The Bone Witch Review

Spoiler Free

Summary from Goodreads:
"When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.
In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha — one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice."

I've been trying to read all the books on my kindle to make it easier to travel light and I decided to try out The Bone Witch as it sounded very intriguing to me.

First question: Is Tea's name pronounced like the beverage tea or like Tey-uh? I wasn't sure and kept switching between the two as I was reading.

Like halfway through the book they tell you it's pronounced Tey-uh.

I found this book to have a slow plot, but overall a good read. I saw on Goodreads that a lot of people were unable to finish the book because of how slow it was and that's understandable if you don't have much patience for long set ups. However, I ended up really enjoying The Bone Witch.

The world that the book is written in is incredibly intriguing and a diverse one. There are many long descriptions though about the food and dress of characters, as well as the daily occurrences in the city. You really enjoy this culture rich world though where people literally wear their hearts around their necks and magic is a daily part of their lives. The heartsglass concept, where their heart is a sort of magic filled necklace, was really interesting and the importance/significance of giving it away was cool and well done.

I would absolutely love to be an asha. They're some kick-butt women who are powerful, beautiful, and talented in a wide variety of skills. You'll look up to them and start yearning to be like them. The powers are so interesting and how much training they have to go through is amazing!

This book also features some challenging established gender roles and traditions, which is great to see. Hopefully it's developed more in the next book, because I would love to see a female Deathseeker! (They're the highly trained warriors who at this point have to be men).

Again I have to say the plot is very slow. It's a lot of training and Tea learning about the asha world. It's a little excessive on the descriptions and is a lot of background information. I did really enjoy young Tea, but I think the older her that we see is more interesting and action filled.

I think the next book will be better on having more plot and this was a lot of important background to know, but it's difficult when it's 90% of the book. It really just felt like a build up book and I think a lot of people will give up before then. The writing can also be a little abrupt at times where it doesn't flow too well, but the creativity of the world and its magic will help distract you from that so you don't notice it as much.

Overall, this book was good. The series has a lot of potential and by the end I really enjoyed learning about how much power Tea could have and what she'll do with it. It's a great set up for the next book, but you just have to power through all the extensive details given. In the middle I wasn't sure I'd want to read the sequel, but by the end I really wanted to know what would happen next.

The Bone Witch comes out March 7!

Favorite Edinburgh Bookstores

My favorite part about exploring Edinburgh is discovering all the great bookstores here. I keep finding more and wanting to buy books from them. I'm trying to restrain myself but when a bookstore has a great atmosphere, sometimes I just can't help myself.

Here are some of my favorite ones that I've discovered!

Blackwell's

Just a five minute walk from the center of my campus, Blackwell's is highly recommended for buying your schoolbooks. It might be a full-priced chain bookstore, but it's nevertheless fantastic. I walked in and it just has a great clean vibe. It's well-stocked and has a Caffè Nero attached to it so you can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee while you read your recent purchases. While I adore secondhand bookstores, you can't help but admit that bookstores like Blackwell's are more likely to have what you're searching for and it will be much easier to find it.

Word Power Books

Word Power Books is basically two minutes away from the center of my campus and I walked by it numerous times before I got the chance to check it out. I adore Russian literature and I often saw in the windows books about Russian history and a beautiful copy of Doctor Zhivago, which I'd read while I was in Russia. I eventually walked in one morning when I was early for class and it's a fascinating and powerful store. The majority of its books are about activism and social change. I saw many feminist books and copies of The Communist Manifesto. It's an independent bookstore that's still full-priced, but you want to give it money as it's fighting against Amazon's takeover of bookselling. To feel inspired and motivated, check this bookstore out.

Till's Bookshop

Till's Bookshop is located on my trek back to my dorm from classes. The bookshelves go all the way to the ceiling and are packed full with books. I haven't had the chance to check out the shelves here as much, but it's a great secondhand store that you can spend hours at just staring at all the books.

Old Town Bookshop

Old Town Bookshop is located on my favorite street in Edinburgh, Victoria Street. Some people say the street inspired Diagon Alley and it has many other great stores to check out. There weren't as many books here that I wanted to check out, but in the back are some great old prints of Scotland. It also has that amazing tiny bookstore feel where you want to be quiet and gaze up at the full towering shelves. You'll feel incredibly scholarly here.

Armchair Books

Now Armchair Books is my favorite. It has a great selection for a secondhand bookstore and I cannot believe how the owners keep it organized. Everything is correctly sorted by author, something really difficult when the shelves look like this:

This is the bookstore to drool over: filled to the brim and giving off a warm homey vibe. The light fixtures are superb in adding to that effect and then you have the old rugs below you. It's the most idyllic bookstore I've ever been in. Yeah there are numerous bookstores that fill their walls to the top, but this one remains organized where you don't feel like you're in chaos. The great atmosphere makes you want to search every inch of these shelves though so you're still hunting through and able to stumble upon something great.

I can't wait to discover more here, even though they're so dangerous to my wallet!

What's the best bookstore you've ever been to? Tell me the story of how you found it!

You Before Anyone Else Review

Spoiler Free!

Summary from Goodreads:
"Model Finley needs someone to help her shed her "good girl" persona, so she'll try Eddie on for size.
New York City model Finley is fed up with hearing the same feedback at castings: she needs to take some serious action to wipe the "good girl" stamp from her resume if she wants to launch to stardom.
Enter Eddie Wells. He's shallow, predictable…and just as lost as Finley feels. Deep down, Finley is drawn to Eddie's bravado, his intensity. Except Eddie is hiding something. A big something. And when it surfaces, both loving and leaving Finley will become so much harder."

You Before Anyone Else by Julie Cross and Mark Perini is good. It honestly depends on what you're into. If you really enjoy contemporary romances that don't have huge emotional endings, I think you'd really like this book. While I enjoy contemporaries, they aren't my favorite genre and so they have to really stand out to make them great in my mind.

This book was good in that I was happy with the characters and the ending. The ending didn't go exactly as I expected, but I was happy with the decisions of the characters and thought it to be the best way to go.

The characters are also just good. It's a healthy romance where the Eddie and Finley are supportive of each other. They were also communicative which was so great to see. When Eddie's secret was revealed, Finley did freak out a little but she also waited for an explanation and actually heard it out. It didn't add unnecessary drama which I really appreciated.

However, that made it a little unrealistic in my opinion too. Finley suddenly had a lot of pressure on her shoulders and I would have freaked the f out or been like nuh uh that is way too much to handle. She's a little too much of a great girlfriend...

I also didn't really like Finley's roommate Summer, but I'm not sure exactly if I needed to. She wasn't too big of a character and didn't influence Finley much. Se wasn't a great character but I don't think it affected the actual story so I don't feel obligated to have an opinion on her. She wasn't enough of a focus for me to gain real feelings for her.

It's not the best writing in my opinion, but there isn't anything too negative I can say or think of and I would consider it a solid book. It's super easy and fun to read so I found myself enjoying it. It won't go under one of my favorites, but I don't regret reading it and I'd recommend it to people who enjoy contemporary romances.

Empire of Storms Review

Heads up this will be a LONG review! I have lots of thoughts and feelings so I'm sharing it all. This also means that there will be spoilers, sorry!

For those of you who don't know, Empire of Storms is the fifth book in Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series.

Summary taken from Goodreads:
"The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't.
As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.
Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?"

Alright so since this isn't the final book we all know that Aelin does not succeed just yet. Instead, we'll be left on a cliffhanger unsure of what will happen next. Sarah succeeded in that and I am eagerly waiting for the next book. However while this was once my favorite series, I have developed a couple of issues with it.

So this book was LONG and filled with many different characters. A lot is happening in it and it's a little much in my opinion. Chaol isn't in this book at all. Dorian will not be referenced for long lengths of time. And then it felt like romance took the stage more in this book. Every character is being set up with another. Dorian's purpose in this book was literally just his awkward chemistry with Manon and then occasionally a little about his magic. Sorry if you disagree with me, but I was not a fan of Dorian and Manon. I really didn't care about it and I felt like it was there to just make them more relevant so they could have their own chapters occasionally.

Also all the people being paired up are all straight couples. Yes there are occasional references to being accepting of same sex couples, but all of the main characters are being placed into straight relationships. It's Rowan and Aelin, Dorian and Manon, Aedion and Lysandra, Lorcan and Elide. It was way too much setting all these up. I was just like, "Okay so everybody magically finds their significant other in this group and they're all straight?"

People say it wasn't enough for J.K. Rowling to just say Dumbledore was gay and I understand that. However, Harry Potter was written at a time where people weren't as aware of when things were problematic. They would just go along with the established social roles and not realize they should be changed. I'll admit I didn't realize when relationships that they were abusive, it took people saying, "No that's not okay to treat a woman like that" where I realized the issues and became more aware. I feel like Sarah is writing at a time where we have acknowledged that we need to do better and include more representation, but I don't think she's taken that extra step. There are no main characters in a queer relationship and I think Sarah could've done better. I saw Manon as being bi and since I don't feel her and Dorian, I originally shipped her with Elide. Hopefully the next book is better?

Also I'm a privileged white woman, if you ever see me being problematic please tell me! I might be completely ignorant and not realize it. If you explain to me what I'm saying or doing wrong and why it's wrong, I will do my best to adjust my behavior.

So I was a fan of Lorcan and Elide I'll admit, but I was still annoyed by everybody being matched up. This book also became VERY mature. A straight up sex scene occurred here. Now I'm a more mature reader and I enjoy books of an older level, but I still have an issue with it. I worked in a library and this series was originally in the Young Adult section, not the Teen. However, this book just ramped up that rating. I would even be hesitant to place it in Teen. Personally I think Sarah should have stayed consistent with the age level because many readers of the first few books are probably still a little young for Empire of Storms. It makes it difficult for libraries and booksellers because now you have to move the entire series up when the first few books were okay. This is just from my library experience though so if it didn't affect you, you can feel differently if you want.

Okay one more slightly negative feeling about this book before I get to the good stuff.

The third book, Heir of Fire, was the best in my opinion. I was so inspired about Celaena reaching rock bottom and being so depressed, but pulling herself back up and growing truly extraordinary to become Aelin. It was a lot about personal growth and managing grief that it was when I truly fell in love with the story. Queen of Shadows and Empire of Storms did not give me this feeling nearly as much. I no longer was overcome with inspiration and motivation to overcome my own struggles. I'll still feel an inkling of it occasionally, but never to that same extent. While still a great series, you can't help feeling disappointed when it's not as good as a previous book.

Despite all of these aspects of the book that I didn't necessarily enjoy, I continue to love this series.

Rowan and Aelin are absolute perfection and their support and love for each other never fails. It's so wonderful and when they're separated your heart wrenches right with them. I also enjoy how if you've read all the books and the prequel, you see everything come together. There's life debts from long ago being paid and interconnecting storylines.

There are so many amazingly strong women in this series too. It's awesome that you see them holding such positions of power and respect. Sarah nails it in having powerful woman and she's not afraid to make the series dark either. There's a lot of traumatic experiences that occur. Aelin's experience as a slave especially is never forgotten and continues to be a burden for her. When she's whipped at the end and headed to Maeve's dungeons, you know it's bringing back those horrible memories.

I think Sarah creates amazing characters, but she creates too many of them. I want to know the stories about all of the characters, but the book is spread too thin where there's too many characters to give them the proper time. I want to know about Darrow, Aelin's uncle's lover. Also for example, where the heck was Chaol during this book?

She actually recently released a statement saying there'll be a book dedicated to Chaol's activities so I'm a little appeased. Empire of Storms was already 700 pages, I understand it would have been insane to add another storyline.

This book was still great and kept me addicted towards the very end. Then I was crying and screaming at how she left it. Despite this, there are still a couple problematic things I saw and I think could've been done better. It's not perfect, but still a fun read to really dive into.