Tag: ya historical fiction

BLOG TOUR: Pride and Premeditation – Tirzah Price (ARC Review)

Published on by Breanna1 Comment

Welcome to my stop on the Pride and Premeditation book tour! Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours for organizing the tour and allowing me to participate as a tour host!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Pride and Premeditation (Jane Austen Murder Mystery #1)
Author: Tirzah Price
Release: April 6, 2021
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: YA Historical Fiction

When a scandalous murder shocks London high society, seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seizes the opportunity to prove herself, despite the interference of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious firm Pemberley Associates.

Convinced the authorities have imprisoned the wrong person, Lizzie vows to solve the murder on her own. But as the case—and her feelings for Darcy—become more complicated, Lizzie discovers that her dream job could make her happy, but it might also get her killed.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | Indigo

REVIEW

ARC provided by Harper Teen through NetGalley.

Pride and Premeditation is a Jane Austen retelling with a murder mystery twist and I was seriously impressed with this book! It was enjoyable, fun, and an excellent new take on a beloved classic.

My favorite thing about this book was how well it incorporated elements of Pride and Prejudice. The characters and major plot points remained, staying true to their source material, but the rest of the story was uniquely woven around them to give it a fresh feel. The murder mystery also added an aspect of unpredictability that I always find important when reading retellings, and this was done perfectly.

Tirzah Price is very clearly a seasoned writer, and it really shows in her debut book. The writing was engaging, the pacing was excellent, and the weaving of Pride and Prejudice elements with originality was cleverly done. I look forward to reading more Jane Austen murder mysteries from her in the future!

★ ★ ★ ½

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tirzah Price grew up on a farm in Michigan, where she read every book she could get her hands on and never outgrew her love for YA fiction. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and is a former bookseller and librarian. Now, she’s a contributing editor at Book Riot, where she writes about YA books and cohosts the All the Books and Read Harder podcasts. When she’s not writing, reading, or thinking about YA books, she splits her time between experimenting in the kitchen and knitting enough socks to last the fierce Michigan winters. Tirzah is pronounced TEER-ZUH.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

BOOK REVIEW: Chain of Gold – Cassandra Clare ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Published on by Breanna1 Comment

17699853Title: Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Rating: ★★★★★

I’ve always enjoyed books from The Shadowhunters Chronicles. But I don’t think I’ve every loved any of them as much as I loved Chain of Gold, and that’s really saying something in my opinion. This is my absolutely favorite Shadowhunters book and my excitement for this series has returned tenfold.

What is this book about? The Last Hours centers around the children of the characters from The Infernal Devices. We get to meet James and Lucie Herondale, Christopher and Thomas Lightwood, and Matthew Fairchild, as well as some other important characters such as Cordelia Carstairs and Grace Blackthorn. And if you thought you would be getting more Will and Tessa in this series, well…..YOU WERE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. *cue screaming*

What did I like? Cassandra Clare has crafted the perfect recipe: the nostalgia of the Shadowhunter world, the return of favorite characters from past books, historical romance elements such as ballroom dancing and afternoon tea and a marriage of convenience trope. Plus, she throws in all of the good stuff from her previous books that I love best: loveable yet sometimes idiotic characters, angst, possibly unrequited love, unbreakable friendships, and demon fighting. The plot was so engaging and I couldn’t stop reading!

Sorry Emma Carstairs, but your ancestor Cordelia has upended you has my favorite Shadowhunter heroine. Cordelia Carstairs was the light of this book. She is caring and passionate and self-sacrificing and has so much love for her family and friends. Also, why am I trash for every couple Cassandra Clare decides to put on paper?

What didn’t I like? This is always my complaint with her books, but sometimes it’s so difficult to differentiate between whose POV the chapter is supposed to be told through. There were even parts were it seemed like it was going back and forth between character voices and it was just super confusing.

Overall thoughts: Chain of Gold absolutely blew away any and every expectation I had for this book. If you have enjoyed The Shadowhunter Chronicles in the past, do not miss this amazing start to a new series.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books Covers Featuring My Favorite Animal

Published on by Breanna17 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week was a freebie and I decided to dedicate it to my favorite animal: the wolf! 🐺

wolf covers

Creating this list was so much fun, but I realized that there are not nearly enough covers featuring wolves! 

ARC REVIEW: The Kingdom of Back – Marie Lu

Published on by Breanna3 Comments

34213299Title: The Kingdom of Back
Author: Marie Lu
Rating: ★★★½

ARC received through #booksfortrade on Twitter.

“And then one night you realize that you have given him so much of yourself that you are nothing but the curtsy and the smile and the quiet. That you are nothing.”

What is this book about? The synopsis is definitely a bit misleading (at least to me). I was expecting a fantasy story with musical aspects something along the veins of Wintersong. However, The Kingdom of Back is a historical fiction focused on the bond between siblings with some fantasy elements mixed in. The book follows the Nannerl Mozart and her relationship with her brother as they discover and cultivate their prodigious musical talents together.

What did I like? I’m a big enough person to admit that prior to this book, I was unaware of Wolfgang Mozart’s equally talented sister, Nannerl. Once I had read up about her on Wikipedia, I was able to better appreciate Marie Lu’s story. She gave such an important voice to Nannerl and I loved how true to history the book’s events were. Even the mention of the Kingdom of Back was really well done and did a great job giving insight to the possible thoughts and emotions Nannerl might have had about her success and place in the world compared to her brother’s.

What didn’t I like? The Kingdom of Back was a lot slower paced and longer than I had anticipated. Because it was lacking in action and focused more on Nannerl’s inner monologue, I struggled to push through parts of the book.

Overall thoughts: The Kingdom of Back was a totally different type of story than I had been expecting: the book is more historical fiction than fantasy. Marie Lu’s lyrical writing focuses on music and sibling love, however the book’s slower pace and lack of action failed to keep my attention.