Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

Keralie Corrington appears to be harmless at first glance, but little does everyone know she's actually one of the best thieves in all of Quadara.

One evening while Keralie is thieving, she steals a package from Varin and in turn, putting his life in danger. When he shows up to get the package back, they end up in a massive conspiracy that leaves all four queens of Quadara dead.

On the run from Keralie's former boss, Keralie and Varin team up to uncover who exactly is behind the murders while simultaneously trying to save their own lives as well.

Naturally, being in danger brings them close together and they develop and relationship. In order to proceed, they have to overcome secrets they've hidden for some time. 

Title: Four Dead Queens
Author: Astrid Scholte
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Genres: YA, fantasy
Pages: 408
Release Date: February 26, 2019
Rating: 5/5
Source: Paperback ARC via Bookishfirst

This book is truly a gem. I had no idea what I was going into when I started reading, but before I knew it I was drawn in and then all of the sudden it was 8:30am and well past my bedtime.

The story is told between alternating viewpoints of the queens and Keralie. Sometimes that can be confusing for readers but I promise you, everything flows together flawlessly.

I really enjoyed Scholte's characters. Keralie was brash and defiant so she takes some getting used to, but if you keep turning the pages you'll see you'll be rooting for her in no time. All of the villains are fleshed-out, even giving backstory and making you feel bad for him a time or two. Sort of gave me a complex, so I was super relieved when I found I enjoyed the blossoming relationship between Keralie and Varin.
Now...onto the romance. It has just the perfect amount. I'm not one who loves my books to have a ton of mushy and in your face romance.

I love how suspenseful and well-thought out the plot is. Add in the snarky humor, romance, unique characters with a few plot twists and I think you have my favorite book of the last half of 2018!

I saw on Goodreads where Scholte says FOUR DEAD QUEENS is a standalone, but that there may be some potential to revisit the world of Quadara. I wouldn't mind seeing more from the different quadrants!

 I received an advance reading copy via Bookish first for my honest opinion. All opinions herein are of my own and are not swayed by any outside factors.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is truly a magnificent and unique book. This book is a murder mystery I know I'll be raving about for months to come!

Who is trying to kill Evelyn Hardcastle? That's the question Aiden Bishop has been tasked to answer. He has eight days to solve the murder. If the murder isn't solved, Aiden starts back over from day one in a continuous time loop that will replay over and over again until he puts a stop to it.

As if this isn't already doozy of a task, Aiden wakes up in a different body of one of the guests who've been invited to the ball at Blackheath, the estate of the Hardcastle's. Some of his hosts are a little more helpful than others. While in their bodies, Aiden adopts their personalities, memories, skills, and shortcomings. All of these characters and their traits are necessary in order to catch Evelyn's killer.

This book demands nothing but your full attention. You need to remember key details in order to be able to read this book. It can be confusing at it jumps in between characters quite often. I had no issue keeping up, but it does require quite a bit of concentration while reading. I haven't read a book this intricate or brilliant in quite some time.

This one really kept me guessing and had more than its fair share of mystery and intrigue. Along with a healthy dose of danger paired with the whole "who-dunnit" theme, The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle made its way up my "favorite books" list in no time.

If you want to read it for yourself, click here and it'll take you to where you can purchase this amazing book. I don't get compensated for any purchases you make via this blog.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review via Bookishfirst. All opinions herein are of my own and are not swayed by any outside factors. 

A Life Update

Hello, everyone!

I started this blog after randomly deleting my old one a few months ago. I had no reason for doing so other than the fact that I wanted to start anew.
I'm sort of sad, because I didn't give my old followers and chance to switch over, I just woke up one day and decided that blog was done for and this one was my new one.

But...this one has been slow getting started.

Work

I started my job back and they quickly switched me back to night shift because they know things get done when I'm there and they had a bad night shift employee before I came back.
I didn't want night shift, but it sort of works with my fiance's work schedule so I can't complain too much. My only issue is that if I'm not at work then I'm sleeping for work and have extremely little time to do anything else. I miss waking up at normal times instead of staying awake until 8-9 am and sleeping all day. I never have weekends off when Trevor (my fiance) does, so plans aren't ever made.
I may talk to them soon about finding someone else for night shift because I prefer second more.

I pulled a shift from 4am-8pm with one 30 minute break and I was so sore I couldn't walk properly when I got home, and I just broke down in tears. On my birthday!
I made really good money I got to take home right then and there, though. So that's all that matters. Keeping our heads above the water and being adults.
I'm just so not used to it. I'm young, though. I'll get the hang of it.

Health 

I also went to an OBGYN center due to high-grade squamous cells they found on my cervix. I had to go in and have a LEEP procedure and it was super uncomfortable. I never want to have it done again.
There were a few weeks before it where I did nothing but stress out over my health. He told me it didn't look like cancer but it seemed very close. He's sending off what he took from the LEEP to test it. So, we're in limbo again. If he doesn't call in two weeks, I'm to call him back. Fingers crossed, good vibes, prayers...anything and everything would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Home Life

My fiance and my old best friend from my middle/high school days moved into a new rental house two months ago. I love it more than the apartment my fiance and I were staying in, and my roommate is probably one of the best I could ask for! We have a whole slew of animals we absolutely adore, jobs we go to, then we come home and have bonding moments then repeat the next day.
Having a set routine is good for me, I believe. I've not been feeling super happy, but I can say I'm content and I haven't felt that in a long time I don't believe.

Reading 

I'm in the middle of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton and I'm really liking it. I love books that have subjects or plots I've never remotely read about before, and Stuart Turton managed to write one of them!
I recently finished Furyborn by Claire Legrand and I'm already wanting the second one in my hands ASAP and the first one just now came out in May! If you haven't read either one of these, I highly suggest you jump on it!

Both of the covers for these books are absolutely stunning. Darker colored books with red or gold in them always draws my eye. I definitely judge these covers by the books because almost always they're books I don't ever regret reading!

Thank you for reading my update! Feel free to leave some thoughts or questions in the comments below.

Have a great rest of the weekend, everyone!