Recent Reads

Things have been busy. For those of you who didn't see my Instagrams, last week we were in Paris! And now I am swamped with the kids extracurriculars and planning for a trip back to Pakistan, we haven't been back in six years, so lots of present shopping. I also owe you a living room update.. and it's so so hot. But until I get all that figured out.. my recent reads.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Synopsis - Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free. Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
It is in this brutal world that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Thoughts - First of all I was so happy to learn that Sabaa Tahir is a Pakistani author.. it's so amazing to see representation and while the book does not focus on a religion there were so many south asian and islamic words scattered throughout the story it made my heart swell.  

Now on to the story, it was a four book series. It took me almost two months to get through the series. The story was creative, interesting cast of characters especially strong female characters, lots of violence and bloodshed. It had a Game of Thrones vibe in it's brutality and the part where no character was safe from being killed off. But and I hate that there is a but, but the story was not all consuming. I wanted to know how the story ended, I was interested. But unlike when I first read the Hunger Games or Brigid Kemmerer's Curse Breaker series or Katherine Arden's Winterwitch series; my every thought was not when can I be done with all my stupid jobs so I can just go back and read. :(

Always Forever Maybe by Anica Mrose Rissi

Synopsis - When Betts meets Aiden at the candy store where she works, their connection is like a sugar rush to the heart. Betts already knows the two of them are infinite. Inevitable. Destined to become an us.
Betts has only ever kept one secret from her best friend, Jo, but suddenly there’s a long list of things she won’t tell her, things Jo wouldn’t understand. Because Jo doesn’t see how good Aiden is for Betts. She finds him needy. Possessive. Controlling.
She’s wrong. With a love like this, nothing else matters.

Thoughts - When you read YA, which is what this is, you have to constantly remind yourself that these are hormonal teenagers without fully developed brains. Which is one of the reasons I try to stay aways from YA but then again there are some good YA's out there and I don't want to discount all of them. I received this book as a Twitter giveaway and wasn't really sure what it was about until I picked it up to read. I think it was a decent read for a teenager not yet ready for a more mature book about an abusive relationship. It stays very PG and is an appropriate story for its intended reader. 

   

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