fall – takes two to book review

Review: A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan

September 23, 2024September 23, 2024 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis:

Happy fall! 🍂🎃

I returned home from a trip yesterday, which of course means that I read a book (another ARC!) on the plane.

A Fire in the Sky follows three POVs: Tamsyn, the whipping girl of the royal family, Fell, the ruler of the Borderlands, and Stig, the Captain of the Guard and Tamsyn’s friend.

I’ll start off by saying I haven’t read the Firelight series, and this book is set in the same world. However, I found this a classic and interesting fantasy world, where dragons and witches have mostly died off due to being hunted and persecuted. The majority of this book is set on a road through the countryside and wilderness, and I love a good travel story.

Overall, this is a solid read. I can tell a lot more is going to happen in the sequel, so this first book definitely feels like the setup for the rest of the series. I really enjoyed the second half especially, as the pacing picked up and more events began happening to spur the plot along. While the romance lacked some depth, with the events at the end, I definitely think the romance will have more depth as the series continues!

My only cons were that Sig’s POV seemed unnecessary, and Fell was constantly described as big, to the point where it got to be a little much.

This was a fun and easy read. If you like dragons and romantasy, give it a shot!

VERDICT: 🔥🔥🔥🔥/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for sending me an ARC in exchange for a review.

Pub Date: A Fire in the Sky comes out tomorrow, September 24, 2024!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Dragon fire no longer blisters the skies over Penterra, but inside the lavish palace, life is still perilous…especially for Tamsyn. Raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it’s her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard…though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship.

When Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, descends on her home, Tamsyn’s world becomes even more dangerous. To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, she is commanded to don a veil and marry the brutal warrior. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind.

The wedding night begins with unexpected passion—and ends in near violence when her trickery is exposed. Rather than start a war, Fell accepts Tamsyn as his bride…but can he accept the dark secrets she harbors—secrets buried so deep even she doesn’t know they exist? For Tamsyn is more than a royal whipping girl, more than the false wife of a man who now sees her as his enemy. And when those secrets emerge, they will ignite a flame bright enough to burn the entire kingdom to the bone.

Magic is not dead…it is only sleeping. And it will take one ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny to awaken it.

Foresty Book Recs

September 12, 2024 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis:

What’s your favorite kind of book? Because mine is a good foresty/woodsy novel! If it’s a book featuring a creepy, atmospheric forest—or better yet, a sentient forest—chances are, I’ll want to read it. Foresty books are perfect for fall! It’s been foggy here in the mornings, which really adds to the fall reading ambience.

The stacks of books pictured above are some of my favorite fantasy reads featuring forests (say that 5 times fast). If you’re in the mood, I hope you’ll pick some of them up.

If you want a forest-themed/woodland mug, I’ve got you covered. Thank you so much to FloraeSnow for sending me this beautiful mug! If you want to check out her Etsy shop, you can use our code to get 15% off: TAKESTWO15

Happy reading! 🌲

Harry Potter re-read: The Sorcerer’s Stone!

October 6, 2019 Anna and Alexis1 Comment

Anna: I finished my re-read of The Sorcerer’s Stone, rather The Philosopher’s Stone, and it felt so good! I got the 20th anniversary Hufflepuff edition at Blackstone’s when I studied in Oxford.

This was such a nostalgic read. I’d forgotten the little differences between the book and the movie. There’s something equally heartwarming and heartbreaking about innocent little Harry who is just learning about the Wizarding World, and I loved re-living the beginning of Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s friendship. I’m also amazed by the foundation JK builds in this book, as there is so much foreshadowing to events and characters in the later books.

On to book two!

click here for more Harry Potter

Anna’s September Reading Wrap up

September 30, 2019January 26, 2024 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Anna: It’s the end of September! The leaves are officially starting to change, and it was cool enough today to break out my boots! It’s supposed to be 90 degrees on Wednesday, but I’m still embracing fall to its fullest! Here’s what I read this month:

5 stars:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

4 stars:

The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Bloomland by John Enlehardt

3.5 stars

California by Edan Lepucki

3 stars:

Eden by Andrea Kleine

The take away from this month’s wrap up is that if you haven’t read The Glass Castle, you need to. There will be a review coming soon! What did you read this month?

Barnes and Noble Book Haul

September 26, 2019September 26, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis:

Alexis: Book haul!

Barnes and Noble is having a buy one get one paperback half off.

I’ve been meaning to read Florida for a while now, but my professor recommend it so I finally picked it up!

I’m looking forward to reading Vicious, as it’ll be my first VE Schwab read.

Have you read either of these?

In the Woods and mood reading!

September 14, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Anna: It’s finally (slowly!) feeling a bit more like fall!

As cooler weather approaches, I’ve been in the mood for crime fiction. This is the second Tana French novel I’ve read in a month. The first in her Dublin Murder Squad series, In the Woods follows Detective Bob Ryan and his partner Cassie Maddox as they investigate the murder of a twelve-year-old girl found dead in the woods…the same woods where Ryan’s two childhood friends went missing years before. I didn’t enjoy this as much as The Witch Elm, but I’ve heard this series only gets better, and I think it’s one I could easily binge this fall.

Are you a mood reader?

Review: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

September 6, 2019 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis: Happy National Read A Book Day!

Yesterday, I finished reading Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. This was my first Ann Patchett read, and I’ve been meaning to read her books for a long time.

Bel Canto was not my usual read. Here’s a quick summary: In an unidentified South American country, famous opera singer Roxane Coss is invited to sing at Mr. Hokosowa, a businessman’s, birthday party. During the party, a group of terrorists burst into the house and keep the entire party hostage. What ensues is an unusual hostage situation that goes on for months and months.

This book is basically a giant character study. As a reader, you are launched into the minds of a multitude of characters. You learn about their families, their fears, and their interests in life. You learn about their inner lives.

The book itself is very slow moving. Plot wise, not much happens. About halfway through, the hostage dynamic changes, which leads to some interesting developments.

To be honest, I was a little bored with the first half. Patchett spend pages and pages on characters that I wasn’t interested in learning about. But most of the book is about Gen, Mr. Hokosowa’s translator. He was by far my favorite character. It was really interesting to see life from his language-based perspective.

My biggest issue with this book is the ending. After spending so much time learning about the characters, the book ends abruptly. I know Patchett probably did this on purpose, but still. As the reader, it was jarring. Despite the fact that I guessed the ending, it still felt melodramatic when it happened. With some much time dedicated to talking about opera, this book did tend to lean on the melodrama.

And then there’s the epilogue. I could deal with the ending, but the epilogue was wholly unneeded, and it honestly made no sense. Unfortunately, the epilogue is the thing I was left with, so I still have its bitter aftertaste in my mouth.

Overall, I enjoyed some sections of this book, and found other sections very slow moving. It wasn’t my favorite, but I enjoyed the overarching message.

VERDICT: 3 stars