Book Review: A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab (Shades of Magic #3) / ★★★★☆

One sentence summary: Dark magic is taking over Red London and its people, and the royal crown and the Antari – the most powerful magicians in the world – must find a way to stop it.

Lila smiled. “The trick to winning a fight isn’t strength, but strategy.” 

Alucard raised his eyebrows.. “Who said anything about fighting?”

She ignored him. “And strategy is just a fancy word for a special kind of common sense, the ability to see options, to make them where there were none. It’s not about knowing the rules.”

Her hand fell away, the bottle crumbled again, falling in a rain of glass.

“It’s about knowing how to break them.” 

Book Review: A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab (Shades of Magic #2) / ★★★★☆

One sentence summary: Kell is trapped, Lila is a pirate, and both take a chance at competing in Red London’s Element Games.

“But what stops one from committing sins, if they have nothing to fear?”

Kell shrugged. “I’ve seen people sin in the name of God, and in the name of magic. People misuse their higher powers, no matter what form they take.”

Book Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black / My rating: ★★★☆☆

One sentence summary: Twins Hazel and Ben have dreamed all kinds of fairy tale stories about the sleeping prince in the forest, but when he wakes, a terrible monster begins reeking havoc in their town.

Down a path worn into the woods, past a stream and a hollowed-out log full of pill bugs and termites, was a glass coffin. It rested right on the ground, and in it slept a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives.

Book Review: The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness / My rating: ★★★★☆

One sentence summary: Mikey and his friends are nothing special, they’re not the chosen ones, not the heroes- they’re just the side characters trying to live their lives while the action goes on around them.

They’ve always got some story going on that they’re heroes of. The rest of us just have to live here, hovering around the edges, left out of it all, for the most part. 

Book Review: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell / My Rating: ★★★ 1/2

One sentence summary: Simon Snow is the most powerful magician in the world but he isn’t very good at magic, and is enemies with his roommate, Baz, but he isn’t very good at staying enemies.

Just when you think you’re having a scene without Simon, he drops in to remind you that everyone else is a supporting character in his catastrophe.

Book Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli / My rating: ★★★★★

One sentence summary: Simon Spier exchanges anonymous emails with another closeted gay boy in his high school, “Blue” – and risks both of their secrets when his email is seen by the wrong set of eyes.

The way I feel about him is like a heartbeat – soft and persistent, underlying everything. 

Book Review: Magnus Chase and The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2) / My rating: ★★★★★

One sentence summary: Magnus and his companions travel between worlds to find Thor’s hammer, thwart Loki, and stop a wedding.

Etiquette tip: If you’re looking for the right time to leave a party, when the host yells, “No one leaves here alive,” that’s your cue.

Book Review: Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson

Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson / My rating: ★★★☆☆

One sentence summary: College student Howie Jenkins gets a job at a craft shop with the intention of meeting girls and ends up falling for his (male) boss instead.

I remember, in the dim corner of my brain that hasn’t been switched off yet by Arthur’s touch, this poem I had to read for a class ages ago, one I liked the concept of, something about liking your body with someone else’s body because suddenly it’s so new a thing. I can’t believe I’m thinking about poems right now. Then again, maybe these are the moments that poems are for. 

Book Review: Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)/ My rating: ★★★★★

One sentence summary: Magnus, sixteen year old son of a Norse god, goes on a quest to keep the wolf that killed his mother from going free and setting doomsday into motion.

“You sacrificed yourself to save a lot of people.” Her words sounded like a compliment. Her tone sounded like she was calling me an idiot.

Book Review: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Cycle #4) / My rating: ★★★★☆

One sentence summary: Blue and Gansey add a new friend to their ranks, Adam and Ronan dream, there is something evil taking over Cabeswater, and the search for Glendower must soon come to an end.

He was a book, and he was holding his final pages, and he wanted to get to the end to find out how it went, and he didn’t want it to be over.