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Book Review: The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

The Sun and Her Flowers is the second book of poetry and illustrations written by Rupi Kaur.

I had been seeing Kaur’s first book, Milk and Honey, everywhere on Bookstagram, and decided to pick it up.  It was revelatory for me, and I instantly went online to buy The Sun and Her Flowers. This follow-up definitely did not disappoint.

Here’s the synopsis of the book, pulled from Amazon:

“From Rupi Kaur, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of milk and honey, comes her long-awaited second collection of poetry. A vibrant and transcendent journey about growth and healing. Ancestry and honoring one’s roots. Expatriation and rising up to find a home within yourself.

Divided into five chapters and illustrated by Kaur, the sun and her flowers is a journey of wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming. A celebration of love in all its forms.”

And here’s my review of The Sun and Her Flowers!

I love to read books of poetry. I often consume them all in one go, ravenously flying through the pages, unable to get enough. The Sun and Her Flowers was no different.

Often I’ll earmark certain pages or poems using bookmarks. By the time I had finished The Sun and Her Flowers, the book itself was unclosable because it was being propped up by so many bookmarks. One page in particular literally made my stomach drop. You know that feeling when you realize you left something important somewhere terrible? Maybe not, but I do, and that’s the feeling. Only my heart also started pounding. My whole body was activated. It spoke to me so infinitely that I had to put the book down and just stew in it for a few moments.

Unreal.

Kaur’s poetry is simultaneously heart-warming and soul-crushing, down-to-earth and lofty. I know that I will be able to go back to it a second time, and a third, and a fourth… and never have the same experience reading it as I did before. Timeless poems that also so wonderfully suit the current era.

So, this is an excellent one to pick up for mature readers. I couldn’t possibly recommend it enough.

5/5 stars!

– Paperback Patronus

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Book Review: Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Renegades is the first installment of what it seems will be a duology by well-known author Marissa Meyer, author of the Lunar Chronicles, which are futuristic re-tellings of popular fairy tales, set in space. Similarly, Renegades is a futuristic-style novel, but is set in a bit less of a dystopian society. Although it is borderline dystopian, the world appears to be a similar planet to Earth, or perhaps Earth itself.

Renegades is a book that I shockingly picked up in hardcover. I know, the name’s Paperback Patronus, but with all the good press going around about this book AND the fact that the cover is just GORGEOUS, I had to get it right away.

Here’s the synopsis of the book, pulled from Amazon:

“From #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer, comes a high-stakes world of adventure, passion, danger, and betrayal.

Secret Identities.
Extraordinary Powers.
She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies―humans with extraordinary abilities―who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice―and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to the villains who have the power to end them both.”

You’ve seen the cover already, because I am so enamoured with it, but here it is again (holiday-style this time!):

And here’s my review of Renegades!

Renegades is book one of a series by Marissa Meyer that will have at least two books, possibly more. It depicts a society recovering from the so-called “Age of Anarchy.” Then, a group called the Anarchists and several rogue gangs cause chaos and terror against the government and citizens. At the same time, a group called the Renegades tries to maintain order, peace, and governmental regulations. However, there is a twist to this society. There are people who are prodigies – they have special abilities that they were either born with or acquired due to some sort of trauma. The Renegades and Anarchists contain only prodigies. The Renegades won the Age of Anarchy, and now run the government and try to protect their citizens against those rogue gangs and the Anarchists.

The story follows Nova, an Anarchist due to family connections and the traumatic events of her childhood. It is a riveting, interesting take sci-fi/fantasy, with interesting character relationships, fascinating history, and a plot that keeps you glued to the page.

 

4/5 stars!

All in all…

Just like Nemesis Games, I highly recommend this to fantasy and sci-fi lovers alike! However, it is more of a YA-style book, so if you’re not into YA, I’d still try it. However, expect something a bit different to what you’re used to. Also, it’s about 550 pages, but it reads quickly. I finished it in 5 days, but I’m currently in the midst of writing report cards. I’ve had very little time to read at all.

One last thing!

Renegades ends on a cliffhanger — so if those are not for you, avoid until November 2018! That’s when book 2 comes out to end the story!!

My next read is The Sun and Her Flowers, by Rupi Kaur! I’m zooming through it because it’s killer amazing and simultaneously soul-lifting and soul-crushing. Expect a review of it very soon!

– Paperback Patronus

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Book Review: Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey

Nemesis Games is the fifth installment of the epic space saga by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.

If you’re not familiar with the series, one of the quotes on the cover by NPR Books reads as follows: “The science fictional equivalent of A Song of Ice and Fire.” Essentially, it’s the equivalent Game of Thrones in space. And what they mean by that, in my opinion, is that you have a whole host of political strategies and wars combined with personal relationships, adventure, a futuristic setting, and really place-based, environmental struggles that come along with living in space on Mars, asteroids, manufactured space stations, moons, and other planets.

Here’s the synopsis of the book, pulled from Amazon:

“A thousand worlds have opened, and the greatest land rush in human history has begun. As wave after wave of colonists leave, the power structures of the old solar system begin to buckle.
Ships are disappearing without a trace. Private armies are being secretly formed. The sole remaining protomolecule sample is stolen. Terrorist attacks previously considered impossible bring the inner planets to their knees. The sins of the past are returning to exact a terrible price.
And as a new human order is struggling to be born in blood and fire, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante must struggle to survive and get back to the only home they have left.”

 

Here’s the cover:

I’m not a huge fan of the covers for the series, but you have to admit that they’re pretty impressive. One of the beefs that I have is that halfway through the series they switched aesthetic — for the first couple of books, the title of the book was in big bright letters down the spine, and for the later books they changed that to the author’s name instead. Like, why?!?!

And here’s my review of Nemesis Games!

Nemesis Games is the fifth book in the The Expanse series. It follows earlier books’ usual pattern of telling the story from multiple characters’ perspectives. However, this time, there is a twist. It is the first time in the series that the four main characters (the crew of the ship Rocinante) do not encounter the conflict of the story together.

Amos is on Earth dealing with the death of someone from his past and meeting with Clarissa Mao. Alex is on Mars trying to reconcile with his ex-wife and meeting with Bobbie. Naomi is dealing with her before unrevealed past on Ceres. Finally, Holden remains on Tycho with the head of the Outer Planets Alliance, seeing to the repairs the Roci requires thanks to her near-fatal trip through the Ring to Ilus (or New Terra, depending on what camp you’re in).

After the characters initially split up, things devolve quickly. Thus begins an exciting political dance of war that presents ambush, catastrophe, and human nature in ways which test limits and both shatter and create bonds. It is an incredible saga with  great in-depth looks at the backgrounds of characters we previously didn’t know much about. It is also a fantastic set-up for what the Epilogue alludes to: an incredibly ominous encounter with some very powerful galactic beings.

All in all…

I highly recommend this to fantasy and sci-fi lovers alike! However, beware before you start: It’s over 500 pages! So, make sure you have a good chunk of time to set aside while you read, because again similarly to Game of Thrones, there’s a lot to take in. Another plus – the books have begun to be made into a TV series (now on season 3) on Syfy.

My next read is Renegades, by Marissa Meyer, as voted by my Bookstagram friends in my Stories! I’ll post a review once I’ve finished it!

– Paperback Patronus

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Book Review: Broken Moon by Sarah Beth Moore

I was recently offered a Kindle ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of Broken Moon by Sarah Beth Moore in exchange for an honest review. This is the fourth ARC I’ve received since I started reviewing books.  I have to say it was the one I’ve enjoyed the most so far! To be clear, my opinions are all my own.

Here’s the synopsis of the book, pulled from Amazon:

What if you discovered human souls are real, but about to become extinct … and you were the only one who could stop it?

Living a thousand feet above the ground in metal slums piled upon the detritus of decades, Naiya Barrigan makes a decent living culling through the wreckage of 21st century humanity and selling what she finds to the highest bidder.

But that doesn’t mean life is perfect: demonic guards stalk the streets, mothers owe their firstborn children to the authoritarian Party, and Naiya’s pregnant sister has just turned up bone-thin, childless and dead.

This disturbing incident kicks off other revelations, such as Naiya’s membership in the ancient family line that oversees the link between the mortal world and Terminus, where souls await rebirth between lives. Unfortunately, the Party has discovered this too, and soon Naiya is on the run.

For help she has only a numbers-obsessed, slightly autistic brainiac, a hulking spy from the outside and an adopted brother toward whom she feels anything but sisterly. In a city fast becoming a death trap, she must figure out how to use the newfound magic she doesn’t even want and escape the place she’s always called home.

Elements of horror, urban fantasy and theology intertwine in this fast-paced adventure, culminating in a revelation that will haunt Naiya for the rest of her life … though her journey is far from over.

The cover is gorgeous!

And here’s my review!

Broken Moon had me hooked from the start! Set in a mysteriously dystopian world, where the planet is under the control of a dark and dangerously manufactured species as well as a harsh, unfair government, the novel follows the story of an unlikely set of siblings as they discover a secret that has been kept for far too long and try to flip their broken world back right side up. It satisfies on all levels – setting, character development, fantasy, dystopia, action, relationships, suspense, and heart-wrenching moments! It is wonderfully descriptive, but not so wordy that the pacing falls flat. The plot has several twists and turns which keep you gripped until the end and beyond. Reminiscent of Brave New World and moody and thematic like Stranger Things, it kept me on edge all the way through and I already can’t wait for more of the story!

If you’re an author looking for a review for your new work, I would love to write one for you! Seeing a review request in my inbox is so exciting!

I’ve got another ARC in my inbox right now!  Stay tuned for a review of that in the near future!

In the meantime, go and get yourself a copy of Broken Moon, you won’t regret it!

– Paperback Patronus