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The Star-Touched Queen #2.5: Star-Touched Stories

August 3, 2018 / 04 STARS, RC YA THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN

Star-Touched Stories Book Cover Star-Touched Stories
Roshani Chokshi
Young Adult Fiction
Wednesday Books
August 7, 2018
400

This collection of three lush and adventurous stories in "New York Times"-bestselling author Chockshi's Star-Touched World also includes an extended excerpt of "The Gilded Wolves."

I’m going to be real honest with you guys: Sometimes, Roshani’s writing doesn’t work with me. When I read The Star-Touched Queen, I thought it was really unique and that the story was beautiful. Roshani’s writing is so beautiful that you can legitimately get lost in it.. and that’s exactly what I did. Sometimes I would forget what is actually happening because the descriptions were like.. weaved with gold and rubies. I still really enjoyed it, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Then I read A Crown of Wishes and it became a book I loved just as much as everyone around me. It had more of an adventure to it and I could get behind what was going on, plus enjoy the rhythm of the story being told.

SO when I received an advanced reading copy of a group of novellas for this world, I was really excited. And let me tell you, it lived up to the hype. The words are woven together seamlessly, the stories captivate you and you find yourself wishing that these weren’t novellas, but actual staples in the series itself. Death & Night is still my absolute favorite and makes my heart sing.

If you loved the first two books, you are going to really enjoy these novellas.

Roshani Chokshi proved herself an author to watch with her young adult fantasy debut, The Star-Touched Queen and companion novel A Crown of Wishes. Debuting at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list, her novels received rave reviews from fans and critics alike and appeared on the most buzzed about lists for young adult novels. With STAR-TOUCHED STORIES (Wednesday Books; August 7, 2018), Chokshi adds to the Star-Touched world in three short stories, re-visiting some fan favorite characters. Exploring what happens after the happily ever after in Chokshi’s Star-Touched novels, her short stories are the perfect read for a taste of beautiful writing with delicious plots.

Death and Night
He was Lord of Death, cursed never to love. She was Night incarnate, destined to stay alone. After a chance meeting, they wonder if, perhaps, they could be meant for more. But danger crouches in their paths, and the choices they make will set them on a journey that will span lifetimes.

Poison and Gold
Now that her wish for a choice has come true, Aasha struggles to control her powers. But when an opportunity to help Gauri and Vikram’s new reign presents itself, she will have to battle her insecurities and maybe, along the way, find love.

Rose and Sword
There is a tale whispered in the dark of the Empire of Bharat-Jain. A tale of a bride who loses her bridegroom on the eve of her wedding. But is it a tale or a truth?

As the excitement builds for Chokshi’s next series THE GILDED WOLVES (February 2019), this collection will satisfy the cravings for her gorgeous prose and fans can catch up with their favorite characters. Even if dipping into the Star-Touched universe for the first time, STAR-TOUCHED STORIES will draw you in and leaving for more.

About the Author:

ROSHANI CHOKSHI is the New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen, A Crown of Wishes, and Aru Shah and the End of Time. Her work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Shimmer, and Book Smugglers. Her short story, “The Star Maiden,” was long listed for the British Fantasy Science Award.

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How I Rate Books:
All of my books start at three stars ★★★☆☆.
This is different than most because people usually start a book at five stars ★★★★★ and trickle it down from there. I believe this doesn’t actually leave room for a book to grow from my expectations. This leads to some five stars being on the same level as other five stars that I actually ended up enjoying more. Starting at three stars ★★★☆☆ leaves me room to have more control on my ratings.

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The Female of the Species

February 20, 2018 / 04 STARS, 2018 FEBRUARY, MMCGINNIS YA NOVEL

The Female of the Species Book Cover The Female of the Species
Mindy McGinnis
Juvenile Fiction
Katherine Tegen Books
September 20, 2016
Hardcover
352

Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. When her older sister, Anna, was murdered three years ago and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best. The language of violence. While her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high school hallways. But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the guy all other guys want to be: the star athlete gunning for valedictorian with the prom queen on his arm. Guilt over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered hasn’t let him forget Alex over the years, and now her green eyes amid a constellation of freckles have his attention. He doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her. So does Peekay, the preacher’s kid, a girl whose identity is entangled with her dad’s job, though that does not stop her from knowing the taste of beer or missing the touch of her ex-boyfriend. When Peekay and Alex start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and Alex’s protective nature extends to more than just the dogs and cats they care for. Circumstances bring Alex, Jack, and Peekay together as their senior year unfolds. While partying one night, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever. Acclaimed author Mindy McGinnis artfully crafts three alternating perspectives into a dark and riveting exploration of what it means to be the female of the species.

*featuring the female of my duo, Marcy Louisa and all her fluff*

This was the February Read for The Cheerful Wednesdays, and might I say that this was a heavy book.

This book is full of all kinds of triggers. There is talk of murder, rape, child pornography, animal cruelty, substance abuse and just about anything you can think of. Some of these are actual topics that should be talked about more in order for people to understand them, and for this I thank the author for not shying away from the tougher topics.

“You see it in all animals – the female of the species is more deadly than the male. Except humans.”

Alex is dealing with a lot. Her sister was brutally killed and raped and left in the woods for someone to find days later after nature took her course on her. Ever since then, she has not been the same. She doesn’t actually know if she changed because of what happened or she is the way she is because her sister was the only thing holding her to the ground; but what she does know is a simple rule: people who hurt other people deserve to die, and ladies and gentlemen, she is true to her word.

See, Alex is 100% a murderer but in a Dexter-type of way. She only takes out the absolute trash of the world. She has a heart and she feels things too, but she lives off of her animal instinct. You kill those who hurt others in order to protect people. Unlike Dexter, she doesn’t actually have to kill, she just is driven when the opportunity arises.

So what happens when Alex volunteers at an animal shelter and meets the pastor’s kid, Peekay? She learns what it is like to have a friend.

Peekay is tired of always being associated with being the pastor’s kid. She doesn’t have a problem with the religion and she loves her parents with all her heart, but she wants to be known for something else for a change. With a recent break up, Peekay finds hope in her new friend and the challenges that come up along the way.

Alex and Peekay are friendship goals. They support each other, they pick each other up, and there is no “frienemies” involved. They just love and support each other, which is something a lot of our culture has lacked. Women pin each other against each other and are jealous of what they can’t have. I think Alex was a refreshing break for Peekay because Alex never expected anything and was always just there to help her. They both found themselves again in their friendship which is what friendship is actually about.

“But boys will be boys, our favorite phrase that excuses so many things, while the only thing we have for the opposite gender is women, said with disdain and punctuated with an eye roll.”

Now I am not going to lie, I got really, really weird vibes from Jack. I’m not sure if it was just because the author actually got into the mind of a man and went with it, or because he is actually creepy… but I will let you figure that one out yourself. His character does have some growth in it, but honestly I just didn’t find him appealing. He was kind of… gross to me. Which leads me to believe that crawling into the mind of a man will literally kill all romantic notions.

One thing that really made me uncomfortable was the brutality with the animals in this book. Jack works with the butcher and is the one that takes the life of the cows, Alex and Peekay pick up dead baby animals that were thrown out of a moving vehicle… I could have lived without all those visuals and I am sorry I just put those in your head when you were 100% not asking for it. Even the emotional sadness with animals in this book almost made me just put the book down.

Little background on me: I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 08 years old. Some days, I am vegan. You can bet your bottom dollar I eat like my namesake: a bird. I have two rescued cats and I love all animals to the absolute fullest. I even take the time to get on Amazon Smile to make sure it donates to my appointed rescue. You can say I am a little bit of a nut job, but I am a full believer of taking care of the creatures I was put on this earth to take care of (and that also includes the earth itself… also a big recycler).

Now don’t get me wrong, I will touch and make meat and I am not going to even give your food a second glance if you are eating a cheeseburger in front of me. But I never want to read about someone actually in the process of making the food that the majority of the world eats ever again. It was too heartbreaking for this tender-heart bird.

Which brings up another dilemma of mine: why did the talk of animals being killed hurt more than the idea of some of the other topics in this book? Am I that filtered? When I have talked to some of the other people who have read this book, they all felt the same way I did. Why is it that the talk of someone killing an animal is more repulsive than the talk of someone killing another human? I can watch Criminal Minds all day, but I will never watch Old Yeller again. I love war movies, but you will see me plug my ears and close my eyes when it is apparent that a horse is about to die.

I’m just bringing all of that up because I don’t want people to think that I am pointing fingers. This is also a topic that I need to learn more about and talk openly with. This book is a good start to ease someone into this kind of topic and also a great one to read with a few people. I read this with my book club The Cheerful Wednesdays, and I can tell you that none of us expected this book to go as deep as it did.

Overall, this book was just a really, really heavy read. I didn’t resonate with the ending too well, and I am not sure if it was because I didn’t like it or because I knew it was the only way for this story to conclude. Even if you took out the romance in this book, the friendship between Alex and Peekay is worth the read. Even if you took out both the romance and the friendship, the topics touched on are worth reading and learning about.

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When Dimple Met Rishi

February 10, 2018 / 04 STARS, 2018 JANUARY, SMENON YA NOVELS

When Dimple Met Rishi Book Cover When Dimple Met Rishi
Sandhya Menon
Young Adult Fiction
Simon and Schuster
May 30, 2017
384

When Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel meet at a Stanford University summer program, Dimple is avoiding her parents' obsession with "marriage prospects" but Rishi hopes to woo her into accepting arranged marriage with him.

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If you are needing some quirky girl and a love-struck boy to have a love story that keeps you giggling and grabs your attention (even if it is a little predictable), then you have come to the right book.

This book breaks away from a lot of the stereotypes that are out there for genders. Example, the girl is the one who wants the relationship or the boy is the one who never wants to settle down or the boy is the generous with technology and the girl is the cute artsy one.

I loved this book for what it truly was: a predictable love story that had me awe-ing and cheering for the couple to make it to the end.

“This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what doesn’t.”

There is a lot of other players in this, like rich kids who get what they want, someone who just wants to fit in with the popular crowd, someone who doesn’t want to follow in their families beliefs and life style, etc., and I feel as if those were really important to put in a book that wasn’t your typical young adult novel. The blend of culture and religion and reverse rolls was something that I found very enjoyable.

The only thing that knocked out a star was how predictable it was. I mean, if it didn’t end the way we all wanted it to, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be raved about as much as it has been. Sometimes though, predictable reads can be relaxing and fun because you don’t have to stress about it as a whole and can enjoy the ride to the last page.

Overall, this was super cute and super adorable and super fun. SUPER SUPER SUPER. Not sure what else you can expect from such a cute cover, am I right? I will definitely be reading more by this author.

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That was disgustingly adorable I loved it. RTC.

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So quick note: I completely understand the “strange name” thing. My name isn’t too strange, but I’ve been called “Rān” “Rēan” “Reba” (yeah, idk) “Wēan” “When” “Ron” (you think I’m kidding) “Rue” and literally some people who gave up and gave me a new name… it’s kind of… hurtful.

And, my name isn’t that “weird.” Just uncommon.

Just keep that in mind when you talk to someone who has a “strange” name. 🙃

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Excited to finally dive into this book to see what all the fuss is about!

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Meet Wren!

Meet Wren!

Hi my name is Wren and welcome to my page. I like to read books, listen to books, take care of my plants and pet cats and dogs.

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