#ember queen

Well summer ended like a week ago, so here is all the books i've read and my reviews of them.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Never lie was the first book i read at the start of August and it was very easy quick and twisty read. Finshed it in a day, the dual POV was really fun and it added more tension to it.

However the plot twist was very unexpected, and that's not the reason i disliked it, the reason is that it didn't really make sense. I mean her whole monologue was lie...

Overall i did like the book, i'd say if you want something fast paced read it, but it was kind of a dissapointment tbh.

Raiting:⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was so good! (Gave me major tig vibes)

I love any book that involves a kind of treasure hunt, and this book had added stakes with an inheritance hidden somewhere in the town. It was entertaining and very dramatic, although I wouldn't necessarily say that it was suspenseful, because it felt very over the top at lot of the time, so I wasn't exactly concerned with the characters' safety, if that makes sense. However, it is fast-paced and twisty, and I was excited to find out what was going to happen in the end. It had found family trope which i ADORE! It was so cute and fun to read about the team and what they went through in order to get the treasure. I also loved how many LGBTQ+ character were in the book.

The grieving part was done very realisticly, as someone who is going through grief rn, i fully realate to Lily.

This book was an example of how someone can take an inspiration from another author's work without fully coping them...*cough* Lauren Roberts *cough*

Raiting: ⭐

I love you Lynn Painter BUT WHAT WAS THIS😭😭😭

The main character was unlikable and obnoxious. She was not like other girls, she was just ✨quirky✨ and ✨different✨

The mmc was SUPERRR boring, liks his character revolved around being hot and rich, literally nothing more.

What did i like about this book? NOTHING.

Raiting:⭐.5

I can't tell you one thing that i liked about this book, tbh i read it because someone said it was about a heist and a game...and i'm all for that (the hunger games habit i can't get rid off😔) but oh well...it was not good.

More telling, less showing. The fmc always talked nonsense, i couldn't understand half of what she was saying.

I get that romance wasn't the main focus but it was...so dry, so boring...it felt like she saw someone with the same skin colour as her and ✨immediatly fell in love✨ and i'm not saying any hate or something, i'm a poc but it was done so poorly and unrealisticly.

Uhmm the plotholes???

The characters were just too insufferable for my liking.

I didn't feel connected to any of them.

The authour kepr describing every single detail like it depended on her dear life.

I wanted to dnf so bad but for some reason i kept believing it would get better...it did not.

THE ENDING WAS SO DRY?

Raiting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The book was very disturbing but so so good!

Long story short it's about Ellery and Ezra are the Corocan twins, siblings that live every day hoping that their addict single mom Sadie Corocan comes home every night.

Usually she does.

But one night, Sadie crashes into a jewelry store while drunk and high. She's sent to rehab while the twins are sent to live with their maternal grandmother in the sleepy town of Echo Ridge

What love about Karen MCmanus' books is her writing. It's really interesting to read a mystery/thriller book with dual POV because occasionaly author drops clues and hints in each of their chapters.

very honestly speaking, this book was a thousand times better than One of Us is Lying. i was even one of the ones who really liked One of Us is Lying, and Two Can Keep a Secret was LEAGUES better.

one of the main things that really set Two Can Keep a Secret apart was the characters.

I loved the characters. I loved how cracked and broken they were. How they didn’t come from perfect families. How they made many, many mistakes. How they grieved for those they lost, but they also let it fuel their desire to find the killer. How they overcome their pasts.

This book has 2 plot twists, and the first one...did surprise me, i expected something better tho. THE SECOND ONE??? THE ENDING? Had me GAGGED and literally almost threw up.

Let me tell you.

The last line.

THE LAST FUCKING LINE.

*spoilers*

✨i thought she was your mother✨.

This woman dropped the most disturbing line in the book history and thought it was fine.

Overall, totally recommend🙏🏻👭

Raiting:⭐⭐⭐.5

I did like this one more than some of the others, but let's talk about its big turn-off: Brynn and Tripp. I love when a mystery book has romance subolot, tbh i can't read a book that has 0 romance in it, but it's kind of annoying when you can feel the author is forcing two characters towards each other.

Brynn and Tripp have no chemistry at all. One of them was in love with the other, then Brynn leaves town for five years and when she comes back they try to resolve this mystery in their life. One of them declares itself to the other, and the other thinks its look has improved with time. They kiss and then they live happily ever after.

What's the point, exactly? Why should they be together when they’re clearly better as friends? What’s supposed to happen now, they’ll have three fantastic months and then break up before college?

It was entertining but the "plot twist" was not it. Like what was the point? If you gave the book "that" kind of ending, what is the point?

Raiting:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

IDC THIS BOOK TRILLOGY WAS ABSOLUTE 6 STAR READ. (Go read it! Now!)

"Ash Princess is a trope-filled book with a very common story line. Theodosia, or Theo, was six years old when she witnessed her mother's (the queen) brutal murder and had her country conquered from her. In her country there are magical caves that run underneath the temples. For fire, air, earth and water. These are very sacred and only those who have proved themselves to the gods completely can go and get the magical gems. Now, Theo's people are forced to work as slaves in these mines and dig up the magical stones.

For ten years she has been living under the Kaiser and his brutal rule, living quietly and trying to please him to survive. All of that ends when she's forced to kill someone and her childhood friend comes and offers her an escape and make things right for their people. She's filled with hate and determination to take back her kingdom and avenge her mother and people."

The fmc in this book, Theodosia has become one of my favourite fmc! An example of fmc that doesn't need to be a bloodthirsty monster from the beggining to be considered as strong, mindful and brave.

CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!

Even tho it's YA there are some serious and heavy topics in this book so be aware of that!

THERE IS A FOUND FAMILY TROPE!

There is such cute and heart warming found family trope..*cough* with traumatised kids *cough*

I loved literally every character! (Well except for a few...)

LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATON OMGG!!!

The ROMANCE!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

One of the main reasons i loved this book,

Oh no, my guys, this has a LOVE TRIANGLE!!! [cue the groans of every person on the planet] LISTEN, I know y'all hate love triangles and I DO TOO!! but this one is somehow bearable, even though it annoyed me a lot. It's like one of "those" love triangles where it's obvious who MMC is. Theo has feelings for the Prinz and her childhood friend, some dude, whose name I forgot, because I DON'T FUCKING SHIP THEM. He's a really good guy, but Prinz Soren and Theo all the way, bitch. Like, they're both good boys, but idk something about the Prinz, man. HE IS BLONDE TOO!! It's a slow burn + forbidden romance.

Overall, I LOVED THE BOOKS, IT'S ONE OF MY FAV READS OF THE YEAR, and if you like high fantasy with great world building + found family + strong character + lgbtq characters + feminism elements GO READ IT ASAP.