BLOG TOUR: Witchy Book Recs with Kendare Blake

Hey guys! 

Halloween may have been yesterday...but why not keep on celebrating today? Let's be real, Halloween should be more than one day. Anyway, to celebrate the release of the latest book in the Three Dark Crowns series, Two Dark Reigns, I asked the lovely author Kendare Blake to tell us about some witchy books she's loved recently and can recommend to everyone! I don't know about you guys but I'm a sucker for witchy books...possibly because I grew up watching Sabrina! 

So check out the three Witchy books Kendare has loved recently! 

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

This quest of warriors takes you through some of the best witchy landscapes. The Mercies may be on the trail of a beast and glory, but their detour through the domain of the Salt Marsh Witches and the ensuing Witch Wars were among my favourite moments of the novel.

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd

It's a magical caper through the streets of Paris, putting you face to face with goblins and spells and an entire hierarchy of witches. Also it made me hungry for macarons.

A Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto

This one doesn't come out until February, and it doesn't have witches exactly, but there's definitely something like spellcraft involved in the hatching of a new Phoenix. And there's magic aplenty with so many animages running around. Be on the lookout for it, for sure!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm loving the sound of all three of Kendare's recommendations! I'm definitely going to need to pick them up! Don't forget to check out The Three Dark Crowns series! 

Three Dark Crowns | One Dark Throne | Queens of Fennbirn | Two Dark Reigns

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown. 

Review: Three Dark Crowns

Three Dark Crowns
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.

If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.

Okay ladies and gentlemen, this was an interesting read for multiple reasons. This book is very, very hyped and a lot of the time, I'm reluctant to read overhyped books, I had this conversation with Becca the other day actually! As I went in to this, I was intrigued, it sounded promising, three Queens and only one can live and rule....one being super powerful the other two having to fake it...and it was presented to me as a kind of Hunger Games type thing! I liked the book. I did. But there where some things that bugged me a little bit. But first....the good! 

The first three parts of the book introduce us to the Queens, and I really, really liked how it was done. It intrigued me and presented a certain image of each of the Queens, that gradually changed as you read the book and they grew and changed. I really enjoyed getting all three Queens POV's as it helped you to understand what each of them was feeling and thinking, what their motivations where, and it was really, really interesting to see how each of the Queens viewed each other. I liked how each Queen was different depending on their upbringing, it really reflected in them and I'm interested to see where their characters go in the next book. 

I haven't really picked a team per se. I'm kind of Team Anyone But Mirabella, for reasons I will explain soon! I really, really felt for Katharine. So badly. Don't get me wrong, all three of them are in a rough situation, but I feel like Katharine's was the worst from what we see. Sure she has people who care about her, but she's also left on the floor suffering and no-one makes a move to help her, and there's a bully of sorts too. Plus the power she has to fake has some really unpleasant consequences. I'm so intrigued by her and what she's going to do next, and what she's going to do, and what she's going to become in the next book after her last line in the book. I actually cackled when I read it! I'm also not going to lie, I kinda shipped her with Pietyr, sure it was a little bit suspect at places, but it was the least annoying of the romances in the book, although I don't think it's going to end well after the end of the book. I'm assuming he wasn't being all evil but we'll see! 

Arsinoe....she was tricky for me. I wasn't sure I liked her at first, but the more I got to know her the more I liked her. She didn't let anything keep her down for long, after the bear incident she didn't react at all how I was expecting and it really made me respect her even more. She was so loyal to Jules, her best friend, and I loved the friendship between the two of them, although in the beginning it did kind of seem like Jules was overshadowing Arsinoe a bit. She wasn't a main character, she was more a secondary character, but her large presence makes me wonder if she's going to be a bigger character in the next book...for reasons. ANYWAY. Arsinoe is with kinder people than the other two, I think, and much like with Katharine, I'm interested to see what's going to happen to her in book two based on the ending of the book! 

Mirabella. Personally, I kinda think she has it the best, she has her power. Sure the priestesses have her guarded and everything, but she isn't treated quite how the other two are, and like I said, she's all powerful and everything. Perhaps too powerful in ratio to the other girls, although there is a reason! I guess I just root for the underdog, or in this case underdogs. I really didn't warm to her. I wasn't too sure about her in the beginning, she was bigged up as being the most powerful and how she was totally going to win and become Queen and she seemed kind of haughty and everything. I thought I might grow to like her but then something happened that just made me irritated. The Joseph thing. I actually had to poll Twitter to check it just wasn't me that was bugged by it and put off of both characters. Like I was thinking it might have been me having a problem with it for personal reasons but apparently not! 

Now I need to talk about the Joseph thing and there will be SPOILERS for this paragraph. When we first met him, I really liked him. I really liked Jules even though I thought it was strange that we got such a lot of her when she wasn't one of the Queens. I shipped Jules and Joseph really badly. But then the thing happened. The thing that made me latch on to Katharine and Petyr because I needed some form of romance to get over the horrible situation with Joseph. I'm not sure if I was supposed to start shipping Joseph and Mirabella or what, but I know it's going to bug me to another level if in the next book there's some huge thing between them. I really didn't like the scene with Mirabella and Joseph. I know why it happened and if you read the book I'm sure you'll know what I'm talking about, it's technically Arsinoe's fault, you could say. But at the same time, it felt like it was randomly popped in there. I wasn't expecting it at all. It bugged me. Sure he was delirious in the beginning but then he wasn't, and he really wasn't the second time. He comes back and he begs forgiveness from Jules and so on. But then it happens again. Then there's the tent scene and my heart broke for Jules. And then there's the end. Yet again Joseph and Mirabella like to irritating magnets go towards each other. Joseph really started to piss me off at this point, and his character will forever be marred now. I don't think he can be redeemed. After the events of the Disembarking he gets all pissy at Jules. I was not having that. She lost control and she had every right to be so hurt and heartbroken that she couldn't control things properly. Yet he's all accusing. HOT DAMN I wanted to punch him in the face. I was totally done with him at that point and then at the end he's all "I'll never leave her again" and I was like sure dude. Until Mirabella shows up again and then off you'll trot and repeat your past behaviour. Like go away you stupid sod. I know it's going to happen in the next book and keep happening, and they'll probably end up together and ugh. I can't be dealing with it. It pissed me off so damn much! I just want Jules to be happy you guys! 

SPOILERS CONTINUE because that wasn't the end of the cheating. I don't know what it was about it. Like usually I'd be like "oooh drama" and I'd be raving about how it livened up the book, but the author got me so damn attached to Jules that I couldn't be anything but irritated at Joseph's behaviour. I was even more angry at Madrigal though. All I'm going to say is that her sister raised Jules when she couldn't be bothered to do it herself. She took Jules punishment so Jules could carry on living her life. And then Madrigal goes and does what she does. HELL NO SISTER. I'm 99% sure she's used some freaky magic. And I'm really hoping I'm right otherwise I'm going to lose all faith in romance in this book. ALL FAITH. 

So. Anyway. I loved Katharine, Arsinoe and Jules. I loved the friendship between Jules and Arsinoe as previously stated. I got on board with Katharine's romance because I needed something to counteract the bad romance. The other things I enjoyed about the book? The supporting characters, other than Jules we had Billy. I loved him for everything he tried to do for Arsinoe, his friend, and I'm kind of hoping that might develop in to a romance....I need someone to get a happy romance okay. I liked Natalia, she wasn't all soft and fluffy with Katharine but she did care for her. I loved Jules family and how they looked after Arsinoe. The author really created characters and brought them to life, and you could see how the characters that raised the girls influenced who they became. There where plenty of secondary characters you love to hate, Genevieve for one. And Madrigal. Idiotic Joseph....and so on. The Priestesses too! *growls* 

I need to also mention the world of the book, I was really intrigued by it and it's existence with the mainland. I thought the author created the world very vividly and the world sucked me in and I was so curious to know more about it and it's history. I also enjoyed the whole government/religion struggle going on. I didn't really like the Priestesses so wrong or right, I was kinda rooting for the Council, sorry guys! 

Now what I didn't like, aside from the abundance of cheating, randomly shoved in or otherwise....I felt like the book was kind of slow. I kept reading because I was intrigued to see what would happen and the book got really good towards the end. But like I said previously, I was expecting an action packed Hunger Gamesy book with battles or whatever going on, and I didn't get that BUT this book has set the next book up for that. It introduced us to the Queens, it showed us their motivations, and it kicked things off ready for the forthcoming battle. I think there where some things that could have been cut out to streamline it down, but while it was slow, I get that this book was an introduction and I was probably influenced slightly by the preconceptions I had about it. I enjoyed the authors writing and she drops a massive bombshell at the end that changes everything. Like as soon as I saw a certain sentence I had to sit and mull it over for like 5 minutes after it hit me. Then I read the last few sentences and it was confirmed and I again, had to sit and mull over the implications. It genuinely changes everything and I'm really excited to see what's going to happen in the next book after this revelation! 

June TBR

Hey guys! 

It's TBR time again! First up I've got to own up...I didn't finish all the books from my May TBR! I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm struggling to sit and read, I'm procrastinating all the time and doing every thing else but reading! So I epically failed, basically. The books I didn't get read will hopefully get read this month as well..but..we'll see! This month is all review books again, I'm trying to get on top of things and sort all my review books nice and early! 

I'm re-reading Of Mice and Men this month as my classic because it's the only other thin classic I have! And I need a thin classic because I have so much other stuff to read! I'm looking forward to diving in to all the books though, I've got some brilliant reads! 

Of Mice and Men

I read this back at school, and I completely loved it, and seeing as I need a short classic for this month...again...I thought I'd give this a re-read! Especially as I feel  like I'll be able to appreciate this book even more now! 

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows

The time is here. With this month, my re-read of Harry Potter is over! I'm actually really gutted that it's over to be honest, I've really been enjoying re-reading the books! I've just watched the movies over and over for so long and so finally re-reading the books has been brilliant! I'm excited to re-read The Battle of Hogwarts in all its glory. 

The War Against The Assholes

Okay so I'm excited to read this! It sounds completely awesome, fun, humorous and full of magic! It's a contemporary fantasy and it looks to be a fantastic debut. 

This book follows Mike, a student at an unprestigious Catholic school in Manhattan. He usually solves his problems with brawn rather than his brains. One day his school friend convinces him to read a mysterious book with an unknown authorship, The Calendar of Slights. The book appears to be a guide to performing clever card tricks. But it's actually a test for recruiting new members to join a secret cell of magicians. Radical magicians. Mike passes with flying colours, unlocking his potential magic powers. That's not the only thing he unlocks, he also unlocks the door to New York City's vast and hidden underground network of warlocks, sorcerers and mages. Mikes role as a soldier is about to begin. You see, a war is being waged between rivalling factions of magicians that has spanned the ages. 

Three Dark Crowns

I'm excited to read this, not going to lie, I love a bit of fantasy and this sounds brilliant! 

Every single generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each a possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomach ache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions. But becoming the Queen Crowned isn't solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it, and it's not just a game of win or lose....it's life or death. The night they turn 16, the battle begins and the last queen standing gets the crown. If only it where that simple. 

This Savage Song

This is one of my most anticipated reads of the year! I am SUCH a V. E. Schwab fangirl! It also sounds completely freaking awesome, it's a dark urban fantasy and the first in a duology! 

There's no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. A city in which a young woman and a young man are going to have to choose between becoming heroes..or villains. Friends...or enemies. Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city- a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent-but he's one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who's just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and sent home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August's secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives. 

Soldier

Aaaanndddd I can finally dig in to the third book in one of my favourite series, by one of my favourite authors! I've been waiting on this for ages, and I'm excited to finally get to it! I'm not going to say much about this book specifically because you know...third book and spoilers! But this book is all about Ember, she's a dragon and she's supposed to join the dragon organization Talon, but she falls for a soldier who hunts dragons and gets involved with a rogue dragon...so it's not going to end well! 

The Crown's Game

Another cracking fantasy for my TBR this month! I'm on the blog tour for this as well so be sure to check back here on the 27th! 

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash in to gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters- the only two in Russia- and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side. And so he initiates the Crown's Game, an ancient duel of magical skill - the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar's most respected adviser. The defeated sentenced to death. Vika is eager to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg, but can she kill another enchanter? Especially when his magic calls to her like nothing ever has? Nikolai is an orphan and the Crown's Game is the chance of a lifetime but his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with- beautiful, whip smart, imaginative- and he can't stop thinking about her. And when Pasha, Nikolai's best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love, or be killed himself. 

Nevernight

So yeah...it's a pretty good summer for Fantasy am I right?! And this is the first in a brand new series and...it sounds a liiiitttllee bit awesome! 

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family. Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father's failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father's former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined. Now Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic - The Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she'll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church's halls, the bloody secrets of Mia's past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves. 

So there we have it! My TBR for the month! Plus And I Darken, The Power of Dark and A Gathering of Shadows which I didn't get done this month! What's on your TBR for the month?