Review: The Countess of the Revolution by Lana Kortchik

Russia and Eastern Europe have been rife with conflict for years. There have been regimes and empires that have risen and fallen throughout history and it is an area in history that I have such limited knowledge and understanding. Whenever I see historical fiction books set in Russia or Eastern Europe, regardless of the time period, I am usually really interested in. I know that I will learn something new and explore unknown to me history. When this one came up for review, naturally I was intrigued.

Lana Kortchik is not stranger to historical fiction, she has written two other books that are set in WWII, both of which are focused on the Eastern European experience (Ukrainian region) during the war. That is one of the things that makes this book stand out for me. There are so many books set in WWII that focus on the occupations of France and Belgium, as well as the experiences of England, America, and France. Right away I could tell this book was different just based on the description and I was eager to see what sorts of historical tidbits I could glean from this one.

This book is actually set earlier the WWII so it will be a new time period for this author, and a favorite time period of mine! I couldn’t wait to start reading this one and am so excited to bring a review to you guys today! This book is out now so do not miss it especially if you are a historical fiction fan looking for something a little off the beaten path historically.

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Review: The Haunting of Alejandra by V Castro

I had never heard of La Llorna until I got married. My husband who is Hispanic of course knew all about La Llorna and I absolutely fell in love with the Mexican ghost story. If you aren’t Hispanic you will likely be unfamiliar with the legend but you might be more familiar with the song La Llorna from the movie Coco! I am a big fan of horror and ghost stories and the folklore story really intrigued me so when this book came up for review, I had little hesitation before I screamed YES.

The horror or paranormal genre might not be for everyone and that’s ok. I know that I love a good ghost story and for me personally, I would rather read it in the fall when it’s the ‘spooky’ time of year, but I am usually up for a good ghost story any time truth be told! I read The Hacienda last year and absolutely loved it, after reading that book, the legend go La Llorna was the first thing on my mind. La Llorna isn’t a well known tale but it sure is creepy and I thought it would make for a great mainstream-ish story if executed properly.

Author V Castro has written other horror stories seeped in Mexican history and culture. If there was anyone who could make this story come alive, it’s Castro. I haven’t read any other books by her but I have seen Queen of the Cicadas around the blog-o-sphere and know that she has an established fan base. Needless to say I was thrilled to be asked to review this one and check out Castro’s storytelling style for myself!

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Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J Maas (Audible Edition)

After reading the second book in this series, I was in full on binge reading mode and ready to see what happens in this exciting series. This series currently has five books in it and the second book in this series really set things up nicely for this book and upcoming books in the series. If you haven’t yet read this series, it’s definitely worth checking out! Though you must absolutely read these books in order as a lot happens in this book that is a carry over from previous books.

This series has been basically everywhere around the blog-o-sphere over the last few years so if you haven’t heard of it, I would be shocked! I was super excited to read this series when it first came out, but I had a lot of other books on my TBR and sadly didn’t make it around to reading this one until now but I did have multiple copies of the book on my shelf and I knew it would be one that I enjoyed. If you like new or young adult fantasy books with some romance (and in this case a lot more sex) then this is going to be a must read for you!

If you do not want any spoilers then I recommend stop reading my review after this paragraph. I try to always keep my reviews as spoiler free as possible but at the same time, this series references things from previous books and it is difficult to review the book without having some spoilers from previous books. But I always do my best! So reader be warned there might be spoilers after this point!

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Review: A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J Maas (Audible Edition)

After devouring the first book, naturally I moved onto the second one. I basically finished the first book and immediately went on to this one with out any really break in between. I will try to keep this review mostly spoiler free but this series must absolutely be read in order and since the second book is a continuation of the first, there will be some spoilers going forward. So if you don’t want my review to spoil anything, then I would suggest to stop reading after the next few paragraphs. Reader be warned.

If you haven’t read this series yet, I will say I thought it was a worthwhile read. I have enjoyed the series thus far (I am currently through book 3) and I am eager to read more books by Sarah J Maas. Her Throne of Glass series appeals to me quite a bit so I am excited to read more from this author. I would say this book is more of a new adult book rather than a young adult novel. The difference are subtle but basically this book has more sex than a traditional young adult novel would.

Of all the books in the series though, this one is probably my favorite and probably the longest. It comes in at over 600 pages which is about 200 pages more than the other books in the series. While it’s the longer book in the series, for me it went really quick. If you have read this series already, then I am curious which book was your favorite! Drop it in the comments below and let me know! Now let’s take a look at what I loved about this book and what I didn’t!

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Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J Maas (Audible Edition)

I am 100% late to the party on this one. This series has been on my radar for YEARS. I would have to be living under a rock not to have heard of it or seen it’s massive cult following all over the internet and book world platforms! I have had the books on my shelves for years with the intention of reading them ‘next book’ but I just haven’t been able to bring myself to read them. My number one fear was I would just want to binge the series and I just wasn’t ready to dive into another series to binge after binge reading a number of other series lately.

I kept putting it off over and over and over, until turbulence made me read this one. I was on my flight back from Ohio with a lengthy layover and a couple of plane changes. I had a book I had planned on reading on the plane but as soon as we took off from Ohio, we had a lot of bad weather and I just couldn’t read anything. So I went to my Audible library and threw on the first thing I could find to distract me which just so happened to be this book! It was the ONLY book that was downloaded on my Audible app and since I was in airplane mode, it would just have to do.

Naturally I am now currently on the fourth book and binge reading just as I suspected. This book series so far has been both familiar and much like I suspected but also not what I was expecting. That’s what I think makes this series so good. This first book really gave me Beauty and the Beast vibes but as the series has gone on that theme has faded in favor of becoming more of a Game of Thrones for YA readers! What can I say about this book and the series that hasn’t already been said, likely not anything but I am going to do my best!

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