If nico de verona and parisa kamali have a million fans, then I am one of them. If nico de verona and parisa kamali have ten fans, then I am one of thIf nico de verona and parisa kamali have a million fans, then I am one of them. If nico de verona and parisa kamali have ten fans, then I am one of them. If nico de verona and parisa kamali have only one fan then that is me. If nico de verona and parisa kamali have no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against nico de verona and parisa kamali, then I am against the world.
“I remember that life in that room seemed to be occurring beneath the sea, time flowed past indifferently above us, hours and days had no meaning.
“I remember that life in that room seemed to be occurring beneath the sea, time flowed past indifferently above us, hours and days had no meaning. In the beginning our life held a joy and amazement which was newborn every day. Beneath the joy, of course, was anguish and beneath the amazement was fear; but they did not work themselves to the beginning until our high beginning was aloes on our tongues. By then anguish and fear had become the surface on which we slipped and slid, losing balance, dignity, and pride.”
I have been meaning to read James Baldwin for a long time. So glad I started here, because I loved this book so much. The writing was beautiful, and although only 150 pages long the story packed such a punch. The exploration of sexuality, love and manhood was very well-done, and the yearning, anguish and hurt leaked off the pages. It was very evocative. I also liked the exploration of queer spaces and the queer scene in Paris. Overall, a beautiful book that has become a new favourite, and I'll definitely be reading more Baldwin soon ...more
“I was tired, it was late, I was sitting half-asleep in the back of a taxi, remembering strangely that wherever I go, you are with me, and so is he
“I was tired, it was late, I was sitting half-asleep in the back of a taxi, remembering strangely that wherever I go, you are with me, and so is he, and that as long as you both live the world will be beautiful to me.”
inspired by Persian mythology, has a morally grey bi mc who is spending the book teetering on the edge of villainy, monster girlfriends, transportive inspired by Persian mythology, has a morally grey bi mc who is spending the book teetering on the edge of villainy, monster girlfriends, transportive writing that sucks you directly into the world and SO many twists and turns, please add it to your pre-order lists
“I think if I gave you my heart, you would treat it tenderly.”
So, this series definitely doesn't do it for me as it does for others but I have to
“I think if I gave you my heart, you would treat it tenderly.”
So, this series definitely doesn't do it for me as it does for others but I have to say this is easily and by far the best book in the series. Both on a technical level and on a personal enjoyment level. I found the writing much smoother in this book and the characterisation better executed. Laurent definitely has one of the most iconic character redemption arcs, truly outstanding. I can't believe it but this book did finally convince me to ship it.
I feel better now, knowing what all the fuss with this series is about. I can now rest easy x
I'm sorry I just don't .......... get the hype. It was okay but honestly BORING. Too much walking around doing random things and not nearly as much ofI'm sorry I just don't .......... get the hype. It was okay but honestly BORING. Too much walking around doing random things and not nearly as much of the court politics which was the main thing I liked about book one. I also just, don't understand this ship. I just couldn't get into them - a scene would happen and I'd be like ... I think I'm supposed to be shipping this? buuuut
And my feelings on the worldbuilding are complex and hard to explain without doing a full review I can't be bothered writing right now. I also am not a huge fan of the writing - so many times I wasn't exactly sure what was happening based on how vague some of the descriptions were at times.
That said, I enjoy the characters and the added depth that was added, especially to Laurent. There were some good twists and battles that happened I enjoyed, which pushed the action forward a lot. Some of the reveals were really well set up and then pulled off which was great. The political/military scheming and the tactical maneuvering was fun too because I love those parts of military fantasies. Much like the first book, this ended on a cliffhanger than had me intrigued for book three.
A few years ago I think I might have liked this more but I honestly just think there are so many political/military fantasies that are written SO much better than this one oop. Sorrryyyy I know all my friends love this book...more
"You were going to take your shirt off? Antonio teases. "Dude, at least take me to dinner first" "Just thought I'd show you what was coming after th
"You were going to take your shirt off? Antonio teases. "Dude, at least take me to dinner first" "Just thought I'd show you what was coming after the main course" Jay replies. "Oh my Goooood, you're corrupting my sweet boy and turning him into you" Blythe whines.
The Black Veins is an inventive and exciting new release that has so many of the qualities I see people asking for in YA lit. I’ve been following Ashia on twitter for a long time and watching them write this story, post about the characters and the plot, and to finally see it all come together in THE BLACK VEINS has been really special. The culmination of all Ashia’s efforts into this book was even better than I could have ever dreamed, and I genuinely loved reading this urban fantasy, character-driven road trip book which was so much fun and filled with thoughtful, inclusive representation and loveable characters.
The Black Veins begins with Blythe Fulton, a sixteen-year-old girl who’s completely normal except for the fact she is a Guardian. The Guardian’s are some of the worlds most powerful magical users, elected by their parents as birth to be a user of one of the seven magic types – Ether, Mind, Body, Death, Nature, Animals and Time. When the Guardian’s lives are threatened by the Trident Republic, a rebel group challenging the government of The Black Veins and her parents are kidnapped from their family-owned coffee shop, Blythe sets out on a quest to unite the Guardians and rescue her parents.
The first thing that struck me about The Black Veins was the strong character focus. Monet weaves a tapestry of characters, who are all unique and interesting in their own rights. We follow seven main characters: ),
✧ Blythe – Our main character and the Guardian of Ether. She is black and bisexual. She is determined, friendly and warm, and the leader of the group.
✧ Cordelia – The second Guardian we meet, who is the Mind Guardian. She is Chinese-British. Cordelia likes nice things and can be a bit uppity, but she’s intelligent and loyal.
✧ Daniel – Nature Guardian. He’s the youngest of the group, and pretty naive and innocent due to living a very sheltered life.
✧ Antonio – Animal Guardian. Puerto Rican, queer, and the sunshine heart of the group. He has strong surfer boy energy and a gift for baking.
✧ Storm – Time Guardian. She is Black, has a mysterious past and is easily the funniest member of the group. Her lines made me laugh out loud.
✧ Caspian – Death Guardian. Trans, asexual, and literally a ghost. Adorable, loves Ramen, and not what anyone expects.
✧ Jay – Body Guardian. Black and unstoppably bisexual. Charming, charismatic, the hot bitch and a hoe but proud of it. He was my FAVOURITE AND I WOULD DIE FOR HIM.
"My friends leave me on read" "I'd never leave you on read, bro" Jay says Antonio grasps his heart. "Bro."
One thing I loved about this cast was how distinctive and unique each character felt. I thought each character was extremely fleshed out, not just in terms of giving each character a strong motivation and a character arc, but also for smaller details, like their hobbies, personalities, likes and dislikes. This made every character feel real and relatable to me, and it was easy to invest in the squad. While having this many characters could have felt crowded, Monet perfectly balances each voice and character, to give each an important role without creating a story that felt clustered and confused.
The group dynamics and banter was easily my favourite part of this book. I am a major sucker for a strong group dynamic and The Black Veins had it in SPADES. The jokes were genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, but there was also soft and tender moments between the characters that highlighted their genuine affection for eachother and I loved that. Also, no friendship and no romance – what a blessing! Monet has a great sense of timing and humour, dropping jokes that are genuinely funny in just the right places. And on top of that, each characters unique brand of humour just adds more to their characterisation.
"when chaos is constant, it starts to feel like comfort"
The reason I gave this a four-star and not a five is that for me, I felt the beginning took a bit to get going. The scenes as Blythe is travelling before meeting all the Guardians dragged a little for me, and lacked the strong character focus and fun that the second half of the book had. That said, the second half of the book easily made up for the earlier chapters and I loved the rush, fun-filled run to the end that book carried me on.
“The magic wakes at midnight. It arrives in the form of a song.”
All in all, The Black Veins is a highly enjoyable and well-crafted debut from an exciting new author. Ashia Monet has created something unique and beautiful with The Black Veins. High energy, fun, character-driven urban fantasy that values inclusion, friendship and family over all else. I promise if you read this you’ll find yourself in love with each and every one of these characters – and you’ll put down the book but won’t be able to stop thinking about them. I genuinely urge every single person who has told me they want more character-driven stories, more stories without romance, more fun in fantasy, and more group dynamics to pick up The Black Veins when it releases on July 17.
A big thankyou to Ashia for providing me with the ARC. These quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change on publication....more
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