 Hello, hello everyone. My name is Laura. This is my channel Laura's Little Library and welcome to today's reading vlog So the idea behind today's reading vlog is slightly Valentine's Day inspired So there are bookstores that do this fun little blind date with a book thing And I had seen Shelby from her channel Grace with books do a vlog like this I think last year for Valentine's Day And I thought that was such a fun idea and a really cool concept plus I've been wanting to try out these blind dates with a book for quite a while So I finally decided that today is the day so I went to My favorite local bookstore as you will see in the clip that I will do next and I got a book so Roll the clip of finding the books Hey everyone, so I am in the car. I just got out of work I got out a little late. It's almost 2 30, but it's okay I am going to head to the red balloon which is one of my favorite local bookstores here and then If I'm gonna see if they have the blind date with the book I feel like I've seen it there before but I don't really Like know if they're doing it specifically for Valentine's Day or if that was a one-time thing I don't really know. I'm gonna go there. See if I have it if they don't I'm gonna go to a Barnes & Noble and see if they're doing it And then if not somehow Um, then I'm probably just gonna buy one of the books on my list that I was planning to buy at some point this year Um, but I'm really hoping that my favorite local bookstore is doing it So wish me luck and off we go What the book was um the lady who checked me out was very nice and she folded the receipt So I didn't see it. Uh, but before I open this Um, I'm going to read off the words and say if I have any guesses of what the book could be There were some other books there that I was pretty sure I knew what they were And I also was Deciding long and hard between this book and like two other books Like there were two other ones that sounded really interesting as well But this one is a brilliant dark fantasy The mixture of red riding hood, beauty and the beast, snow white and briar rose Blood and nature magic, atmospheric forest, haunting and beautiful romance 15 and up so I chose this book because it was a dark fantasy and it has a haunting and beautiful Romance the other elements sound like elements I would love in a book as well the like fairytale aspects and the blood and nature magic and the forest Like that gives slight fall vibes But really what I've been wanting to read right now is like a fantasy romance Or dark fantasy like I'm right now. I've been reading contemporary romances, which are great But I just I want to find a good like fantasy or a good dark fantasy romance There's like one or two books that come to mind of what I think this could be The problem is is I don't remember what any of them are. I think one of them was like Beasts and something by Sonan Cianani and that's the one where there's like the wolf head coming down on the person But I don't remember much about that one other than I'm pretty sure it is a retelling Otherwise there was like uh for the wolf Was another one. I think but that's a red riding hood retelling I don't know. That's the mix of red riding hood Beauty and the beast snow white and briar rose like that. That's a lot of elements so I don't know But I really want to know so I'm gonna open it now I don't think I own this book Which is always what I'm nervous about For the wolf like ristan hannah, that was one of my guesses. Oh, that's so cool. Ha ha ha That's so cool. Okay, so this is already on my goodreads tbr, but I hadn't gotten to Around reading it obviously Um, so the first daughter is for the throne the second daughter. It's for the wolf cool So this is going to be the book that I am going to read over the next I don't know week ish. However long it takes me to read So this is a now for the wolf reading vlog. Okay, so this is the first update that I'm doing as I've started Uh for the wolf quick side note though. I know the darks of my Bottom of my eyes is really dark. I was filming something earlier. It was fun for tiktok So if you're interested in my bookish tiktok content Link's in the description below as long as as well as all my other bookish social media It's a quick little plug there, but yes, so it is Monday I waited a couple days to start this just because I was figuring out the timing of when it's best to read everything But I started reading this And I've been reading it all day. I cannot put this down. I am almost 200 pages in I'm like 40 percent of the way Like I'm almost halfway through and it's been a day. I am loving this so much I love the fantasy aspect. I love the retellings. I love the dark Like dark magic of it, but most of all I love the romance happening so This book follows Uh the second daughter so the first daughter is for the throne The second daughter is for the wolf And so basically there is this forest this woods that is being taken over by like roughed and shadows And she is sacrificed to the wolf in the forest To try and help make things better and release the five kings who are like their gods It's a little complicated and The more I read the more I learn the more I'm understanding it But it's definitely one of those things where I could almost just read it again To better understand the magic system and everything that is happening in here because there's just a lot going on In terms of that the wolf Is a really interesting cross between like the beast from beauty and the beast And the darkling in my opinion like he He has the same appeal as the darkling of like this kind of dark mysterious sexy beast thing But like In a protective way in a way that he he sees her and he's like don't go anywhere. Don't bleed I'm gonna protect you. I'm gonna take it like it's gonna be fine. I got this So like he's like if the darkling was actually a good guy And I love it so much. It is ripping my heart Into like I'm feeling all the emotions. I am just very much enjoying this This feels like the book I've been longing to read for so long Like where the fantasy and the magic is so strong But the romance just makes me feel all sorts of things So This is this is very satisfying. This is what I've been wanting To read and it is an interesting cross between like little red riding hood beauty and the beast But it also says that there is elements of snow white and uh sleeping beauty Which I'm wondering if they're those are elements that are going to be displayed In the sister like the first daughter for the throne because it is a bit of a dual perspective like we get more of the second daughter But every couple of chapters will get like an excerpt of what's happening with the first daughter So I'm very curious to see where this goes. I don't want to stop reading But I need to go to bed because I gotta go to work tomorrow But I know as soon as I come home from work. I'm just gonna want to pick this right up I'm even like debating bringing it to work to read on my break But also like I get a 30 minute break and that's what I need to eat. So like I won't really have a lot of time to make much progress I want to just keep reading this. I am enjoying it so Much I was a little hesitant at first I started reading it and it kind of made me think a little bit of Handmaid's tale just with the red hood how they were kind of acting in those strong religious aspects in here But like once I got to chapter two. I was fully sold on everything so Yeah, it's it's the first day and I meant to like Stop earlier and talk more or like get footage of me reading But I just I couldn't even put the book down to set up the camera So That is the first reading update for this I also I will also say that I love the side characters and things are just developing And there are things I want to talk about that like aren't necessarily spoilers because it's Like right around a page 100, but I don't want to say it just in case So I won't but if you have read this Like comment down below Or like talk with me because I want to discuss things This also has made me think about annotating or tabbing the book because there are scenes I literally took a picture of one of the pages that just like Got me the intro line for the wolf Got me, but that's not what I took a picture of so I'm like I don't like how tabs look in books. I don't like different colors peeking out all throughout the pages But I need I need I want to go back and read some of these passages I know I'm going to enjoy them So I'm like literally debating if I want to go out buy some tabs and then cut them so that they don't stick out But I can still find these passages easier than like not marking them at all so Who knows we'll see Okay, I'm done. I love this book. I'm gonna read more tomorrow. This is a very successful Blind date so far Such a good idea How you getting down? Oh, I'm so afraid Please tell me you cut that video All of it What have I done in the last clip? It was obviously the first reading update Uh, I I read more I read to about halfway and I thought oh, I should I should probably give an update I'll do that tomorrow. It's late You know, I'll update a little bit later A day or two later. I think I just finished this I am so sorry. I did an absolutely terrible job Logging this book. I just once I kind of got going on that second half I couldn't put it down. Basically what had happened was we got to the middle of the book And I felt like the the plot was kind of and got slowed down a little bit But the romance is what was keeping me interested and then After I got through that little middle slump the plot picked back up and the romance stayed amazing So then I just I couldn't put it down And I didn't want to put it down So I didn't put it down And I finished it And I loved it I keep going back and forth on whether I'm reading it like 4 4.5 or 5 star Because the thing is is that this was like a fantasy romance. I had been wanting to read for a while I didn't know I'd been wanting to read it. I mean like I had inklings of like, oh, I need something really good And this just completely filled what I needed what I had been wanting Was it perfect? No, there were a few things Like I said, it kind of slowed down a little bit in the middle A lot of the fantasy elements took a while to understand but Like eventually I got it enough to understand the main principles of what was happening Even if I didn't understand the details There were a few moments where I thought I was kind of taking out of the story a little bit when I thought They were outside and then all of a sudden they're in their room Where they were in the library and then all of a sudden they're in the room like there were a few key moments that I think Uh, just like simple transitional things that I think may have been skipped I I really I loved this book There's a sequel. It's a duology. So the second one is called for the throne And man, I want to read it and there were elements of this where I was like, okay I know that the evil rot of the forest has something to do with what's happening Back home But like, you know, you know that when you read it because you're getting flashbacks back home Or not not flashbacks, but you're getting the dual perspective And it's like you you kind of know but you really have no idea what specifically So a lot of this book was just like figuring out the specifics Which was a little difficult, but like the forest Vives and aesthetic was strong. The romance was my favorite part The retelling aspects were amazing. It was a little repetitive In certain elements of description, but that's what gave it the atmosphere And I and I didn't mind it near as much like her constantly saying how he smells like coffee in libraries Like obviously that just makes me fall in love with him more because anyone who smells like a library Automatically makes me like them to a certain degree. That was mentioned A lot, but I didn't mind it like I thought I would be annoyed, but I didn't So this was a very successful Blind date with the book. I would say I was debating between this one and like two other ones as I said before I am so happy I chose this one. This is going to go on my favorite shelf I if you like dark retellings This is it if you like fantasy romance This is it if you need Forest vibes I would say either autumn or winter because while majority of the book the forest resembles it's in winter because it's struggling But like just the way that nature is described I would also say as good fall or autumn vibes, but it's a very seasonal read You know, don't read it in summer. Maybe read it in spring, but it's not particularly spring But again with a whole nature theme But seriously though, I would highly recommend this. I don't know if I'm going to give it for or 4.5 or 5 stars On Goodreads, it's currently marked as five stars And I think I'm honestly just going to give it to it just With the pure emotion that I felt throughout this entire book like there was at one point I gasped and another point I went no Like I I was physically responding to this book against my will because it just enthralled me It captured my heart for all the characters Including the side characters and like I didn't mind that it was dark. It was great. I loved I like dark fantasy Like I knew this but I just didn't know quite how much I liked dark fantasy Good for leading up to valentine's day because the romance plot was so heavy and it was a blind date, but I guess that's that I don't have too much more to say. It was just beautiful and the writing was beautiful heart-wrenching A little hard to understand, but that also could just be me So thank you all so much for watching if you like this video Let me know by giving it a thumbs up comment down below if you've ever done a blind date with a book Or if you ever thought about it. I want to know if it was successful for you. We can chat I also have a bunch of social medias linked down below if you follow me I will probably follow you back and we can chat and give each other recommendations Otherwise subscribe because I do post videos every sunday and wednesday But until I see you all in the next video. I wish you happy day