Ace of Spades Review

Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light. Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.  Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they’re planning much more than a high-school game…

An Ember in the Ashes Review

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death.

When Laia’s grandparents are brutally murdered and her brother arrested for treason by the empire, the only people she has left to turn to are the rebels.

But in exchange for their help in saving her brother, they demand that Laia spy on the ruthless Commandant of Blackcliff, the Empire’s greatest military academy. Should she fail it’s more than her brother’s freedom at risk . . . Laia’s very life is at stake.

There, she meets Elias, the academy’s finest soldier. But Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined – and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

August Wrap Up 2021

So, a bit of a rocky month last month. I basically didn’t read any books for the last 2 weeks of the month as I was celebrating birthdays. I still managed to read some books but I could have read more.

  • I read 6 books this month.
  • I DNFed 2 book this month, that’s 5 so far for the year.
  • Genre: 2 fantasy, 2 contemporary, 1 murder mystery and 1 romance
  • Gender of authors: 4 women and 2 men.
  • Race of authors: 4 white and 2 asian
  • Age range: 3 adult and 3 YA
  • Format: 2 paperback, 2 webtoon, 1 manga and 1 ebook

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett (DNF)

I think it is time to say goodbye to Mr Pratchett. Sadly, while I enjoyed some of his books I just don’t love them enough. They are either good or bad and no book has ever really impressed me. Because of that I have decided to not continue reading the Discworld series.

The Appeal by Janice Hallett (5 stars)

OMG! What a book! This will be a book that I will forever be screaming from the mountain tops that people should read it. What makes this book so unique is that it is written in the form of emails, text messages, newspaper clippings and it make for such an exciting and fresh reading experience. The characters were written so well, the mystery had me on the edge of my seat and the ending was just perfect. A must read!

The Binding by Bridget Collins (DNF)

There was nothing majorly wrong with this novel, I just could not connect to it in the slightest. Then about 25% in some changes happened which I just didn’t personally like and I just decided not to continue.

Always Human by Ari North (3 stars)

This webtoon was beautiful! The colours, the character design, the music was all perfect. This story is more character focused than plot focused which isn’t something I normally go for and, especially at the beginning of the novel, I struggled a little bit with the relationship as it felt quite rushed and the mis-communication trope was very strong but by the end of the comic I found myself really enjoying the characters and their love story.

Your Letter by Hyeon A Cho (4 stars)

This was a really beautiful mystery comic with an amazing art style, really interesting characters and I wish it was longer than it was!

Komi Can’t Communicate Vol. 1 by Tomohito Oda (2 stars)

This was a bit disappointing. The art style and the premise of the manga was good but it fell short with overly stereotyped characters which at times were borderline harmful representation. This manga had a lot of potential and obviously I am only commenting on the first volume but I just felt the author relied more on harmful stereotypes.

Always Human Review

In the near future, people use technology to give the illusion of all kinds of body modifications—but some people have “Egan’s Syndrome,” a highly sensitive immune system that rejects these “mods” and are unable to use them. Those who are affected maintain a “natural” appearance, reliant on cosmetics and hair dye at most to help them play with their looks. Sunati is attracted to Austen the first time she sees her and is drawn to what she assumes is Austen’s bravery and confidence to live life unmodded. When Sunati learns the truth, she’s still attracted to Austen and asks her on a date. Gradually, their relationship unfolds as they deal with friends, family, and the emotional conflicts that come with every romance. Together, they will learn and grow in a story that reminds us no matter how technology evolves, we will remain . . . always human.