Abigail wants to read

 Fantasy is my all time favourite genre to read and here is my part 3 to my favourite fantasy books. 1) So This is Ever After by F T Lukens Arek hadn’t thought much about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. So now that he’s finally managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king (turns out magical swords yanked from bogs don’t come pre-sharpened), he and his rag-tag group of quest companions are at a bit of a loss for what to do next. As a temporary safeguard, Arek’s best friend and mage, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued from her tower. Except that she’s dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a spouse by your eighteenth birthday, or wither away into nothing. 2) Beneath The Citadel by Destiny Soria In the city of Eldra, people are ruled by ancient prophecies. For centuries, the high council has stayed in power...

 Thank you to NetGalley for the earc in exchange for an honest review 5/5 Stars  Part one, the nightmares, explores our past selves and the moments that haunt us. Part two, the mirror, is about insecurity and how we might haunt ourselves. Part three, the shattering, is about past relationships and how they can break us. Part four, the enchantment, delivers an uplifting conclusion with poems on self-love and growth. This book was so short but said so much in so few pages. It said all I felt regarding anxiety and self-image that I loved. Also while I couldn't relate to all of the passages for example the one about heartbreak, it was still thought-provoking. I also loved the images of the words that were a carry-on from the poem before them.

 Thank you to Netgalley for the Earc in exchange for an honest review 3/5 Stars December in London, and Maximilian Cortado, the world-famous violinist, has disappeared, the only clue being the unexpected delivery to his townhouse of a basket containing a live hen. When it emerges that a number of other notable members of society have been receiving similarly unexplained fowl, the deliveries begin to appear more sinister. This book felt exactly like a Sherlock Holmes book which I loved and appreciated. However, I couldn't help but feel bored throughout a lot of it as I didn't care all that much about the mystery or any of the side characters. I did love the main character though and enjoyed reading about her solving the mystery.

 One thing I love in books is the atmosphere, especially in horror books. Here is a list of my top 5 atmospheres in books 1) Bunny by Mona Awad Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort – a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other 'Bunny', and are often found entangled in a group hug so tight they become one. But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled 'Smut Salon', and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door – ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the sinister yet saccharine world of the Bunnies, the edges of reality begin to blur, and her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies are brought int...

 5/5 Stars Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat.  People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help. The world and everyone in it has ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired.  Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter.  But there's one person who's always in Charlie's corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing--he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her? UGHHH. Everything is now officially a MESS. This book was so messy in a good way. I loved Charlie and I loved reading about all her relationsh...

 5/5 stars After Arek killed the Vile One that was supposed to be the end of his quest, but after finding the Skeleton if the princess who was supposed to be queen he now finds himself to be the King and in need of a soulmate before his 18th birthday otherwise he will fade away. Que teenage shenanigans.  This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had the friends to lovers, the found family, the chosen one who doesn't want to be the chosen one trope. I adored every second of reading it, it was so much fun and I enjoyed all the shenanigans that the main character went through all because he refused to talk about his feelings. It does have the miscommunication trope which I normally hate with a burning passion but I actually really enjoyed it in this which surprised me. Overall this was a very sweet and wholesome queer romance that I think everyone should consider reading. Also if you, like me watch Merlin as a child and shipped Merlin and Arthur I would read this.

 That time of the month again! 1) The Alchemists Daughter by Katherine McMahon Raised by her father in near isolation in the English countryside, Emilie Selden is trained as a brilliant natural philosopher and alchemist. In the spring of 1725, father and daughter embark upon their most daring alchemical experiment to date--attempting to breathe life into dead matter. But when Emilie--against her father's wishes--experiences the passion of first love, she is banished to London, where she soon discovers she knows nothing about human nature--or her own family's complicated past. So begins her shocking journey to enlightenment. 2) Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to London in hopes of preventing the family's ruin. Cordelia's mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bri...

 4/5 Stars Marie and Laurent, a young, affluent couple, have settled into their large Paris apartment and decide to start trying for a baby. This picture-perfect existence is shattered when Marie is assaulted by her new boss. Deeply shaken by the attack, she discovers she is pregnant and is convinced her rapist is the father. Marie closes herself off in a destructive silence, ultimately leading her to commit an irreparable act. I honestly don't know how to review this book, I both loved and hated this book and I don't think this is a book that I could recommend to anyone. It was incredibly well written and I felt horrible for Marie throughout the book even when she started to do things that I couldn't get behind. She was a frustrating main character that I wanted to yell at multiple times during the book as she desperately needed to talk to someone but she kept refusing to talk to anyone. As I said before this isn't a book I can recommend to people however if you do wan...