The Wicked King: Holly Black

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.
(Goodreads)

This literally starts right where the last one ended. Well, technically six months after The Cruel Prince, and Jude is nowhere near figuring out how to keep Cardan in line after her year and one day is finished. 
She's tired, she's frustrated, and now her sister is getting married and they want the whole family to be there..... So now she has to figure out how to get her brother here safely and keeps him safe from anyone who wants to kill him... It's not a fun time honestly.
Holly Black did an amazing job of making this book feel dangerously whimsical. The stakes are up and anything can happen.
But freaking! She and Cardan did the do, they did the sexy. And Cardan obviously cares for Jude.... SO HOW THE HELL DID HE GET FOOLED BY HER SISTER!?!?! screams into the void
Everything about this book is frustrating in the most exquisite way. And now I have to wait for the next book.... at least I don't have to suffer alone... sorry bestie not really
And last but not least:
Jude... My dude... I feel you.... Like, I too have wallowed and watched Yuri On Ice!! while eating ice cream... many times  too many times
Until next time readers <3

Love Kat 

The Shadowglass: Rin Chupeco

Tea is a bone witch with the dark magic needed to raise the dead. She has used this magic to breathe life into those she has loved and lost…and those who would join her army against the deceitful royals. But Tea's quest to conjure a shadowglass—to achieve immortality for the one person she loves most in the world—threatens to consume her heart.

Tea's black heartsglass only grows darker with each new betrayal. And when she is left with new blood on her hands, Tea must answer to a power greater than the elder asha or even her conscience...
(Goodreads)

This has seriously been one of my most highly anticipated books of the year, and boy was it better than I expected. 
I bought it as soon as it came out, and oh my gosh look at that cover <3 
Anyways, this book begins where the other one left off. Tea's story is coming to a close and her past and present are starting to intertwine. Everything that she told the Bard is now a direct cause to what's happening in the present. It's magnificent and dizzying all at the same time. And it's super confusing because we still only get the bare minimum, just like everyone else. Everything is starting to fall into place. Everything that Tea has sacrificed will finally have meaning. 
Unlike the previous two books, this one has a sense of urgency. This urgency that makes the book feel like we are running against the clock. Our time is running out, and it was she was able to convey this so well in her writing. I couldn't stop reading! All the dots were finally connecting and I felt my heart break for all the misunderstandings.
The romance between Tea and Kalen is just so sweet, seriously his death was devastating, heart wrenching. 
Honestly I just have so many feelings about this book that you just need to read this book to fully understand the beauty that is The Bone Witch series.


This story, at its core, is about love. The platonic love between a sister and her brother. This love so unconditional, to do anything for her fallen brother. To change the course of the world and its history for her brother. To bring him back from the dead so that he may have the happily ever after she believes, no, the one she knows he deserves, even at the cost of her only life. Is what makes this book magnificent. Magnificent and heart wrenching. It's enchanting and I am so thoroughly grateful that I bought this book on a whim. 
Until next time readers <3

Love Kat 

Shadow and Bone: Leigh Bardugo

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.
(Goodreads)

So let me begin by saying that I technically started this review THREE years ago.... And I never finished it because I couldn't remember the book as clearly as I wanted to.
So here I am in 2019, rereading all of Bardugo's books because of King of Scars.

Sooo lets get started.
When I first read this way back when, I honestly did not like Mal. Like AT ALL. I found him annoying and bland and just, I was so frustrated with Alina for liking him. When the Darkling was literally RIGHT THERE. Since rereading the book, Mal isn't that bad, he's not perfect. And I like that.
Considering this is Bardugo's first book, it is incredibly well written the way she created this world. The way she describes it, how immersive it is, without being over bearing.
Honestly the book starts off slow, the book has a lot of information to get there so at times it feels a bit dense, but the plot flows so well.
We see Alina grow and honestly face a lot of things in a short amount of time. Everything regarding the Darkling is just so perfectly execute. It doesn't seem fake, it's realistically done.
And Bardugo just has a way of writing that truly captures the audience with her dark and amazing characters.
Honestly this "review" is a mess... But I'm trying
Anyways!
Until next time readers <3

Love Kat