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Corrupt (Devil’s Night #1)

by Penelope Douglas

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars !!

Erika I was told that dreams were our heart’s desires. My nightmares, however, became my obsession. His name is Michael Crist. My boyfriend’s older brother is like that scary movie that you peek through your hand to watch. He is handsome, strong, and completely terrifying. The star of his college’s basketball team and now gone pro, he’s more concerned with the dirt on his shoe than me. But I noticed him. I saw him. I heard him. The things that he did, and the deeds that he hid…For years, I bit my nails, unable to look away. Now, I’ve graduated high school and moved on to college, but I haven’t stopped watching Michael. He’s bad, and the dirt I’ve seen isn’t content to stay in my head anymore. Because he’s finally noticed me. Michael Her name is Erika Fane, but everyone calls her Rika. My brother’s girlfriend grew up hanging around my house and is always at our dinner table. She looks down when I enter a room and stills when I am close. I can always feel the fear rolling off of her, and while I haven’t had her body, I know that I have her mind. That’s all I really want anyway. Until my brother leaves for the military, and I find Rika alone at college. In my city. Unprotected. The opportunity is too good to be true as well as the timing. Because you see, three years ago she put a few of my high school friends in prison, and now they’re out. We’ve waited. We’ve been patient. And now every last one of her nightmares will come true.

I read Corrupt on a whim. I usually don’t read romance books; I always need the extra thrill element that fantasy novels provide, but something with this novel reeled me in and I was hooked. Usually books with duel POVs tend to lose the surprise element, but the author did an amazing job of not revealing too much; she kept the suspense and kept the reader interested; I think I finished this book in like 15 hours! The parallel storylines were done so well; she illustrated two different times which helped show how much the characters have evolved, not to mention how much the reader sees the love Michael has for his friends and how it shifts from a friend-centric story to a family-centric story. The storylines line up so perfectly, and by the time you really see what happened on Devil’s Night; you know that Rika is innocent and you’re already KNOW who it was; and the excitement (and desire) of revenge makes it impossible to put down the book. This is good because the only thing I didn’t like about this book was the random couple of chapters before the confrontation scene on the Pithom, it was just random scenes strung together that didn’t really serve a purpose; but then I realized it a romance novel and Michael and Rika need to get together before everything ended so I guess it served some purpose but I didn’t find it necessary; I just wanted to see what they would do to ****** ;). The plot twist with Damon’s character was one the best i’ve ever seen, NO ONE could’ve seen that coming even though it was implied so heavily (and it’s crazy to think that even HE didn’t think as to who it was; and thankfully didn’t go through a self-hatred arc because of it (mostly because he already hates himself so much)). 

But what really got me interested is Michael’s character struggle choosing between Rika and his friends. The age old mystery of “who will it be? Her or Us?”. His character was a bit more interesting then Rika just because we could see his inner turmoil. Years ago, he couldn’t be with Rika because of his blood family, and now he can’t be with her because of his chosen family, nonetheless his choice didn’t make me feel like he was betraying his friends; but that could’ve been because the reader has already figured it out. Rika’s character development in the last couple of chapters is phenomenal, especially because I didn’t like her comment towards Alex’s profession; like it was a pity that some people had to work in the sex industry to afford school and home; “[Alex] “Men who hire escorts aren’t paying for the sex…they’re paying us to leave when it’s done.” [Erika] Nice. I looked away, feeling bad for her…you may be the good time, but you’re also the dirty secret they hide. She must’ve seen the judgement in my eyes…”. But her friendship with Alex was like a more visible change in perspective for her and a visual guide for the reader to follow to see how much she changes. While it’s important to note that her transformation began on Devil’s Night years ago, you can’t see how much she’s changed until the end; I was taught to be brave from my father. Dip your toe in every ocean and try everything and anything. Learn, explore, take the world on… And from my mom I learned self-sufficiency. Of course, she’d taught me by default, but watching her showed me exactly who I didn’t want to be. And from Michael–as well as Damon, Will, and Kai–I learned to breath fire. I learned to walk as if the path were carved for me and me alone, and to treat the world as if it should know I was coming. (Chapter 11). The influence the guys had on her character wasn’t suffocating; it was liberating. She finally realized that the people around her have taught her all that they could and now it was her world and she controlled it, especially when she decided to face them head-on during their hunt. A couple chapters later, when she’s telling Michael off she says: “I don’t win by playing your games. I win by making you play mine.” (Chapter 24), which is the climax of her epiphany that no one can hurt her if she’s the one pulling the strings; if she’s her own Prince Charming. In the epilogue, Michael realizes it too; “Without the events of that night, I wouldn’t have challenged her. She wouldn’t have learned to be strong and fight back or how to own who was and save herself. …We wouldn’t have made each other the people we were now. Everything happens for a reason, she would say. But the epilogue, I would say, was Michael chapter. The flashback to his past gave readers a little insight as to how Rika made him who he was; “I bottle up what’s inside me–the anger and this need I can’t explain. Something inside of me wants to self-destruct, wants to make messes, and wants to do the things others won’t do. I don’t want to hurt people, but the more time passes, the more it feels like i’m trying to crawl out of my head. I want chaos. And I’m tired of being powerless. I’m tired of [my father] keeping me down… Michael wasn’t always so open with who he was and what he wanted to do, he was trapped in his own head, controlled by his father and name, bound by his duty; until he realized he had a duty to himself; ““I’m weak. I hate who I am. Everything gets in my head and I have no control. “People don’t see me Rika,” I confide. “I only exist except as a reflection of him.””. I think this is where I could relate to Michael the most; the fear of existing as a shadow of someone else, never truly being able to express yourself without judgement and soon it just becomes a endless cycle of fear and you just think of yourself as a coward or a pawn in someone else’s game. But then Rika said; “…it’s like you’re saving your energy for something. Holding back… but it doesn’t make sense. Life is one-way, and there is not return trip. What are you waiting for?”. This was, by far, one of the best quotes I’ve ever read, Rika points out that we can’t hold ourselves back because other’s demand it; it’s our life, and we need to take control and mold ourselves to fit our own warpath, people will either move out of your way, join you or create their own path right beside yours; you just need to choose who you will be. 

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An Insider’s Guide to the Spring Court: Rosehall’s Library, 1/?

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Character Thoughts: Taryn Duarte

Tayrn Duarte is one of the worst characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about; and I loved it. Holly Black did an amazing job with the Duarte sisters; it was interesting to be reading something from a human point of view; but viewing it from a faerie perspective. As Val Moren said in Chapter 19 of The Queen of Nothing: “Do you think a seed planted in goblin soil grows to be the same plant as it would have in the mortal world? …I do not know what you are, but we are not the same.” Even though that characterization was meant for Jude; I saw it more in Taryn. After the events of The Cruel Prince, I made quick work of the Lost Sisters, wanting to see how Taryn could betray her sister like that; and over a boy nonetheless. I think it’s because I’m an older sister, even though my sister and are 7 years apart compared to Taryn and Jude’s minute difference. Reading the series form Jude’s point of view; the readers get acquainted with her Faerie-like nature and her desire for bloodshed, but Taryn is always viewed as the conforming, obedient older sister who’s supposed to set an example for Jude’s brass behaviour. However, in the Lost Sisters, readers truly see that she is more Faerie then Jude and Vivi combined. Her betrayal of Jude was meant to be a mockery from Locke, showing Jude that Taryn values what Locke is to give her (“love”, status, belonging) rather than familial relations. Jude is shown to care for her sister regardless if she wants the same thing. 

This is shown many times in the books when Jude offers to bear the brunt of their schoolmates mocking in the place of Taryn, and when she chastises herself for thinking ill of Taryn’s motives. Faeries are shown to value little of blood relation, given Dain and Liriope’s relationship and Asha’s treatment of Cardan before the start of the series, just Taryn did not show much remorse over her betrayal; apologizing in a sense that would show it to be a necessary evil. Taryn believes that Jude would understand why she did everything she did, that she would’ve done the same. But Jude never wanted to merge into the Faerie Court, she wanted to carve out a place for herself; through her own merits, not through someone’s last name. The line; “Something passes over her face, and it looks a lot like resentment. She has Locke, but I am here with a prince.” in Chapter 29 of The Cruel Prince always gets to me. Taryn says she fought hard to gain her lover’s hand and find her place within the courtiers, so shouldn’t she be happy her sister wants to do the same? After her betrayal, shouldn’t she be glad her sister has also found someone? Especially since Madoc had given her full hunting right on Locke’s head for his schemes. Loyalty is important to Jude, which may remain fickle in Taryn, show when she refuses to bend to Balekin and Orlagh’s will during her fake glamour, and forces a break-in to warn Cardan, and when she question’s her father’s actions repeatedly. She still holds him dear, even when he betrayed her and planned to kill her husband. The end of The Wicked King shows Taryn’s other betrayal; pretending to be Jude to allow Madoc access to the armies. I felt like this hurt Jude the most. Jude and Taryn were human in Faerieworld, and they made sure that they watched out for each other; because no one else would have their backs. However, Taryn siding with Madoc only illustrated that Taryn chose someone over her sister; someone she was supposed to look out for. This becoming even more painful as it happened right after Jude have everything to protect Faerieworld during her torture in the Undersea. Madoc was their father but he was also the murderer of their parents, and siding with him only further hurt Jude, creating a rift between the twins. Nonetheless, a different side of Taryn is shown in the Queen of Nothing, though nothing major enough to change my opinion on her. When she offered The Ghost’s name to Jude and Cardan, Jude was startled, thinking maybe they may not have any more secrets between each other and their relationship maybe on its way to be mending, showing optimism towards her growth. I feel like her character was almost a foil character to Jude’s, making decisions that Jude would not have made; choosing to marry into court instead of becoming a knight, hurting her sister when Jude fought for her, and even losing herself to the everapple in times of loneliness. Even though Jude married the King, she holds every skill to be a Queen, and she might’ve (unintentionally) hurt her sister when she courted Locke but she never fought for the boy, only her honour, and let her sister marry him if it made her happy. Lastly, Jude did eat the everapple, but only to develop a tolerance to it so it would no longer affect her, not because she feared loneliness, but she feared her inferiority. To sum up, I hate her, but I also applaud how amazingly she’s written and portrayed, her character helps develop the story so much and allows the reader to really understand the extend of how different the twins are from humans. Hell! Even I was confused as to why they didn’t just move back home in the beginning, but after finishing the series, I realized they don’t belong anywhere else other than with their people.

Picture Credits: @/Wictorian_art on Instagram

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The Folk of the Air

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 stars

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

Review:

I’ve heard about this series since I was in high school. But I think the reason I didn’t want to read it when I was younger because I didn't think I’d enjoy Cardan's cruelty. However, I think that these books were a refreshing change from the romance-centric novels that currently make up the majority of the Young Adults section at Chapters. After the plot twist in the first book; I was quite positive that I wanted to read the next two as soon as possible. The character development keeps the reader hooked, and second-guessing every decision that the character will make next. The only thing I could say I didn’t enjoy was Jude’s characterization of humans as “weak” and “fragile”, because I genuinely believe she is the strongest and smartest character in the series. After finishing the Throne of Glass Series, I was not used to reading in first person, and I didn’t think I’d enjoy it because one thing I loved about TOG was that you never knew what Celaena/Aelin was going to do; creating one of the strongest female leads I’ve ever seen. Jude’s strategic mentality, and her bravery throughout the series, even though she assumed she was limited due to mortality, remind us that everyone has their own unique set of skills and to never underestimate an opponent.

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WHAT AN ENCOURAGING PLACE TO READ A BOOK OR WRİTE A LETTER , HUH ?

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 An Insider’s Guide to Velaris: The Library, 1/?

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In Prague my life always gets a bit surreal in the best possible way.

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they didn’t let me climb the staircase 

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