• Lola and the Boy Next Door Review

    When I picked this book I was in the mood for a feel good romantic story. Stephanie Perkins knows how to write a fun heart-warming contemporary novel. This is the companion book for Anna and the French Kiss. [...]

  • Reason to Breathe Review

    In this book we are introduced to Emma (Emily) Thomas, her life seems perfectly normal from the outside, she is a straight A student at Weslyn High, editor for the school newspaper, soccer and basketball player but what happens when she arrives home is something she is not willing to admit, not even to herself.[...]

  • Fracture Review

    Author Megan Miranda launches her debut novel with the absorbing story of Delaney Maxwell, it should be just another day in her life but instead turns out to be the day she died, for eleven minutes she was under freezing water, for 11 minutes she was considered death. That should have been the end of her story, but life gave her a second chance and now her world will never be normal again.[...]

  • The Secret of Ella and Micha Review

    When Ella ran away from home she left everything and everyone behind, including her best friend Micha. For 8 months nobody knew where she was or if she was ever coming back, she decides to return home for the summer and is confronted with her past.[...]

Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Friday, March 29, 2019

Title: Romanov
Author: Nadine Brandes
Publication Date: 7th May 2019
Pages: 352
Genre: Historical Fiction
The history books say I died.

They don’t know the half of it.

Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them . . . and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances of survival are to either release the spell, and deal with the consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya’s never dabbled in magic before, but it doesn’t frighten her as much as her growing attraction for Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her . . .

That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other. 



I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

As soon as I noticed this book I fell in love with the synopsis, I've always been fascinated by the Romanovs and this is the first retelling I've found. The perfect blend between historical fiction and fantasy.

Nadine Brandes is a fabulous storyteller, adding magic in an otherwise heartbreaking story. I was hooked from the very first chapter. The story follows Anastasia as she is confronted with difficult decisions while in exile, we are introduced to the Romanov family while they're kept as hostages by the Bolsheviks. Nastya needs to overcome the stress and monotony while trying to find a way to save her family.

If you're looking for historical accuracy, this is not it. You'll find some historical facts mixed heavily with the author imaginative as she is trying to make you share the feelings of all the characters.
After this magnificent introduction to Brandes prose I had to run and get one of her other books, Fawkes, I'm loving it so far, review to come. 

Top Ten Tuesday: NEW-TO-ME AUTHORS I READ IN 2018

Tuesday, January 15, 2019


Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to  That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018.

2018 was a busy year for me, I struggled to read 50 books and not every book was amazing, but there's a few authors that I'm glad to have on my list today. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for their books:
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★★★★★

   Who was your favorite author of 2018?

Review Brightly Woven

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Title: Brightly Woven
Author: Alexandra Bracke
Publication Date: March 23, 2010
Publisher: Egmont
Pages: 357
ISBN: 160684038X
The day the rains came was like any other, blistering air coating the canyon in a heavy stillness....
Just as the rains come after ten long, dry years, a young wizard, Wayland North, appears, to whisk Sydelle Mirabil away from her desert village. North needs an assistant, and Sydelle is eager to see the country - and to join him on his quest to stop the war that surely will destroy her home. But North has secrets - about himself, about why he chose Sydelle, about his real reasons for the journey. What does he want from her? And why does North's sworn enemy seem fascinated by Sydelle himself? Through a journey that spans a country, magic and hard-won romance are woven together with precision and brilliant design by a first-time novelist.
I’ve had this book waiting on my bookshelf for years, and let me tell you something: don’t make the same mistake. If you have it waiting around, pick it up, if you don’t have it and you love Fantasy you need to get it. Loved reading every page, it made me laugh, it made me swoon and it made me wonder.

I’ve been on a reading slump for the past few months and it was easy to get lost in this story. Brightly Woven did not take long to get me interested, it’s unlike any other book related to Magic, witches and wizards, that I’ve come across in all the years I’ve been reading.

It’s been 10 years since it last rained on Sydelle Miribel’s village, her small town of Cliffton is all she’s ever known, that is until a young stranger arrives and her world turns upside down, they need to stop a war before it’s too late. There’s magic and there’s romance without the romance taking the main focus. I enjoyed getting to know Sydelle and her brave disposition and Wayland North with his humor and imperfect personality.

Overall It left me wishing there was a sequel, I want to go back to the amazing imaginary world that Alexandra Bracken was able to portray.