Book Review: Babel by R.F.Kuang left me shaken (in the best way possible)

 Babel by R.F.Kuang left me shaken (in the best way possible)

A brutal, brilliant story of language, empire, and the friendships caught in between.

I just want to start this review by saying: this book made me feel everything. Sadness, anger, joy, frustration- you name it. Babel is heavy in every sense of the word- both in size and in the emotions it stirs up.

I’ll admit: I was intimidated before picking this up. Not just because of the book’s sheer thickness, but also because I’d heard R.F. Kuang’s writing can be very literary and demanding. I worried it might feel too academic or even boring. But wow- I couldn’t have been more wrong. This turned out to be one of the most compelling books I’ve ever read.

I’ve shared my complete thoughts on Babel— including a deeper look at the characters, themes, and why this book stayed with me — on my Substack newsletter.

Read the full essay here: Full Essay

Book Review: Did I Outgrow the Powerless Trilogy? A "Fearless" Review

 Did I Outgrow the Powerless Trilogy? A "Fearless" Review

When a series you love falls flat, is it the book... or is it you?

I went into this series completely in love with Lauren Roberts. The first book, Powerless, hooked me with Lauren Roberts' writing style and each of the characters. Kai and Paedyn's story felt so fresh and exciting.

But now that we've reached the end of the trilogy with Fearless, I have to admit that my feelings have changed. While I still have a soft spot for Lauren, her writing style just doesn't connect with me the way it used to. 

I’ve shared my complete thoughts on Fearless — including a deeper look at the characters, themes, and why this book stayed with me — on my Substack newsletter.

Read the full essay here: Full Essay

Personal Essay: Where is God & Where you can find him?

 To whomever it may concern,

Anything related to God is a heavy yet fascinating topic, not just for me but for many others. Growing up in a religious household—much like almost every other household in India—you witness people going to sacred places in search of God, praying to every deity they can find, some even praying for personal gain. It makes you wonder: how can these people believe so strongly in something they have never seen? What drives their faith? What do they hope to gain from it? Peace? But is peace truly attainable in this life?

Is it wealth? How can one expect to gain money without putting in the effort to work? Is it success in exams? Can someone pass an exam without studying? Is it marriage? If a person struggles to find a good partner, is it impossible to live alone? And if not, why not explore marriage websites instead of seeking divine intervention at a temple?

I’ve shared my complete thoughts on this subject — including a deeper look at the themes, and why this thought stayed with me — on my Substack newsletter.

Read the full essay here: Full Essay

Book Review: From Blood & Ash

From Blood & Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Quote: 

"You would not like my answer, nor would you understand. Neither would I expect you to. Take this as a much-needed lesson, Penellaphe. Some truths do nothing but destroy and decay what they do not obliterate. Truths do not always sets one free. Only a fool who has spent their entire life being fed lies believes that."

Book Review: A Novel Love Story

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

Quote:  

"Because even after the people were gone, there were still stories. There were always stories. Other people took the heart of her books, and kept them close, and nurtured them and grew into something new, because nothing could ever stay in stasis. Nothing ever stopped. Nothing was permanent. Art lived and breathed, like love, like friendship. Life-like works of art-was transformative. It persisted. And through them, so did we."

Book Review: Fourth Wing

 

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Quote:  "If they need a fucking pep talk, then we both know they're not flying out of the quadrant on graduation day. Let's get real. I can hold their hands and make them a bunch of bullshit empty promises about everyone making it through if that helps them sleep, but in my experience, the truth is far more valuable. In war, people die. It's not glorious like the bards sing about, either. It's snapped necks and two-hundred-foot falls: There's nothing romantic about scorched earth or the scent of sulfur. This isn't some fable where everyone makes it out alive. It's hard, cold, uncaring reality. Not everyone here is going to make it home... to whatever's left of our homes. And make no mistake, we are at war every time we step foot in the quadrant. So if you won't get your shit together and fight to live, then no. You're not going to make it."

Book Review: Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment #2)

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

Quote: 

 "But I must remind myself that sometimes we write for ourselves and sometimes we write for others. And sometimes those lines blur when we least expect them to. Whenever such happened in my past... I remember that I have only been strengthened by it."

Book Review: Reckless by Lauren Roberts

 

Reckless by Lauren Roberts

Quote: 

"Tell me you hate me, and I'll still count every heartbeat, every freckle, every shiver of your body, only if you say it with a smile. I may be a monster, but if you cut me, I'll bleed. And if you break my heart, Pae, you'll break me. So, if even a silver of your soul longs for mine, I'll spend the rest of my life trying to deserve it."  

Book Review: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Quote: 

"I think we all wear armor. I think those who don't are fools risking the pain of being wounded by the sharp edges of the world, over and over again. But if I've learned anything from those fools, it's that to be vulnerable is a strength most of us fear. It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see as you are. Sometimes I feel the same as you: I can't risk having people behold me as I truly am. But there's also a small voice in the back of my mind, a voice that tells me, "You will miss so much by being so guarded." 

Perhaps it begins with one person. Someone you trust. You remove a piece of armor for them; you let the light stream in, even if it makes you wince. Perhaps that is how you learn to be soft yet strong, even in fear and uncertainty. One person, one piece of steel."

Book Review: Powerful "A Heart-Wrenching Novella"

 

Powerful by Lauren Roberts

Quote: 

"She is an intoxicating sort of exhausting, like running until you've lost your breath but enjoying the feeling all the while. And I feel as though I've been sprinting for days. Even worse, I fear that I am, in fact, beginning to enjoy her."   

 

Blurb:   Adena and Paedyn have always been inseparable. Fate brought them together when they were young, but friendship ensured they would always protect each other and the home they built in the slums of Loot. But now Paedyn - an Ordinary - has been selected for the Purging Trials, which means almost certain death.

Now alone in Loot, Adena must fend for herself. After attempting to steal, it's a mysterious man from the market who comes to her rescue. Mak's shadowy past and secretive power set him apart from the other low- level Elites of Loot. And as the pair team up to see their loved ones before the Trials, the quest tests their loyalty, their love, and their lives. 

Shatter Me #1 by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Quote: 

“I spent my life folded between the pages of books. In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”

 

Blurb: A fragile teenage girl is held captive. Locked in a cell by The Reestablishment, a harsh dictatorship in change of a crumbling world. But Juliette is no ordinary teenager - one touch from her can kill. 

The Reestablishment wants to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has other plans. After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovered the strength to fight back - and to find a future with the one person she thought she'd lost forever... 

Book Review: A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart #3)

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

Quote: "She'd been wrong before. Her life hadn't been full of moments leading to the Valory Arch. Every moment of everything had brought her to this place. It had taken all the heartbreak, all the almost love and the wrong love, to know that this love was true love."

Blurb: Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after. 

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She's married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she paid for this fairytale. She doesn't know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out... but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy. 

Book Review: The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart #2)

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

Quote: "I think there's a happy ending for everyone. But I don't think these endings always follow the last page of a book, or that everyone is guaranteed to find their happily ever after. Happy endings can be caught, but they are difficult to hold on to. They are dreams that want to escape the night. They are treasure with wings. They are wild, feral, reckless things that need to be constantly chased, or they will certainly run away." 

Blurb: After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she'll never trust him again. Now that she's discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away. 

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Except this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn't the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline's life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she's not sure she can...

Book Review: Once Upon a Broken Heart #1

 

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Quote: "It wasn't that long ago that I saw you in my church, willing to promise me almost anything to make the pain stop. Was that a lie? Or have you already forgotten the way heartbreak rips apart the soul piece by piece, how it turns you into a masochist, making you long for the thing that just eviscerated you until there's nothing left of you to be destroyed?"

Blurb: For as long as she can remember, Evangaline Fox has believed in happily ever after. Until she learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, and her dreams are shattered. 

Desperate to stop the wedding, and heal wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing. 

But after Evangeline's first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game - and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy.

Book Review: Powerless by Lauren Roberts

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

Quote: "He's devastating. Everything about him is stunning and sharp and stealing my breath away. But it's the way he's looking at me that suddenly makes swallowing seem like a struggle, breathing seem like a chore. I've never been looked at like it's a privilege to be in my presence,, an honor to hold my gaze, a gift to get a glimpse of me. Not until I met him." 

Blurb: The Elites have possessed powers for decades, gifted to them by the Plague, while those born Ordinary are just that, banished from the kingdom of Ilya and shunned from society.

No one knows this better than Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary posing as a Psychic to blend in with the Elites. When she unsuspectingly saves one of Ilya's princes, Kai Azer, she's thrown into the Purging Trials, a brutal competition showcasing the Elite's powers. 

If the Trials and the opponents within them don't kill her, the prince she's fighting feelings for will if he discovers what Paedyn is... completely Ordinary. 

Book Review: Crooked Kingdom (Book II of Six of Crows Duology)

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Quote: "They don't know who we are. Not really. They don't know what we've done, what we've managed together. So let's go show them they picked the wrong damn fight."

Blurb: Kaz Brekker and his crew pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're fighting for their lives. Double crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies and hope.

As old rivals and new enemies descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of jurda parem- a dangerous substance capable of altering the very fabric of Grisha magic- Kaz's cunning and his team's fragile loyalty are tested to their limit. 

A war will be waged within the city's dark and twisting streets- a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the future of magic and the fate of the world. 

My Personal Views: Now, now before you come onto me about why I gave this book a 4 star when I gave the first book- Six of Crows- five stars. Well, let me tell you it is not at all because I found the storyline a bit crappy or predictable (Heck, it was anything but predictable) or I didn't like the characters or anything, it is not at all because of any of these reasons yet I still have a pretty good reason for it. 

I really don't know how to tell you this reason without a spoiler hence, I will give a BIG SPOILER WARNING here. One of the crows dies. Yes, you read it right. One of the crows dies. 

BIG SPOILER WARNING ENDS

And how much disappointing to read it was- I can not tell this to you enough. Major disappointment of the Grishaverse. Now, I am not one of those people who would be put-off because of this in a book but I just felt like it was not necessary there, not at all. I get that sometimes you need to throw your readers off and challenge them with the storylines but I don't know, man, it was just disappointing to read. 

Leigh Bardugo is an excellent writer, she is just fabulous however nah, this was- to simply put it- a major turn off for me in the Grishaverse. If I knew this would be happening in the second book, I would have NEVER picked it up to read. 

Anyways, moving on, the plot was fine. As you must have got it from my- Six of Crows review, I have become a fan of the crows so each scene with the crows was so good. The chemistry between the ships was amazing, the badasses were being just that- badasses. And each character is just so cool. 

The crows made me crack each time with their wits, sometimes they made me feel like smacking them on the face and sometimes shout "SO COOL" on top of my lungs to them and sometimes (especially in this book) made me cry my eyes out. 

I don't know what is going to happen to the crows in the future, if they will get a third book or not but if they do get a third book, I am sure I would be picking it up to read only after doing all my research about it because I can't have my heartbroken by the Grishaverse a second time. 

Ratings: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

Book Review: Six of Crows

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Quote: "He needed to tell her... what? That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. That he was twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn't pull himself together into some semblance of a man for her. That without meaning to, he'd begun to lean on her, to look for her, to need her near." 

Blurb: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price —and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone.

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

My Personal Views: Brilliant writing, captivating plot, amazing characters. I don't think any praise in the world can explain my fascination and love for this book. Oh. My. God. I feel like screaming about this book on top of my lungs and recommend it to every person that I know. All the praises that I have heard about this one are not enough.

READ THIS BOOK, KID. READ. THIS. GODDAMN. BOOK. You will thank me later.

Coming to the amazing plot and the well-written story line, it was just awesome and so badass. Heck, even each and every character was so badass. I am so in love with each crow, especially Kaz. He is morally grey but cool. 

Love, love, and love all the ships in the Book. Kaz & Inej, Matthias & Nina and Jesper & Wylan. They are so adorable together and each couple has these power scenes together. I love it!

The scenes, the dialogues, the writing, the plot, everything is so thoroughly planned, that it is so shocking to see how can a human write and have this super amazing imagination?? Hats off to Leigh Bardugo, truly. She has created this world and these awesomely-cool characters that I have become a fan, heck, I think every person who has read Six of Crows has become a fan.

The slow burn between Kaz & Inej, the enemies-to-lovers trope between Nina & Matthias, the funny romance between Jesper & Wylan is so cute. And ohmygod the ANGST!!! So amazing.

The Grishaverse is everything and nothing like how I imagined. 

Now, onto the second book of the series! <3

Ratings: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

Book Series Review: The Folk of the Air

The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black 

[Book 1: The Cruel Prince]

[Book 2: The Wicked King]

[Book 3: The Queen of Nothing]

Quote: "It's you I love. I spent much of my life guarding my heart. I guarded it so well that I could behave as though I didn't have one at all. Even now, it is a shabby, worm-eaten, and scabrous thing. But it is yours." 

Plot: The Folk of the Air series consists of three main books (in order)- The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King and The Queen of Nothing and two spin off's- The Lost Sisters & How the King of Elfhame Learned to hate stories.

This is a young adult fantasy fiction series which follows the life of Jude Duarte, a mortal girl who gets thrown into the world of magic and faeries. And about the Faerie prince Cardan Greenbriar, who is hell-bent on making Jude's life difficult. 

The Series is filled with betrayal, hate, revenge and political power with the enemy-to-lovers trope. 

My Personal Views: The Folk of the Air series is filled with characters that you are bound to fall in love with, let me tell you that. You can go onwards with the read without the fear of thinking you might hate any part in all of the three books but that can not be further from the truth. Sure, you might hate them for the choices they would make eventually however, the character development written by Holly Black is actually something. 

Throughout the series, I absolutely loved Cardan Greenbriar, I mean how can you not ?? He is so cute! He and Jude are just made for each other. 

Also, Jude's character is my favourite, her and Cardan being my absolute favourites. Her character is so fierce and I can't even count the number of times when she made me scream "QUEEN!!!" in my head at her, especially in the last book. The way she fought to get herself a place in a world that she was thrown into since childhood is commendable. She is definitely going on my 'Best Badass female main characters' list.

The overall family dynamics throughout the series were also pretty good. I had never thought that I would actually like a political-related fantasy family drama book but here we are. The series had me hooked since the first book, not going to lie.

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5