Romance – Page 7 – World of Bai

Book Review: “Caraval” By Stephanie Garber

I am really bad at reading fantasy books and so I am trying to find some that intrigue me that I can start reading. Yes, this means I am taking recommendations for books that give off the same vibes as this one. I only picked this one up because I saw it on Scribd and I needed something new to read at night so I assumed I would be reading this for quite some time but to my surprise I devoured this book!

“Every person has the power to change their fate if they are brave enough to fight for what they desire more than anything.”
Stephanie Garber, Caraval

About The Book

Author: Stephanie Garber

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Published Date: January 31st, 2017

Page Count: 407 Pages

Main Genres: Fantasy, YA, Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.00

Format: Ebook

“Some things are worth pursuit regardless of the cost.”“Whatever you’ve heard about Caraval, it doesn’t compare to the reality. It’s more than just a game or performance. It’s the closest you’ll ever find yourself magic in this world.”
Stephanie Garber, Caraval

Synopsis

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“She imagined loving him would feel like falling in love with darkness, frightening and consuming yet utterly beautiful when the stars came out.”
Stephanie Garber, Caraval

Rating

Review

This book will definitely be making it in my top ten books of this year! I was so blown away by the first chapter that it was hard to put down.

I really cared about the characters in this book. I feel like everyone had such a tragic backstory that kept you wanting to learn more. I really loved Scarlett, our main character, she was determined to make a better life for her and her sister Tella, so determined that she would do anything to make it happen. She really proves herself throughout the entire book and you can tell she truly loves her sister. I also think her character development was fantastic!

I had my suspicions about how the book was going to end within the first few chapters and boy was I wrong! This book really kept me on my toes and had many twists and turns that kept me glued to the pages! I have already ordered the rest of the series and I can’t wait to start reading them.

“Whatever you’ve heard about Caraval, it doesn’t compare to the reality. It’s more than just a game or performance. It’s the closest you’ll ever find yourself magic in this world.”
Stephanie Garber, Caraval

QOTD: Waat is a beginner friendly fantasy series?

Book Review: “Lovelight Farms” By B.K. Borison

My first book that I finished this month feels very fitting as we have gotten quite a bit of snow so the mood just felt right. This is a book I have been dying to get my hands on for months and I am glad I saved it till now. I really am hoping to read more Christmas / Holiday books before the end of the year, so fingers crossed.

“I’m going to love her in all the quiet ways, the slow ways, the loud and obnoxious ways.”
B.K. Borison, Lovelight Farms

About The Book

Author: B.K. Borison

Publisher: Self Published

Published Date: November 10th, 2021

Page Count: 401 Pages

Main Genres: Romance, Holiday, Contemporary

GoodReads Rating: 4.17

Format: Audio

“We should remember those who have left us with fondness. Speaking of them keeps their memory alive.”
B.K. Borison, Lovelight Farms

Synopsis

A pasture of dead trees. A hostile takeover of the Santa barn by a family of raccoons. And shipments that have mysteriously gone missing. Lovelight Farms is not the magical winter wonderland of Stella Bloom’s dreams.

In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, she enters a contest with instafamous influencer Evelyn St. James. With the added publicity and the $100,000 cash prize, she might just be able to save the farm from its financial woes. There’s just one problem. To make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on the application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only … there is no boyfriend.

Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just came home for some hot chocolate, and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“Leaning on other people doesn’t make your achievements any less yours, La La. You can trust me to help you carry the load. You don’t have to do all of this alone. I know you can take of yourself. You’ve been doing that as long as I’ve known you. But let me hold your hand while you do it, okay?”
B.K. Borison, Lovelight Farms

Rating

“It’s hard to love someone without restraint. To give yourself over to the swell and pull of it without fear of what might happen. I think it’s only natural to hold a part of yourself back and protect what you can.”
B.K. Borison, Lovelight Farms

Review

I feel like I have seen this book being reviewed left and right on bookstagram lately due to the holiday season and I am so glad I decided to read it too. Honestly I have not seen any bad reviews for this book and I now know why.

I am a huge friends to lovers fan and this book didn’t hold back! This could be a possible spoiler but I could have lived without the small tiff at the end, it really wasn’t needed and it was just one big misunderstanding. I just wanted them to be continuously happy. However, would it really be a romance book without some misunderstanding right at the end?

I would also call this book a bit of a found family story. The farm she built with her new friends turned out to be wonderful and even though they go through some bumps in the road her friends back her up and offer their support. This was probably my favorite part of the book. There’s just something about found family that pulls at my heart strings.

I am so excited to read the rest of B.K. Borison’s books, if they are anything like this one I know I will be obsessed! I highly recommend picking this one up for a last minute holiday read.

“And isn’t it silly, to love the way someone’s things look like next to yours? Little bits and pieces of a life lived in parallel.”
B.K. Borison, Lovelight Farms

QOTD: What Holiday books have you read and loved?

Book Review: “It Starts With Us” By Colleen Hoover

“It Ends With Us” Is my all time favorite book so when I heard she was releasing a sequel in Atlas’s perspective I immediately pre ordered the book. Actually, I ordered two copies to be exact, Apparently I was more excited for this boo than I knew. Even though I ordered two copies of this book I ended up listening to it on audio while I was working because I needed to know what happened! Lets get down to my thoughts.

“I can draw a seedling with two tiny branches. Yours and mine. We’ll be on our own brand-new, tiny family tree—one that starts with us.”
Colleen Hoover, It Starts with Us

About The Book

Author: Colleen Hoover

Publisher: Atria Books

Published Date: October 18th, 2022

Page Count: 336 Pages

Main Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 4,25

Format: Audio

“She’s my person, and I am hers, and that’s something I’ve known since the first week we met.”
Colleen Hoover, It Starts with Us

Synopsis

Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.

But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.

Synopsis from Goodreads

“My choice helped me realize that sometimes the hardest decisions a person can make will most likely lead to the best outcomes.”
Colleen Hoover, It Starts with Us

Rating

Review

Atlas and Lily have my whole heart! This book was everything that I hoped it would be plus more! These are my comfort books.

I am happy I chose to listen to this on audio because having the dual perspectives with a cast really adds to the perfection of this book. With that said, I am already wanting to reread this but with the physical copy. I just can’t get enough of their story!

This book showed a lot of character development of all the characters, I think everyone in this book really grew up from the first one. This was something that made me love this book just slightly more than the first one.

I am so happy we got more of Atlas! Getting to know him better and all the things he really had to go through to get to where he is today just made me love him more.

These books will be my favorite romance reads for the rest of my life, I am calling it now! I will forever recommend these to everyone I come across. Please pick these up and send me your thoughts!

“Thank you for being the most comforting part of my life right now. Thank you for always being the beacon I need every time I feel lost. Whether you mean to shine on me or not. I am grateful for you. I’ve missed you. I absolutely should have kissed you.”
Colleen Hoover, It Starts with Us

QOTD: I need a book that will make me cry, send me some recs.

Book Review: “Spin The Dawn” By Elizabeth Lim

I read this book with my small book club of friends and I wasn’t entirely sure of what I was getting myself into other than the fact that this is a Mulan retelling. I am not a huge Mulan fan but this was a pretty cute take on that story.

“You’re used to being underestimated, so you want to prove yourself. Don’t let that be your crutch. Accept help when you need it.”
Elizabeth Lim, Spin the Dawn

About The Book

Author: Elizabeth Lim

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books For Young Readers

Published Date: July 9th, 2019

Page Count: 392

Main Genres: Fantasy, YA, Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.00

“I knew then that we were like two pieces of cloth, sewn together for life. Our stitches couldn’t be undone. I wouldn’t let them.”
Elizabeth Lim, Spin the Dawn

Synopsis

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.

Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.

And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“I’d battled ghosts and touched the stars. I’d climbed a mountain to the moon and conquered the fury of the sun.”
Elizabeth Lim, Spin the Dawn

Rating

Review

I was a little worried to read this book because I am not a big fan of Mulan. However, I really loved the twist to this story. Her being a tailer was a fun story line that was pretty easy to follow along with.

I thought the characters were all very well written and well rounded. You have characters you loved and hated which made you really want Maia to be victorious.

The Romance aspect in this book was probably my favorite part. I think both Maia and Edan are made for each other and I hope things work out for them in the next book.

I rated this book a 3.5 because part two in this book felt really slow to me and made it really hard for me to want to pick the book up and finish it. While most of the romance was in part two and most of the character development, it was just really slow. I am glad I finished the book and the ending made me really want to pick up the next one to see how the story continues but I am not sure I will be doing that anytime soon.

“Seize the wind,” I whispered. “Don’t become the kite that never flies.”
Elizabeth Lim, Spin the Dawn

QOTD: What is your favorite retelling?

Book Review: “Heart Bones” By Colleen Hoover

This month I meant to focus my reading around thrillers so I can start getting into the spooky season vibe. However, I have read two Collen Hoover books instead. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants and you can’t tell it no, what can I say?

“I wonder what kind of upbringing is worse for a human. The kind where you’re sheltered and loved to the point that you aren’t aware of how cruel the world can be until it’s too late to acquire the necessary coping skills, or the kind of household I grew up in. The ugliest version of a family, where coping is the only thing you learn.”
Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones

About The Book

Author: Colleen Hoover

Publisher: Hoover Ink

Published Date: August 19th, 2020

Page Count: 338 Pages

Main Genres: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult

GoodReads Rating: 4.35

“People sometimes still drown in the shallow end,”
Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones

Synopsis

Beyah has been raising herself her whole life, having an absent father and a drug addict for a mother. She has just graduated high school and has a full ride volleyball scholarship to a school in Pennsylvania all due to her own hard work and determination. This scholarship finally gives her the chance to leave her life behind and start over. But when her mother dies at the beginning of the summer she has no where else to turn to except her absent father for a place to stay until school starts.

Her father has a new wife and a step daughter only a few years older than Beyah and this stings but with no where else to go she tries her best to fit in. When she meets the next door hot boy, Samson, they clearly have nothing in common on the surface but quickly learn they both have damaged pasts. Will Beyah find her place in this strange new world and can she truly leave her damaged past behind?

“Sometimes I believe personalities are shaped more by damage than kindness. Kindness doesn’t sink as deep into your skin as the damage does. The damage stains your soul so bad, you can’t scrub it off. It stays there forever, and I feel like people can see all my damage just by looking at me.”
Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones

Rating

Review

This book has been super high on my list to read, mostly because I find the cover absolutely gorgeous! But most importantly the story was really what pulled me in. I read this book over two days and could hardly put it down!

Beyah and Samson just have this natural connection that really makes sense by the end of the book. These two were meant to find each other and I was really wanting them to end up together in the end despite the challenges they go through together. I think they had super great banter even though they are both pretty soft spoken

I also really loved the sisterly bond Beyah and Sara developed over the course of the book. Beyah really needed someone she could trust and talk to and really just become best friends with and Sara helped her with all of those things. This was a very important relationship in this book and honestly one of my favorites.

The pinwheel is a major symbol in this book talking about turnings ones luck around. I have seen many people get the pinwheel tattoo for this book and I was so curious as to why and now it all makes sense. I might be getting one of my own now thanks to this beautiful book!

“I think when you’re the worst of people, finding the worst in others becomes a survival tactic of sorts. You focus heavily on the darkness in people in hopes of masking the true shade of your own darkness”
Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones

QOTD: What is your most meaningful tattoo? If you don’t have one what would you get?

Book Review: “Ugly Love” By Colleen Hoover

This is my third book by Colleen Hoover and to say I am a fan of her writing would be an understatement! So far I have read Verity and It Ends With Us and they were both my top two favorite books! Lets see how Ugly Love stacks up.

“When life gives you lemons, make sure you know whose eyes you need to squeeze them in.”
Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love

About The Book

Author: Colleen Hoover

Publisher: Artia Books

Published Date: August 5th, 2014

Page Count: 337 Pages

Main Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary

GoodReads Rating: 4.23

“Ugly love becomes you. Consumes you. Makes you hate it all. Makes you realize that all the beautiful parts aren’t even worth it. Without the beautiful, you’ll never risk feeling the ugly. So you give it all up. You give it all up. You never want love again, no matter what kind it is, because no type of love will ever be worth living through the ugly love again.”
Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love

Synopsis

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

Synopsis is pulled from Goodreads

“Love isn’t always pretty. Sometimes you spend all your time hoping it’ll eventually be something different. Something better. Then, before you know it, you’re back to square one, and you lost your heart somewhere along the way.”
Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love

Rating

Review

I listened to this book on audio and I typically don’t do full book reviews for audio books but I have all of my other Colleen Hoover books here on my blog so I figured why not?

I convinced my boyfriend to read this book with me and he is still in the middle of the book but I plan on sharing his thoughts as well.

I gave this book 4 stars because the writing was not exactly my favorite compared to Verity and It Ends With Us. I just feel like her earlier books might not be my favorites and I feel like that is to be expected because your writing will really progress the more you write and publish your work.

I feel like my least favorite part was the narrator for Miles. I really didn’t love his voice. However, Miles was my favorite part of the story. His background is so tragic and I can completely understand why his character is so grumpy and sad all the time.

I am a sucker for the grumpy sunshine trope but I wouldn’t quite say that is the trope of this book because Tate is also a grumpy character. I almost wish this was a book only about Miles and Rachel. But it wasn’t and over all Miles and Tate had a complicated love story that in the end I did end up falling in love with.

“I know the thought of confronting your past terrifies you.It terrifies every man. But sometimes we don’t do it ourselves. We do it for the people we love more than ourselves.”
Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love

QOTD: What Colleen Hoover books have you read?