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Guest Reviewer: Maria from @parisian_bookshelf with Our Dark Duet by V Schwab

Screenshot of one of our lovely
guest's Instagram pics
Hello Sunnies 😎
It is Sunday! So it is time to introduce you all to another wonderful book lover. 
Our Guest reviewer this week is the lovely Maria. I have been following her its been quite sometime on Instagram and it is a pleasure to have her here with us! 
Her favorite read for 2017 was Our Dark Duet and she will be sharing with us her review of the book after a quick Q&A.

Hi Maria! Tell us a little about yourself!
Hi!!!! I feel so happy and honored to be here with you!!! So aside from books I am 21 years old, I live in Greece and yes I have always lived in Greece even though I hope to change that in the future! I am a university student, I am studying Economics! Besides reading my second big love is painting! I usually like painting with oils but if I’m in the mood I do also sketch! Also in terms of hobbies I’m thinking about taking up dancing…more specifically Pole dancing but we’ll see about that!!!

When/What got you into reading?
Most people get into reading early on but when I was young I didn’t like reading at all!! When I was about 14 years I saw The Phantom of the Opera for the first time and I liked SO much I decided I needed to read the book too!! So I read the Phantom of the Opera and I discovered that reading was something that I enjoyed very much…from then on I kind of stared searching for more reading material and I never regretted it!!!!!;)

What were your top 3 2017 book releases?
That’s actually a very difficult question but I’ll manage…
  1. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab (Ok maybe I’m cheating a little bit on this one since I haven’t exactly finished it but I’m already IN LOVE!!!!!!)
  2. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
  3. Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton
Do you have a favorite genre?
Yes I definitely have a favorite genre and its fantasy!! I love pretty much every kind of fantasy as long as there is adventure!!

Is there a book you really did not enjoy reading this past year? Which one and why? 
I can’t say there is any book I hated but there were a couple of books I didn’t particularly enjoyed…One in particular was Truthwitch! I really didn’t like it because I didn’t like any of the characters, maybe except one, and the events taking place in the book felt a little bit out of place…generally I expected more of this book but it definitely didn’t deliver… YESSSS!!! This particular blogger very much agrees with you 🙂

Do you have an all time favorite book or book series?
Every time I read “favorite series” my mind always goes to the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas!!! I love these books because there are 5 of them (so far) and we can see all the characters grow and develop without it being rushed!!! Also… WE ARE TOLKING ABOUT MANON HERE!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE Manon Blackbeak!!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

How about a favorite author?
Well there so many amazing authors out there I can’t possibly name ONLY one…so some of the authors I LOVE are Sarah J Maas, Leigh Bardugo and, of course, Victoria Schwab!!!!

The bookstagram world has exploded with bookish merch this past year, are you into any of it? If so, share with us some of your favorite companies. --Our head blogger might hold against you if you answer yes and forget the best bookish shop on etsy. Just saying-- 😜
Well I do LOVE all the amazing art works and bookish merch created by the bookstagram community but I do have a small location problem when it comes to bookish merch!! I am really jealous of all the people who have so much bookish merchandise!!! I would love to have one of those AMAZING bookish letter by a certain lovely blogger/bookstagramer…maybe I will manage to buy one at some point!!!

Last but not least, where else in this big wide web world can we find you?
There aren’t really many places you can find me…apparently I’m hard to find :’) But you CAN find me on my bookstagram account @parisian_bookshelf

THE REVIEW:
I read this book right after it came out so it’s been a while since I read it but believe me you don’t easily forget a book like that!!!!!! This book was so good I honestly had to wait a few days for it to actually sink in…Miss Schwab had me hooked since the first book, This Savage Song, but honestly Our Dark Duet was something else entirely!

The thing with this book is that there are the little romance involved and even though I HATE romance as a genre with a passion I DO love a good romance when it comes along with an even better adventure! When I read This Savage Song I honestly didn’t even care that there was no romance involved! And even though there was some romance involved in Our Dark Duet (it was minimal believe me) it was so well I loved it!!!!

Victoria Schwab just knows how to write! I loved the plot of the book but the writing was what made it exceptional! The world building is something unique and even though we are talking about fantasy the author manages to make it relatable! The characters are multi-dimensional and we see them struggle with themselves as well as others…The truth is I do have a soft spot for August and he is my favorite. The conflicted feeling and his conviction to make everyone believe he is not human is the biggest clue that shows that even if he isn’t biologically human he is in all the ways that matter! Kate, who IS human, does what she does best…hunting! I do like how Kate, the one who tried to be someone she wasn’t throughout the whole first book, is the one who wants to help August find himself in the second!!

The way the author makes you feel what the characters are feeling is astonishing! I know I said it before that the writing is one of a kind!!!

Do you know what my problem with reviews is?? I can’t keep the spoilers to myself…but don’t worry since I’m a guest here I want revile any spoiler! But I do have to say the ending destroyed me…not only the events that transpired but the feelings involved…it wasn’t the classic romantic ones but it was something stronger. I remember saying to myself “No, this can’t be the end” even though it was…Honestly it reminded me a Shakespearean tragedy!
I would like to say that I recommend it to everyone but I have to warn you it’s not a happy, light read…if you’re up for it you won’t regret reading it!!!!

I hope you all enjoyed having this lovely lady with us as much as I did! Next Sunday one of my besties and as much as an NA lover as me will be giving an appearance. Stay tuned 😉

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