I let my book bestie control everything I read for a week... 👀📚

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]I don't trust just anyone to pick my reads for a week.

[00:00:04]>> Yeah, I'm looking for like one in particular.

[00:00:08]>> I feel positively giddy. Can I just say first of all, I need to apologize.

[00:00:14]Hi everyone, it's me. Welcome to today's video. It's time to let someone else control what I read in a week. I do think sometimes it is fun to put your book choices into someone else's hands.

[00:00:26]Like I choose what I read for myself all the time. So sometimes it's fun to see what someone else will like want you to read and for someone else to almost like design and craft your reading week. So that's what we're going to be doing today. But the thing is, okay, I don't trust just anyone to pick my reads for a week. So this week we are going to be consulting bestie Freya to help choose my reads. And I'm also going to be controlling her reads for this week. So if you guys don't know Freya yet, I mean, you should. We literally have a podcast together. But essentially how our long-distance friendship started was last year on April 20th, we both posted our very first collaboration vlog together where we actually did choose each other's reads for a week. That was basically our first time seriously connecting and interacting with one another. And it was literally almost exactly a year ago. So, we thought, you know, just to keep tradition alive, we thought it'd be fun to do it again a year later and see like I don't know how our tastes have changed, what books we're going to pick for each other this time. I think this is just going to be really, really fun. So, we're going to let Freya choose what I read this week.

[00:01:35]We're actually going to FaceTime her.

[00:01:36]I'm going to let her have free reign over my physical TBR, and we'll see what she chooses for me. I I have a good feeling of at least like two of the books she's going to choose for me this week, but we'll see. Okay, so I have two rules for you. I've decided I need to I need to implement some rules. You have like pretty much free reign, but rule number one, you're only allowed to pick one Cassandra Cla.

[00:02:01]>> Yeah. Okay. Fair enough. Fair enough.

[00:02:02]>> So, choose wisely. And number two, if you pick a book that is over a thousand pages long, that's the only book you get.

[00:02:09]>> Yeah. Look, I wouldn't do that to you, I don't think. Cuz I know I know the pain of that. And you just like you just did Wave Kings.

[00:02:16]>> Yeah.

[00:02:17]>> So, yeah. No. Okay, fair enough. They're fair rules.

[00:02:20]>> Yeah. Apart from that, you have free reign. So, um I'll show you my TBR.

[00:02:25]>> I don't even know too much. I have like an idea of your TBR because of like all your TBR videos.

[00:02:30]>> Yeah.

[00:02:31]>> But yeah. No, I'm not about to make you do Wind and Truth. I'm not going to do that to you that comes before that anyway.

[00:02:38]>> Yeah. I put it up there cuz, you know, it's technically part of my TBR. Um, there are a few books around the back, so let me know when you're done.

[00:02:47]>> Okay. Yeah. I'm looking for like one in particular.

[00:02:51]>> Oh, do you not see it?

[00:02:53]>> I don't I don't think so. Hang on. Let me Oh, I see it now. Yeah. No, I see it now. It's down the bottom.

[00:02:58]>> Yeah. I'm like I think you I was going to help you. I was going to help you out.

[00:03:02]>> Oh, this is actually This is actually quite hard. All right. You can show me the back >> back view. That's some >> Okay, just a little. Okay, I have two.

[00:03:13]>> Okay, >> I need to I need to Wait, can I see the front view again?

[00:03:17]>> Yep. Yep. Yep. It's funny that you have two cuz I was like I was just saying I know two that you're going to pick or I have a feeling about two that you're going to pick. So, I wonder if right about them.

[00:03:27]>> Okay. Yeah. So, obviously number one, final devices.

[00:03:31]>> I'll just pull it out. Yeah.

[00:03:32]>> Yeah.

[00:03:33]>> We already knew that. We already knew that. We're going with that Cassandra Cla because you're in the middle of it already. So I don't want you starting a new Cassandra Cla series.

[00:03:41]>> Thank you.

[00:03:41]>> Um just be just be ready for that one.

[00:03:44]Um and then >> Okay.

[00:03:47]>> Yeah. Rock, paper, scissors. Alice.

[00:03:50]>> Yes. Okay.

[00:03:51]>> Yeah. I think you'll really like that one. I'm really excited.

[00:03:54]>> I actually like don't even know what this one's about. I literally just got this one off your recommendation, but I haven't looked like I don't know what it is.

[00:04:02]>> I don't l literally just go in blind, honestly. Like it's so easy to go and blind to that one. It's so fun.

[00:04:08]>> Fun.

[00:04:08]>> Um and then the last one. I'm going to do the Jazz of Air.

[00:04:13]>> I actually didn't see that one coming.

[00:04:15]>> I really want you to read that one. I'm really excited to see your opinions on that.

[00:04:20]>> Okay. I'm excited. Okay. I predicted the I did predict the Shadow Hunters and I did predict the Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feny. The third The third one was going to be a wild card. I thought you might have done silvercloak. That was kind of my guess, >> but >> I did think of that, but then I was like, >> I don't know. I just I wanted a little bit of range. And I feel like Silvercloak and I don't know, Cassandra Cla, they kind of have a little bit similarity. So, or just like the same kind of vibe, like kind of urban fantasy vibe and Jazz's like >> Egyptian mythology and stuff. And now that like you're it's a little bit of a romanty. So you might I don't know maybe it'll be a good romanty for you. Maybe it'll get you back into romanty.

[00:05:06]>> That's true. I have heard really good things about this one. Yeah, we need to fall back in love with romanty. It's definitely a goal. I need to do it.

[00:05:14]>> I want to have fun again. I want to feel the joys. So out of these three, what's your reading order? Like is it in the order you pick?

[00:05:21]>> I don't really mind what you do first. I just recommend doing rock paper scissors in the middle. So then you have like a break up between the fantasies.

[00:05:30]>> Okay.

[00:05:30]>> Yeah, fair enough.

[00:05:31]>> Go with whatever you're feeling first though.

[00:05:33]>> Got it.

[00:05:35]>> All right, you guys. You heard it from Freya. Our three reads this week are going to be Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Cla, Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feny, and then The Jad Air by Sarah Hashem. I definitely predicted the first two, especially Clockwork Prince.

[00:05:50]I know she's been like screaming at me to read this universe in general for so so so long. So, I'm definitely really excited and yeah, I'm excited to get into the Jad Air because I haven't been loving romanties lately, but I do want to find romanticies that I love again because I just want to like feel alive, you know? I want to feel a thrill. I want to blush at a romanty. And so, I am hoping The Jade Air does that for me. In terms of my first read, I think I am going to start with Clockwork Prince. I feel like I'm always like more in the mood to continue a series first before I start one. So, I feel like after I read this one, I can get into the thriller and then I can start The Jade Air as our third book this week. But yeah, we're going to go into this one first. I did really enjoy Clockwork Angel. I thought it was really fun. But yeah, from what I've heard, I've heard that it really ramps up from the second book onwards.

[00:06:37]So, we'll see what happens.

[00:06:54]I am just having so much fun. Okay, I am I'm having so much fun. I love this. I have read over 200 pages and that already just kind of gives you a great idea of how this book is going. It's just so bingeable. It's just so fun.

[00:07:07]There's something so wonderful about the magic of YA and how fast-paced it is, but also like it it doesn't feel like it's rushing through things. It just feels like things are moving at a very naturally quick pace, but it just has so many fun elements to it. Like we're set in Victorian England. Of course, we have a found family that I'm like, you know, getting to know more and more as I continue reading this series. And I am really loving the found family portion of this. And something fun about these that I didn't expect is that there is a lot of call back to like literature and books. And like you can tell these books are just written for a book lover as well because a lot of our main characters do love reading and do love books. So we do get a lot of callbacks and yeah references to books, literature, classics and all that. And we have some moments you know in libraries like grand old libraries with tomes and stuff just like those vibes all with like a gothic Victorian backdrop. It's just like it's just pure fun. And then all that combined with, of course, all the demon slaying or like demon hunting and like vampire stuff that's going on here. In the first one, of course, we had the whole mystery element with like Tessa's missing brother. Did I even give you a synopsis for this book? I feel like I didn't. But yeah, the first book essentially was a missing person's like a missing brother kind of a case where Tessa, our protagonist, travels over from America to London to live with her brother. But when she arrives, her brother's not there to pick her up. And Tessa gets thrown into all of this like secret society culty shadow hunter universe.

[00:08:36]And then as we continue the story in this one, we just have like more things we need to find out, more mysteries, more secrets, and just kind of like secret society political things going on as well. All alongside, of course, a wonderful mandatory love triangle that has to happen in a YA fantasy series like this. And I will say this is like love triangle done right in the way that like all members of the love triangle like I'm invested and everyone has an interesting story. Like all sides could work but in different ways. Like every point of the triangle offers something different that is also beneficial but then all points of the triangle also come with their problems and things you have to figure out. And so it's just so well balanced. You know, it's not a one-sided love triangle. We actually get a lot of moments with all three of our characters together. And I find those moments to be the best because it's just so like painful in a great way and like kind of uncomfortable, but in a thrilling way when you see characters that are clearly like romantically interested in each other and they feel kind of these like jealous feelings towards the other party, but like they all care for each other, you know? They care for each other romantically, but also in like a family friendship way at the same time. So, I don't know. I just I really love the dynamic. It's just like really fun to read. It makes me feel like a teenager. Also, just in terms of the romance plot running alongside the main plot. I feel like current day romanty needs to take notes, needs to like go back to this era and like relearn what worked so well in books like this from this era. Like the romance just fits alongside the plot so seamlessly where I find in a lot of current day romanties that I've been reading, the romance feels like it impedes the plot. Like it gets in the way. It feels clunky in there. doesn't feel like it belongs. But I find in this series so far at least a lot of the like quieter intimate romance parts happen at appropriate moments. Like we find little quiet points in the plot to like sneak in some emotional intimate moments and stuff like that where in a lot of like newer romanty or fantasy romance books, I find that we get a lot of moments like really inappropriate moments where our characters are, you know, feeling spicy in the middle of a battlefield and stuff like that. And I'm like, I don't want to read that, you know? I I I don't need that. But the moments are just like perfectly included and woven into the plot in this. And I'm really really liking it. Okay, I am. I think I'm going to just like blast through the rest of this if I'm going to be completely honest. I know that I'm already going to love the rest of the story because it's just been like already so far it's just been so addictive and fun. But yeah, I'm just going to continue reading this, I guess.

[00:11:29]I do feel like I need to point out while I'm reading this series is that there's a character named Jessimine in these books. And it's so rare to encounter that name. But my sister's name is actually Jessimine. And I feel like our entire lives we've always been like, where did her name come from? Like no one else is named Jessimine. So, the fact that there's like a pretty main secondary character in the series that is named Jessimine kind of like throws me off every single time cuz I'm like I I just don't see that name around. But then every time I see it, I think of my sister and my sister is very much like the opposite of the character that Jessimine is in this world. But that's just a fun fact as I'm reading through the series. Anyways, things are about to get exciting, so I'm just going to keep reading.

[00:12:20]I feel positively giddy. I do. I do. I feel like a teenager, literally. Like I I am feeling the thrill. I feel young again. I feel alive again. This is just such a fun ride. Okay, it is. It's super fun. We have Tessa as our protagonist who like every single boy is just falling for her, you know? And I don't I don't care if that's unrealistic and I don't care if that's annoying. I'm just having a real dang good time with it. I do feel like I have to mention I have been just like texting Freya in literally all caps throughout my whole process of reading this so far. I can't share the texts with you because they do have some spoilers. So, you know, on the off chance, if you haven't read these books yet, I obviously don't want to spoil things, but yeah, it's just one of those books where like you just get so emotionally attached to and it's like it's almost like not even that deep, but like it's as deep as you want it to be.

[00:13:10]You know what I mean? Like if you really want a fan girl over it, you could get deep. I have chosen like a team for, you know, our love triangle situation that's going on here. And the thing is, I know I'm on the wrong team, okay? Like I know how these stories tend to go. I know I'm on the wrong team. So, I'm a little scared about that because I know like I'm going to get hurt at some point throughout the story because like my team's going to lose out in some way.

[00:13:36]So, I'm scared of that. But there's also something just kind of fun about being on the wrong team. Like, you know, you're in for kind of a painful journey ahead, but it's it's going to be so fun.

[00:13:46]Yeah, I've been binging this. I am almost done. I probably will finish it today. But just a couple other things I'm loving about this. And also something that like I'm kind of neutral about, but just like a funny observation. Number one, I really like how organized everything is in this world. Like we don't just have vampires and werewolves and demons, you know, running loose. Everything has an organization. Like everything is part of or maybe not everything but like almost everything is part of some sort of a society that has a clear hierarchy that has rules that has procedure. And I don't know, there's something about me that's really just like enjoying the fact that everything has these rules and this like protocol that everyone has to follow. I don't know, there's something highly entertaining about that. And the other thing is I swear so much happens in this book in such a short span of time. And that is something I find is just something so quintessential YA is that I swear I read like 200 pages in this book. Like just binged through it yesterday and I was just like, you know, flipping along. I was like, "Wow, so much stuff has happened." And then our protagonist, Tessa, took one moment to like reflect back on a moment that happened 2 days ago. Like in her mind, she was like, "Oh yeah, like I can't believe this only happened 2 days ago."

[00:15:00]and like life was so different 2 days ago. And then me as the reader reading that I was like it's only been 2 days since that happened. It feels like it it must have been like at least weeks since that happened cuz like we've come so far since then. So it is one of those stories where like maybe it's a little unrealistic how quickly things happen.

[00:15:19]But while reading this, I don't care. I don't really care. I'm just having a grand old good time. But I think I have just over a 100red pages left in this.

[00:15:28]I'm probably going to yeah, binge the rest of this because it is a very highly bingeable book. So, let's just I don't know. Let's just finish this.

[00:15:44]Wait, I knew it. I knew it. I did. I knew it.

[00:16:19]Okay, I think I'm going to rate this a 4.25. 25. I did rate the first book a four-st star. I think this one was a little bit of a step up. We definitely got a little bit more into like the backstories and emotions of our characters, which I enjoyed. And I mean, clearly I had a lot of fun with this one. I was giggling. I was blushing.

[00:16:36]Like, it was just a really, really, really great time. I think my main reasons of like why this wasn't a perfect read for me were honestly and I think both of these might just like have to do with the fact that I'm reading these as an adult and I don't have that direct teenager experience reading these ones to go back on. But number one, a lot of the big reveals that came near the end of the book were a little bit too predictable for me. And then number two, I think some of the some of the the serious or like really dramatic moments I feel like in this book made me start laughing. And like I was laughing not like in a mean way or in a bad way. I was laughing because I was just having a really good time. But there were some of these moments that made me laugh that I I don't think the intended purpose was to make you laugh. I think they were supposed to be very dramatic moments in the plot where you were supposed to like gasp in horror, but instead of gasping in horror, I laughed. So, there were just a few of those moments where I was like, I feel like I'm not fully in this emotionally if I'm laughing at these moments where I'm supposed to be like horror shock gasp. But you know what? I had a damn good time reading this. This was one of the most love triangly books of all love triangles. Like if you want a full-on love triangle, read this book.

[00:17:53]It's a love triangle. This is a very strong love triangle. It is done in a way that like makes you feel for both sides, as I was saying. And honestly, like at the end of this book now, I'm like, I don't know how this love triangle is going to be solved. There's no pain-free way of getting there. And that does make me a little bit scared.

[00:18:13]Like, I'm hesitant to jump into the third book cuz I'm like, I don't want to see these guys get hurt. and like there's always going to be so much pain when it comes to a love triangle. Okay.

[00:18:24]Yeah, that's that's a 4.25. And then from Freya's Guidance, the second book I'm supposed to read this week is Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feny. Definitely a very different vibe. This is a thriller. I've only read one Alice Feny book before that was My Husband's Wife and I absolutely loved it. It actually, you know, really resurrected my mood for reading thrillers. So, I'm excited to dive into this one. And I know Freya absolutely loves this one. She says there's no way I'll guess the plot twist. So, we'll see what happens. I mean, there were I couldn't guess anything that happened in my husband's wife. So, I definitely believe that. I honestly don't know what this book is about. I want to jump into it really blind. So, I'm just going to start reading this. I guess I'll give you a proper synopsis like once I'm actually in the book.

[00:19:24]Okay, I definitely need to give you a reading update before I finish this dang book because I'm definitely over the halfway point and I feel like I'm just going to read the last bit of this book super super quick because like you know when you get to the end of thrillers it gets to a point where you just can't stop you know you just have to keep flipping the pages and rock paper scissors is definitely really really fun so far Because if there's one thing that I'm learning you can trust Alice Veni to do, it's that she will throw mini plot twists in throughout the entire book, I swear every single chapter has a plot twist. And her chapters are like two to five pages long, I want to say. So they're really really short chapters, but there's like for sure at least one little plot twist in every single chapter. And some of those plot twists are big and like actually mean something and matter in the long run. And some of them are definitely smaller, minor, more inconsequential in terms of like the overall plot, but they're still just kind of thrown in for fun. I feel like it's just something that keeps you motivated to continue, you know? Like you read the end of one sentence and you're like, "Wait, this is definitely like a plot twist or something misleading or something fake, but I just need to see it through." So, this is Yeah, definitely super fun to read.

[00:20:34]Really easy to whiz through really quick. But in terms of the plot synopsis, why am I What is happening to my voice? Also, do you hear that? It feels weird. It hasn't felt weird until just now. I've been talking normal all day until I turned on the camera and now I feel like I'm losing my voice. What is What is going on? Anyways, plot synopsis for this is this is a thriller obviously and we're following a husband and wife.

[00:20:58]He is a screenwriter, but his specialty is like adapting thriller novels to screen and then she works at a dog rescue. So they're very different in terms of career and priorities and interests and all of that, but they did, you know, love each other. They did get married. At this point, their marriage is kind of like in shambles. So kind of in a lastm minute attempt, they're going on this holiday to the Scottish Highlands in the middle of nowhere, a very remote location, and they're just there for a weekend getaway. But when they arrive, the place that they're staying in turns out to be this really creepy, haunting old chapel that's been repurposed, like kind of renovated inside to be a home, but it's all kind of a little bit weird. Like the decor is kind of weird. There's a lot of dust. So immediately upon entering, they're like, "Are we supposed to be here? Has this actually been used or like cleaned in the past 10 years? Like what is going on?" And then as we just continue to follow them through this like little getaway that they're going on, we start seeing little like inconsistencies between their two POVs and we see that like one of them or both of them or someone is definitely plotting something on the side. Like this trip isn't just all, you know, fun and games and like completely honest. Also, one big creepy element in this book is that the husband actually has face blindness. So, he actually can't see faces. like he can't recognize anyone by looking at their face. So even though he knows his wife, like has spent so much time with her, he doesn't know her face. Like he can't recognize her immediately sometimes, but he'll obviously like know her voice, her personality, her like sense, stuff like that. But it's like if he just saw her from across the room, he wouldn't know that's his wife. So that just kind of adds a whole layer of like mystery and I feel like opportunity to go with a thriller in terms of like twists and stuff. So, I'm excited to see where that all goes. But yeah, just as I'm reading through this, there is definitely some weird unreliable narrator stuff going on. So, me choosing this unreliable narrator bookmark to use while reading this book was definitely an appropriate choice. There's just like certain things like something he'll say in his POV will completely contradict something she'll say in her POV. So, it's like one of you is lying or both of you are lying, but like someone's lying here. And at this point, I'm unsure of who's lying. It seems like both of them are lying, but I don't know. Like, one of them could be lying for like a good purpose, and one of them could be lying for like nefarious reasons. So, I don't know. I have some suspicions as to where I think the story is going, but I don't know how we're going to get there. And I feel like that is the best feeling when you're reading a thriller, when you're like, "Okay, this is what I think, but like I need to know the journey. I need to know why. I need to know how." So, this is definitely really fun to read so far. I will say there was one moment in the book where I noticed a weird continuity issue in the writing. It was just a really weird moment and and some moments in this I feel like are purposefully like misleading or incorrect in terms of information because it's trying to throw you off.

[00:24:04]But there was one moment as I was reading this where I was like, "No, that's just like a writing continuity issue." But apart from that one little blip, I have been really enjoying the ride so far. So, I don't know. We'll see how it goes. I cannot wait to finish this book and see how it ends.

[00:25:10]Good morning. My voice is back. Okay, that was just a really weird blip last night where I turned on the camera and my voice was gone. I just like I don't know what happened, but after I filmed that clip, I just like did not talk for an hour and then my voice was back and it was normal and everything was fine.

[00:25:27]So, um that was kind of a weird blip, but everything's okay now. So, that's good. But, as you saw last night, I did finish rock paper scissors. I decided not to talk to you guys again until this morning because I was kind of scared that if I turned on the camera again yesterday, my voice would just like decide to run away again. So, I just continued to rest and just like read yesterday. But yeah, I finished this and I can confirm I love me an Alice Finani twist. Okay, I really do. I think she does twists in the best way. And you guys all know that I have been so picky with plot twists lately. There have been so many plot twists that just aggravate me because they come out of nowhere.

[00:26:07]They are purely there for shock value.

[00:26:10]But I feel like with Alicei twists in this one and in My Husband's Wife, I was able to halfguess the twist. Like all the elements that were involved in this twist, I knew like I knew were suspicious and I knew those were the elements that would add up to result in whatever plot twist we got. But I was just I I didn't make that last connection. I was kind of like, "Okay, I know this is weird. I know that's fake.

[00:26:36]I know that's wrong." But like I didn't know how they all connected. And so when we got that moment, that reveal, I was like, "Ah." And you kind of get this like satisfied feeling, you know, when you kind of half guess the twist and you're like, "Okay, I was right. I didn't know how it would happen. I didn't know the connections. I didn't know whatever, but I knew it was these things." Like, I don't know. There's just something so satisfying about that.

[00:26:57]It feels so good. So, I really really liked this. I think everything that was done was really creative. I think the story directions that Alicei goes on and everything that's just like thrown into her books are just interesting, creative. Some of the stuff obviously is stuff we've seen before. I feel like the thriller genre is so saturated that it would be hard to write a thriller that has just all unique elements that you've never seen before. So, there are definitely like some used things, some tropes in here that we see in this genre, but yeah, there's just a lot of creativity and there's something special to how Alice writes her books. I will say overall, I did enjoy My Husband's wife slightly more than this one. I think the main reason for that is that I just felt a little bit more emotionally invested in our characters in My Husband's wife, where in this one, I really truly didn't care what happened to either of the characters, to any of them. It was more just like I wanted to just continue the ride, continue the story, see where it all went. I followed the story for the plot. I didn't follow the story for the characters because they were all unlikable, you know, and like not in an unlikable way where you still care about the characters because I've seen that done as well. In that book I read last month, Lost Lambs by Maline Cash. I feel like that was a great example of a book where the characters are very highly unlikable, but you still feel very invested in like what happens to them and there's like a small part of you that cares about them and wants the best for them. I think in this book I just kind of lacked the feeling of caring. I think it's maybe because we didn't see our characters like truly ever be vulnerable maybe up until the very end, but we didn't really get a lot of vulnerability at all from them throughout the book. though because I didn't see the vulnerability. I just saw them as unlikable characters. But even in like my husband's wife or something, we have a lot of unlikable characters, but we do get a little bit more vulnerability, a little bit more depth introduced for certain characters in that one. So, I ended up just being like more invested in like the welfare, the well-being of characters in my husband's wife. And so, I felt more emotionally invested in that one where in this one it was just mental investment but not emotional investment.

[00:29:08]But this was definitely a fun ride. I'm going to give this book a fourst star overall. I did text Freya last night as well when I finished it just being like, "Okay, I guessed this. I guessed this. I guessed this." But I just didn't know that it all resulted in this. Anyways, Freya so far has been doing a great job at picking my reads this week because from the two books that we've read so far, they've both been over a four-st star, which I think is such a success.

[00:29:35]But I did end up starting her third pick for me last night while I was in bed. So I started reading this book and I can I just say first of all I need to apologize because I have been pronouncing the name of this book incorrectly and also the author of this book incorrectly and I don't know why.

[00:29:53]I'm pretty sure Freya's been saying it right this entire time and I don't know why. I just haven't been saying it the same way Freya has. I've been saying that this is called the Jad Air and it's by Sarah Hashem. I've been I'm so sorry.

[00:30:06]I've gotten both of those wrong, but apparently the correct way to say this is the Jessed Air. The Jessed Air, not the Jad Air, the Jessed Air. And her name is Sarah Haitian. So, I've just nibbled into this so far. I've read 50 pages, so I'm just getting into it. But this is a romanty, which is a genre that, you know, I do want to fall back in love with. I need to find romances that like just give me that giddy thrill feeling. I mean, I guess the Clockwork, like the Infernal Devices trilogy, has been giving me that. So, that's great.

[00:30:36]But, I do also want to find something adult romanty that's giving me those feelings. This is adult romantic, right?

[00:30:42]I feel like I feel like it is. This is the start to a duogy, and this world is Egyptian inspired, which I think first and foremost just is great. I haven't read a lot of romanty or fantasy that is Egyptian inspired. So, this feels very fresh and new to me and I love it. Maybe it's a fantasy sub genre that I need to myself like just dive deeper into. But in this world, in the past, the kingdom of Jessid was destroyed and along with it most traces of magic because the Jessed people were people of magic or like are people of magic. Sometimes there will be traces of like Jess rebels that pop up, but they are very soon like discovered and taken care of. Our protagonist, Sylvia, however, is indeed a secret Jessie. And not only is she a Jessie, but she is the Jessid air, but no one knows this. She's been very good at concealing her identity. Also, her magic has been restrained by these cuffs. I'm not sure how it works at the moment, but she does have like restrained magic, so she can't even access her magic, but she is like a a Jesse with magic. She at this point though is just kind of trying to stay on the down low, trying to live her life, trying to stay free. And she lives in this small village on the outskirts. But one day, and I haven't gotten to this point in the plot yet, but this is in the synopsis, one day, a group of Jesse rebels attracts the attention of the current like heir of the current ruling kingdom. And by accident, I think she like reveals her magic. He immediately finds her and from what the synopsis says, he makes a bargain with her where she will help him find these rebels and he will not like persecute her. That's essentially our story. I think as we go on, our protagonist, Sylvia, needs to figure out like who she wants to support. I think she ends up, you know, developing feelings for this enemy heir because this is like an enemies to lovers romanty. But that's the story.

[00:32:34]Yeah, I am really surprised though at the beginning of this because after reading just the first 50 pages, this really feels more like a high fantasy to me. I'm not getting any romanty yet. I'm sure that will happen later on in the story, but for the first 50 pages, we are really establishing our world. We're meeting Sylvia. There's a lot of lore and world building that we're getting.

[00:32:54]And I find that with, you know, a lot of the romantices I've read recently, the world building has not really been a priority. We kind of just like get straight into the romance side of it.

[00:33:03]But this is really feeling fantasy first, which I'm actually like I mean obviously I I love that. It's one of those openings of a book where you get a lot of terminology really really quick.

[00:33:13]And some of the terminology gets explained but some of it doesn't like either we haven't gotten the explanation at all or just like the meaning or description or whatever or we don't get it sometimes until like two pages later.

[00:33:25]So it is kind of an opening to the book where I'm reading slowly. I'm making sure I'm absorbing all of the information cuz there are a lot of new words that I'm learning. But I do really love it. I think the world building feels very lush. It feels very like just like dense, like thick and cultural. And I really am enjoying the writing so far.

[00:33:45]But yeah, there there are no traces of romance yet. I also really like Sylvia so far as our main protagonist. She I think is she feels really balanced to me where she does have a lot of strength both physically and mentally, but she doesn't flaunt it, you know? She's not like over the top with it. She's very I don't know. She seems very sensible and reasonable so far. And I find that she's a really good balance so far between like being, you know, this tough whatever protagonist character, but also having a soft, caring side, and she's not like one of two extremes. She does seem very balanced so far. So, I do really like that. I obviously have a lot of reading to do for this one. I really want to get more into this today. But yeah, so far the Jessed Air is really good. So, hopefully this one continues to stay good as we continue it.

[00:34:40]Okay, I think I like this book, but I'm also not entirely sure. Like I'm just a little bit confused on my feelings about this and I will explain why. But I'm on page like 320ish in this. I think I have like 150 to 200 pages left. I'm not sure. But I am this far into the Jessed Air now. And I don't know. I'm kind of like the overall progression of the story is just not how I expected things to unfold. Not that the plot is surprising. I feel like the plot feels very consistent to like the synopsis.

[00:35:15]the blurb that you get for this one. So, it's not like there's a super surprising plot, but I think the way we're getting there just does feel very surprising to me because there's something about this book that feels more like a prequel than a book one to me. We do have a very very rich world with an extensive history as I was mentioning and the majority of this book I'm finding is just like going back and learning about the history of this world rather than progressing our plot forward. So, while we're getting, you know, this really interesting history of this fantastical world, I feel like the plot is moving so slowly because so much time, so many words is spent on like background building and the background is fascinating to learn about, but at the same time, I'm like, I want the plot to go faster. Like, I want things to progress. I'm like over 300 pages in and thinking back on like the story I'm like what has actually happened like how much has happened obviously stuff has happened but it is happening at such a slow pace that I'm like I don't know I I would have felt that we would have progressed a little more in the plot at this point. So I think that's why I'm very confused is because you know the writing is beautiful on one hand like it it is very stunning. I do like how wellthought out this world is. You know, we are getting some interesting story about the succession lines in the royal families and kind of the quick turnover and how things have happened and how all these terrible, terrible, terrible things from the past are still haunting our characters to this day and like following them to this day. So, it's I don't know. It's interesting in that way, but then I'm like, where's the plot at the same time? So conflicted on that.

[00:36:58]It's like I'm I'm enjoying it. like I'm having a good time, but I'm also like, let's pick up the pace. You know what I mean? Anyways, that's all a little confusing. I do feel like the plot is going to start to pick up from this point onwards. It's kind of been slowly picking up. I would say from like page 250 onwards, it like starts actually, you know, things start happening. But, I don't know, to me, it still feels like we're very much still in the setup of things. is like, as I mentioned, this feels like a prequel where we're learning backstory, where we're learning history, and then we just get like a slight like, okay, we're going to put a little something in action now, but like still, it feels like we're in the first like developmental part of the story, but then at the same time, like the writing is beautiful. So, it's being done in a wonderful way, but I don't know. It feels like a prequel. It's really weird. I don't know. I will say one thing I am actually really enjoying in this is the tiny little romance subplot. And it is tiny, which I think is maybe one of the reasons why I love it because you guys all know I prefer a little romance subplot over romance being thrown in your face as the main focus. And I will say this book is enemies to lovers done actually correctly. Like I'm seeing the actual enemy side. And you guys have been hearing me rant and rant about how I'm not enjoying enemies to lovers cuz a lot of the time when we try this trope in books, our characters tend to not actually act as enemies when they're supposed to be in their enemies phase.

[00:38:29]You know, they're like, "He's my enemy, but his jawline is so nice and his abs are so nice." But in this book, I feel like we're actually like true enemies.

[00:38:38]And then you see the actual slow progression to like maybe lovers. But that journey feels very natural. that's actually done very well. I am enjoying that side of it. But yeah, I I don't know. I feel like I'm just craving more plot. Like I want to see more happen to our active characters who are in play right now, but I'm seeing more of like what happened 20 years ago. And I understand a lot of that is so crucial to this story, but I just wish there was maybe a little bit more of a balance between that. It seems like we're spending way more time in the past than we are in the present. And I just want like a little more time in the present.

[00:39:18]I'm going to see how the last 150 pages in this fare. But yeah, I'm going to continue reading the Jessair today.

[00:39:45]Okay, I'm not going to lie. After finishing The Jested Air, I'm still a little bit confused as to like what I want to think about this book. There were definitely a lot of great really strong moments in this and the writing is very beautiful. I also did love how she wrote the banter and chemistry and all of that. And as I was saying, like the the romance progression felt very natural to me. But then when I look at the actual substance of like what happened in this book, I feel like that's where it falls apart just like a little bit for me because on one hand, as I mentioned, like the plot, like it's not really there. 90% of the action was definitely in the last like 150 pages of the book. But if I just look at the plot overall in this book, it's it's quite simple in terms of a fancy story or a romanty story. Like the plot to me, like if you look at the bare bones of it is nothing like too special, but then sort of made out to be more complicated than it needs to be in a way. like in terms of how it was told, the writing, all of the information we got, like it just seemed like kind of a complicated way to tell a simple story. And on one hand, a part of me enjoyed reading it because the writing was so beautiful. But then on the other hand, I'm just like, I feel like we didn't have to be so bogged down with information to tell a story like this. And I think the same kind of idea applies to what I feel about the romance. like it definitely didn't bother me like how a lot of romances in current romances do bug me. I feel like this one actually was great. I loved the chemistry a lot. But then yeah, thinking back on like the progression of it, I'm kind of now like, wait, why why did they like each other? Like what made that switch between enemies to lovers? Like what triggered the shift between extreme hatred to kind of like supporting each other and liking each other? I'm like, I can't really pinpoint where it happened or why it happened or how it happened.

[00:41:49]So, it's almost like the transition was a little too seamless where I didn't even notice it, but it just kind of like tricked me into being like, "Okay, yeah, now they like each other." But then thinking deeper into it, I'm like, "Wait, did we ever get like an actual like reason or catalyst or whatever that spurred this into motion?" I'm just a little confused at that. I will say the end of this book definitely set us up to have a great sequel. So, I am going to continue the series. I'm going to read the second book and see to the end of the story because I do like the the way this is set up and I feel like this sort of setup has a lot of potential for a really really great story in the second book. And I'm also hoping that like maybe some of the issues of overco complicating the plot with like so much history to the point where it really slowed down the storytelling pace. I'm hoping that issue goes away in the second book because like we've learned a lot already. So I'm like how much more can we learn about the past? So I think all in all my experience with this book was positive. I'm going to rate this a 3.75. I feel like with the quality of like the sentences, like the lineto- line writing, this book could have been like a 4.5 for me. But yeah, I think just some of the issues with the pacing and getting over encumbered with too much information. Definitely brought this one down a little bit for me. But yeah, I'm definitely going to continue reading. I know this is actually Sarah Hisham's debut novel, which I think is absolutely like incredible. This is a great debut novel and that's also why I feel like there is potential for the second book, The Jested Crown, to be better than this one. But that brings us to the end of this reading vlog. So, I have read all three of Freya's recommendations now. Definitely had a good reading week. The Clockwork Prince was definitely my favorite of the bunch, and that's definitely a series that I need to like finish ASAP. I want to pick up Clockwork Princess up like as soon as I can. I'm going to see if I can throw it into my May TBR. But yeah, I feel like this is a really fun tradition.

[00:43:49]Like every April, let's have Freya choose my reads for a week and I'll choose hers for a week. Definitely go over to her channel and watch her reading vlog where I chose some reads for her. I think you guys are going to love the reads that I chose for her. One of them in particular is a book that I have been screaming at her to read for like an entire year. So yeah, definitely go check her vlog out as well. But yeah, if you guys liked this video, please leave me a like and a comment. If you don't know what to comment down below, let me know. I don't know, what book do you think I should read next? Give me a wreck. If you like me, subscribe. Do that bell thing. And I will see you in the next one. Bye.