The Bookish Raven

“Orient, Vol. 1” by Shinobu Ohtaka

4/5 stars

I received an ARC of this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Musashi and Kojiro are childhood best friends. They grew up together, practicing swordplay and learning about the Bushi. The Bushi fought against the demons even when the rest of the world gave up. The two best friends swore to become Bushi one day. However, as they grew older, Musashi hid his goal of being a Bushi and Kojiro started to believe in the lies of the world. When Musashi suddenly is presented with the opportunity to achieve his dream, he can’t help but take it–and he’s determined to take Kojiro along for the ride.

First of all, the art was absolutely spectacular! I’ve sadly never read or watched Magi, but the mangaka lives up to her reputation! I think Musashi has the potential to be a really awesome character, and his sword-fighting techniques were definitely interesting! This volume was mostly intended to set up the story, so it mostly revolved around one major fight scene. I’m hoping for more content in the next few volumes! This series has a lot of potential and I’m excited to see where it goes from here!

December Wrap-Up

Hey everyone! This is officially my first post of 2021! If you’re still following me, thank you! I was pretty bad about posting in December. My semester ended, the holidays rolled around, and I just got distracted. I’m hoping to get more reviews and other content up over the next few days!

With all that said, here is my wrap-up for December. I managed to read 126 books total in 2020! That’s definitely a record for me.

Daphne’s Questionable Bet by Sara Jo Cluff
Crank Palace by James Dashner
Orient, Vol. 1 by Shinobu Ohtaka
A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, Vol. 2 by Momochi
Heartmender by V. Romas Burton
Crush by Tracy Wolff
Fairest Son by H. S. J Williams
To Whatever End by Lindsey Frydman
Prepped by Bethany Mangle
The Seventh Sun by Lani Forbes
Waiting for Spring, Vol. 13 by ANASHIN
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Dawnsong by Bryn Shutt
Sunkissed by Kasie West
Phantom’s Lament by Noelle Nichols
Can’t Catch My Breath by Sarah Sutton

Look forward to more posts soon! Hope everyone had a great new year! ❤

November Wrap-Up

Hello again! I’ve been so happy to get reviews posted on here that I forgot my wrap-up of last month! Did any of you guys read any particularly good books in November? Comment your favorite November read! Without further ado, here’s what I read in November!

Escaping Eleven by Jerri Chisholm
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
The Meet-Cute Project by Rhiannon Richardson
Bone, Vol. 1 by Jeff Smith
Glimpsed by G.F. Miller
Dearest Josephine by Caroline George
unbind by Via Won
The Thief and the Throne by Helena Rookwood
Calculated by Nova McBee

Have a great day, everyone! Happy reading!

“Crank Palace” by James Dashner

Hello again, lovely followers! I hope you’re not sick of me yet! I have another review to share today. James Dashner, the author of The Maze Runner series, has written a novella for Newt. Newt has always been my favorite character, so I had to read this book! If you’re a fan of The Maze Runner, read on for my review of this novella!

5/5 stars

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you haven’t read the first three books in The Maze Runner series, don’t read ahead. You have been warned!

What do you do if you have a disease that destroys your mind, turning you into what is essentially a zombie until your death, while all of your friends are immune? What’s worse: abandoning them or letting them watch your descent into madness? Newt makes the choice to leave them, though it pains him to do so. He doesn’t really have a plan or goal since he’ll just fall into madness and die anyway. But he meets a mother and child who are determined to survive together, and that is just what Newt needs to give him purpose. Eventually ending up in the Crank Palace, Newt’s story is finally told. The events that took place in The Death Cure are told from Newt’s perspective.

You think I would have been prepared to be devastated and heart-broken after reading this, seeing as how I know the conclusion of The Death Cure. And yet, like a dummy, I went and read this book anyway simply because I love Newt. Thank you, James Dashner, for once again breaking my heart into pieces. If you thought The Death Cure was bad, this is on a different level. As Newt leaves his friends and succumbs to the Flare, you hear his thoughts, you watch him struggle until his inevitable end. Now you know what went through his head during all of this. Poor, sweet Newt–he deserved so much better. Once again, I’m left heartbroken over him.

To my fellow readers who also read this series and fell in love with Newt, this book offers some closure that I felt we did not get in the original series. However, getting this closure will most likely break your heart in the process. I recommend this book, as well as tissues, a warm blanket, and ice cream, to any Newt fans out there.

“Daphne’s Questionable Bet” by Sara Jo Cluff

Hey everyone! I’m back today with another review for you all! Hope you enjoy it!

5/5 stars

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Daphne’s mom decides they’re moving back to California, Daphne is thrilled! She’s especially happy to finally be reunited with her childhood best friend. However, she discovers that her new neighbor is her mom’s old arch-nemesis from high school with a daughter in her grade. The two girls make the decision to resume the rivalry, betting on who will get Bentley Anderson to ask them to prom. But the bet gets out of hand—spying, sabotaging, blackmailing… Not to mention, something Daphne definitely didn’t bet on—falling for another guy.

Okay YA readers, how many of you have ever read a YA book where the main character was practically a Barbie doll? She’s perfect, she gets Ken, and they live happily ever after. Daphne is no Barbie, and I mean that in the best possible way! How can you not love a onesie-wearing, junk food-eating, Captain America-loving girl with an amazing taste in music?! For once, this story is about the quirky girl and I loved it! Daphne is such a fun and refreshing character! Her best friends were also super fun, and their friendship was cute! As fun and adorable as this book is, there are some difficult subjects as well. Divorce, anxiety, death, family relationships all come into play. They just add to the quality of the book by making the characters more realistic and relatable. Also, Weston is adorkable! He’s very sweet and his nerdiness is so cute!

I can’t leave out Daphne’s taste in music! A lot of her favorite songs are mentioned throughout the book, and I definitely loved her song choices!

Readers of YA and YA romance, grab a copy of this book! The quirky girl gets the happily ever after (it’s about time!) This book is fun, enjoyable, and adorable! If you want a book that makes you laugh out loud or if you want some music recommendations, get this book!

“Calculated” by Nova McBee

Greetings! I’m back again today with another review for you all! First of all, let me just say how grateful I am for all of you! I started this blog along with my bookstagram on a whim while I was at college. I never expected for it to go anywhere, and I actually considered deleting this blog on a few occasions. It means a lot to me that people actually care about the books I read and what I have to say about them! Thank you all for sticking around! With that said, here is my review of this gritty YA novel!

4/5 stars

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jo, a girl of many names, was kidnapped by a very famous criminal. Jo has a unique ability–she sees the world in numbers. She’s forced to use her ability to make money for criminals. Hating her gift, Jo is miserable until she meets Red, a fellow prisoner who helps her see the world differently. When an opportunity to be free appears, Jo takes it and finds herself faced with even larger problems that will impact the entire world. She’s the only one with a chance at solving these problems–but even she can’t do everything by herself.

This book was pretty interesting! It takes place in Shanghai, China which was pretty cool! Jo is an interesting character and her gift is fascinating as well. There is a lot going on in this book–Jo’s mission for Chan, Jo’s personal goals, etc. The different POVs from the past through the present told the story in an intriguing way. However, a lot of this book is spent in the narrator’s head. The story mostly is told through the thoughts of the narrator. That makes sense due to the nature of Jo’s gift, but the lack of action made it hard for me to stay interested. Towards the end, the action does pick up and it was enjoyable! I thought this book was going to be a stand-alone, and I was surprised when some stuff at the end suddenly made a sequel seem necessary. I thought the plot was wrapped up rather nicely, and I thought it would make a great stand-alone book. Hopefully the sequel is just as intriguing as this book was!

Ultimately, this book has a lot of good concepts and the author is an incredible writer! I really enjoyed the fact this book takes place in China. I think a lot of readers would love Jo and her story!

“The Thief and The Throne” by Helena Rookwood

Hi everyone! Hope you all had an excellent weekend! With Thanksgiving over, I have officially begun to get ready for Christmas! I’m one of those people who won’t get ready for Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving! When do you start getting ready for Christmas? Leave a comment and let me know!

Today, I have a fantasy review to share with you all! This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites! Read on for my review of book 2, or look for my review of book 1 (The Prince and the Poisoner) on here or my Goodreads account!

5/5 stars

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After escaping from the Grand Master, Lira and Kit continue their escape to Vespera to get information from the House of Wands. Tarben, aka Eirik, joins them. When they arrive, they find that Davorin has beaten them there and the House of Wands remains suspicious of them. Lira’s questions about her abilities only lead to more questions, not to mention she attracts some very unwanted attention. When Kit throws his own plans into motion, Lira finds herself unsure of who to trust and faces betrayal over and over again. She finds help in unlikely places and is left to wonder what she is.

Once again, I was captivated by the plot of this series. Lira is becoming more and more interesting as the story goes on. Not to mention Kit, Tarben, and Davorin aren’t at all what I expected them to be. Helena really kept me on my toes the whole way through this book! Crazy political games, ruthless leaders, strange magic, fae, handsome princes, and incredible world-building…what more could you want in a book? I can’t wait to read book three as I also have a lot of questions! I’d definitely recommend this series! (For the record, these first two books have been clean!) Get your copy now!

That’s all for today! I’ll be posting again soon! Have a lovely day, everyone!

“Dearest Josephine” by Caroline George

5/5 stars!!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It’s 2020 and Josie is having a horrible year. Her father passed away, she and her boyfriend broke up, and she has a rough relationship with her mom. She suddenly finds out that her father owned property in Northern England and decides to move there temporarily. What she finds there starts an adventure unlike any other—letters and a novel addressed to her, but they were written over 200 years ago. The man writing them, Elias Roch, was the previous owner of the property. Josie sets out to solve the mystery of what happened to Elias and Josephine, all while trying to deal with her own life in the present.

This book was so amazing that it caught me off-guard! I just binge read this book until 1:30 in the morning and had to review it immediately. First of all, this book is told through emails, text messages, letters, and a novel. I was not expecting that, but it worked for this book. I was a little confused here and there, but the writing and the plot totally sucked me in. I desperately wanted to solve the mystery of how Josephine was connected to past Josephine, and I wanted to know more about her relationship with Elias. I don’t know how I expected this to end, but the ending was so sweet and unpredictable! I was trying very hard not to squeal in delight! For the sake of spoilers, I won’t go any further than that!

Josie and Elias are the two main characters. I was very interested in both of their lives. Josie’s life was expressed in emails and texts while Elias was expressed in his letters and novel. The side characters also had such a key role in the story, mostly Faith and Oliver! I loved how the reader gets to learn a lot about Faith; the author didn’t just invent her as a random character to progress the plot! She has a life and issues that the reader gets to learn about. Oliver and the other citizens that Josie interacted with made the story so fun and sweet! The mystery and tragedy between Elias and Josephine were balanced by the warmth and joy Josie, Oliver, and Faith brought to the story. I was captivated by the mystery, but I adored the cast of characters and their antics!

I would definitely recommend this book! Anyone who loves YA historical romance or is looking for an interesting read should pick up this book! Elias somewhat reminds me of Mr. Darcy and Josephine’s personality is similar to Lizzy’s, so I think lovers of Pride and Prejudice would enjoy this book!

On a somewhat related note, where can I buy a “My Heart Belongs to Elias Roch” mug and is there also a “My Heart Belongs to Oliver McLaughlin” mug? Asking for a friend…

“Lore” by Alexandra Bracken

I was honestly surprised I received a review copy of this book! It was the first book by Alexandra Bracken I’ve read, and it was amazing! Check out my review below!

5/5 stars!!!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Monsters had fangs, but that was why lionesses were given claws.”

The Hunger Games meets Percy Jackson in a world where Greek gods are hunted down and slaughtered by mortals seeking their power.

The Agon–a hunt that occurs every seven years where nine of the Greek gods become mortal, vulnerable. Hunters attempt to find them and kill them as the one who kills a god gains their powers. This was the world Lore grew up in…at least until her whole family was brutally slaughtered. After hiding and trying to stay out of the upcoming Agon, Lore is drawn back into the hunt when two interesting players seek her out: a friend who should be dead and goddess on the verge of dying. Making a deal with the goddess and binding her fate to hers, Lore re-enters the game, aware that this year’s Agon is the deadliest of them all.

I was captivated as soon as I read the first page. This book was unpredictable, riveting, and left me hanging onto every word. Never boring and never slowing its pace, Lore had me on the edge of my seat until the very last page.

“‘Surprise?’ she said, because Lore had never met a situation she couldn’t make even more painfully awkward.”

Lore is such an epic main character. She is fierce, determined, and stubborn; however, she cares deeply for those close to her and is actually a very kind person. Struggling with the ghosts of her past and the horrors of the present, Lore wrestles with figuring out exactly who she is and who she is meant to be. I was rooting for her from the first page and I definitely got drawn into the story thanks to her.

Castor is another great character! I can’t say much about him without spoiling things, but he is sweet and charming! Like Lore, he is a talented fighter who also has a very kind and gentle heart. The other characters (Miles, Athena, Van, etc.) are super interesting! Miles is hilarious and had me laughing out loud!

The plot itself was the most mesmerizing part of the book in my opinion. The concept of various houses trying to outdo each other by killing gods and taking their powers during a week-long hunt is darkly fascinating. Lore’s fight to protect her friends and to keep an evil god from rising to an even higher level of power was intense, and I was constantly going back and forth between shock, horror, and joy. To call this book an emotional roller-coaster would be an understatement!

Needless to say, I loved this book whole-heartedly! I’d definitely recommend it to other readers! If you love The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Greek mythology, or just simply an intense and unpredictable read to keep you up until 2 in the morning, this book is for you!

“Escaping Eleven” by Jerri Chisholm

5/5 stars!!!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First things first, I binge-read this book until 4am. I couldn’t put it down and just read it for hours until it was over. And then I hated myself because it was over and now I have to wait a while for book 2.

This book is like Divergent meets The Maze Runner with a heroine who could break your face in roughly ten seconds. Yeah, it’s THAT good.

When the sun scorched the Earth, humanity had no choice but to flee underground. Compound Eleven is one of these underground facilities. But hierarchy is everything, and Eve is from the second floor. She’s better off than those on floor one but not by much. She’s a fighter–a good one. However, Eve has a secret, one that could get her killed if someone found out. She has no intention of staying in Compound Eleven.

Suddenly, Eve has a match against a Preme–one of the residents of the fifth floor who live glamorous lives. Eve has spent her whole life hating these people, but he seems different. And then he destroys her in the ring…

This book was amazing! I was hooked from the first page. Sometimes I get a little burned out with the YA dystopia genre, but this book was definitely worth the read! From the plot to the characters, I loved the whole thing!

Eve is so cool! She’s been trained to be tough, unfeeling, uncaring. But she’s just as human as everyone else. She loves her friends and has a huge obsession with the world aboveground. I loved how she stood up for herself and how she looked after her friends. She also has a unique perspective on life, or rather, death. Anyway, she’s absolutely amazing!

Wren is also such a great character! Instead of being the entitled jerk he was raised to be, he actually is a kind and good person. Like Eve, he is strong and powerful. I love how he’s got Eve’s back when she needs it, but he’s also totally aware that she often doesn’t need his help!

The side characters were also really intriguing! Eve really loves her friends, and they each have their own issues going on. I thought the author did a really good job giving them unique personalities and making them realistic.

The plot was also fascinating! I loved watching Eve attempt to find a way out of the compound. I was so invested in whether she would actually make it out or not! I can’t say anything else about this without spoiling anything so you’ll just have to read it for yourself!

As I mentioned above, I really am regretting reading this so fast since I’m desperate to get my hands on book 2! My curiosity is piqued and I will definitely be looking forward to the next book! I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves dystopian books and strong female characters!