natasha ngan – as told by zaheerah

Monthly Rewind: November 2019

November 30, 2019February 26, 2021by Zaheerah4 Comments

B O O K S

During the month of November, I read 5 books.

The Wolf of Oren- Yaro by K.S. Villoso – Queen Talyien finds herself stranded in a different land after her attempts to reunite her own kingdom leaves her fleeing a botched assassination attempt. Alone and actively being hunted, Talyien must embrace her namesake and show her enemies that a wolf of Oren-Yaro cannot be tamed. I’m a part of the 2020 international blog tour for this book! (Thanks to Caffeine Book Tours!) A longer review will be published in the new year!

Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan – Failing to kill the King has Lei and Wren travelling all corners of the kingdom to rally support. I really liked this sequel, falls victim to middle book syndrome, but nonetheless, the secondary characters saved it from being too terrible. My full review can be found here!

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Namjoo – Taken from my review: ” This book is so simple in its concept, and the fact that it angered so many men does not surprise me. It holds a mirror to their privilege without actually calling them out, uncomfortable enough to make them uncomfortable. It lays down the facts and backs itself up, sending the message that hey this is what women are facing in Korea and it’s not okay. The story of Kim Jiyoung is full of silence but every bit powerful. “

The Can Be Arranged by Huda Fahmy – Author of Yes, I’m Hot in This publishes her second book following the story of how she met and married her husband. Navigating gossiping auntys and societal expectations, Fahmy tells a hilarious story based on her experiences. Full review to come!

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Books, LGBTQIA, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: Girls of Storm and Shadow

November 23, 2019by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

*I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

After failing to kill the Demon King, Lei and Wren barely escaped with their lives. But this isn’t the end of their journey, unaware their plot failed, the duo must travel the kingdom to gain support from clans from all corners of the world. But a heavy bounty on Lei’s head makes this even more difficult and when tensions begin to make Lei doubt what she knows, can she succeed in her quest or will the dark magic finish the war before its even begun?

After finishing Girls of Paper and Fire, I eagerly anticipated the release of Storm and Shadow. And I can say that I’m not disappointed, although I was a little underwhelmed. But I still found it a solid read.

I won’t lie, Lei, despite being our main protagonist, was not the star of the show for me. Lei and Wren are joined by others, some familiar, some new. Despite how fractured it all becomes at the end, I truly loved the moments of everyone banding together in their journey. I thought the brashness of Bo and Nitta would be off-putting, but their sibling banter was hilarious and I had come to love their sibling relationship a lot. Merrin got my attention the most, his anger and frustration with everything going on around them was admirable. My heart broke a lot during a pivotal moment in this book. Lei and Wren go through a lot in this. Wren, in particular, shocked me quite a bit. I won’t say too much, but I’m glad Ngan utilised Wren’s past a lot more in this book, a shocking revelation made a lot of sense and really amped up my excitement for whatever comes next in the finale.

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Books, top ten tuesday

Favourite Book Quotes: part two

December 11, 2018December 6, 2018by Zaheerah5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature once hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but has now moved to That Artsy Reader Girl! Each week, a new topic is put into place and bloggers share their top ten (or your own amount) accordingly.

This week’s topic is freebie week so I decided to do a continuation post of a previous TTT topic which was Favourite Quotes. The last time I had done it was back in 2016 (!!!) so I thought it would be cool to update that list with more quotes from some of my more current reads.

“If the decision you’ve made has brought you closer to humanity, then you’ve done the right thing.”
― Tahereh Mafi, A Very Large Expanse of Sea

“And I think about all the things we could be if we were never told our bodies were not built for them.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

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Lifestyle, Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: October 2018

November 2, 2018by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Oh, gosh. When I sat down to write this post, I quickly realised how many books I didn’t read this month, like I had planned to. In my defence, it was a busy month. I started the second year of university, my sister got married (walima and mehndi at the end of the month), and I also saw BTS in concert. So I apologize for this very boring rewind.

B O O K S

monthlyrewind_october18_books

I was contemplating whether to even make a graphic for this month’s rewind… My reading number was extremely low, for me, this month. But I give myself a pass considering everything that had happened. If I was going to read one book, I’m glad it was a book I actually enjoyed. Girls of Paper and Fire was an amaaaazing book. The world is so beautiful but devastating. A cast of characters that were diverse and multi-faceted. Read it if you can.

M U S I C

monthlyrewind_october18_music

P O S T S

#DIVERSEBOOKBLOGGERSDISCUSS: US BLOGGERS’ PRIVILEGE AND WHATNOTS
- An interesting discussion about blogger privilege in the book community. Fadwa’s Discuss corner is a really great section of her blog where she boosts smaller voices. Have a look of the others if you have the time!

Book Rant: Kingdom of Ash
- I’ve long stopped reading books by Sarah J. Maas but this review of Kingdom of Ash had me really shocked. Maas’s writing is one of her strongest assets but honestly, these comparisons are really shocking to read.

That’s it for this month! Tell me what went on in YOUR life this month! What sort of things was important for you this month? New obsessions? New TV shows? Or book? Any new song recs (I’m always open to new music!)? Best books you read this month?

Books, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: Girls of Paper and Fire

October 11, 2018November 8, 2018by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

* I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.

The Girls is set in a world where there are three castes, Moon (reigning and demons), Paper (lower and human) and then Steel, a mix of the first two. Every year, eight girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. Lei is girl number nine. She’s forced back into the very place her mother was forced into years ago. Slowly, she learns the way of the palace, honing her skills to benefit the king’s comfort only. Until she falls in love.

Girls of Paper and Fire was surprising. I really enjoyed it a lot. Ngan’s storytelling skills are beyond amazing. It was so tense, and her writing is so elegant and smooth. The stakes are high in this, and I was quickly hooked from the first page. The vivid worldbuilding where Ngan creates this devastating but beautiful world and created characters that weave so well into it, and in all makes it an enchanting but compelling read.

I think the most powerful thing of this book is its message of self-empowerment and discovering one’s self while discussing classism and the objectification of women. Girls show the subtle way of how Ikhara, the fictional society, allows misogyny to flourish and aides its abuser by only viewing women as nothing but lesser beings. The Moon King is a disgusting man who uses his position of power to act out violence towards anyone around him. These girls groomed to believe they’re doing something good slowly come together and unravel the trauma they’re facing. Not everyone is exactly happy to be here. The strength of the friendship between all the Paper girls is beautiful – they grow into even stronger women and reclaim themselves and decide what they’re capable of.

Despite the moments of slowness, I would advise you to watch out for this new YA fantasy birthed from Asian mythology and Ngan’s own experiences from growing up in Malaysia. It’s a dazzling and immersive read with a pulse-racing conclusion that will leave you wanting more.

Goodreads | Amazon | Author

Content and warnings for rape, sexual assault, slavery, sex trafficking, loss of a loved one, murder, captivity, torture, branding, violence, physical abuse, graphic animal death, and war themes. (More to be added.)

Tag: natasha ngan

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