Hi everyone! I’m very excited to share my spoiler free review of City of Shattered Light for the TBR & Beyond tour! This book quickly hooked me in and I can safely say that there were so many twists that I couldn’t see coming, it was so well done. Thank you to TBR & Beyond Tours for letting me participate and share my thoughts! Be sure to check out the tour schedule to see all of the amazing posts on this tour!
I won an ARC of The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold from BookishFirst, so thank you BookishFirst and Penguin Teen for sending me a copy! I was pulled in by the premise and the first few chapters and wow, this book only gets better from there! I absolutely loved this story and once I got halfway through I physically could not put this book down.
I’ve only read one other Marie Lu book besides Skyhunter, which was The Kingdom of Back. I loved that book so much, so I was excited that I won a copy of Skyhunter from Bookish First!
From the first page I knew I was going to love this book and it did not disappoint!
Alright! Another month done, another list of books I read this month!
I did really well reading wise. Not only did I complete all the books on my TBR, but then I read a couple extra as well! I’m really impressed with myself – I didn’t think I was going to be able to read all of these titles in the span of 31 days, but I guess I shouldn’t doubt myself!
Check out all of the books I read in August! I have tagged reviews for most, if not, all of them for you to check out!
I had to take a few days to really digest this book, because if I wrote my initial thoughts after finishing this it would just be screaming (AAAHHH) across the screen.
I won an ARC of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini from Bookish First and Tor in exchange for an honest review. I’m going to start off by saying that I love the Eragon series (though I haven’t read it in many years) so I was a little biased going into this. But let me tell you, this book is so good, it blew my expectations out of the water!
Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is the second book in the Aurora Cycle series. If you have not read the first book, Aurora Rising, feel free to check out my spoiler free review here! While this post will be spoiler free, I cannot guarantee that it will not spoil the first book, so if you have not read it yet, thanks for checking out this post and hopefully I’ll see you again once you’ve finished Aurora Rising!
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
Our heroes are back… kind of. From the bestselling co-authors of the Illuminae Files comes the second book in the epic series about a squad of misfits, losers, and discipline cases who just might be the galaxy’s best hope for survival.
First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.
Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.
And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.
Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.
When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.
Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.
So I had seen some … adverse reactions to this book. And I’ll be honest, I was nervous. After finishing Aurora Rising, and crying for hours afterwards, I knew Jay and Amie were out to get us.
The beginning of this book was sad. Everyone was still sad and sore about Cat’s death (honestly, me too) and we’ve now unlocked a piece of the puzzle. Seeing everyone go through their mourning for Cat, as well as continuing to fight to help Auri save the world, is hard. Especially for Tyler.
While the beginning started off slow (for like a few pages lol), we quickly jump back into action and into galaxy saving mode. This whole book was an action filled revelation waiting to happen and the last 150 pages had me locked in.
And the ending. Well, I think I summarized my feelings on the ending with this tweet. Also Jay’s reaction was pretty funny!
Yeah, I was pretty upset. Not sure why Amie and Jay decided to end the book this way, but it ripped my heart out and I’m mad! If you know their writing style, you’ll know what kind of ending I’m talking about.
One of the things I loved the most about this book were the characters. Tyler, while always the golden boy, breaks out of his strict mold. Zila speaks up more and I love it. We see a change in every character throughout this book and I’m here for it. And after that ending, I’m really curious to know what happens to them now.
One thing that annoyed me though was a certain moment in the book. I won’t go into detail, but this revelation came about and I don’t know how I felt about the reaction to it. Like, it didn’t seem fully fair and I think some biases came into play here. It made me really upset and this character did not deserve it one bit.
Besides that, I love this series. I’m really upset I don’t have the next book in my hands ready to go. I really want to know what happens next!
If you’re surprised that I’m giving this book 
// 5 stars – why? I loved Aurora Rising and I loved Aurora Burning – each for their own unique reasons. I can’t wait for the next book to come out and hopefully we don’t have to wait too long!
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If this book sounds interesting to you, check out Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles Series) by Marissa Meyer or Zodiac by Romina Russell.
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If you liked this review, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
The best stories have a good plot, diverse characters, and a villain you can’t help but love. The more interesting a villain, the more I enjoy a book, and sometimes it’s hard to get that perfect balance of evil and likable. So, here’s a list of some of my favorite villains!
The Darkling is such a charming, charismatic person you can’t help but love him. Every interaction Alina had with him had me anxiously waiting to see what happened next. He believed in his mission, he loved Alina, and he wanted to change the world. Those conditions and attributes combined created a villain I loved. I didn’t want to hate him, and I sort of understood his intentions, but we all knew they were skewed.
Maeve as a villain is someone I love to hate. She’s evil, vindictive, and had a lot of motivation for her actions. I still hated her though. By the end, I could see how she wasn’t the true villain of the story, but her actions in the series allowed for our true villain to appear. Man I hated that guy lol
Corien, who we get to learn more about in Kingsbane, is such an evil guy. And when I mean evil, I mean evil. But also such a good antagonist. I mean everything he does makes me want to smack him on the head and then we get to the kissy kissy scenes and I’m swooning. Damn him!
The premise of this book is that there are no heroes or villains. We just have anti-heroes really and that means I can love all my boys the same! Victor, our protagonist (I guess you could call him) doesn’t want to be a hero – he wants revenge. And Eli? Well, he wants to be seen as a hero, but I guess murder isn’t a good way of going about that as he eradicates everyone with a super ability. This pair of equally grey characters is such a fun read.
OOOOHHH LET ME TELL YOU. I hate Marcus, I hate the Commandant, and I HATE the Nightbringer. Oh my gosh I hate these characters with a passion. And it’s not even because they’re bad characters/villains, it’s because they’re so EVIL that I just want them out of the way so my cinnamon roll Elias and my baby Laia can FINALLY BE HAPPY. GOSH I GET SO UPSET.
I find myself loving books with morally grey villains, or at least charming villains, because they make things so much more interesting. Like how can I even be mad when your messed up plan actually makes sense? How can I hate you when you’re so lovable and charming?! It can be so frustrating.
What are some villains you love and love to hate? Let me know in the comments!
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Before I get into this review, just a reminder that the giveaway my friend Writing the Universe and I are holding ends on Monday! Here is the link to enter – please make sure you enter through Rafflecopter (link in the giveaway post) and are doing all FIVE of the mandatory tasks to be entered properly! Good luck!
My friend Grace and I were lucky enough to snag a YallFEST exclusive of Goddess in the Machine by Lora Beth Johnson this past November and decided to buddy read it while in quarantine. It was a rocky start, but a solid finish and now I’m so excited to read book 2!
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
When Andra wakes up, she’s drowning.
Not only that, but she’s in a hot, dirty cave, it’s the year 3102, and everyone keeps calling her Goddess. When Andra went into a cryonic sleep for a trip across the galaxy, she expected to wake up in a hundred years, not a thousand. Worst of all, the rest of the colonists–including her family and friends–are dead. They died centuries ago, and for some reason, their descendants think Andra’s a deity. She knows she’s nothing special, but she’ll play along if it means she can figure out why she was left in stasis and how to get back to Earth.
Zhade, the exiled bastard prince of Eerensed, has other plans. Four years ago, the sleeping Goddess’s glass coffin disappeared from the palace, and Zhade devoted himself to finding it. Now he’s hoping the Goddess will be the key to taking his rightful place on the throne–if he can get her to play her part, that is. Because if his people realize she doesn’t actually have the power to save their dying planet, they’ll kill her.
With a vicious monarch on the throne and a city tearing apart at the seams, Zhade and Andra might never be able to unlock the mystery of her fate, let alone find a way to unseat the king, especially since Zhade hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with Andra. And a thousand years from home, is there any way of knowing that Earth is better than the planet she’s woken to?
So the biggest issue we both had at the beginning was the language. Lora Beth shows how the language has changed within those thousand years with different spelling and their own slang. At first it’s very daunting trying to understand what these people are trying to say but as we continued to read, we found it easier to understand the characters and her writing. This was a huge relief for us. Both of us were considering DNFing the book due to the inability to fully grasp what was going on, but I’m glad we stuck it out.
The other thing I had an issue with was the main love interest. Because of the language change and confusion, Zhade came off as a child to me. It was so hard to think of him as a teenager, or an adult, or however old he was. I could only see him as this 11/12 year old kid helping Andra with the way that he talked. Which is not what you want for a love interest. Over time, it got better, but the beginning was rough especially when trying to picture him flirting, which he does a lot.
Now, I didn’t get fully invested into the story until 200 or so pages in. That’s a lot of pages to read before I’m excited to see what’s next. I had been mildly interested in what was going on before the 200 page mark, but the events that happen after page 200 is what really brought me in and got me excited to read what happens next. Not everyone has that patience though.
Once we got into the thrill of the book, it was really good. Good enough that we both want to read the sequel when it is released. Yay! This book isn’t supposed to release until June 30th, 2020 so the early draft we got could have changed a lot in that time between when we got the ARC in November and release date. So take my criticism with a grain of salt on this one.
Again, besides the language, and a slow beginning, I really enjoyed this story and thought it was a great sci-fi mystery! This was a solid 
.5 // 5 stars for me and I think anyone who likes science fiction will love this story!
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If this book sounds interesting to you, check out Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman or Skyward by Brandon Sanderson!
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If you liked this review, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
So I wanted to update my NetGalley waitlist/stats since the last one went up end of January. I have been reading a lot more since being forced to work at home. Less commute time = more reading time.
With all that reading time meant I had to request more titles too! So here is my updated NetGalley waiting list 🙂
So far, I have been approved for these titles:
Declined on these titles:
*Cries softly at all of the books I got rejected for these past two months, including Deck of Omens which was actually devastating! Especially since I was approved for an eARC of The Devouring Grey. Okay, I’m not going to cry! Moving on!
And still waiting to know about these titles:
I would be so excited to read any of these, but I’m anxiously checking my inbox to see if I get approved for Addie LaRue because if I don’t, I will cry. No, I will sob. This is a unicorn for me and getting to read it early would probably give me a heart attack from pure joy. So fingers crossed that I can cry happy tears instead of sad ones.
At the moment I am currently reading Shielded by KayLynn Flanders and will be reading The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte next.
From my last update I have read:
Lobizona by Romina Garber
Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke
Night Spinner by Addie Thorley
Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
Sensational by Jodie Lynn Zdrok
The Raven and the Dove by Kaitlyn Davis (review to come!)
Aurora Rising and Sensational were two “overdue” books that I had sitting in my cue for well over three months and finally finished them! I had Aurora waiting for about a year and Sensational was about five months – but I completed them and I am somewhat up to date on my reading! Yay!
I have linked my reviews of each book that I have read for you to check out – these six books were AMAZING! I can’t wait to continue reading the new books I have and hopefully, read some of the others I’m waiting for.
What is a title you’re anxiously hoping to be approved/waiting to read? The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is by far my top choice but, if I could request it, I would also die to read Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.
You may or may not have seen that I am co-hosting a huge giveaway through my blog and my friend Alexa’s blog, Writing the Universe. I will link the post to enter to win ARCs, books, and ApollyCon swag! You must enter through the Rafflecopter in order to count your entry. Thanks for looking, good luck!
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I received a copy of Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I know, I know, I’m late on this one, but better late than never right? This book has been sitting in my NetGalley queue for like a year now and I finally read it. In less than 24 hours. Why did I wait so long!?
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…
A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering
And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
They’re not the heroes we deserve. They’re just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.
So first and foremost, OW. Like, OWWW. I wasn’t expecting my heart to be ripped clean from my chest like that and honestly, I’m hurt. I know Jay is well known for his ability to sever heart strings and murder his readers, but damn Jay! Damn Amie! You didn’t have to destroy me like that! So yeah, the ending hurt. I was definitely holding back tears and this is my warning to you.
Besides that, WOW this book was amazing. I’m a fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy books and this one filled my heart with joy (you know, until it was ripped from my chest). We had a rag tag group pushed together and struggling to work with each other. We have sass and lots of it. An epic space adventure. Spy work. It was everything I could have asked for and more.
There really wasn’t much I didn’t like about the story. It was fast paced and had me sitting on the edge of my seating waiting for the next twist and turn. Even the cheesy moments, and there were a few, didn’t make me roll my eyes. I was elated reading them and shipping characters together.
Overall, a total win for me. 
//5 stars
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If this book sounds interesting, check out Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman’s other series, Illuminae.
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If you liked this review, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
We all have a book crush. I have several. They could be friend crushes, relationship crushes, or even – holy cow that’s a well developed villain crush. Here are my top 5 FAVORITE characters of ALL TIME!
#1 Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices
First and foremost, you will see a trend between my favorite characters. They’re all sassy little shits and I love them for it. Will for instance is just someone who needs a really big hug. All the crap that he goes through with Tessa and Jem breaks my heart and while I was rooting for Jessa, I ended up loving Till by the end.
#2 Altair from We Hunt the Flame
This guy. OH MY GOSH this guy cracks me up. The sass level is off the charts with him and it makes every encounter 100% better. Every conversation with Zafira and Nasir is one of pure enjoyment for the reader. And he has a big heart to go along with it, so while the sass might be high, the love is higher.
#3 Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy
So I looked up to Rose growing up. Her take no BS attitude mixed with her love for her friends was something I admired. I wanted to be tough and kick ass while also being a strong and loyal friend. I think I emulate a lot of those qualities in my relationships today and have become 100% a ride or die friend. Also, the relationship between her and Dimitri is FIRE!
#4 Gideon from Gideon the Ninth
So Gideon is an interesting person. Her internal monologue is not only hilarious and entertaining, but so unique. It was like the author just wrote down her own thoughts for every weird situation and boom! There’s Gideon’s inner monologue. Her reactions and relationships to the people are her also make her not only entertaining, but somewhat of a softy. I think there’s a trend going on here?
#5 Reid Diggory from Serpent & Dove
Last, but certainly not least. My witch killing baby – Reid. This man is the definition of a big baby who likes to pretend he’s tough in front of everyone, but is a total softy. And he’s hilarious. While being prude isn’t a bad thing, his reactions to Louise and her wild antics are hilarious. Like, have me rolling on the floor hilarious. And his interactions with her, especially as their relationship develops, makes my heart happy.
Overall, I have a type. I love the tough cookies with big hearts, who are also hilarious. Humor is necessary for my favs. And while I have plenty of other favorite characters, who also sit in a similar trope, these (so far) are my all time favorites. I love them to death and totally have book crushes on them.
Who’s your biggest book crush?
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Guys … guys … GUYS!!! I finally finished a book! Holy cow! For the first time in 2 months I finished a book and thankfully, it was a good one. Here’s my review for the new adult fantasy series, Gideon the Ninth.
Here’s the description from Goodreads:
The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.
Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.
Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as necromantic skeletons. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.
Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.
Of course, some things are better left dead.
First off, this book has a slow start. I’m gonna say it, because it almost ruined the rest of the book for me, but it’s a slow beginning. There’s a lot of sassy, witty banter but it’s mostly history explanation and getting the character where they need to be. Then the fun begins.
I loved basically everything in this book, it was a perfect match for my taste. Snarky, sassy characters who are assholes but soft for certain people (eventually). Funny, witty banter. Amazing, intensive fantasy aspects such as necromancy and the ability to control the dead and their bones. Like what? It was everything I was looking for, plus lots of gay stuff. It was awesome.
There wasn’t much I disliked minus the beginning, although it was hard to fully understand everything happening. There were moments throughout the book where the explanations of events or items or even places didn’t click in my brain. That could be a me thing, but it made it frustrating trying to imagine what’s going on. I wish the word choices/images used were a little clearer. I’m not sure if it was what the author was saying or how she was saying it, but I got lost a few times.
Overall, I loved this book and it’s a definite 
//5 stars for me!
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If this book sounds interesting, be sure to check out Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones for a similar YA title and Red Rising by Pierce Brown for an adult novel.
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If you liked this review, please like this post, leave a comment, follow, share with your friends – anything is appreciated!
For this month, I’m going to TRY to actually read more than 2 books in the month (it probably won’t happen) so let’s go for like, 4.
Here is my TBR and hopeful reading schedule for October!
The Beautiful
In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.
The Light at the Bottom of the World
At the end of the twenty-first century, the world has changed dramatically, but life continues one thousand feet below the ocean’s surface. In Great Britain, sea creatures swim among the ruins of Big Ben and the Tower of London, and citizens waver between fear and hope; fear of what lurks in the abyss, and hope that humanity will soon discover a way to reclaim the Earth.
Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Leyla McQueen has her own problems to deal with. Her father’s been arrested, accused of taking advantage of victims of the Seasickness-a debilitating malaise that consumes people,often claiming their lives. But Leyla knows he’s innocent, and all she’s interested in is getting him back so that their lives can return to normal.
When she’s picked to race in the action-packed London Submersible Marathon, Leyla gets the chance to secure his freedom; the Prime Minister promises the champion whatever their heart desires. The race takes an unexpected turn, though, and presents her with an opportunity she never wanted: Leyla must venture outside of London for the first time in her life, to find and rescue her father herself.
Now, she’ll have to brave the unfathomable waters and defy a corrupt government determined to keep its secrets, all the while dealing with a secretive, hotheaded companion she never asked for in the first place. If she fails, or falls prey to her own fears, she risks capture-and her father might be lost forever.
The Guinevere Deception
There was nothing in the world as magical and terrifying as a girl.
Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom’s borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution–send in Guinevere to be Arthur’s wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king’s idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere’s real name–and her true identity–is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.
To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old–including Arthur’s own family–demand things continue as they have been, and the new–those drawn by the dream of Camelot–fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur’s knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.
Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?
Fate of the Fallen
The Shroud of Prophecy tests fate to discover what happens when the path of good and right, the triumph of light over darkness, the only path to salvation… fails.
Everyone loves Mathias. So naturally, when he discovers it’s his destiny to save the world, he dives in head first, pulling his best friend Aaslo along for the ride.
Mathias is thrilled for the adventure! There’s nothing better than a road beneath his feet and adventure in the air. Aaslo, on the other hand, has never cared for the world beyond the borders of his sleepy village and would be much happier alone and in the woods. But, someone has to keep the Chosen One’s head on his shoulders and his feet on the ground.
It turns out saving the world isn’t as easy, or exciting, as it sounds in the stories. Mathias is more than willing to place his life on the line, but Aaslo would love nothing more than to forget about all the talk of arcane bloodlines and magical fae creatures. When the going gets rough, folks start to believe their only chance for survival is to surrender to the forces of evil, which isn’t how the stories go. At all. To make matters worse Aaslo is beginning to fear that he may have lost his mind…
Gravemaidens
The start of a fierce fantasy duology about three maidens who are chosen for their land’s greatest honor…and one girl determined to save her sister from the grave.
In the walled city-state of Alu, Kammani wants nothing more than to become the accomplished healer her father used to be before her family was cast out of their privileged life in shame.
When Alu’s ruler falls deathly ill, Kammani’s beautiful little sister, Nanaea, is chosen as one of three sacred maidens to join him in the afterlife. It’s an honor. A tradition. And Nanaea believes it is her chance to live an even grander life than the one that was stolen from her.
But Kammani sees the selection for what it really is—a death sentence.
Desperate to save her sister, Kammani schemes her way into the palace to heal the ruler. There she discovers more danger lurking in the sand-stone corridors than she could have ever imagined and that her own life—and heart—are at stake. But Kammani will stop at nothing to dig up the palace’s buried secrets even if it means sacrificing everything…including herself.
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I am so excited to read (hopefully) all of these this month! If I can manage to finish the current book I’m reading right now. . .
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Which October release are you most excited to get your hands on?
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I always find myself saying I’m going to read certain books and then I never actually follow through with what I say I’m going to do. So here is my HOPE – I want to read all of these books, but we’ll see. Also, enjoy my comments with these titles, I thought it would add a bit of pizzazz.
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
*** I’m already more than halfway through this book, I just put it down to review some other titles, but I’m going to finish it this month because it is amazing!!!
Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
This book is so beautiful and while I wasn’t a fan of Illuminae, I’ve heard nothing but amazing reviews – so I’m excited!
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
I have been putting off reading this for so freaking long, even though the ARC is currently sitting on my shelf because – idk! I just need to read it. Why am I scared?
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
I will probably adore this book, I just need to pick it up and read it in a day. That’s how this works, right?
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
I will probably never hear the end of this, but yes, I have not read this book yet. I will read it, and hopefully that will happen in May! Also, do not come for me. I’m taking my time, I know!!
Sightwitch by Susan Dennard
LOVED the first two books and I know I need to read this before Bloodwitch – so I’m going to read it!
Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
And of course if I read Sightwitch I’m going to immediately start reading Bloodwitch because that’s what happens when you read Susan’s books!
Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan
I’m still in shock I haven’t read this book yet, but I’m going to! I just might wait until after a few other, not so heart wrenching books have been read.
All right! This is my TBR for the month of May. This will most likely, actually definitely, change during the course of the month. That’s just how it goes sometimes. I hope to read all, if not most, of these though. I guess we’ll see which ones I get to during my May Wrap Up! Stay tuned for some more unrealistic goals!
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April was a big month for new releases and spending money on new books! I had a lot of trades and purchases that occurred this month (much more than last month) as well as several preorders! Some of these I have more than one copy that I got, so I will include how many I actually received.
Some of the ARCs I received this month are:
Some of the Finished Copies I bought this month are:
After looking over how many books I’ve received this month, I have a feeling I’m going to have to sit down and stop spending money. Yikes!
If you have purchased, read, or are interested in any of these books, let me know! I’d also love to know what books you purchased for April – let’s share the love!
Vacations are a great time to sit down and actually finish those books that have been sitting on the shelf for months. One of the hardest things though, is finding books that are good vacation books. Not too cry worthy or emotionally scaring – something fun, relaxing, and maybe even thought provoking. Here are some of my favorite vacation reads so far! Let me know in the comments below some of your all time favorite vacation reads!
The Selection by Kiera Cass
This YA Science Fiction/Romance novel is one that fulfills your swoon worthy, lovey vibes and also reminds you of life. The first book takes you on America’s journey through the process of being primped and picked for being a future Queen – even though she’s definitely not interested. This easy YA read is perfect for anyone 12+ and is something that most would glide through easily without utter destruction.
Everless by Sara Holland
This heart racing, blood pounding YA Fantasy read is something I read on the beach last year and absolutely adored. The fast paced story kept me going, which made it very easy for me to read the entire book in one day. With all the time available on vacation – for the most part – this book is a great, gripping read with a few moments of shock or concern for the characters. Thankfully, this book isn’t heart ripping and makes for a great, quick, all day read while sitting in the sun or in your hotel room.
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
This book is an amazingly funny, fantastical take on the classic story of Lady Jane Grey, the queen of England for 9 days! This historically “accurate” story of her rise and fall to power with the added humor of the time, makes this a great YA historical fiction/fantasy vacation read! I devoured this in one day and its lightheartedness made it easy to digest, leaving me happy and entertained!
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
Looking for an action packed YA Fantasy about pirates and sirens that won’t leave you a puddle on the floor? This book isn’t entirely lighthearted, but Tricia’s story telling leaves you on the edge of your seat entertained, without being scarred. It’s an easy book to sit back, relax, and enjoy the events going on while on the beach – you might even see a siren in the distance!
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
This YA Contemporary Romance is a light, delicate, and emotionally rewarding read that you can enjoy and then watch the movie on Netflix once you’re done! Lara Jean’s unfortunate love reveal to the five boys she loved before leaves a warm, fuzzy feeling in your heart. Especially during scenes between her and her family. This is perfect for a relaxing vacation where you can sit back, enjoy the loving family vibes, laugh, and finish a wonderful read! It’s hard to not love this book and all of Lara’s quirky friends and family.
While there are so many different genres and tastes when it comes to vacation reads, these relatively easy reads allowed me to relax and enjoy the ride. That brief moment of escape during my escape was sweet and occasionally enlightening. I enjoyed every story in their own ways and it allowed me to escape from my vacation for just a moment. I’m always on the hunt for some great vacation reads, so drop some suggestions below!
Today, I will be reviewing The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie. I received an ARC of this book from another reviewer who would not have a chance to read and review before publication. So thank you Whitney!
Let’s dive in!
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
Who do you become when you have nothing left to lose?
There is something Poe Blythe, the seventeen-year-old captain of the Outpost’s last mining ship, wants far more than the gold they tear from the Serpentine River.
Revenge.
Poe has vowed to annihilate the river raiders who robbed her of everything two years ago. But as she navigates the treacherous waters of the Serpentine and realizes there might be a traitor among her crew, she must also reckon with who she has become, who she wants to be, and the ways love can change and shape you. Even—and especially—when you think all is lost.
Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched trilogy, returns with an intricately crafted and emotionally gripping story of one young woman’s journey to move beyond the grief and anger that control her and find the inner strength to chart her own course.
First off, I wanted to like this book. I really did. But the biggest thing I had an issue with was Poe herself. Her characters only motivation is revenge against an oppressed people who killed her boyfriend during a robbery. That was the basis of her whole personality, her motivations, everything she thought and talked about. It was a bit much. While revenge is a great motivator, the fact that it was the only thing interesting about Poe, besides her being an orphan, made it so hard to read what was going to happen. Besides that, I loved the general plot and overall idea! I thought it was a cool, science fiction young adult novel that reminds us that not everything as it seems.
It’s a quality book!
But the lack of personality in Poe, is not. Besides Poe’s lack of personality, every other character was super fleshed out and had pizzaz, spunk, motivations besides avenging someone. They seemed more fleshed out and realistic than her. While there was some interesting moment between Poe and the other characters, I really liked their interactions.
Another thing I had an issue with was Poe’s personality change. While it was sudden, like some authors in the past mistakingly do, it seemed off. The fact that the core of Poe was her intent on revenge made it hard to accept her growth, because it was so prominent throughout the entire book. It didn’t seem realistic that she could let that go over the span of a few days/weeks. And her aggressive nature suddenly turned demure was also hard to accept.
While I wanted the change, it honestly didn’t feel right.
Overall, I thought this book was okay. I kind of wished the author got a chance to develop Poe a bit more throughout the book, but besides that, it was interesting story. I would give it 
/5 stars.
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If you’re looking for a science fiction voyage, check out Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston!
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Okayyyy, wow. That’s how I’m going to start off this review because – wow. I read The Cerulean by Amy Ewing, which is currently available to buy or borrow from the library. I read the ARC of The Cerulean with a friend of mine recently and both of us were severely disappointed – let’s get into why!
Here is the description from Goodreads:
Sera has always felt as if she didn’t belong among her people, the Cerulean. She is curious about everything and can’t stop questioning her three mothers, her best friend, Leela, and even the High Priestess. Sera has longed for the day when the tether that connects her City Above the Sky to the earthly world below finally severs and sends the Cerulean to a new planet.
But when Sera is chosen as the sacrifice to break the tether, she doesn’t know what to feel. To save her City, Sera must throw herself from its edge and end her own life. But something goes wrong and she survives the fall, landing in a place called Kaolin. She has heard tales about the humans there, and soon learns that the dangers her mothers warned her of are real. If Sera has any hope to return to her City, she’ll have to find the magic within herself to survive.
So first things first, when I read the description and first received this book I was so excited. Not only did it sound amazing and new, it had such a unique plot I had to read it and see what it was all about.
My first reaction to this book was, what is going on? The premise of the plot does not even cover the first 50 pages out of 500. There is so much more that goes on during this book that it gets so confusing and sporadic it’s hard to keep up. And the layout of it did not help. For one, there are so many different points of view (POVs), it’s hard to keep up in the sectioned setup. We have Sera, Leela, Agnes, and Leo all somewhat thrown together based on location – which made it so difficult to establish a timeline when switching POVs.
To further explain why I did not like this book, I’m going to break it up into a few sections.
1) The fact that the main character Sera is the only straight woman in her society, which consists of polyamorous lesbian couples, is unnecessary to me. Besides the fact that she claims she is different, Sera acknowledges that some women do not feel attraction and choose not to marry – which would have been fine. But making her straight added nothing to the plot in this entire book, which makes it feel like she’s trying to make her feel like an “other” to the reader and I was not a fan of that. The author continually makes a point of mentioning that Sera is different, but does nothing to explain why her being different matters. I would have been much more impressed if she had made her Ace/Aro than making her straight, because at least then she would be different without countering the idea that straight people are somehow “weird” or “different”. Because they’re not – they’re the norm.
2) The character Leo had a weird and sudden character shift that was somewhat explained, but so underdeveloped it felt wrong and out of place. It felt like he was made to be the bad guy and then changed his mind and decides he wants to be the good guy? He starts off wanting to do anything to please his father with no regards to other people around him, but suddenly when it affects Sera, he changes his mind and becomes a good person and wants to help her. It seemed so sudden and out of character, I’m not sure if it was Ewing’s intention to make it that sudden or not, but regardless, it was very confusing.
3) I adored Leela and Agnes’ character so much and honestly I just wanted to read from their POV and nobody else’s. The way they were written and portrayed in the book not only made me love them, but it made it much harder to read from Leo or Sera’s POV later in the book, especially since they both came across so childish and whiny in comparison to Leela and Agnes.
4) The set up of the book by location did not make sense to me and made the story so choppy. Instead of sprinkling different character POVs in to explain what’s going on in the meantime, we get six different sections and have to connect the dots that way through four different POVs. Not only would it jump to different POV by location, but we mostly get Sera, Leo, and Agnes’ POV until suddenly about 75% of the way through, we finally get Leela’s POV and it’s such a sudden shift, it was honestly annoying. I would have much preferred if it was a constantly changing POV and the author can set the location so we know where they are, instead of splitting up by section and then POV. To sum it up, it was not enjoyable to read it that way for me.
Now to give the author the benefit of the doubt, I did read the advanced copy of this book, so some of those issues may have been resolved in the final draft, but if they weren’t I would not recommend this book to a friend.
Overall, I really wanted to like the story and the mystery of what was going was enticing. But the setup and some of the characters killed it for me and unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like this book, I didn’t. I would give this book 
/5 stars.
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If you’re looking for a cool science fiction, space getaway, I would honestly suggest anything else at this point – I’ve heard Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is amazing and so is Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston.
I decided to wait until the end of February to write my February Wrap Up, which is why this is getting published on March 1st!
This month I read less than January and purchased/traded less books than I normally do. Typically I read between 10-15 books a month but in February I only read 5. Some of these books I’ve already reviewed or will be reviewing, so I won’t go in depth – but I will go into whether or not I would recommend it! I will also be discussing some of the March releases I’m most excited for!
To start, this month I read:
Windwitch by Susan Dennard
The Cerulean by Amy Ewing
The Book is Not Yet Rated by Peter Bognanni
The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees
Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
Honestly, I loved every book I read, except one, which is not bad! Out of all of these titles, the only one I would not recommend is The Cerulean by Amy Ewing because of certain issues with the book, which I discuss in my review. While this is significantly less than what I read in January, with all of the craziness that life handed me I’m happy that I reached 5 books this month and I hope to double it in March!
Now for my purchases; I mostly did trades with people and got some titles I’m excited to read! Some of these include Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan, Enchantée by Gita Trelease, and The Fever King by Victoria Lee! Recently I’ve been into trading with people for ARC’s (advanced reader copies) which is not something that I did in the past. In fact, I didn’t really know about ARCs until this past summer when I went to BookCon and saw people reading titles like The Wicked King and Priory of the Orange Tree early.
Of the books I did purchase, I finally got a UK first edition of Caraval with the hidden clock! It took me so long to find this book and while the book is in okay condition, I’m glad I didn’t spend the $50+ that most people charge for the book. Besides that, I also got the February OwlCrate and February Fairyloot box (which I’m still waiting on). I did preorder Courting Darkness, Bloodwitch, Four Dead Queens, and Priory of the Orange Tree – although I’m still waiting on the last two to arrive to my house!
Some of the new releases I’m most excited for that release in March are:
And of course so many other titles that I have not had the chance to read about/know about yet that are coming out in the month of March too! Let me know in the comments what your favorite book from February was and your most anticipated March release!
“Nothing mattered except this moment. She felt invincible, untouchable, like she would be this way forever: young and dancing and electric and alive.” – The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
review for the amazing plot, intriguing characters, and for pulling it off in an intricate and exciting way.
We Write At Dawn 