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Top Ten Tuesday: From Dusk Till Dawn
It’s Tuesday once again, and albeit late, time for another Top Ten Tuesday! Today’s topic is
Authors You Wish Were Still Writing Today. As I totally blanked out for this one, I wanted to go a different route, which is related to this topic, only to find out it’s another topic in the near future. So, I am going in a completely different direction and am compiling a list adjacent to a topic I did recently, The four winds. However, this week’s list is called from dusk till dawn. Without further ado, let’s take a look at what I came up with!Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
- The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent (Crowns of Nyaxia book 4)
- Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim (Blood of Stars book 2)
- The Emperor of Evening Stars by Laura Thalassa (The Bargainer book 3)
- The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell
- Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight book 4)
- The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh (The Wrath and the Dawn book 1)
- One Day by David Nicholls
- Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke & Bone book 2)
Have you read any of these books or are some of them on your never ending TBR?
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Monthly TBR | May 2026
A new month, a new TBR! Whereas I have ben fairly successful in both March and April, there are still books I have to carry with me into the new month. I again lined up five books I hope to read this month, along with three further possibilities. I found myself reading from that pile more in the previous months, so let’s wait and see what May will bring! Again, I use my “up next” queue on The Storygraph for this
In the queue
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronté is a book I have been carrying with me since my March TBR. This one got hyped up a bit as there was a new movie being released, but this hype fizzled out already. I wonder whether this will be a good book for the warmer weather we are having right now, or that it is a little too heavy. I don’t expect this to be an easy read and I’m uncertain if I’m ready for it right now considering my reading preferences and my overall energy. We will see!
Another book I have been carrying with me from another monthly TBR is Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi. This one has been put on my April TBR and I was hoping to pick it up as my final book of the month. I picked a Dutch romance instead, but this one is going to be picked up up really soon!
I’ve been doing a decent job in decluttering my TBR by reading old additions, so All the Things We Never knew by Liara Tamani is next. I have to check the blurb to remember what this book is about as it has been on my TBR since 2020. Whoops. It’s a young adult contemporary, so I really have to be in the mood for it.
And yes, there are books that are on my TBR for much longer than the previous one. I believe The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne has been on there since 2009 or 2010, but I never got around to it. May is remembrance month here as in May 1945, WWII has ended here in the Netherlands. So this month I always want to read a novel set during this period of time in history. This one is, and it’s another good excuse to declutter my TBR.
A fairly new addition to my TBR is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. It is on my Spring 2026 TBR, so I should be picking it up this season anyway. I’ve seen it being mentioned a lot recently, so all the reason to prioritize it!
The possibility pile
Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone is a book I want to read for a while now and is also on my TBR for the spring. As I hope to focus on romance more with warmer weather being on its way, this book would be perfect to finish this month.
Another one I hope to knock off is Babel by R.F. Kuang. I have read this book already in fall 2022, but I didn’t understand most of it. This book is heavy on the science behind language and this is a bit too complicated for my knowledge of the English language. Now the Dutch translation is out, so I can give it another try. This book is pretty controversial though, you either love it or hate it.
Although I find myself getting tired of romantasy a bit, I still have plenty of those books on my TBR. The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson is a 2025 release I thought I would have read by now, but truth is, I haven’t. So let’s try to get this knocked off of my TBR as well!
Do you have any books lined up for May? Is spring of any influence to your reading preferences at all, and therefore on your TBR?
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Monthly Wrap Up | April 2026
It’s May already, How?! That’s te question I ask myself every single month, when it’s already time to write my monthly wrap up and set my monthly TBR, and realize I totally forgot about it so I have to rush it. Time is slipping through your fingers before you know it. April was quite a good month, despite work being hectic and myself being tired. My fatigue was of little influence on my reading, but more on my blogging. I find myself struggling more and more with writing reviews. I’m not satisfied with my current long-time review format, as I haven’t been for a while now. I also find myself not knowing what to say about the books I’ve read, and transforming my thoughts into words that are coherent and correct English. I still want to write reviews for the books I’ve read, but I’m not sure. Imposter syndrome is a thing you know… How to format and structure my review? The problem is, that whenever I change the format, I have to redo all my old reviews as I use the Ultimate Book Blogger Plugin and the book info section is after the introductory paragraph. Changing everything takes up a lot of time and effort and makes my reviews less cohesive and structured. Oh well, something to ponder on some more. Let’s get back to business and wrap up April, as I have 7 books to discuss.
My read books
1. Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho
I carried this book with me into April as I started it on the final day of March. Reading and finishing a book in one day when you also have to work at the office is impossible, so there was no choice other than carrying it with me to the new month. This is a YA novel, an age category I hardly read anymore as I’ve pretty much outgrown it. However, I do keep a soft spot for the genre and am always on the lookout for (mainly older) books featuring diversity. This one definitely meets that requirement! Even though I don’t listen to KPop that much, – I’m a casual listener – I find myself enjoying this type of books a lot. This was no different for this one by a new-to-me author. The story unfolds a bit predictably, but I was invested nonetheless. Yes, it contains a lot of teen drama, but that is to be expected in YA. The audiobook really adds up to the reading experience for me as its narrator Jackie Chungspeaks Korean, which comes in handy when the author includes Korean sayings and phrases into the text. Overall, I had a pleasant time with this one.
- Set in: Chicago, USA
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (February 2026)
- Read format: Audiobook
- Language read in: English
- Read from: 03/31 to 04/02
- Rating: 3.5/5
2. Torrid Throne by Julie Johnson
Last year, this author was pretty popular following the release of The Wind Weaver. I have to admit I still have to pick up this book, but I had – and still have – unfinished business with another series by this author. In 2021, I picked up Dirty Halo, the first installment of the “The Forbidden Royals” trilogy. Although I enjoyed this one, I never picked up the sequels, until now. I was in search of something reading quick and easy and this book delivered on just that. Yes, the story is intriguing as well, albeit a little predictable. This is romatansy released before that became a thing so if you love that sub genre, you will definitely love this trilogy. Let’s wait and see if I will pick up the final book in this series sooner than in 4.5 years LOL.
- Set in: Constantia
- Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
- Read format: ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 04/06 to 04/06
- Rating: 4/5
3. Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde
I have been waiting forever to read this book, as it was already on my radar since its release. However, I wanted to wait until the Dutch translation was out as I read the other books in this series in Dutch as well. This story is about Rio, a fan favorite. I already found myself struggling a bit to get into the previous two books due to the characters not being my favorite and I felt a bit of the same for Hallie. However, she redeems herself and Rio actually has a soft spot, something I was not expecting that much. Another few days well-spent!
- Set in: Chicago, USA
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (March 2026)
- Read format: ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 04/07 to 04/09
- Rating: 4/5
4. Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry
One of my first reads of 2026 was Shield of Sparrows, the first book in this series. Even though I had some issues with the pacing, I was curious for the sequel. Now it was here and I dove into it almost straight away. Unfortunately, this book suffers a lot from second book syndrome. I zoned out a lot as this story didn’t demand my attention enough. Even more so, I fell asleep multiple times. The extra POV and character are interesting, but couldn’t save this book for me. Maybe I was just too tired for this now and I need to reread it at a later time. I tried the audiobook to see if that would make any difference, but it’s duet narration and I happen to totally dislike that. It distracts me too much. Whereas the previous book in the series has multiple audiobook options to choose from, this one only has the duet.
- Set in: Kallandra
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired
- Read format: ebook
- Language read in: English
- Read from: 04/12 to 04/19
- Rating: 3,5/5
5. Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
Everyone and their mother was watching the TV adaptation of this m/m ice hockey romance late last year and early this year. I haven’t, nor have I read the book. However, everyone was praising it, which naturally made me curious. I just waited for the Dutch version, which I finally got last month. Unfortunately, I can’t share in the enthusiasm, because this book was… not that great to keep it nice. The characters didn’t leave any lasting impression on me, nor did the plot. There was no plot actually, apart from smut every few pages. This already started in the prologue. One of the characters got a little more depth gradually, but it wasn’t enough for my liking since the rest of the book didn’t leave any impression on me. The most annoying thing was the writing style, especially the mention of the boys’ names in every other sentence. No, this was just not it.
- Set in: Boston, USA and Montreal, Canada
- Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (March 2026)
- Read format: ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 04/14 to 04/20
- Rating: 2/5
6. Metal Slinger By Rachel Schneider
Another book that has been pretty popular late 2025 and I of course had to try. It starts of pretty promising and I was invested for most of it, even though the plot and characters are your typical romantasy ones. However, this book fell flat for me after a while, because we’ve already seen it all countless times. That is until the end, which left me confused. Turns out there is an unreliable narrator and maybe that’s just not my trope.
- Set in: Alaha, Roisin, Kenta
- Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
- Read format: Audiobook
- Language read in: Enlgish
- Read from: 04/21 to 04/26
- Rating: 3/5
7. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Finally I picked up a book that has been on both my March and April TBR, but on my actual TBR a little longer. I read Amerikanah by this author back in 2020 and although I wasn’t fully convinced by it, I still wanted to try out this novel. The premise sounded up my alley and gave me the impression I would enjoy this reading experience. It’s about four women who are related to one another in a way. Unfortunately, only one of them was interesting, and I wish Adichie would have elaborated more on her story. Now it feels like there are unanswered questions. Furthermore, this book focuses more on these women’s musings rather than on a plot. In fact, there isn’t really a plot which makes this book feel like it’s not really moving forward. I therefore was pretty bored. I just kept reading because I hoped to find closure in the end, as well as something actually interesting. Maybe this author is simply not for me.
- Set in: USA, Nigeria
- Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
- Read format: ebook
- Language read in: Dutch
- Read from: 04/26 to 04/30
- Rating: 2/5
Bookhaul
- Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry
- Babel by R.F. Kuang (Dutch edition)
- Variation by Rebecca Yarros
- Raven King by Nora Sakavic
- Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong
- Matchpoint by Katherine Reilly
- Elke dag een druppel gif by Wilma Geldof
- Innamorata by Ava Reid
- The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
- Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez
- Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen
- Schaduw van de Zon by Stephanie Holm
- Aicha by Soraya Bouazzaoui
April was a pretty good reading month once again, with a final rating of 3.29 stars. Let’s hope May will be a good reading month too! As the weather is getting warmer slowly but steadily, and the rush at work not winding down anytime soon, I think I want to focus on lighter books a lot this month. This might mean a lot of romance. To be continued!
How was April for you?
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Top Ten Tuesday: Royal Books
Hi and welcome back to another Top Ten Tuesday post! This week is a freebie week, so I can choose any topic I like. Yesterday it was King’s Day here in the Netherlands, which meant an extra day off. It actually means that it’s the king’s birthday, so there are a lot of activities and festivities. Practically, it means that people declutter their house and sell their old sh*t on a street market and earn money. Kids often like to sell stuff at those markets. It also means different parties and festivals, with plenty of drunk people by the end of the day. When I was younger I sold stuff at the street markets too, but now I avoid them altogether. I also avoid to travel by public transport, done that once and never again. With that said, it’s still Tuesday, so time to compile a list of some sort. I chose to pick royalty as this week’s topic, so let’s take a look at books with any link to royalty.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
- Spare by Prince Harry – This doesn’t need any introduction right? I think this is one of the most well-known royalty adjacent titles, definitely one that has been controversial. These are Prince Harry’s memoires and I listened to them as audiobook, narrated by Prince Harry himself.
- American Royals by Katharine McGee – I only read the first book in this quartet, and I thought it was okay at the time. I am still curious to find out how this story further unfolds, but it has been five years or more since I read this book. Furthermore, I read it in Dutch and the rest of the series hasn’t been translated, so I have to start over anyway.
- The Selection by Kiera Cass – One of the most famous books about royalty, especially amongst young adult readers, is this series. This was a huge success back then and when I read them back in 2016, I dared to rate these books 4 or 5 stars. In hindsight, they would have been 3 stars at best, because they definitely have multiple flaws. But hey, I was new to the YA genre, as I finally picked up reading again after years. So, I didn’t know better.
- Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – Another obvious title and unlike many others, I didn’t enjoy this book and the rest of the series. I never finished them, quit reading in the middle of book 3 I think. The last few books aren’t even translated to Dutch, so I started them all over again in English during the pandemic as I had enough time on my hands. But no, this series isn’t for me. They even translated the characters’ names to Dutch, yikes!
- Royals by Rachel Hawkins – Are you looking for a light and easy read about royals? This YA contemporary got you covered! It’s not super deep or whatsoever, but sometimes, that’s not what you need. This book and it’s companion Her Royal Highness are great for a relaxing holiday or summer night.
- Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson – I haven’t read this book myself, but it immediately came to mind when I thought of books involving royalty. This is classified as cozy fantasy, so maybe that’s why I’m a little reluctant to pick it up. It has been somewhere on my TBR for years I believe, but I never acted up on it.
- The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett – This is the first book in the cozy crime/cozy mystery series “Her Majesty the Queen Investigates” and already gives away that the detective investigating the murders is Queen Elizabeth. Cozy crime is not up my alley, so I won’t pick up this book, but I’ve heard it being mentioned a lot.
- Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian – I really can’t remember what this series is about, but I do remember the title, so that counts for today. I’ve read the first book, but quit after that. The final book is titled Ember Queen, so all the more reason why it needs a spot on this list.
- The Iron King by Julie Kagawa – Many of us might have read “The Iron Fey” by now and the fact that this is royalty adjacent can’t be denied. Personally, I didn’t enjoy this series too much as I picked it up in 2019 and that probably has been a little too late. I already finished other books by the author back then, such as the entire “Talon” series and Shadow of the Fox, which I enjoyed way more.
- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – I don’t think this series does need any explanation either. It was a huge hype at the time, but it seemed to have fizzled out by now. The books are okay, but the second book in the trilogy is the best in my opinion.
Have you read any of these books? What books with royalty do you immediately think of?
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Book Review: Torrid Throne by Julie Johnson
In spring/summer of 2025, Julie Johnson’s The Wind Weaver was somehow unavoidable. It was one of the romantasy releases of the season, but it’s still on my TBR. But did you know this author already released loads of other books, mainly within the contemporary romance genre? Amongst these books however, is another romantasy series, even though it wasn’t classified as such at the time. This series is the “Forbidden Royals” series, consisting of three books. I read the first one, Dirty Halo back in 2021, but never gotten around to the sequels. Until I finally picked up Torrid Throne on a whim. Did I enjoy this book after such a long break? Please beware of spoilers for Dirty Halo ahead.
About the book
Title: Torrid Throne
Author: Julie Johnson
Series: The Forbidden Royals #2
Pub date: March 21, 2019
Publisher: Independently published
Page count: 268
ISBN: 9781733663311
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Romantasy
Rating: 4/5“The Princess Diaries meets Game of Thrones in this epic, engrossing royal romance…” Two months ago, Emilia Lancaster was a regular girl with a regular life. Now, through a cruel twist of fate, she finds herself living in a castle with a crown on her head, the sole heir to the Germanian throne. Between the charity balls, press events, and royal obligations, Emilia’s days are suddenly full of unfamiliar responsibilities. And with a series of new suitors vying for her attention — not to mention Carter Thorne, the one man she can never have, sleeping one suite away — her nights aren’t much simpler to navigate. One thing is certain: Emilia’s heart is in undeniable danger. But as enemies of the crown circle ever-closer… her life may be in jeopardy as well…
My review
Before reading
When I first heard about the “Forbidden Royals” series, I immediately knew that I wanted to read it. These books were right up my alley, because although romantic fantasy wasn’t called romantasy back then and wasn’t a real subgenre, I devoured this type of book. After reading Dirty Halo, I was determined to continue reading the rest of the series soon, as it was indeed right up my alley. I still remember that I flew through that book, although I never wrote a review for it. Now, I was looking for a book that was book fast-paced and an easy read that didn’t require too much thinking, and since I’ve been doing a lot of decluttering lately anyway, this was the perfect moment to finally pick up this book. I did expect that I would have some trouble getting back into the story after a 4.5 year-long break, but also that it would be an easy read again.
Characters
Although her life is anything but ordinary, protagonist Emilia feels lifelike. One day, she was simply whisked away from her perfectly ordinary student life to become Princess of Constantia. Emilia had no idea, she didn’t even know she was of royal blood. She visibly struggles to fulfill this role, as she is not made for it. She misses her old life, and the responsibilities that the royal title entails are immense. Besides those weighing heavily on her shoulders, the events of the final chapter of the previous book constantly haunt her. How can she ever come to terms with all of this? However, the danger has not yet passed, as a small group of rebels wants to eliminate Emilia’s family and thus put an end to the monarchy. All of this leaves Emilia unsure of how to act. On the one hand, she feels lonely, but at the same time, she shuts herself off from everything and everyone around her. She is a young adult dealing with issues typical of her age, such as love, yet who is simultaneously under a magnifying glass. Johnson has managed to portray these struggles well, making them palpable throughout the book. The same cannot be said for the supporting characters though, whose roles only become clearer towards the end. One of them is rebellious, the other a goody-two-shoes. This may be a facade and the sequel in this series will have to reveal that.
Writing
The writing style is similar to that of the previous book in this series. The chapters are reasonably short and the language is accessible. The author uses a first-person narrative, which I always consider a plus. Thanks to all these elements, the book is an easy read. The fact that the book is not too thick also plays a role in this.
Plot
When looking at the plot, several things stand out immediately. It picks up quite soon after the final events of the previous book which took me a small window of time to remember. Nevertheless, the author manages to draw me back in fairly quickly, as a lot came back to me while reading. No summary of previous events is provided beforehand as that was not yet common practice at the time of publication. A good memory is therefore certainly not a luxury. The way this plot progresses is not particularly original. In fact, some elements are quite predictable. You know that things could go wrong and that regained trust is shaky. This is necessary to ensure the series can continue. Although predictability can really annoy me, I found it difficult to stop reading, because all these elements simply make the book nice and easy for reading in between other things. You don’t have to get to know an extensive world, and the plot requires little thought. While this is nice, a bit more world building would be pleasant. It is currently difficult to visualize Constantia, it is a country like any other, without being special in any way. I am curious if anything has been done with this in the final instalment of this series.
Final thoughts
Even though it took me four and a half years to pick up Julie Johnson’s Torrid Throne, it is just as enjoyable as its predecessor. The fact that the story picks up fairly soon after the final events of the earlier book helps enormously with this, so you are immediately fully immersed again. While reading, everything comes back pretty fast, but a good memory never hurts. Protagonist Emilia feels lifelike because the struggles of an ordinary young adult in a world completely alien to her are well portrayed. The only point of criticism is the lack of world building, but who knows, perhaps something will be done about that in Diamond Empire, the final installment of this series. In any case, I am going to make sure it doesn’t take another four and a half years before I pick that up.
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WWW Wednesday | 04/22/2026
Hello and welcome back to another WWW Wednesday post! It has bene a hot minute since I last did one of these, but I’ve been reading some things and thought it would be nice to share them with you all. So, what am I currently reading, have I recently been reading, and will I be reading next? Let’s take a look!
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws): What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? Since I’m a mood reader, you have to take my last W with a grane of salt though. So, let’s take a look into my 3 W’s, shall we?
What are you currently reading?
At the moment I’m listening to Metal Slinger by Rachel Schneider. This book was neither planned on my April TBR, nor on my Spring TBR, but I wanted to read it some time soon. I’ve heard great things about it, especially about this being an easy read. And that was exactly what I needed. So, I took the plunge and so far, I’m satisfied. The story unfolds a bit predictably nonetheless, I’m hoping for some nice twists and turns!
What did you recently finish reading?
Recently it took me a while to finish some books. This wasn’t really due to the books themselves, but more due to the lack of energy and me being both tired and busy. First I read Devney Perry’s Rites of the Starling, the sequel to Shield of Sparrows. I have to admit that I wasn’t too impressed by this book. It suffers a lot from second book syndrome and I zoned out quite a few times. I was anticipating this one, but am unfortunately feeling a bit let down. I even struggled to pick it up, I just didn’t feel the urge and hunger to know what would happen next. The same pacing issues I had with the previous book occurred in this one as well. Furthermore, it was not as action-packed and I didn’t feel the chemistry between the main characters that much this time. I hope this was just a build-up to the next book, and that that one will be action-packed once again.
Another book I finished last week is Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid. Everyone seems to have either watched the TV adaptation, or read the book itself. I hadn’t done either so far and after reading the book, I’m not sure I ever want to watch the adaptation. Or pick up the other books in this “Game Changers” series. Because you guys, this is a smut fest. The scenes are pretty graphic and there was a lot of smut, already starting in the prologue. I’m always looking for well-developed characters, and to me, both shane and Ilya aren’t. They hardly show any growth. I do see why it’s adapted for TV however, I think this story works better on screen. If you prefer character driven novels with plenty of character growth, then this is definitely not the book for you.
What do you think you’ll read next?
April is nearly over and I still have three books on my monthly TBR to finish. Two of these I’ve taken with me from my March one, but I’m not sure whether I’m up for them now. I think Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi has a slight chance of being picked as my next read, although the buzz seemed to already have fizzled out. I also want to make a dent into my spring 2026 TBR, which I’m slightly ignoring at this point. I’m just not sure about what book to pick as The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is another one I feel like prioritizing. Oh well, lots of options here.
So, you’re all caught up now on my week in books! How was yours?
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Top Ten Tuesday: All The Feels
Hi and welcome back to another Top Ten Tuesday post! I accidentally put the blog on hiatus this past week, and I have no excuse as of why. What I do know however, is that I had no brain capacity to think of another Top Ten Tuesday topic as I wasn’t feeling last week’s one. I’m not feeling this week’s one either, so guess what? Yes, I’m giving it a small spin! This week’s topic is April showers, which includes multiple options as you may interpret it how you like. I was considering to pick
weather elementsas topic, as April often treats us with four seasons in one day, week or month, but I apparently have done the same topic in October 2023. So I had to take a different route and decided to compile a list of books with emotions in the title. I treat this topic the same way I treat all these kind of topics, it’s a mixture of read titles, to be read titles and random picks. So let’s take a look what my brain came up with today!Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – Yep, hunger is an emotion, because feeling hungry is the worst.
- Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney – I have this book on my TBR, but it has been there for ages. It’s a young adult novel, so no wonder why it’s still left unread. I will pick it up eventually though, because I already own a copy.
- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner – This book is the first one that came to mind actually. Have I read it? Nope. Is it on my never-ending TBR? Yes.
- Happy Place by Emily Henry – Who doesn’t want to be at their happy place every time they can? The characters in this book definitely do, but maybe their happy place isn’t as happy as they once thought it to be… Or is it still? To be honest, this was one of the very few books by this author I enjoyed, especially after my disastrous reading experience with Book Lovers. I saw this one as my last chance for this author. Find out more in my review.
- More Happy than Not by Adam Silvera – Okay okay, this is a book I felt sad about, because I had to DNF this one.
- Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout – Fury can be interpreted in multiple ways, but main character Trinity feels a lot of fury during this series so for me it counts. I still enjoy Armentrouts older work way more than her newer books, because I devoured this series back in the day and was hardly able to finish her latest novels. I highly enjoyed the first few books in the “Blood and Ash” series, but the most recent release in this series left me shocked and not in a good way. I had to DNF.
- You With the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate – This one is for the lovers of memoirs. Christina Applegate is a beloved actress, who unfortunately has to live with MS after being diagnosed a few years ago. I’m sure people would love to read this memoir, but I don’t think this will be for me.
- The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks – This is actually a random pick, although I’m certain this book has been on my TBR for a long, long while. My mom used to read and love Nicholas Sparks, I have read only one book by this author. Well, we don’t read his work anymore it seems.
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry planet by Becky Chambers – This book has been on my TBR for years as well, if I haven’t removed it yet. Scifi is not really my cup of tea, so I doubt if I will ever pick this up. Although I hear good things about this one. Hmm…
- Dreams of Joy by Lisa See – This is a random pick as I ran out of emotions to think of, or I found popular titles I didn’t want to include. This is the second book in the “ Shanghai Girls” series I haven’t read (yet), but heard many people talk about.
Now, it’s up to you. What books with an emotion in the title directly comes to mind? And have you read any of these titles?
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Book Review: Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho
Kat Cho is merely known for her fantasy books based on Asian folklore and mythology. But did you know she also published two romance companion novels? I didn’t, until I stumbled upon both books on another blog. The first book in this interconnected duology is Once Upon a K-Prom and tells the story of two former best friends who promised each other to go to prom together. Now, seven years have passed and they haven’t been in touch for the majority of those. Will they end up sticking to their childhood promise or is it just that, a childhood promise?
About the book
Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho
Published by Disney Hyperion on May 17, 2022
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9781368064644
Genres: Contemporary, Young adult
Rating: 4/5What would you do if the world’s biggest K-pop star asked you to prom? Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sandhya Menon, this hilarious and heartfelt novel brings the glamour and drama of the K-pop world straight to high school.
Elena Soo has always felt overshadowed. Whether by her more successful older sisters, her more popular twin brother, or her more outgoing best friend, everyone except Elena seems to know exactly who they are and what they want. But she is certain about one thing – she has no interest in going to prom. While the rest of the school is giddy over corsages and dresses, Elena would rather spend her time working to save the local community center, the one place that’s always made her feel like she belonged.
So when international K-pop superstar Robbie Choi shows up at her house to ask her to prom, Elena is more confused than ever. Because the one person who always accepted Elena as she is? Her childhood best friend, Robbie Choi. And the one thing she maybe, possibly, secretly wants more than anything? For the two of them to keep the promise they made each other as kids: to go to prom together. But that was seven year ago, and with this new K-pop persona, pink hair, and stylish clothes, Robbie is nothing like the sweet, goofy boy she remembers. The boy she shared all her secrets with. The boy she used to love.
Besides, prom with a guy who comes with hordes of screaming fans, online haters, and relentless paparazzi is the last thing Elena wants – even if she can’t stop thinking about Robbie’s smile…right?
My review
Before reading
I’ve heard of Kat Cho’s books before, but never picked one up. They just didn’t sound too appealing to me. A few years ago there was an influx on contemporary YA novels about Korean culture and KPop in particular. I read several of them, such as Axie Oh‘s XOXO and ASAP, Lyla Lee‘s I’ll Be the One, Jessica Jung‘s Shine and Bright and Sarah Suk‘s Made in Korea. I enjoyed all of them as they provide an insight in a culture foreign to me. I occasionally listen to some Kpop, but I’m not as obsessed as other people. I just listen whenever it comes on shuffle, but am not actively seeking new music to listen to or following Kpop groups. However, such books always are entertaining as well as addressing important themes and issues. Therefore, I knew I had to read Once Upon a K-Prom. I think I saw it somewhere years ago, but never payed too much attention to it. I was in need of something different than the books I read before – which were two historical fiction novels back-to-back – and I was sure this novel would serve as the perfect palate cleanser. I expected teen drama (it’s YA after all), but also some more insight in Korean culture and important issues being addressed.
Characters
Most of this story is told from Elena’s POV. This way, we get to know her well and therefore share in her struggles. She is pretty clumsy, which brings her into a lot of uneasy and uncomfortable situations, but also provides some funny moments. Furthermore, she is living in her sibling’s shadows and is aware of the fact she hardly gets approval from her parents, which is important to her. She feels invisible. This changes when her former best friend returns in her life, although his status as a popular KPop idol makes her wonder if she’s invisible to him too, and question his motives. Gradually, she finds the courage to stick up for herself and her beloved community center More and lets herself be walked over less. This is a significant growth compared to the Elena we meet at the start of this book and Cho has written this pretty well. Besides, Robbie gets his own voice in a few of the chapters which provides more insight in what his life looks like and the sacrifices he had – and still has – to make. His chapters are essential to understand his actions, but also mean you know more as a reader than Elena does. I felt for her at some point, but also understood the lengths Robbie has to go through to achieve his goals. Don’t get me wrong, I strongly disagree on the way he handles things, but they are necessary for the plot to move forward. I also wasn’t too fond of Elena completely distrusting Robbie every time something unexpected happens, but again, this is pretty understandable as well considering the reputation that comes with popularity. She is right to keep her guard up, but Robbie is still a human of flesh and blood. This annoyed me multiple times unfortunately.
Writing
Cho’s writing is smooth. The POV switching – although not being too often – was clear as Elena’s is first person’s POV while Robbie’s is third person’s POV. I don’t mind this switch at all though. I listened to the audiobook for this novel and the narrator is pleasant to listen to. There are several Korean words and phrases in the story and in my opinion they should be narrated by a narrator who speaks the language. I had to get used to the narration at first though, but once I got the hang of it, I was sucked into this book.
Plot
Although a bit predictable, the plot itself was captivating. This is merely due to the characters, their actions and their growth. The side characters are mostly clear antagonists and ready to make Elena’s life miserable, something that is providing to her growth as well as keeping the story moving forward. I usually feel too old for the typical YA teen drama these days, but this time I was invested. This definitely has to do with the deeper layers the author adds to the novel. Elena is volunteering at a community center and this center is clearly important to her. Here she feels seen, unlike at home or school. She experienced people getting out of her life a handful of times and this makes her question whether it’s her fault and whether she’s worth it. Her loneliness is palpable through the pages. Her time with Robbie and eventually the other members of the group provide a positive experience to her, although her guard is up sky high. Beyond these themes, Cho also provides a little more insight in Korean culture, albeit less than in other novels I’ve read. I didn’t mind this though as the focus was clearly on the friendship between the main characters and how this might become more than just that.
Final thoughts
Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho is a young adult novel I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading. I definitely have outgrown the genre, but books with such deeper themes and diversity always pique my interest still. The characters carry the plot and the element of the struggling community center which is so dear to Elena that she wants to raise funds for it, provides much needed depth to an otherwise predictably unfolding plot. Although I didn’t agree on many of the characters’ actions, I understood their reasons. These events are necessary to move the plot forward and keep the reader captivated. I surely was! Cho’s writing is accessible and smooth, which made me fly through this book in a breeze. After needing some time to get used to the audiobook narration, I enjoyed this as well. I will definitely pick up the companion Wish Upon a K-Star as I’m sure this world has much more relaxing hours to offer.
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Book Review: The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel
I always enjoy a good historical fiction novel and I always end up reading those about World War II. Weina Dai Randel’s The Last Rose of Shanghai has been on my TBR since late 2021, but I never picked it up, although I really wanted to do so. Clearly I was on a cleaning my Kindle spree in March, because I finally picked thisolder title up. Was this as interesting as the blurb promised it to be?
About the book
The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel
Published by Lake Union Publishing on December 1, 2021
Pages: 412
ISBN: 9781542032872
Genres: Adult, Historical fiction
Rating: 3/5In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music…
1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi’s club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz―but their differences seem insurmountable, and Aiyi is engaged to another man.
As the war escalates, Aiyi and Ernest find themselves torn apart, and their choices between love and survival grow more desperate. In the face of overwhelming odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.
From the electrifying jazz clubs to the impoverished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a timeless, sweeping story of love and redemption.
My review
Before reading
This book initially piqued my interest as I saw it somewhere, although I for the life of me can’t remember where. However, the blurb sounds like something that would suit my reading preferences very well, so I naturally had to buy this book, only to kind of forget about it. It surfaced in my mind when I was considering what to read next, but I never followed up on it. It made it to multiple list posts here on the blog though, so it wasn’t totally forgotten. It took me five years to pick it up in the end, so I went into it with not many expectations. Alas, I bought this book on a whim and this often is a hit or miss situation for me.
Characters
We meet two characters here: the Chinese Aiyi and the jewish Ernest who seeks refuge in Shanghai from the Nazi regime in Germany. Their paths cross and this is the start of a strong bond. However, the odds are against them, because many people in Shanghai are wary of foreigners. Many get tolerated, but it’s hard to get by in this city. Mind you, the Japanese are conquering Asia already and Shanghai is slowly falling under Japanese occupation in this period of time. As we read from both character’s POV, we get to know the story from both sides. Their common ground is their mutual love and passion for jazz and whereas this is an important part of the first half of the story, the focus slowly but steadily shifts to their differences in culture, background and wealth as well as their struggles to survive in occupied Shanghai. Both Aiyi and Ernest are resilient and find a way to get by, but apart from that, they happen not to be too interesting. I miss some more depth to their character arcs to be able to empathize with them. Now they are just passers-by in another book, but don’t stick. This might be different for others though, but this is solely how I feel.
Writing
Dai Randel’s writing is smooth and accessible. I hardly read historical fiction books in English, so this made me a bit reluctant to pick this one up as well. What if my fluency in this language wasn’t sufficient enough to understand this story and get lost in it? This happened to be a worry for nothing, because I understood it perfectly fine. I was interested and curious from start to finish. The constant POV switching and short chapters is what kept me hooked onto this book and what made me able to finish it pretty quickly, together with the story itself of course.
Plot
Speaking of which, this plot was predictable, but interesting. Not in the first place because I never picked up a book set in Shanghai during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Most books about WWII focus on Europe and how the war affected this continent, so we tend to forget that there was happening a lot in Asia as well. This book painted a picture of what the Japanese occupation looked like and this was brutal. As stated before, there is a clear shift in focus. Whereas music always will be of importance to Aiyi and Ernest somehow, this was only a part of this story in the first half of the book. Focus has shifted for multiple reasons, which is very logical considering the time frame. Gradually, the events started to unfold in a predictable manner, which made me loose interest a bit, but I was still captivated enough to finish this novel within a day or two.
Final thoughts
Although expected, but The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel was indeed a book I enjoyed. I left it on the shelf for too long, but my worries were for nothing. Main characters Aiyi and Ernest are written well, which really showcases their different circumstances and backgrounds. However, these characters don’t truly stick, which is a bit unfortunate. The writing is what worried me the most as I hardly read historical fiction in English, but due to the smooth writing and not too difficult language, I was able to easily digest this novel. The setting of this historical fiction was interesting as well as I never read a book set in Asia during WWII. However, the story unfolds a bit predictably, which is both logical and a pity. Still, I would recommend this book to everyone who is looking for a story about some reselient characters, and to the ones who are interested in WWII novels set in Asia.
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Top Ten Tuesday | The Four Winds
Hi and welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday post! Hope you all had a nice long Easter weekend, but now it’s back to business. This week’s topic is submitted by Rachel over at Sunny Side and is
Books About/Set In Places on My Bucket List. I to be honest have no bucket list, so I decided to tweak this one a bit. But hey, what’s new? I therefore decided to go with the four winds. This stays close to the original topic while being different at the same time. What this means? That I will be listing books with north, south, east or west in their titles. Again, this list is put together at random, so let’s take a look!Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – Read and honestly the inspiration for this topic as I hovered over my review just the other day.
- The North Wind by Alexandria Warrick – Read this one and the entire series could be listed for this prompt. Find my review here.
- When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén – This one is on my TBR for this spring.
- The South by Tash Aw – Another one from that same TBR.
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck – Random pick after entering a search query.
- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque – Never read it, but this title somehow rang a bell when I found it in a search query.
- North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell – Heard of the movie, but never read the book. Apparently there are two novels with this title, so I’m not sure whether this is the one the movie is based on. It is the first one I found however.
- South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami – Random pick as I never read a book by this author before and am honestly never planning to do so.
- Eastern Lights by Brittainy C. Cherry – This is the second book in the “Compass” series by this author and I’ve read Southern Storms years ago. Even though I wasn’t fully convinced back then, I still want to read the rest of the books.
- Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – Just another general title to round of this list. I haven’t read this classic either.
Compiling this list was interesting, because I apparently haven’t read many titles with the four winds in them. I didn’t want to include multiple titles in the same series, that would have been too easy.
What title with north, south, east or west comes to your mind immediately?
