coffee-books-and-fairy-tales

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Amber & Shadow by Marie Mackay

Vampire Academy meets Hunger Games

When the book literally opens with a girl stabbing an alpha vampire in the first chapter, you know it's gonna be good.

I first heard about Amber & Shadow on booktok, and fell in love from the first chapter. If this wont get you reading this, I don't know what will.

§ Shifters § Vampires § Magic Academy § Enemies to lovers § Paranormal romance § Slow burn

I loved the banter and back-and-forth between all 3 of our main characters, Axel, Sylas and Briar. The dynamics and relationship with them was so interesting and I loved reading about it. And the fact that they're all in their 20s, I don't know, just makes me love them even more.

I agree with some others that at the beginning, the different types of demons were a bit confusing to keep up with, but after you learn more, it's so worth it!

" 'I don't feel sorry for you.' " <- Briar

" 'I literally feel what you feel.' " <- Axel"

----------------------------

" 'You're leveraging my reputation?' he asked." <- Sylas

"Fucking right I am," <- Briar

A great debut from Mackay, she presents such an interesting and fun world and I can't wait to dive into more.

* I received a free ARC copy of this book for an honest review. *

#2022 #2022 arcs #2022 reviews #arcs #bookblr #new to bookblr #new to the bookblr fam #book review #arc review #arc reader #amber and shadow #marie mackay #duskwall academy #2022 releases #may 2022 releases #debut novel #their debuts #debut #books #books I've preordered #vampires #shifters #magic #enemies to lovers #slow burn #forced proximity

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A Beautiful Liar by Beena Khan

PUB: APR 8 2022

"Ahh… my spring goddess, you have no idea who you just made a deal with" Summary: I gave Hades a fake name at the club, and now, he's chosen me as his mate. It was a single night, and we both wanted to forget someone. He said, I have six months before he returns. Six months to tell my old life goodbye. In my drunk state, I agreed, and he declared us as betrothed. The next morning, I ghosted him. Imagine my surprise when I see him at my academy six months later. He's returned like a raging inferno to claim me. Valerius Vitalli will never let me go. † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † I think Valerius Vitalli and Annabella Serra are one of my new favorite book couples! I loved their entire relationship from start to finish. The gritty, the tenderness, the vulnerability had me captivated from the very start. A Beautiful Liar has my entire heart and soul. I've always loved Khan's writing style and books, and it's no exception for ABL. Valerius is such an interesting and dynamic character that you can't help but fall in love with. (And the fact that he's a hacker makes him that much hotter) I didn't grow up an outsider like Annabella has, but I definitely found myself relating to her so much! (Glasses aside lol). Annabella is such a powerful new character and seeing her throughout her entire career at Saint Eudora had me tearing up. The modern college setting of the Hades / Persephone was so well done, I can't ever get enough. AND I NEED MORE. I highly recommend A Beautiful Liar for any dark academia, mafia, gothic, dark romance fan.

TW // dubcon, graphic sexual content, violence, murder, blood, vomit, one night stands, drinking, needles

#2022 reads #2022 reviews #2022 releases #april 2022 #bookblr #book review #kindle #Kindle Unlimited #preordered #books I've preordered #beena khan #a beautiful liar #hades #persephone #hades & persephone #Valerius Vitalli #Annabella Serra

[coffee-books-and-fairy-tales]

Murphy’s Law for Demons

“May you always have the confidence of a drag queen.”

I genuinely thought I wouldn't finish Murphy's Law. It took me a while to get into the story. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge lover of fantasy and angels / demons, but I think just the beginning fell flat for me. I was not a fan of the two gory scenes, and I ultimately skipped those chapters, cause of it.

By the end of the book, I ended up really liking the characters and became a huge fan of Murphy and Joy.

I really enjoyed the chapter titles and the quotes at the beginning of them, some giving a reference to the events in the book.

“Don't flatter yourself. I only look up to you because I'm short."

"Who doesn't love puppies? Sociopaths, that's who."

"It's okay if you don't like me. Not everyone has good taste."

Trigger warnings below the cut / spoilers below

TW // death, rape, gore, dismemberment, kidnapping, restraints, blood, emetophobia, sexual assault, torture, killings, murder, gun violence, suicide (only talked about briefly)

#bookblr #murphy's law #cj pierce #their debuts #debut #books #kindle unlimited #NetGalley #arcs #2021 arcs

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Bright Ruined Things by Samantha Cohoe

PUBLISHED FEB 15th 2022

THAT ENDING THOUGH.

Bright Ruined Things is a magical twist on Shakespeare's The Tempest and brings it. I'll be honest in saying that I've never read The Tempest or seen a retelling, but this is so powerful and beautiful. I loved Mae and seeing her journey from beginning to end. I'll admit I felt it dragged on at points but BRT was action packed and gave me a bit of Gatsby vibes. The writing style is impeccable and the storyline will have you falling in love.

Thank you to NetGalley, Samantha Cohoe and St. Martin's Press for the chance to review an ARC copy.

Trigger warnings below: Contains spoilers

Trigger warnings: blood, violence, death, suicidal thoughts (talked about, referenced), suicide (mentioned and only thought of), gaslighting, misogyny, alcohol, body shaming, fire, grief, toxic friendship, slavery, addiction, drug use, sexual harassment

#2022 arcs #arc #NetGalley #books #book review #feb 2022 #feb 2022 releases #2022 reads #2022 releases #book blogger #books and libraries #bright ruined things #samantha cohoe #retelling #tempest retelling

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Okay i know i myself have made jokes on Mr Darcy hating to spend time with Mr. Collins but. I feel like of the two of them Darcy is probably significantly less annoyed than Lizzie by Collins simply bc 1) he never received The most obnoxious proposal in the world from him 2) the combination of Darcy's superior rank and his not being an Elegant Female puts him in a position to just tell Collins to stop talking and probably be thanked for the privilege. Darcy probably just lets him talk for five minutes and then is all "hm. I'd like to meditate on that in silence for a while. Very intriguing." And gets like an hour of peace

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boy can we please talk about the scene in the show where Kaz and Inej were undercover as guards of the little palace and Inej was sneaking up on a guard to stab him BUT THEN SHE DIDNT?1?1!1?1 BECAUSE IT WAS KAZ1??1?1 AND HE DIDNT EVEN TURN AROUND?1?1?1? BECAUSE HE KNEW SHE WAS THERE AND WOULDN'T STAB HIM??1?1?1?1?1

[coffee-books-and-fairy-tales]

Such A Pretty Smile

OUT JANUARY 18TH 2022

Feminism Horror and Powerful

I am not big into horror but I was interested in reading Such A Pretty Smile. 

It took me a while to read this as DeMeester's book is hugely violent, visceral and gorey. All the characters are powerful, and I felt myself drawn to them.

Such A Pretty Smile draws you in with the concept of feminism horror, and deals with very sensitive topics such as grief, sexism, and societal norms. This book takes you on a wild ride.

If you are sensitive to the trigger warnings that come with this book, or are a dog lover, DO NOT READ THIS.

However, I would highly recommend Kristi's book to any horror fan.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristi DeMeester and St. Martin's Press for the chance to review an ARC copy.

Trigger warnings under cut for anyone interested: Spoilers below

Tw // gore, violence, death, mental illness, animal death, sexual harassment, cancer, child death, loss of parent, nightmares, very graphic death descriptions

#arcs #2022 reads #2022 arcs #reviews #2022 reviews #books #bookblr #suchaprettysmile #netgalley #published 2022

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Queen of Madness by Lee Jacquot

OUT JANUARY 4th 2022

I'm in love with Queen of Madness.

This was such a good book and I loved reading every word of it.

I found myself loving the dynamics between Ezekiel and Onyx and loved them before they even met. They played off each other so well, and the build up was phenomenal. Onyx is such a powerful character and her being the Queen of Hearts is such a power move. Seeing the way they all found each other is endearing. Ezekiel is also powerful in his own way, and being a book reader himself!

I don't think I've read a book recently that made me love all the characters as well as QoM has. Every single character in it, whether it's one of Onyx's inner circle or not, has a unique personality and qualities that I came to love. I think it definitely helped that we got multiple POVs, and got further into everyone's mindset.

I loved getting all the references interspersed throughout, and the themes of it woven in.

Queen of Madness made me laugh, made me cry and made me delve deeper into dark romance.

I'm so excited to read the duet.

5,000+ / 5

I would like to thank Lee Jacquot for an ARC, and all thoughts and reviews are my own.

Trigger warnings under cut for anyone interested: Spoilers below

tw // knife play, blood, gore, parental death, loss, grief, explicit sexual scenes, violence, smut,

#arcs #2022 reads #first read of 2022 #2022 arcs #reviews

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ronan: I get really offended when people tell me I'm going to hell for being gay. It's like they're purposefully ignoring all the other reasons I'm going to hell.

[coffee-books-and-fairy-tales]

The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter

Mind chilling and disturbing

As a photographer myself, I was interested in this from the get-go. However, it did not live up to my expectations. I don't really know what I truly expected, but I felt underwhelmed, and felt more terror should have been done. Delta (as of Delta Dawn) is a certified photographer and likes to photograph people. After a birthday shoot with a family's daughter, she becomes obsessed with them. I couldn't really connect with a lot of the characters and it felt very forced to how exactly it played out. But I can appreciate how creepily well Delta managed to control and twist the situation to her benefit. I did like how we were told the story from Delta's point of view, so we mostly knew what she was lying about and her way of thinking. Overall, the story and how it plays out in the end is very creepy and a bit disturbing, but I appreciate how chilling it was. I did like the fast pace, but felt things were moving a bit too fast, as the mom takes a complete 180 in the span of two seconds. A good debut novel by Mary Dixie Carter. Thank you to NetGalley, Mary Dixie Carter and Minotaur Books for the chance to review an ARC copy.

3/5

#mary dixie carter #photography #books #new to bookblr #bone chilling #obsession #unhealthy obsession #2021 release #2021 reviews

[coffee-books-and-fairy-tales]

Go The Distance by Jen Calonita

TW // Anxiety, blood, cancer, death, divorce, gore, violence

Emotional and hauntingly beautiful

Jen Calonita's retelling is just icing on the cake. Growing up, I always adored Hercules. The mythology, the animation, the music, the plot, the characters, everything. And this retelling is no exception. The novel starts off exactly at the end of the movie, and continues on in Megara's pov. I loved seeing things from her pov, and hearing how her inner turmoil and anxiety flowed in her, even in the movie was done well. I felt like I could feel everything that Megara was feeling, even in the end and throughout the main plot.

I think my favorite character was Megara, but also Hades. The characters were dynamic and had heart. There was at some points where I felt like the novel was dragging, but overall was a good adaptation. 4/5 Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this ARC.

#disney #heroes of olympus #megara #hercules #athena #hera #zeus #tw // blood #tw // death #tw // anxiety #tw // gore #tw // cancer #tw // divorce #tw // violence

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Hi can you post more Nico angst Maybe some stripping, gagging, tying up, etc

Thanks for the ask!  Here is some Nico angst, it’s very much emotionally whumpy as well as the physical aspect.  Please excuse typos I’m a terrible proofreader. Hope y’all enjoy!

First | Previous |

Nico shivered, he could still feel Rhea’s hands on him.  She had left hours ago, after thoroughly enjoying the final break of Nico’s defiance. But he could still feel her hands invading his space.  He scratched at his neck, trying to get rid of the feeling of her touch.  It didn’t help.

Nico was the cleanest he had been since he was captured, but he felt dirtier than ever.  A disgusting layer of humiliation laid on his skin.  He had to do it, he knew that.  He wasn’t just going to let Rhea shoot Ash, but his just blatant obedience made him sick. 

Even worse than that, he cried, he let Rhea get to him.  He felt like vomiting at the thought.  He tried to tell himself that just because he submitted to Rhea’s will this one time, it didn’t mean he gave up, but it sure felt like the beginning of the end.  

More and more the little voice in his head told him how much easier it would be to just stop fighting. 

Nico dug his fingers into his neck, focusing his mind on the dull stinging left in the wake of his fingernails. It helped a little. 

“N-Nico?” Ash’s voice was weak, it barely traveled across the cell to where Nico was sitting.

Nico got up quickly, moving to sit next to Ash in the middle of the floor, “Right here,” he said softly. 

Ash smiled weakly, dried blood around his lips cracked a bit as his skin moved. 

Right after Rhea had left earlier, Nico had, with some difficulty, untied Ash’s hands.  But even now he wasn’t restrained Ash could barely move.  Nico didn’t know the full extent of his injuries, but he looked pretty horrible.  

“you... ‘k?” it seemed to take a lot of effort for Ash to get the words out. 

Nico scoffed, “I don’t think I’m the person to be worrying about right now.” 

Ash laughed, or tried to, it came out more as weak cough.  He winced at the movement.

“Are you... what’s wrong?”  Nico’s voice was filled with concern.

Ash shook his head, unable to speak through his spluttering coughs.  Red flecks became clear on his lips.

“You need to  be upright come on,” Nico spoke firmly, not letting his worries show in his voice. 

Ash didn’t seem to hear him, his eyes were filled with panic as he tried to get a moment to breath. 

Nico carefully put a hand under Ash’s head to support him as he lifted him to a sitting position.

Ash’s eyes squeezed closed as Nico pulled him up.

He collapsed forward onto Nico's shoulder, blood trickling out of his mouth onto Nico’s shirt. 

Nico knew he should try to say something to comfort his friend. He opened his mouth but couldn't think of the right words.

Ash’s breath was ragged, desperately trying to get air into his lungs.

"Shushh, just... it's ok. Just- just try to breathe, slowly,” Nico’s tone came out more awkward than comforting. 

"t-trying.." Ash stuttered out.

"It's gonna b-"

Nico was interrupted as the door to their cell swung open.

"Awww, what a pair of darlings," Rhea cooed.

Nico bit his cheek, stopping himself from instantly snapping at her. For Ash's sake he couldn't, if he did something to make her mad it would only hurt him.  He he couldn’t let her get to him.

"He needs a doctor." 

"Well he's still alive so he can't need one that bad," Rhea stepped into the room, letting the door close behind her.

"He's coughing up blood, that's not good. He needs a doctor." Nico grit his teeth, trying to keep himself from yelling.

Rhea pondered for a minute before shrugging, "Well I have three of you, if it's really that bad, he isn't integral to my little experiments."

"You're fucking sick." Nico growled.

A groan from Ash cut off their conversation, more blood spilled from his mouth.  Nico felt Ash’s body go slack in his grip, passing back out. 

Rhea moved on, ignoring him, “Today is a particularly special day. I have a nice little surprise for you all."

Nico's heart dropped, he knew that Rhea's words could mean nothing good.

Rhea reached to her belt for her radio, "bring it in please."

No no whatever it is keep it the fuck away. 

“You should be excited,” Rhea smiled.

Nico wrapped his arms protectively around Ash, “I’m not.”

Rhea gave him an exaggerated pout.  She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a knock at the cell door. 

The door creaked open and one of Rhea’s men, carrying some kind of metal tool and what looked like a car battery.  Rhea watched with excitement as he set his armful down, she gave the guard a nod towards Nico, “put him back up on the wall please.”

Nico’s chest clenched. The last thing he wanted was to be chained up away from Ash, unable to stop Rhea from doing whatever she wanted to his friend.

The guard nodded and made his way towards Nico, grabbing him roughly by the back of the shirt.

“Wait!  Wait, let me let him down, so he doesn’t fall.” Nico felt a pang of humiliation rush through his body, his voice sounded dangerously close to a beg. 

The guard paused, looking up to Rhea.  She nodded silently with an amused smirk. 

Nico put his hand back behind Ash’s head as he lowered him back to the ground. 

As soon as Ash’s back was against the floor the guard pulled at Nico’s collar.

Nico elbowed back at the guard, “Just wait a second!” he growled.

Nico managed to push Ash to his side, albeit a bit rougher than he would have wish for, at least he wasn’t going to choke on his own blood. 

With a yank from the man behind him Nico was forced to his feet.  He was slammed back into wall, the air knocked from his lungs.

Nico coughed violently as the guard grabbed and fastened his wrists into the cuffs above him.  Nico was still gasping to regain his breathe when the guard stepped away.

Rhea dismissed the man with a silent wave, leaving Nico and Ash alone with just her. 

She turned to fiddle with what the guard had brought in.  From this new vantage point Nico could clearly see Rhea’s newest implement of grief. But he still couldn’t exactly tell what it was. One piece of it was a large battery, a cord ran from the battery to a metal rod, about as long as his forearm, there was a flat disc of metal at the end of the rod. 

Rhea held the rod by its black handle, she turned slightly to adjust something on the other side of the battery. 

As she twisted Nico could see the bottom of the disc, in risen metal letters he could make out the words “Property of Rhea” with a small heart underneath. 

His eyes widened in horror as he realized what it was, “No! No... you can’t be serious!” 

Rhea flipped a switch on the battery, and a faint buzzing filled the room, “What a smart boy you are, figuring it out all by himself.  Though I am disappointed I didn’t get to tell you all about it myself.” 

“You-” Nico stopped the insults from rolling off his tongue, if he wanted any chance of this not happening he couldn’t make her angry.

“If- If- the cops ever saw it they’ll know your name, you can’t-”

“Do you really think I have only one?  And even if this was my real name, without a last name it's practically useless.”

no no no no no no. 

Nico’s mind was racing, there was no way this was happening, this couldn’t be happening. 

Rhea placed the brand on the floor, walking over to Nico,  “I know, it’s a lot, it’s scary, but I know you can do it,” she ran a hand through Nico’s hair. 

Nico jerked his head to the side, there was nowhere far enough to escape her touch. 

Rhea smiled at him, a warm smile that may have even been comforting in different circumstances,“It needs a few minutes to warm up, and after that it will be over before you know it.” 

“You- you can’t fucking brand me,” Nico tried to stop from stuttering. 

“Language Nico, you had been doing so well.”

Rhea released his hair, she took a few steps back to look at both boys, “So who wants to go first.”

shit shit SHIT.

Nico hadn’t even thought of Ash.  He mentally kicked himself for being so selfish, worrying about himself when Ash was over there passed out on the floor. 

“You can’t do that to him now.”

“I can do whatever I want, both of you are getting it today.”

“Look at him!  You almost killed him he can’t handle anything else!  He’s already coughing up blood you can’t fuc-” Nico stopped himself, “you can’t burn him on top of all that.” 

“Hmmm,” Rhea made a mockery of thinking it over, “last I checked you don’t get to say what I can’t do.”

Nico felt hopeless, there was nothing he could do, nothing except, “What do you want me to do?”

Rhea gave him a questioning look.

“There’s always something you want from me.  Something I haven’t done yet that you want me to do.  I’m the one you can’t break, can’t get to do what you want.  Well I will now, what will it take for you to leave him alone?”  Nico’s breathing quickened anticipating whatever horror he had just signed himself up for. 

“Well,”  Rhea’s face spread into a grin, “that is a delicious proposition.  So you’ll be branded?  And do whatever I want?”

“If you leave him alone.”

“He’s going to get it later one anyway.  Is all that pain, the humiliation, is it really worth it?”

Nico knew it was.  He wanted to help Ash.  This would take away the one real thing Rhea hadn’t been able to steal.  She could beat him and cut him how ever much she wanted but there was no way to force his obedience.  Now he was bartering it away for a temporary save. 

“He goes to a hospital too.”

Rhea gave an exasperated shake of her head, “I can’t do that, you-”

“Then medical care, at least- it can be here.  This is obviously some kind of criminal base or something and you must have a hospital or medical center.  Ash gets the care he needs, nicely, with pain meds and stuff not as another way for you to torment him.”

“You really think of everything don’t y-”

“And Hazel, she gets it as well.  Both of them, fixed up, and out of pain.”

Nico wracked his brain trying to think of anything else he could ask for.  The more panicked he got the harder it was for him to think. 

Rhea paused as if thinking it over, “I suppose... I might agree, but it would have to be very enticing to be worth it.”

“What do you want me to do?” Nico repeated.

“Submit, fully.  Do what I say, beg when I ask, no fighting, no cursing, no attitude. The second you slip up the deal’s off.”

Nico tilted his head up to try and stop tears slipping out of his eyes, his voice shook slightly, “I won’t slip up.”

“Well,” Rhea turned back to the brand, “good then, as long as you keep being good, they will receive medical attention, they won’t be hurt.  I expect your very best behavior, and your active participation, can you do that?”

Nico nodded.

Rhea held the brand, turning back to Nico and raising an eyebrow expectantly.

Nico realized his mistake, “yes ma’am,” he corrected himself.

Rhea didn’t look satisfied. 

What did she want? 

Nico’s lungs felt tight, it dawned on him what she wanted, “Please, uh... please do it,” he could barely force out the words, “brand me.” 

“You can do better than that.”

Nico took in a stuttering breath, “please, please I want you to... it would uh- make me happy, please Rhea please brand me.” 

Nico let the words tumble out of his mouth reminding himself over and over he didn’t mean it. 

Rhea nodded, smiling she stepped toward Nico with the brand.  With one hand she traced her fingers along the hem of Nico’s shirt, gently lifting it up to expose his bare torso.  

“Hold this,” Rhea pushed the fabric into one of Nico’s cuffed hands.

“Yes ma’am,” Nico took it quickly, the tee shirt now covering his view of Rhea.  He was breathing fast and heavy, having a hard time getting enough oxygen.  

Waiting for it to happen felt worse than-

That thought was quickly disproven as the red hot metal met his ribcage.  

He wasn’t sure if he screamed or not, he probably did.  

Everything just whited out for Nico, his vision, hearing, all just white, blinding pain.  

Worse than anything Nico had ever felt before.  

It felt like an eternity before the blind white screen faded back to Rhea’s face in front of him. 

Now he could tell he was screaming. 

His throat burned as he cried out, gasping for air. 

Rhea held Nico’s tee shirt up, Nico must have dropped it in his surprise, she was murmuring reassurances Nico couldn’t hear over his own sounds of pain. 

Finally Rhea pulled the brand off of Nico, it pulled on his skin eliciting a yelp from her captive. 

Nico was breathing hard as he tried to regain his composure. 

It hurt. 

It hurt so incredibly bad. 

 All thoughts of strength or regaining his dignity were gone from Nico’s head. 

 Broken sobs came from the boy as he tried to get through it. 

“Shushhh, good job darling, good job,” Rhea’s hands were in his hair again but Nico barely felt it. 

His side felt like it was on fire, his tee shirt brushing against it was unbearable. 

“Tell me what you feel,” Rhea’s voice dripped with a sick fascination.

Nico barely processed what she said, he looked up at her confused. 

“Tell me what you feel,” Rhea repeated more slowly.

Nico knew he had too, had to give his complete cooperation. 

“H-hu-hurts,” Nico struggled to talk between sobs.

“Mmmm I know, I know it hurts darling, but you did so good.”

Nico was limp in her hands as Rhea maneuvered his head to rest on her shoulder, “You did so good for me, don’t worry.” 

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Happy Ace Day!!!!

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Prompt 143

“So this is me, giving you a happy ending.” The villain turned from the screaming hero and stepped off the ledge.

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The Gravity Inside Us by Chloë Frayne

There is a beauty in grief and gravity.

OUT APRIL 6th 2021

I'm not a huge poetry fan, but I really liked Chloë's collection. It explores an angle of grief that isn't normally seen. Gravity is inside everything, and is a natural feeling. I loved how Frayne explored the themes of gravity and love through her own feelings from her ex and tells a powerful story to her future and her future partner. Frayne's verse was so beautifully written, and it shone a bright light on grief and gravity. There was at some points where I thought it was slow, but it was so powerful to read. *Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the chance to review this ARC.*

#book review #books #netgalley #book #the gravity inside us #chloë frayne #arcs #arc #bookb #new to the bookblr fam #poetry #grief #gravity #relationship #love #distance

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The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Tw // blood, tattoos, death, ADHD, anorexia, drugs, addiction, heroin, eating disorders, PTSD (briefly mentioned), alcoholism, depression, knives, razor blades, self sabotage, cutting, needles, self violence, OCD, food, selective mutism, forced to leave, mention of experimentation, cancer, car accident, brain cancer, drugs 

Spoilers below 

“Saying what if never helped anyone. You can’t undo the bad things that have happened. Pain can’t be avoided, but it can be accepted.” 

YALL. I went into The Castle School thinking it was a mystery novel, but what I got was so much better. 

The Castle School took a deep dive into the taboo subjects ((grief, depression, alcoholism, to name a few)) and in my opinion turned it into something beautiful. 

I loved reading the chapters of how all the girls were subjected to coming to The Castle School, and how each girl deals with her vice in their own ways.

I feel like this couldn’t have come to me a better time, as I am dealing with grief and death over half a year later. Sheinmel describes grief with a stunning outlook.

Moira’s journey and self discovery was dynamic and reflective of how she was feeling. I feel like Moira was good as a main character but I would’ve loved to see the others as main characters as well. 

Overall, TCS has a slow pace but is so powerful and beautiful. 

"For one second before I fall asleep, I think I hear music. But maybe I’m already dreaming." 

"Natural beauty, Mei decided, was not a straight thing, not a right-angled thing. Beauty was alphabetization and carefully laid plans. Beauty was counting each bristle on a toothbrush, each slat in the blinds hanging above the living room windows. What was beautiful about something as random as the looks she’d been born with? Something over which she had no control, over which her parents had no control?" 

"I always hated it that teachers got to choose what books we read during the school year—I firmly believe that what you read is a deeply personal choice—but I quickly realize why our English classes were structured that way. It’s very dull—not to mention confusing—to listen to eleven girls talk about books I’ve never even heard of." 

"In stories, things always go wrong at midnight. That’s when Cinderella’s coach turned back into a pumpkin, when she was exposed for who she really was."

#the castle school for troubled girls #books #bookblr #new to the bookblr fam #book review #review #alyssa b sheinmel #disordered eating tw #tw // blood #tw // alcohol #tw // drugs #tw // tattoos #tw // death #tw // ADHD #tw // anorexia #tw // eating disorders #tw // self harm #tw // car accident