ARC Mini Reviews - The Bird King, Women Talking, White Rose, & Lovestruck

Today I'm sharing four ARC mini reviews with you: The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson (available March 12th, 2019), Women Talking by Miriam Toews (available April 2nd, 2019), White Rose by Kip Wilson (available April 2nd, 2019), and Lovestruck by Kate Watson (available April 2nd, 2019).  Thank you very much to NetGalley for providing me with these ARCs in exchange for my honest reviews.  Read on to see my thoughts on these novels:

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The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson was one of my most anticipated novels and I'm honored to have been approved. Luckily for me, Wilson's new historical fantasy novel really delivered. Wilson's writing is absolutely captivating. I adored all of the historical detail and the research that clearly went into the novel. It really makes me want to learn more about the Emirate of Granada. That said the mythology and magic featured in the story are brilliant. Hassan is one of my favorite characters now - by the way, he's a cartographer who can shape reality from the maps he draws. How cool is that? I also enjoyed getting to know Fatima, a concubine to the sultan and Hassan's best friend. She has a magnificent character arc and it was fantastic to see her grow over the course of the story. My only complaint though is that the story is slowly-paced, for the most part it works in the novel's favor but at times it begins to drag. Overall, The Bird King is a must-read lyrical fantasy novel. If you enjoy the historical fantasy of Cat Winters, Susanna Clarke, and V.E. Schwab, I have a feeling you'll love this too. I'm looking forward to reading more from G. Willow Wilson in the future. Thanks again, NetGalley! 

I read this ARC from March 13 - 17, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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Women Talking by Miriam Toews isn't one of my average reading choices, but I'm actually quite interested in real life Mennonite and Amish culture, especially when it comes to Ohio and Pennsylvania. Needless to say that when I saw this novel on NetGalley it sounded like it could be right up my alley. I'm not all that familiar with Mennonite colonies in other countries or even the Low German dialect featured in the novel, but it was still fascinating to see on the page. The most disturbing thing about this story is easily the fact that it's based on a true story from events that occurred only a few years ago - let's just say that "violated" isn't the best word for the horrors these women endured at the hands of the men in their community. The title event occurred in 2011 and the violations happened between 2005-06, but honestly if you told me that it actually happened two or three hundred years ago instead I wouldn't have been surprised. My only complaint about this novel is the "meeting minutes" format - I've never seen any that look like what we see here.

I read this ARC on March 17, 2019 and my review is also available on Goodreads.

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White Rose by Kip Wilson is absolutely stunning novel in verse about the life of Sophie Scholl. Scholl was an anti-Nazi political activist and pamphleteer with the non-violent resistance group called the White Rose. The detail and research that has gone into presenting her story and the story of the group is amazing. It's also quite gut-wrenching to read considering that I already knew her fate before going into the story. While novels in verse aren't usually my thing, this 100% worked for me and I can't recommend it highly enough. If you're a fan of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, do yourself a favor and pick up Kip Wilson's White Rose. I can't wait to see Wilson's future projects. Thanks again, NetGalley!

I read this ARC from March 17 - 18, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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I have to admit Lovestruck by Kate Watson sounded like a lot of cheesy mythology inspired fun. I have a soft spot for Greek mythology and I couldn't resist a story about an Erote, aka a cupid-in-training, who breaks the first rule of the job - accidentally sticking herself with an arrow and falling hard for the target. For me, the mythology aspects were my favorite - Artemis' has some of the best parts even though she's one of the side characters. Unfortunately, Kali really began to grate on my nerves after a while. I don't know maybe I'm getting to old for this stuff, but I do know I'll stick with Rick Riordan's brand of mythology in the modern world.

I read this ARC from March 18 - 21, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.


Congrats for making it this far!  Have you read, or do you plan on reading any of these books?  As always, thanks for visiting and perhaps even commenting down below!