybe he could have seen that Thomas wasn't a bad person. I dunno.

Theresa could have died. That would have been nice.

 

I really am going to continue on with the series. The only hope that I have for the remaining three books is that it will just get a teeny bit better and that Minho won't die. Somehow, I suspect that he will....:'(

 

(The cast of The Maze Runner movie. I picture all of the characters this way.)

 

 

I hope that you have enjoyed this book discussion. I also hope I didn't offend anyone with my opinions of this one. I know it's a pretty popular series.

 

XOXO,

Eden

 



Book Discussion: The Host by Stephanie Meyer

Hello Readers!

 

Today I'm going to rant and rave about The Host by Stephanie Meyer. This is one of my most recent book finishes (I say most recent because I'm way freaking behind on the discussions).

 

 

 

Goodreads Description:    

   

"Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. But Wanderer, the invading "soul" who occupies Melanie's body, finds its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Soon Wanderer and Melanie-reluctant allies-set off to search for the man they both love.

Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human."

 

My Rating:

4 Stars!!!

 

 

Review:

 

This book sat on my bookshelf for years, I really mean YEARS, before I finally picked it up and started reading it. I think I was hesitant because of the movie, which is not as good as the book. In fact, compared to the book, the movie is disappointing.

 

This book really goes into the relationships and all of the emotions involved a lot more than the movie. The movie doesn't really help you FEEL what the characters feel. When reading the book, I found myself grieving for Melanie. I felt every emotion that she felt as she was feeling it, and let me tell ya, there were a TON of emotions. I was basically a hot mess when I was reading this. So much moodiness.

 

I really enjoyed this book. It was slow in the beginning, but I find that to be true with most large novels, and let me tell you, this was a whopper of a book.

 

After the first 1/3 of the book, things started to pick up. I was very invested in Melanie and Wanderer and I wanted them both to be happy in the end. I felt everything that they felt, especially Melanie. My heart broke for her. I felt her anger. I felt her love for others. I cried with her.  I felt her desperation. It was so emotional. This is a book that completely sucked me in and I would recommend this to anyone. It's a beautiful story.

 

If you are hesitant to read this because of who wrote it, don't be. It is SO different from Twilight. Its a rollercoaster of feeling and it teaches a life lesson to accept those who are different from you. To love everyone even when they believe differently than you.

 

It's a wonderful story.

 

 

 

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

This book is not one that I can't really get into major spoiler-y discussion with because I truly don't know where to start. I do have a few things to say, however.

 

 

First of all, I'm not sure how anyone can hate Wanda after all that we see of her. She is a kind soul and she loves Melanie. She understands human emotion and what it truly means to BE human.

I wanted Wanda to be just as happy as Melanie. I wanted to be with the men they loved. I wanted them to stay friends. I wanted them to become a family.

 

AND THEY DID!!!

 

Melanie ended up with Jared. Wanda ended up with Ian. All as it should have been!

I loved them all.

 

Something else that I realized after the fact was that Jamie, Melanie's brother, was a character that I truly loved. I don't even have siblings!! I loved him like a sister would! How crazy is that. I felt like that kid's sister and I would have died an awful death if something had happened to him. Same goes for ??.

I can't even find anymore memes or gifs to help describe my feelings toward this book.

 

That's just about all I want to get into with this book.

 

I DEFINITELY recommend this one to EVERYONE!!!

 

Happy Reading!

 

XOXO,

Eden

 

Book Review: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

Good Afternoon readers!

Today I'm going to be reviewing and discussing P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han!

 

This is the sequel to To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. I reviewed the first book and I really enjoyed it, so I was so excited to jump into this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodreads Summary:

 

 

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

 

 

My review:
 

First I'd like to say that the covers are GORGEOUS. The colors are my absolute favorites.

 

Next....This books was just as good as the first! I didn't find that this did not suffer from second book syndrome, as so many second books do. 

In this book, we see the same characters: Lara Jean, Peter, (older sister), Kitty, Genevieve, and (boy next door's name), and the girl's father. We also see a little more of the girls across the street neighbor in this installment.

 

I really enjoyed seeing the relationships from the first book wax and wane.

 

 

There are still a couple of things that I hope Han will change in third and final book. For one, I really hope that Lara Jean matures in the next one. She was just as immature in this one as she was in the first. Now I can't say that this drove me coo-coo crazy, but it did annoy me at times.

I also hope that Han gives the girls' father a bit more of a parental role. A real life parental role. He was definitely more present in this book than he was in the first, but it could still be improved.

 

Neither of these things made me dislike this book in the least! I loved it! And if you loved the first one, you'll love this one too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HERE COME THE SPOILERS!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler-y Discussion:

 

 

So...I usually get into detail on what I think of each character.
I'm not doing that this time. We have the same characters as we had in book one. This story picks up within a few days of the last book and there aren't really changes in our characters.


We are introduced to one new character, John, and he's really great. The opposite of what we see in our other male characters. He's mature in a way that Peter and Josh are not.
When he was introduced, I wasn't sure how I felt. I was dead set on Peter being with Lara Jean. I was torn for a period of time because of John.

I did decide that Peter was still the one for Lara Jean. Definitely.


I also kinda want to mention evil heifer. (Y'all know who I'm talkin about.) Her dad is an ass. He is such. an. ass. I mean what decent cheats on his wife with a girl his daughter's age.... Hmmmm?? WHO?????!!
I 100% get that Peter wanted to be there for her during this since she is his friend. But he should have told Lara Jean what was going on without REALLY telling her. It would have saved them both a ton of heartache.

The end of this book was awesome. I'm beyond pleased with the way the relationships turned out. If Peter had not ended up with Lara Jean I would have died. DIED.

I can't wait to read the last one!  

 

 I apologize for the shortness of this post. I just didn't have a ton to say that I didn't say in the discussion for the first one.

 

 

Here is the entire series, in the correct order.

 

(The picture above was found by google search. It is not my personal photograph)


I hope that you enjoyed this short discussion on P.S. I Still Love You.



Book Review: Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

Hi everyone! 

I know that I've been gone for a bit, but I have several new book reviews coming because I've read FIVE books in my absence. 

First, let me talk about my July and August book club books. 

The first one was Pride and Prejudice, which I won't be reviewing because just about everyone knows the story. I wasn't a fan of having to read it. I prefer the movies with this one.

The second was  called My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier. I won't be doing a full review on this book. I didn't enjoy it at all. The narrator and main character was the whiniest, most naive man on the face of the earth. I couldn't stand it. I wanted to punch him in the throat the entire time I was reading. 

I won't be picking up any classics for a while. (Unless they're by Jules Verne.) 

The third book was the one we are about to discuss. 

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell!!! 

Goodreads Summary:

For as long as she can remember, Gwendolyn Allister has never had a place to call home—all because her mother believes that monsters are hunting them. Now these delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. The only saving grace is her best friend, Olivia, who’s coming with them for the summer.

But when Gwen and Olivia are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and taken to a world of flesh-eating sea hags and dangerous Fey, Gwen realizes her mom might have been sane all along.

The world Gwen finds herself in is called Neverland, yet it’s nothing like the stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairy-tale hero who says all the right things and the roguish young pirate who promises to keep her safe.

With time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to face the truths she’s been hiding from all along. But will she be able to save Neverland without losing herself?"

My Rating:

5/5

My Thoughts:

So obviously this is a Peter Pan retelling. 

It. Was. AMAZING! 

Roles are completely reversed in this book and I couldn't have loved it anymore that I did. It had everything you could possible want. All of my favorites from the movie were in this book and it was obvious who was portraying who, which I really liked. The only characters missing were Smee, John, and Michael.  

Even the crocodile had a counterpart!! 

Lastly, before we get to spoilers, the ending was great! I was definitely pleased with it. This is the first book that I've read in a long time that didn't leave me crying my eyes out. 

If you like retellings, and you like Peter Pan, you need to give this one a shot. I don't think anyone will be disappointed.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

5.....

4.....

3.....

2.....

1.....

Spoiler-y Discussion:

Lets talk about the portrayal of our favorites and some of the story line. 

Gwendolyn:

Wendy was Gwendolyn. She was great, though she made a couple of stupid choices in the book.

She finds herself in Neverland by kidnapping. Yeah. Kidnapping. By these giant faceless, hairy, creatures with wings and they sounded like rusty hinges when they spoke. (Definitely didn't speak English.) 

Hook saves her and Gwen thinks he's the villain because of the story of Peter Pan that we all know and love. She comes to her senses. Thankfully. 

Captain Hook:

Hook was still called Hook. Our hero....Yes, you heard me correctly....HERO. And a badass one at that. Hook saved Gwen from the creatures that took her from her world. He is a gruff guy and he's probably somewhere around 19 years old. He's been stuck in Neverland for a long time. (I won't spoil all of his story for you, because it's cool as all get out.) 

When Hook first arrived in Neverland, he was a lost boy. Hook left Peter when he started to remember who he was and where he came from. (See, Neverland makes you forget everything from before you got there.)

Peter comes on board Hook's ship and takes Gwen with him to his island. On the way out, Gwen sees hook breathing in this weird, floaty, gold stuff that just came out of a dying boy. The stuff was retrieved from the kid by a weird creature that had originally kidnapped Gwen. Gwen immediately thought Hook was the one that was evil and she went with Peter.

I LOVED Hook. Loved.

(How I think Hook looked in the book <3. I'd marry him right this second.)

Peter Pan:

Peter was, of course, Peter. He was our villain. I hated him. He was such a dick.

First, you should know that Peter is human. He was taken from earth by the queen of the Fae that lived on Neverland because she slept with the king of the Dark Fae and they split up and she couldn't bear to look at her real son. 

Then Peter locks up the queen when he's old enough to get some power, and never lets her out. 

 Second, He's stealing his lost boy's lives to live. Little bitty kids. It's terrible. 

Third, he had Gwen and her friend (we'll discuss her later) kidnapped because apparently, the queen of the Fae's REAL son had a daughter with a human woman. He wants to steal the child's soul so that he'll be just as powerful as the queen.(I'm not telling you which girl the child is)

(Basically how I pictured Peter)

Lost Boys:
All that you need to know:
1. They are blood thirsty little scaries.
2. They don't remember their mothers (=why they're blood thirsty little scaries)
3. They're basically being eaten by Peter Pan.

Gwen's Friend:

When the girls were kidnapped, Pan ended up with Gwen's friend. She was brainwashed by Pan and she only remembered who she really was a couple of times throughout the book. 

The final time was at the end. It was sad, and I don't want to give anything else about the ending away. 

Tinkerbell:

In the book, she was a b***h. Seriously the worst. She wanted Gwen dead for the duration of the story. 

Tick Tock Crocodile:

Our beloved croc was actually a super huge, bloodthirsty sea hag with three heads. So there's that.

Soooooo basically, the whole book is intense. 

HUGE ENDING SPOILER:

At the end, Hook is seriously injured saving Gwen from Pan. Then Pan is killed by Tinkerbell. Then Tinkerbell is killed by Hook because she was gonna kill Gwen. Then the queen busts up in there and tries to kill Hook, but the weird creature thing kills her. 

Gwen's friend was basically being murdered by Pan because he was stealing her soul the whole time she's been captive. At the end, Gwen gets ready to bring her back to their world, but she's literally falling to pieces and she can't make the trip. 

Gwen tells her that she loves her and that she won't ever forget her. She then leaves with Hook and they live happily ever after. 

Nailed it. *Mic Drop*

THE END!! 

I hope you enjoyed this brief discussion of Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell. I know I gave the ending away, but I tried my best not to give away too many details about all of the big things that occur mid-book. 

I really do recommend that you all pick this book up if it sounds like it might be your cup of tea. I loved it and I wish I had read it sooner! 

Happy Reading, and talk to you soon! 

XOXO,

Eden

Book Review: The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz

Hello reader family!

I've been gone for a bit, but I have read four books since my last post. 

The first was If Not for You by Debbie Macomber. I don't have enough to say about it to write a full review, but it was good. It was your typical fluffy romance. You don't have to concentrate to hard to get through it. It was just an all around enjoyable, de-stressing read.

The next two were cozy mysteries by Rita Mae Brown. The first was Outfoxed, which was fabulous! The animals talked amongst each other and helped the humans solve a murder. It was so different from any other cozy I've read and I loved it!
The next was called Wish You Were Here and I HIGHLY recommend this one. I was so fascinated with the story and I didn't figure out who the murderer was until close to the end. I didn't find that it was too predictable at all, which is a struggle that many cozies have.
If you love cozy mysteries I definitely suggest that you pick these two up :)

The fourth and final book, which is book number 9 out of 50 completed for my Goodreads challenge, is The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz. It has been on my TBR list for a VERY long time, so I am so glad I finally got to it. 

Here we go!!!

Goodreads Summary: 

"Princess Marie-Victoria, heir to the Lily Throne, and Aelwyn Myrddn, bastard daughter of the Mage of England, grew up together. But who will rule, and who will serve? 

Quiet and gentle, Marie has never lived up to the ambitions of her mother, Queen Eleanor the Second, Supreme Ruler of the Franco-British Empire. With the help of her Head Merlin, Emrys, Eleanor has maintained her stranglehold on the world's only source of magic. She rules the most powerful empire the world has ever seen. 

But even with the aid of Emrys' magic, Eleanor's extended lifespan is nearing its end. The princess must marry and produce an heir or the Empire will be vulnerable to its greatest enemy, Prussia. The two kingdoms must unite to end the war, and the only solution is a match between Marie and Prince Leopold VII, heir to the Prussian throne. But Marie has always loved Gill, her childhood friend and soldier of the Queen's Guard. 

Together, Marie and Aelwyn, a powerful magician in her own right, come up with a plan. Aelwyn will take on Marie's face, allowing the princess to escape with Gill and live the quiet life she's always wanted. And Aelwyn will get what she's always dreamed of--the chance to rule. But the court intrigue and hunger for power in Lenoran England run deeper than anyone could imagine. In the end, there is only rule that matters in Eleanor's court: trust no one."

My Rating:

3 Stars!!

My Thoughts:

Well....quite frankly, I'm pretty disa-freakin-pointed.....
I was so enthralled for the first 3/4 of this book. So when the last 1/4 utterly devastated me, I was pretty dang angry. 

I did enjoy the setting of the book. The time period was wonderful and I liked that it was an alternate reality for the world. The relationships were really fun to read until the last 1/4, so there is that. I also liked the magical aspect of the story, even though the role it played wasn't necessarily key for most of the book.

As I said, I did enjoy the majority of the book, so I can safely say I would recommend it to some, but not to others (these theres being the people like myself). It was good, but not good enough to be a new favorite. 

I can't say more without spoiling you, so you'll find all of those spoilery thoughts below. 

3 stars for the 3/4 that were actually good. :l 

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

LAST CHANCE....

OK HERE WE GO!!! 

 So basically, when I picked up this book, I expected a fantasy similar to falling kingdoms, but with less magic and way more romance. I got that right. Most of the book was based on love. Not magic. So that was good. 

I found my favorite characters immediately. They were Ronan and Wolf. I also liked pretty well Gill when he showed up. Marie was close to being a favorite, but not quite. I hated Leo. I didn't like Isabelle at first.

Isabelle:

Where Isabelle is concerned, I realized why she acted the way she did after a while and I understood. I would be a bitch too if I had been treated the way she had been by men. Leo took advantage of her and used her to get the "Pandora's Box" that contained the evil sorceress. He also basically raped her.....It was awful. Hugh did the same. He took advantage of her. Isabelle lived in a time when women were to remain pure until marriage, and if they did not they would be a disgrace to society and to their families, so she remained quite. I ended up really liking her in the end for being so strong. (Sidebar: She gave birth to Leo's child, which is cool, but I hope none of the evil witch lady is in him.)

 Isabelle finally finds her true love, Louis, who was raised with her in her home. At a garden party he hears men talking about how Isabelle is a harlot and how Leo had his way with her whenever he pleased. Louis was infuriated and challenged Leo to a duel. (He threw a glove down and Leo sassily picked it up and put it in his collar....I died laughing because of the sass. It was ridiculous.) Louis wins the duel with the help of Aelwyn (we'll get to her later). 

 Isabelle's future gets ruined when they try to leave stupid Hugh and make a life together. Hugh hires men to have Louis killed and to bring Isabelle back to him. Hugh is a disgusting human being and I hate him. 

Isabelle attacks him in the end of the book to get away. She leaves with her son and makes a life for them in the country. Unfortunately, Hugh the dickhead doesn't die from his injuries. I mean jeeze. 

Marie and Gill:
Marie Victoria and Gill were adorable. I wanted that to work, but of course Marie realized she had duties that she couldn't shove off to someone else, so she left him. When Gill and Marie met again, and Gill cried, I cried because he was so obviously heartbroken. It was sad. 

Aelwyn:

Aelwyn is the daughter of the Merlin and is to be the future Morgaine of the kingdom. She has a thing for Leo, but finds out what a bastard he is at the duel between he and Louis. She realized Leo has a protection spell at the duel and she tries to break it. Leo/Jeanne of Arkk (the evil sorceress that has taken over his body) is distracted by her and Louis is able to shoot Leo in the heart and win the duel. 

Aelwynn is also the one who kills Leo/Jeanne of Arkk at the end of the book when he tries to light the whole castle and part of the city on fire and kill the royal family. 

WOOOO Aelwyn!! 

Wolf and Ronan:
I LOVED Wolf with Ronan. Wolf is my favorite character in the book by far and I just knew he would be with Ronan. He tells her they are going to be together and then Leo had to go off and be possessed by an evil sorceress and ruin it all. If Leo had not have had to be killed for the good of the country, Wolf and Ronan could have married. But NOOOOO Wolf is the heir to the Prussian throne now and according to some dumb ass treaty that doesn't even need to exist anymore, Wolf had to take Leo's place and marry Marie. They don't love each other!!!!! -___-

The ending:
I am truly unhappy with the ending of this book as far as Ronan, Wolf, Marie, Gill AND Isabelle go. Marie and Wolf are friends and Wolf is honestly sad that he can't marry Ronan. He loves her. Marie doesn't love Gill as much as Wolf loves Ronan. 
And then Ronan is at the freaking wedding and it was torture to read. 

All I know, is that when I pick up a romance, I need a happy ending. Not one that makes me feel like I could get stuck in a relationship with someone I don't love. (Yes that's slightly dramatic, but still!) 

Basically, you fall in love with these characters and tragedy strikes them and/or they end up with the wrong friggin' people. You get attached and ship certain couples and NONE of them work out. I'm not exaggerating a single bit. NONE of them work guys. NONE.

THE END! 

I hope you all enjoyed this book review and discussion for The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz. 

Just as a PSA, this book was meant to have a sequel, and de la Cruz wrote it and decided she liked the way she ended this one or something crazy like that and decided not to publish the sequel. If you care enough I would invest in the extended edition of this book because the original edition may leave out a few things. 

Also, there are no memes because I just couldn't even be happy or funny enough to find them and insert them after reading that devastatingly terrible ending. 

Happy Reading!!

XOXO,

Eden