Binding of Bindings #4: January Book Wrap-Up

Come little children, I’ll take thee away

Into a land of enchantment

Come little children, the times come to play

Here in my garden of magic.

Let’s just DIVE right in!

 

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, Book 1) by Holly Black

If you haven’t started this series yet….

…well I just don’t even know what to say to you.

The Cruel Prince is the opposite of everything you thought you knew about the Fae. They aren’t dainty creatures that act like little cherubs, they don’t want to shower you in luck and magic, and they sure as s**t DO NOT love humans.

These faeries are RUTHLESS and CUNNING tricksters.

The Cruel Prince is about a human girl named Jude, her twin, and their half-Fae sister who find themselves living in Faerie. Jude is tortured and ridiculed on a daily basis, but finds that she has grown to love the world of Faerie. It is a FANTASTIC story and a WONDERFUL introduction to this series.

(See my review here)

 

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, Book 2) by Holly Black

…there’s not much to say here.

Except, you know…

This book evoked only the BEST and ANGRIEST gifs I had.

This book might kill you.

You may see darkness, a brief flash of all your best moments in  life, and a light at the end of a VERY SMALL and VERY NARROW tunnel.

But don’t worry. Because you won’t be reaching the light.

It’s all SWEET, LINGERING, WOEFUL DARKNESS from here my friends.

(See my review here)

 

Immortal Girl5 by Griffin Stark

Not the best of my January reads, but a decent one at that.

Or a decent attempt at least.

Immortal Girl5 is about five (duh) girls throughout history that are turned immortal to protect the world…I mean, I think that’s what their purpose is? They basically show up in well-known parts of history, like to defeat Jack the ripper or to assist Anne Frank and Joan or Arc. It is an interesting concept, but just wasn’t executed well.

However, I think it would be a great starter book from a child or young teen though.

(See my review here)

 

Evenfall (Shadowfire, Book 1) by Gaja J. Kos and Boris Kos

If the cover doesn’t make you fall in love, I don’t know what will.

Evenfall is about a girl who wake in a world that isn’t hers. One where magic flows and is used by men AND women, and one where she is hunted. Ember is the savior of this world and the others, and the Crescent Prince is hunting her down to use her powers for his bidding. Supposedly 😉

Look. This book was WRITTEN BEAUTIFULLY and the world that was created was BREATHTAKING. The only issue is the pacing, and the insta-love. The beginning starts out a little slow and boring, but then halfway through it is RACING to the finish line.

There IS an insta-romance, so if this annoys you to no end, I won’t blame you.

BUT. If you can get past these little things, the book really is an intriguing and interesting read. It’s a magical YA Fantasy that has legs to become truly fantastic.

(See my review here)

 

The Giver, Graphic Novel by Lois Lowry and P. Craig Russell

THIS.

THE GRAPHIC NOVEL FOR THE GIVER.

Need I say more?

(See my review here)

 

The Cold is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale

Here we come to The Cold is in Her Bones.

By far the strangest read of January 2019.

It is a retelling of Medusa, mother of us Slytherins! ❤ It is about a young girl who has an affinity for Snakes. Once her family sees this though, they basically say she is possessed by the devil.

She curses the village and all the women living and to come, that they will have the same affinity to snakes as her. It is a VERY compelling read and has a dark 1800’s folktale vibe to it. You will probably give an audible WTF at least once while reading, but trust me. It’s worth the read.

(See my review here)

 

Dream Keeper (The Dark Dreamer Trilogy, Book 1) by Amber R. Duell

I REALLY tried to like this and I REALLY tried to stay positive about it.

But sometimes, there’s just not a opening for positivity.

This is a Sandman retelling, or spin-off…however you want to look at it. It is about a girl that has been visiting the Sandman in her dreams since she was 12, and is now thrust into the throngs of murder and terror. The Weaver (the Lord of Nightmares) begins terrorizing Nora’s life by killing her family and friends, in order to get a dream that she has.

It had great potential, but was just SO hard to get through. The characters were dull, the pacing was off, prominent characters weren’t mentioned until 75% into the book, and it just had a cheesy feel to it.

I don’t recommend.

(See my review here)

My January Book Wrap-up leaves me with a total of 7 books read, and honestly, that’s not too bad.

I am currently reading Enchantée by Gita Trelease, which I started in January, but am still reading. I am hoping to have 7 or more books done in February, so fingers crossed!!

Thanks for reading witchlings!