The other day, an old friend of mine texted me asking for book recommendations.

As soon as I saw his message, I immediately replied:

SIX OF CROWWSSSSS DUDE

I stand by that statement, because this book took my breath away. I stayed up until the wee hours of morning to finish this beautiful piece of work.

During the first chapter of this book, I wasn’t really sure if I’d like it. The writing was slow, and perhaps even a bit boring. But I’m glad I got through it, because it was perfect setup for the rest of the book.

And OH MY GOD the rest of the book was FREAKING AWESOME.

Literally. Like, it’s just...

The six characters we follow in the story are Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, and Matthias Helvar. There isn’t a better combination of personalities in this world. With humor and snark, grief and profundity, jealousy and rage, love and heartbreak�� this book has absolutely ripped me apart.

Jesper knocked his head against the hull and cast his eyes heavenward. “Fine. But if Pekka Rollins kills us all, I’m going to get Wylan’s ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost.��
Brekker’s lips quirked. “I’ll just hire Matthias�� ghost to kick your ghost’s ass.��
“My ghost won’t associate with your ghost,�� Matthias said primly, and then wondered if the sea air was rotting his brain.

I can’t decide whether I like Kaz or Inej the best at this point, because both are such strong, smart, amazing people.

“I'm a business man," he'd told her. "No more, no less."
"You're a thief, Kaz."
"Isn't that what I just said?��

Their backstories also absolutely killed me. There is such strength and beauty in the way they pulled themselves up and continued living. Kaz’s backstory in particular struck me, because of his desire to absolutely obliterate Pekka Rollins.

“Brick by brick, I will destroy you.��

It adds conflict to the story, but also adds an extra layer of depth to his character, which I appreciated a lot.

I couldn’t come up with a good criticism for Six of Crows. At first I was thinking of criticizing how cruel and callous the characters can be at times�� but they’re murderers and thieves, it’s not like I expected otherwise. And despite their shortcomings, I still root for them with every inch of my being. They’re the underdogs, after all. They’re smart and strong, which is the reason they have survived as long as they have in Ketterdam, but they’re still the underdogs. And part of me loves that.

And Ketterdam! That’s a place in Kerch. But there's also Shu Han, Ravka, Novyi Zem, and Fjerda. The worldbuilding is just�� Hold up...

I guess Matthias and Nina’s relationship is something I might criticize. The ending was awesome [spoilers removed] and I think there was certainly a spark between them that would appeal to some audiences. Unfortunately, I’m just not part of that audience. I think the moment Matthias tried to strangle Nina, I was super turned off from the whole thing lol.

But I’m glad I read this, because the only parts I really liked from the Shadow and Bone TV show were the ones involving Kaz, Inej, and Jesper. Now I understand why.

This book is amazing. I live for this kind of book.

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Rating: 5 stars!

First and foremost, I'd like to thank the author of this lovely book (Sara DeLaVergne) for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

Daughter of Shattered Skies is a whirlwind of romance, magic, adventure, and power. It explores a world divided into day and night, where tension and conflict are bursting from every corner.

The main characters are fantastic. Princess Issaria is my personal favorite, because her dynamic nature creates a sense of movement and resilience to the story. The sense of responsibility she feels to save her people is incredible as she takes the identity of “Kai��, but still she forges on. Elon also captured my heart with his endearing personality, and Shairi surprised me with her role in the story.

Be afraid, but do it anyway.

(Also, Prince Calix is definitely going onto my book boyfriend list. He’s got such a nice vibe.)

The quality of writing surprised me! There were some minor grammatical errors here and there (e.g. “he�� instead of “the��), but they were overshadowed by the wonderful organization of ideas. The reading was smooth and easily hooked me into the intricacies of the plot.

And the best thing about this book, in my opinion, is the worldbuilding! It is so well-thought out—I could imagine every scene in amazing detail. Also, how cool is the Glass?? The purple crystal is such a creative addition to the book!

Would DEFINITELY recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of authors like Sarah J. Maas or Sabaa Tahir!

See ya in the next review :)

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"If all we need is one overdetermined reason to suffer the mode of aliveness, perhaps art is mine. Perhaps if Billy-Ray Belcourt is a concept that shouts and dances and philosophizes I'll in the end have been scattered in thousands of pieces across the nation. Everywhere will be my graveyard. I'll have lived and died as that which is more than the sum of my body parts. What will matter isn't how many days I endured in the battleground of linear time, but what every fibre of me aspired to—something more than the gift of mortality, more than the rusty category of the individual who had meaning spewing from his ears, something only fully and fleetingly realized in the hands and mouths and chests of those whom I encountered as a ghostly mark on the page."

This writing is beautiful. And although the sentences are lengthy at times and difficult to read, they flow through my mind like music. There is a certain level of profundity that the author brought into his writing—a level that I applaud, because it’s rare to see.

This is not my usual kind of reading. I like fiction—fantasy, romance, young people doing stupid things—so I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy it. But I wanted to read something meaningful for this month to better understand Indigenous heritage.

There were times where I stopped and stared at the page, like, “Yeah, this is definitely not my cup of tea.�� It was difficult for my teeny brain to read through it properly, and it took me longer than expected. I’m glad, though, that I took my time scouring the pages and finished it. There is true literary genius within these pages, combined with a deep knowledge of life and philosophy. It is something that I definitely needed in my life, to stave off some of my own ignorance. Before reading this, I had never even heard the term “NDN��, or “political depression��.

“A bullet is beholden to nothing, not even the barrel that births it. We can’t ask a gun for forgiveness, as its maker has already been empowered by law to shed blame, to be blameless.��

The author touched on some important topics. Residential schools, gender roles, sex, racism, homophobia, suicide, gun violence, intersectionality, and even police brutality. There is something dizzyingly awe-inspiring when someone just tells it like it is. Everyone always talks about Canada being racist as if it’s all in the past.

Indigenous people were murdered. Canadians were racist.

Canada does have a history of racism ingrained into its soul. It is there and always will be. But there are actions being taken every day, right now, that hurt and maim and kill the people this land belongs to. Actions that we have the power to stop.

“They continue to build their lives in a bout of historical amnesia. The ungrievable, those of us who worship an impossible future, we who never were, are rarely granted as sizable a public rage as theirs on that tiny, haunted island.��

-in reference to “an uproar in response to the city’s routinized declaration that they sit atop the traditional lands of the Beothuk, now extinct.��

The author illustrated the fear and the anger he feels so well. In one recollection, he detailed how a white (heterosexual) couple looked at him and his boyfriend when they stopped at a red light on the way to the movie theatre one day. And how the couple then pulled up behind them and started following them. Luckily, no one was harmed—a yellow light separated them—but I couldn’t imagine the kind of fear he experienced at that moment. I couldn’t imagine someone doing that to me, if I was not heteronormative, because of their hate.

The story of Attawapiskat in particular struck me, because of how recent it is. It drove me to research things I never thought of before. Maria Campbell’s story, for one, absolutely shocked me. I’d never heard of it, never knew how it was covered up. I never knew about how the Cross Lake First Nation in Manitoba declared a state of emergency, in March 2016, in response to 140 suicide attempts. There are so, so many I’d never even heard of. Or perhaps I had, in passing, but I considered it at the time another depressing news story to shove into the back of my brain.

I learned so much from this book. More importantly, it has sparked something within me to learn more about these issues.

What I love the most about this book, though, is that it ends on a positive note. A note of joy and hope. A note of growth and love. A note of progress. It truly is an inspiring read.

Thank you for reading this review.

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*Spoiler-free review*

4.5 stars

THIS BOOK. IS. AMAZING.

Seriously. At some point while listening to the Caraval audiobook, I literally sat up in bed, heart pounding, because the tension was so high at the end of the story. The mystery, the magic, the madness�� it was all very well-crafted.

Also, every single time Julian (the love interest) entered a scene, my brain malfunctioned a bit. That may have contributed just a teensy-eensy-weensy bit to how much I am in love with this story. Like, damn that romance was spicy.

One thing that really struck me, though, was that this is one of the first audiobooks I’ve truly enjoyed. Part of the credit goes to Stephanie Garber’s storytelling, of course, but I think Rebecca Soler did such an awesome job with the voice acting! Every inflection of her voice carried weight, and moved the story forward with power. I think the author interview at the end of the audiobook I was listening to was a nice touch, as well, to get a bit more insight into the story.

My reading experience went from this:

To this:

The writing style is absolutely freaking beautiful. There were some sentences that seemed a bit off with the metaphors when looking from a logical stance, but I think from a reader’s perspective it was easy to brush off. For example, the line:

“He tasted like midnight and wind, and shades of rich brown and light blue. Colors that made her feel safe and guarded.��

At first, I was taken aback. What is midnight and wind supposed to taste like? But the image it evoked in my mind fit Julian’s character (dark and wild), so at some point I stopped caring. The level of description in this book, although at times long-winded, absolutely blew my mind. I loved it.

“She'd disappeared like a broken star, leaving the world untouched, save for the bits of missing light that no one would ever see again.��

Beautiful.

I have two minor criticisms of the story (that brought it down half a star), but first I want to praise the fantastic twist at the end. And oh man, was that ending tense. I know I’ve already mentioned this, but wow. I was so into that ending, so ready to see how the story would tie itself up. And it did—wonderfully. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it was absolute heart-stopping. I definitely did not foresee it. At all. I was put through such an emotional rollercoaster and it was EXHILARATING.

My minor criticisms:

My first criticism is that Scarlett Dragna was a difficult character to like. I empathize with her situation and understand that she is a growing person making tough decisions.

But!

She annoyed the heck out of me sometimes with her questionable decision-making and thought processes. From the start, her attitude annoyed me a bit, as if she was above everyone else. The condescending way she thought of others around her at times, her naivety in how absolutely wonderful the Count must be (while she criticizes her sister for being naive and falling in love too fast��), how she seemed to be obsessed with decorum and politeness�� At some point, it was too much. While reviewing this book, I put it on my strong-women ŷ������ shelf, took it down, and then put it back up again. The female characters in the book—especially Tella—faced their adversaries in a unique and smart way. But Scarlett Dragna is just�� incredibly difficult to consider strong in the traditional sense. After much consideration, I decided to put it back on the shelf. The abuse and trauma she dealt with as a child may have been driving factors in her more unlikable character traits at the start of the book. Her ability to overcome that by the end of the book, in my opinion, makes her a strong character.

So although it took away from the reading experience at the start of the book, it was not enough to mar my opinion of the book entirely.

My second criticism is that I have sooooo many unanswered questions.

Like, what places are there, other than the Conquered Isle of Trisda? How do all these magical potions and spells work? I’m assuming there’s some kind of magic system, because none of the tricks in Caraval were ever explained. For example, people die in the game but they can come back to life, yet it was never explained how exactly that happens. Why does this magic only exist in Caraval? Or perhaps magic also exists elsewhere? That was never mentioned. And Scarlett Dragna is the daughter of a governor, so how did that play a role in her life? Doesn’t he do things other than terrorize his daughters? What’s their government like? There’s so much I want to know!

I don’t necessarily view this as an entirely bad thing. It may frustrate me to have so many questions, but it also is a driving factor in me picking up the next book, Legendary. (Which is already very high up on my TBR list!)

Maybe my questions will never get answered. Maybe they will.

All I know is that this book, despite the few flaws I could find between its pages (or sound waves!) was written very, very well.

My favorite quote:

“Dreams that come true can be beautiful, but they can also turn into nightmares when people won't wake up.��

See ya in the next review :)

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*Warning: Light spoilers in this review*
5 stars

There are so many things I want to say about this book. Its fresh perspective on politics, providing the perfect escape from reality. Its vibrant characters, making me smile to myself like an idiot as they bantered. Its lovely romance, which filled my heart with a crazy amount of joy. Seriously, if I tried writing everything, I’d run out of room.

So instead, I’m just going to boil it down to the main points.

Henry and Alex: SO. FREAKING. CUTE.

I was so invested in their relationship. At times it was a bit trope-y, and I found myself cringing at how cheesy it was. But for the remainder of the book I was a puddle of mush.

The humor: Oh, I could go on for days about this. Alex has a strong voice, and he’s someone I would want to meet in real life. Their dialogue is snappy, fun, and fast. Even the event that instigates the whole story [spoilers removed] put a smile on my face.

And the text messages? Emails? Awesome. I’ve never seen such realistic and hilarious conversations in a book.

Also, there’s this moment where Alex keeps turkeys in his room for Thanksgiving instead of a 5-star hotel, and it’s golden.

“That night, as Alex stares into the cold, pitiless eyes of a prehistoric beast of prey, he has a few regrets.
THEY KNOW, he texts Henry. THEY KNOW I HAVE ROBBED THEM OF FIVE STAR ACCOMODATIONS TO SIT IN A CAGE IN MY ROOM, AND THE MINUTE I TURN MY BACK THEY ARE GOING TO FEAST ON MY FLESH.

The alternate universe: Absolutely deliciously unrealistic, but I’m all here for it. In the RWRB universe, a woman has been elected president, and the First Son of the United States (FSOTUS) is a person of color.

At the same time, I like how intertwined it is with our own world—because it is our world, just with a twist. There were many important lessons to be learned about politics, fame, and life. This quote from Prince Henry in particular struck me, in regards to the royal family:

Of course, me being a cynical bastard, I found it difficult to fall into the unfamiliar world at first. But eventually, I came to like it.

Oh, and before I end this: A quick warning for younger folks interested in reading the book. [spoilers removed]

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