Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle #3
Source: Bought signed Hardcover
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: October 21st 2014
Age Genre: Young Adult

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.
The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.
Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

"...But what she didn't realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another.
 Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn't all-encompassing, that wasn't blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she'd had this kind, she didn't want the other."

.... I don't know where to start. Where does one begin when it comes to such a marvelous creation? All I want to do is gash and squeal and swoon. How do I arrange that into coherent thought. Should I even arrange that, if that is the genuine reaction I have to this book and I want my review to properly express that?

I guess I'll go by my status updates on GR to construct this review.

First, let me say this - so many otp moments to squee over, from practically the first page! Blue and Gansey are testing my sanity, I swear. My vocal cords are shot from squealing so loudly and so often while reading this. Touching fingertips in secret? Calling each other late at night? Going on drives? hugging?!?!?!!

And then there are... Adam and Ronan. I was not aboard this ship in the first book. I didn't even know this ship was a possibility. Then came book two, and I was shipping Ronan in love with Adam, but I wasn't there yet. And then came book three. RONAN, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT STOP BEING SO SECRETLY NICE TO ADAM I CAN'T TAKE IT *SOBS*

And then, and then, Adam! I mean, ADAM!

So, yes. I'm on this ship and enjoying the view immensely. And they were together so much in this book, or roundabout thinking about each other when they weren't, even if it wasn't in the romantic sense... it was just so adorable and sweet and I CAN'T TAKE IT!

Speaking of Adam... HE GREW SO MUCH from the Adam in book one! That is to say, he finally outgrew of his Dickface phase, and realized that his friends aren't pitying him or trying to make him owe them--they're just being his f*cking friends! So, finally, in the third book, I could fully love Adam, instead of occasionally cursing him/wanting to strangle him. 

"Don't tell the others," Gansey said.
"I'm dead," Noah replied. "Not Stupid".

Who hadn't we talked about yet? that's right--NOAH. Of all the raven boys, Noah is the one I've always wanted for myself. I feel like he doesn't get nearly as much love as he's supposed to, because he is a precious cinnamon roll. But what is going on with my baby in this book?! LEAVE NOAH ALONE, do you hear me, you evil possibly ghostly things?! 

This is your last warning. Leave my baby be. 

Okay, okay, I'm calming down. Give me a sec.

Aside for all these, every character was just astounding in this novel.

Blue and Mr Gray have developed this... kind of fatherly relationship that I adore and totally approve of. Maura, if you want to marry the guy, I ain't gonna stop you. Just saying.

And can we just talk about the fact Gansey woke them up with a word? (I'm playing the pronoun game. Go read the book). CAN WE? SOMEONE SPEAK TO ME ABOUT IT BECAUSE I'M FREAKING OUT.

Then there was the DEATH. Yes, this book contains a death. And it's shocking and unexpected and how exactly are we supposed to deal, eh!? Because I am not dealing.

And then the end? Folks, cliffhanger alert! of the delicious kind, though. The one that says:

And now I NEED the next book, ASAP. But I'm also SCARED SHITLESS of the sequel *cries*.

The one thing I'd like to close this review with, which will be slightly less fangirling in its nature, is Maggie Stiefvater's writing. It is one of the most beautiful of writings. Do you know those moments where you just read a line that is so gorgeous, so poetic, so thought-provoking that you have to close the book and stare at the wall for a few minutes just marveling at what you just read?

THIS is the type of writing Stiefvater employs. I stopped counting these little pauses somewhere around the twenty-three mark. Never before has a book made me want to mark things in it because it was so beautiful, and I did not want to forget.

(I didn't though, relax)

Nitzan★

Oldie Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Series: His Fair Assassins #1
Source: Bought Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Original Post: April 3rd, 2013
Age Genre: Young Adult

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.
Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

When Grave Mercy came out, everyone were going gaga over the idea of assassin nuns. However, I wasn't planning on reading it. While the idea is superbly cool, I had my doubts on whether the book could live up to such an intriguing hype.

But one day, when I was cruising a site called Libbo (that has since stopped operating), I saw Robin LaFevers put the book up for grabs for those who publicate the book. So I did, not expecting to win. But then I did win, and now I had an e-book copy of this book everyone is talking about. So... I read it. And loved it. And bought it. Twice.

This book was unlike what I expected, but in a good way. It has it's flaws, but at the end of the day, I really enjoyed this mammoth of a book (the hardcover is HUGE. It could double as a lethal weapon, easy).

Grave Mercy is not really about assassin nuns. It's about blind faith, making your own choices and understanding "god's will". Understanding there is no such thing is absolute truth, or even a true truth.

The first installment of the trilogy tells the story of Ismae, a farmer's daughter who was sired by Death itself. Being Death's own, she ends up in the Covenant; a place that worships Death and carries His Will. In other words: Assassination.

She's brave and strong, and she grows and matures through the book as she takes off the wool over her eyes and starts thinking for herself and questioning what she is told, instead of blindly trying to prove her worth and loyalty to the Covenant.

The uncovering is set into motion by Duval, a man she is sent to keep an eye on for the suspicion of treason. But instead of a traitor, she finds the most loyal man. A man filled with compassion, care, kindness, strength and duty. A man she grows to care for, trust, and love. And if the covenant is so wrong about him--what else might they be wrong about?

And the romance between these two?

That pretty much sums it up, thanks! Slow burn. 

And the both of them are well suited, covering for each other's weakness and creating one whole together.

That said, I did feel it was lacking in the process of falling in love, especially on Duval's part (since we are not in his head). It was all rather sudden, missing those small moments that would have convinced me he loved her.

This book is pretty unique. I haven't read many historical YA novels before, and none that were also a cross with fantasy and mythology like this one. The mixture creates a delightfully fresh and complex story that you can't help but devour.

I do feel obligated to warn you: yes, they are assassin nuns. It does not mean that the book is fast paced though. The book starts slow and features many political intrigues; schemes; betrayals; as opposed to flat-out action, with the action meter going up slowly as we get farther into the story.

One of the greatest thing about this book is the realism of it. And yes, a fantasy YA novel can and needs to be realistic; in terms of making the reader believe that, were all these things possible, this is how it would've went down.

As for the writing itself... I did not like it. Yep, I know; WTF. This is the main reason the book is a four star; I just didn't connect with the writing style. It took me a long while to get into it and get used to the sound of it.

The other minus of this book is the character's names. They were just so distracting. I kept stopping and trying out different pronunciations, trying to figure out how the heck LaFevers meant for them to sound. And it wasn't just one or two names; it was all the names.
Nitzan★

Gifed Up: Vicious by V.E. Schwab

AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS REVIEW CAN BE FOUND ON AFTERWORDS! 

Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Source: gifted hardcover
Publisher: Tor
Publication Date: September 24th 2013
Age Genre: Young Adult

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world.
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates–brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge but who will be left alive at the end?
In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

So I'm sitting here, in front of my computer, wondering how the heck do I review this book? It's like, my mind is totally blank. What do I say that others haven't? Where to begin?

Should I start with the fact I ended up reading this book because of peer pressure? I mean, the whole freakin' world loves Vicious, so I grew tired of not knowing what this was about and got it. One page in and I'm like; THANK YOU, PEER PRESSURE!

Or maybe I should talk about how this book is not a "superhero story". At least not in the "hero" sense of the word. Everyone here are definitely "super powered", in one way or another (Even Mitch, whose superpower is probably being able to stand and support the lot of them and still stay alive).

In simpler terms, everyone in this story are Loki, not Captain America. 

I can totally imagine Eli saying a similar line

And we love them, for the same reason we love Loki (more than we love all the other characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, really). Because they're not strictly bad, and not strictly good. Because they blur the line between black and white to us as readers, and they make us think. 

Because we know that under certain circumstances, they can do heroic things, and sometimes they do, and sometimes they won't. And you really can't tell what's the dominant side to them.

Are they good people doing bad things, or bad people doing good things, or just people, period? 

Here are these characters, who are just so flawed, and so broken, so off the "right path", and so lost, and you root for them - you root for them like crazy! 

(Which might say something about us, and how we truly see "heroes" and "villains. Idk. We're probably mad).

I loved Victor, who by sheer quantity of POV could be considered the MC and therefore the "good"/"right" guy in this situation. Is he, though? I mean, he does some really messed up things throughout the whole thing.

And I didn't hate Eli, either. I mean, was he kind of crazy? yes. Could I... sort of, maybe, understand where he was coming from?...... I could. I could totally see how he became what he was, and how he truly believed in it.

And I thought Sydney was adorable and I adored her, yet I...didn't hate Serena, who on account of her actions I should. But just like Eli, I could understand how it became like this, even if I didn't accept it.

And then let's not forget Mitch, the underrated support system. Who is basically... us, the readers. He accepts the super powered around him. He knows the world ain't black and white. And still he follows.  

No one fit quite perfectly into the usually "assigned roles", and that's what made this book so bloody brilliant, and this is what makes this book so viciously beautiful.

And let's not even start on the spotless writing technique! The book jumps between past and present, between one character to the other without ever missing a beat. It's seamless! Even if I hated the book, I don't think anyone can ever claim Schwab is a bad writer.

Final point - on the one hand I would gladly read a sequel... and the other, I'm super afraid of all the sh*t that would undoubtly follow...

   Nitzan★

The Art of Commenting

As a blogger and a frequent flier in the book community online, comments are a big part of my life. I wait for them - be them comment to my posts, or replies to things I commented on. They brighten my day significantly. Literally every comment I get - big or small, it doesn't matter - makes me happy and excited.

However, when it comes to writing a comment... even though I know even two words have meaning, I find myself unable to write those kind of comments.

I'm the type of commenter that loves writing long, meaningful (in m perspective), detailed comments. I will literally find myself stopping and closing a comment if I realize I only have two sentences to say about it, and one of them is along the lines of "great review!" It's all or nothing for me.

Lately I realized I have a "system". A little set of rules that goes into each comment to guarantee max meaningfulness, if you will. It goes like this: 

A. I will always use the reviewer's name in the comment. For me, that make it personal. A little way for me to show them I know it's them who wrote the review, and that it means something. Like, this review won't be as awesome if it was by someone else, and they should well know it! 

B. I will tell the reviewer how fantastic his/her (usually her, I admit) review is, how well written, etc. Complimenting is healthy, especially when it's well earned! It's important to me to let the reviewer know how much I appreciate their reviews, and how much I want to continue and read more reviews by them. 

C. I will write my actual comment. It will include references to parts of the review such as quotes or agreeing/disagreeing/questioning/elaborating certain specific parts. I do this both because I truly have something to say, and because I love showing the reviewer I really read the review. That I went through all of it and truly listened to the words she wrote. 

D. And lastly, I will again tell them how I enjoyed the review and how much I love them as a reviewer! 

What about you? Do you have a certain formula, or do you write whatever, however? Do you think my way is good, or... ?

   Nitzan★

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December Gifly Round Up

Some bloggers review every book they read. Me? Not so much. I really have to feel like I have something to say about a book, for better or worse. And I have to feel like I can say that in more than three sentences.

This year, I've been getting into Gifs. I think Tumblr have something to do with that, but I rather not look too closely at it. Anyways, I've decided that at the end of every month, I'm going to sum up the books I read but didn't review using a gif. It could be my thoughts on it in one sentence, or it could be something important of the book.

So, let's begin!

1. Dark Currents by Lindsay Buroker (4 stars)

(To see many more Dark Currents related gifs, see my reading process here)

2. Whiskey Rebellion by Liliana Hart (4 stars)

3. Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare (4 stars)

Listen to Mama Mc'Call and don't hide your feeling dude!

4. Unclaimed & Unraveled by Courtney Milan (4 stars each)

5. Scandal with a Prince by Nicole Burnham (4 stars)

6. Purity in Death by J.D Robb (4 stars)

7. Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews (3.5 stars) 

8. Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews (4 stars)

Kate's a badass with a sword

9. Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews (4 stars)

Kate's a badass without a sword, too

10. Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews (4 stars)

Listen to the man. He knows what he's talking about. 

11. Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews  (4 stars)

12. Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews (4 stars)

You go Andy! 

13. Relatively Famous by Heather Leigh (no rating. DNF)

I actually had a great reading month! Almost all the books I read were around 4 stars and highly enjoyable. They may have not been extraordinary and didn't make me want to review them, but I enjoyed every second.

How was your reading month?

 Nitzan★

The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred

The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred
Source: bought Kindle copy
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Publication Date: May 12, 2005
Age Genre: adult (not graphic)

Sweet tea, corn bread, and soup beans—everyday fare for eight-year-old Alix French, the precocious darling of a respected southern family. But nothing was ordinary about the day she met ten-year-old Nick Anderson, a boy from the wrong side of town. Armed with only a tin of bee balm and steely determination, Alix treats the raw evidence of a recent beating that mars his back, an act that changes both of their lives forever.
Through childhood disasters and teenage woes they cling together as friendship turns to love. The future looks rosy until the fateful night when Frank Anderson, Nick's abusive father, is shot to death in his filthy trailer.
Suddenly, Nick is gone—leaving Alix alone, confused and pregnant. For the next fifteen years she wrestles with the pain of Nick's abandonment, a bad marriage, her family and friends. But finally, she's starting to get her life back together. Her divorce is almost final, her business is booming, and she's content if not happy -- until the day she looks up and sees Nick standing across the counter. He's back…and he's not alone.
Once again Alix is plunged into turmoil and pain as Nick tries to win her love, something she resists with all her strength. Only one thing might break the protective wall she's built around her emotions—the truth about Frank Anderson's death. But when that truth comes out and those walls crumble, neither Alix nor Nick is prepared for the emotional explosion that could destroy as well as heal.

You are my roots. Wherever you are would be home to me.

I'm not sure where you start this review. Maybe I should kick it off with saying how shallow I am for putting this book off for so long just because I kind of hate the title and cover, even though I knew how recommended it came.

I know how wrong I was now. Because The Sweet Gum Tree... The Sweet Gum Tree is something else.

The story spans approximately 26 years, telling the epic love story of Nick and Alix through Alix's eyes. She's the one telling the story, from her position in the present, narrating it with an honest and raw voice, sprinkling everything with premonitions, warnings and second thoughts of what's to come.

That added a lot to it, in my opinion. It kept tensions high, kept the suspense in a completely opposite way than normally - you wondered not what's going to come (because you know from the get-go it was coming, and you know it was bad), but how it's going to go down. And why.

"No one should have to go through life with only half a heart," he whispered.

The Sweet Gum Tree is an emotional roller-coaster. You jump from laughter and joy to tears and sadness. You are forced to watch two people who are made for each other, who have always loved one another, break apart. Break down. And sometimes, the book completely blindsides you.

The biggest slap to the face made me cry. There was no warning, no preparations. One minute everything is fine, and the next... it's not. Alix didn't prepare us for that one--maybe she couldn't, maybe it was too hard to even hint at--and I was filled with grief. I didn't expect that, but I loved that it was told this way.

You can't turn love on and off like a light switch, no matter how hard you try. All you can do is wall it off, one brick at a time, until you've created an impenetrable fortress around your emotions. And once that fortress is built, you camouflage it so well that even you can't see it anymore. 

I felt like this book didn't try to make me an emotional mess. If that happened, it was just a byproduct. This book told a story that felt completely real and honest.

Maybe it was the characters - Alix, Nick, her mom, the Judge, her aunts, her best friend, Hugh... they all felt like real people. They spoke like real people, they acted like real people, and they had the chemistry of real people - for better or worse. I laughed and I cried with them, rooted and admonished them. I loved them all.

I highly recommend this love story, for anyone who loves a good romance. For anyone who's tired of insta loves and baseless loves. For anyone who wants a book that will shake his emotions, but without having to feel like that's all the book does.

"She died a long time ago and she's never coming back. That's the way I want it. She was a naive child who thought love could solve anything, who believed in happily-ever-after endings, and that justice and honor always win out. She believed in the integrity of others and never questioned their motives. She didn't stand a chance and she's better off dead."

   Nitzan★

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler 
Source: bought hardcover
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: May 21st 2013
Age Group: Young Adult

When all signs point to heartbreak, can love still be a rule of the road? A poignant and romantic novel from the author ofBittersweet and Twenty Boy Summer.
Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. She’s seen the tears and disasters that dating a Vargas boy can cause, and she swore an oath—with candles and a contract and everything—to never have anything to do with one.
Now Jude is the only sister still living at home, and she’s spending the summer helping her ailing father restore his vintage motorcycle—which means hiring a mechanic to help out. Is it Jude’s fault he happens to be cute? And surprisingly sweet? And a Vargas?
Jude tells herself it’s strictly bike business with Emilio. Her sisters will never find out, and Jude can spot those flirty little Vargas tricks a mile away—no way would she fall for them. But Jude’s defenses are crumbling, and if history is destined to repeat itself, she’s speeding toward some serious heartbreak…unless her sisters were wrong?
Jude may have taken an oath, but she’s beginning to think that when it comes to love, some promises might be worth breaking.

I'm going to admit something: I decided I wanted this book purely because of the cover. The fact the synopsis sounded appealing... well, that was just a bonus. But I am not ashamed of this. I am not ashamed of it at all, because it made me read this book. and this book... THIS BOOK, you guys.

This book is hella emotional, and it deals with the hard, painful subject of early onset Alzheimer's, which is on itself a subject not discussed enough in literature, in my opinion. But it's not a tearjerker, even though it will make you cry. Why? Because you don't feel like this book is trying to make you cry. You don't feel like the whole purpose of it is to wrangle your emotions and make you an emotional mess. And that makes it all the more powerful, to me.

It shows you the truth, reality, in such an honest and upfront way, and that reality is painful, and it is hard, yes. But it balances the hard. It balances it with the good, and the romantic, and the familial. This book, it doesn't try to bring you down with it. It tries to push you up. To give hope, where a situation is hopeless. To show us it's not the end.

It does so through Jude, and her journey dealing with this Demon that's eating through her father.

She's just finished high school, and instead of enjoying her last summer, she is home taking care of her father. I loved this girl, and her voice. She was funny, emotional, real and very much her age - she still had that naivety and awkwardness we all have at her age. She feel like I did two years ago (and I still feel like this sometimes).

But she also grew tremendously throughout the story. She learned a lot about life, about human nature, about love and independence. About family and standing up to them. I loved watching her evolve and grow.

Than we had Emilio Vargas. Naturally, he's the love interest, and I think he is definitely worth some swooning. He is not a bad boy, despite what the synopsis might hint. He is actually just a kind, nice, motorcycle loving guy, which I loved. You get the nice hot guy with an edge. And Jude sees that, which makes the whole swore-not-to-get-involved-with-a-Vargas deal extremely difficult.

Though, I did think the whole 'I betrayed my family' deal was a bit over-the-top. Her sisters are grown women - they should know better, and act better. I would've liked to hear more, too, about what happened in the past. It's never fully explained - and I was interested. This is really the only reason I didn't give the book a full 5 stars.

However, this really doesn't matter. The synopsis doesn't lie when it tells you this is a "poignant and romantic novel", and if that sort of thing is anywhere near your thing, you should read this book ASAP.

Ps. even if this isn't your thing, you should read this book just for the pleasure of meeting Pancake the dog and his obsession with bunnies. Just saying.

   Nitzan★

The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker - a Gifed Up Review

The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker
Series: The Emperor's Edge #1
Source: Free Kindle Copy
(still free at the time of writing this review!)
Publisher: Indie
Publication Date: Jan 1st, 2010
Age Genre: Adult (no sex)
Check out my reading process here!

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.
Worse, Sicarius, the empire’s most notorious assassin is in town. He’s tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills… or someone wants her dead.

You guys, let me tell you of this little hidden gem. According to Amazon, I one clicked The Emperor's Edge on September 28th, 2012. That was before I had any form of e-reader. All I had was the free PC kindle app, and a trigger happy finger for freebies because I was so stoked by the idea of getting to read a book legally for free.

'Course, I am still trigger happy for that, but I am a little more reserved - only getting books I truly think I'm going to enjoy. Thing is, I didn't do this filtering process back at 2012. And so I ended up with a TON of books that I just... left hanging. This was one of those, until I saw some very strong recommendation for this book (and series) by my friends Ellen and Sierra (you should follow them, they're totally awesome).

So, I read it. And guess what? I LOVED it! 

The best thing about this book is hands down the characters, though hell if I know how to pronounce their names!

In a militaristic empire in an unknown world, lives Amaranthe, a young female enforcer where women warriors are highly unusual. But no matter how much people may look down at her, Amaranthe knows what she wants - and it's not to be a business woman or a housewife. She's a protector, through and through. And possibly an adrenaline junkie... *shrug*
She's a stickler for details (actually, kind of verges on OCD), she's serious and.... how did Sicarius coin it?... focused. In other words,

Seriously, the girl isn't even a great warrior or anything, but she's just so badass she's Queen! And she managed to remain  female despite that! 

Then there's Sicarius - aloof, poker faced Sicarius... a deadly assassin who moves like a shadow. You never see him strike, and he is cold and emotionless. For the most part. Naturally, there's more to the ruthless killer, and anyways, my strong opinion on Sicarius could be summed pretty neatly by the following gif: 

Yep. 

As for these two together... 

Oh yeah, you guys. I ship it... I ship it bad. If you're a fan of slow-burn romances, of these couples that drive you crazy and make you shake the book and chant "just kiss!" at it, those couples you know will be just so EPIC if they would just kindly decide to smooch, get married and have beautiful children please because IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR!?.

Then you'll love this series, for sure. 

Aside for these perfect two, we've got an occasionally functional gang with tendencies toward violence that consists of a hilarious ex-heir turned male escort, a drunk professor, and a magical punk. All lovable, all added to the story, all deserving of hugs and love.

Truly, this book is just so much fun. It's epic adventure, with dire mission and high stakes, and death (though, I admit, the reason this book is not a 5 star is that I felt death was handled a bit too offhandedly) but it's has such a light comedic tone to it that makes it so readable. It doesn't depress you, like a lot of epic adventure stories do. 

I truly recommend you go get and read this one, you guys. It will literally cost you nothing!

   Nitzan★