It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover – Review

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
Series: It Ends With Us #2
First published October 18, 2022
Genres: Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 323
Format: Paperback
Buy: Amazon

Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.

But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.

Switching between the perspectives of Lily and Atlas, It Starts with Us picks up right where the epilogue for the “gripping, pulse-pounding” (Sarah Pekkanen, author of Perfect Neighbors) bestselling phenomenon It Ends with Us left off. Revealing more about Atlas’s past and following Lily as she embraces a second chance at true love while navigating a jealous ex-husband, it proves that “no one delivers an emotional read like Colleen Hoover” (Anna Todd, New York Times bestselling author).

This book is a second chance romance. It’s about Atlas and Lily. They were best friends and lovers when they were younger and although life happened, a reunion of 5 min was all they needed to make the feelings come again.

But life happened in all the years they haven’t been together. Lily came out of an abusive relationship and has a 1-year old daughter. She is also a working mother with her own business.

Atlas opened two new restaurants and has almost no time for anything, especially when life threw him back to his past that will forever change his future.

But although they love each other, the fact that Lily’s ex doesn’t of course want him – being a former part of her life – will make her future and present difficult.

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Fairyloot December 2021 Unboxing

Welcome to another unboxing from Fairyloot! 🙂 This time we’ll open December’s box!

FairyLoot is an amazing YA bookish subscription box that I’ve been getting for quite many years and would highly recommend getting.

Wanna check out what this box included? Just keep reading!

Most Anticipated Releases of 2022 – Part 1

Hey guys!

It’s nearly 2022 and it’s time to check out some new releases!! Who’s excited?? These are the books I am interested in getting as of now, hopefully we have some in common!

So here’s my list of anticipated books for 2022:

January

Owlcrate Unboxing November 2021

Hey guys! Here’s the unboxing for Owlcrate November’s box! Hope you enjoy! The theme of the month is Dreaming in the Dark!

Owlcrate is an amazing YA bookish subscription box that I would highly recommend getting. Plus, if you live in Europe like me, it still arrives incredibly fast and somehow  (for me) it doesn’t get more expensive than any other box coming from Europe – although obviously, it changes from country to country…

If you want to check out what this box included, just keep reading! I will show photos of all the items, information on them and some of my thoughts!

Illumicrate The Green Bone Saga Unboxing

Hi guys! I have one more unboxing for you!! This time I’ll share The Green Bone Saga brought to us by Illumicrate!!

Illumicrate is an amazing subscription box that often comes out with special editions just like this one! SO, without further a do, check it out!

Goodreads Choice Awards Reviewed

Hi guys! Today I decided to talk about this year’s Goodreads Choice Awards

It’s probably the first year I get them so wrong so, I thought this would be fun! I didn’t vote in all of them, so I’m only focusing on the genres I did vote!

Hope you enjoy!

The Shadows Between Us – Review

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
Series: The Shadows Between Us
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Published February 25th 2020
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 326
Format: Hardback
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:

1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

The beginning gave me Cardan and Jude vibes if Jude had joined The Selection. There’s something really addicting about dark romance fantasies.

Illustrated Step-by-Step Baking Cookbook for Kids and Teens by Skye Wade

Illustrated Step-by-Step Baking Cookbook for Kids and Teens by Skye Wade
Publisher: BooksGoSocial
Published June 25th 2021  
Genres: Cook Book
Pages: 288
Format: E-book ARC
Buy: Amazon

We created this book for children, but we recommend it for adults as well. It’s for those who don’t like to read boring bricks of text but prefer to get right down to business, learning skills as they go.

You won’t find a book easier to use than this one. Not only does it have illustrated recipes for delicious dishes with concise, detailed descriptions, but it also has important information about the basics of baking that we’ve simplified and illustrated.

Easy to make. Recipes are broken down into 3 categories of difficulty, but even the most difficult ones are manageable for a child. Most recipes require 3 to 10 ingredients and don’t require gourmet ingredients. Chances are you already have everything you need, or you can find it at the nearest supermarket, regardless of the country you live in. In addition, there are substitution options for many of the ingredients. Most recipes require only the most basic cooking utensils. And even for those, there are substitution options: no microwave — make a water bath; no mixer — use a whisk. 

* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*

This is such a cute idea! Especially for kids the images of what to do really help, but even for adults, how can anyone resist the cuteness, right?

For you guys to have an idea of how it looks like:

Doesn’t it make it look A LOT easier for kids? I would have loved something like this when I was about 11-14 when every book seemed so far from my reach. Especially when recipes don’t have photos, I’m still not a fan! Cookbooks should always have pictures accompanying each recipe, right?

The book is all with color and images. It’s simple, appealing, and a lot of fun.
It comes with an index of what each image means, level of difficulty, safety rules, how to measure things, and more.

As for the recipes it has quite many cookies and bars, cakes, cupcakes, muffins, pastries, bread, savory/salty snacks, and how to do some ingredients that you might need if you don’t have.

I loved the cat drawings and I can’t wait to try out some of the recipes!

Do you like cooking or baking? What’s your favorite recipe? Let’s discuss it in the comments below!

The Project by Courtney Summers Review

The Project by Courtney Summers
Series: –
Publisher: Wednesday Books
First published February 2nd 2021
Genres: YA,Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 346
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon

Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died in a tragic car accident, her sister Bea joined the elusive community called The Unity Project, leaving Lo to fend for herself. Desperate not to lose the only family she has left, Lo has spent the last six years trying to reconnect with Bea, only to be met with radio silence.

When Lo’s given the perfect opportunity to gain access to Bea’s reclusive life, she thinks they’re finally going to be reunited. But it’s difficult to find someone who doesn’t want to be found, and as Lo delves deeper into The Project and its charismatic leader, she begins to realize that there’s more at risk than just her relationship with Bea: her very life might be in danger.

As she uncovers more questions than answers at each turn, everything Lo thought she knew about herself, her sister, and the world is upended. One thing doesn’t change, though, and that’s what keeps her going: Bea needs her, and Lo will do anything to save her.

From Courtney Summers, the New York Times bestselling author of the 2019 Edgar Award Winner and breakout hit Sadie, comes her electrifying follow-up—a suspenseful, pulls-no-punches story about an aspiring young journalist determined to save her sister no matter the cost.

I would read anything written by Courtney Summers. I seem to like all her books. They tend to be the perfect amount of dark and deep for me and this one was no different.

FairyLoot March 2021 Unboxing

Hey guys! Thought of doing an unboxing since I’ve been away for awhile and I can hear a book at the same time 😉 The theme for March is Frozen Fables.

FairyLoot is an amazing YA bookish subscription box that I’ve been getting for quite many years and would highly recommend getting.

Wanna check out what this box included? Just keep reading!

Frozen Fables – March 2021

The book:

This month we got The Bright & the Pale by Jessica Rubinkowski.

This exclusive hardback edition comes with:

• an exclusive cover
• exclusive end papers
• shimmery sprayed edges
• foil embossing on the case
• illustration on the back of the dust jacket
• signed by the author!

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Valeria is one of the only survivors of the freeze, a dark magical hold Knnot Mountain unleashed over her village. Everyone, including her family, is trapped in an unbreakable sheet of ice. Ever since, she’s been on the run from the Czar, who is determined to imprison any who managed to escape. Valeria finds refuge with the Thieves Guild, doing odd jobs with her best friend Alik, the only piece of home she has left.

That is, until he is brutally murdered.

A year later, she discovers Alik is alive and being held against his will. To buy his freedom, she must lead a group of cutthroats and thieves on a perilous expedition to the very mountain that claimed her family. Only something sinister slumbers in the heart of Knnot.

And it has waited years for release.

CW: death of a family member, discrimination, childhood trauma, work camps

With the book, we got a beautiful illustration on the other side of the letter from the author designed by @gabsternaut

Here’s the foil embossing on the book! I always love to take the dust jacket off and see that there’s something special under it!

Here’s the beautiful illustration on the back of the dust jacket also designed by @gabsternaut

I tried to show how beautiful and metallic the sprayed edges are… I think I failed but believe me, it’s beautiful and it just completes the book design so well!

And finally, the exclusive end papers and the author’s signature! This is probably the most beautiful book to date.

Starting with the items, we got some ankle socks inspired by Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett. These were designed by @jezhawk.

They look incredibly cute when put on!

We got a phone ring holder inspired by Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw and designed by @ironandinkdesigns

Here’s the views of the amazing mug we received, inspired by The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. I LOVE that trilogy and I’m super excited to see something inspired by it! This was designed by @monolimeart and it’s perfect.

Even the inside has something special!

We got a cute headband inspired by Something Dark and Holy series by Emily A. Duncan and designed by @catarinabookdesigns.

It’s a bit tight but it looks kinda cute!

Next, we got this incredible foiled notebook inspired by Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones and designed by @taratjah. It’s super cute and I just love foil….

The back has a quote in it with the same framing as the front, and the inside is just plain white paper.

Lastly, we got a incredibly pretty foiled art print inspired by Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik and designed by @warickaart. This is probably one of my favorite art prints and I just love the foil in it! It adds so much!

This month we got Ace and Two of Wands for the Tarot collection and these were designed by @arz28 and inspired again by the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden!

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This box was beautiful. My favorite item was probably the art print. It’s just beautiful and foil(ed?) and perfection!

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Next theme will be…

Hidden Identities

The theme for our April box is… HIDDEN IDENTITIES!

You might think you know who someone truly is, but what if they are keeping a secret? A secret that could change everything… for the better or for the worse? As Phaedrus wisely said, “things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many”.

In this box you can expect items inspired by The Shadows Between Us From Blood and Ash, The Lord of the Rings, The City of Brass, Flame in the Mist and a foiled bookmark set inspired by the following fandoms: An Ember in the Ashes, The Poppy War and Blood Heir. For now, we won’t be revealing any item artists but we will say that we are featuring an item in this box that we have NEVER included before!

Our featured book of the month is a dark fantasy filled with unforgettable characters, intrigue, magic and a dash of swoon-worthy romance. We were hooked from page one and all of the plot twists still have us reeling!

This FairyLoot exclusive edition will have an EXCLUSIVE COVER, STENCIL & SPRAYED EDGES, ARTWORK ON THE REVERSE OF THE DUST JACKET by @alicemariapower, FOIL EMBOSSING ON THE CASE by @talia.nobel, BONUS CONTENT in the book and will be SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.

Spots for new subscriptions are currently CLOSED, but you can sign up to the waiting list here. The best way to get a subscription at the moment is to sign up to the waiting list – we invite people whenever more spots become available every month.

Make sure you check out their Instagram, they always post there the new themes!

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I hope you guys enjoyed this unboxing! I’ve been wanting to post more, but it takes quite some time to do it, so the time I do have to relax I tend to pass it reading instead. Hopefully I will be able to come up with some posts tho. Fingers crossed!

What’s your favorite item from this box? Is this book on your TBR? Make sure you comment below!