Monthly Wrap-Up: December 2019

December 31, 2019December 30, 20191 Comment

Hello! It’s the last monthly wrap-up of the year, can you believe it?! I’ve been off from school and work for the past two weeks and it has been so wonderful to have a break and some time for myself. Since I didn’t have any new releases from this year left to read, I got to catch up on a lot of ARCs that had been piling up.

STARSIGHT: After finishing Skyward at the end of last year, I knew the sequel was going to be one of my most anticipated releases for this year. And while I really enjoyed Starsight and thought it was a fantastic sequel – plenty of action, great new characters, lots of continued world-building – I really missed the characters from the first book that I had loved so much and I spent a lot of the book wishing they would reappear. ★★★★

DIAMOND CITY: This is a case where the book started out really strong but slowly lost steam as the story went on. One thing I thought was great was the world-building–a world caught between industrialization and religion. The struggles between the two sides felt very believable and added depth to the story. I also really loved the main character, Aina, and the intriguing relationship she had with the Blood King. ARC received through #booksfortrade on Twitter. [review] ★★★½

A MURDEROUS RELATIONS: This series is usually so much fun to read. For what I assumed was the last book in the series it was extremely underwhelming. There was hardly any action or plot and I was very bored the entire time. And the thing that irritated me the most was that after all the angst and sexual tension built up between Veronica and Stoker, the moment when they finally got together was bland and completely unsatisfying. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. ★★★

SCAVENGE THE STARS: This story is a gender-bent retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, which is not something I had every read before. A quick google search of the synopsis helped me appreciate the cleverness of this book much better. I really enjoyed reading this book and I’m really looking forward to the sequel and seeing what happens next for Amaya and Cayo. ARC received through #booksfortrade on Twitter. ★★★½

FOUL IS FAIR: The book is a loose retelling of Macbeth that revolves around a group of teenage girls enacting revenge on a group of prep boys after one of the girls was assaulted at a party. The first major issue I had with the book was the writing. To put it plainly: I couldn’t stand it. The scenes were very abrupt and the way the dialogue was written felt so stilted and unnatural. My other problem with the book was that a lot of the things that happened felt very far-fetched and unbelievable. ARC provided by the publisher. ★★

BEYOND THE SHADOWED EARTH: This is a companion novel to Beneath the Haunting Sea rather than a sequel. The story is about Eda, who makes a small appearance in the first book as the antagonist. Honestly, the thing I enjoyed the most about this book was Eda. She’s not written to be a very likeable character–she manipulated, lied, and murdered her way to be Empress. This is a redemption story for her and I really enjoyed reading about her growth as a character. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] ★★★

TO HAVE AND TO HOAX: I’m so thankful the publisher reached out to be about reviewing this book. This was the best of two genres: rom-com meets historical romance. After an argument led to a falling out between them and cold detachment between the couple for the past four years, James and Violet begin a series of hoaxes and manipulation in the attempt to up-stage one another while insisting there are no feelings left between them. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] ★★★★★

SALT TO THE SEA: This is actually my third time picking this up. I had DNF’d this two times previously before getting even a quarter of the way through. Ruta Sepetys did an excellent job of grabbing my attention throughout the novel and telling some very compelling stories with the characters. I found myself loving Florian, Joana, and Emilia and was intrigued (although very disturbed) by Albert. The author once again has told a marvelous story about a period of history that is often unremarked upon. [review] ★★★★½

HUSBAND MATERIAL: Unfortunately, I had to call it quits shortly after the halfway mark. I skimmed quite a few parts from the remainder of the book, so I fairly good idea of what happens and I’m sorry to say that had I finished it, my final opinion would have been just as bad. The first issue I had was the overly descriptive writing. My second issue is that the “love interest” – if you could even call him that – was terrible. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] DNF @ 58%

TWICE IN A BLUE MOON: I usually love Christina Lauren books, but this one was not my favorite. Half the book is told in the past, and half is told present day which didn’t really work here. Because of that, the present day part of the felt very rushed. I think that had the story been told totally in present day with flashback chapters between, it would have worked much better. That being said, the writing was as wonderful as always and the love story was very touching. ★★★½

ASHLORDS: The premise is unlike any other I’ve read. The story is about three characters from three very different backgrounds as they enter an annual competitive race featuring phoenix horses. The concept of phoenix horses and using alchemy to rebirth different breeds of the horses was so well-developed and extremely interesting. Once I got into the meat of the novel, it was hard to pull my attention from its pages. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] ★★★½

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WWW Wednesday #24 | Top Ten Tuesday: Books with a Wintry Setting | The ABC Book Challenge – T | Young Adult Fantasy Standalones of 2019

Monthly Wrap-Up: November 2019

November 30, 20194 Comments

Hello everyone! So I as I was writing this post, I realized I totally forgot to write my monthly wrap-up for October. Whoops! I haven’t been as active with writing posts or reviews the past few months because of school which is kind of a bummer. It’s hard watching your blog really grow and make huge strides for the first half of the year and then watching those numbers dwindle away simply because you don’t have enough time for reading and blogging 😔. I’m hoping to catch up on a lot of reading over winter break. I’ll have two weeks off from school and work and I plan to spend most of it relaxing!

THESE DIVIDED SHORES: I was one of the few people who enjoyed These Rebel Waves, so I was really looking forward to the sequel. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to thrill me as much as I had been hoping. The plot and characters continued to be well written, but there was just some compelling aspect missing that was present when I was reading These Rebel Waves. But overall it was still a great sequel and conclusion to the series. ★★★

THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB: I loved this book so much! When I first read the synopsis, I knew I had to read this book as soon as it was released. The entire concept of the plot was amazing: in order to fix his marriage, the protagonist enlists the help of his buddies and historical romance novels. Um, YES. From the steamy romance to the adorable twin girls, this was such a cute, heartwarming story and I can’t wait for more from this author. ★★★★

SUPERNOVA: There was no better finish to this amazing trilogy. A lot happened throughout the pages and the action never stopped! There were definitely a few clever twists placed and the book went in a few directions that I had not been expecting. Also, THAT EPILOGUE. Like, how is no one else talking about that HUGE reveal?! I really hope it means a spin-off or a novella is in the works! This was such a fun, exciting series and I loved reading every minute of it. ★★★★

THE FOUNTAINS OF SILENCE: This is a beautiful story about a period of history that I was wholly unfamiliar with prior to reading this. This is my first book by Ruta Sepetys and I can see where all of her high praise comes from. Set in Spain 1957 following the end of the Spanish Civil War, this was not something I had learned about before and so it was very eye-opening. It blew me away with it’s gorgeous writing, compelling characters, and thought-provoking story. [review] ★★★★

QUEEN OF NOTHING: The wait for this book was agonizing, but it was totally worth it! It was so great to be back in Faerie with Jude and Cardan and all of the other characters I’ve enjoyed reading about. However, there were a couple of things that left me a tad disappointed. First of all, this book felt really short? Not just page-wise (which was much shorter in length) but also plot-wise it felt kind of rushed. I also missed the angst and tension between Jude and Cardan. Obviously, we needed to get to the love part of a hate-to-love relationship, but it just felt really quick and I would have appreciated a bit more build with the feelings. ★★★★

WINTERWOOD: Shea Ernshaw really excels at writing deliciously atmospheric stories. She does a great job of tying in mystery with magic, and writing it with such beautiful words and descriptions. Because of how The Wicked Deep ended, I spent a majority of the book trying to solve the mystery surrounding Oliver, and I was pleased that I was correct! However, the little plot twist involving Nora and her nightshade took me totally by surprise and I thought it was very well done. The ending to this book was much more satisfying than The Wicked Deep, and therefore I enjoyed the story better! ★★★

THE BEAST OF BESWICK: This was a fun story by a new-to-me author! I actually won this book from Bookish First and after I read the excerpt and became totally intrigued by the story! The plot is basically Tessa Dare’s The Duchess Deal meets The Taming of the Shrew. I found Astrid to be a remarkable heroine whose POV I enjoyed reading and I really loved the interactions between her and Thane! I was not disappointed in the slightest by the romance and I will be reading more from this author in the future! ★★★★

OTHER

Monthly Wrap-Up: September 2019

September 30, 20198 Comments

Hello fellow book lovers! September was a hard reading/blogging month for me. I have been feeling very overwhelmed with the amount of work I have to do for my classes and so unfortunately I just didn’t feel up to reading or writing blog posts 😦 And then I felt guilty and anxious because I felt like I should be. Hopefully October will be a better month and I will get out of this reading rut!

INTO THE CROOKED PLACE: I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves Six of Crows or Ace of Shades! This book has a lot of similar elements that made it enjoyable, and yet it also had a plot that was entirely unique. The story is told through the POV of four characters and while I loved all of the characters, I think it could have lost a POV or two without losing the essence of the story. ARC provided by the publisher. ★★★½

GRAVEMAIDENS: This was really not what I had been expecting. It was necessarily bad, it just didn’t impress me all to much, especially since I think I had really high expectations going into this from all the praise I had seen/heard over it. I tried really hard to like the protagonist, but she treated some of the other characters in the book really poorly and it made it hard to enjoy reading things from her perspective. ARC received through #booksfortrade on Twitter. ★★★

THE WALLFLOWER WAGER: You know I’m in a reading rut when I rate a Tessa Dare book anything less than four stars. I was really looking forward to Penelope’s story, but there was just ~something~ missing from this one that usually makes me fall head over heels over Dare’s books. I think there was just not as much of a build-up of tension that I usually look forward to in these books. ★★★½

THE KISS QUOTIENT: I really wish I had read this so much sooner. This is a book that I had been constantly hearing about, yet it kept getting putting off reading. Let me just say that this book was worth every bit of hype it has gotten. I loved that this is an #ownvoices novel featuring a high-functioning autistic woman and diverse characters. Stella was a fantastic protagonist and I resonated so much with her! It was very easy to root for her and her happy ending. [review] ★★★★★

CAPTURING THE DEVIL: Audrey Rose and Thomas have such a special place in my heart and this was a fantastic end to a wonderful series! First of all, this book had so much damn angst and romantic tension throughout the pages it’s like Kerri Maniscalco wrote it specifically for me. I absolutely adore this series and I can’t wait for whatever the author has next up her sleeve! ★★★★

THE NEVER-TILTING WORLD: Don’t feel fooled by this rating. I almost DNF’d this literally like five times. It took me almost T E N days to finish this. I was planning to only rate this 2 stars, but I have to give the book credit: things really picked up during the last quarter of the story. I wish the whole book could have been as exciting as that last bit. I went from not wanting to finish this book to looking forward to what will happen in the sequel. ARC received through #booksfortrade on Twitter. ★★★

WELL MET: This book so so much fun to read. I absolutely cruised through it. This is a contemporary romance that was perfect way to end the summer. From the hate-to-love romance to the RenFaire shenanigans, there was really nothing to dislike about this story. I wasn’t aware that this was the author’s debut novel because it’s so well written and constructed. ★★★★

THE MEMORY THIEF: This is another book that was taking me forever to get through, except I was so bored that I had to stop. When I dread the thought of reading a book, that’s usually a pretty good sign that I should just quit while I’m ahead. The story itself is okay, although there are so many memory flashbacks that it was becoming extremely annoying and I started to skip over them to get on with the story. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. DNF @ 51%

THE PRENUP: This was a cute story! This was a new to me author and I had only happened upon this title from another blogger’s post about new contemporary romances this summer, but I’m glad I did because I enjoyed this! Fake marriage is one of my favorite tropes and I loved how it was handled in this book. My only complaint? Not enough (or any) steamy scenes 🔥 #sorrynotsorry. There was soo much build up in the tension between them and no resolution for us a reader! ★★★½

OTHER

Contemporary Romances That Had Me Swooning This Summer | The ABC Book Challenge – O

Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2019

August 1, 2019August 7, 20195 Comments

#ARCJuly was a success! I made a decision at the end of June that I would dedicate the month of July to catching up on the massive pile of ARCs I had that needed to be read, and I’m really proud of the number of books I managed to get through! There are some really fantastic releases coming out soon in the fall and I can’t wait for more people to read them!

THE TOLL: When I found out I had won this giveaway, I was in disbelief. After reacclimating myself to the plot and setting, it was easy to get lost in the pages. The timeline in this book is a little tricky, but eventually it begins to unfold and it becomes easier to understand. Although there is less of Citra and Rowan’s POVs, I really enjoyed all the other storylines and think they really contributed to the overall story. This is a fantastic final installment to the series with an ending that is both bittersweet and hopeful! ARC provided by the publisher through a giveaway. ★★★★

THE MERCIFUL CROW: This is quite the impressive debut. With a killer first line, Margaret Owen hooks the read into a fast-face, action-filled story with immersive worldbuilding and a fierce, capable heroine. From the complicated political system and magic castes, to the unique writing and verbiage, it’s impossible not to fall into this book and imagine yourself in the world created. Instead of the dreaded love triangle, we are blessed with a perfectly paced slow-burn romance that was one of my favorite things about the book. ARC provided by the publisher. [review] ★★★★½

ON THE CORNER OF HATE AND LOVE: I enjoy the finer things in life and literature: slow-burn romance, hate-to-love romance, a healthy dose of angst. Thankfully, this book delivered everything I wanted in this fun, witty, charmingly romantic story. Unfortunately, I think this is going to fly under the radar of so many readers simply because the cover–which is not bad!–is not bright or fun enough to attract the eye like other similar adult contemporary romances. But if you’re reading this and enjoy a fun hate-to-love summer romance, please check this one out! ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] ★★★★½

BEASTS OF THE FROZEN SUN: I saw this being hailed as Sky in the Deep set in Ireland, so I was instantly hooked. At the time that I was reading this, I really enjoyed it and was totally engaged in the plot. The writing was great, the characters were interesting, and I thought the plot was compelling. I wish it would have made a bit more of an impact on me, but overall it was a fun read! ARC provided by the publisher. ★★★½

THE KINGDOM: If you’re expecting this to be a fluffier, young adult version of Westworld + Disney World, think again. Jess Rothenberg combines science fiction with murder mystery in this sinister, thrilling story about what it means to be human. I really loved the themes present in the novel, especially the question of what it means to be “real” and human. The book is written in an alternating past and present format: the present is told through Ana’s POV and the past is told through transcripts from Ana’s trial and other bits of “media”. I thought it was really well done and made it easy to fly through the pages. [review] ★★★½

SERPENT & DOVE: This book set in 17th century French inspired world, in which there is an ongoing enmity between cults of witches and the Church. The descriptive writing and the careful details woven into the worldbuilding really shine. Shelby Mahurin does an excellent job crafting and describing the society and the magic systems in a way that is believable and compelling. And also, this book contains the holy trinity of my favorite tropes: a forced/fake marriage, enemies-to-lovers, and slow-burn romance. ARC provided by the publisher. [review] ★★★★★

THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST: Honestly, this rating is really generous because if I could describe my reading experience for this book it would be: meh. No one is more saddened than I am that I didn’t enjoy this more. The Folk in the Air series is one of my favorites so I thought I would be blown away by this one as well. I was hoping this would hold me over until Queen of Nothing comes out, but for the most part I was just kind of bored. ★★★

CROWN OF CORAL AND PEARL: What I liked about this book was the strong sibling relationships and the protagonist, Nor. It was easy to sympathize with her and her plight, and I rooted for her the entire time! She was selfless, kind, and intelligent. My only issue with the book was that the pacing felt off. Plotwise, I felt like I was only halfway through the story, and yet when I checked my kindle I was already 77% through the book. Originally, when I read the book I was under the impression that this was a standalone, so the pacing bothered me a lot, but I’ve since checked again and apparently there is a sequel so I’m looking forward to reading the conclusion to the story! ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] ★★★

THE LADY ROGUE: This reminded me a lot of Hunting Prince Dracula, in a good way! I really loved all the adventuring and the second chance romance trope. The story was fast paced and the plot moved along nicely. The book almost reads like a historical fiction with a bit of paranormal thrown in? I don’t know, it’s hard to explain but it was very enjoyable! ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. ★★★½

THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY: This is the kind of story that reminds the reader of the magic of reading. Underneath this gorgeous cover lies a book about self-discovery, fun adventures, story-telling, and the bonds that form between people. Besides the main plotline, there’s also a smaller storyline told between chapters that left me breathless. . The way the author constructed these two separate stories and wove them together was absolutely beautiful. ARC provided by the publisher. [review] ★★★★

THE GRACE YEAR: I’m glad I stuck with this, because after accidentally reading spoilers about the ending, it was almost a DNF. I’ll admit that the first portion of the book was really hard to get into and dragged a lot. I think the biggest reason is because the book is split into four parts, but there’s no chapters. So it became really hard to find a good stopping spot since it seemed like the book would just go on and on and on. The middle got much better, and I started to enjoy the story by the last third of the book. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. ★★★½

SONG OF THE ABYSS: I love these books and I really wish they were not so underrated! Seriously, this is such a well-written YA fantasy series and they need more exposure to the book community. I will 100% admit that I picked up this ARC because the main character’s name was Reyna. But I’m glad I did, because it forced me to read the first book–which I loved!–and I thought this was a great story as well! I definitely recommend these books to anyone looking for a fun fantasy with amazing characters and great writing. ARC provided by the publisher. [review] ★★★★

THE BEAUTIFUL: A dark and decadent fantasy that captures the reader’s attention from the first page. The mysterious, atmospheric setting really provides the perfect backdrop for a paranormal vampire book. And yes, the vampires themselves may not be as present throughout the book as one would expect, but the thrilling, horror vibe really makes up for it. Besides, it’s very obvious that vampires will have a starring role in the sequel! ARC provided by the publisher through a giveaway. [review] ★★★★

THE BONE HOUSES: The story follows a gravedigger and a mapmaker on an epic adventure full of family, magic, and the undead. The book heavily features elements of Welsh mythology, meanwhile other parts were reminiscent of The Black Cauldron. The eerie, atmospheric settings gives a haunting feel to this mesmerizing story that reads as if it’s a dark fairytale. ARC provided by the publisher. [review] ★★★★½

TREASON OF THORNS: This was an entertaining story and I liked it, but for some reason it didn’t captivate my attention as much as The Light Between Worlds. The premise is really cool: this is a story about magical, sentient houses. I think I wish the actual magic part had been a bit more developed, especially regarding how the houses work with their Caretakers. Overall, it was a fantastic idea that I think just didn’t deliver all the way. ARC provided by the publisher. ★★★

OTHER

Monthly Wrap-Up: June 2019

June 30, 2019July 15, 20193 Comments

Hey everyone! I’m on a two week summer break from classes and I could not be happier. I can’t wait to spend this time getting ahead on homework and getting a lot of reading in! This month was fantastic for reading for me: I read two books that are currently my favorite of the year! What are you all planning to read in July? While making a TBR I realized I have a lot of ARCs that need to be read for August so I think I’ll be spending most of my July reading doing that!

NOCTURNA: There was nothing wrong this book, but upon finishing it I felt pretty apathetic towards it. I did enjoy the magic and the world-building and the characters, but besides that, nothing about the plot captured my full attention or pulled me into the story. By the end of the book, I was reading just to finish it. All in all, the book was pretty unmemorable to me, which is a shame because it sounded so good and I was really interested in the premise. ★★½

THE STORM CROW: The action starts out right from the start, which was a great way to get me invested in this book. I absolutely loved the elemental crows aspect and I really liked the protagonist, Anthia. She struggles with her depression and grief and the author did a fantastic job representing this throughout the book. My only issue was the romance: the synopsis of the book makes it seem like we should be expecting one thing, but when given another option, it fell pretty flat. ARC provided by the publisher. [review] ★★★★

THE FRIEND ZONE: When I started this, I honestly just expected a light-hearted, fluffy contemporary romance perfect for summer. And while the book delivered with the romance, angst, and humor, it also brought out emotions that were unexpected in the best way. Besides a few issues I had – such as the light, gray-area cheating that occurs early on and the constant putting down of other women – I did really enjoy this book and would totally recommend it as a fun summer romance! ARC provided by the publisher. [review] ★★★★

SORCERY OF THORNS: This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I had a lot of fun reading it! This book contains sentient books; a fierce, sword-wielding librarian; and a handsome, broody sorcerer with a tragic past. What more could any bibliophile ask for in a book? Margaret Rogerson did an amazing job with the world-building and the magical aspects of this story and I cannot wait for whatever she writes next! ★★★★

FIREBORNE: THIS BOOK WAS FLIPPING AMAZING. It’s going to take everything I can not to go rambling on and on, but please do yourself a favor and add this to your TBR. It’s been a few weeks and I’m still amazed over how awesome this book was. I’ve seen the premised being described as Pluto’s Republic + Aegon Targaryen + Hermione Granger and I’m here to tell you that yes, it’s exactly that in the best way possible. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] ★★★★★

THE BEHOLDER: Okay, so there were parts of this that I definitely did enjoy. Huge kudos to Anna Bright for writing a love triangle in which I rooted for both characters equally. But the rest of the story fell pretty flat for me. My biggest issue was the world-building. It felt really disorganized and confusing. There was a lot of anachronistic elements to the settings and it pulled me out of the story multiple times. [review] ★★½

KINGSBANE: I was not expecting this to be as action-packed as it was! There was definitely no Second Book Syndrome here. It was very easy to fall back into this story and become just as invested in the characters as I was in the first book. I really loved Rielle in Furborn, but it was hard to watch her make the choices she made in this book, especially when it was hurting other people I really care about. And that ending….I did not see that twist coming! I cannot wait for the finale and expect it to be as awesome as the first two. ★★★★

FIX HER UP: Tessa Bailey has earned herself a new fan. Holy shit, this book was HOT. I was expecting a fun, contemporary romance but I was not expecting those steamy scenes! And listen, I am not complaining one bit. From the romance to the fake-dating trope (a favorite), there was so much to love about this story. This was my first Tessa Bailey, but you can bet it won’t be my last. Excellent all around. [review] ★★★★★

CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT: Although the premise was not anything new, this book handled it in such a fantastic way. Maegan and Rob are each dealing with their own family issues, and I loved how they eventually find solace and comfort in each other. There were a lot of heavy topics involved in this story, and I thought Brigid Kemmerer wrote about them in a very compelling and realistic way. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] ★★★★

SPIN THE DAWN: The book is being pitched at Mulan meets Project Runaway, and that’s the perfect description for this marvelous book. Maia was an amazing heroine: she was devoted to her family, resourceful, intelligent, and caring. With a protagonist to cheer for, a love interest that will steal your heart, and writing that draws you in from the first chapter, I’m positive readers will love this book as much as I did! ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] ★★★★

DEV1AT3: Another action-packed book from Jay Kristoff, full of fun characters and set in such a cool world. This book focuses a lot more on Lemon Fresh and her story and I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this, but once I started it was a total non-issue. She makes some important discoveries for herself and finally starts to develop of sense of self-identity. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] ★★★★

THE DRAGON REPUBLIC: I AM NOT OKAY. I really need this book to be released because I need someone to talk to about that ending. I absolutely devoured this. The Poppy War was one of my favorite books from last year, so I was a little nervous going into this, but I ended up enjoying this even more so. All I will say is: you are not prepared for this book. Absolutely stunning. ARC provided by the publisher through Edelweiss. [review] ★★★★★

HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS: The premise of this sounded amazing, and so I was pretty bummed up that it didn’t live up to my expectations. I really liked the atmospheric setting and the spooky/eerie vibe the story gave off. The romance kind of ruined it for me: I wasn’t a fan of the love triangle or how insta-lovey it was, and I thought the way it wrapped up was a bit too convenient. ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley. [review] ★★