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cherryshelves · 1 month ago

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📚🔥Review #4 — The Book That Broke The World by Mark Lawrence 🔥📚

“The truth, like oxygen, is necessary if we are to live. And, like oxygen, if it is all we get, it will kill us.”

🗝️ intro to the world: Evar is on the run—out in a world he's never seen. Livira is trapped between pages—lost in her own writing, clinging to memory. Both are separated, yet their fates remain threaded together by the quiet will of the Library, which is still pulling strings. As truths unravel and consequences clash, they’re drawn into a conflict that spans lifetimes. A lie long buried is ready to shatter what’s left of the world.

🪽 what i loved: ⪼ moments of brilliance that truly blew my mind ⪼ the way the library is still very much alive… watching, weaving ⪼ the themes — truth vs belief, knowledge vs wisdom, and the cost of memory ⪼ a certain death had me sobbing — didn’t expect to care that much but wow ⪼ quotes?? as sharp and poetic as ever ⪼ Arpix & the deeper side characters got more space to shine

“Wisdom is difficult to write down, harder to find amid the ocean of the unwise… The wisdom to use knowledge must be earned.”

💔 what didn’t work for me: ⪼ felt too split-focus — new characters = less time with the ones I loved 😞 ⪼ so much going from one place to another... it lost the emotional thread a few times ⪼ some scenes dragged or felt disjointed — I missed the cohesion of Book 1

🌙 final thoughts: This one was more ambitious, more sprawling, and still deeply emotional — but not as tightly told as Book 1. It hurt me, surprised me, and made me think (and cry). Mark Lawrence still writes like someone who knows what books mean to people, and that alone keeps me reading. I need to know how this ends.

“I worry.” “You seem to have summed up your existence in two words, Arpix.”

ᯓ ✿ cherryshelves rating: 4/5 stars ✿ ᯓ ⤿ less focused than Book 1, but full of truth, memory, and heartbreak 🕯️

🌙 should you read this? 🌙 Yes, if you loved Book 1 and are ready to go deeper into the mythos. Expect a denser, wider narrative with more characters, more movement, and less emotional grounding at times. But the payoffs? Devastating and beautiful. Perfect for lovers of slow-burn sci-fantasy, books about books, and truths wrapped in grief and magic.

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cherryshelves · 1 month ago

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📚🔥 Review #2 — The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence 🔥📚

“All books, no matter their binding, will fall to dust. The stories they carry may last longer.”

🗝️ intro to the world: A girl from the Dust, where books are banned and monsters roam. A boy raised in a vast, ancient library, so sprawling it might be eternal. They’ve never met. But fate, memory, and the pages of long-forgotten books will draw them together—across cities, centuries, and secrets. A slow-burning tale where knowledge is power, and truth is never simple.

🪽 what i loved: ⪼ you can feel the author’s reverence for books in every sentence ⪼ the quotes?? highlight-worthy, soul-punchy, layered in meaning ⪼ "book about books" perfection — it captures why we love stories ⪼ Livira and Evar’s dual narrative — so different, yet entwined ⪼ plot twists you will NOT see coming (seriously, what just happened) ⪼ memory, language, and time used like magic systems ⪼ so many moments where I had to stop and think — this book respects its reader

“People don’t want truth. They say that they do but what they mean is that they want the truth to agree with them.”

💔 things to keep in mind: ⪼ this is a slow build — takes its time with philosophy, setup, and ideas ⪼ light on romance (but it’s there… quietly aching) ⪼ some sci-fi elements later on that feel surprising in a fantasy shell — not a bad thing, just unexpected!

“An ocean of knowledge is apt to drown you long before it educates you.”

🌙 final thoughts: This book broke my heart and rebuilt it out of paper and ash. It's about how stories survive — and what they cost. If you love libraries, layered timelines, quiet heartbreak, and characters searching for meaning in a chaotic world… you’ll feel this one in your bones.

“There must, Livira thought, be pages within their covers that had waited a thousand years to be seen again. And the magic was that just by running her eyes over those squiggled letters the thoughts of some long-dead author would wake within her head.”

ᯓ ✿ cherryshelves rating: 5/5 stars ✿ ᯓ ⤿ the book that twisted my brain & made me cry over truth 🕯️

🌙 should you read this? 🌙 Yes, if you love stories that respect your intellect and explore ideas of memory, truth, censorship, and what books mean to people. Perfect for fans of slow-burn speculative fantasy, meta narratives, libraries as magical spaces, and emotional reveals that sneak up on you ✨ ⚠️ Just know: it’s not a fast or flashy fantasy. It’s dense, thoughtful, and quietly devastating.

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cherryshelves · 1 month ago

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🍰🎻 Review #2— Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor 🎻🍰

“And… it’s like all my life I’ve been this tower standing at the edge of the ocean for some obscure purpose, and only now, almost eighteen years in, has someone thought to flip the switch that reveals that I’m not a tower at all. I’m a lighthouse.”

🗝️ intro to the world: In this charming standalone novella, Laini Taylor brings to life the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik—a night only hinted at in the main trilogy. Told in alternating perspectives, this story follows fierce, doll-sized Zuzana and her soft, violin-playing crush as she leads him across Prague on an enchanted treasure hunt to find… her. It’s funny, theatrical, and absolutely heart-melting.

🪽 what i loved: ⪼ novellas about side characters can be hit or miss, but this one was a hit ⪼ the Prague setting felt like walking through a snow globe ✨ ⪼ Zuzana & Mik = chaotic goth girl x gentle musician boy ⪼ the dialogue!! the inner thoughts!! i giggled out loud ⪼ loved being inside their heads — it was soft, awkward, and sincere in the best ways ⪼ hope we get more of them in book 2 & 3 because i need them

“I have been known to say that the devil gave me my first violin.” “I want to terrify little kids too! I want to build spires in their minds and dance shadows through like marionettes…”

💘 on the love story: This is a story about intention—how love can be an adventure, a dare, a trail of stars across a dark sky. It’s playful and intimate in the way first love should be. Mik and Zuzana are magical together.

🌙 final thoughts: This novella is pure delight. A little fairytale carved into the margins of a bigger war. It left me smiling, blushing, and wanting to chase mystery with someone soft and strange 🎠

“I want to do mysterious and improbable things alongside a fierce and beautiful girl who looks like a doll brought to life by a sorcerer.”

ᯓ ✿ cherryshelves rating: 5/5 stars ✿ ᯓ ⤿ puppets, violins, frost, and flirty chaos ❄️💘

🌙 should you read this? 🌙 Yes! Especially if you’ve read Daughter of Smoke & Bone and want a light, romantic side story filled with magic and laughter. Even if you haven’t read the series, this works as a standalone ✨ Perfect if you love whimsical storytelling, artsy characters, winter magic, and a love story that feels like a snowflake catching fire. 🔥❄️

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cherryshelves · 1 month ago

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🍒✨ Review #1 — Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor ✨🍒

“It is a condition of monsters that they do not perceive themselves as such. The dragon, you know, hunkered in the village devouring maidens, heard the townsfolk cry ‘Monster!’ and looked behind him.”

🗝️ intro to the world: "Errand requiring immediate attention. Come." The note, pierced by the talons of an almost-crow, pulls Karou—blue-haired art student in Prague—back into the shadows. Raised half in our world and half in Elsewhere, she runs mysterious errands for Brimstone, a creature cloaked in secrets and teeth. She doesn’t know what she is, only that she’s caught between two lives... and when the doors to Elsewhere begin to close, she’s forced to choose.

🪽 what i loved: ⪼ the atmosphere — Prague, Marrakesh, Elsewhere... it felt like walking through a dream ⪼ Karou & Zuzana's friendship? adorable ⪼ the whole “world in bars” energy was just so unique ⪼ Karou & Brimstone’s bond — quietly one of my fav parts 💔 ⪼ Spoilers -> resurrection plot twists??? didn’t know I needed them but apparently I do ⪼ the last 30%: exhilarating, emotional, devastatingly beautiful

💔 on the love story: Yes, there’s insta-love. But. Forbidden love ➤ tragedy ➤ revenge arc? It broke me and made me. Akiva, I get you now.

📖 why not 5 stars? I got a little confused in places — mostly in transitions & lore — but the rich worldbuilding so makes up for it.

🌙 final thoughts: This felt like falling into a myth and scraping your knees on the way down. I'm already scared for book two, because they’re separated and I’m not emotionally ready 😭

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.”

ᯓ ✿ cherryshelves rating: 4.5/5 stars ✿ ᯓ ⤿ full of teeth, wings, magic, and longing 🕯️

🌙 should you read this? 🌙 If you love lush, imaginative fantasy worlds with unique magic and a strong mythic vibe✨, with forbidden love 💔, found family 🤝, and a bit of bittersweet heartbreak 🖤, this trilogy is for you. The story can be a little confusing at times 🤔, and yes, there’s some insta-love 💨—but the atmosphere and emotional payoff make it worth it. Perfect if you’re into urban fantasy with epic romance and mystery 🔮.

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cherryshelves · 1 month ago

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