the smoke thieves – Page 2 – The Bookish Mutant

Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt Book Tag

Posted on April 22, 2020July 8, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Wednesday, bibliophiles!

I found this tag over at The Comfy Reader, and I thought it would be super fun to give it a go! I’m not sure who created it, so please let me know, if you can. 👍

FIND AN AUTHOR NAME OR TITLE WITH A ‘Z’ IN IT

Kat and Meg Conquer the World–Anna Priemaza

Hey, Anna Priemaza!

FIND A CLASSIC

The Illustrated Man–Ray Bradbury

FIND A BOOK WITH A KEY ON IT

Spirit’s Key–Edith Cohn

BOOM. Key necklace!

FIND SOMETHING ON YOUR BOOKSHELF THAT’S NOT A BOOK

Lots of things…I have host of random trinkets, action figures, mementos, and Pop! Figures, as well as my Universal Studios Harry Potter Wand, on my bookshelves. 🙂

FIND THE OLDEST BOOK ON YOUR SHELF

Cannery Row–John Steinbeck

I think this one takes the prize…published in 1945!

FIND A BOOK WITH A WOMAN ON IT

Aurora Rising–Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

AURI! SPACE ROGUE!

FIND A BOOK THAT HAS AN ANIMAL ON IT

Serafina and the Twisted Staff–Robert Beatty

There’s quite a few books that might fit the bill here–I was big into animal stories for a while–but this was the first book that came to mind.

FIND A BOOK WITH A MALE PROTAGONIST

Ender’s Game–Orson Scott Card

My school library was giving out free copies of books that were in low circulation last year, so I snagged a copy of this one.

FIND A BOOK WITH ONLY WORDS ON THE COVER

LIFEL1K3–Jay Kristoff

FIND A BOOK WITH ILLUSTRATIONS IN IT

The Search for WondLa–Tony DiTerlizzi

Not only is Tony DiTerlizzi a writing god, he’s an art god, too…

Millenia's review of The Search for WondLa — Case in point…

FIND A BOOK WITH GOLD LETTERING

The Smoke Thieves–Sally Green

FIND A DIARY, TRUE OR FICTIONAL

Ooo…I don’t think I have any diaries…gonna have to skip this one…

FIND A BOOK WRITTEN BY AN AUTHOR WITH A COMMON SURNAME

I Capture the Castle–Dodie Smith

This one will always hold a special place in my heart. My mom got it for me when I had a sick day a few years back 💗

FIND A FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOK

Yellowfang’s Secret–Erin Hunter

I’ve since made room for more books on my shelf and taken this one off (the sheer amount of Warriors books…), but this was one of my favorite of the Warriors books.

FIND A BOOK BASED IN THE EARLIEST TIME PERIOD

Their Eyes Were Watching God–Zora Neale Hurston

…whoops, I think this one was published earlier than Cannery Row…just ignore that…you saw nothing…

FIND A HARDCOVER WITHOUT A JACKET

Gonna have to skip this one, too…I don’t take the jackets off of hardcovers!

FIND A TEAL/TURQUOISE COLORED BOOK

Nyxia–Scott Reintgen

FIND A BOOK WITH STARS ON IT

The Final Six–Alexandra Monir

So many stars…

FIND A NON-YA BOOK

Alistair Grim’s Odditorium–Gregory Funaro

I feel like I have a fair balance of MG and YA books on my shelf at this point. There’s a lot leftover from middle school, and some books from even before that time.

FIND A BOOK WITH A BEAUTIFUL COVER

Soul of Stars–Ashley Poston

Am I wrong?

I tag anyone who’d like to participate!

Today’s song:

CLASSIC. CLAAAAAAASSIC. And their new album comes out in…almost a week? AAH!

That’s it for this book tag! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Book Tags

Women’s History Book Tag

Posted on March 11, 2020March 11, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

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Afternoon, bibliophiles!

I found this tag on The Comfy Reader, and as soon as I saw that it had to do with Women’s History…COUNT. ME. IN. The tag was created by Weird Zeal.

Rules:

Thank the person who tagged you and link back to their post.
Link to the creator’s blog in your post
Answer the questions below using only books written by women
Feel free to use the same graphics
Tag 8 others to take part in the tag

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Lei from Girls of Paper and Fire is the ultimate disobedient, fierce, and patriarchy-smashing protagonist. I just got started with the sequel (Girls of Storm and Shadow), and though it’s not quite as potent as book 1, I’d forgotten how much I loved her and Wren.

Ada Lovelace

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Alouette from Sky Without Stars is a character that I always love to see in a female protagonist–daring and determined, but also incredibly intelligent, and VERY bookish!

Queen Elizabeth 1

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One of the perspectives that I enjoyed the most of Catherine in The Smoke Thieves, and her later struggle (and GREAT successes) of ascending to the throne as Queen of Brigant.

Virginia Woolf

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The prose in Wild Beauty was one of the elements that most stood out to me in the book, as flowery as the gardens of La Pradera.

Joan of arc

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Although this was only a three-star read for me, Sky in the Deep was what immediately came to mind. Eelyn was most definitely a Wonder Woman-ish character, in an almost Viking setting.

Mae Jemison

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Ooh, boy, I’ve got a lot to choose from…

A Conspiracy of Stars stands out so much in the YA sci-fi genre, with its spectacular world-building and memorable writing. WHERE. IS. BOOK. THREE.

Rosalind Franklin

(Heeeeey, we learned about her in my bio class not long ago!)

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Chilling and masterfully written, it honestly saddens me how little recognition Other Words for Smoke (and anything by Sarah Maria Griffin, really) has gotten.

Marsha P Johnson

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Another vastly underrated novel, Everything Grows is a beautiful and deeply relatable book about exploring one’s sexuality.

Amelia Earheart

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I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again: The Poet X deserves every ounce of hype that it has received.

Your Choice

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Sally Ride has been one of my personal heroes ever since I did a project on her in 8th grade. The first American woman in space and an LGBTQ+ icon, she is continually one of my biggest inspirations. 💗

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With its tackling of many issues that plague our modern society today, This Time Will be Different inspires me to not just look at the big picture, but to look within local communities to remedy these ills.

I tag anyone who’d like to participate during this lovely Women’s History Month!

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Today’s song:

That’s it for this post! Have a wonderful day, and take care of yourselves!

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Book Tags, Books

The Netflix Book Tag

Posted on February 17, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

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Hello again, bibliophiles!

I’ve been wanting to do this tag for a little while, but I figured that it would be good for today since I’ve pretty much been subsisting off of Netflix for most of this four-day weekend. (*coughcough I AM MOTHER coughcough MONTY PYTHON coughcough*) I found this tag on First Line Reader, and the tag was originally created by A Darker Shade of Whitney.

RECENTLY WATCHED: The last book you finished reading

I’ve been a big fan of Raina Telgemeier for years, and I was so excited to find Guts at the comic shop last week!

TOP PICKS: A book/books that have been recommended to you based on a book you have previously read

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Ghosting You was recommended to me not long ago, based on the fact that I read and adored Like a Love Story.

RECENTLY ADDED: The last book you bought

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I bought both Sky Without Stars and Loki: Where Mischief Lies last week, and I’m excited to read them both!

POPULAR ON NETFLIX: Books that everyone knows about (2 you’ve read and 2 you haven’t or have no interest in reading)

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Both The Poet X and Red Queen have received tons of hype over the years, but I have very different opinions about them: the former was an absolute triumph, and the latter was…ugh. Nope.

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I’ve been recommended both The Hate U Give and One of Us is Lying countless times, but I’m not super invested in reading them. I might, but they’re low on my priority.

COMEDIES: A funny book

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I know I use this one every time I do a book tag, but Good Omens had me in stitches.

DRAMA: A character who is a drama king/queen

Elliot from In Other Lands was the very definition of melodramatic…part of why I DNF’d this book, ultimately.

ANIMATED: A book with cartoons on the cover

As iffy as Eliza and Her Monsters was, the cover was super cute.

WATCH AGAIN: A book/series you want to read again

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I haven’t read The Catcher in the Rye since we read it for my English class last year, but I enjoyed it immensely.

DOCUMENTARIES: A nonfiction book that you’d recommend to everybody

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My nonfiction shelf is pretty slim, but for those of you who are writers/aspiring writers, I’d highly recommend On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

ACTION AND ADVENTURE: An action-packed book

Though it was a bit more slow-burn at the beginning, The Smoke Thieves managed to keep me on my toes for a good 3/4 of the book.

NEW RELEASES: A book that just came out or will be coming out soon that you can’t wait to read

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I had no idea this had come out until my school librarian (who I recommended the series to, and now loves it 😄) told me that it had come out! I cannot WAIT to get my hands on Honor Lost!

I tag anyone that wants to participate!

Since I’ve already posted today, I won’t post a second song today, so just check out Goodreads Monday (2/17/20)–From Under the Mountain if you want to see what it is 🙂

That just about wraps up this tag! Have a wonderful day, and take care of yourselves!

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Book Tags, Books

The Quick Fire Fantasy Tag

Posted on February 3, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

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Hello again, bibliophiles!

I found this tag over at Kayla’s Wordsmithy (thank you!), and I thought that I’d give it a try! I haven’t given as much love to fantasy lately, so I figured this would be a nice change. The tag was originally created by The Book Worm Dreamer.

RULES:

Thank the person who tagged you and link back to their post
Link to the creator’s blog (thebookwormdreamer.wordpress.com) in your post
Answer the prompts below – all fantasy books!
Tag 5 others to take part
Enjoy!

5 STAR BOOK

Image result for the demon world sally green

The last fantasy that I rated five stars was The Demon World, the sequel to The Smoke Thieves. I know I blab about this one a lot, but hey…

Several butt-kicking women
Romance
Demons

What’s not to like?

ALWAYS GOING TO RECOMMEND

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Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy is the ideal gateway to YA fantasy, and a richly-imagined, heart-pounding ride from start to finish.

OWN IT BUT HAVEN’T READ IT YET

Um….shoot, I think I’ll have to skip this one. Everything that I’ve bought recently I’ve already read, and not much of said book haul is fantasy.

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WOULD READ AGAIN

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I’m devastated that I borrowed Other Words for Smoke at the library, because this was an absolute MASTERPIECE.

IN ANOTHER WORLD

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Fennbirn, the island setting of Three Dark Crowns is lush and rife with detailed mythology. A true feat of literature, in that respect, and an unforgettable series. The whole system with the Queens and their gifts is incredibly fascinating.

BACK ON EARTH

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Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (another five-star fantasy for me) is set in both the human city of London and London Below, a magical and unpredictable underbelly of the city, where all manner of strange creatures lurk. What a gem of a book ♥️

(Since I’ve already posted once today, just head over to this week’s Goodreads Monday if you’d like to see today’s song. 😉)

I tag anyone that would like to participate! I never know if the people I tag will end up participating in the tag, so I’ll just open it up to anyone who wants to. 🙂

Thanks so much for reading! Have a great rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

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Books

My 5-Star Reads of 2019

Posted on December 28, 2019January 2, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Hi there, everyone!

As 2019 (and this decade) draws to a close, I’ve decided to make a comprehensive lists of all of my 5-star reads for this year, and, by proxy, my favorite books that I’ve read this year. Most of these are what’d you’d expect, if you’ve scoured my book tags and reviews, but I know there’s a few that I haven’t talked much about. These are in chronological order of when I read them, though their actual rankings vary a fair bit.

Now, without further ado…this year’s 5-star lineup!

KING OF SCARS–LEIGH BARDUGO

Bardugo’s veritable masterpiece, all at once a rollicking adventure and an exploration of internal conflict, was my first 5-star rating of this year. And…Nikolai. ‘Nuff said.

Read my review here!

THE ILLUMINAE FILES TRILOGY–AMIE KAUFMAN and JAY KRISTOFF

I mean, I read all of these in the span of a few months, and I gave all three books five stars…

For good reason, I think. I doubt that we’ll ever come across a trilogy quite like this in a very long time.

Read my review (Illuminae) here!

NEVERWHERE–NEIL GAIMAN

I’ve been a fan of Gaiman’s work for some time, but I chose this one for an English project, and I fell so in love with the fantastic world-building, as well as each and every character.

Find it on Goodreads here!

ONCE & FUTURE–AMY ROSE CAPETTA and CORI MCCARTHY

A feminist, LGBTQ+ retelling of the legends of King Arthur…need we say more? A wonderfully fast-paced space adventure, reminiscent of Captain Marvel.

Find it on Goodreads here!

HONOR BOUND–ANN AGUIRRE and RACHEL CAINE

Even more daring than its predecessor, Honor Bound is a complex space opera to die for.

Find it on Goodreads here!

TENNYSON: POEMS–ALFRED TENNYSON

Yes, I was/still am that kid who sits in the corner reading depressing, 19th century poetry. Do I regret it? Absolutely not.

Find it on Goodreads here!

AURORA RISING–AMIE KAUFMAN and JAY KRISTOFF

You’ve already sing praise of this one innumerable times, so I’ll just leave it at this: I FOUND MY DREAM BOOK, PEOPLE. THIS IS EVERYTHING.

Read my review here!

THE PIONEER--BRIDGET TYLER

An inventive, heart-pounding sci-fi adventure, The Pioneer was very nearly flawless, and I’m itching to get my hands on the sequel next spring! 😀

Read my review here!

AN ANATOMY OF BEASTS–OLIVIA A. COLE

Delving deeper and growing even twistier than its predecessor, A Conspiracy of Stars, this novel is dazzlingly well-thought out, the prime example of what speculative sci-fi should be.

Find it on Goodreads here!

THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES–RAY BRADBURY

Did I mention how much I love sci-fi? No?

Ray Bradbury is a talent to be reckoned with, able to deftly weave together a thought-provoking story in the span of under 100 pages with ease.

Also, I was today years old when I realized that the hand on the cover has six fingers.

Find it on Goodreads here!

SOUL OF STARS–ASHLEY POSTON

The epic conclusion to the Heart of Iron duology, Poston deftly wraps together a complicated universe of familial bonds and political intrigue. Love, love, love, LOVE…

Read my review here!

FAHRENHEIT 451–RAY BRADBURY

Again, Ray Bradbury. I rest my case.

Find it on Goodreads here!

SPARE AND FOUND PARTS–SARAH MARIA GRIFFIN

A futuristic Frankenstein for the modern age, this is a grossly underrated writing, atmospheric and poetic.

Read my review here!

THE DEMON WORLD–SALLY GREEN

The pulse-pounding sequel to The Smoke Thieves, Green delivers an even more potent punch of her signature world-building and fantasy action.

Read my review here!

HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X–JONATHAN HICKMAN

The newest installment in the legendary X-Men mythology, Hickman weaves a mythical and symbolic world, with a hopeful conclusion and the potential of many mutant tales to come.

Find it on Goodreads here!

LIKE A LOVE STORY–ABDI NAZEMIAN

Would you look at that…I think this is the only historical fiction in this post…

A hearstring-tearing and poignant coming-of-age LGBTQ+ novel. So many feels. INFINITE feels.

Read my review here!

THE TOLL–NEAL SHUSTERMAN

The conclusion to the unforgettable Arc of a Scythe trilogy, this novel is solid proof that Shusterman is a sci-fi author to be reckoned with.

Read my review here!

Man. What a year this has been…

Have you read any of these novels, and what did you think of them? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Have a lovely rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Book Tags, Books

The Book Cake Tag

Posted on December 26, 2019 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Hey everyone! I hope that you had a lovely Christmas, if you celebrate, and some very happy holidays!

I found this tag on Megabunny Reads, and it sounded super fun, so I figured that I’d give it a go! The tag was originally created by A Little But A Lot.

Here goes nothing…

FLOUR: A BOOK THAT WAS SLOW TO START OFF BUT PICKED UP AS IT WENT ALONG

Shirley Jackson is the master of the slow-burn story, and The Haunting of Hill House is no exception. The slow building of this creepy, atmospheric masterpiece will stay with me for a long time after I’ve read it.

BUTTER: A BOOK THAT HAS A REALLY “RICH” AND GREAT PLOT

The plot of Sally Green’s The Smoke Thieves was incredibly intricate in every sense of the word–in the beginning, it was so complex that I found myself wondering how Green would manage to tie everything together in a way that made sense, but surprise, surprise, everything came back together towards the end. What a gem of a series.

EGGS: A BOOK THAT YOU THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE BAD, BUT TURNED OUT QUITE ENJOYABLE

My expectations of Crier’s War were that it was going to be a steaming pile of cliches, but I was pleasantly surprised by the multi-layered world building, culture, and poetic writing…and not to mention, the swoon-worthy, enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance.

SUGAR: A SUGARY/SWEET BOOK

Oh, Rainbow Rowell, master of the heart-meltingly adorable romance…

Most of Rowell’s novels have this level of romance, on some level, but the sweetness of Fangirl stood out most to me for the purposes of this tag, from bonding over books and music to specialty lattes.

ICING: A BOOK THAT COVERED EVERY SINGLE ELEMENT THAT YOU ENJOY OF A BOOK

You guessed it…

I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again…

Aurora Rising is, for all intents and purposes, everything that I’ve ever wanted in a book–daring adventures in space, with a ragtag cast of unique characters.

SPRINKLES: A BOOK SERIES THAT YOU TURN TO WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN

aaAAAaAAAaaaAAAAaAa chILDHOOD–

The Search for WondLa trilogy was definitely a major part of what not only got me through middle school, but what inspired me to be a writer, and my gateway to the genre of science fiction. I haven’t re-read it in a year or so, but I always love flipping back through the gorgeous illustrations: at this point, each one’s a different way to get to Memory Lane.

CHERRY ON TOP: YOUR FAVORITE BOOK THIS YEAR SO FAR

…First of all, as Megabunny Reads said in their post…what? Aren’t cherries on top reserved for sundaes? I’ve only seen…maybe two pictures of cakes with a cherry on top, and it doesn’t sound all that appealing…

[ahem] Anyway, now that I’ve already mentioned Aurora Rising, I think there’s only one other choice for the top spot this year…

The heart-pounding conclusion to the Arc of a Scythe trilogy, Shusterman truly pulled out all the stops and then some in The Toll. This is Shusterman’s storytelling at its very best, and an exemplary trilogy in the vast fount of literature that defines today’s sci-fi/dystopian novels.

And, that just about wraps it up! I tag:

And if you’ve stumbled across this post and want to participate, feel free!

Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves! It’s almost 2020, you can make it…

Book Tags, Books

Fall Festival Book Photo Tag

Posted on November 1, 2019 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy November, fellow bibliophiles!

I was tagged by A Little Haze Book Blog to take part in this tag. The tag itself is part of Clo and Fictionally Sam’s Bookending Autumn 2019, and this tag was originally hosted by PoetryBooksYA.

I’m pretty excited to take part, so let’s begin! 🙂

CHILLY–BOOK WITH A WHITE COVER (Sad story/plotline)

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Michael Belanger’s The History of Jane Doe is well-written, but be warned: it’s definitely a rough ride, and it deals with teen suicide.

SWEET–BOOK WITH AN ORANGE COVER (A favorite contemporary novel)

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I couldn’t find many contemporary books that I really loved (much less ones with completely orange covers), but this is my most recent read in that category: Michelle Andreani and Mindi Scott’s exploration of romance and grief, The Way Back to You

SPICY–BOOK WITH A RED COVER (Action/Fast-paced setting)

Ohhhhhhhh yeah.

I could go on for days about the The Demon World. The whole series (that’s come out), for that matter.

DARK–BOOK WITH A BLACK COVER (Dark, twisted theme)

The entire Three Dark Crowns series is pretty rife with violence, disturbing sibling rivalries, and all manner of spooky stuff. All four books had me on the edge of my seat…

GREEN–BOOK WITH A GREEN COVER (Makes you feel jealous)

This was a hard one…I mean, green cover? Easy. Makes me feel jealous? Now that’s another story…

I suppose that Robert Beatty’s Willa of the Wood doesn’t inherently make me jealous, but I’m definitely jealous of Beatty’s world-building and descriptive writing. (He’s also the author of the Serafina trilogy, which, excluding book 2, I adored in middle school.)

Well, that just about wraps it up!

I tag:

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Book Tags, Books

The Productivity Book Tag

Posted on September 25, 2019 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Whoa, look at me! Baby’s first book tag! 😄 I was tagged by A Little Haze Book Blog, and I’m so excited to join in the fun!

Let’s lay out the rules for those who participate:

Credit the creator (Sam @ Fictionally Sam)
Answer the prompts
Tag some friends

And most importantly…

Have fun! 🙂

Alright, here goes nothing!

PLANNING-A BOOK THAT IS COMPLETELY THOUGHT OUT

The Smoke Thieves–Sally Green

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There isn’t a place in this novel where I couldn’t find evidence of incredible attention to detail. And the world building…I couldn’t even dream of laying out something as intricate as that!

Read my review here: The Smoke Thieves

FOCUS–A BOOK THAT KEPT YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION

Aurora Rising–Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

This. Book.

I swear, I think I shaved off around 300 pages in a single sitting the first time I read this. And honestly? I could’ve gone on longer if I hadn’t had to…y’know…eat…[ahem]

An absolute gem of a novel.

Read my review here: Aurora Rising

DELEGATING–A BOOK THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A SERIES

Last of Her Name–Jessica Khoury

Although the conclusion was perfectly satisfying, I absolutely adored the galactic setting, and all of the alien fauna. I would have loved to explore this world more, be it in a sequel or a spin-off.

Read my review here: Last of Her Name

SMALL GOALS–A BOOK UNDER 150 PAGES THAT YOU LOVED

Fahrenheit 451-Ray Bradbury

Okay, I’ll admit, I kinda cheated here. The edition I read was 159 pages…oH, scANDaLOuS…

Anyway, Ray Bradbury. ‘Nuff said. [mic drop]

PEAK HOURS–A BOOK/SERIES YOU CAN ONLY READ AT A CERTAIN TIME

Undead Girl Gang–Lily Anderson

I read Undead Girl Gang in the middle of summer, but it’s definitely best read around Spooky Time™️, what with witches, zombies and whatnot. [blasts the entire soundtrack to The Nightmare Before Christmas from a boombox]

Read my review here: Undead Girl Gang

LISTS–A BOOK YOU FINALLY CROSSED OFF YOUR TBR

Red Rising–Pierce Brown

Finally crossed off my TBR…but at what cost?

Unpopular opinion: eh…I liked Red Rising, but I found it to devastatingly overrated. Far too derivative of The Hunger Games, in my opinion.

PROACTIVE–A BOOK THAT IS/WAS AHEAD OF ITS TIME

1984-George Orwell

I know, I know, this is rather cliche choice. But in the current political climate (especially in the U.S.), it’s far more relevant than I’d like it to be. Let’s face it: we’re living through a terrifying part of history.

DECLUTTER–A BOOK/SERIES THAT YOU WISH YOU COULD UNREAD

Smokeless Fire–Samantha Young

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GOD. Where to begin with this one…

I fell into the trap of buying this one on my Kindle, as soon as I saw that it was only 0.99. Let’s just say you’re getting what you’re paying for; highly predictable plot, writing that practically begs for an editor, and a cast of cliched and disgustingly unlikable characters. I hate to say it, but…this is more Dumpster Fire than Smokeless Fire.

Oop. That last one was kind of low-hanging fruit, sorry…

MULTITASKING–BOOKS YOU READ AT THE SAME TIME

Two Dark Reigns–Kendare Blake

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Alright, sorry, I’m cheating a little bit on this one as well. I swore off reading multiple books at once sometime before middle school, so I can’t recall any specific books before then. But, I read this around the same time I read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (probably my favorite book, personally) for an English project, so I *suppose* this counts.

Read my review here: Two Dark Reigns

I TAG…

Thank you so much for reading! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves! I promise I’ll get my blog format presentable sometime in the near future…

Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (9/17/19)-The Demon World

Posted on September 18, 2019 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Hey, everyone, and welcome to this week’s Book Review Tuesday!

First off, sorry for forgoing Goodreads Monday this week. It just slipped my mind sometime in between doing math homework and creating some X-Men fan art. Oops…I promise I’ll get to it next week 😉

Hopefully, though, this review makes up for it. This week’s book does, anyway. I finally got my hands on the sequel to The Smoke Thieves (you can read my review of book 1 right here )!!!

And I must say, this sequel did not disappoint! The Demon World was everything that I loved about book 1, but with the volume turned up; absolutely jam-packed with plot twists, intricate writing, and characters that you root for until the very end.

Enjoy this week’s review!

The Demon World (The Smoke Thieves, #2)

Just days ago, Tash, Ambrose, Catherine, March, and Edyon were strangers. Now, they are all entangled in a war of epic proportions, and their lives may just be at stake. And it’s all because of a bottle of demon smoke.

The tide of war is turning, but not in these young adults’ favors; King Aloysius, Catherine’s megalomaniacal father, has discovered that demon smoke gives whoever inhales it strength beyond their wildest dreams. With enough smoke, he plans to raise an unstoppable army, with which he can claim all of his neighboring countries.

Catherine’s underground resistance is struggling to regain footing after several losses. Their desperate travels take them to the Demon World–a hellish realm where demons roam freely. If they can figure out its secrets, they may be able to end and win this war–but is it too late to stop Aloysius’ demonic hordes of men?

And I thought The Smoke Thieves was intense…

The Demon World is truly a masterpiece, like The Empire Strikes Back of this series. Green pulls out all the stops, amping up the tension and action just enough to be believable and glue me to my seat simultaneously. Within…oh, fifty pages in, I was crying tears of joy. By the end, the tears had…well…yeah, let’s say they were quite the opposite. In short, this made me feel all the feels. Every. Single. One of them.

The ending left me speechless, and I kind of wanted to throw the book across the room. In a good way.

Almost.

I mean, it was a library book, I’m not that barbaric.

What I’m saying is that, unlike so many other YA novels of its kind, The Demon World is a worthy successor of the first novel, with an ending so earthshattering that the conclusion is almost guaranteed to be momentous.

Book 3 is, as of now, untitled, and according to Goodreads, the expected publication is sometime in 2020.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[sigh] Well…guess I’ll just have to re-read these two books countless times before book 3 comes out…

Thank you so much for reading! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves! 🙂

Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (9/10/19)-The Smoke Thieves

Posted on September 10, 2019 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Hey, everyone, and welcome to this week’s Book Review Tuesday!

I’m not gonna lie–I’d been meaning to read The Smoke Thieves for a while, and it was *mostly* because of that gorgeous cover.

*ahem* Aaaaaanyway, I bought it the other day, figuring that a) it was in paperback and b) that hey–it’s been on my TBR for an embarrassing amount of time, the plot seemed decent, and…THE COVER. *swoons*

I haven’t liked a fantasy book this much since…probably since the Three Dark Crowns series. (If you want to see my review for that, click here 🙂 .) An intricate plot, lovable (for the most part) characters, and some of the best world-building I’ve seen in years, I kid you not.

Enjoy this week’s review!

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The Smoke Thieves (The Smoke Thieves, #1)

Catherine is the revered princess of Brigant, struggling with the tyrannical rule of her father and the domineering presence of her brother. What’s more, she’s getting married to a prince she knows nothing of in a matter of days.

March is a servant, weighed down with an immeasurable grief. When he was a boy, his homeland was invaded, and almost all of its inhabitants–including his entire family–are long dead. For years, he’s waited for an opportunity to exact his revenge on the killers of his people–and now, he might just have the chance.

Tash is a young demon huntress, making a living out of selling demon smoke–the refuse of a demon after it is killed–illegally, under the tutelage of her mentor and father figure, Gravell.

Ambrose is a royal soldier with a conflicted heart. His kingdom grows ever restless, and the princess is set to be married off; all his life, he’s been pining for her, and now his chances are all but gone.

Edyon is a petty thief, travelling with a fortune teller to make a living. His true identity is unknown to him, but it could decide his country’s fate.

What brings them together is a single bottle of demon smoke. As it shifts hands, these five strangers are entangled, and now may tip their countries towards war.

The Smoke Thieves is easily one of the best fantasy novels to come out of 2018. The world building was beautifully intricate, paying attention to the smallest details in culture, customs, and so much more. For the most part (excluding Catherine…sorry), I loved the characters–March, especially 🙂 They were all so well-developed, with unique personalities and surprisingly great chemistry all together. I’ve seen this novel compared to Game of Thrones, which I know almost none about (my knowledge goes as far as a. Jean Grey, b. Dragon lady, and c. Everybody Dies™️), but I can still see that this is a truly worthy comparison. Such an unforgettable novel.

I believe this series is slated to be a trilogy. Book 2, The Demon World, came out this year, and I’ve already checked it out at the library, but have yet to read it. SO EXCITED!

Thank you so much for reading this! Have a great rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Oh, and keep on reading!