tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23529186099573883032024-03-13T06:53:37.341+08:00Aishah's Book Blog ♡Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.comBlogger172125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-46743380663161974292022-11-30T21:45:00.004+08:002022-11-30T21:45:48.854+08:00Tender and Poignant, A Story About Faith: Absolution by Anna Tan [Book Review]<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1A7bWtYTzod7QRu51sZ5yP95Y7-pAEXcWcQl3ZmSjUFRZJ8u2lUr4vEBzPJU_DVHKqVSKvBrSu6CsBCJCJ7eviVwGWRDFHdffThuvMsTQcYE8syweSVT70VdhWvF3ojMVMY3aNI8oNlXxxawgBIsxtw6Zsvfijw6uATbocWyqOXRrH_TUj_gwLlWkg/s1000/IMG_20221101_231418_671.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1A7bWtYTzod7QRu51sZ5yP95Y7-pAEXcWcQl3ZmSjUFRZJ8u2lUr4vEBzPJU_DVHKqVSKvBrSu6CsBCJCJ7eviVwGWRDFHdffThuvMsTQcYE8syweSVT70VdhWvF3ojMVMY3aNI8oNlXxxawgBIsxtw6Zsvfijw6uATbocWyqOXRrH_TUj_gwLlWkg/s16000/IMG_20221101_231418_671.jpg" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>My rating:</b> 5 / 5 ★</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p><b></b></p><blockquote><b>“</b><i>"Mikal, I'm scared."<br />"Of what? We're here. Almost safe."<br />"For you."<br />He laughs. "Don't be. I've accepted my fate."<br />"Have you?"<br />He doesn't reply.</i><b>”</b></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>TW:</b> deaths, allusions of rape</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">From where do I start? Anna Tan's writing for this series have always left me speechless in awe.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Absolution</i> takes place some years after <i>Amok</i>, and immediately after the epilogue in <i>The Tale of the Hostage Prince</i>. Instead of returning to Mikal's POV like in the first book, <i>Absolution</i> offers the POV of an entirely new character: Tulen from Impian. Following the deaths of her mother and brother, Tulen was traumatised with guilt and blamed herself for many things. An attempt to steal to survive caused her to be punished to serve a bratty princess. When the princess sets out for a pilgrimage, Tulen thinks it might just be a way for her to offer a sacrifice, to gain absolution. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was so easy to love Tulen that just from the first few paragraphs of this book, I only wish nothing but good things for her. In a fantasy world where things are much different than ours, her character is relatable and feels very much realistic. Despite the harsh life she had gone through, combined with the guilt towards the deaths of her loved ones, I find it astounding that she was still able to stand tall and be herself. Sure, she did lie about her identity at a certain point, but what else can an orphan girl do by herself at desparate times?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Getting Mikal back in a new story felt so glorious because I had missed him so much (although when he first appeared, I deluded myself into thinking that he was Yosua instead—I terribly miss that boy too). A teeny bit spoiler, but the fact that Mikal called Tulen as 'sayang' when he first met her made me scream because eXCUSE ME WHILE I SCREAM AND CRY AND BUILD THIS SHIP ♡♡♡♡♡♡ I like that despite being the Sultan, Tulen treated him like a normal man and Mikal did the same towards Tulen. I love that despite the feelings blooming between these two, the story focused on their own worries and faith instead of making it all about the romance. The journey they had to go through together, the connection they formed with their gifts, made their bond so tight that I think I would not have survived if anything happened to either of them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This series has always been about faith, but <i>Absolution</i> speaks about this matter more prominently. In terms of plot, there were not as much violence compared to the previous two books in the series, yet it was painful to go through as well. Tulen's guilt and Mikal's fears were agonising, and I wanted so bad to protect them from every harm and suffering they had to endure. Unlike the previous books where there were actual villains to hate, the only adversary in <i>Absolution</i> were their own selves. And I find that that is what made this story more meaningful, because sometimes, the hardest enemy to defeat is yourself.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">All in all, <i>Absolution</i> is a story about faith that ends with an endearing note. I will give my whole heart to Tulen and Mikal (and Yosua since he made a cameo ♡). This review is supposed to be posted on the 25th, but due to circumstances, I'm only able to write this five days later. Much much thanks to Anna Tan and Teaspoon Publishing for trusting me with this book and I am honoured to have read all three books in this series earlier than the rest of the world. If you ask me whether I would recommend this book to anyone, I would give a big fat yes to it!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">Below are the links where you can order <i>Absolution.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><b>Ebook:</b> <a href="https://books2read.com/AbsolutionNovel">https://books2read.com/AbsolutionNovel</a> [USD4.99 / RM20]</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><b>Paperback (Malaysia only): </b></span><a href="https://teaspoonpublishing.com.my/shop/absolution-paperback/">https://teaspoonpublishing.com.my/shop/absolution-paperback/</a> [RM50]</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Absolution<br /><b>Series:</b> Absolution, #2</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Anna Tan</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Teaspoon Publishing</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Fantasy, Spirituality </div><div><b>Format:</b> Ebook</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>November 24th 2022</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 414</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63103167-absolution">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>If cursed is the hand that kills, then it wouldn’t matter if that same hand stole, would it? </div><div><br /></div><div>Tulen feels doubly cursed, forced to serve the bratty princess of Impian as punishment for her crimes. When said princess embarks on a pilgrimage, Tulen grabs her only chance to offer a sacrifice at the holy city of Suci—and maybe, finally, feel clean again.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sultan Mikal has set his face towards Suci—and certain death. Nothing about his Penance is clear, except the fact that if he fails, Terang will fall along with him.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Tulen’s pilgrimage intersects with Sultan Mikal’s quest to fulfil the Covenant of Salt, Tulen faces a difficult dilemma: What is her absolution worth in the face of the sultanate’s very existence?</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-20468520529299992152022-07-15T12:32:00.012+08:002022-07-15T12:45:33.620+08:00What Writing Means to Me and Why Do I Fear It?<p style="text-align: justify;">Writing has been a very essential part of my life, one of the only ways I was able to express myself when I was younger, although I was not perfect with it. But it was part of me, it was ingrained in me. Starting a blog at a tender age of nine, joining a community of writing fan fictions for fun, writing short stories for my friends as their birthday gifts, pursuing a degree in Creative Writing, being hired to write book reviews—all of these should have contributed to me braving the literary world and finally penning down the novel I have always wanted to share with everyone.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Alas, something went wrong. Despite everything, despite my continuous love for words and brewing new fantasies in my head, I stopped. I simply stopped. For some unknown reasons, a fear of writing developed inside me. I have no inkling as to why it formed, whether I am scared of disappointing myself, or scared of people's judgement. I find it ironic how I used to be confident with my writing and was self-conscious of how I looked, but these days it is switched. I found the confidence with my appearance and how I carry myself in front of others, yet somehow I lost my way with connecting with the words in my brain.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It has been more than two years since I finished my studies, and that was pretty much the amount of time I had been lost from something that used to be so important in my life. I fear that if I do not make an attempt to rescue myself, someday I will no longer be able down to bring any of my fantasies alive, and the thought itself can potentially destroy me from within. If I do not do anything to salvage it, I will be lost. I will no longer... be <i>me</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Writing has always been a part of me, my hope, <i>my life</i>. Without it, it feels like I just switched on a self-destruction button in me. Call it dramatic, but writers are often born dramatic. I have always loved that side of me, the side who are able to conjure up my own world in my own words.So from today onward, I will chase it again. I can still feel the seedlings of fear and anxiety in me, and perhaps I will scurry away again, pretending I never wrote this, and continue living without trying to write again like I used to, but I know I will always come back for it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>I was born to be a writer.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here's to hoping that Aishah Humaira' will never give up, and that she will one day hold a book with her name on the front cover in her arms. <i>Aamiin</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: right;">Wish me the best ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</p><p style="text-align: right;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧</p><p style="text-align: right;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaplAC-I-SnXlFCXyubSZyD6yMp7Kz4poYmYoHSt6Jx85784x2FGLIc6fZdZh8Ahggazz6slHNHZAoRHQbUEk2v2_FFzerQH69TNe6dMMfXrI4fDWRiHjJnrrQChhhPAnJ8rUij3sXqxha6ZiYxbdTejJSFObYcXdw056EjL_i5C37dNM37m3hQmoECQ/s4032/IMG_4696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaplAC-I-SnXlFCXyubSZyD6yMp7Kz4poYmYoHSt6Jx85784x2FGLIc6fZdZh8Ahggazz6slHNHZAoRHQbUEk2v2_FFzerQH69TNe6dMMfXrI4fDWRiHjJnrrQChhhPAnJ8rUij3sXqxha6ZiYxbdTejJSFObYcXdw056EjL_i5C37dNM37m3hQmoECQ/s16000/IMG_4696.JPG" /></a></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-35641255326406210492022-05-07T13:59:00.002+08:002022-05-07T13:59:49.028+08:00A Collection of Pretty Little Poems: Letters to Jupiter by Lotté Jean Elliott [Book Review]<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/7b9b407d-8260-4782-bac8-3f6d2d0e1a12/1200/1200/False/letters-to-jupiter.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="501" src="https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/7b9b407d-8260-4782-bac8-3f6d2d0e1a12/1200/1200/False/letters-to-jupiter.jpg" /></a><br /><br /></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>beauty adorned<br />a youthful face<br />but a heart lay so cold<br />as a winter's eve<br />ready to slice<br />at a new being<br />in the wake<br />of the next moon.</i><b>”</b></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I rated this poetry collection with 2.5★ at first, but decided to take it down because I feel that it's unfair for me to do so. <i>Letters to Jupiter</i> is a collection of lovely and pretty poems, softness evident in each piece of poetry. Although I am often fond of soft and pretty reads, this collection is just not meant for me.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The biggest reason might be the sense of disconnect that I feel when I read most of the poems in this book. It has lovely titles, and I love the word choices as well as certain sentences and paragraphs here and there, but as a whole, I find that most of the poems do not merge well together. Some pieces made me feel like I was reading a text with incorrect usage of English, while others feel like they were thrown together and fail to harmonise well with each other.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite being unable to fully enjoy this poetry collection, I did find a few favourite pieces that made me think that the poet is actually good with her words. 'Once Here', 'Elegant Lies', 'Do You Hear My Soul Burning?' and 'Dorian'are some of the lovely pieces that I will not mind rereading all over again. I have decided to not rate this book, because even though it is not my cup of tea, I still adore the loveliness and softness that it exudes. I would love to read more from this author!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Many thanks to the author, Lotté Jean Elliott, for sending me a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts on <i>Letters to Jupiter</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Letters to Jupiter<br /><b>Series:</b> -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Author:</b> Lotté Jean Elliott</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Publisher:</b> Magnolia Press</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Poetry</div><div><b>Format:</b> E-book</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>February 16th 2021</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 80</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55679606-letters-to-jupiter">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Letters to Jupiter is a poetry collection that explores a tale of the fragility of the mind. With each poetic letter, written by an unknown narrator seeking to let go of the past, we see life at its darkest time, brightest, and examine how much a person can grow after a life-changing event.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-64050452830148424272022-04-14T16:04:00.001+08:002022-04-14T16:04:40.046+08:00Royalty without Power: The Tale of the Hostage Prince by Anna Tan [Book Review]<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiLGQBYw5dcVKrwSKg6GKLW46xGr7zQzQ-43Q3yhhbBA9c_p1VuDmoM4d2woAMOknQ0gRKlMUHtz5oKBuWdBOByQ2diJYs26qUugHeyMYwkI_ROTQeILfFeGKz55lw5QtOMIBqwTtZkWgHp8VRuSbleTLbucrbNK0qz5nIR5Bc964pNm5VX6Oz9kkjA/s2500/hostage%20prince.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1872" data-original-width="2500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiLGQBYw5dcVKrwSKg6GKLW46xGr7zQzQ-43Q3yhhbBA9c_p1VuDmoM4d2woAMOknQ0gRKlMUHtz5oKBuWdBOByQ2diJYs26qUugHeyMYwkI_ROTQeILfFeGKz55lw5QtOMIBqwTtZkWgHp8VRuSbleTLbucrbNK0qz5nIR5Bc964pNm5VX6Oz9kkjA/s16000/hostage%20prince.png" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>My rating:</b> ∞ / 5 ★</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>Am I Mahan or am I Bayangan? If I am Bayangan, why do I have the Amok Strength? If I am Mahan, what am I doing on the throne of Bayangan?</i><b>”</b></blockquote><p><b>TW:</b> gruesome deaths, torture, violence</p><p><br /></p><p>Happy release day to <i>The Tale of the Hostage Prince</i>! 🎉✨✨</p><p><br /></p><p>If you have been following my reviews, you may know that <i>Amok </i>(read my review <u><a href="https://www.mermaird.com/2021/05/cover-reveal-book-review-amok-by-anna.html">here</a></u>) is one of my favourite reads of 2021, and it is still among the top of my favourite fantasy reads. As much as I loved the main character, Mikal, his best friend, Yosua had been my favourite character from the start. I have wished that we will be getting a POV from him someday, and Miss Anna Tan decides to make my wish come true this year by releasing <i>The Tale of the Hostage Prince</i>!</p><p><br /></p><p><i>The Tale of the Hostage Prince</i> takes place two years after <i>Amok</i>. Despite the years passed, Yosua is still unable to adapt to his role as Raja of Bayangan. Despite finally returning to his homeland kingdom, where he should belong, he feels like something is missing. He longs for his best friend, Mikal, and misses Maha even though he was raised as a hostage there. His own people questions his ability to reign, making him doubt himself more. But when his parents are murdered brutally, and his uncle is hell-bent on seeking revenge, Yosua no longer has time to wonder where he truly belongs. If he does not play his role as Raja properly, his own people will betray him and death will claw its way to him soon.</p><p><br /></p><p>I cannot remember feeling so much rage and pain while reading a book. <i>The Tale of the Hostage Prince</i> literally made me want to scream in agony, my fists clenched tightly and my heart breaking to pieces, because everything that Yosua goes through are too infuriating and painful to bear. Yosua has no men to trust after the death of his parents, and even his closest confidant will betray him at any given time. He does not even have the time to grief his parents when everything starts to crumble down, and Yosua realises that he may truly be alone.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>The Tale of the Hostage Prince</i> is a fast-paced story that left me breathless; there was no time to rest as things keep getting worse for Yosua after each page. The violence and torture are rather gruesome, perfect for my taste, even if it leaves a bitter aftertaste when I consider that Yosua does not deserve any of it. His faith is questioned and his efforts seem futile, but someone with a big heart like him never gives up. I love how hard he tries his best, and whenever he feels like giving up, somewhere deep inside him knows that it is not the right thing to do. This is why he will always be my favourite <span style="text-align: right;">♡</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>I say that you are truer than a friend, closer than a brother. But my path is not your path and neither will yours be mine.</i><b>”</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p><span style="text-align: right;">When Yosua finally reunites with Mikal, it feels like a joyous celebration for me, and for them. They grew up together as best friends, as brothers, so being separated has taken its toll, especially on Yosua. I love, love the bond that these two have, and as much as I wish they can be back together like before, that is just not possible. And the way Yosua finally makes peace with this fact is pleasing in its own way. His character growth from a soft and meek boy, lacking in confidence over his worth, to becoming a man proud of his strength and flaws, unafraid to fight and protect his own people. I love that despite his harsh upbringing and the countless betrayals he went through, Yosua retains his softness and is nothing but kind to his people.</span></p><p><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="text-align: right;">I have to say that I absolutely enjoy Anna Tan's writing style. She has a flair with words, and her world is written so vividly, I was able to imagine the scenes playing in my head, down to every detail of it. I fall in love hard with the characters that are good, and loath the villains to the deepest part of my heart. There are many twists and horrors, and despite having an inkling of who had caused the death of Yosua's parents, the truth still left me in shock. I had not expected to love this one more than I love <i>Amok</i>, but having a soft spot for Yosua, I can easily say I definitely love this one a lot more.</span></p><p><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="text-align: right;">All in all, <i>The Tale of the Hostage Prince</i> is a story of a powerless young Raja, betrayals from those who you trust the most, and finding your inner-strength to fight back for what is rightfully yours. There is nothing I do not love about it, hence why I am giving it an infinity of stars as my rating! Many thanks to the author and Teaspoon Publishing for sending me the ARC in exchange for my honest review.</span></p><p><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="text-align: right;">Below are the links where you can order <i>The Tale of the Hostage Prince</i>!</span></p><p><span style="text-align: right;"><b>Ebook:</b> <a href="https://books2read.com/HostagePrince">https://books2read.com/HostagePrince</a> [USD4.99 / RM20]</span></p><p><span style="text-align: right;"><b>Paperback (Malaysia only): </b></span><a href="https://teaspoonpublishing.com.my/shop/hostageprince-paperback/">https://teaspoonpublishing.com.my/shop/hostageprince-paperback/</a> [RM45]</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Title:</b> The Tale of the Hostage Prince<br /><b>Series:</b> Absolution, #1.5</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Anna Tan</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Teaspoon Publishing</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Fantasy, New Adult</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>April 14th 2022</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 328</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60646439-the-tale-of-the-hostage-prince">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Yosua wears an uneasy crown. Although he is now Raja of Bayangan, he still longs for the land of his birth where everything was much simpler…and less deadly.</div><div><br /></div><div>But peace doesn’t come easily, not for a twenty-year-old servant playacting at being king.</div><div><br /></div><div>With his parents brutally murdered and his uncle bent on revenge, Yosua must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With his only remaining relative and the kingdom he has claimed? Or with his best friend Mikal and the sultanate that raised him as a hostage?</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><p></p>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-25448648880431970782022-04-13T16:11:00.008+08:002022-04-13T16:44:03.859+08:00Dark Sorcery and Mythical Japan: Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn [Book Review]<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLcm0PneCEsGGq8tH9r2cnYpznL7z7BmLBo1gLXifU7Ksnq8h2RB8q4m7mnC-pW2w-uCKVi5siLurVo0SiygLAeNIBGRxcMDvOdeayIhadSpz0MtpfrsJyCRfX3jQsZ5XIBO4S6h_cFD-cqkynOtE3yHqZY1wOvs5rMjXugwzNr-5RTTBdGK7zArTXw/s2500/eotei.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLcm0PneCEsGGq8tH9r2cnYpznL7z7BmLBo1gLXifU7Ksnq8h2RB8q4m7mnC-pW2w-uCKVi5siLurVo0SiygLAeNIBGRxcMDvOdeayIhadSpz0MtpfrsJyCRfX3jQsZ5XIBO4S6h_cFD-cqkynOtE3yHqZY1wOvs5rMjXugwzNr-5RTTBdGK7zArTXw/s16000/eotei.png" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>My rating:</b> 4 / 5 ★</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>Don't grieve for me. I can't go on living this way. I pray every day to escape somehow—if the only way is through death, so be it.</i><b>”</b></blockquote><p><b>TW:</b> mentions of non-consensual sex & rape, torture, death</p><p><br /></p><p>I jumped into this book blindly, only wanting to satisfy my craving for a story with Japanese mythical elements in it. And I came out with a potential new favourite series! ✨</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Emperor of the Eight Islands</i> is the first book set in The Tale of Shikanoko series by Lian Hearn. It follows a young boy named Kazumaru, whom after being left to die in the woods by his greedy uncle, is taken in by a sorcerer and placed under and initiation against his will. He later becomes the "deer child", and is called Shikanoko. The tale follows Shikanoko as he meets new people, good and bad, all the while wondering what his true purpose in life is.</p><p><br /></p><p>This book is told in the third person point-of-view, of six different people. Despite this, I find the flow of the story easy to follow, the transition between each character rather smooth. It even helps me as a reader to gauge the world of the book much better. While this book is quite a thin book, there is a large number of characters in it, but fret not as a character list in included at the start of the book. I do suggest skipping the character list unless you need to refresh a character's role, because there are some spoilers in it.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote><b>“</b><i>He reflected grimly as he hastened back through the dark street on how children were used as pawns in men's struggles for power. His son, Tsumaru, the Emperor's grandson, Yoshimori, were to be abducted, hidden, murdered, not for any crime of theirs, unless it was from a former life, but because of who their fathers were.</i><b>”</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The adults in this book disgusts me. Fueled by their hunger for power and lust, the children becomes their pawns and victims. My favourite characters are mainly the children: Akihime, Hina, Yoshimori, Kai and especially Shikanoko. The way their fates are tied are heartbreaking, and I think it is sad how these children are being forced to mature quickly, or else they will die in between the cruel fights between the adults.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Desire, greed, betrayal and extreme loyalty play large roles as themes of this book. There are a few scenes where the characters are forced to have sex, while being partially conscious. This may sound vile, but these scenes are vital for the plot as lust and desire are part of the dark sorcery being performed. However, non of the sexual scenes (including consensual ones) are graphic and are mostly mentioned in a few sentences, but if you are uncomfortable with these, please be mindful if you want to read this book. As for the torture and death parts, they are also mentioned briefly, but if you have a good enough imagination, it can be rather gruesome.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Overall, <i>Emperor of the Eight Islands</i> is a great introduction to The Tale of Shikanoko's world, and I have plenty of characters that I'm rooting for, and also characters whom I wish to experience the worst pain in their deaths. It is an easy and rather light read, despite the mythical elements in it. If I had not procrastinate, I could easily devour this book in a single sitting! It has a good deal of twists and shocking truths in it, and even though one of the main characters ends up making a terrible mistake in the end, I still enjoyed every bit of this book.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I look forward to continue this series soon. If you love reading stories with dark magic, demons, wars and Japanese mythology and culture, you might like to try picking up this one!</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Title:</b> Emperor of the Eight Islands<br /><b>Series:</b> The Tale of Shikanoko #1</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Lian Hearn</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> FSG Originals</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Asian Literature, Japan Literature</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>April 26th 2016</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 251</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25944812-emperor-of-the-eight-islands">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>An ambitious warlord leaves his nephew for dead and seizes his lands.</div><div><br /></div><div>A stubborn father forces his younger son to surrender his wife to his older brother. </div><div><br /></div><div>A mysterious woman seeks five fathers for her children.</div><div><br /></div><div>A powerful priest meddles in the succession to the Lotus Throne.</div><div><br /></div><div>These are the threads of an intricate tapestry in which the laws of destiny play out against a backdrop of wild forest, elegant court, and savage battlefield. Set in a mythical medieval Japan inhabited by warriors and assassins, ghosts and guardian spirits, Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn is a brilliantly imagined novel, full of drama and intrigue - and it is just the beginning of an enthralling, epic adventure: The Tale of Shikanoko.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-55535607814114854262022-04-04T15:57:00.000+08:002022-04-04T15:57:15.851+08:00Sweet Romance & Finding Where You Belong: Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean [Book Review]<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOdyIGw4FNN62ucnSSbq9WbfIgL1JFcJitm4pu-F-tDg_lC1A0qozcG-lN_-_UUbcmvPykYzlf_EchacBqI14gZUKS-ZbduW9wD-BfJ6Dt9u4fkJ1uCLSZv8cbXCGj1L2Di2Nm3745c3gU9xJu2Mpyt5b7yNh5ibJlXCqOf4MOqd4wnQ7dNCFasXMbTg=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOdyIGw4FNN62ucnSSbq9WbfIgL1JFcJitm4pu-F-tDg_lC1A0qozcG-lN_-_UUbcmvPykYzlf_EchacBqI14gZUKS-ZbduW9wD-BfJ6Dt9u4fkJ1uCLSZv8cbXCGj1L2Di2Nm3745c3gU9xJu2Mpyt5b7yNh5ibJlXCqOf4MOqd4wnQ7dNCFasXMbTg=s16000" /></a><br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>My rating:</b> 5 / 5 ★</div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>I don't have an American half and a Japanese half. I am a whole person. Nobody gets to tell me if I am Japanese enough or too American.</i><b>”</b></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">If I were to describe <i>Tokyo Ever After</i> in simple words, I would say that the story is as sweet as cotton candy! It has similar vibes to The Princess Diaries, but instead of an unknown kingdom, the plot takes place in Japan.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Izumi Tanaka has always been curious about her origin, especially regarding the identity of a father that she never knew of. When her mother continues to refuse to talk about it, Izumi decides to find clues of her own... and finds out that her father is actually the Crown Prince of Japan. Soon enough, Izumi finds herself being flown to Japan to discover more about her roots and learn more of the royalty and culture. It is a story of searching for one's true self, family, friendship and forbidden romance.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">Oh I adore Izumi Tanaka's character from the first page of the book! I find most of her words and actions to be rather amusing, and I secretly believe that if I know her in real life, I will want to be best friends with her. She is mostly impulsive, but that's her most adoring trait because she leads her life with her heart </span><span style="text-align: right;">♡ It is a big part of the story, and as someone who listens to her heart a lot too, I find myself to be able to relate to Izumi and I find most of her actions to be justifiable.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: right;"><b></b></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: right;"><b>“</b><i>The earth forgets but I will always remember</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: right;"><i>Karaoke bars</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: right;"><i>Pharmacies and cups of tea</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: right;"><i>And plates of dorayaki</i><b>”</b></span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: right;"><b></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">The major reason <i>Tokyo Ever After</i> has a special place in my heart is definitely the swoon-worthy forbidden romance with the handsome yet grumpy bodyguard</span><span style="text-align: left;">—the sunshine x grumpy trope is executed perfectly in this book! I enjoyed Izumi and Akio's banter; they mock each other and throw snarky remarks a lot, but it's done so nicely that I find everything to be hilarious. And when they finally fall hard for each other? BOOM. The romance is disgustingly sweet and adorable, I feel like screaming to oblivion </span><span style="text-align: left;">(੭ ˃̣̣̥ ω˂̣̣̥)੭ु⁾⁾ The way they touch and kiss each other, the way how gentle Akio becomes during their hushed moments alone, the secret dances, the short but meaningful haiku they write for each other</span><span style="text-align: left;">—tell me, how can I not wish to have my own hot grumpy bodyguard to date in secret as well? HOW?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also love that apart from the romance, the story highlights Izumi's relationship with her family and friends as well. I am glad that the mother-daughter relationship in this one is wonderful, and Izumi respects and loves her mother fiercely. Although her mother kept secrets of her father from her, she tries her best to understand her mother's intentions. I do believe that Izumi's father can be a good father to her too, which readers will probably witness in the sequel, but he does show a lot of effort in here too. A good relationship with parents are rather rare in young adult books, so I really appreciate the author giving two good parents for this book.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As for Izumi's best friends, especially Noora: They are a gem! I enjoyed their moments and conversations so much; the trust and care they have for each other are so touching. It's the kind of friendship that I have always wanted<span style="text-align: left;">—friends like family </span><span style="text-align: right;">♡</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>"I'm still a work in progress."</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>"Aren't we all?"</i><b>”</b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Last but not least, I find Izumi's character arc to be a delightful journey to follow. I have mentioned above that I adore Izumi from the start, but it is quite clear that she can be passive at times too. The words “<i>If you don't fly too high, you don't have too far to fall</i>” definitely hit me hard, as I know how it feels to not be good enough when you know you have not tried hard enough. But as Izumi goes through a lot of backlash and hurt, she grows stronger and becomes someone confident about herself. She finally finds her true self, where she does not need to choose between being American or Japanese, because both are parts that make up her.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">All in all, <i>Tokyo Ever After</i> has the sweetest forbidden romance, perfect for a feel-good moment and as a light-read. It also has great values of family, friendship and finding a sense of belonging. If you're a fan of <i>The Princess Diaries</i> or <i>To All the Boys I've Loved Before</i>, and other similar stories, please do pick <i>Tokyo Ever After</i> as your next read!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Many thanks to Pansing for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review. <i>Tokyo Ever After</i> is available in all good bookstores, and the sequel is coming out next month, so be ready!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Tokyo Ever After<br /><b>Series:</b> Tokyo Ever After #1</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Emiko Jean</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Macmillan Children's Books</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>May 27th 2021</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 319</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57509616-tokyo-ever-after">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Izumi Tanaka has lived an uneventful seventeen years in her small town, keenly aware of all the ways in which her family is different from most of her classmates’. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity . . . and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan.</div><div><br /></div><div>Soon she’s traveling overseas to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she's only dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight. Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s "Japanese" enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily ever after?</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-35667440694956848252022-03-20T18:41:00.005+08:002022-03-20T19:07:59.061+08:00Of Wordplay and Murder Mystery: Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf [Book Review]<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-FzbCQnGeSkBCy2XzG8hzeKv2eVcxt5BfdkzGnq5nHky3yed6OzgEjTdeHWZeohnM3DJuu8jVIagK3Y4Amngm1xqB4F8lrC9Bg339Oh_HORJMad_RKAm6ns1tq20JRY2wPPatuMkRuHvBS4PMDutZt3nqN8Tfzs-Usn6wNBQj7vMWR8V8Hvfv0M4NyA=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2232" data-original-width="2500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-FzbCQnGeSkBCy2XzG8hzeKv2eVcxt5BfdkzGnq5nHky3yed6OzgEjTdeHWZeohnM3DJuu8jVIagK3Y4Amngm1xqB4F8lrC9Bg339Oh_HORJMad_RKAm6ns1tq20JRY2wPPatuMkRuHvBS4PMDutZt3nqN8Tfzs-Usn6wNBQj7vMWR8V8Hvfv0M4NyA=s16000" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>My rating:</b> 5 / 5 ★</div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>The beauty of the game lies in openness; the best players find ways to dance across the board like ballerinas.</i><b>”</b></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>TW:</b> Death, trauma/grief, anxiety, mentions of depression.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A brilliant murder mystery that centers around Scrabble with a local hijabi girl as a main character? A BIG FAT YES for me!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Queen of the Tiles</i> follows the story of Najwa Bakri, who returns to her first Scrabble competition a year after losing her best friend. Competing in the Scrabble competition may not be the best idea for her, not when it was the same competition where the said best friend, Trina Low, died unexpectedly. With Trina no longer around to be crowned the Scrabble Queen, Najwa wants more than nothing to gain the title herself, only to honour her best friend.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">What starts as a fierce competition filled with exceptional words and the thirst for the throne, immediately turns into a cruel game when Trina's inactive Instagram starts posting again. Cryptic messages and words are posted, hinting that Trina's death may not be an unfortunate circumstance after all. Perhaps there was a murderer, and the person is among the competitors.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I like the fact that each chapter in this book starts with a word and its meaning to describe the chapter—mind you, these words are difficult ones too and I have never heard of most of them. This element also directly reflects the main character, Najwa, who loves the meaning of the words she uses. It's safe to say that my vocabulary is very limited, and I had fun learning new words from this book.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This book reminds me of Pretty Little Liars, although almost the entire premise is different. It's a perfect example of obsessing over pretty people, toxic relationships and people you cannot trust. You cannot trust anyone in <i>Queen of the Tiles</i>, not even Najwa herself because her trauma caused her to forget the events happening on the day of Trina's death. With her memory of the day hazy, it was difficult to determine the truth.</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>Our grief may have different symptoms, but deep down it's the same disease after all.”</i></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Queen of the Tiles </i>talks about grief of losing a person dear to you and learning to find your own worth. It exposes readers to toxic relationships as well, where one side overshadows the other, and how destructive this can be to someone. I find myself unable to put down this book, eager for Najwa to solve the mystery of Trina's death. I was awestruck by how brilliantly Najwa swims through this menacing game, how quick she is to figure out the clues and cryptic messages. Albeit the way the 'culprit' was captured felt rather cliche, I still think this book concludes itself pretty well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">If you are into murder mystery with a lot of drama, and a dash of nerdiness to it (in a good way!), please get yourself to pre-order <i>Queen of the Tiles</i> right now! Many thanks to Pansing for sending me the ARC of <i>Queen of the Tiles</i>. This book is set to be published on April 19th 2022, and you do not want to miss it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Queen of the Tiles<br /><b>Series:</b> -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Hanna Alkaf</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Salaam Reads</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>April 19th 2022</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 304</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58437814-queen-of-the-tiles">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>When Najwa Bakri walks into her first Scrabble competition since her best friend’s death, it’s with the intention to heal and move on with her life. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to choose the very same competition where said best friend, Trina Low, died. It might be even though Najwa’s trying to change, she’s not ready to give up Trina just yet.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the same can’t be said for all the other competitors. With Trina, the Scrabble Queen herself, gone, the throne is empty, and her friends are eager to be the next reigning champion. All’s fair in love and Scrabble, but all bets are off when Trina’s formerly inactive Instagram starts posting again, with cryptic messages suggesting that maybe Trina’s death wasn’t as straightforward as everyone thought. And maybe someone at the competition had something to do with it.</div><div><br /></div><div>As secrets are revealed and the true colors of her friends are shown, it’s up to Najwa to find out who’s behind these mysterious posts—not just to save Trina’s memory, but to save herself.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-83208353052338654432022-03-19T22:14:00.001+08:002022-03-19T22:14:47.405+08:00A Comfort Read: Inkling by N.F Afrina [Book Review]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfv1lhGM3JaI5rBsJx479a9oGbKliIGHu4sDele3mSxTyfKAf643AbOQR3UHbKRj-3z-zm3AmXKuCHQog7dZKp878NQrrpOy67effNbaVKSKfQSE27Az2_xa4623MOF9iHFh_rMZMYwvZdiDgdkqrezexelwMXL34Br2WZQrCHbGfqAOu6ZhE3rmFlTg=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfv1lhGM3JaI5rBsJx479a9oGbKliIGHu4sDele3mSxTyfKAf643AbOQR3UHbKRj-3z-zm3AmXKuCHQog7dZKp878NQrrpOy67effNbaVKSKfQSE27Az2_xa4623MOF9iHFh_rMZMYwvZdiDgdkqrezexelwMXL34Br2WZQrCHbGfqAOu6ZhE3rmFlTg=s16000" /></a></div><p><b style="text-align: justify;">My rating:</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> 5 / 5 ★</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>The thing about a heartbreaker is that you'll never stop loving the heart you broke</i><span style="text-align: left;"><i>—Time taught me that some hearts are to be given and not together.</i></span><b>”</b></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">It's never heard of that I would fall in love helplessly over an anthology of short stories, but <i>Inkling</i> is definitely a special case. I may be a bit biased since this lovely book was written by my book bestie, but I can assure everyone that N.F Afrina's words have the ability to give you comfort and warmth.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since this book is a collection of short stories, I believe it's my duty to pen down my thoughts for each of them, because they all deserve it ✨</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Sev & the Hot Chocolate</u> follows the journey of Sev, who strongly believes iced chocolate to be an abominable creation. (Don't tell her—I <i>love</i> iced chocolate. Sev will murder me if she knows) She moved to a small village to sell more of her hot chocolates, and found herself new things to learn and love. I love that this story centers around humility and sharing knowledge and joys with other people. Sharing is caring <span style="text-align: right;">♡</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Toffee Spills</u> really caught me off guard. It's about a girl who decides to no longer wear a hijab and expects thunder to strike her at any given moment. I did not think I would like it at first, because I never knew how to react when someone takes off their hijab for reasons I could not confound. But in just a few paragraphs, I learned that I should be gentler to those who are struggling with wearing hijab. Just because I am wearing it, it does not mean that I am a better person. I definitely teared up reading this one, mashaaAllah.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Rainy Detours</u> is VERY WHOLESOME. VERY ADORABLE. I WOULD LOVE TO HUG BOTH OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS. It's about two people finding each other because of the rain. I am always a sucker for romantic or cute stories in the rain, and this one is just my cup of tea <span style="text-align: right;">♡ I honestly wish we could get a spin-off for this story because I NEED MORE OF THEM!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><u>Heartbreak Motel</u>: short but the ending was quite impactful. I love the weirdness of it. Still confused as to what is actually going on in the motel but I find that I do not really care. The peculiarity and subtle goriness of it is perfect for me. I love the final page </span><span style="text-align: right;">♡</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">I like that <u>The Jean Jacket</u> introduces us to a non-living thing main character. It reminds me of all the '<i>Aku Sebatang Pensel</i>' ('I am a Pencil') essays that I was required to write during my school days. However, this story is just not meant for me. I guess it carries the message that sometimes we have to trade something in life in order to gain something new. This pretty much applies to human relationships too, I think? Some are dispensable, some you can never live without. Good message still!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><u>Daily Dose</u> is another story filled with wholesome cuteness! I love that the main character was skeptical of saying the words "I love you" constantly, claiming that these three words are overused</span>—but then realised the beauty of it when actually saying it out loud bravely. That is why it is important to always tell the people that you love, that you love them. Tell them how much you love them, always. There will come a time when you can no longer do it, so tell them while you still can.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh wow. <u>Ugg Boots</u> literally makes me want to scream my head off. THE ANGER THAT I FELT FOR HANS? This atrocious man keeps whining on how he 'lost' his girl but then proceeds to demeaning her good qualities, just because it is never <i>about</i> him. People who think that the world revolves around them do not deserve nice people. Definitely not Hans. I hope more people will smack him with ugg boots.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I think <u>Ice Prince</u> is my absolute favourite from this book <span style="text-align: right;">♡ This story has a lot of layers and depth in it, despite only being several pages. I went through a whirlwind of emotions while reading this. I consider it as a story of a broken girl learning how to love another person, only to end up being manipulated. It was confusing, and just like the main character, you never knew who to believe. It is a story of how a toxic relationship can be formed, and how you need to gain your own strength to escape from it. It is sad that the brutality in this one is the reality of a lot of people in this world.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><u>Desert Boy, Ocean Girl</u> is filled with a lot of lessons to learn. The two main characters' relationship is rather surprising, but you know how you can just connect with someone, despite the circumstances. It is a story of healing, and women supporting each other. I like that it also shows that sometimes, some relationships are not meant to stay, and that is okay. The most important thing is you. "<i>You attract the right people who will love you right only after you know how to love and treat yourself right.</i>"</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><u>Crash and Burn</u> has a hint of chaoticness in it. I mean, who would purposely drive in the middle of the road, hoping for another car to come crashing into them? Apparently, the main character of this story. I have a feeling that this story may reflect one of the author's feelings, perhaps a passing moment, about losing your passion because of exhaustion. I appreciate the message that encourages you to find your passion again, to love what you loved again. It requires effort, but breathe, continue forward, find your rhythm and inshaaAllah you will be okay. <span style="font-size: x-small;">p.s: car repair is expensive as heck, so please do not do what the character did.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">When I first started reading <u>Handwriter and Keyboardist</u>, I was not fond of the main character. The main character, Mina, claims that only handwritten notes are good, so much better than typed ones. I felt a sense of entitlement coming from her, and I did not appreciate it. But she orders float root beer and curly fries in A&W, so I think I had to like this girl. And then she meets Tape, who reads out what she wrote by running his fingers on the paper. Because of him, Mina learns that she should not hate typed-out notes because to some people, it is the only way for them to write. I love that this story can make you realise that sometimes, the things that you hate can serve as something important in someone else's life. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Overall, <i>Inkling</i> has been a wonderful reading journey for me. I absolutely love N.F Afrina's writing style, especially the way how soft she wrote some of her characters. I'm looking forward to more works coming from this talented author!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">You can get <i>Inkling</i> and <i>Not Here to Stay</i>, the author's new book, from <a href="https://beacons.ai/heyitsnf/" target="_blank">here</a>!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Inkling<br /><b>Series:</b> -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> N.F Afrina</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Whitecoat Sdn. Bhd</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Short story, Fiction</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>September 9th 2021</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 196</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58940607-inkling">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>A hot chocolate maker travels to a town with no money. A girl sins and expects a thunder to strike her. Two grown up souls in the rain. The twist of heart of a heartbreak motel’s founder. A doctor prescribes daily dose of “I love you”s to cure Alzheimer. A boy gets hit by Ugg boots multiple times. A chocolate prince turns to ice. The ocean girl and her secret meetings with the desert boys mother.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-12209303484684040142022-02-23T17:25:00.001+08:002022-02-23T17:27:50.682+08:00Reviu Buku: Miss Makeover oleh Izanor Sharif<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-2ErPQCrvFulqaCOVTsUNkclD_P94EXDBx5HLzbAjDmEAop8U0nO5h8WSIhEEIXEYU_xzZn7ciVi5SVzNW5hoaHi-dSuJUtdqKnX2EJp3urxXPih2M9QxigHyVLg97Qt1mWX4TupMdRlZOQoj7QQcH_j2JgYACbHYop8uZ_5hFalK-fSNJVUylETTDw=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-2ErPQCrvFulqaCOVTsUNkclD_P94EXDBx5HLzbAjDmEAop8U0nO5h8WSIhEEIXEYU_xzZn7ciVi5SVzNW5hoaHi-dSuJUtdqKnX2EJp3urxXPih2M9QxigHyVLg97Qt1mWX4TupMdRlZOQoj7QQcH_j2JgYACbHYop8uZ_5hFalK-fSNJVUylETTDw=s16000" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Penilaian saya:</b> 4 / 5 ★</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>Tiada sesiapa yang sempurna atau tak pernah melakukan kesalahan. Apa yang penting, awak sudah tinggalkan semuanya dan ada usaha untuk berubah.</i><b>”</b></blockquote><p><i>Miss Makeover</i> menceritakan tentang kisah dua orang gadis yang berbeza personaliti menjadi sahabat baik. Ozelyn yang berperwatakan ganas, pemarah dan anti sosial ingin mengubah personalitinya dengan bantuan Leia, seorang gadis <i>Instafamous</i> yang mempunyai ramai pengikut dan baik hati. Buku ini berkongsi bagaimana Leia menjadi jurulatih peribadi dalam misi 'makeover' Ozelyn menjadi gadis ayu.</p><p><br /></p><p>Pada permulaan cerita ini, semasa Ozelyn belum memasang niat untuk berubah, jujur saya katakan saya tidak suka dengan wataknya. Dia membuli pelajar lain tanpa sebab dan bercakap dengan nada kasar kepada hampir setiap orang. Bagaimana mungkin saya mahu memberi empati kepada seseorang yang bersikap seperti ini? Namun apabila Ozelyn bertembung dengan <i>crush</i> dia di sekolah dan cuba untuk berubah menjadi seorang gadis (percubaan yang tidak berjaya), saya mula merasakan wataknya agak kelakar dan saya mahu tahu lebih lanjut mengenai wataknya: mengapa dia bersifat kasar dan adakah dia mampu untuk berubah?</p><p><br /></p><p>Semasa Leia menunjuk minat untuk membantu Ozelyn berubah, saya tidak dapat faham niatnya kerana Ozelyn tidak pernah berbaik dengannya. Namun bila sebabnya dijelaskan, saya faham mengapa persahabatan di antara Ozelyn dengan Leia dapat terjalin. Saya suka dengan sikap Leia yang tegas dan tidak berputus asa dengan Ozelyn. Ozelyn pula layak dipuji kerana walaupun dia letih dengan latihan Leia, dia tidak berputus asa juga.</p><p><br /></p><p>Gaya penulisan buku ini pula santai dan ringan, sesuai untuk bacaan umum terutamanya remaja atau sesiapa sahaja yang baru hendak mula membaca novel. Mesej yang disampaikan dalam novela ini juga sangat baik. Antara mesej yang paling saya gemari ialah jika kita hendak berubah, kita janganlah cuba menjadi orang lain. Kita sepatutnya cuba menjadi versi diri kita yang lebih baik, terhadap diri kita sendiri dan orang lain.</p><p><br /></p><p>Walaupun saya suka dengan jalan cerita dan mesej <i>Miss Makeover</i>, terdapat beberapa bahagian yang saya tidak bersetuju dan saya rasa boleh diperbaiki. Antaranya ialah penggunaan rambut palsu dalam latihan Leia. Sekiranya anda tidak mengetahuinya, rambut palsu adalah haram bagi orang Islam, kecuali atas sebab-sebab tertentu yang memudaratkan (botak/rambut terlalu sedikit dan mendapat kata-kata keji daripada orang sekeliling, dll.).</p><p><br /></p><p>Dalam <i>Miss Makeover</i>, Leia memaksa Ozelyn memakai rambut palsu panjang demi kecantikan. Walaupun Ozelyn bertanya kepada Leia apakah hukum memakai rambut palsu, jawaban Leia yang agak acuh tak acuh yang mengatakan mungkin berdosa mungkin tidak, boleh menimbulkan kekeliruan bagi pembaca muda. Walaupun watak Leia dan Ozelyn juga remaja yang tidak mahir tentang hukum agama, penulis tidak sepatutnya meletakkan elemen seperti ini yang boleh mengelirukan.</p><p><br /></p><p>Selain itu, saya juga tidak bersetuju dengan beberapa ajaran Leia seperti memaksa Ozelyn memakai pakaian yang dilabel 'feminin' seperti skirt atau baju bercorak bunga dan warna pastel sahaja. Dia juga menyuruh Ozelyn mencari hobi yang bercirikan 'gadis' seperti 'membaca'. Pertamanya, stail adalah terbuka kepada kehendak masing-masing. Memang bagus Leia membantu Ozelyn mencuba stail baru, tetapi dengan mengatakan dia perlu menolak tepi koleksi topinya yang berwarna gelap kerana warna tersebut tidak menarik adalah agak melampau.</p><p><br /></p><p>Apakah pula maksud hobi yang bercirikan 'gadis'? Jika seseorang perempuan gemar bersukan atau aktiviti lasak, adakah itu bermakna hobinya tidak menunjukkan dirinya seorang gadis? Saya juga tidak gemar dengan mesej yang mengatakan 'membaca' itu hobi yang bercirikan gadis kerana tiada masalah sekiranya seseorang lelaki mahu untuk membaca. Ini akan menimbulkan kekeliruan yang tidak patut kepada pembaca muda.</p><p><br /></p><p>Secara keseluruhannya, saya masih menyukai <i>Miss Makeover</i>. Sedikit kekurangan yang saya sebutkan di atas pula mungkin disebabkan faktor watak itu sendiri. Novela ini mudah untuk dihadam dalam masa singkat dan sangat sesuai untuk pembaca muda serta bacaan umum.</p><p><br /></p><p>Berbanyak terima kasih kepada pihak penerbit Bookiut kerana menghantar senaskhah <i>Miss Makeover</i> kepada saya untuk saya reviu secara jujur. Sekiranya anda berminat untuk mendapatkan <i>Miss Makeover</i>, bolehlah membelinya secara atas talian di laman sesawang PTS Media: <a href="https://pts.com.my/imprint/bookiut">https://pts.com.my/imprint/bookiut</a></p><p><br /></p><p></p><ul><li>Video reviu saya untuk <i>Miss Makeover</i>: <a href="https://youtu.be/r7uMC-Pc338">https://youtu.be/r7uMC-Pc338</a></li></ul><div><br /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Judul:</b> Miss Makeover<br /><b>Siri:</b> -</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Penulis:</b> Izanor Sharif</div><div><b>Penerbit:</b> Bookiut</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Novela, Remaja, Kontemporari</div><div><b>Format:</b> Berkulit lembut</div><div><b>Tarikh Penerbitan: </b>2022</div><div><b>Bilangan mukasurat:</b> 111</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Sinopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60312202-miss-makeover">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>“Adakah saya akan jadi model yang popular?”</div><div><br /></div><div>Kisah tentang Ozelyn yang berwatak ganas, pemarah dan anti sosial ingin mengubah personaliti dan dibantu oleh Leia, seorang gadis Instafamous yang mempunyai ramai pengikut dan baik hati.</div><div><br /></div><div>Adakah impian Ozelyn mahu jadi gadis sejati akan tercapai?</div><div><br /></div><div>Adakah Leia sebagai jurulatih peribadi berjaya melaksanakan misi ‘makeover’ terhadap si gadis ganas?</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Sehingga berjumpa lagi ♡ Yang ikhlas, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-91058813641970934392022-02-10T19:38:00.001+08:002022-02-10T19:39:52.168+08:00A Funny Tragic Love: The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch Vol. 1 [Book Review]<p> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://kodansha.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/The_Transcendent_One-Sided-Lovof_Yoshida_the_Catch_001_ver03_00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="562" height="800" src="https://kodansha.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/The_Transcendent_One-Sided-Lovof_Yoshida_the_Catch_001_ver03_00.jpg" width="562" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>My rating:</b> 4 / 5 ★</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I had a lot of fun reading this one! The main character, Yoshida, is madly in love with his high school friend, Shimakaze, who is now a mangaka (manga artist). What made this fun to read is that Yoshida's a tsundere who is so obvious with his feelings for her, but she is absolutely oblivious of it. Shimakaze is a walking disaster, so Yoshida had no choice but to be there to clean up her mess because he's just too whipped.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">For one thing, Yoshida has stunning eyes <3 I'M IN LOVE WITH THEM! I think I'm enjoying it so much because as a handsome hero, his love story is tragic (in a humorous way) and he definitely won't get the love of his life anytime soon, at least not without more trouble coming their way. But he's very efficient with his work and all the mangaka assistants adored him so I find it very endearing. I like this kind of story more than when a handsome man gets every woman his wants easily.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I probably would dislike someone like Shimakaze in real life because she has zero tact, but I guess it's funny to read about her in a manga. As much as I think Yoshida deserves someone much better, I'd still root for both of these characters though! I can definitely imagine all the disaster coming their way as Yoshida continues trying to convey his feelings to her.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I love all the assistants too! Their characters are not very distinct since they're mostly on the same page about almost everything, but this is only the first volume so I'm sure there'll be more from the four of them in the upcoming volumes. As of now I find them all adorable. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's fun to read a story about how a mangaka works, though I'm unsure to how much extent the events could be true. I'm definitely looking forward to more Yoshida with his tragic love story <3 I do hope we'll get to have some POVs from him too in the next volumes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Many thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch Vol. 1<br /><b>Series:</b> The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch #1</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Shizuki Fujisawa</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Kodansha</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Manga, Graphic Novel, Romance, Contemporary, Humor</div><div><b>Format:</b> E-book</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>February 15th 2022</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 160</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60285088-the-transcendent-one-sided-love-of-yoshida-the-catch-vol-1">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Meet Yoshida. He's cool, he's smart, and he's really, really good-looking. He's the company superstar, and has the eye of every available woman for miles around. But Yoshida only loves one woman -- the manga-artist and walking-disaster Sena Shimakaze. Yoshida is the glue that holds her whole team together and helps them limp through each and every deadline... but despite his personal greatness and obvious management skills, his love is somehow totally one-sided. What's an overachiever like Yoshida to do?</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-20896753253379341722022-02-09T00:52:00.003+08:002022-02-09T18:08:05.920+08:00Chain of Iron: A Very Frustrating Read 😩 [Book Review]<h1 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"It’s never a tragedy to love somebody."</h1><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfARMIDM3zv2uSe7CuTY6l-Q8mQ4CB5ilxgutQod4I0h1JIES6ofX3Wf4rp2iayn3ofsdFnZwWRGgN5mRFlX1X8_6xY3_xgrSH1M7dYlekULTta2pNI-yhwil3GQRK6fvHnUIYGMBkkkGWCc6Xc3bc-Exzn6MxqUsmugEtrZmzrjztxbx2e2Zv6tX7zQ=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfARMIDM3zv2uSe7CuTY6l-Q8mQ4CB5ilxgutQod4I0h1JIES6ofX3Wf4rp2iayn3ofsdFnZwWRGgN5mRFlX1X8_6xY3_xgrSH1M7dYlekULTta2pNI-yhwil3GQRK6fvHnUIYGMBkkkGWCc6Xc3bc-Exzn6MxqUsmugEtrZmzrjztxbx2e2Zv6tX7zQ=s16000" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>My rating:</b> 4.5 / 5 ★</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>And I was no longer afraid. I knew I would be able to come home, because of you. That you would lead me back. You are my constant star, Daisy.</i><b>”</b></blockquote><p>If I have to be honest, <i>Chain of Iron</i> is by far the most frustrating book that I've ever read. It took me months to get through halfway of it, then I had to put it down (or else risk ripping it apart), read something else in between before continuing it back and finishing it.</p><p><br /></p><p>But did I still enjoy it? Yes. Yes, I did. In fact, I enjoyed it immensely.</p><p><br /></p><p>If I were to compare <i>Chain of Iron</i> with <i>Chain of Gold</i>, the first book in <i>The Last Hours</i> trilogy, this one was a lot more draggy, especially during the first half of the book. But I cannot really hate it either because these were the parts where Cordelia and James got married, and there were a lot of cute domestic moments of them. I adored it, yet at the same time it felt exhausting to read too. I needed more actions, more James and Cordelia realising their true feelings, and less, well, less keeping everything to themselves. I cannot count how many times I wanted to yell to everyone to stop keeping secrets.</p><p><br /></p><p>And there <i>were</i> a lot of secrets being kept. James kept a lot of truths between his relationship with Grace from Cordelia; Cordelia kept a lot of things from James and Lucie, but instead shared things with Matthew; Lucie kept everyone in the dark about Jesse; Matthew kept secrets about why he turned to drinking from James—the secrets were endless! Forgive me if I were to say that this is a very frustrating book to read.</p><p><br /></p><p>But I have so much love for the Merry Thieves, and despite all the secrets being kept, when they needed to fight the demons, they fought hard together. The demon that went on a murdering spree in <i>Chain of Iron</i> was quite difficult to figure out its identity—I had some guesses, and some were true, some were hilariously wrong. I believe the mystery of it, combined with Clare's beautiful writing style, were what made me still fond of this book despite the burning frustrations. Along with the beloved Merry Thieves of course.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cordelia and James' relationship was forlornly lovely. Despite their feelings for each other growing, the happy ending is still far from their reach. What's worse was Lucie and Jesse's relationship though. It's nice to see Lucie learning more about her powers, but the situation with Jesse kept getting grimmer. All I want is for these characters to be happy IS THAT SO HARD, CASSIE (ಥ﹏ಥ)</p><p><br /></p><p>It's also surprising that I find myself warming up to Grace as well. I pretty much hated her in the first book, but in <i>Chain of Iron</i>, the reasons why she acted the way she did was unraveled, and I pitied her. I would not say I love her now, but I do want to root for her. I also want her to be friends with Christopher too, somehow. Christopher is one of the only characters that did not frustrate me and the way he excitedly talked about his experiments with Grace in that one scene was really adorable. He really is too precious.</p><p><br /></p><p>Despite the frustration this book brought me, it still broke me to pieces and I have no regrets going through all that pain. I will be needing the ending, Chain of Thorns, real soon though. I need this agony of waiting to end, and I want Daisy to have her happy ending °(°ˊДˋ°) ° OR ELSE.</p><p><br /></p><p>Many thanks to Pansing for sending me this review copy in exchange for an honest review. <i>Chain of Iron</i> is available in all good bookstores! Please read it so we can go through the same pain <span style="text-align: right;">♡</span></p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Title:</b> Chain of Iron<br /><b>Series:</b> The Last Hours #2</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Cassandra Clare</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Walker Books</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>March 2nd 2021</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 571</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57311579-chain-of-iron">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace.</div><div><br /></div><div>Together with the Merry Thieves, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must follow the trail of the knife-wielding killer through the city’s most dangerous streets. All the while, each is keeping a shocking secret: Lucie, that she plans to raise Jesse from the dead; Cordelia, that she has sworn a dangerous oath of loyalty to a mysterious power; and James, that he is being drawn further each night into the dark web of his grandfather, the arch-demon Belial. And that he himself may be the killer they seek.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><p></p>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-51471454870248777862022-01-09T00:02:00.004+08:002022-02-11T08:49:46.785+08:00Cliche but Hilariously Funny: Lovesick Ellie Vol. 1 [Book Review]<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://kodansha.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/LovesickEllie1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="562" height="800" src="https://kodansha.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/LovesickEllie1.jpg" width="562" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>My rating:</b> 4 / 5 ★</div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><b>“</b><i>Are you prepared for me to love you?</i><b>”</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I guess I was in need of some fluffy romance, because I devoured this in mere minutes!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Lovesick Ellie</i> follows the story of high school girl, Ichimura Eriko (Ellie), who has a crush on the school's perfect handsome boy, Ohmi Akira (Omi). Instead of pursuing his attention like other girls, she fantasises about him by tweeting under the name "Lovesick Ellie". At the same time she found out Omi's true character, he found out about her tweets of him.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's sort of a cliche: loner girl, befriending the popular guy, but both characters were so refreshing to read. Ellie was unapologetically a pervert with her fantasies, and it's funny how Omi kept calling her a pervert yet he was unable to stay away from her. Omi's character is a perfection in front of everyone else, but he was snarky and selfish when in front of her. It's not to the point that his words would be harmful to Ellie though. There were parts where it can feel cringey, but I'm a sucker for cute romances anyway so I still had fun!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Both of them end up being comfortable around each other, but also embarrassed about their feelings as well. They're very easy to love and I like that Ellie managed to come out of her shell bit by bit, even befriending a new person all on her own. Compared to Ellie, I think that Omi didn't have much growth in this one—other than showing his true self to Ellie—but I believe that's being saved for future volumes of this manga.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Lovesick Ellie</i> is a sweet and hilarious story, and I hope I can follow the story of Ellie and Omi more soon! Many thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for the chance to read this book in exchange with my honest review.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li>My short thoughts for the other volumes: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4477400417">2</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4477478197">3</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4479043256">4</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4479821974">5</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4480409920">6</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4480517826">7</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4482724002">8</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4482808616">9</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4483057225">10</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4483219556">11</a> & <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4483336669">12</a></li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Lovesick Ellie Vol. 1<br /><b>Series:</b> Lovesick Ellie #1</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Fujimomo</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Kodansha</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Manga, Graphic Novel, Romance, Shoujo, Young Adult, Contemporary, Humor</div><div><b>Format:</b> E-book</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>November 28th 2017</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 178</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36675306-lovesick-ellie-vol-1">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Eriko Ichimura spends her high school days in complete obscurity. Her sole hobby is staring at handsome, smooth-spoken Akira "Omi-kun" Ohmi, and tweeting her daily fantasies under the screenname "Lovesick Ellie." One fateful day, she accidentally bears witness to Omi-kun's true self—and if that weren't enough, he sees her mortifying Twitter, too! Follow along with a plain, perverted girl, a two-faced boy, and their curious romance!</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-21108530289611886762022-01-04T09:51:00.003+08:002022-01-04T09:51:44.629+08:00Goodbye 2021, Hello 2022.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPb6TfOl0EdlLL1T6GD-5FsOLKjRPSqFnmanmyld-u20FR8BV7rjv8H4aiK6xj0AncpqQHfTZbUqkRDs4ZTXxXpRA-YdnJW890dE6thWNupEaICDTulbuNgocND_PQzCxFFmsutz-K90xc3S3_kdOAk2eKJrtPXaGlJbPzwEccjGWc_z6mpggMx9jtfA=s2500" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1763" data-original-width="2500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPb6TfOl0EdlLL1T6GD-5FsOLKjRPSqFnmanmyld-u20FR8BV7rjv8H4aiK6xj0AncpqQHfTZbUqkRDs4ZTXxXpRA-YdnJW890dE6thWNupEaICDTulbuNgocND_PQzCxFFmsutz-K90xc3S3_kdOAk2eKJrtPXaGlJbPzwEccjGWc_z6mpggMx9jtfA=s16000" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Happy New Year! I've realised that it's been a while since I last wrote anything here, much less something else other than book reviews. I don't really believe in the term "new year, new me", but I guess that a new year means that you're open to try new things.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">2021 was a year packed with so many feelings. I experienced one of the darkest times during the earlier parts of the year, but eventually I found many joys and things to love as well. I met with many new friends, spent time with my loved ones, and made peace with myself as I am. I can't say that 2021 was the best year that I went through, but it's certainly not the worst either. I appreciate every single soul that stayed with me, despite my shortcomings. All I can say is that I'm grateful that I survived till today, Alhamdulillah.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I haven't made any new year resolutions for several years already, because I tend to get disappointed whenever I failed to achieve something. But I realised that listing small goals and making an effort to achieve them will be quite helpful for my growth too. So here are some of my new year resolutions that I hope I can accomplish!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2022 New Year's Resolution</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1. Find a job that I can enjoy.</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I actually did land a job last year, albeit very brief. I worked at a café, which had been one of my dreams to try at least once in my life! Despite being happy working with the people around me, due to several unavoidable circumstances, the environment ended being toxic and I had to quit. I appreciate the experience, but I'm hoping that this year, I'll be able to find a job that can at least make my efforts worth it. Hopefully somewhere that involves books or writings!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">2. Write down my first manuscript.</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I've attempted to write a book many times since I was a teenager, but I never managed to complete a single one. I didn't write <i>anything</i> last year, and I am ashamed over myself for that. I'm going to try making more effort this year and start working on my goal to become a published author. A full manuscript would be wonderful, but even going through halfway of that is more than enough.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">3. Create a dent in my TBR list.</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Which also means "<i>less spending on books & more reading</i>". I recently counted the books that I have and they amounted to almost 410—and I haven't read 300 of that! I did not even include the ebooks that I have in my Kindle device and Google Books. My constant book buying spree in 2021 definitely helped me achieve my childhood dream of having a personal library, but I noticed that it's starting to become an unhealthy obsession. I became obsessed in getting the latest released books and books with gorgeous covers, but then I never and up reading them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">So this year, I would like to limit myself on buying books (I need to set a budget on this soon; I'm also broke) and instead focus on reading what I currently already own.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">4. Find other ways to be happy rather than spending money.</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I spent an unhealthy amount of money on shopping last year (especially on books), so I'd like to try refraining myself from repeating it again. I need to stop my obsession of scrolling through online stores all the time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><ul><li><i>Start drawing again.</i> This is something that I wasn't able to do much last year, due to insecurities. I hated whatever I drew, but I failed to realise that constant practice on it is what I actually needed. I'm hoping I'll be able to work on new projects for <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dearduyung/">Dear Duyung</a> too this year.</li><li><i>Learn to play kalimba.</i> I received the musical instrument for my birthday two years ago, but I hadn't touched it since then. It would be nice to be able to play my favourite song with it someday.</li><li><i>More macrame projects.</i> I started selling macrame heart-shaped coasters last year, and I really enjoyed it. I'm hoping to do more projects and perhaps make it into a source of side-income.</li><li><i>Study Japanese again</i>. I have no idea if I'll have time to pick up my Japanese lessons again, but watching animes and reading mangas recently made me wish I was more serious during my Japanese classes in university. No time to regret, I'll just find time to re-learn it!</li></ul><div><br /></div><h4>5. Live a healthier life.</h4><div>I'd like to start working out again. More plain water, less junk food. A better sleeping pattern. And prioritising my mental health over anything else. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, these are mainly the things I hope to achieve this year. They're nothing big, but I know I will need to make a constant effort for them. It would be nice to read this again next year, and see if I did follow these goals or not.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you read until this part, you have my whole heart. I'm aware that people rarely read blogs these days, but I'm still going to stick around as long as I can, and I hope you do too. Thank you for reading, and I wish that your new year resolutions (if you do have them) will be achieved!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-57685974164605261162021-07-28T19:55:00.003+08:002021-07-28T21:21:33.564+08:00Silent Courage and Soft Heroin: A Review for Thorn by Intisar Khanani [Book Review]<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbw8WTywZ4rwzrP4fxlWuEbyJFsYEENb7_YHnwA5OD491zUrfm89mXhUGNCE7ptQPQIMZxApI1niQFqNA-qMOBqRzRJm6mmllbT8nqpbDIh3fU3X5cs-BnOF_f2mqSsCC2JPRINaKqYrW6/s2048/7.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbw8WTywZ4rwzrP4fxlWuEbyJFsYEENb7_YHnwA5OD491zUrfm89mXhUGNCE7ptQPQIMZxApI1niQFqNA-qMOBqRzRJm6mmllbT8nqpbDIh3fU3X5cs-BnOF_f2mqSsCC2JPRINaKqYrW6/s16000/7.png" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>My rating:</b> 11 / 5 ★ (I WILL GIVE ALL THE STARS IN THE GALAXY FOR THIS BOOK)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b></b></i><blockquote><i><b>“</b>But we're family here—we </i>are<i>. Your name fits right in with ours, so don't doubt it for a minute—and family looks out for each other.</i><b style="font-style: italic;">”</b></blockquote><i><b></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>TW:</b> Physical and verbal abuse, emotional trauma, sexual harassment, mention of rape</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first time I read this book was when I received an ARC from Pansing, back in 2019. Ever since then, <i>Thorn</i> has been a great comfort read for me that I will reread whenever I fell into a reading slump. I love it so much to the point where I reread it twice this year! I have never written a review of this book on my blog, so here we are, and beware: I'm going to be absolutely biased.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Thorn</i> is a retelling of The Goose Girl. Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the contempt and abuse of her own family, and when she is betrothed to the powerful Prince Kestrin, she has hopes that she will have a chance for a better life at least. When a sorceress robs her body and identity as a princess before she can reach the prince's kingdom, Alyrra embraces her new life as a goose girl, away from the cruel abuses. But she soon learns that Kestrin is different than what she had feared, and with both the fate of the prince's life and kingdom at stake, Alyrra knows she will have to stand up for what she believes in.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">♡ <u>A soft and humble heroin</u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If I were to list every single thing that I love about <i>Thorn</i>, it will be endless. What I love the most about this book though, is <b>Princess Alyrra herself</b>. It was so easy to love and empathise her character and journey. Alyrra is a soft character, perhaps the softest main character I've ever read in a fantasy book; it felt refreshing to finally get a main character that is not badass and filled with hatred or anger. Don't get me wrong, I love badass characters that are confident with themselves, but encountering someone so soft as Alyrra, I felt seen. I was able to relate so much to Alyrra, and I love the silent courage that she possesses.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Being soft does not mean being weak or useless, and Alyrra clearly shows it. She suffered through domestic abuse her entire life, and instead of letting it bring her down, Alyrra let it shape her into someone better than her abusers. Do take note that apart from domestic abuse, sexual harassment, emotional trauma and rape were also mentioned, although not graphic. I love the way the author included these issues in the story and they were not romanticised at all, but if you're still uncomfortable with the things mentioned, it will be okay to avoid this book.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also love how humble Alyrra is. Even when she was still a princess at her own kingdom, she treats her people and servants all the same: with respect. That is why it is not difficult for her to adapt with being a goose girl. In fact, the hard work feels better than being trapped with royalties and nobles that constantly deemed her as unworthy, simply because she is honest with her thoughts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although she is most definitely content living her life as a goose girl, surrounded with friends that truly loves her, I admired how much she still cares about the fate of Kestrin and the people of Menaiya. Her character growth is perhaps the most wonderful thing to read about in <i>Thorn</i>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">♡ </span><u style="text-align: right;">Characters that are endearing</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u style="text-align: right;"><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">Apart from Alyrra, there are many characters that I absolutely adored in <i>Thorn</i>. Especially Falada. Falada is a talking magical horse</span><span style="text-align: left;">—did I say, <b>TALKING. MAGICAL. HORSE</b>? Yes. Yes, I did. Falada is the first and truest friend that Alyrra has after she becomes a goose girl. Not only is he loyal to her, he is constantly there for her during her worst moments and gives her advices where it's necessary. I never thought I would ever love a talking horse as much as I love Falada.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">And then there is the Wind. The Wind is a wind spirit that Alyrra befriended when she was a child, and just like Falada, the Wind is very loyal towards Alyrra. I cannot say much about its character as that will touch upon a spoiler, but the revelation about the Wind is absolutely my favourite part of the book. The Wind was also mentioned in <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51925121-brambles">Brambles</a></i>, the prequel to <i>Thorn</i>, and you can read my review on the novella <b><a href="https://www.mermaird.com/2020/12/a-treat-for-fans-of-thorn-book-review.html">here</a></b>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">♡ </span><u style="text-align: right;">Found family</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">Alyrra may have suffered through domestic abuse growing up, and she has no one to lean on when she ends up being robbed of her identity on the way to a kingdom she knows nothing about. But when she becomes a goose girl, she finds herself new friends</span><span style="text-align: left;">—<b>a new family</b>. Sage dotes on her like a gentle mother, while Violet, Ash, Oak and Rowan loves her like older siblings. I am always grateful to these people for accepting Alyrra, for being kind and protective towards her. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">♡ <u>Sort-of platonic love</u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">Another reason why I strongly love Thorn is that it does not let itself get blindly into romance. In fact, I can describe the "love" between Alyrra and Kestrin to be rather platonic. They care deeply for each other (FOR A GOOD REASON, which I will not spoil) and their friendship and trust for each other are more highlighted in the story. But it is also obvious that love will surely bloom for them after the ending of the story, as love that starts from a friendship often comes stronger. I'll admit that I was skeptical of Kestrin at first, but when he proves himself to be good, it is easy to love him.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">♡ </span><u style="text-align: right;">Great for beginners</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;">There is just so much to love about <i>Thorn</i>, and I believe that this long <strike>essay</strike> review sums up my feelings without giving any spoilers away. The villains in this story are also traumatising but I love to hate them, so that's definitely a plus. This book is an easy read, which will be <b>a perfect fantasy read for beginner readers</b>. If you're interested in reading a retelling fantasy with a soft heroine that fights with silent courage, endearing side characters and subtle romance, <i>Thorn</i> will be the perfect read!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>My previous reviews for <i>Thorn</i>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3049616323?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1">Here</a> & <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3862692024?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1">here</a></li><li>My review on <i>Brambles</i>: <a href="https://www.mermaird.com/2020/12/a-treat-for-fans-of-thorn-book-review.html">Here</a></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Thorn<br /><b>Series:</b> Dauntless Path #1</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Intisar Khanani</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Hot Key Books</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>March 24th 2020</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 460</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36443368-thorn">Goodreads</a><b>): </b><i>A princess with two futures. A destiny all her own.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future.</div><div><br /></div><div>When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds and ultimately must decide who she is, and what she stands for.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-26743658146968964112021-07-22T18:44:00.003+08:002021-07-22T18:55:06.002+08:00Book Review: Orestin's Own by L. Alyssa Austin<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PLNz2_Ac-R3lrEjstzRWkfib16RBtrec2vxoPIR_lZYrY0IiKKwgWNy89IlAoEN_6vgcqxR0LdC7KqghC8yZutTGkBdqwhi6C2cd5ZfnVGqf8-3dnCXSEtq5n6a7cA9yWlAaZ6uCaBMx/s2048/4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PLNz2_Ac-R3lrEjstzRWkfib16RBtrec2vxoPIR_lZYrY0IiKKwgWNy89IlAoEN_6vgcqxR0LdC7KqghC8yZutTGkBdqwhi6C2cd5ZfnVGqf8-3dnCXSEtq5n6a7cA9yWlAaZ6uCaBMx/s16000/4.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Orestin's Own<br /><b>Series:</b> -</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> L. Alyssa Austin</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> -</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Adult Fiction, Fantasy</div><div><b>Format:</b> Ebook</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>August 24th 2020</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 404</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55124346-orestin-s-own">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>The veil is thinning. Every day more undead creatures slip into Everra. Soon their most terrifying kin, spawn of the dark goddess Orestin, will emerge to devour all life. Master Historian Mycellane enlists an aging Knight and an inexperienced priestess to join him on a journey to obtain an ancient artifact-one that can bring an end to the incursion. But their salvation lies on the other side of the veil, in the Dead Waste of Myrcantos, and only one person can bring them through: a Myrcantan necromancer who remains loyal to the enemy. The path before them leads through a barren, unforgiving land. Ravenous abominations lurk in the shadows. But the greatest danger to their mission is the hatred and distrust they feel for one another...</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 4 / 5 ★</div></div></div></div><p><b>TW:</b> Violence, age gap</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Orestin's Own</i> follows the story of an aging knight (Solarys), an inexperienced priestess (Caelesta) and a necromancer (Malèbrand), who were forced to go on a journey together to seek for an ancient artifact that can bring an end to the darkness that threatens to destroy Everra. There was nothing bright or warm about this story, only bleakness and a rather depressing journey. If I were to describe the story with a colour, it would be grey.</p><p><br /></p><p>Despite having three main characters, <i>Orestin's Own</i> was told only from the perspective of Solarys and Caelesta, which left Malèbrand to be a wild card throughout the entire story. While Solarys has an immense hatred against Malèbrand for causing the death of many of his fellow knights years ago, it was difficult to figure out how exactly the necromancer felt towards the knight. Caelesta, having no prior histories with any of the two men ends up being stuck in the middle, trying her best to not let the two murder each other, whether with words or even physically.</p><p><br /></p><p>I believe what I love the most about this book is how soft yet strong Caelesta's character was portrayed. Although she's a priestess being sent to go on a journey following a prophecy, she possesses no strong powers. When the three were attacked by undead creatures along the way, Caelesta struggles to try healing the men and even herself. Her powers never grows stronger despite how much she prays, but she continues on with her own courage, no matter how small it is. In a bleak story where there seemed to be no hope, Caelesta lights it up in her own way. I may have said Malèbrand to be a wild card, but Caelesta herself can be confusing at times as her motivation is never clear. As much as I was able to read from her perspective, there is always something underneath, something that she keeps beneath her duty as a priestess.</p><p><br /></p><p>To my surprise, the story did touch a bit on a potential romance. Nothing too hot or passionate, just a yearning and rather painful kind of romance. There is an age gap involved—Caelesta is around twenty, while Solarys is described to be around forty. And Malèbrand's age is never explicitly revealed, but I'm guessing he would be somewhere around Solarys' age as well, considering they have gone on the same war before. Some might find it uncomfortable, but to me, Caelesta is already an adult so she's allowed to be in love with anyone much older than her. There is a certain point where it feels that she yearns for both men, but this is no love story, so these feelings all come at great consequences.</p><p><br /></p><p>Just as bleak as the story goes, the ending is not a happy one either. What makes the story really interesting is that I can hardly guess what might happen next, whether another group of undead creatures are going to attack them brutally again, or if they will hate each other and simply abandon everything—and the ending is a lot, LOT worse than that. My heart shattered for the fate of Solarys, and Caelesta finally realises her true feelings, while Malèbrand turns out to be better than I thought he would be.</p><p><br /></p><p>I may have used "bleak" many times to describe <i>Orestin's Own</i>, but this book is a very well written fantasy with characters that are different than the ones I used to find in fantasy books. There is no indication that there may be a continuation to the story, but if there is, I'm definitely looking forward to reading more about Caelesta, Solarys and Malèbrand. Many thanks to the author for reaching out to me to provide me this book in exchange for my honest review.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you're into character-driven dark fantasy with a great world-building and only a hint of romance, well this book will be perfect for you. This book is available to be purchased through <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Orestins-Own-L-Alyssa-Austin/dp/B08GLP3YW3">Amazon</a>. </p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>“</b>She could kill these creatures, but she didn't want to. This isn't me, she wanted to say.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm a healer, not a killer.<i style="font-weight: bold;">”</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-9746117217153472882021-07-05T22:30:00.004+08:002021-07-05T22:30:50.331+08:00Book Review: The Forevers by Chris Whitaker<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VLfSVuzuKW-JuxQo1lCgGkdFjw3llUwGbuZN_ANZcaHKxjFfHbtvsxs-_xglsK7FiANpBa3UI4mqarfVKjWi3yKG1t7gulRIbnNPFqCWM6iRyL1zPcc94B4lC8WKNi8naBpsLt5Y2PdB/s2048/1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VLfSVuzuKW-JuxQo1lCgGkdFjw3llUwGbuZN_ANZcaHKxjFfHbtvsxs-_xglsK7FiANpBa3UI4mqarfVKjWi3yKG1t7gulRIbnNPFqCWM6iRyL1zPcc94B4lC8WKNi8naBpsLt5Y2PdB/s16000/1.png" /></a><br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> The Forevers<br /><b>Series:</b> -</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Chris Whitaker</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Hot Key Books</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Expected Publication Date: </b>July 8th 2021</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 355</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56777027-the-forevers">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>30 days until the end of the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>What would you do?</div><div><br /></div><div>Accept your destiny and join THE FOREVERS.</div><div><br /></div><div>Asteroid Selena will be crashing into Earth 8th July 2021.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 3 / 5 ★</div></div></div></div><p><br /></p><p><b>TW:</b> Mentions of suicide and depression</p><p><br /></p><p>The main point of <i>The Forevers</i> is that an asteroid will be crashing into Earth in a month. There is only 30 days to live, before the world ends in horrifying explosion. If this were to happen in real life, what will you do in your remaining 30 days?</p><p><br /></p><p>Mae Cassidy and her peers continue to go to school as usual despite the approaching apocalypse, perhaps holding on to their hope that the government will figure out a way to divert the asteroid's path somewhere else. Apart from the asteroid, there had been multiple suicides committed among the students, and even though depression was announced as the reason for each death, something bigger is happening.</p><p><br /></p><p>The story starts when Mae finds the body of her childhood best friend floating face down in the sea water. Although the adults insist that it was just another case of suicide, the breadcrumbs that Abi Wanton left behind for Mae proves that something else is going on. Mae is convinced that Abi did not commit suicide but she was murdered, and she will do anything to find the person who caused Abi's death. And Abi also left behind something that she and Mae started: the Forevers.</p><p><br /></p><p>In terms of writing style, <i>The Forevers</i> is an easy read, but the storyline itself was quite confusing at times for me. I simply cannot see the direction where the plot was heading. But what I love about <i>The Forevers</i> is the murder-mystery, and the likeable characters. Mae is an okay character, but I love her best friend, Felix, and younger sister, Stella. Felix tries his best to avoid sleeping at all because he wants to live his life to the fullest, and I don't blame him. I most definitely would have joined if I were friends with him. Stella is the sweetest little bean, and while Sail sounds suspicious at the start, he ends up being quite nice too.</p><p><br /></p><p>Apart from that however, there is not really anything special about the plot. The concept of being a 'Forever' baffled me and I still don't really get it, but what I deduced was that it bore the resemblance of of a cult, but perhaps one can say its a belief or hope, where they get themselves tattooed with the word 'Forever' on their wrists by Mae. Since they cannot use the term forever any longer because of the approaching asteroid, being part of the 'Forevers' is probably just a way to cope with the fear. It is a sad yet hopeful thing.</p><p><br /></p><p>Overall, I did enjoy reading <i>The Forevers</i>, mainly thanks to its characters. If you love books with murder-mystery, friendship and hope, this book may be a great read for you. Many thanks to Pansing for sending me an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review. <i>The Forevers</i> will be published into this world on 8th of July 2021!</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>“</b></i><i>Depression is the inability to construct a future. Seeing as we have no future, we're an army of depressives, Beau.<b>”</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-44750338738812131492021-07-03T16:41:00.002+08:002021-09-30T07:58:43.683+08:00A Muslim Fairytale Retelling: Rumaysa by Radiya Hafiza [Book Review]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-Erb4SUFJmst2UUg1-oV8WtNoCqwjVSP451gNbwgTYSm3Ev3LEVVysG5RbsAR8ErHCIcWkoSwYIrpyvHbRD4ELUqYW_8SUqXTGJFs3ZVsNoqzSvFBr_zGDi0jR2e399XHWctoSoZyETK/s2048/1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-Erb4SUFJmst2UUg1-oV8WtNoCqwjVSP451gNbwgTYSm3Ev3LEVVysG5RbsAR8ErHCIcWkoSwYIrpyvHbRD4ELUqYW_8SUqXTGJFs3ZVsNoqzSvFBr_zGDi0jR2e399XHWctoSoZyETK/s16000/1.png" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Rumaysa: A Fairytale<br /><b>Series:</b> -</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Radiya Hafiza</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Macmillan Children's Books</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Middle Grade, Fantasy, Retellings, Adventure</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>April 1st 2021</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 240</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55886926-rumaysa">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>This funny and empowering story weaves together three classic fairytales into one new adventure with an unusual structural twist: Rumaysa is a Muslim girl who lets her hijab down from a tall tower in order to escape. Set in a magical version of South Asia, Rumaysa explores enchanted forests and dragon lairs, teaming up with Cinderayla and Sleeping Sara along the way to create a strong sense of sisterhood.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 5 / 5 ★</div></div></div></div><p><br /></p><p>Have you ever read a book and immediately have the thought, "<i>This is the book that I should have grown up with</i>"? Well, <i>Rumaysa</i> is that kind of book for me. I have read many fairytale retellings, but I have never came across a retelling where the main character is a Muslim, or even a POC. Perhaps I just haven't read that much, but I'll admit that <i>Rumaysa</i> is still one of a kind.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Rumaysa: A Fairytale</i> is a combination of three fairytale retellings: Rapunzel, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. The difference is that Rapunzel is known as Rumaysa, Cinderella as Cinderayla, and Sleeping Beauty as Sleeping Sara. The main character is of course, Rumaysa, and after escaping the witch's tower, she goes on an adventure to look for her parents and came across Cinderayla and Sara.</p><p><br /></p><p>What I love the most about this book is that even though it stayed true to most parts of the original fairytale, the changes made to it made the stories lovelier and more fun. I also love that each girl has their own strength and qualities, and none of them were depicted as meek or in need of some saving from a boy.</p><p><br /></p><p>Rumaysa is both brilliant and quick-witted, having figured out how to escape on her own without waiting for a random prince coming to save her. She also has sass and a no-nonsense attitude, which was really refreshing to read. But the most important part is that she has great kindness and compassion in her, despite enduring a lot of harshness from when she was younger. While Cinderayla's character was written quite realistically, I find Sleeping Sara to be relatable. I most definitely will have a difficult time waking up if I have slept for too long.</p><p><br /></p><p>Apart from the independent female characters that I love, the elements of Islam and South Asian cultures sprinkled generously throughout the book were also part of the charm. From what I understood, there were some Bengali foods and culture mentioned. The holy month of Ramadan was mentioned and the ball in the original Cinderella tale was changed into an Eid Ball, and I absolutely relish them.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Rumaysa: A Fairytale</i> easily became one of my favourite releases in 2021, and the best retelling that I have ever read. The Muslim and Asian elements made me feel proud—this is the very kind of book that my people should read while growing up as it shows that we should be proud of our culture and belief. Your skin colour is beautiful no matter how light or dark-skinned you are. And the girls also show that you should just be yourself and you do not need to depend on boys to save you.</p><p><br /></p><p>I believe anyone who enjoys reading fantasy and retellings will enjoy reading <i>Rumaysa: A Fairytale</i>, no matter how old you are. Many thanks to Pansing for sending me the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is now available in all good bookstores!</p><p><br /></p><p>Find me and my review featured on <a href="https://www.twinkl.com.vn/about-us">Twinkl</a>'s <a href="https://www.twinkl.com.vn/blog/twinkl-spotlight-3-malaysian-book-bloggers-world-kid-lit-month">World Kid Lit Campaign</a>!</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>“</b>When she arrived at the foot of the tower, Rumaysa looked for a door of some sort, but there was nothing except a lone window right at the top. 'Do all evil people just like towers and one window?' she said out loud, feeling quite frustrated by now. 'What's the point of being evil if you're not going to be creative about it?'</i><i><b>”</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-5471025360454767512021-06-12T14:04:00.000+08:002021-06-12T14:04:03.288+08:00Witches Steeped in Gold: A Promising Premise with a Confusing Pace [Book Review]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasnWdJXuOsMvjGX8J7YOqG1x_RGZzBkohixoarEzhaVum32q_Mnmt_OjQ__J9lGwBoXYenk7ktzEwr0DU3CQym3YSlkGPehsjQPuUTzWmXmBzlpx3DpQ8xoGTTT92tkt7hxgGbR0623rO/s2048/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasnWdJXuOsMvjGX8J7YOqG1x_RGZzBkohixoarEzhaVum32q_Mnmt_OjQ__J9lGwBoXYenk7ktzEwr0DU3CQym3YSlkGPehsjQPuUTzWmXmBzlpx3DpQ8xoGTTT92tkt7hxgGbR0623rO/s16000/2.png" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Witches Steeped in Gold<br /><b>Series:</b> Witches Steeped in Gold #1</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Ciannon Smart</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Hot Key Books</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Witches</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>April 20th 2021</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 544</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56776856-witches-steeped-in-gold">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Trust no witch . . . </div><div><br /></div><div>Iraya Adair has spent her life in a cell. Heir of an overthrown and magically-gifted dynasty, she was exiled from her home on the island nation of Aiyca when she was just a child. But every day brings her closer to freedom - and vengeance.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jazmyne Cariot grew up dressed in gold, with stolen magic at her fingertips. Daughter of the self-crowned doyenne, her existence is a threat to her mother's rule. But unlike her sister, Jazmyne has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother's power.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sworn enemies, the two witches enter a deadly alliance to take down the woman who threatens both their worlds. But revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain - except the lengths Iraya and Jazmyne will go to win this game.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two witches. One motive. And a very untrustworthy alliance.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> DNF / 5 ★</div></div></div></div><p><br /></p><p><i>Witches Steeped in Gold</i> is a Jamaican inspired fantasy of two young witches, enemies whom are forced to combine their powers to bring back order into their world. It is a story about vengeance, betrayal and distrust. With such a promising and intriguing description, I was almost sure that I would fall madly in love with this book—I have been dying to read more witchy-reads!</p><p><br /></p><p>Alas, my high expectations fell flat because not only I find myself struggling to read through the story, I also find myself unable to empathise with <i>any</i> of the characters. It pains me to say this, but despite the high ratings for this debut book, I decided to DNF this book. I reached halfway through the book, and I do not wish to force myself to finish it any longer.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think I may have a problem with the writing style of this author. No hate towards the author, but I felt like the way Smart writes was as if she was trying to be... smart with me. <i>Oh.</i> Well, I was not trying to make a pun or poke fun at the author, but the sentences were worded rather complicatedly that most of the time, I had to repeat the paragraphs over and over. The first 100 pages were exhausting, I really struggled to get through it, and ended simply skimming through the pages. I wish the author could have been more straightforward with her words, but this is probably just my personal opinion.</p><p><br /></p><p>As for the two main characters, Iraya and Jazmyne, I did not like them enough to want to finish reading the book. The story was told in first person point-of-view of both Iraya and Jazmyne, their chapters alternating. But sometimes I was confused as to who was narrating the chapter, it was difficult to differentiate their voices, making the reading process more frustrating. Iraya seems to be all about vengeance, and although I understand that she certainly should have trust issues, I hated how bitterly she treated most of the people around her. There wasn't much I can say about Jazmyne, since her character barely contributed anything to the plot. She kept questioning herself and literally had no actions at all.</p><p><br /></p><p>The story was described to be "two sworn enemies becoming allies to take down the woman threatening their worlds", but even halfway through, they barely met each other. Jazmyne may have hatched some plans to use Iraya on her fight, but thanks to her constantly putting herself down, she barely could make anyone trust her words. And that was it. From what I gathered from other people's reviews, it seemed that the two witches only formed alliance almost at the end of the book, before it ended in a quite terrible cliffhanger. I don't think I have enough interest in me to find that out myself.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Witches Steeped in Gold</i> has been a promising debut book initially, but sadly I just could not find myself to like it that much. If you're a beginner reader, I wouldn't recommend reading this as the writing style can be confusing, even to me who has read a lot of fantasy books. But if you enjoy reading fantasy and love stories about independent witches and warriors, then there is no harm for you to try reading this book!</p><p><br /></p><p>Many thanks to Pansing for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. <i>Witches Steeped in Gold</i> is now available in all good bookstores!</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>“</b>Death isn't the answer, it's the problem here.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"If we assassinate her," I ask, challenging them now, "how are we any better? How will this island be less bloody </i>after<i> her than it was </i>before<i> her, when she earned her seat killing the last ruler too?"</i><b style="font-style: italic;">”</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-47018306407672153612021-05-24T12:56:00.004+08:002022-04-13T23:39:35.794+08:00Cover Reveal & Book Review: Amok by Anna Tan<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIh8Umls_StikjcPyZw9c7q6ngHC5Wrz67az9R3oBOWmH9BqjTgzsiMZrRrUjWwo9oMk7v6ljdx8Sc0Yz5WLNfRlLCm3ON7eHGLVDC_v1lTvGeAND16-SIMT6gtPoBd9yqphVz7FlPt-zg/s1161/Amok_Eksentrika+Ad.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="1161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIh8Umls_StikjcPyZw9c7q6ngHC5Wrz67az9R3oBOWmH9BqjTgzsiMZrRrUjWwo9oMk7v6ljdx8Sc0Yz5WLNfRlLCm3ON7eHGLVDC_v1lTvGeAND16-SIMT6gtPoBd9yqphVz7FlPt-zg/s16000/Amok_Eksentrika+Ad.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Hello! I am excited today to announce that I have joined the team to reveal the book cover of <i>Amok</i> by Anna Tan. <i>Amok</i> is a story about faith, loyalty and war, rich with elements inspired by traditions and cultures that are familiar in Malaysia. This book has easily became one of my favourite books released in 2021, and I hope that more people will read it, especially Malaysians.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Details of the book are also available below, including my review on it. Now, let me present to you the glorious cover art for <i>Amok</i>!</div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSV9IgZsqDxnmMYNoNASfg-OuMvhsrcLrxlm2HYxBfHtNRkFNskTi8te0413I0L7dN-VXummmHC3iSEc9NrsniBU2dA7yX7GPGWjuKpq4Z_4Y2ZS3FNTLAXAjW703owKYr3_GamuMpKj4B/s1500/AMOK_Cover_FINAL_ebook.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="951" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSV9IgZsqDxnmMYNoNASfg-OuMvhsrcLrxlm2HYxBfHtNRkFNskTi8te0413I0L7dN-VXummmHC3iSEc9NrsniBU2dA7yX7GPGWjuKpq4Z_4Y2ZS3FNTLAXAjW703owKYr3_GamuMpKj4B/s16000/AMOK_Cover_FINAL_ebook.png" /></a></div> <p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Amok<br /><b>Series:</b> Absolution #1</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Anna Tan</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Teaspoon Publishing</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Fantasy</div><div><b>Format:</b> Ebook</div><div><b>Expected Publication Date: </b>June 24th 2021</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 345</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57760576-amok">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>What is faith, except hope in desperation?</div><div><br /></div><div>All Putera Mikal wants is to gain the Amok Strength, the supernatural power granted by Kudus to the Mahan royal family. No matter how religiously Mikal keeps his vows, Kudus still denies him the Strength—whilst his father, Sultan Simson, flaunts the Strength despite his blatant defiance of the Temple and the priests’ visions of coming doom.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then the prophecies come true.</div><div><br /></div><div>Taken captive, Mikal must find a way to liberate his people and restore his throne in Maha—and the key to this is the Amok Strength. But what does it take to gain Kudus’ favour?</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 5 / 5 ★</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trigger warning:</b> abuse, violence</div><div><br /></div></div></div><p><i>Amok</i> follows the story of Putera Mikal, the prince of Maha, the first city-state of Terang. All Putera Mikal wanted was for his faith to be acknowledged by Kudus, the God of Terang, and finally gain access to the Amok Strength that all royals are supposed to possess when they come of age. Yet no matter how Mikal kept his vows to Kudus, he was still weak, while his father who defied Kudus continued to flaunt his Amok Strength.</p><p><br /></p><p>When Maha was suddenly invaded and destroyed by their enemy, Mikal was thrown into sufferings and humiliation—especially when his best friend, Yosua, who used to be his servant, was suddenly revealed to be the enemy's Raja Muda (Crown Prince). And Mikal was forced to bow and turned into Yosua's servant. And no matter how much Mikal prayed, Kudus continuously denied the Amok Strength from him.</p><p><br /></p><p>I just want to take a short moment to express my appreciation towards the elements of Malay traditions and cultures that were included in <i>Amok</i>. Reading so many Malay words and things like silat (a Malay art of self-defence), our clothings like baju kebaya and samping, titles/positions like Baginda Paduka, Bendahara, Laksamana, etc.—they all felt so close to my heart. They made me enjoy reading the book, and feel proud at the same time to finally see my traditions in a fantasy book.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Amok</i> is quite a fast-paced read and I could not put it down as I kept wanting more of it. One moment, Putera Mikal was only whining because he could not gain the Amok Strength and the rest were at peace, but the next moment, he was betrayed by his very own best friend. It was easy to like Mikal; despite never having enough confidence in himself, he always tried his best for the sake of his people. There were times where he could be seen as a brat, but who can blame him? He was turned from a prince into a servant overnight, and to made it worse, he had to be his best friend's servant.</p><p><br /></p><p>I loved Yosua from the moment he first appeared in the story. Unlike Mikal who was reckless and rough around the edges, Yosua is softer and much more patient than his prince. Just like Mikal, his position was changed overnight too, from being a servant, to being his best friend's Tuan (Master). Their friendship was put to a terrible test, because unlike in Maha, Yosua's people were more savage and cruel to their servants. In order to keep Mikal safe, Yosua has to play the role as a cruel Tuan. His fierce loyalty towards Mikal rather surprised me, but it still did not change the fact that he had betrayed Mikal.</p><p><br /></p><p>Apart from Mikal's growth throughout the story, <i>Amok</i> also focused on the bond between Mikal and Yosua. I think there was nothing more heartbreaking than Mikal being abused by someone that used to be his confidant, someone that he used to consider as a brother. Mikal was broken to the point he lost all hope that left him as an empty shell, and at the same time, Yosua was torn apart because it was the only way to protect Mikal. It was agonising to see these two boys, forced to suffer the consequences of the actions made by adults. The amount of violence and abuse can be rather traumatising, and I find myself gasping and shaking when reading these parts.</p><p><br /></p><p>I believe that the religion in this story was inspired by certain elements in the teachings of Islam and Christianity, perhaps even including bits of other religion. But I am glad to say that the author wrote it well without disrespecting any of the mentioned religions. The source of power for the Maha royalty's Amok Strength and the fate of Mikal's father were also similar to the story of Samson—who appears in the Old Testament of the Bible—an exceptionally strong hero of the Israelites of the ancient Near East. (More on that here: <a href="http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pr-Sa/Samson.html">http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pr-Sa/Samson.html</a>)</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Amok</i> is a story of questionable faith, unending loyalty and hopeless rebellion in a war, all caused by the greed of someone with huge power. The writing style is impeccable, and I honestly loved every single part of the story with my whole heart. Although there were a lot of pain, the story was concluded very well. If you enjoy reading fantasy that focuses on the growth of the main character, friendship that are put to test in a terrible condition, powerless princes and changed positions (which is now my favourite trope), then <i>Amok</i> is perfect for you!</p><p><br /></p><p>Wait, you know what? Whatever your reading preferences is, I am definitely recommending this book to you. This is a book that no one should miss!</p><p><br /></p><p>Many thanks to the author, Anna Tan, and Teaspoon Publishing for the e-ARC copy in exchange for my honest review. <i>Amok</i> will be released on 24th of June 2021, and you can pre-order a copy now on <a href="https://teaspoonpublishing.com.my/shop/amok-paperback/">https://teaspoonpublishing.com.my/shop/amok-paperback/</a> or <a href="https://books2read.com/amok">https://books2read.com/amok</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>I'm going to pre-order a physical copy for myself too after this!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://teaspoonpublishing.com.my/shop/amok-paperback/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqUNyHlOm19ZrcXDdYfkfN3pWZeXLEqeAF93GZuIN1xbilrf7Qy0nJkMTZOdBGIihCuNkgAE1z-lyCdufc-BC2IbyrDB8r_0R2ATATNcDT2eV9MOtO5Uv4HPs2tloahKkICu4P8-mXDTc/s16000/Preorder+Discounts.png" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>“</b>Funny how your dreams can come true and you find that they weren't what you truly wanted.</i><i><b>”</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-89845985332889055112021-05-20T13:02:00.001+08:002021-05-20T13:02:09.267+08:00Book Review: Bell Hammers by Lancelot Schaubert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0r2STqzE4VKGak-dH0SjNXYArgyquNyHIrn4mk6BfhagtYR7KyCPWRBf5cGcuUhX3s3ZvskhgMg21rWCGWWGeP3aGs5G8L8rdkygAfTavA2PtR_I_SGz8AFOSwm8sRWQ7fcQT1mLin6K/s2048/IMG_0911.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0r2STqzE4VKGak-dH0SjNXYArgyquNyHIrn4mk6BfhagtYR7KyCPWRBf5cGcuUhX3s3ZvskhgMg21rWCGWWGeP3aGs5G8L8rdkygAfTavA2PtR_I_SGz8AFOSwm8sRWQ7fcQT1mLin6K/s16000/IMG_0911.png" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Bell Hammers<br /><b>Series:</b> -</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Lancelot Schaubert</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> -</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Adult Fiction, Humor, Historical</div><div><b>Format:</b> Ebook</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>October 12th 2020</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 346</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48944913-bell-hammers">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Remmy grows up with Beth in Bellhammer, Illinois as oil and coal companies rob the land of everything that made it paradise. Under his Grandad, he learns how to properly prank his neighbors, friends, and foes. Beth tries to fix Remmy by taking him to church. Under his Daddy, Remmy starts the Bell Hammer Construction Company, which depends on contracts from Texarco Oil. And Beth argues with him about how to build a better business. Together, Remmy and Beth start to build a great neighborhood of "merry men" carpenters: a paradise of s'mores, porch furniture, newborn babies, and summer trips to Branson where their boys pop the tops of off the neighborhood's two hundred soda bottles. Their witty banter builds a kind of castle among a growing nostalgia.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then one of Jim Johnstone's faulty Texarco oil derricks falls down on their house and poisons their neighborhood's well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Poisoned wells escalate to torched dog houses. Torched dog houses escalate to stolen carpentry tools and cancelled contracts. Cancelled contracts escalate to eminent domain. Sick of the attacks from Texaco Oil on his neighborhood, Remmy assembles his merry men:</div><div><br /></div><div>"We need the world's greatest prank. One grand glorious jest that'll bloody the nose of that tyrant. Besides, pranks and jokes don't got no consequences, right?"</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> - / 5 ★</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not rating this book as I end up DNF-ing it. (DNF = Do Not Finish)</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Bell Hammers</i> is not the kind of book that I often read, so it was no surprise that I end up unable to finish it. It is a little bit of a shame though, because while I quite liked the main character, Remmy, I probably could not get myself familiar with the writing style.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is not exactly a bad writing style, but it has a touch of country-ish sound to it, and the satyr and sarcasm included in most parts went over my head. A lot of historical parts were mentioned too, and as I am not familiar with the country and place the events took place, I was not able to get them either. There were multiple times where I had to continuously reread the pages or chapters, because I did not understand what was going on.</div><div><br /></div><div>In terms of the characters, they are quite likeable. The story started when Remmy is a young boy, and reading about him growing up made me able to warm up to him, and I like how respectful he is towards his father and grandfather. He was up to mischief most of the time, but it was fun to read about his pranks. Occasionally, I found myself laughing along to the jokes he made. I enjoyed his banters with Beth too—the girl that used to ignore him and ended up marrying him later.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, I like the characters, but I could not get the story. Although this may not be my cup of tea, if you enjoy reading books with humour and country people, this may be a good book to check out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Many thanks to the author for sending me a copy of <i>Bell Hammers</i> in exchange for my honest review.</div></div></div><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-74545071961929847472021-05-06T17:06:00.002+08:002021-05-06T17:06:29.410+08:00Book Review: But for the Mountains by Erin Riha<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1K4o6eBtRkTA70nF0Of0TXHQkS8ScQ3GuJl9O0TSvx9-zA6xxlxY_X5dRIt59Nx7huKUGBXfLCUW8RvJM2YGv74apaYjRJPwnIy81CAztqLH94ebuorFsBt2r3qjcpafgJ-F7Y3LZUHG/s2048/a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1393" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1K4o6eBtRkTA70nF0Of0TXHQkS8ScQ3GuJl9O0TSvx9-zA6xxlxY_X5dRIt59Nx7huKUGBXfLCUW8RvJM2YGv74apaYjRJPwnIy81CAztqLH94ebuorFsBt2r3qjcpafgJ-F7Y3LZUHG/s16000/a.png" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> But for the Mountains<br /><b>Series:</b> -</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Erin Riha</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> REUTS Publications</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Romance</div><div><b>Format:</b> Kindle Edition</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>June 2nd 2020</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 346</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55029843-but-for-the-mountains">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Arden Thatcher wasn’t meant to be chosen.</div><div><br /></div><div>But when her name is announced, she’s presented with something she never thought she’d have: a future away from her abuser. Shuttled off to attend the prestigious National Women’s Institute, Arden will receive Nordania’s highest honor, studying with other elite candidates to become leaders, diplomats, and ambassadors on the world stage.</div><div><br /></div><div>Only, the institute’s not quite what she expected. Paraded around in gown after gown, the tests seem less about educating and more about a different competition, with a very specific prize at stake—the Nordanian Prime Minister’s son. Despite the dean’s protestations that angling for an engagement leads to expulsion, Arden sees the truth. There’s a secret bubbling beneath the institute’s refined surface, and those who refuse to play along may well wind up dead.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the danger escalating, and the return of her abuser on the horizon, Arden’s shiny future becomes a gilded cage. And this time, she’s going to need powerful allies to escape.</div><div><br /></div><div>Political intrigue, swoon-worthy romance, and a dash of dystopian flare, But for the Mountains begs the question, how do you change the world when you’re not allowed to try?</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 4 / 5 ★</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trigger Warning:</b> Rape and sexual assault/abuse, violence, physical abuse, mentions of suicide and self-harm, PTSD/panic attacks, alcoholism</div><div><br /></div></div></div><p><i>But for the Mountains</i> is a literal nightmare, especially for girls. It was confusing at first, but after realising with a horror, even the first page of this book started with the main character, Arden, being sexually assaulted.</p><p><br /></p><p>Arden Thatcher grew up being sexually abused by the people that gave her a place to live. When she was given a chance to escape and enroll into the National Women’s Institute, she thought that her life would change. Instead, it was like she broke out from a prison, to yet another prison. The whole institute was simply a ploy for the Prime Minister's son to find a partner—and the rest of the girls will either be returned to their family or benefactor, or sent to a neighbouring country to feed the politicians' desires. Despite Arden's efforts to change the fate of the girls—and her own, changing something that was already ingrained in the society was a lot harder than anyone could ever think about.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is a story about a survivor, a girl who had to suffer simply because she was born a girl. I love Arden's fierce character and her smart wits; although she was never prepared to be enrolled into the institute by her benefactor, she was clever enough to find matters that can help to her advantage. She was able to climb to the top spot on her own. I also love the no-nonsense side of her. When she realised the actual meaning of the whole institute, she despised the idea and rejected the Prime Minister's son's approach. She was independent, and with the way how she focused only on trying to bend the rules so that girls are allowed better lives, I believe that she had great leadership qualities.</p><p><br /></p><p>Although I wish the story did not have a lot of focus on the romance, but I still do appreciate both of the male love interests. Declan, son of the Prime Minister, sounded sketchy at first and I had a hard time trusting him; he seemed too good to be true. But then his flaws were revealed, and though he was not a bad guy, his privilege as a Prime Minister's son also meant that he did not know most of the horrific things going on in the society. As for Beck, he might seem gruff and had a lot of hatred against everyone, but he understood Arden easily and did not hesitate to be there for her. Both characters are good male characters with realistic flaws.</p><p><br /></p><p>The storyline was gripping, and as much as I loved it, I was also appalled by all the horrifying matters that Arden had to suffer. It had a rather open-ending, which I think could mean the author wanted readers to make their own conclusions, or perhaps giving room to a possible sequel. <i>But for the Mountains</i> was not an easy read, but an important one. It highlights the inequality when it comes to the treatment given between men and women, which still happens until this very moment. I hate that certain men still viewed women and girls as sexual objects and nothing more. This is just a proof that this book somehow portrays the bitter truth of this world.</p><p><br /></p><p>I would love to recommend everyone to read <i>But for the Mountains</i>, especially if you love female characters that tries their best to survive their harsh fate, even if they have to overcome their fears. But please do note about the trigger warnings first.</p><p><br /></p><p>Many thanks to Netgalley and REUTS Publications for this book in exchange for my honest review.</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;">✧</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>“</b>"I'm a survivor." The words come from a voice I'm not familiar with, from a girl I've never met, who's been quiet far too long. But I believe them</i><span style="text-align: justify;"><i>—I believe her.</i></span><i><b>”</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-83254291928734521912021-05-01T17:19:00.002+08:002021-05-01T17:26:06.759+08:00Manga Review: The Dawn of the Witch, Vol. 1 by Tatsuwo<p><span style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/cmx-images-prod/Item/926971/926971._SX1600_QL80_TTD_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="532" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/cmx-images-prod/Item/926971/926971._SX1600_QL80_TTD_.jpg" /></a><br /><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> The Dawn of the Witch, Vol. 1<br /><b>Series:</b> The Dawn of the Witch</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Tatsuwo</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Kodansha Comics</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Manga, Fantasy</div><div><b>Format:</b> Ebook</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>March 23rd 2021</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 194</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57378599-the-dawn-of-the-witch-vol-1">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Saybil is a magic student with no memories of his life before he met a mysterious silver-haired woman in an alley. Now he travels with his teacher, Loux -- another student, Holt, and the beastfallen Kudo for "special training"... but this field trip may not be as routine as it seems!</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif">✧</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif">✧</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 2.5 / 5 ★</div></div></div></div><p><i>The Dawn of the Witch</i> follows the journey of Saybil, a rather dull magic student thanks to his memory less and expressionless face, who is on a quest for a special training. He is joined by a teacher, Loux, a seemingly non-threatening woman because of her childlike form, but is actually quite deadly, and two other students, Holt, a cheerful girl with huge...breasts, and Kudo, a human-sized lizard. After reading the somewhat negative reviews of this book, I decided to read it without any expectations.</p><p><br /></p><p>Surprisingly, I quite liked the premise of the story. The main character, Saybil, may be a tad boring because he is unable to form any kind of expressions on his face, but I find the secret behind his past that caused his memory loss to be quite intriguing. It is also proved that he is not entirely emotionless, as there was a time where Holt noticed his hands shaking when they were in danger, although his face remained stoic. And another time when a betrayal takes place, Saybil forces himself to smile and accepts his fate, which I believe can be seen as a character growth, or perhaps his true emotions slowly emerging.</p><p><br /></p><p>Despite having no problems with Saybil and the rest of the characters—Holt and Kudo appear to have dark pasts as well and it made me like them more—the main reason as to why I can only rate this book as 2.5 stars is because of the way the artwork was drawn. I admit that in some sense, the artwork is beautiful, BUT the way female characters were depicted is just too much. The characters were sexualised so unnecessarily that I find myself feeling disgusted almost throughout the whole story. Holt was drawn with breasts so big and her scenes were always drawn in a lewd way; her chest was always in the focus to the point I could not take her character seriously. Despite having a small body, almost resembling a child, Professor Loux was also sexualised. Her scenes were drawn from a low angle, just so that her underwear can be scene.</p><p><br /></p><p>These extreme sexualisation to the female characters helped nothing in the plot, and it was absolutely unnecessary. Even though I find the plot to be acceptable and I am curious about what Saybil and his friends are going to face next, I do not think I will be able to continue this series. I just hate that the female characters are being made to be viewed as sexual objects.</p><p><br /></p><p>Many thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the e-copy of <i>The Dawn of the Witch, Vol. 1</i> in exchange for my honest review.</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif">✧</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px;">・・・・・・✧・・・・・・✧・・・・・・</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.6px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif">✧</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-42528184824702187832021-04-29T12:43:00.001+08:002021-04-29T13:20:40.054+08:00Benedict-Savant Series: Side Stories [Book Review]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqV1XptdbXjBMY1ti87p7nNRfC5hsxQKA_ejDHUaKCkGmKr2PPS9QQc6oVTwSeFv0ZiVH3jcR9G-yNbaWL_THIrTHSIlBq7TYUhhW3G80-3-2zRjxVo8FJ8-8-kfrizk1jvN7yp7KpkAZI/s1080/Untitled-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqV1XptdbXjBMY1ti87p7nNRfC5hsxQKA_ejDHUaKCkGmKr2PPS9QQc6oVTwSeFv0ZiVH3jcR9G-yNbaWL_THIrTHSIlBq7TYUhhW3G80-3-2zRjxVo8FJ8-8-kfrizk1jvN7yp7KpkAZI/s16000/Untitled-2.png" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't think many knows this but the Benedict-Savant series by Joss Stirling has always been my most favourite book series of all. The Benedict brothers are my favourite fictional siblings, and I finally read these side stories that comes from the point of views of Zed, Yves and Xavier Benedict when they first met their soulfinders. They are only short stories, but I was delighted enough to finally know the perspective of these brothers, and how they actually felt when they first met Sky, Phoenix and Crystal.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since they are only short stories, my reviews are short too so I'll just combine them into this single post.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Challenging Zed<br /><b>Series:</b> Benedict-Savant #1.5</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Joss Stirling</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Oxford University Press</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance</div><div><b>Format:</b> Kindle Edition</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>February 14th 2013</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 32</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17256931-challenging-zed">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>The Benedict brothers all have different abilities and powers. One can move things with his mind, another can heal. Zed Benedict is the youngest and the most powerful of the seven brothers and he is on the road to destruction until he meets his soulmate, Sky Bright. She is his balance, the light to his dark. Together they are even more powerful. Zed knows that they are meant to be together and that there is a connection that cannot be denied. But how can he convince Sky that their destinies are entwined when she doesn’t even realize the true nature of her potential? A brilliant addition to the Finding Sky series for both new and old fans alike.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 5 / 5 ★</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Review: </b>I've forgotten just how much I love the chemistry between Sky and Zed; their interactions before Sky learned about her true self were adorable and it's great to finally read it from Zed's perspective 💗 He fancied her ever since he first saw her and it was funny to see him trying to deny it. Planning to reread Finding Sky again soon because I can never have enough of these two!</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div><b>Title:</b> Burning Yves<br /><b>Series:</b> Benedict-Savant #2.5</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Joss Stirling</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Oxford University Press</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance</div><div><b>Format:</b> Kindle Edition</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>December 1st 2015</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 41</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28007282-burning-yves">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>The Benedict brothers all have different abilities and powers. One can move things with his thoughts alone, another can heal. Yves Benedict is the second youngest of the seven brothers and he has the ability to set things on fire with his mind. This means he must keep a tight rein on his emotions which isn’t easy when he meets his soulmate . . . Phoenix is nothing like Yves imagined. She’s secretive, elusive and a thief. Yves lives by a strict code of honour and Phoenix is tangled up in a web of crime. But their fiery attraction cannot be denied. Sparks will fly as their destinies and hearts collide. A brilliant addition to the Finding Sky series for both new and old fans alike.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 5 / 5 ★</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Review: </b>Yves is one of the gentlest and kindest of the Benedicts, except when he lost his control over his powers. This book didn't have much scene of him with Phoenix, save for their first and second encounter, but it's more to how Yves views himself and how he wished to find his soulfinder.</div><div><br /></div><div>I could relate to him when it comes to not having much belief in himself, but it's heartwarming to see how fierce he was when he told Phoenix that he'd do everything he can just to let her stay with him. In a normal world, calling someone you met only twice as "mine" might sound a bit predatory, but in this series where soulfinders exist, I feel it rather cute that Yves didn't hesitate to call her as "his" Phoenix.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also love how this story shows more of how close the relationship between the Benedict brothers, and how Sky fits so well with them. My heart is just so full of love for them ❤</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span>★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> Teasing Xav<br /><b>Series:</b> Benedict-Savant #3.5</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Joss Stirling</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Oxford University Press</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance</div><div><b>Format:</b> Kindle Edition</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>October 6th 2016</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 39</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32501595-teasing-xav">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>The Benedict brothers all have different abilities and powers. One can see the future, another can manipulate fire. Xav Benedict is the third youngest of the seven brothers and he has the power to heal. Crystal however is one patient who isn’t interested in being made better by Xav. It’s hate at first sight as his playful ways fail to charm her, but Xav just can’t stay away. He knows that she’s hiding something, even if Crystal doesn’t know it herself yet. Will he be able to tease the truth from her? A brilliant addition to the Savants series by Joss Stirling for both new and old fans alike.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 5 / 5 ★</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Review: </b>Reading Teasing Xav made me miss Xav so much more; he's my absolute favourite out of all the Benedict brothers 💗 I love that this story focuses on Xav familiarising himself with his power. The innocent friendship he had when he was young, how he almost sacrificed himself to help heal the friend and using his power to make a lot of people feel better just showed how compassionate Xav is, despite his carefree and mischievous attitude.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unlike in Challenging Zed and Burning Yves, Xav was the only one who didn't connect with his soulfinder in his short story, but that was because his situation with Crystal was much more complicated compared to his brothers. But it's the way that he didn't hesitate to go out of his way to help Crystal that made him a wonderful person.</div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, I love these three short stories that provided more insight to the life of the Benedict brothers. They're forever my favourite siblings 💖</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>“</b></i><i>That little blonde, the thorn in his side for the last few weeks, was the one. His soulfinder. Inside him, light burst into all the dark corners like curtains being thrown open, fresh breeze driving out the heavy atmosphere. His howl of protest transformed into a whoop of delight.<b>”</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-88803938090191821612021-04-19T16:19:00.001+08:002021-04-19T16:19:27.633+08:00Book Review: The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwJxJ_OVN5oVty8JxjQfK6jRnOuJiydD_iWXdhSE5GITDRz_bMoxK-UQkr45zMXIV9A0_YfvHf9TCjHAPcLsA15Ws9o3pW2Z236kuvr2LU-12Dl1nmkxH5iLzVT7p4TzatjwH76dEB3uW/s2048/20210409_171803.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1420" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwJxJ_OVN5oVty8JxjQfK6jRnOuJiydD_iWXdhSE5GITDRz_bMoxK-UQkr45zMXIV9A0_YfvHf9TCjHAPcLsA15Ws9o3pW2Z236kuvr2LU-12Dl1nmkxH5iLzVT7p4TzatjwH76dEB3uW/s16000/20210409_171803.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Title:</b> The Crowns of Croswald<br /><b>Series:</b> The Crowns of Croswald #1</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> D.E. Night</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> Stories Untold</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Adventure</div><div><b>Format:</b> Paperback</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>July 21st 2017</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 320</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34775591-the-crowns-of-croswald">Goodreads</a><b>): </b>Ivy Lovely is 16 and she has no idea who she is—or what her powers could be. When she crosses a magical boundary, she discovers a whole new world of enchantment and mystery. Making friends that will last a lifetime—and save her life—she steps into her own abilities and discovers more about her hidden past, magical blood, and the power of Croswald’s mystical stones. But all is not well: a dark history and an evil Queen threatens all that is good. Will Ivy’s bravery and wit be enough?</div><div><br /></div><div>Curious and whimsical, both shy and brave, Ivy is a hero that connects with readers of all ages. For those who wished that Narnia, Harry Potter, and Alice in Wonderland could go on forever, Croswald opens a whole new world of magic. Recommended as a read-aloud for families and a first middle-grade fantasy read, The Crowns of Croswald is a four-part series that will carry readers to a whimsical world that they won’t want to leave.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><b>;</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 3 / 5 ★</div></div></div></div><p>Ivy Lovely grew up as a scaldrony maid, tending to the scaldrony dragons that serve purposes in breathing fires in the castle's kitchen. She's a dilligent worker, if not rather clumsy and too curious. Only having a dwarf as a best friend, Ivy wished she could spend her days sketching and reading and no longer be a scaldrony maid—until one eventful day, she was kicked out of the castle before being whisked away to Halls of Ivy, the academy of magic in Croswald. She soon learned how to wield actual magic in school and more secrets from her past slowly started to unravel.</p><p><br /></p><p>I had a hard time getting into the world of <i>The Crowns of Croswald</i>. I will not say that I disliked the writing style, but I find it difficult for me to grasp the way the author described the places and people in this book. The premise of the plot as a whole is very intriguing, yet I feel like there were too many info dump. I am aware that since this is a fantasy story, it made sense that there are to be many descriptive parts for its world building, but Ivy spent a lot of time alone on her own to discover things and the lack of dialogues to buffer the moments made my reading progress very strenuous.</p><p><br /></p><p>Unfortunately, I did not like Ivy's character all that much either. I love outspoken and curious characters, but with Ivy, she just seemed too reckless and can be annoying at times as well. At some point, I find it hard to care what answers she wanted to seek, and wished that she would just lay low for once. I do however, like her interactions with Fyn, a senior who appeared to always be there for her (sometimes rather suspiciously too), and with Rebecca, her new classmate and roommate. The times that she spent with Fyn or Rebecca were some of the only moments where I do think Ivy is actually nice.</p><p><br /></p><p>Although I found it hard to go through <i>The Crowns of Croswald</i> at first, the story is still enjoyable for me as a whole. The climax of the book is much exciting, and it was wonderful to see how Ivy used her power when facing the villain. I like how the book is concluded, and I actually do look forward to Ivy's next adventures in the sequel.</p><p><br /></p><p>Many thanks to the publisher for reaching out to me, and thank you Netgalley for the e-book copy of <i>The Crowns of Croswald</i>. I only realised belatedly after accepting to review the book, that I actually won a physical copy of it before in a giveaway.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><b>;</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>“</b>"How did you know I'll be here?"</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"I didn't. I just...I had a feeling. Not sure why it is but sometimes I think of you and...it's as though, I don't know."</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Wait, you think of me?"</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Nevermind."</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"And you didn't forget me?"</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"No. I guess that's strange, isn't it?"<b>”</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352918609957388303.post-1140737660839369712021-04-18T13:39:00.000+08:002021-04-18T13:39:03.373+08:00Book Review: The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxITwGTv_3GCAHZpha1nsj0V-FLwekBsQAuqubAI8tUWi-Mi78P5Dzk_ZCYv5o0fi90WjKCRZqjsU074IaMQk4S7PCiDVomiN5JLdSaa5OYDVtuCQ_K_QqbMRwrgmPJL8toIjfsyQU1fU/s2048/1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1393" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxITwGTv_3GCAHZpha1nsj0V-FLwekBsQAuqubAI8tUWi-Mi78P5Dzk_ZCYv5o0fi90WjKCRZqjsU074IaMQk4S7PCiDVomiN5JLdSaa5OYDVtuCQ_K_QqbMRwrgmPJL8toIjfsyQU1fU/s16000/1.png" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div><b>Title:</b> The Girl and the Ghost<br /><b>Series:</b> -</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><b>Author:</b> Hanna Alkaf</div><div><b>Publisher:</b> HarperCollins</div><div><b>Genres:</b> Childrens, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Asian Literature</div><div><b>Format:</b> Ebook</div><div><b>Publication Date: </b>August 4th 2020</div><div><b>Pages:</b> 288</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Synopsis (</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48716975-the-girl-and-the-ghost">Goodreads</a><b>): </b><i>I am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly. I am your inheritance, your grandmother’s legacy. I am yours to command.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Suraya is delighted when her witch grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the two quickly become inseparable.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Suraya doesn’t know that pelesits have a dark side—and when Pink’s shadows threaten to consume them both, they must find enough light to survive . . . before they are both lost to the darkness.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><b>;</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>My rating:</b> 5 / 5 ★</div></div></div></div><p><i>The Girl and the Ghost</i> is an endearing story about a sweet girl named Suraya, who inherited a pelesit—a familiar spirit in the Malay folklore, generally in the form of a grasshopper—from her witch grandmother. She later named the pelesit as Pink, and grew up only having Pink as her true friend. But then Jing Wei came along and the two girls bonded immediately. That was when Pink started to change and Suraya's life took a darker turn.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are two main reasons why I love this book with all my heart:</p><p><br /></p><p>1) <u>The characters are extremely loveable!</u> Suraya is the cutest little bean, and it was no surprise how protective Pink is towards her. I will literally sacrifice myself for Suraya too! At such a young age, she is very mature and she understood immediately how people view her differently from others. I love how she called herself "the durian of friends", like an acquired taste so only certain people will get her (it's not a secret that the taste of durian is an acquired taste, and not everyone will love it). I also love the fact that Suraya never wanted her bullies to suffer too; she refused to let Pink harm them using his powers, because she knew that would just make her the same as her bullies. I love Suraya so much—PETITION TO START A SURAYA-PROTECTION-SQUAD!</p><p><br /></p><p>I also love Pink a lot too; he's very protective towards Suraya and it's so heartwarming to see how he tries his best to be gentle and kind just like Suraya. His character is just like an adorable puppy, sometimes creating mischief and when Suraya reprimanded him, he knew how to feel guilty. The dynamic between Suraya and Pink is just too cute! But there was a point where the two had a row and Pink's way of revenge can be quite petty, if not horrifying. </p><p><br /></p><p>And then there is Jing Wei, Suraya's new best friend. Just like Suraya, I willingly will sacrifice anything for Jing—she is too relatable! She is a literal ball of sunshine that simply seems to be excited for any new adventures. I love the point where Pink finally opens up about his origin story, and trust me that it is a horrifying story, but Jing just gets really excited about it. She does remind me of myself because I love me some horror stories! Jing is also quick-witted and fun, and I appreciate her so much for constantly being there for Suraya despite their different backgrounds.</p><p><br /></p><p>2) The second reason as to why I love this book so much is <u>the representation of local Malay ghosts!</u> I am just so thrilled that I <i>finally</i> recognise the names of ghosts haunting in a book that I read. I love how Hanna Alkaf described each of the ghost mentioned in the story, and she even included how the ghosts are summoned. I think my favourite part will be the trio meeting the ghosts at the cemetery, especially with Hussein.</p><p><br /></p><p>There were many other Malay things casually being mentioned in the story, and overall I just feel so happy reading this book—well, the horror parts <i>are</i> horrifying enough but this book still gave me a lot of happiness. I think it's safe to say that <i>The Girl and the Ghost</i> is one of my most favourite local books, and Hanna Alkaf easily entered my list of favourite authors. </p><p><br /></p><p><i>The Girl and the Ghost</i> is a very endearing story that depicts the life of a girl living with a ghost in Malaysia, and there is nothing more perfect than that. It is a book great for all ages, and the writing style is easy enough for young readers to understand—<i>if</i> they are brave enough to read ghosts though. It's a quick read that can easily be finished in a single seating, and I definitely recommend this book to all readers.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thank you to MPH Distributors for the copy of <i>The Girl and the Ghost</i> in exchange for my honest review. This book is available in all good bookstores, and trust me, you do not want to miss it!</p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><b>;</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>“"</b></i><i>I always wanted to know about my family," Suraya said quietly, and her voice was small and sad. "But all I've learned of my grandmother so far is that she was a horrible, mean person. And I have her blood. What does that say about me?"</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"It says that the most beautiful blooms come from the darkest soil."<b>”</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'</div></div></div></div><br /><p></p>Aishah Humaira'http://www.blogger.com/profile/03989497230462226742noreply@blogger.com0