Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly featurefor book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?Here are the rules:
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but donโt give anything else about the book away just yet โ you need to hook the reader first
Hello, friends! I’m back with a blog tour review for The Moth Keeper by K. O’Neill. Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it!
Thanks to Random House Graphic for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!
The Moth Keeper Publisher: Random House Graphic Publication Date: 7 March 2023 Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy Graphic Novel
Panda Rating: (4 pandas)
๐SYNOPSIS
Being a Moth Keeper is a huge responsibility and a great honor, but what happens when the new Moth Keeper decides to take a break from the moon and see the sun for the first time? A middle-grade fantasy graphic novel about passion, duty, and found family.
Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths that allow the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year. Her village needs the flower to continue thriving and Anya is excited to prove her worth and show her thanks to her friends with her actions, but what happens when being a Moth Keeper isnโt exactly what Anya thought it would be?
The nights are cold in the desert and the lunar moths live far from the village. Anya finds herself isolated and lonely. Despite Anyaโs dedication, she wonders what it would be like to live in the sun. Her thoughts turn into an obsession, and when Anya takes a chance to stay up during the day to feel the sunโs warmth, her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences.
K. OโNeill brings to life a beautifully illustrated fantasy world about responsibility to yourself and your community. The Moth Keeper is filled with magic, hope, and friendship.
โ ๏ธCONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Depression, trauma, burn out themes, abandonment (historical, shown on page through flashback), ableism (historical, minor)
TL;DR:If you’ve read anything by K. O’Neill before you’ll know that their stories are not only beautifully depicted through wonderful graphic illustrations, but their stories are full of heart and leave you feeling warm inside. The Moth Keeper is no different and despite the brevity of the story, it brought me joy, made me misty-eyed, and gave me a strong feeling of hope. This is a heartwarming story about community, found family, and belonging and I’d recommend it to everyone who loves folk tales and a good story!
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
This week’s topic isBookish People Iโd Like To Meet (These can be authors, book characters, book bloggers/influencers, cover designers, cover models, etc.)
#1 New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken cements her status as one of the top fantasy authors writing today in this stunning series opener inspired by Arthurian legend and fueled by love, revenge, and pure adrenaline!
Tamsin Lark didnโt ask to be a Hollower. As a mortal with no magical talent, she was never meant to break into ancient crypts, or compete with sorceresses and Cunningfolk for the treasures inside. But after her thieving foster father disappeared without so much as a goodbye, it was the only way to keep herselfโand her brother, Cabellโalive.
Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian vanished with a powerful ring from Arthurian legend. A run-in with her rival Emrys ignites Tamsinโs hope that the ring could free Cabell from a curse that threatens both of them. But they arenโt the only ones who covet the ring.
As word spreads, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to have it for themselves. While Emrys is the last person Tamsin would choose to partner with, she needs all the help she can get to edge out her competitors in the race for the ring. Together, they dive headfirst into a vipersโ nest of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother….
โ ๏ธCONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Brutal violence, blood and gore, a massacre including child death, parental abandonment, physical abuse (off-page, discussed by characters), death of a guardian
Note: The quotes below are taken from an advanced/unfinished copy and are subject to change in the final version.
TL;DR:I buddy-read this with Leslie & Julie and found that it was a great book to read with them as there were lots of theories to share and other elements to discuss, and we all ended up feeling the same way about it. This book got off to a rocky start and despite wishing that the world-building was stronger and the pacing was less erratic, it’s still a story that I think is worth sticking with because I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships. Plus, with all the tense action and surprising twists that come at the end, I’m excited to see where the story goes next.
Delilah always keeps her messy, gooey insides hidden behind a wall of shrugs and yeah, whatevers. She goes with the flowโwhich is how she ends up singing in her friendsโ punk band as a favor, even though sheโd prefer to hide at the merch table.
Reggie is a D&D Dungeon Master and self-declared Blerd. He spends his free time leading quests and writing essays critiquing the game under a pseudonym, keeping it all under wraps from his disapproving family.
These two, who have practically nothing in common, meet for the first time on New Yearโs Eve. And then again on Valentineโs Day. And then again on St. Patrickโs Day. Itโs almost like the universe is pushing them together for a reason.
Delilah wishes she were more like Reggieโopen about what she likes and who she is, even if itโs not cool. Except… itโs all a front. Reggie is just role-playing someone confident. The kind of guy who could be with a girl like Delilah.
As their holiday meetings continue, the two begin to fall for each other. But what happens once they realize theyโve each fallen for a version of the other that doesnโt really exist?
โ ๏ธCONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Racsim, bullying, dyslexia, chronic migraines
TL;DR:This was a fun coming-of-age YA contemporary that was a well-balanced mix of fluffy and serious. It tackles themes of racism, identity, mental health, learning disability and bullying in a sensitive and well-rounded way. Both of the characters felt like real teenagers who are simply doing their best and despite being frustrated by their actions sometimes, it was easy to root for them to find their happiness. The romance was admittedly a bit too cheesy for me at times and I felt like the build-up of the story felt too drawn out, I still enjoyed this and I think many YA readers will too!
Where do I even start with February? I thought I was ready for what the month would bring but I definitely was not. At. All. Ready. ๐ญ๐ I think I can begin glancing back at this experience now and have a slight chuckle at how overwhelmed and overworked and over everything I was. And although I’ve done my best to push the stress of the situation to the back of my mind, I know that once I reflect on the past month from a professional perspective, I will also realise that I’ve gained a lot from it and I’ll probablymaybe be thankful for having gone through what I did. But as of right now, I’m not quite there yet and I’ll do anything in my power to ensure I never have to experience this again. Ever. Again. No more. ๐ซฃ
This is pretty much it for the life update front because nothing else but work happened this month and it’s sad that that’s not at all an exaggeration, lol.
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
This week’s topic is a Genre Freebie(Pick a genre and build a list around it. It could be a list of favourites, a to-read list, recommendations for people interested in reading books in that genre, โif you like this, try thisโ, etc.)
Sheโs the wife he never wantedโฆand the weakness he never saw coming.
Ruthless. Meticulous. Arrogant.
Dante Russo thrives on control, both personally and professionally. The billionaire CEO never planned to marryโ
until the threat of blackmail forces him into an engagement with a woman he barely knows.
Vivian Lau, jewelry heiress and daughter of his newest enemy. It doesnโt matter how beautiful or charming she is. He’ll do everything in his power to destroy the evidence and their betrothal. Thereโs only one problem: now that he has her…he can’t bring himself to let her go.
***
Elegant. Ambitious. Well-mannered.
Vivian Lau is the perfect daughter and her familyโs ticket into the highest echelons of high society.Marrying a blue-blooded Russo means opening doors that would otherwise remain closed to her new-money family.
While the rude, elusive Dante isn’t her idea of a dream partner, she agrees to their arranged marriage out of duty. Craving his touch was never part of the plan. Neither was the worst thing she could possibly do: fall in love with her future husband.
โ ๏ธCONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
King of Wrath is a steamy billionaire/arranged marriage romance. It contains explicit sexual content, profanity, and mild violence. Recommended for mature readers only.
*This review was first posted to Goodreads in January 2023*
TL;DR:Was this particularly new in any way? No. Did I have a fun time reading it anyway? Absolutely, yes. I haven’t read a marriage-of-convenience book in a while and while this billionaire romance isn’t normally one that I gravitate to often, I’ve been enjoying my fair share of them in the last few months! I enjoyed the dynamic between Vivian and Dante and found their romance pretty entertaining. This was also not as petty and drama-filled as I thought it would be but it had just the right amount of angst to keep me interested.
dinipandareads 