LJ Holiday Book Bingo
Dec. 27th, 2021 09:46 pmI have completed the Holiday Book Bingo from
ljbookbingo and it was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed the different categories. You can find my card here! I was planning on making a few different posts but I procrastinated so now you get one big one. lol
I hope everyone is having a good holiday season and here's to a better New Year!

Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted, but it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother.
Raikama has dark magic of her own, and she banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.
Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne—a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and complex, than even Raikama's betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain—no matter what it costs her. ~ Goodreads Description
This was such a great book. I loved Shiori. The journey she goes on to try to free herself and her brothers from a curse and the way she grows as a person along the way is just so well written. Elizabeth Lim is one of my favorite author's in YA and I have loved every book she has put out and this one is no different. I can't wait for The Dragon's Promise to come out in August. I highly recommend it! (Using this one for the Read a Book about Giving, and Read by Holiday Light)

Euphemia Reeves has most inconveniently fallen in love with Mr Benedict Ashbrooke. Housemaids do not marry gentlemen, of course... but a faerie named Lord Blackthorn is only too eager to help Effie win Mr Benedict's heart regardless.
Effie knows what a terrible idea it is to accept help from one of the Fair Folk—but life as a maid at Hartfield is so awful that she is willing to risk even her immortal soul for a chance at something better. Now, Effie has one hundred days and ten thousand stitches to make Mr Benedict fall in love with her and propose... if Lord Blackthorn doesn't wreck things by accident, that is. For Effie’s greatest obstacle might well be Lord Blackthorn’s overwhelmingly good intentions. ~Goodreads Description
This is the second book in Olivia Atwater's Regency Faerie Tales and I loved it just as much as the first one which was called Half a Soul. I loved both Effie and Blackthorn and how they play off each other as the story progresses. What I really appreciated was how the author makes Blackthorn truly feel like Fae, there is something not human about him and it shows in the way he thinks and when he tries to help Effie in his own unique way. Plus Effie is allowed to angry at the injustice she and her fellow maids experience at the hands of the rich. Also I liked that unlike a lot of YA the author allows the story to be both serious and humorous which was a nice change. So many YA books are just so grim and dark and there is nothing wrong with that but it makes for a refreshing change when a book does not go that route. (Using this one for the Read wrapped in a blanket, & Read while playing holiday music square)
( Read more... )
I hope everyone is having a good holiday season and here's to a better New Year!

Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted, but it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother.
Raikama has dark magic of her own, and she banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.
Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne—a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and complex, than even Raikama's betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain—no matter what it costs her. ~ Goodreads Description
This was such a great book. I loved Shiori. The journey she goes on to try to free herself and her brothers from a curse and the way she grows as a person along the way is just so well written. Elizabeth Lim is one of my favorite author's in YA and I have loved every book she has put out and this one is no different. I can't wait for The Dragon's Promise to come out in August. I highly recommend it! (Using this one for the Read a Book about Giving, and Read by Holiday Light)

Euphemia Reeves has most inconveniently fallen in love with Mr Benedict Ashbrooke. Housemaids do not marry gentlemen, of course... but a faerie named Lord Blackthorn is only too eager to help Effie win Mr Benedict's heart regardless.
Effie knows what a terrible idea it is to accept help from one of the Fair Folk—but life as a maid at Hartfield is so awful that she is willing to risk even her immortal soul for a chance at something better. Now, Effie has one hundred days and ten thousand stitches to make Mr Benedict fall in love with her and propose... if Lord Blackthorn doesn't wreck things by accident, that is. For Effie’s greatest obstacle might well be Lord Blackthorn’s overwhelmingly good intentions. ~Goodreads Description
This is the second book in Olivia Atwater's Regency Faerie Tales and I loved it just as much as the first one which was called Half a Soul. I loved both Effie and Blackthorn and how they play off each other as the story progresses. What I really appreciated was how the author makes Blackthorn truly feel like Fae, there is something not human about him and it shows in the way he thinks and when he tries to help Effie in his own unique way. Plus Effie is allowed to angry at the injustice she and her fellow maids experience at the hands of the rich. Also I liked that unlike a lot of YA the author allows the story to be both serious and humorous which was a nice change. So many YA books are just so grim and dark and there is nothing wrong with that but it makes for a refreshing change when a book does not go that route. (Using this one for the Read wrapped in a blanket, & Read while playing holiday music square)
( Read more... )