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@arina.docsx

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𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩
i read fantasy
cr: the knave and the moon

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

“𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧. 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙢. 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨. 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨.”

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

rarely has a book i have anticipated so much actually delivers on its promise, yet the everlasting not just met my expectations, but far exceeds it in every single parameter that constitutes a perfect story (in my eyes). after the emotional turmoil i experienced in just a mere 30 pages by reading "the six deaths of the saint", which i consider as the everlasting's younger sibling –similar in themes, and tone, but ultimately different– i knew that the everlasting would be THE story to hammer in that final nail in the coffin of emotional devastation. and boy, did it ever.

to speak a lot on the plot or characters would, i feel, detract from the overall enjoyment and experience of the work as a whole, so i will not write much about it (no matter how much i ache to), but i will say; if you love a story that is so full of love, of two people choosing each other again and again, finding and searching and looking and reuniting in every single lifetime, despite it all they'll always go back to each other, then you will love una and owen. the knight who has been wary of her duty, and the historian who keeps writing her history, and the power hungry bitch that will do whatever it takes to make sure her empire gets the tragic story and hero.

(continued to comments cuz apparently i yap too much) by @arina.docsx

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10 months ago

your favourite obsessive chemist

#thevibesibringtothefunction by @arina.docsx

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2 years ago

dont talk to me im so ill

4.5 for the duology as whole (5 on a good day)

the story begins where it ends, bartholomew. rory, dead. maude, injured. bartholomew, battered and broken. and sybil. oh sybil. captured by the boy-bitch king to be his unwilling diviner bride. off they travel to each hamlets again. its the same, yet different. gilig's writing, once again, left me enamored. reading the sequel feels like walking through a dream, memories flickering in and out. sybil's struggle, rory's lack of memories (insane pining i tell you.), bartholomew's so crumble, benji slowly becoming more annoying.

i love the plot, and the unraveling of how things tie back to the beginning. i wouldnt say there were a lot of reveals, but the new information unraveled were definitely impactful. with how it goes back to the start, the importance of stories, and who tells them, it is very reminiscent of the everlasting by alix e harrow. both are fantastic stories depicting how important history, stories, and who tells them are.

the ending. it was inevitable. only thing i found annoying was the amount of times benji got away from sybil. i get it, for the plot. but still. i understand.

rachel u have solidly cemented yourself as one of my fav authors. <3

i forgot to take a nice pic. i love bartholomew so much. cant say much bcs i WILL cry.

would recommend 👍🏻 by @arina.docsx

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2 days ago

pada masa yang terhenti karya osman deen

4/5 ⭐
pada masa yang terhenti is a contemporary novel with a hint of surrealism, as malik, tired, depressed and burnt out, is suddenly able to send letters —letters that were meant for izrail, angel of death— to a girl 50 years in the past. its an interesting addition to an otherwise grim story to add, similar in essence to the magical typewriters of divine rivals.

the story is simple. malik is taking care of his terminally ill father, and is burnt out to the max, even as thinking of either ending his father's life or his own, so long as neither of them have to suffer anymore. he channels his frustrations into writing letters to the angel of death, without knowing that a girl called kuntum would receive them, all the way into the past.

books centred on terminal illness is usually written in the pov of the patient, and the author shifts the focus onto the caretaker(s), as something as grave as cancer not just affects the patients, but to the people surrounding them as well. and the author wrote malik's experiences and of the topic without sensationalising the situation. the thing with these types of books is that they can sometimes feel a bit preachy in their message "God loves you! Don't kill yourself, you have so much to live for!" But this was written with such care that the message was so softly given.

I tried reading this last year, towards the end of Eid holidays after borrowing a copy from a friend. The first two chapters were so dark and grim I had to close the book because of how much I was crying. It just so happened that at the moment, my own father had just been discharged from the hospital after surgery for his heart, so this especially hit close to home. It took me a year to finally continue, and im glad to have read this.

the magical realism was something i enjoyed reading, and to read of a girl of the 60s trying to make sense of these fantastical letters. the way it all tied back together in the end completed the story nicely.

the ending was inevitable, and yet i still cried. im glad osman written it as a letter though, because i dont think i could handle a first hand recount.

i cant ever read t by @arina.docsx

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a month ago

Sun-kissed, wind-swept, and fully caffeinated. Taiping, you taste amazing taken in Taman Tasik, Taiping by @arina.docsx

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3 months ago

red city by marie lu
book review
4.5/5 ⭐

red city. red city. where do i even begin?

the moment i caught wind of marie lu coming out with an adult fantasy, i had myself seated because i know she will not disappoint me. for the past few MONTHS i had scoured the bookshops for this copy and EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. it was out of stock. until one fateful day, when i didnt even plan to go to kinokuniya, there it was. ✨✨✨ and i knew i needed to grab it.

red city is an urban fantasy set in an alternate los angeles, with alchemy at its core. two rival syndicates are trying to monopolize the market of sand, an illicit drug that enhances a persons traits. sand, oh im sorry, i meant the PHILOSOPHER'S STONE BCS WDYM THEYRE INDUSTRILIZING THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE???? girl. marie. ms LU!

and at the center of this dispute are childhood friends turned alchemist rivals, sam and ari. so different and so alike. and while i dont particularly want to call this a romantasy, the romance is an integral part of the narrative as their feelings of each other do affect the plot in a significant way. and ugh. its so romeo and juliet coded, it hurts. bcs we get to see them as pre-teens, stumbling through both the normal world and the world of magic mafias, how they grew closer and, more importantly, how they grew apart. muah. chef's KISS.

oh but red city is more than just a romance with magical elements sprinkled in. so many themes are packed in here, with a bunch of characters. girl there are layersss to this. this book will make you teeter toted between loving and hating the characters and even be sympathetic to the most toxic of them (theyre the mafia so ofc theyre going to be toxic lmao)

>>>>

from political struggles, to moral dilemmas to determine what's right and what's wrong, what a person will sacrifice for their loved ones, alienation of a person from their culture, class divides and how capitalism makes the poor poorer and the rich richer. the cost of a life and the tensions between a mother and daughter. i could go on.

i particularly enjoyed reading sam's perspective more than ari's, as we see her greed for more, for perfection, that desire to be noticed. to claw her way out by @arina.docsx

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2 months ago

Taiping gateway July ‘26 digital postcard 📬🌳 by @arina.docsx

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3 months ago

since the news is out 👀 guess who's the first guest? 😝 @badass.bookclub's new podcast is coming this Friday 31st. I'M SEATED. Shoutout to the kaplas @whatawinreads @nrlqidmd @baleyousofunny @arina.docsx

#baddiesbetweenpages #podcast by @arina.docsx

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3 months ago

the house of the beast by michelle wong
4.25/5 aster-shaped 🌟
•
the house of the beast is a story about alma, on her pursuit of revenge on her father for leaving her mother for dead with the help of an ancient power by her side. it starts in her childhood, and it takes us through the catalyst of her journey before taking a time leap, where she's finally ready to take everything away from her father.

i love a revenge story, and the plot enraptured me from beginning to end. the writing was easy to slip into and immerse myself into the world of kugara, where the divine four are worshipped fervently, with the impending doom of a fallen star threatening to bring terror to the world. the world building was enchanting to read, as it brought us from place to place with its own charms and terrors. this might be my favourite aspect of the book. of course, aside from the illustrations.

as expected by a professional, the illustrations included were stunning and brought to life the scenes before me, both the beautiful and terrifying. from the lush sceneries to the intricate chapter headers, the visual additions added in my enjoyment and immersion of alma's story.

the characters felt wonderfully fleshed out, even if some (kidding, just one) had me grinding my molars in the second half of the story. the secondary characters added wonderful context to the story and made the world much richer, as not every character are what they seem, showing much more depth to them. (six i love you). i much enjoyed aster's character, this overpowered celestial being and his obsession with alma, and ngl i was purely in his camp. and i really thought alma was too! -->
#bookreview

alma oh alma. she grew up so lonely, and she had longed for friendship so much she confided in a god taken shape as a young boy, keeping her company and filling her mind with thoughts of revenge and death. she's stubborn and dedicated and lonely and soft-hearted, which resulted in her making decisions that had my slapping my forehead, incredulous. but i enjoyed the ending, nonetheless, though i wished the story went down a different route. i wish alma all the best on her journey.

the story was wonderfully paced by @arina.docsx

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4 months ago

what do i consider a "good book"?

many things, really. i could list a whole host of criteria —writing, plot, language, characters, vibes, etc— but sometimes not all those things are fulfilled in a book and yet those books become a ultimate favs. re; project hail mary and strange pictures. two books out of my usual carousel of genres i go through yet now hold a special place on my (virtual) bookshelf.

just because some books dont meet my expectations does not mean its a bad book. after all, reading is subjective. just like how i dont give out a lot of 5 stars, i also try to avoid giving a book lower than a 3 stars rating unless the book has truly offended me in some way shape or form. regardless, i love reading, and i learn something new about myself when i read something i dislike.

tldr; i love reading yet sometimes you hit some duds and thats okay. tho i do hate the housemaid with a passion lmao

can the knave and the moon hurry and come out already i have an Itch by @arina.docsx

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5 months ago

too lazy to make dedicated posts so here's what ive been reading so far in 2026! by @arina.docsx

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5 months ago

4.5/5 ⭐

i was apprehensive going into this bcs i had quite the lackluster experience with one dark window (i wasnt interested in reading two twisted crowns), but the premise intrigued me, and i still really wanted to read more of the author's writing (my problem with odw was i didnt like the characters) so i bit the bullet and got this.

omg did this exceed my expectations. from the plot that had a chokehold on me to these characters that had me tearing up over them, to gilig's ever beautiful writing, this novel tells a story in realising all you've ever known has been a lie, and growing from it. sybil, my darling, seeing the world through her eyes was one that is so rich with life and wonder but also full of mytery and pain, and i really felt for her when she learned the truth. the side characters also, they were written with such care that even when some characters did questionable things you cant't help but understand it (tho it was still a shitty thing to do >_>) also, bartholomew 😭😭😭😭

the romance was nice, i loved the brash mean rory, and how he softened as the story went on. he was so perfect with sybil got my lonely ass staring at the wall and contemplating my life. tho their relationship did feel like it focused more on the physical than the emotional, but the emotional moments we did get, chefs kiss ugh robil 5ever <33333

the fucking worldbuilding and plot. rachel gilig wtf how did she come up with this, and written with such beautiful intrigue that it had me glued to the pages, wanting to find out more. she weaved such a beautiful tapestry that the world felt like such a tangible thing i could almost feel the salty air of the cliffs. 10/10 got me obsessed. also the way i gagged when i realised whatthe title was referring to. gagged, i say!

reading this was a mistake bcs now i have to wait?????? what did i do to deserve this?????

😭😭😭 bartholomew my BABYYYYYY
#bookreview by @arina.docsx

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4 months ago