Of Life and Lies by Catherine Dellosa | Book Review

Photo by Cerize Sicat

About the Book:

Is it still worth it if it costs you your humanity? In Book Two of the “Of Myths And Men” trilogy, an ordinary girl joins forces with mythological creatures to save the world and grapples with the lies we tell ourselves to survive along the way.

“Masterful storytelling and world building. Action-packed and a page-turner.” Eva Wong Nava, author of magic realism YA novel, The House of Little Sisters

The end of the world changes things. But most of all, it changes people too.

Six weeks after the world began counting its days in fading sunsets, Ava finds herself at a complete loss. Cassie is away, Roy is gone, and the last time she saw Brad, he was bleeding from three stab wounds to his chest with his right leg chopped off. With Connor by her side, all she knows now is that she has to survive – because real life is no game.

When rumours on the whereabouts of the Lightbringer – the elusive leader of the Pure – begin to surface among the myths, Ava and her friends decide to buff up their chances of survival with a welcome addition to their party. But the search for the alien leader is filled with uncomfortable truths, and, with the Ferals and the Hostiles taking over the Earth, Ava once again feels she’s way underleveled for the big battle ahead.

In the company of a cheery half-spider woman, a loyal dragon-horse, horned battle elves, and a host of stiff hopping corpses, Ava will have to unlock her own strength to fight the horrors of what’s to come.

An Extra Life token would really come in handy right now.

Rating:
4/5 ✨

Review:

I’m so happy that I ended up reading the first book several months after I got it from the Bookworm Meetup last April. And it just so happens that the second book came out the same week I finished reading it!

I went to the Manila International Book Fair 2023 and purchased this! I knew Miss Cath was gonna be there for her book signing so I chose to go on the same day. She was so nice and even remembered me – one of her readers from bookstagram *cries*. Anyway, I just wanted to include this before continuing with the review.

Finally going back on an adventure with Ava and her group of aliens. I’ve been wondering how Connor found her in the middle of it all but all of my questions from the first book’s cliffhanger was answered immediately in here.

Poor Brad, everyone thought he was good for dead but Ava kept faith. Luna has been as reliable as ever. And there are new additions to the team as well! Elves has always been one of my favorite mythological creatures, I find them fascinating because of Lord of the Rings (Thranduilllll ♡).

The book shows you human nature where the first half are the ones who would help each other and then the other half are people who want to become the leader and basically be in power. The nature where we kill anything in our path if we don’t understand it. So many terrifying deaths in the first few pages.

The person/alien Brad wanted to meet the most turned out to be nothing but disappointment. They were left to their own devices and it was such a let down but they couldn’t let earth perish. Connor helped a lot with their mission but we are still far from succeeding.

I personally couldn’t wait for the third and final book. I want to know asap what would happen but we would have to wait for that. I can’t help but imagine how fun it would be if this was turned into an animation. So many fun creatures and sights to see.

Congratulations Miss Cath on an amazing book yet again! Can’t wait for the third one. ♡

Want your own copy of Of Life and Lies by Catherine Dellosa? Get it here! 📚

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Beyond the End (The Existence Series #1) by Tara C. Allred

Synopsis:

Nothing else exists—at least that’s what she’s been told.

Strong-willed teenager Leilani Grady is suffocating on her family’s island. She wants off, but her parents say the rest of Earth is destroyed.

When a stranger shows up, Leilani realizes her parents have fed her a life of lies.

Ashyr Harmon shares a complicated history with her parents—and now he wants Leilani’s help with saving his society. It’s her chance to escape the only place she knows. But Leilani must decide who she trusts: her flesh and blood or this man who promises to fulfill her dream.

Rating:

2.75 / 5 ✨

Review:

I was given a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I find the story intriguing and the idea of living in a synthetic environment really peaked my interest. I think the premise was great however the execution was not well done. In some ways, I think the story was going too fast and too slow at the same time that I was having difficulty understanding what was happening even though it was literally in front of my face.

I like the different POVs because it gives you a glimpse of the character’s line of thought. Personally, I find Leilani’s character difficult to like and I could not relate to her other than the fact that she feels imprisoned in the place she lives and needs to go outside and explore her options. AND THEN she jumps on the first thing that was offered to her like Ashyr’s offer to take her to his domain and Yam’s love when they literally just met several hours ago – without knowing what she’s getting into. This seriously made me raise my eyebrows. I think the donating-your-eggs-and-sperm-to-earn-your-place-in-the-society idea is also interesting specially when Ashyr literally tried to become God when he experimented on his people. It’s alarming.

I’m pretty sure the next book would be about Yam and Leilani’s arrival on Ashyr’s place and a whole lot of trouble.

Thank you so much, Tara Allred for giving me a free copy of your book! Unfortunately, the story just wasn’t for me.