April Wrap-Up

Hiya! Today I’ll be talking about the books I read in April! I’m actually quite happy with this month’s results. I read more books in this month than I have ever read in any month before! Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Novels I Read

Rogue Princess by B. R. Myers: ⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 out of 5 stars) This was a gripping Cinderella retelling that also had a lot of sci-fi elements. Read my full review here!

(ARC) Made In Korea by Sarah Suk: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.5 out of 5 stars) I adored this!! Made In Korea is essentially a book about rival high school businesses but make it K-Beauty, and it was so much fun. 😆 I buddy read this one with Rania and Ritz. Do check out their blogs as well! Read my review here, and my interview with the author here!

Yesterday Is History by Kosoko Jackson: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.25 out of 5 stars) I read this one in two days! It was so intriguing! Yesterday Is History is a touching and quick read on time travel and love. Read my review here!

A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 out of 5 stars) This was my first middle grade read of the year, and it did not disappoint! The premise is incredibly unique too. Review to come!

(ARC) The Other Side of Perfect by Mariko Turk: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.75 out of 5 stars) This was a sweet coming of age about dance and musicals. Check out my review here, and my interview with the author here!

Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 out of 5 stars) This was a chilling middle grade novel about a ghost that follows a girl home. Review to come!

Graphic Novels and Manga read

Blue Lock Volumes 1-11 by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yuusuke Nomura: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5 stars) I may or may not have binged this series. It was THAT good. I don’t think I’ve ever read something so interesting! I can’t recommend it enough.

Shortcake Cake Volumes 3-6 by Suu Morishita: ⭐⭐⭐ (3 out of 5 stars) This was just okay. The art is incredibly stunning, but I have major issues with a lot of things in the series.

Ao Haru Ride Volumes 12-13 by Io Sakisaka: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.75 out of 5 stars) Only one more volume left! It feels so bittersweet, but I’m glad I enjoyed the series.

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 out of 5 stars) I didn’t like the Prince much, but it was still a cute story nonetheless.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds: ⭐⭐⭐ (3 out of 5 stars) This was just okay. I didn’t love the art style, and the ending felt rushed.

(ARC) Star⇄Crossed!! Volume 1 by Junko: ⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 out of 5 stars) This was a fun and light hearted manga on switching bodies with a J-Pop idol.

Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and Dung Ho: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.5 out of 5 stars) This was so adorable!! I loved it! You can read my full review here!

Total Number Of Books Read: 30 (A new record!)

Total Number Of Posts Published: 7

Average Rating: 7.2/10 or 3.7 out of 5 stars

• April @ Booked Till Midnight gives us some summer book recs! And she also celebrates her birthday! Happy Birthday April!!
• Ahaana @ Windows to Worlds reviews A Sky Blues!
• Amanda @ Bookish Brews reviews The Donut Trap and makes a lovely moodboard too.
• Joanna @ The Geekish Brunette talks a bit about Battle Royale, a book that’s coming out soon.
• Amani @ Amani Reviews participates in a very cool readathon called The Ramadan Readathon!!
• Tiffany @ Read by Tiffany reviews XOXO by Axie Oh!
• Cherry @ Letters to the Lost convinces us to read their favorite books through aesthetics!
• The Crab Chronicles gives us some perfect YA beach reads!
• Tsai @ Books With Tsai reviews The Helm of Midnight.
• Sereadipity reviews Witches Steeped in Gold!
• Jiyoon @ Insomniac Reviews gives us a heart felt review of Crying In H Mart.
• SushiiiWithSoysauce goes self hosted. Congrats Sushi!!!!
• Althea @ Althea is Reading gives us some queer non-fiction recs! They also celebrated their birthday! Happy Birthday Althea!!
• Phoenix @ Books with Wings interviews the author Maggie Tokuda!
• Mehsi @ Twirling Book Princess hosts the cutest blog tour stop for the book Fred Gets Dressed.
• The Wordy Whimsical tells us about the podcasts they’ve listened to recently.
• Prutha @ Moonchild Lexicons writes an incredibly informative post on ARCs!
• Aanya @ Sugar, Spice, and Stories interviews a book cover designer! How cool is that?
• Kate @ Your Tita Kate talks about the ARMYdathon, which is a BTS-Themed readathon!!

First, let’s recap! Last month I said I’d read three novels and post some of the things I was tagged to try. Luckily, I read five novels!! However, I only posted one tag. I don’t mind though. 🙂

Some of my goals for May include…

• Finish all netgalley ARCs
• Read five novels
• Drink lots of water

And that’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed reading about my April in books, I’d love to read about yours too! Have a lovely day!

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Rogue Princess | A Review

Hey everyone! I hope you’re doing well. Today I’ll to be reviewing Rogue Princess by B.R. Myers. Before we get into it, I would like to point out how gorgeous this cover is! Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

(Synopsis from goodreads)

A princess fleeing an arranged marriage teams up with a snarky commoner to foil a rebel plot in B. R. Myers’ Rogue Princess, a gender-swapped sci-fi YA retelling of Cinderella. Princess Delia knows her duty: She must choose a prince to marry in order to secure an alliance and save her failing planet. Yet she secretly dreams of true love, and feels there must be a better way. Determined to chart her own course, she steals a spaceship to avoid the marriage, only to discover a handsome stowaway. All Aidan wanted was to “borrow” a few palace trinkets to help him get off the planet. Okay, so maybe escaping on a royal ship wasn’t the smartest plan, but he never expected to be kidnapped by a runaway princess! Sparks fly as this headstrong princess and clever thief battle wits, but everything changes when they inadvertently uncover a rebel conspiracy that could destroy their planet forever.

First, let’s talk about the plot. The original premise sounded so cool! A steampunk genderbent Cinderella retelling? Um yes!! The execution was done fairly well. However, I feel like the story was subject to bad writing. The story was all over the place, and there were too many mini plots. I didn’t know what direction the story was taking until page 220 or so. There was also a certain event that was used as a plot device even though it barely added anything to the story. Luckily, one thing that allowed me to raise my rating was the plot twist. I was definitely not expecting it.

Additionally, the main character Delia was underdeveloped. There was so much that happened in Delia’s life, yet she still stayed the same at the end of the book. She also didn’t have much of a personality aside from not wanting to marry a prince. Then again, it’s not like Prince Charming had much of a personality in the original Cinderella. Fortunately, Aidan was a very likeable character. He was passionate, fun, and his snarky remarks never failed to make me crack a little chuckle.

“If you love anything in this world, fight for it. Otherwise what’s the point of anything?”

―B.R. Myers, Rogue Princess

The side characters were definitely a hit or miss. The princes felt very comic book like, which made them seem extremely one dimensional. Prince Quinton really caught my attention though. He was mysterious and kind, and I really enjoyed reading about him. I only wish he was a little more developed though. Same goes for Prince Felix. Moreover, Delia’s sister Shania did not stop talking about men. It was literally all she would talk about. I’m not going to lie, it did annoy me quite a bit. Thankfully, the pirates were actually very cool. I loved the way the author worked them into the story too! Overall, the majority of the characters felt very one dimensional, which is unfortunate.

Furthermore, the dialogue was consistently done well. It was most certainly the highlight of the story. The dialogue really added to the enjoyment of the novel. From Delia and Shania’s interactions, to Aidan’s sassy remarks, the dialogue was undoubtedly very enjoyable.

“There is no greater power than the power of choice.”

―B.R. Myers, Rogue Princess

The writing style is where I had a lot of issues with. It was extremely dragged out at times, and felt overly repetitive. It was too blunt and the metaphors made no sense. I simply could not get into it. Due to the writing, so many moments that where meant to seem beautiful or symbolic did not make me feel any emotions. The story was also very confusing and I found myself struggling to imagine what was going on. There was also little to no world building. This led me to being heavily confused throughout the story. Luckily, despite being in third person, the story read like a first person story. I was very happy about that since I’m not a fan of third person writing.

The overall enjoyment level of Rogue Princess was pretty average. It was a good story that simply wasn’t impactful. As mentioned previously, the writing and underdeveloped characters made the story less enjoyable. Nevertheless, the original concept was very unique. Rogue Princess opened my eyes to a completely new genre of books that I will certainly explore more of!

If steampunk or science fiction are genres that interest you, I highly recommend you give this book a read!

Age Rating: 15 and up

TW: manipulation, death of a loved one, violence

Final Rating: 7/10 or 3.5 stars

⭐⭐⭐

Have you ever read any steampunk or science fiction novels? Let me know in the comments down below. Have a fabulous day!

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Spring TBR 2021

Hey everyone, I hope you’re doing spectacularly. Before we get into it I just want to say…Happy Spring!!! As displayed in today’s post thumbnail, the change of seasons is really just an excuse for me to use Studio Ghibli clips. 😆 Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

(PS: Click on the covers of the books to add them to goodreads.)

First, let’s recap!

In my Winter TBR post, I said I’d read five novels. I’m happy to report that I read all of them! With that said, onto the actual TBR!

1. Rogue Princess by B.R. Myers

This is a gender-bent science fiction retelling of Cinderella, which sounds so unique! I’ve actually been meaning to read this one since November, so it’s about time I pick it up.

2. The Other Side of Perfect by Mariko Turk

I love middle grade novels, and this one just seems to be amazing! I can’t wait to delve into it!

3. Made In Korea by Sarah Suk

This YA novel sounds so exciting! I love how it’s about entrepreneurship too!

4. Jelly by Clare Rees

Survival stories have always keened my interest. However, for the most part, they seem to follow a similar format. But a group of teens trapped on a giant jellyfish? Now that’s different! And just look at this sick cover!

5. We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Solomon

This is an exciting rom-com about two teens whose parents are involved in the wedding business. One’s parents are wedding planners, and the other’s are wedding caterers. The premise sounds super fun and I can’t wait to read it!

6. Yesterday Is History by Kosoko Jackson

This seems like a heartbreaking read that reminds me of History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera…Let’s shed some tears!

7. Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie

This is an eerie middle grade novel about a girl who’s being followed. As long as I don’t read it at night, I’m sure it won’t be too scary. 😂

8. Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

This gives me major Zuko from Avatar The Last Airbender vibes, and I am totally here for it. 😆

9. Vicious by V.E. Schwab

I’ve been putting this one off for a while, so I think it’s finally time I give it another go. This’ll also be my first V.E. Schwab book!

10. Ao Haru Ride by Io Sakisaka

I’m hoping to finish the remaining three volumes this spring. This series is such a fun ride about being in high school. (Really bad pun intended) I hope to pick up the author’s newest series too!

I hope you enjoyed reading my TBR list. What are some books on your spring TBR? I’d love to know! Have a fabulous day!

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