Tag: arc reviews

REVIEW: The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi

Published on by Solace in Reading5 Comments
THE SILVERED SERPENTS by the INCREDIBLE ROSHANI CHOKSHI.

DISCLAIMER: I received an e-ARC from Netgalley. This did not influence my opinion of the book in any way.

DISCLAIMER #2: I also received a free copy from Wednesday Books as well as a finished softcover of The Gilded Wolves. This did not influence my opinion of the book in any way.

SPOILERS: will CLEARLY BE MARKED AT THE END!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU TO ROSHANI CHOKSHI because she literally made my 2020. I am not joking. This sequel blew me away and I will be waiting for Book 3. First of all, the plot is so tightly written that there are no plot holes, which is great! There is a lot more action compared to TGW, which I really enjoyed. I LOVE SEEING THAT IN A SEQUEL!!! The world is already set up, and I’ve read TGW multiple times, so I remember what happened.

I was slightly worried that the romance between the main cast would take over the book, however, this is not the case in the slightest. The romantic moments are sweet, heartbreaking, and at times, wow. Roshani, just let them be together. *sobs over blank and blank* Roshani excels at writing slow burn romances and ones that I actually care about.

As for the characters? I will say that a certain someone got on my nerves. I am still reeling from redacted’s actions and have not recovered. Enrique, my favorite, is still my favorite and he’s a historian awkward nerd bookworm like me, so I would love him even if his characterization was different. Zofia surprised me because she got a lot more page time in this one, and I love her because she’s so much more relevant than redacted. And LAILA!!!! Wow. I love her as well. Also Hypnos.

The villains? Honestly, I read this ARC in July in less than two hours, so I don’t really remember. I do remember that I felt very surprised where Roshani took the story, in a good way! I forgot the history of the Order, so I will definitely be looking for that during my re-read.

The worldbuilding just gets better. There is a lot more in Serpents than Wolves, which I again loved so much. I want to see more forging in Book 3. However, I read this two months ago, and I paid more attention to the plot and characters, so I don’t have many thoughts right now on this part of the book.

Overall, this is my favorite sequel of 2020 and will likely be in my top 5 if not top 10 books of 2020. Roshani solidifies herself as an age category bending author because this book gets pretty dark towards the end. I would love to see Roshani write an adult fantasy or adult romance in the future because she is definitely capable of it (I’d go as far to say that this series grows with the readers: I was a freshman when I first read TGW and I am now a junior, and I can say that reading this almost two years ago would have been pretty intense in terms of the action). Also, the setting is freaking gorgeous. This is a perfect book in terms of craft and how it made me feel and actually, everything about it is perfect. Highly recommend.

SPOILER SECTION: turn back now if you have NOT READ SERPENTS!!!!!!! TURN BACK!!!! YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET SPOILED!!!!!!!!

Seriously, go away and read it if you haven’t then you can read this section.

If you’re still here, get ready to be spoiled!

I am so mad at Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. WHAT THE —-!!! I swear that that ending and cliffhanger is the BEST. It’s better than the one in Mark of Athena, which I didn’t have to wait for HOH to release because the whole series had already released. BUT THIS? 2021?!!!!! Roshani, please take your time because I would wait five years for the last book. I need time to feel the things Serpents made me feel.

THE ROMANCE? Laila oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!!! Why do I suddenly ship her and Enrique or her and Zofia? COme on, does anyone see it? Just me? Also Enrique!!!! He needs to live. Hypnos? needs friends!!!!!! needs a good romance with someone who will also be there for him.

Yeah. I will never be over the perfection that is The Silvered Serpents. Roshani Chokshi, you are the best author and I am just so amazed that this book can impact me months later even though I forgot most of the plot.

WHAT DID YOU THINK?

Iron Heart by Nina Varela: Caffeine Book Tours

Published on by Solace in Reading3 Comments
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first of all, thank you to @caffeinetours for putting this amazing tour together!!! PLEASE swipe through! i used Procreate for the first time to create some quote graphics (NO SPOILERS). i did this on an iPad with the apple pencil and will definitely be revisiting these when i can work on a flat surface. there are so many amazing quotes in this book. i recently finished Iron Heart by the awesome Nina Varela. Crier’s War, Varela’s debut novel, was included in the Owlcrate October box last year and i loved it. the history of the world and the POVs of Crier and Ayla instantly made me want the sequel. and oh my gosh. Iron Heart ASTOUNDED me. sequels are so cool to read because you see how the author gets to add on to the world, and the world of CW just came off the page and into real life when i was reading this book. the world Varela created is beautiful and to get to live in it for a few hours made me feel so at peace. my full review and creative, will be up on my blog in 30 minutes to an hour. my mood board will be up in less than 24 hours. #IronHeartTour #CaffeineBookTours #NinaVarela #Bookstagram #EpicReads #Book #YABooks

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This post plus this blog post took 2+ hours! It’s the most I have ever worked on a book tour. Goes to show that this is an amazing book.

DISCLAIMER: I RECEIVED A FREE ARC AS A PART OF THIS TOUR FOR THIS TOUR. THANK YOU CAFFEINE BOOK TOURS. THIS DID NOT INFLUENCE MY OPINION OF THIS BOOK. NO SPOILERS FOR IRON HEART IN THE REVIEW SECTION. SPOILERS FOR CRIER’S WAR.

Book Information

Title: Iron Heart
Author: Nina Varela
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: 08 September 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Synopsis:

An unstoppable love between two girls—one human, one Made—both set on destroying the Iron Heart.

For too long the cruel, beautiful Automae have lorded over the kingdom of Rabu, oppressing the humans who live there. But the human revolution is on the rise, and at its heart is Ayla. Once handmaiden, now fugitive, Ayla escaped the palace of Lady Crier, the girl Ayla had planned to kill . . . but instead fell in love with. Now Ayla has pledged her allegiance to Queen Junn, whom she believes can accomplish the ultimate goal of the human rebellion: destroy the Iron Heart. Without it, the Automae will be weakened to the point of extinction.

But playing at Ayla’s memory are the powerful feelings she developed for Crier. And unbeknownst to her, Crier has also fled the palace, taking up among travelling rebels, determined to find and protect Ayla.

As their paths collide, neither are prepared for the dark secret underlying the Iron Heart.

In this stunning sequel to acclaimed author Nina Varela’s Crier’s War, the love that launched a revolution must now pave the way for a whole new era . . . and the ultimate change of heart.

Review

Oh my gosh. I just finished this book yesterday, so everything is fresh in my mind. I do not have the words for this. Here is my review of Iron Heart by Nina Varela:

Crier’s War is by far one of the best debut YA novels of 2020. I fell in love with fantasy that focuses on royals again because of how amazing Varela is at writing: the worldbuilding, plot, and characters were so captivating. Now that is a trio. Master those three elements, and I am sure to love your book.

At the end of Crier’s War, Crier and Ayla were separated (crying face). Ayla and Benjy were going to Varn and Crier was planning to take down Kinok. I absolutely LOVE where Iron Heart starts off because it really feels like a natural flow from the end of Crier’s War to the beginning of Iron Heart. I knew Iron Heart was off to a great start.

And oh my gosh. Iron Heart is amazing from beginning to end. I felt the full range of emotions while reading this beautiful and perfect sequel. First of all, the world seems massively larger in this one because of the new locations we see and the new characters we meet. I LOVE travel in fantasy books because in the case of Iron Heart, I felt like I was actually traveling along with the characters. Furthermore, Varela is amazing at writing descriptions because, again, I feel like I am able to escape into every facet of this world, including the Queendom of Varn, and into the history of the world with the tidbits of history sprinkled throughout the book in between the chapters.

As for the plot, WOW. I love the fact that Iron Heart was faster paced because Crier’s War set up Iron Heart perfectly to do this. Crier’s War drew you slowly into a beautiful but deadly world by introducing the characters and the politics of the world, and Iron Heart takes you farther into how complex this world is with a plot that will have you gasping for breath (yeah. I felt very emotional when reading this book because I would scroll through the pages on my computer and felt so captivate. I finished this book in one sitting). Varela balances the political intrigue and action so well. The duality of Crier’s War and Iron Heart is what makes them work so well together: they complement each other.

Finally, the characters. Omg. I really wanted the best for Crier and Ayla and rooted for them the entire time. I love the fact that their personalities work so well together, and it feels like you are right beside them as they go on their journies throughout Iron Heart. I could read a book about them doing anything and be in love with them. Additionally, the sibling and friendship relationships!! Varela writes such beautiful relationships that made me realize that you should tell the people you love that you love them (yes, I am so soft over this duology).

All three of these elements work so well to create a stunning finale that will leave you on the floor as a pining and yearning mess.

Thinking Creatively

Books I Think Crier and Ayla Would Read.

I had so much fun making this photo! The stars represent Crier and Ayla’s star-crossed romance in Crier’s War, and the roses represent, well, romance! Once I get a copy of Iron Heart, I am taking so many pictures with it.

This feature is to take what I saw in Iron Heart and apply it further. There are so many books that I think Crier and Ayla would read based on [redacted] which happnes [redacted]. (If you’ve read the book, you know which part I am thinking of.) I chose these books for: their top tier world building and political intrigue.

  1. The Girls of Paper and Fire trilogy: I mean. The worldbuilding in the Crier’s War duology and the Girls of Paper and Fire trilogy? Amazing. I could live in these worlds forever, and they are vastly different fantasy worlds with unique plots and characters. Who do I think would read this? I think both Crier and Ayla. These are worlds where girls learn and advocate for themselves and each other. I feel like Ayla wouldn’t be afraid to yell at some of the character’s choices in Girls of Storm and Shadow, while Crier would smile softly at her. At the end, they would both comfort each other, and then read. . .
  2. The Never Tilting World duology: HELLO CRIER AND ODESSA BONDING? LAN AND AYLA BONDING? HELLO THE FOUR OF THEM? Wow, I need to write this fanfic. Crier and Ayla would 100% read The Never Tilting World and then develop a way for them to meet Odessa and Lan. Crier and Ayla would surely read this together, and I think they would definitely read it in one sitting. While Crier and Odessa are both princesses, they are quite different characters with different motivations, and I think their friendship would be amazing. They could discuss how it’s different/similar being a goddess who is also a princess and an Automa, who is also a princess. Meanwhile, Lan and Ayla would bond over how much they like to learn about the history of their worlds.

One of my goals is to write a fully fleshed out fanfiction where Crier, Ayla, Lan, and Odessa meet at some point in this tour to flesh out this idea a bit more. I had so much fun thinking about how I could take Iron Heart and think about it even more because this duology is going to stick with me for the rest of my life.

Nina Varela’s Biography:

Nina Varela is a nationally awarded writer of screenplays, short fiction, poetry, and novels. In May 2017, she graduated magna cum laude from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with a BFA in Writing for Screen & Television. Crier’s War was her debut, and this is the sequel. She is originally from Durham, North Carolina, where she grew up on a hippie commune in the middle of the woods. She now lives in Los Angeles.

Author Links

Book

Thank you so much for reading! Here is the link to the tour schedule: https://caffeinebooktours.wordpress.com/2020/07/31/iron-heart-tour/. I hope you will follow along with the other tour hosts because this is my favorite tour I’ve been on.