Thursday, July 31, 2014

Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters, by Laini Taylor

Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #3)Title: Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3)
Author: Laini Taylor
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Genre: Fantasy
By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter? -Goodreads

3.5 Stars
Ughhhhhhhhhhhh. You do not know how much I hate myself right now, how much it physically hurts to give this book any less than five stars. I AM DYING INSIDE. *hyperventilates*


Sunday, July 20, 2014

Blog Tour: 3 Reasons to Read The Fire Wish + Giveaway!

The Fire Wish (The Jinni Wars, #1)Title: The Fire Wish (The Jinni Wars #1)
Author: Amber Lough
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 stars
A jinni. A princess. And the wish that changes everything. . . .

Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad—which she’ll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form—as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered—enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love. -Goodreads


I just finished The Fire Wish a couple weeks ago, and OH MY GOD YOU GUYS HAVE TO READ THIS. There are Jinnis, princesses, princes, magic, palaces - basically, if you love fantasy, this book will satisfy you and go above and beyond your expectations. Yes, there are flaws, but most of them I was able to ignore.

Here are 3 Reasons to Read The Fire Wish!

1. Because it's far more authentic than the watered down Disney version (ahem, Aladdin) 

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Book Reviewers Would Make Awesome Authors.

I created this post because I've noticed many people are down in the blogging community, so it's meant to be a pretty positive post. *sprinkles pixie dust and showers you with chocolate*


This isn't intended to "toot my own horn" or to establish bloggers as the kings and queens of the interwebz or maybe it is - and what's wrong with being proud of who you are, anyway?

Also, I'm including both book reviewers and book bloggers. Not everyone is both, but I'm sure most of us are book reviewers.

So, here are the reasons I believe book bloggers/reviewers would make AWESOME authors:

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Puns, Whales, & Tattoos: Review of Salt & Storm

Salt & StormTitle: Salt & Storm
Author: Kendall Kulper
Publication Date: September 23, 2014
Genre: YA Paranormal
A sweeping historical romance about a witch who foresees her own murder--and the one boy who can help change her future.

Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants only to take her rightful place as the witch of Prince Island, making the charms that keep the island's whalers safe at sea, but her mother has forced her into a magic-free world of proper manners and respectability. When Avery dreams she's to be murdered, she knows time is running out to unlock her magic and save herself.

Avery finds an unexpected ally in a tattooed harpoon boy named Tane--a sailor with magic of his own, who moves Avery in ways she never expected. Becoming a witch might stop her murder and save her island from ruin, but Avery discovers her magic requires a sacrifice she never prepared for. -Goodreads

3 Stars
Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown for this copy, which did not affect my review in any way.

Salt & Storm was weird as hell. Whether that's a good or bad thing is completely debatable.

There are those books that no matter how many battles, how many risks they take, how much danger they're in, the reader knows that in the end, the characters will end up all right. Sure, there is always that near-death moment where the author tries to convince us that the protagonist is about to die and we should be gripping the book for fear of this, but if you've read a variety of YA books you can easily see through this ploy.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Genes, Sobs, and Marchetta: Review of One Past Midnight

One Past MidnightTitle: One Past Midnight
Author: Jessica Shirvington
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
Genre: YA Paranormal
Name of overseas edition of Between The Lives.

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.
Until now, that is...

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted... But just what - and who - is she really risking? -Goodreads

4.5 Stars
Thank you Bloomsbury for sending me this copy, which did not affect my review in any way.

Beware of slightly unintelligible gushing and if you hear a fangirl sobbing in the distance, that's probably me.

Sabine is a high school senior in her last weeks of school. She lives two lives; one that is seemingly flawless, while the other is - flawed, to say the least. After an unfortunate butt-in-the-air accident, Sabine finds that her physical body is only affected in one life, and not in the other. She decides that she must choose one life - which is far easier said than done.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Favorite Books from My Childhood

This post is inspired by Amber from Mile Long Bookshelf's wonderful post!

I've always been into reading. According to my mom, she wanted to instill in me a love for the written word because she has always hated books. (Don't really know how that's possible.) Because of this, I have an overabundance of children's books on the bookshelf in my garage that I've held dear to me since my childhood. 

Get ready to witness A BLAST FROM THE PAST: *dramatic background music*

(Aside: Tierra also created a neat flowchart showcasing "The Years of My Life (in books)." You should check it out!) 

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Eyeshadow, Yawns, & IDGAFs: Review of The Body in the Woods

The Body in the Woods (Point Last Seen, #1)Title: The Body In the Woods
Author: April Henry
Publication Date: June 17, 2014
Genre: Mystery
In this new series told from multiple perspectives, teen members of a search and rescue team discover a dead body in the woods.

Alexis, Nick, and Ruby have very different backgrounds: Alexis has spent her life covering for her mom’s mental illness, Nick’s bravado hides his fear of not being good enough, and Ruby just wants to pursue her eccentric interests in a world that doesn’t understand her. When the three teens join Portland County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, they are teamed up to search for a autistic man lost in the woods. What they find instead is a dead body. In a friendship that will be forged in danger, fear, and courage, the three team up to find the girl’s killer—before he can strike one of their own.

This first book in April Henry’s Point Last Seen YA mystery series is full of riveting suspense, putting readers in the middle of harrowing rescues and crime scene investigations. -Goodreads

DNF - 1 Star
Thank you Henry Holt for sending me an Advanced Readers Copy of this book, which did not affect my review in any way.

I don't know why this is labeled a "thriller" when it definitely was not a thrill to read.