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★★★★☆ It was basically if the Essen Tasch had blood-bending and I liked it Buy the book here: Amazon Book Depository Barnes & Noble

[WARNING: This review contains spoilers] ★★★★★ MAY 23RD UPDATE: After a lot of thought, I have decided to drop my rating from 5 stars to 4 stars because of the issues I had with the ending. Most of the book was 5 stars, but the ending felt like 3.5 stars, with some parts closer to 2 stars. "As Illumae." #LiterallyConjuringLight #RollCredits The Worldbuilding and Writing As usual, Schwab utterly impressed me with her ability to weave an intoxicating and intriguing tale in an equally amazing world. The sleeping curse had a strong Sleeping Beauty feel to it that I really liked, and the whole Black curse itself reminded me of Neil Gaiman's The Sleeper and the Spindle . There were more actual consequences, and character deaths that actually meant something, in this book, and I appreciated that. I hate it when a character dies but it means nothing because they either weren't well developed or important, or there wasn't a thematic me...

★★★★☆ The Writing While I found many a typo (at least in my copy, idk about all of them), I was still very pulled in by Schwab's writing style, and she has definitely solidified a permanent place in my favorite authors list. The plot was slower, a lot slower than A Darker Shade of Magic was, and that was kind of disappointing and annoying at times, because the scenes I wanted weren't always the scenes I got, and the scenes I got likewise weren't always the scenes I wanted. However, the last part—and that cliffhanger !!!!!!!!!—really saved this book, as it brought together all the plot threads and reinvigorated me, definitely insuring I will be continuing this series. The Characters Kell: As usual, he was my favorite character. His alterego as Kamerov was exciting and explored a whole new side of his character. The injustices against him by the king and queen, as well as Arnesian society as a whole, were very upsetting and I really empathize...

★★★★★ This is an amazing book. Wow. Just wow. The Writing and Worldbuilding V.E. Schwab is the master of exposition that doesn't feel like exposition. She has somehow managed to introduce complex worlds and systems without talking at the reader. Her dialogue is just as seemingly effortless. The banter between Kell and Lila was so fantastic, and when she formally meets Rhy, all three of them are just so great together. The imagery was fantastic and vivid. The plot was consistently intriguing and exciting. I was never bored reading this. I even read some pages out loud to my brother in a fancy British narrator voice and it sounded so great! There weren't any awkward lines or anything. The magic system was so amazing and unique, coupled with the historical setting, this felt like a classic adventure story. The back blurb by io9 is so true: it truly does "[feel] like a priceless object, brought from another, better world of fantasy books." T...

This tag was created by Vivien Reis on her YouTube channel in anticipation of her upcoming novel, The Elysian Prophecy . 1. Secret society - A book you love but no one else talks about Definitely Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. While it got some fame after it's film adaptation, no one even knows that there's a prequel and a sequel, with another on the way that are equally good, if not better! 2. ‎Voices - A scary novel that gives you the chills! I Am Legend by Richard Matheson is honestly so chilling. The imagery is so vivid and the themes so profound 3. ‎Blood crystals - A book with red on the cover A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab I'm currently reading this and loving it, and the US Tor cover is just so minimalist and stunning. Red, black, and white are my absolute favorite cover colors, so having all three just makes me so happy ❤❤❤❤ 4. ‎Kidnapped - A stand-alone novel you love Though at some point it might have a sequel, The Host by S...