Books Ramblings: May Wrap up

It’s going to be a short wrap up today, I’m not in a great place with my mental health and I am finding social media far from “being kind.” I’ve deleted the twitter app from my phone and looking forward to just cuddling my kids when I’ve finished this post and leaving the book world alone for the rest of the day.

My 5 Star Reads

My 4 Star Reads

My 3 Star Reads

The only read from my TBR that I didn’t finish in time was Once and Future but I started reading it on Friday night but won’t get it finished today and I don’t feel I’ve read enough yet to give an idea of where my rating will sit.

 

Hopefully things will feel better tomorrow and I’ll get to posting my Tbr for June. Until then, please be kind.

What’s in an age anyway?

It’s fair to say that since turning 40 last December I have spent more time than ever preoccupied with my age. The age I am in comparison to the age I actually feel is like a gaping chasm.  I therefore do have to draw a comparison to the way I consider age in books, specifically in relation to YA. I make no secret that I love YA, even though with the presence of Upper YA and New Adult it feels like an often blurred line, many of the characters act with a maturity, physicality and presence of mind that 16 year old me would not even dreamed of. So it’s no wonder then that I never really picture these characters as the age they are written to be. I’ve been pretty accepting of my viewpoint until another blogger on Twitter said that YA was written for 16 year old girls, which was not said in a complementary way, and that kind of irked me. Not only because books are written to be read by any age or gender, you can take it’s categorisation as a guide granted, but ultimately as long as it makes you happy as a reader, whats not to love?

But me being me, I dwelt on it, and started to wonder more about age. I know I am not alone with being an older reader of books for a younger audience, and indeed the evergreen appeal of the Harry Potter books and also The Series of Unfortunate Events would show that too.

Lets start with the basics of why I love YA though and I’m speaking from a very much Fantasy and Sci-fi standpoint, I seldom if ever read contemporary for the exact same reasons I rarely read “adult” fantasy. I find it to be pure escapism, with wonderfully unencumbered characters who find themselves in easily accessible worlds. Personally I just struggle to get into more traditional fantasy which feels needlessly complex at times and lets face it, often (not always – calm down) with little respect for women. I have an upsetting day job so the easy escapism of YA is exactly what I need. So now we can move onto how I view myself. I still picture myself at what was probably best time of my life of late 20’s to early 30’s, and because I see myself mentally in that age bracket I will read pretty much every character in a book to that age too. Unless there are frequent and obvious reminders, like a school setting, I will rarely read a character as they age they are portrayed to be. Therefore I never really read a YA book feeling like I am reading a YA book if that makes sense? To me I’m reading adult fantasy, just with a story that is more fun and often with characters who are afforded an element of being more carefree.

I then started wondering if I was alone in this view, so what better way to gauge if i’m just weird than to do a poll. I asked on Instagram and overwhelmingly 74% of those who voted said that they read to their own age too, rather than book age. I know that the majority of my followers there read YA books so I feel that this is a good indicator. This to me would show that a lot of readers read YA for the same easy escapism, not because they are the age bracket the story is written for. So next time you look at a YA book and consider it’s not for you because it’s written for teenagers maybe think again about how you read characters in the genres you prefer. Age isn’t a barrier to dismiss an entire genre if you’ve never even tried it and honestly there is a lot to love within YA, well I think so at least. Also be kind to readers, if a genre isn’t for you don’t condescend and just move on.

I am happy to put forward recommendations of books that I have loved if you are looking for somewhere to start! Also please be kind to me, this is the first time I have written an opinion piece for a long time after another’s cruelty almost made me hang up my blogging hat last year and off the back of Mental Health week I think that kindness is more important than ever.

Bookish Ramblings: WWW Wednesday

Hey everyone, I’ve seen the WWW tag around a lot but I’ve not taken part before, I think it’s because it feels to similar to the #fivethingsfriday that I often do. I’ve kind of shied away from that tag recently and honestly I’ve shied away from blogging generally because I feel like i’m not that relevant at the moment. This is something that happens to me a lot with the blog, and mental health awareness week often makes this issue rear it’s head. But for today I’m feeling upbeat, the sun is shining, I’m not at work and I’m feeling rested and recharged!

Whilst the WWW tag isn’t new, I’ve picked it up from the lovely Jemma at Fantastic Books and Where to Find Them! 

What am I currently Reading

I’m currently reading Hope Island by Tim Major, this is a gifted Arc from Titan Books. I enjoyed Major’s earlier work, Snakeskins, and already he has managed to capture that same bleak eeriness. Nina is certainly a flawed protagonist but she has already endeared herself to me and it feels like the story is already ramping up to some paranormal/psychological game.

What did I Recently Finish Reading

Earlier in the week I finished reading 2 books, firstly The Binding by Bridget Collins. I did really enjoy this book even though it wasn’t entirely what I was expecting. First of all I found it really surprising to have a male protagonist, I’m not sure why this is, but it threw me, Emmett and Lucian are amazing though! I did struggle with the POV change part way through which led to me being confused about who was speaking, but that’s just me! I also finished Looking Glass by Christina Henry, it was a novella collection and it was a real mixed bag but generally enjoyable.

What do I Think I’ll Read Next

As regular readers will know, I set myself a monthly TBR and my final pick for May is Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy. This is the last obvious retelling on my shelf, I have mixed feelings about retellings at the moment, I kind of feel I have had my fill of them. But I’ve not read a King Arthur one recently and this one is set in space so all fingers point to it being an enjoyable one!

 

Review of Looking Glass by Christina Henry

In four new novellas, Christina Henry returns to the universe she created for Alice and Red Queen, where magic runs more freely than anyone suspects, but so do secrets and blood.
Lovely Creature
In the New City lives a girl called Elizabeth, a girl who has a secret: she can do magic. But someone knows Elizabeth’s secret–someone who has a secret of his own. That secret is a butterfly that lives in a jar, a butterfly made by a girl called Alice.
Girl in Amber
Alice and Hatcher are just looking for a place to rest. Alice has been dreaming of a cottage by a lake and a field of wildflowers, but while walking blind in a snowstorm they stumble into a castle that seems empty and abandoned…at least until nightfall.
When I First Came to Town
Hatcher wasn’t always Hatcher. Once, he was a boy called Nicholas, and Nicholas fancied himself the best fighter in the Old City. No matter who fought him he always won. Then his boss tells him he’s going to battle the fearsome Grinder, a man who never leaves his opponents alive.
The Mercy Seat
Alice has a secret–a secret that not even Hatcher knows yet, but pretty soon she won’t be able to keep it from him.

Firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to Titan books for providing a copy of this novella collection for review. It was interesting going into this as I loved Alice but I did struggle a little with Red Queen. The story works best for me when Alice and Hatcher are together so equally, this series of novella’s has mixed reviews from me but I found them to be mostly enjoyable and individually able to be read in a sitting.

Lovely Creature was an interesting start as it brings in a new character who has a connection to Alice, in many ways it feels like it could have been an Alice origin story as it has a wonderful feeling of looming dread similar to Alice first meeting The Rabbit. I enjoyed that Elizabeth is open to her magic and isn’t afraid to use it, the labyrinthine Old Town feels imposing and suffocating and her fear as she went deeper was wonderfully realised.

The Girl in Amber was one I didn’t really enjoy quite so much, it’s a story focused on Alice and unfortunately I struggle with her being able to carry a story on her own. She feels a little too unhinged and open to suggestion, her constant inner monologue felt a little repetitive. The monster in this one however is incredibly harrowing, it gave me Alien vibes and it was incredibly dark, probably the darkest of all the villains I’ve read in this series. It’s certainly the most inventive of the 4 but would have benefited in my view from having Alice and Hatcher working together to escape.

When I First Came to Town, is perhaps my favourite of the four, I really loved understanding more of Hatcher’s backstory and the man before the crazy came. It is the longest of the four but doesn’t feel like it, I was really swept up in the underworld and the way that Christina Henry wove the fight sequences was dramatic and page turning. Even though I knew how it ended it still didn’t stop me from fearing for Hatcher and it gave me an added layer of understanding just how evil the Walrus truly was.

The Mercy Seat I also loved but felt was a bit of a missed opportunity, the shortest of the stories but it’s the one that had the most scope for me. The story was chilling and intriguing with an interesting monster of the week and a village straight out of a horror film. I loved being back with the Alice and Hatcher dynamic as well, their characters totally in tune and reminding me of everything I loved about Alice It’s a satisfying conclusion to the series too.

For fans of the series, this collection is a must read as it rounds out the characters and the story wonderfully and I found it a beautifully satisfying ending too.

3.5*

Review of Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

All her life, Spensa has dreamed of becoming a pilot. Of proving she’s a hero like her father. She made it to the sky, but the truths she learned about her father were crushing.
Spensa is sure there’s more to the story. And she’s sure that whatever happened to her father in his starship could happen to her. When she made it outside the protective shell of her planet, she heard the stars–and it was terrifying. Everything Spensa has been taught about her world is a lie.
But Spensa also discovered a few other things about herself–and she’ll travel to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to.

Starsight had a lot to live up to, I read Skyward as my last book of 2018 and it flew right in a snagged a spot for one of my top ten reads of the year. Whilst they are part of the same series, they are in fact very different types of stories and I’m finding it hard to draw comparisons. Where Skyward had a focus and a goal; Spensa wanted to be taken seriously as a pilot, Starsight felt a little lost at times. That isn’t to say that made it a bad book, indeed this is 4 star read for me, but I think it was just so different from Skyward that it threw me a little to start.

Spensa finds herself quickly in a new and strange situation and equally a new cast of characters, the blurb feels deliberately vague and I’ll try and keep this as vague as I can. Spensa is faced with an opportunity to learn more about what she is facing and finds herself on a very different side of the coin on the Space Station Starsight. As before, there are some wonderful illustrations within the book and I really liked the depiction of Starsight at the start of the story as it really helped me to visualise it the way that the author intended. Spensa finds herself in the middle of all sorts of intrigue and private politics which need to be carefully traversed whilst carrying out her own covert plans.  Through this we get to see a new side to Spensa, one where her recklessness must take a back seat and it’s clear she’s out of her depth when it comes to diplomatic relations, which are only heightened by her paranoia. Her childlike wonder though at being shown a world outside is well done, there is also a lot of thought put into gender and acceptance of practices and ideals that are at odds with what she has grown up to believe on such a sheltered planet. The Interludes present a nice break away from Spensa’s narrative and it allows a glimpse of what is happening back on Detritus and it gives a bit more depth to Jorgen. I feel like his moments are really paving the way for a dual POV in the next book, his development certainly takes an interesting turn, and honestly we all need a Gran Gran in our lives, even if she is feeling more and more like Yoda.

When I started reading, I have to admit I did struggle to feel the same level of excitement with this book. Skyward had me turning the pages non stop, but I found Starsight easy to put down. I was hoping for more Starship Troopers style shenanigans more of the great banter, but at times the story became repetitive with Spensa’s internal monologue and endless practice runs The types of personalities within her new found flight also felt disjointed with little in the way of squad goals. It didn’t feel like the adventure that I had signed up for and I don’t think Spensa was really able to pull off so much of the story on her own. I do love a rag tag squad but there was too much mistrust this time to make them cohesive and it would have benefited from being more of an ensemble piece.

By the last 100 pages or so though I felt like I was back on familiar territory, back with the epic space battles, the frantic pace and the level of excitement and trepidation I had been hoping for all along. It felt like Spensa finally had to grow up and deal with consequences rather than just fighting through them. I realise that I have made the middle of the book sound terrible and that’s not the case, there is a lot to enjoy and there are certainly characters that I grew to love and it was great to move away from the Star Trek trope of all aliens being vaguely humanoid in appearance. Starsight itself is wonderfully created and it’s inhabitants are vibrant and diverse which makes Spensa’s task all the harder.

This was an enjoyable but very different continuation of the series which still pulled me in enough to carry on with the series!

4*

Bookish Ramblings: Five Things Friday

It’s the middle of the month so I thought I would do a mini roundup through a five things Friday today!

New To My Queue

I had exciting book mail today as my Illumicrate copy of Aurora Burning arrived! I do like the blue on the cover, although I have to say I do actually prefer the orange of the standard copy. It’s nice to be collecting the Illumicrate editions though. I can’t wait to catch up with Squad 312 but I know that my heart is going to get broken all over again!

Favourite Book This Week

After being all smug about how great my reading was in April, I’ve really struggled this month so far. I finished Starsight by Brandon Sanderson a couple of nights ago and I’m still mulling over my review. I did enjoy it, but it went in a completely different direction to Skyward and whilst it didn’t pack the same punch it was still a solid 4* read.

When I Wasn’t Reading

Everything is feeling a bit like groundhog day at the moment, with working, homeschooling and then leaving the kids in front of a screen. I am not complaining at all because I know I’m in a very privileged position to be able to stay home with my family, but it’s getting tough now mentally. We have to balance whether it’s safe to send my reception age son back to school on 1st June, whilst being on top of Biba’s needs as she learns to deal with the fact that she’ll likely not be able to hug her friends until the start of the new school year in September. It’s emotional a lot of the time but at least with the easing of restrictions we can go an visit my mum and chat from other ends of her garden.

Pic of the Week

I am loving Bookstagram at the moment! I am so happy with my feed, the light is good and I have the time to think about set up, we’ve been clearing out the attic and I’m finding new things to use as props. I think I’m going for the one that I posted yesterday as both Melinda Salisbury and Bex Hogan commented on it which has kind of blown my mind and totally brightened my week!

Looking Ahead

I’m excited to start buddy reading Vicious by V.E Schwab tonight, it’s the first of hers that I’ve read and I’ve heard good things! I’ve reached the point on my Animal Crossing Island where I can start to landscape and I am creating a Crow Club and Ketterdam dock area from Six of Crows, which is a lot of fun, although finding those kinds of items in the game is hard, but I’m going to continue on with that!

 

Six for Sunday: Heartwrenching Endings to Series

Six for Sunday today is all about those series that pulled my heart out and stomped all over it, that left me devastated, that didn’t confirm to HEA in the traditional sense. I’ve also added in a couple of standalone’s to round out the six and This post is going to be full of spoilers unsurprisingly so if you’ve not read, Crooked Kingdom, Kindom of Ash, Allegiant and Darkdawn, the others i’ve managed to keep spoiler free.

Crooked Kingdon by Leigh Bardugo

This remains one of my favourite duologies of all time, but honestly the loss of Matthias broke my heart and the thing that got to me most about it was that he didn’t need to die, the only minor failing in these books for me is that it felt like he got picked as probably the least favourite of the group as one of them needed to die. It wouldn’t be realistic for all of them to make it out ok, yet with YA and Fantasy there is that pass.  I know that much of the Nina’s arc in King of Scars relies stems from that death but doesn’t mean that I am okay with it.

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas

I make no secret that SJM is able to emotionally ruin me pretty much all the time but forgetting about the last bit where everything got tied up in a neat little bow, we have the battle and in the flip to how I felt about Crooked Kingdom, I honestly thought we would lose more in this final epic showpiece. The one that broke my heart the most? The Thirteen, in a wonderfully gutwrenching selfless act born out of years of hidden cruelty, their combined loss was one of those moments when I just had to close the book and sit.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

I have to say that one of my guilty pleasures are the Divergent films, I honestly don’t mind them and I watched them before I read the books so I had no preconceptions, so when I discovered that the film ending was very different from the book ending it hit me even harder. The loss of Tris hit me so hard, I honestly felt bereft at that ending and whilst many have said that the short story at the end of Carve the Mark helped them, it didn’t for me and I still feel that loss hard.

Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff

So we knew that Darkdawn was going to be the tale of Mia’s death but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with. However the main thing that totally destroyed me was Tric. Honestly that guy pulled himself out of the realm of the dead to find his love, shacked up with the woman who killed him. Unpopular opinion is that I do no ship Mia and Ashlinn at all, I am totally team Tric and after everything he did, to have his story end in that utterly bleak and unfeeling way was just devastating.

The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffernegger

We know from the very start that things aren’t going to work out well, but the sotry of how that point is reached is just devastating. I have to say I have never seen the film so I don’t know how heavily the romance impacts upon the science fiction. There are parts of the story that are triggering now for me but previously this was one of my most re-read books because I’m obviously a glutton for punishment, gets me in the ugly cry everytime.

Utterances by Jo Michaels

Words can heal, but the terrible toll of a magical book makes this both an uplifting example of human sacrifice but also that when you open a Pandora’s box you never know what will be unleased. This really was a harrowing read at times and left me in floods at the simple and haunting ending.

Unboxing the April/May/June We Read Box

This week we received happy and sad post when the April/May/June We Read Box arrived – Happy because it was another amazing box but sad because it is the last, this is a real shame as they were consistently great boxes, full of amazing activites and above all awesome books! The current climate is impacting everybody hard but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still experience the box as past boxes and items are available in their shop! If you want to see a live unboxing it is currently pinned to my story highlights on Instagram. As always the items in the box were themed around this quarters featured book, The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski.

This book cover is beautifully colourful and Biba was immediately taken in by it, finding lots of different things to spot. The book came with a signed bookplate too. The book has been likened to the Train to Impossible Places which Biba loved!

Pack your suitcase for a magical adventure! Perfect for fans of Nevermoor and The Train to Impossible Places.
At the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, each suitcase transports you to a different world. All you have to do is step inside . . .
When 12-year-old Flick Hudson accidentally ends up in the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, she uncovers a fantastic secret: there are hundreds of other worlds just steps away from ours. All you have to do to visit them is jump into the right suitcase. Then Flick gets the invitation of a lifetime: join Strangeworlds’ magical travel society and explore other worlds.
But, unknown to Flick, the world at the very centre of it all, a city called Five Lights, is in danger. Buildings and even streets are mysteriously disappearing. Once Flick realizes what’s happening she must race against time, travelling through unchartered worlds, seeking a way to fix Five Lights before it collapses into nothingness — and takes our world with it.

As I mentioned earlier the box items are themed to the book and this final box really knocked it out of the park. We absolutely adored the pin by Felfira Moon Designs, its just beautiful and picks out so many parts from the cover, the pin is double backed with locking pin backs too. The luggage tag is sturdy and we love the quote on it- Biba will certainly be using it when we get to on adventures again. To help us travel whilst staying home, we have our own literary passport with some book destinations to travel to and to make notes in – there are even spaces to pick your own adventures!

Sadly because of the pandemic the larger item in this box wasn’t able to be made, but that’s not to say that all is lost. The lovely people at We Read Box have added instructions for us to make it ourselves! The item is a “bookcase,” a suitcase shaped booksleeve to keep the book safe out and about. Included in the box was a ribbon style bookmark to be added into the case with mini spyglass charm. There is also a helpful instructional video on the website. These instructions can be found in the booklet which as always is full of fun ideas and a crossword!

This was a wonderful box and a perfect send off, Biba loved all the items as always and can’t wait to start reading the book! If you want to purchase this box or just the Pin or Luggage tag, they are available alongside of other past items and boxes in We Read’s Etsy store.

We are so grateful for all our time as reps and ambassadors, we’ve loved every second – good luck in the future Kirsty and Stacey ❤

Six for Sunday: Favourite Book one in Series

For #sixforsunday this week the prompt is favourite book one in series, these are the books that set the tone, the ones that decide whether this is a series I’m going to invest my time in because the world building and characters are just exceptional. It’s so hard to decide as there are so many series that I adore, but I have gone for the ones that felt like book one went over and above rather than simply setting a scene for future books in the series. As always, a huge thank you to Steph at A Little but a Lot blog for taking the time to put together these prompts which are always a ton of fun!

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Every so often a book will come around that is so good that it makes me re-evaluate all my previous 5 star reviews. This was probably only my second dabble into YA fantasy a few years ago and it had me hooked. I didn’t feel hampered by having not read the Grisha trilogy first because these characters, this part of the world are 100% their own and what fantastic characters they are, I adore Kaz so much that I have a custom funko based on him! I love Crooked Kingdom just as much, Nina and Matthias are adorable.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This book has the dubious honour of being the only one to make me cry in public. When we lost Rue it became clear that this wasn’t going to run with the trope that the good guys always miraculously make it out okay. This is also the book where our characters are at their rawest and have the truest sense of desperation. At the time I first read this the format felt unique and I really didn’t feel like I was reading a YA book, it probably remains my favourite of the Trilogy, although it could do with some Finnick!

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

I know a lot of people struggle with the footnotes in this series, I would honestly say that it that applies to you, please give the audio a go, the narrator is hilarious! The thing I love about Nevernight the most is the Red Church and all that happens within it’s walls (other than “that” bit) Mia’s journey to get to that point is brilliant, everything that she suffers, shapes her but also reveals a level of compassion that her exterior wouldn’t suggest. Mr Kindly is at his finest. Mia’s creativity and determination is fierce and honestly I picked up book 2 straight away and thankfully only had a month to wait until book 3.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

I know that the first book in the ToG series isn’t always as well liked but for me I found it amazing, Caleana’s trials to try become champion are breathtaking. It’s actually high on my list to re-read. I think that actually so much for future books in the series was set up here and the tone of how much of a force to be reckoned with Caleana is. It remains one of my most loved series because of the emotional reckoning it brought and other than Heir of Fire I adored every single page.

Cinder by Merissa Meyer

Many of you will know that I have a real love/hate relationship with fairytale retellings. I feel that the market became absolutely saturated with them but The Lunar Chronicles totally blew me away, from the very moment I started reading Cinder I knew this was a retelling I could get on board with. Cinder is an amazing character and I loved the authors interpretation of the more well known moments in the traditional story. The overall arc and combination of characters was awesome.

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

The Illuminae Files are pretty special books, they are laid out in a unique and wonderful way especially in that they use different mediums to tell the story. I was utterly drawn into the world and it’s crazy AI. There is a limited cast which works well and Kady is amazing with her resourcefulness, the countdown element adds dread and is a constant across the series and helps to anchor what it happening. I’ve heard the audio is outstanding so I think I may well grab them when I sign back up to audible!

 

Review of Venom by Bex Hogan

Marianne has never wanted to be a fighter, but with unrest and discord threatening the Twelve Islands, she will have to battle threats both inside and out in an attempt to attain peace for her homeland.
Marianne is now the Viper, but her hopes for peace in the Eastern Isles are being frustrated. The corrupt King remains on the throne, bandits are proving hard to stop and Marianne is not sure who among her crew she can truly trust.
For the islands to prosper, the invisible bond that once existed uniting land and sea must be reinstated. There’s only one way that can happen – the return of magic. To do that Marianne must put aside all her fears: she must return to her roots, the Western Isles, and call on the power that runs in her blood.
She must become a Mage.
Only then, can she possibly command the army needed to finally take down the King.

Last night I finished Venom and I am not okay. There isn’t much I can say about the story as it is full of twists and plots and secrets, but it went in a direction that I was 100% not expecting and I am not okay.

Bex Hogan has nothing to fear from Venom being the middle of the trilogy book, this has just as much excitement as Viper, maybe even more so. It is a relentless whirling tsunami of a book, never letting up. Marianne is always on her toes, having to check her back constantly and her time on the Maiden certainly serves her well here – if you’ve read the Mortal Coil series it has a similarly consistent heart pounding feel, but with added foreboding. Despite feeling so unsure of herself for so much of the story, I actually found that Marianne had amazing focus, no matter what was thrown at her and the distractions she faced the one constant was that she wanted to bring peace. She has wonderful humanity and kindness, kindness that repays her both in kind but sadly also in those who would take advantage of that. Whilst it is her strongest and most endearing quality it leaves her more open to manipulation, although that is not a weakness and many mistake it for such at their peril.

The book is split well between West and East, the West is the mystery and it does feel, well it feels more magical which is unsurprising, the islands have a completely different tone to the East, but it is clear that the hardship is spreading across all the isles. Marianne’s time in the mountains was my favourite part of her time in the Western Isles.  Following on from a unusual but touching reunion, her journey brings her into contact with some truly beautiful creatures and some great new characters, but it is the political games that she finds herself in, drawing a frightening parallel of what she has left in the East, that signal is where the story takes a turn. There is a lot of darkness in the closing stages and Marianne’s trials left me utterly bereft and ultimately heartbroken. My breath was catching, I was turning each page with increasing trepidation not believing what I was reading. The writing is truly phenomenal, the emotion it wrought was incredible and left me choked with tears. Remember how much I said I was not okay?

Venom is an outstanding follow up to Viper and Bex Hogan is a wonderful talent, I enjoyed every single breathtaking page but now I have to try and find a coping mechanism until book 3 is released, wish me luck!

5*