Book Review: Caraval

"Scarlett knew he was trying to manipulate her. She’d had enough experience to recognize the signs. Unfortunately, despite her lengthy history of being used by her father, or perhaps because of it, she was never good at evading it.?" 

This book is beautiful. The concept is perfect two sweet sisters, raised by an abusive father, decide to go to an island and run away to play a game. The prize is one wish, something more prized than anything else in the world. 

While this book had a lot of bad tropes such as instant-love, reckless girls, and love triangles. I still really loved it. I loved the character Scarlett, she is so good and genuine that you can't help but fall in love with her. Scarlett really wants security, she wants to escape the wrath of her father. I loved Tella's impulsiveness, she was cute and adorable. She fell in love quickly and was the voice of reason in the crazy moments. 

The Caraval is exactly like what it sounds like, it is a carnival-ish game on an island. People will often go there to play and try and win. The Master is this guy named Legend, who Scarlett is kind of in love with, though she wouldn't admit that. She has been writing to him for years. Finally, he has replied and was nice enough to send three tickets for Scarlett, Tella and Scarlett's fiance. Upon arrival at the island, Tella goes missing and it soon becomes apparent that finding her is all a part of the game. Scarlett must solve the clues and find her sister before Caraval is over.

There is an overall dark feel to this lovely book. I liked the disturbing violence, interesting world building, and fantasy feeling. It was so interesting. 

I disliked the ending though. It isn't a cliff hanger, but it didn't feel like it was wrapped up.  I really want to see what happens next. 

Goodreads Description: 

Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the far away, a once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

Book Review: Delta of Venus

This is my first erotic novel. Also my first Anaïs Nin novel. It took me about 2 months to really digest the things I read about. I enjoyed this book, but there was so much to take in. I honestly knew that I was getting into heavy erotica. I hadn't expected it to be such a beautiful read.

At first, I have to admit that I misunderstood this novel. This novel is a group of short stories. Delta includes things like incest, rape, and pedophilia. I figured out that erotica in this sense isn't supposed to turn you on, as much as to go to places other writing can't possibly explore. To push taboos and expand your mind. I looked past some of the grossest 

But this is extremely good stuff.. it is a writing that is pure, and one that is rarely seen in today's market. The book has a perfect weaving of characters and themes that make up the sensual eroticism of the book. While she takes a dark approach to everything, I believe she is trying to shock and disturb you. There are some difficult scenes, ones that will make you gasp and groan at them. They will shock you because they are taboo. 

This is literature, not erotica, it has taken some freedoms and explored the darkness of man, but it is quite beautiful, and even more brilliant. 

I can't write this review without mentioning something crucial, that an extremely broke Anais Nin wrote porn at a dollar a page for an unknown collector who kept telling her to write less literary crap, more of the in and out. This pissed her off and made her anger, due to the fact she believed he was destroying everything interesting about sex. This is so relevant because it is basically the same debate people are having today about internet porn.

So she keeps punishing him for it. Incredible sensual stories that are marked with taboo and shock the senses. She is basically ruining his mood. I find that to be quite hilarious in itself. 

Goodreads Description: 



In Delta of Venus Anaïs Nin penned a lush, magical world where the characters of her imagination possess the most universal of desires and exceptional of talents. 

Among these provocative stories, a Hungarian adventurer seduces wealthy women then vanishes with their money; a veiled woman selects strangers from a chic restaurant for private trysts; and a Parisian hatmaker named Mathilde leaves her husband for the opium dens of Peru. 

Delta of Venus is an extraordinarily rich and exotic collection from the master of erotic writing.






About the Author: 

French-born novelist, passionate eroticist, and short story writer, who gained international fame with her journals. 

Spanning the years from 1931 to 1974, they give an account of one woman's voyage of self-discovery. "It's all right for a woman to be, above all, human. I am a woman first of all." (from The Diary of Anaïs Nin, vol. I, 1966) 

Anaïs Nin was largely ignored until the 1960s. 

Today she is regarded as one of the leading female writers of the 20th century and a source of inspiration for women challenging conventionally defined gender roles. 

Book Review: Here and Gone

When thinking about to write about for this book the words that came to mind were Dark...Creepy....Terrifying....

This is the kind of book I thought I would never read, I was hesitant to pick it up. But this book changed my life y'all. This is a hard book not to spoil but I will do my best. 

First, we meet this abused woman named Audra. She is hoping just to get away with her two precious kids when she is pulled over by a sheriff in a small town in Arizona. Not sure what it is but things are always a little weird in Arizona. Things go very wrong during that stop after the sheriff 'finds' a bag of drugs in the trunk of her car. He calls a deputy to take her two children to a safe place. Once at the jail Audra realizes that things are much worse than she originally thought. 

"Please," she said, unable to keep the quiver from her voice. "I've done everything you said. I've been cooperative. Please tell me where my children are."

Whiteside held her gaze.

"What children?" he asked

This is not the same old storyline you are thinking about. This one kicks but, because sometimes women aren't to be messed with. 

I enjoyed this author and his writing style.  I look forward to reading more of his books.

Disclaimer: Many thanks to Blogging for Books and  Crown Publishing for the book in exchange for an honest review.


Goodreads Description:

Here and Gone is a gripping, wonderfully tense suspense thriller about a mother's desperate fight to recover her stolen children from corrupt authorities.

It begins with a woman fleeing through Arizona with her kids in tow, trying to escape an abusive marriage. When she's pulled over by an unsettling local sheriff, things soon go awry and she is taken into custody. Only when she gets to the station, her kids are gone. And then the cops start saying they never saw any kids with her, that if they're gone than she must have done something with them... 

Meanwhile, halfway across the country a man hears the frenzied news reports about the missing kids, which are eerily similar to events in his own past. As the clock ticks down on the search for the lost children, he too is drawn into the desperate fight for their return.

Dear Lovely Readers,

Recently it came to my attention that my blog had been changed private somehow. I want to personally apologize for this error. I am not quite sure how it happened but am ensuring it doesn't happen again. Thank you for your patience.

I have a lot of backlogged content that will be showing up in the coming weeks. I hope you will go through the archive and check some of it out.

This week will be published as scheduled.

Happy reading!