tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29220540185064546912024-03-14T04:27:03.551-04:00Novels and NecklacesNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.comBlogger673125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-74523119723880973902019-04-22T07:00:00.000-04:002019-04-22T07:00:16.369-04:00ARC Review: Waisted <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Randy Susan Meyers </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: May 21st, 2019 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Atria Books </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 288 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Fiction, Women's Fiction </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 3/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #181818;">In this provocative, wildly entertaining, and compelling novel, seven women enrolled in an extreme weight loss documentary discover self-love and sisterhood as they enact a daring revenge against the exploitative filmmakers.</b><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Alice and Daphne, both successful and accomplished working mothers, harbor the same secret: obsession with their weight overshadows concerns about their children, husbands, work—and everything else of importance in their lives. Scales terrify them.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Daphne, plump in a family of model-thin women, learned only slimness earns admiration at her mother’s knee. Alice, break-up skinny when she met her husband, risks losing her marriage if she keeps gaining weight.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">The two women meet at Waisted. Located in a remote Vermont mansion, the program promises fast, dramatic weight loss, and Alice, Daphne, and five other women are desperate enough to leave behind their families for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The catch? They must agree to always be on camera; afterward, the world will see </span><i style="color: #181818;">Waisted: The Documentary</i><span style="color: #181818;">.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">The women soon discover that the filmmakers have trapped them in a cruel experiment. With each pound lost, they edge deeper into obsession and instability...until they decide to take matters into their own hands.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The initial description of <i>Waisted</i> reminded me of <i>Nine Perfect Strangers </i>by Liane Moriarty which came out last November. If you haven't read that yet, it was basically about nine individuals who decide to go to a 'health and wellness retreat' for separate personal reasons. So, like the description said, Alice and Daphne decide to go to a 'health and wellness retreat' (more or less) for the sake of weight loss, but unlike <i>Nine Perfect Strangers,</i> the women in<i> Waisted</i> who were attending the retreat had to agree to be filmed. Pretty soon, the ladies realize that the retreat, 'Privation', isn't what they thought it was going to be and they start to look for ways out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The description of this book is was really drew me in. The health and wellness retreat in <i>Nine Perfect Stranger</i>s was really interesting, so I thought I would also be interested in the retreat called 'Privation' in <i>Waisted</i>. Turns out, most of the focus of this book was not with the retreat, but with the lives of the women and what they were dealing with. Alice, with her supportive family but (excuse my language) jackass of a husband and Daphne, with her unsupportive and judgmental family and gem of husband are the main focal points of this novel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I would have liked to see more about what really pushed Daphne and Alice to make the decision to leave their families and go to this month-long camp. We get a little bit of a backstory regarding their struggles with weight, but not enough to convince me that these women had no other choices than to go to this camp and leave their lives behind. As someone who has been struggling with weight since the birth of my son, I really related to Alice's thoughts of "what if my husband doesn't find me attractive anymore". This book really squashed those fears from looking from the outside in. I realize "wow her husband is a jerk" after she gave him the precious gift of a daughter . </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the first half of the novel, everyone was calling these two ladies variations of fat. At Privation, when they revealed their height and weight, they honestly weren't what I was expecting. How they were being described for the first half of the novel would make anyone think they were pushing maybe 300 pounds. However, in reality, one of the women wasn't even close to 200. Also, at Privation, they make them exercise a crazy, crazy amount that nobody could sustain. Let alone starving and not taking any vitamins, those ladies' bodies would start to shut down (there is no way they could last for like 4 weeks).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Waisted</i> really resonated with me due to the fact that the subject matter hit close to home. I loved that it gave a voice to a lot of things people think about themselves but are just too afraid to say (like being consumed by the weight on the scale day after day). Unfortunately, I feel like the short length of the book really prevented in-depth characters and a thorough plot from coming through. That's why I'd rate this novel a 3/5. What do you think about this topic? Do you think this novel would interest you or are you going to pass on this one? </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89y94mg9SiKuk_t7uAHOFghIpY5KpgiJTs8tE0ln_GkbfFyO2Rk6FZK1ps7DflORFcJbpPwHxGD6pNhPWj8ZQEuLpHYAIago0WEBszyk3Cj1dKmi9LEspzGBjoeqRk2MgoH3n-aCZzRgT/s1600/3+stars.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="850" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89y94mg9SiKuk_t7uAHOFghIpY5KpgiJTs8tE0ln_GkbfFyO2Rk6FZK1ps7DflORFcJbpPwHxGD6pNhPWj8ZQEuLpHYAIago0WEBszyk3Cj1dKmi9LEspzGBjoeqRk2MgoH3n-aCZzRgT/s320/3+stars.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "Century Gothic", sans-serif;">Thank you to Atria for providing this book<br />in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-3232181853904615192019-03-18T07:00:00.000-04:002019-03-18T07:00:03.995-04:00Book Review: King of Scars (Nikolai Duology, #1) <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Leigh Bardugo </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: January 29th, 2019 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Imprint </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 527 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Fantasy </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 4/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">"They would build a new world together. But first they had to burn the old one down.</span></i><i style="color: #222222;">" </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdXpWKveplYnHDfk6fM4SN863vCIZ_xe8jv8m6by3OK5U2mtESEC886xm2sOxR6fZ3o6KOVX-YIj-e9nFxHtG7oDmxLPiaNy4YskSx3LBjoiU22nTrK7lrmy8a2WDfZiQoxW_01FjKltY/s1600/0f23984a9353d2cdd4600866f8929929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="444" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdXpWKveplYnHDfk6fM4SN863vCIZ_xe8jv8m6by3OK5U2mtESEC886xm2sOxR6fZ3o6KOVX-YIj-e9nFxHtG7oDmxLPiaNy4YskSx3LBjoiU22nTrK7lrmy8a2WDfZiQoxW_01FjKltY/s200/0f23984a9353d2cdd4600866f8929929.jpg" width="140" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>King of Scars</i> is the first book in the new 'Nikolai Duology' by Leigh Bardugo. <i>King of Scars</i> picks up pretty much right after the ending of <i>Crooked Kingdom</i>. With that being said, while this is being marketed as new duology, I feel that if you read this without reading the <i>Grisha</i> trilogy and <i>Six of Crows</i> duology, you will be supremely lost. Which I feel is different from the <i>Six of Crows</i> duology, which you could most certainly read without reading the <i>Grisha </i>Trilogy first. Ok so anyway, <i>King of Scars</i> is basically just a continuation of the Grisha world we love. We get perspectives from Zoya and Nikolai, as well as from our favorite dreg, Nina Zenik! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Getting to read these characters again was comforting in a familiar type of way. I enjoyed seeing their development. I once hated Zoya and now came to love her (which was probably what Bardugo was intending). We not only get to see her strength and determination, but her vulnerability as well. As for Nikolai, he was just as likable as he was throughout the <i>Grisha</i> trilogy but we do get to see another side of him, namely a more modest side. I didn't care much for the new characters in the book, I was mostly focused on Nina/Nikolai/Zoya and when that fourth perspective was added, I routinely found myself bored with that character. </span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">"Who would speak for Liliyana, for Genya and Alina and </span><span style="color: #222222;">Baghra if she did not?</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><i>Who will speak for me?" </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxX3PjDoj6OMhIND8MVEDbwoIuniaRv2ETt54uZ7bmiVhEH-uPvlR2vD4zVKfenxU79t1j6VRUkugUwZO9CMslQvFKJuoykjUaBdBc6GdlcCOMoH5lLQfqd45aRtK190D0rRZNJGQboxU7/s1600/d8d3b6295190fd8fbe054af3ec198a51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="564" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxX3PjDoj6OMhIND8MVEDbwoIuniaRv2ETt54uZ7bmiVhEH-uPvlR2vD4zVKfenxU79t1j6VRUkugUwZO9CMslQvFKJuoykjUaBdBc6GdlcCOMoH5lLQfqd45aRtK190D0rRZNJGQboxU7/s200/d8d3b6295190fd8fbe054af3ec198a51.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">As far as the story goes, I like that it entwined plots from both <i>Ruin and Rising</i> and <i>Crooked Kingdom</i>. Nina is trying to track down some Grisha parem victims in Fjerda while Nikolai is struggling to maintain control of Ravka and the beast within himself. The pacing really varied in this book and some of the plots did seem a little messy and directionless to me. So, the characters were definitely the highlight of this for me, which really surprised me because plot typically shines for Bardugo. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">All in all, I'm a huge fan of Leigh Bardugo and all that is Grisha. I wouldn't say that <i>King of Scars</i> is my favorite book from the Grisha world, but I loved it all the same. It was great seeing some of our favorite originals we haven't seen since Ruin and Rising. I will definitely be pre-ordering the next book in the duology because I am so invested in the characters and can't wait to see what happens next! </span></div>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-2964204021188583942019-03-14T07:00:00.000-04:002019-03-14T07:00:03.583-04:00Book Review: Superman: Dawnbreaker (DC Icons, #4) <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ4yCRo-hgt-b3McrruFmxo7XbpOaoSKLV1LBOtUSNnikW56EGSs9Qm0i0CRzbGuMDVJboEXzp5WVwDt5LT0gv3TQg91mnWZRRc9nta_rHqveMq-_iuVnGYi1fUc4xbI2Mm80MtP8Vnr7d/s1600/29749094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ4yCRo-hgt-b3McrruFmxo7XbpOaoSKLV1LBOtUSNnikW56EGSs9Qm0i0CRzbGuMDVJboEXzp5WVwDt5LT0gv3TQg91mnWZRRc9nta_rHqveMq-_iuVnGYi1fUc4xbI2Mm80MtP8Vnr7d/s200/29749094.jpg" width="135" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "lato" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">Title: </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> Superman: Dawnbreaker (DC Icons, #4) </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Matt de la Pena </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: March 5th, 2019 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 336 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Fantasy, Comics, Retellings </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 3/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">When the dawn breaks, a hero rises.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><i style="color: #181818;">His power is beyond imagining.</i><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Clark Kent has always been faster, stronger--better--than everyone around him. But he wasn't raised to show off, and drawing attention to himself could be dangerous. Plus, it's not like he's earned his powers . . . yet.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><i style="color: #181818;">But power comes with a price.</i><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Lately it's difficult to hold back and keep his heroics in the shadows. When Clark follows the sound of a girl crying, he comes across Gloria Alvarez and discovers a dark secret lurking in Smallville. Turns out, Clark's not the only one hiding something. Teaming up with his best friend, Lana Lang, he throws himself into the pursuit of the truth. What evil lies below the surface of his small town? And what will it cost Clark to learn about his past as he steps into the light to become the future Man of Steel? Because before he can save the world, he must save Smallville.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">"You have found refuge on Earth, where you will love and protect. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">But you must never forget where you came from. And who you were meant to be." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Superman: Dawnbreaker</i> is the (to my knowledge) final book in the DC Icons series. I was looking forward to teenage Clark Kent more than I was for Selina Kyle, Bruce Wayne, and Diana Prince mostly because I couldn't wait to get in his quiet, good-natured head. We know Selina and Bruce dabble in some illegal extracurricular activities, but all extraterrestrialness aside, Clark can be described as the boy next door! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1dSLzdBlWQ8X5mdx0Fvy3HXM1GbItCQWeocOO-Tn2W4_1bQVwbiZA2_N_iiqwcU2HW4bMk2hG81Bv7dDtSxN6EwOOH1cnTw9wNb4qAoOzl6HzEJJU6GlzGhfYW1RK31XkR7hGu_dIaX6/s1600/5f7760aa67ead239780539089a8c207c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="468" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1dSLzdBlWQ8X5mdx0Fvy3HXM1GbItCQWeocOO-Tn2W4_1bQVwbiZA2_N_iiqwcU2HW4bMk2hG81Bv7dDtSxN6EwOOH1cnTw9wNb4qAoOzl6HzEJJU6GlzGhfYW1RK31XkR7hGu_dIaX6/s320/5f7760aa67ead239780539089a8c207c.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In <i>Superman: Dawnbreaker</i>, the town of Smallville is all getting riled up when residents start to go missing, particularly those of Hispanic descent. When some questionable businesses also move into town during the same time, Clark and Lana start to explore the possibility that they are linked together. The plot had very good pacing and I was never bored while reading. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As far as characters go, this is where I would have liked to see more. Clark's perspective was great, but I was hoping that de la Pena would make it more of a teenage Clark as opposed to calm, cool, and collected adult Clark. A teenage superhero without angst? I mean... most teenagers have angst! I wanted an angst-y Clark! I loved the name drop of Lois Lane towards the end of the novel. I thought it was really remarkable but still subtle enough (unlike Luthor). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lex Luthor played a minor role in this novel, which was definitely fitting seeing as how this is more of a Superman origin. Everything portrayed from his character was very characteristic of him, but I felt as though he was just there for show (oh look, here's Clark's arch nemesis Lex Luthor). He really didn't sway the storyline and honestly his appearance made no difference. His name could have been exchanged with anyone elses or his character deleted entirely and it wouldn't have changed the outcome or the story that much. With a character of that caliber, I would have liked to see him do something other than be a placeholder. The secondary characters were ok - but let's be honest, we all really loved hearing from the famous DC characters we are already familiar with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Overall, I would have liked to see a more unique spin on Clark Kent. Everything in this novel was what I could have already assumed of Clark. I wanted a more personal take on school, family, and friends. I am sad that this is the last DC Icons novel because I really was a fan of the series as a whole. While this one didn't necessarily jump out at me, I wish there would be more of these books because I truly did enjoy reading about these classic DC characters. Have you read any of the DC Icons series? Which has been your favorite? </span></div>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-77546456361200367982019-01-21T07:00:00.000-05:002019-01-21T07:00:02.895-05:00Top Books of 2018 <div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Is it 2019 already? You know what that means - yearly favorites! While my goal was initially to read 100 books in 2018, I subtracted 10 from my Goodreads goal because 90 was a little more attainable for me. So here it is, my favorite books of 2018! Did any of these make your list as well? What were your favorite books? Leave a comment below! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Jocelyn's Favorite Books of 2018 </u></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">8) <i>The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein</i> by Kiersten White </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMWtFkFktR-E94YkCjNRTjiDVni0ekz9VPHGOyctqWWBOLTdFJRdjpCj6adkelXUZntXLfSvVUCnH7eFTlFQIQ2YVH-6UVWes7DVGYiWIQAn1T8Aiif1J18ai0tCLAacYOW4mJtRm7XEc/s1600/38255342.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMWtFkFktR-E94YkCjNRTjiDVni0ekz9VPHGOyctqWWBOLTdFJRdjpCj6adkelXUZntXLfSvVUCnH7eFTlFQIQ2YVH-6UVWes7DVGYiWIQAn1T8Aiif1J18ai0tCLAacYOW4mJtRm7XEc/s200/38255342.jpg" width="133" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I must say, this was one creepy retelling of Frankenstein! Kiersten really knows how to spin a dark story. This was my first book by Ms. White and was not my last (I read<i> Slayer </i>shortly after ). She definitely has a new fan of her stories after 2018! </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">7) <i>Any Man</i> by Amber Tamblyn </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JHcCf0YapHcrSmSdorHsTg28G-nHIvhyphenhyphenRFZdAOXq1TMcml4K9Y-IJ-jFoxhD0NToDK3RClh2Ks5frlmX3O_D_fx9FCTjmdriQ_haNajJ1sPRRHiW1w4xxNAQz7mx76zuyYH6pAKG1Ykg/s1600/35068781.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JHcCf0YapHcrSmSdorHsTg28G-nHIvhyphenhyphenRFZdAOXq1TMcml4K9Y-IJ-jFoxhD0NToDK3RClh2Ks5frlmX3O_D_fx9FCTjmdriQ_haNajJ1sPRRHiW1w4xxNAQz7mx76zuyYH6pAKG1Ykg/s200/35068781.jpg" width="132" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">While this was a short read, it was anything but easy. It was </span><span style="color: black;">frightening, emotional, and literally unlike anything I've ever read before. This was an allegory for gender roles and assumptions and it just has to be read. Trust me on this one. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">6) <i>The Boneless Mercies</i> by April Genevieve Tucholke </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Another retelling is in my favorites for this year - this time a gender-bent Beowulf retelling. The relationships in this book were so wonderful - some romantic, some platonic, all amazing! I'm a big Tucholke fan. I really can't wait to see what she comes out with next. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">5) <i>The Tatooist of Auschwitz</i> by Heather Morris </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Marketed as a historical fiction based off the dialogue liberties taken by the author, this true story about th</span><span style="color: black;">e holocaust was deeply disturbing yet extremely informative about how politics played out in the camp. This book will be very traumatic for some people, so just a warning! However, I feel like this book tells an important story of hope during a very dark time period. </span></span></div>
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4) <i>The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1</i>) by Holly Black</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Holly Black - Queen of Faerie is back with a new series. While this book came out super super early in 2018, I still remember how sucked in I was. However, writing this now, all I can think of is how amazing the follow up, The Wicked King (which I read after BEA) is. HOLY CRAP. You need to read this series because The Wicked King literally just came out like last week and needs to be talked about asap. That ending, though?! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3) <i>An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose, #1</i>) by Charlaine Harris </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was SO stoked this year that one of my favorite authors released a new fantasy series. <i>An Easy Death</i> is the first in a series of fantasy western novels! This book had such a perfect setting, romance, and mystery, like only Charlaine knows how to do! I highly recommend giving this series a try! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2) <i>The Loneliest Girl in the Universe</i> by Lauren James </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, this book hit me like a ton of bricks! I read this so fast and found myself turning the pages so quickly. A SciFi Thriller YA set in space? This was AMAZING and full of plot twists. I really hope Lauren James has more up her sleeve for 2019! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1) <i>Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe, #2)</i> by Neal Shusterman </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The second book in a series is never good as the first, is it? I'm not sure if it's because length of the time you went between reading them takes a toll, if the plot drops off, or what ... but this follow-up was not like that at all. It was PHENOMENAL and my all time favorite book of 2018. I'm obsessed with this series and can't stop thinking about wanting the third book in the series to be out NOW. If you haven't started this series, I highly recommend you do so. It is amazing. </span></div>
Novels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-69412417244034087022018-09-27T05:00:00.000-04:002018-09-27T05:00:10.375-04:00ARC Review: Girls of Paper and Fire <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Natasha Ngan </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: November 6th, 2018 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Jimmy Patterson Books </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 336</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBT </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 4/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #181818;">Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most cruel.<br /><br />But this year, there's a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she's made of <i>fire.</i></b><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it's Lei they're after--the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king's interest.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king's consort. But Lei isn't content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable--she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Girls of Paper and Fire</i> is the start of new fantasy series by Natasha Ngan. It stars Lei, who is forcefully taken from her small village in order to serve the Demon King as a Paper Girl. (Usually) 8 Paper Girls are chosen yearly to serve the King and all of his nightly desires. Typically only higher class paper-caste are chosen, but Lei's golden eyes captured the attention of royal consorts and is given as a gift to the King. A threat on the only family she has left is keeping Lei from escaping, but she looks for other ways to defy the royalty at every turn. </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"The fear might be strong.</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>But my hatred is stronger." </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Like nothing I've ever read before, this book was completely original. There are 3 castes in this book, Paper, Steel, and Moon. Paper castes, like Lei, are full human and considered the lowest of the low. The members of the Steel caste are a combination of demon and human, while those in the Moon caste have full demon traits. The demons in this book look part human/part animal. The Moon and Steel castes treat the Paper caste like trash, calling them horrible names and giving them away as slaves. The world building is so lush, it's absolutely phenomenal. Miss Ngan submerges you in this new world and it's so wonderfully horrifying that you won't want to get out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When Lei is taken to the palace, she doesn't expect to fall for anyone, let alone another one of the Paper Girls. <i>Girls of Paper and Fire</i> includes a romantic f/f relationship and so much diversity. The characters are vibrant, even the secondary characters in this novel are so well-developed it feels like you really know them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Girls of Paper and Fire </i>is a beautifully written, Asian-inspired fantasy. It ties up many plot lines, but leaves some open for the next book in the series. One of those being the Demon Queen! I really want to learn more about her and her secret life. Considering this book is going to be marketed as YA, I was definitely surprised at the explicit content. It reminded me of ACOTAR in the way it has quite a bit of YA/NA crossover appeal. Anyway, I definitely recommend this book for all of those YA fantasy fans out there. I know you'll love this book as much as I did. Are you excited for <i>Girls of Paper and Fire</i>? Are you planning to preorder? </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to Jimmy Patterson Books for providing this book<br />in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-82146332437214594802018-09-24T05:00:00.000-04:002018-09-24T05:00:05.449-04:00ARC Review: An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose, #1) <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Charlaine Harris </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: October 2nd, 2018 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Saga Press </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 320 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 5/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">Gunnie Lizbeth Rose has been hired by a pair of Russian sorcerers as both their local guide and muscle through the small towns of East Texas as they search for a distant relative of an infamous sorcerer whose bloodline can help save their emperor-in-exile as an ever increasing number of assassins tries to stop them.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">After the assassination of FDR in the 1930s, the US collapses and is picked off by the UK, Canada, Mexico, and Russia. We find ourselves in the southwestern states now known as Texoma. It is here that the gunnie Lizbeth Rose tries to piece out a life, running security on runs from Texoma, across the border to Mexico where work and prospects are stronger. When two Russian magicians come looking for a man named Alex Karkarov, they hire Lizbeth to find him or his family, but there are problems: The man they're looking for is dead, but he has a daughter they now need to find, as an ever-growing set of sorcerers and gunnies do not want them to succeed. It’s a good thing Lizbeth is a deadly gunfighter; too bad she hates sorcerers, even the ones she has to learn to rely on.</span></span></div>
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When I found out Charlaine Harris was releasing a new fantasy series, I literally could NOT contain my excitement. I am a huge fan of her work and cherish both her Sookie series and Midnight Texas series. <i>An Easy Death </i>takes place in<i> </i>an alternate history where the Holy Russian Empire is still ruled by Tsars (THE ROMANOVS, EVERYONE!) and the US is no longer United. Our main character, Lizbeth Rose, is a gunnie in the Southwest (now known as Texoma) and she is tasked to find someone who could save young Alexi Romanov's life.<br />
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A major theme in this book are the Russian wizards. Outside of the Holy Russian Empire, citizens aren't a huge fan of them. In the book, you'll see themes where they are not widely accepted and even banned from some restaurants, hotels, etc. Lizbeth is obviously cautious when these two wizards hire her to be their gunnie, but she's not about to turn down their money. I look forward to learning more about the broken US and Holy Russian Empire in the future books. There is a lot of world building going on. We have territories New Britannia (the original colonies), Dixie (current southeast of US), The Holy Russian Empire (modern California and Oregon), New America (Canada Controlled), and Texoma (southwestern US). It's a lot to come to grip on for a 320 page novel, but I definitely feel like we will learn more of the HRE in the next book because of that ending!<br />
<i><br /></i>Lizbeth is a great main character. She's tough, snarky, and doesn't care what people think of her. Unlike a lot of fantasy heroines, she actually has flaws and isn't annoying. She is definitely the type of heroine who can drive a series. I can't wait to read more involving her!! The other two important characters in this novel are the two Russian wizards who hired her to be their Gunnie - Eli and Paulina. From the Holy Russian Empire, they are mysterious and have lots of secrets they don't want to reveal. Paulina reminds me of Pam from the Sookie Series! She's funny with that dry sense of humor. Eli, is a hot Russian wizard that reminds of Eric Northman. Ok - I'm reaching here a bit, but I LOVE Charlaine's characters!<br />
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Ultimately, <i>An Easy Death</i> is something new and fresh from seasoned author, Charlaine Harris. I'm not sure how many books are going to comprise this series, but I can't wait to see what comes next for Gunnie Rose. Sex, magic, and adventure - you can't go wrong with this novel. If you are a Charlaine Harris fan or love Urban Fantasy novels with magic, I hope you'll give this book a try.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZKNvUnhQukD4XbLdMICpIdAA2_qPyFByhjo-GVdST3cnvmnIxLH3M9iXJm88Ulhxxyfq9I_V76Q55vS2nhZTfnFVJmjGhN1t0qhvFlfKESUzuYTVXMO0eVbafQeHZ6eqZ-9AtHSddlSI/s1600/5+stars.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="1209" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZKNvUnhQukD4XbLdMICpIdAA2_qPyFByhjo-GVdST3cnvmnIxLH3M9iXJm88Ulhxxyfq9I_V76Q55vS2nhZTfnFVJmjGhN1t0qhvFlfKESUzuYTVXMO0eVbafQeHZ6eqZ-9AtHSddlSI/s400/5+stars.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to Saga Press for providing this book <br />in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-85270873232602179792018-07-09T05:00:00.000-04:002018-07-09T05:00:12.644-04:00ARC Review: Baby Teeth<b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Zoje Stage </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: July 17th, 2018</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: St. Martin's Press </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 320 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #181818;"><i>Sweetness can be deceptive. </i></b><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Meet Hanna.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Meet Suzette.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette's husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.</span></span></div>
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<i>Baby Teeth</i> is being marketed as a thriller involving Hanna, a (selective) mute girl, who hates her mother so much that she wants her gone so that she can spend all her time with her dad. Meanwhile, her father refuses to believe that Hanna has any ill intentions toward her mother. While this novel is being marketed as a thriller, I didn't find anything thrilling about it.<br />
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The synopsis of this book is literally the entire story. It never progressed past that, and went in circles of 1. Hanna planning to hurt/kill her mom, 2. Her mom reacting to the situation, and 3. Hanna realizing it didn't work and goes back to the drawing board. Obviously, I got very bored after awhile. But I stuck with it because I thought something exciting was going to happen.<br />
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I will say that Hanna was a creepy, albeit believable little girl. Her lack of empathy turned her into a pretty scary character. Suzette, her mom, was at the end of her rope and extremely confused why her daughter hates her so much and is so defiant towards her but doesn't act this way towards her dad. I do wonder why she wouldn't just put video cameras around to catch her daughter's behavior if it was so concerning to her that her husband wouldn't believe her? The dad, Alex, is just so clueless that there is nothing interesting about him.<br />
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While I liked the characters and writing of this book, I was disappointed that there really wasn't any type of resolution or fulfillment to the plot. I felt like we were just reading a big short story with no climactic aspects. This book is being marketed as shocking and disturbing. I guess at times Hanna could be disturbing but it wasn't shocking at all. Because I liked the writing, I would definitely try something else Ms. Stage writes, but, unfortunately, <i>Baby Teeth </i>was not a hit with me.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing this book<br />in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-79889733021414753832018-07-05T05:00:00.000-04:002018-07-05T05:00:04.381-04:00ARC Review: Nine <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Zach Hines </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: August 7th, 2018</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: HarperTeen </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 320 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">In an alternate world startlingly close to our own, humans have nine lives—and they can’t wait to burn straight through them.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">As you shed lives, you shed your awkward phases: one death is equal to one physical and mental upgrade. Julian’s friends are obsessed with the idea of burning lives, but Julian is determined to stay on his first for as long as he can. His mother, the ultimate cautionary tale, burned through her first eight in just a few years, and Julian has no intention of succumbing to the debilitating rebirth sickness that she inflicted on herself.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">But the regime has death incentives aimed at controlling overpopulation, and Julian realizes that he’s going to have to burn at some point—especially when he becomes a target for Nicholas, the manipulative leader of the Burners, the school’s suicide club. And when Julian eventually succumbs, he uncovers suspicious gaps in the rebirth system that may explain exactly why his mother went so far down the rabbit hole years ago. Along with a group of student dissenters, Julian sets out to find answers and is soon on the verge of exposing the greatest conspiracy ever unleashed on the world.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">He has just eight more lives to uncover the brutal truth.</span></span></div>
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<i>Nine </i>is what I'm assuming is the start of a new YA series. The real genre to this is still unclear to me. If I had to pick one - I'd have to say Dystopian (which I love). But it takes place in a "parallel world" - which makes me think science fiction, and there's some weird stuff that happens that makes me think fantasy? I really am not sure what it is supposed to be.<br />
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Anyway, <i>Nine </i>takes place in a parallel world where people have nine lives, and the higher life you are on - the more benefits you get from the government. With a higher life, you get more food rations, entrance to a better college, a better job, and a nicer house. So basically, they are encouraging you to burn through your lives. This is being done to control the population. This honestly sounded like such a good dystopian to me and the premise is amazing, which is why I'm do disappointed the novel as a whole fell short for me. Our main character, Julian, refuses to burn his lives, which I don't get why? It's well known that it's important to burn lives to earn money for your family and get a good job. The burners club at school hosts parties to burn lives - and Julian attends them like a mega creeper, trying to dampen everyone's fun, and is also super judgmental while he's there. Mr. Hines tries to peg the burners as the bad guys - but I liked them. They had a semblance of a personality, unlike our wet mop, Julian. Also, I supposed Julian is just innately SO SPECIAL he already knows burning is not natural. It started getting really weird when he can talk to these gross cicadas popping up everywhere and random cats (nine lives, hehe). Save me the special snowflake trope.<br />
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I probably liked Julian the least. Right up there with Cody, his partner in crime. None of the characters really resonated with me. There were some semi-interesting characters, but we don't get to see enough of them for it to really make an impact. I liked Molly (who you initially think will be an important character), Nicholas, Constance, and Franklin. But like I mentioned, they had such small roles in the novel, that I still wasn't truly invested in them. Truthfully, I probably wouldn't have cared about the outcome of any of them.<br />
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So, if I could compare this book to already published books - I'd have to say it's similar to books like <i>The Maze Runner</i>, <i>Scythe</i>, <i>The Unwind Series</i>, etc. Which, is actually quite strange, considering I love all of those books but am not really a fan of this one. I'm not sure if I'll read a follow up to this one. It left a lot of unanswered questions, but I'm not sure if I care enough about any of it to find out. I've been hurting for a new dystopian since YA is now saturated with the same kind of fantasy, but unfortunately, this is not what I've been looking for.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to Harper Collins for providing<br />this book in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-28805873608166979662018-07-02T05:00:00.000-04:002018-07-02T05:00:03.691-04:00ARC Review: Heretics Anonymous <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGx7ZcNrFBDZZk8naGyJuS1AGtizZTC97Kbx8ZzDKVfd4E8l5bMXqC4XsvKjfhvblqBwM_c6LJ2MyQ8YpXbsAvczn2rxRtMlPPR3CUL7PSxQx9Hb7pKkOjn1tlRZfPos1AQZrT8tK0_u6q/s1600/34659293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGx7ZcNrFBDZZk8naGyJuS1AGtizZTC97Kbx8ZzDKVfd4E8l5bMXqC4XsvKjfhvblqBwM_c6LJ2MyQ8YpXbsAvczn2rxRtMlPPR3CUL7PSxQx9Hb7pKkOjn1tlRZfPos1AQZrT8tK0_u6q/s200/34659293.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">Title: </span><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> Heretics </span><span style="color: #404040;">Anonymous</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Katie Henry</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: August 7th, 2018</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 336</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Contemporary </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 4.5/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">Michael is an atheist. So as he walks through the doors at St. Clare’s—a strict Catholic school—sporting a plaid tie, things can’t get much worse. His dad has just made the family move again, and Michael needs a friend. When a girl challenges their teacher in class, Michael thinks he might have found one, and a fellow nonbeliever at that. Only this girl, Lucy, is not just Catholic . . . she wants to be a priest.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">But Lucy introduces Michael to other St. Clare’s outcasts, and he officially joins Heretics Anonymous, where he can be an atheist, Lucy can be an outspoken feminist, Avi can be Jewish and gay, Max can wear whatever he wants, and Eden can practice paganism. After an incident in theology class, Michael encourages the Heretics to go from secret society to rebels intent on exposing the school’s hypocrisies. When Michael takes one mission too far—putting the other Heretics at risk—he must decide whether to fight for his own freedom, or rely on faith, whatever that means, in God, his friends, or himself.</span></span></div>
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<i>"How can you change a church that doesn't listen to you?" </i></div>
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<i>Heretics Anonymous </i>is a cute, stand-along contemporary from debut author, Katie Henry. This book explores important issues like learning to be accepting of other cultures, and it involves diverse characters and witty banter. You are sure to love it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6hoqSYKrV8QgSVcEx_mVjOrt0wWKtlHloZznKrwLH9mjkwtOyduc3IUsE4FLl4aFWW7o921jsdJJ7uBqwdqsekxhn8DdotwVtCzxl-dXQkAHWRteRRfGNufNKedajQ_xmtTIfB0NhsU2/s1600/tumblr_no3rg3WvG01rtvtvho1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6hoqSYKrV8QgSVcEx_mVjOrt0wWKtlHloZznKrwLH9mjkwtOyduc3IUsE4FLl4aFWW7o921jsdJJ7uBqwdqsekxhn8DdotwVtCzxl-dXQkAHWRteRRfGNufNKedajQ_xmtTIfB0NhsU2/s320/tumblr_no3rg3WvG01rtvtvho1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a>While this book has a ragtag group of friends, it mostly centers on Michael, who just moved in to St. Clare school because his dad received yet another promotion. Since Michael is an atheist, he is adamant that this school is going to be absolutely terrible. But on the first day at St. Clare's, he meets Lucy, who is arguing with on of their teachers. Michael finally feels there are others like him at St. Clare's. And pretty soon, he is welcomed into Lucy's friend group, for people who don't necessarily fully accept the catholic way (i.e. are of a different religion, sexuality, or have different beliefs). They all start to expose the hypocrisies within the school/church, and start to realize that maybe everyone in the school can disagree with some accept of the church they belong to. We also see that home environments aren't necessarily conducive to healthy relationships - highlights of absentee parenting, family dysfunction, and just a non-accepting attitude (to name a few). There really wasn't anything I didn't like in this novel - it was funny, fast-paced, and romantic - honestly everything you could want in a YA contemporary.<br />
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For fans of <i>Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda</i>, <i>Heretics Anonymous</i> is a feel good contemporary that deals with controversial topics like religion, sexuality, and family dynamics in a way that teenagers can relate to. This book is definitely for young adults and adults alike. Ms. Henry definitely rocked her debut novel, and I can't wait to read what she writes next!<br />
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Also - a huge thanks to my friend, Heather, for sending me this (and a bunch of other awesome books) to read!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4LGyYBJrVv1qmT1w4A9SCFDaQRbzAKUrhwLHDWyuabi3zRkKx28a0avhc0Z8jXNfrONIw2JyjM8qc90UN5NkAfw4LS_YhHZOfwU2lp1vbnlDayE0E66TIYvxAY5necAlyxFqhzprwPzoI/s1600/4.5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="1055" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4LGyYBJrVv1qmT1w4A9SCFDaQRbzAKUrhwLHDWyuabi3zRkKx28a0avhc0Z8jXNfrONIw2JyjM8qc90UN5NkAfw4LS_YhHZOfwU2lp1vbnlDayE0E66TIYvxAY5necAlyxFqhzprwPzoI/s400/4.5.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><i>Thank you to Harper Collins for providing<br />this book in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-22300972004343782492018-06-11T05:00:00.000-04:002018-06-11T05:00:01.660-04:00ARC Review: Notes from my Captivity <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimD1N3AfzS8kAtd2RljOcW8l8sXSXxpYmfx0AfMpiQSE323rdWTj2iH91YhJeReuoxmhSyDMew_p_XIqg5x0J59_3HiJeh4wIMUCj6JDzwFWSzkjYNyivfJFUGqIBRFJVM82zvgGhQrtiM/s1600/35564535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimD1N3AfzS8kAtd2RljOcW8l8sXSXxpYmfx0AfMpiQSE323rdWTj2iH91YhJeReuoxmhSyDMew_p_XIqg5x0J59_3HiJeh4wIMUCj6JDzwFWSzkjYNyivfJFUGqIBRFJVM82zvgGhQrtiM/s200/35564535.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">Title: </span><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> Notes from my Captivity </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Kathy Parks </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: July 10th, 2018 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 352</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Contemporary </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 3/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">Girl meets boy… and the family holding her hostage.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Adrienne Cahill cares about three things: getting into a great college; becoming a revered journalist like her idol, Sydney Declay; and making her late father proud of her.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">So when Adrienne is offered the chance to write an article that will get her into her dream school and debunk her foolishly optimistic stepfather Dan’s claim—no, belief—that a legendary family of hermits is living in the Siberian wilderness, there’s no question that she’s going to fly across the world.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">After all, it is the trip of a lifetime.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">But the Russian terrain is even less forgiving than Adrienne. And when disaster strikes, nothing—not the flirtatious guide or her stepdad’s obsessively detailed preparations—can protect Adrienne from the sheer force of nature. Now, Adrienne’s being held captive by the family she was convinced didn’t exist, and her best hope for escape is to act like she cares about befriending them, even if it means wooing the youngest son.</span></span></div>
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<i>Notes from my Captivity </i>is a new YA novel about a girl who gets kidnapped by a hermit family living off the grid in Siberia. Most people think this family is a myth, which is what brings Adrienne to the Siberian wilderness in the first place. Her stepfather is in search for this family - The Osinovs, to prove to the world they exist. However, insanity ensues, and Adrienne ends up captured by them. And she believes they just might be trying to kill her.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCmPLeCsYa8QsB9OBLbMj3KbSmTono8S94Oay9l_gq8dclF31yc4qjoMzXWb5pZ5wAnyCVKSs4Ivw0LP-BjcYDU2hAM8gOWuH7jUcmfqibVqZE0O1uzBGW3dXaOjWkauhlc_alTIACxPI/s1600/8a7eb3646118b0284bce7c86ac4c5a6b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="563" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCmPLeCsYa8QsB9OBLbMj3KbSmTono8S94Oay9l_gq8dclF31yc4qjoMzXWb5pZ5wAnyCVKSs4Ivw0LP-BjcYDU2hAM8gOWuH7jUcmfqibVqZE0O1uzBGW3dXaOjWkauhlc_alTIACxPI/s320/8a7eb3646118b0284bce7c86ac4c5a6b.jpg" width="320" /></a>I did like the characters in this novel. Adrienne was strong and funny. She was very sarcastic and I looove sarcastic narrators. The Osinov's were my favorite part of this, though. They were definitely super creepy, but intriguing at the same time. I loved the different dimensions of their character and motivation, it's what kept me interested in this novel. While the plot was different than your typical YA, there were definitely times that I anticipated what was going to happen. That would have been my least favorite part of the novel. it the situations were more surprising, I'd definitely have given this novel 4 or maybe even 5 stars. </div>
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I did like this book. The beginning was definitely slow, but the second half was very hard to put down. I will say that this one honestly is like a YA I've never read before. I think the book could be for fantasy and contemporary fans alike, as there are big components of both. Have you read Ms. Park's previous novel, <i>The Lifeboat Clique? </i>I am hesitant about picking it up because it doesn't seem like something I'd like based off of the description, but this book was up my alley, so I'm thinking about giving it a try. Have you heard about <i>Notes from my Captivity</i>? Are you interested in giving it a try?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to Harper Collins for providing<br />this book in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-11639610731503497232018-06-05T05:00:00.000-04:002018-06-05T05:00:12.493-04:00ARC Review: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7pt3Acu-RCrwHR7fZtv3IoT2xGweAKNWize3Llww2cg7f04HGGgEgx7yC0K3WsklIg9n9T7CLutfds_A7t_IKsV4nwTEt0pj2aFI-3gqEwXjZkcO8R9dmX7qKKNiLB1yBAwfV2X-DwYL/s1600/36039614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7pt3Acu-RCrwHR7fZtv3IoT2xGweAKNWize3Llww2cg7f04HGGgEgx7yC0K3WsklIg9n9T7CLutfds_A7t_IKsV4nwTEt0pj2aFI-3gqEwXjZkcO8R9dmX7qKKNiLB1yBAwfV2X-DwYL/s200/36039614.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">Title: <b>The Loneliest Girl in the Universe </b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Lauren James </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: July 3rd, 2018 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: HarperTeen </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 320 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Science Fiction </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 5/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">The daughter of two astronauts, Romy Silvers is no stranger to life in space. But she never knew how isolating the universe could be until her parents’ tragic deaths left her alone on the</span><em style="color: #181818;">Infinity</em><span style="color: #181818;">, a spaceship speeding away from Earth.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Romy tries to make the best of her lonely situation, but with only brief messages from her therapist on Earth to keep her company, she can’t help but feel like something is missing. It seems like a dream come true when NASA alerts her that another ship, the</span><em style="color: #181818;"> Eternity</em><span style="color: #181818;">, will be joining the</span><em style="color: #181818;"> Infinity</em><span style="color: #181818;">.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Romy begins exchanging messages with J, the captain of the </span><em style="color: #181818;">Eternity</em><span style="color: #181818;">, and their friendship breathes new life into her world. But as the</span><em style="color: #181818;"> Eternity</em><span style="color: #181818;"> gets closer, Romy learns there’s more to J’s mission than she could have imagined. And suddenly, there are worse things than being alone….</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ok - I'm being completely serious when I say this book is one of the best science fiction books that I've ever read. So basically, NASA located a planet that was indeed, inhabitable by humans. At an attempt to colonize the planet, NASA sends a ship armed with astronauts, seeds, and genetic banks into space. The only problem, it would take years upon years to get there. So, two astronauts would man the ship while the others remained in torpor sleep. NASA didn't account for one of the astronauts getting pregnant on the first leg of the trip. So, instead of going into torpor sleep, the first two astronauts had a baby and raised this baby on the <i>Infinity.</i> At the start of our novel, there is nobody on the ship except for Romy. A huge mishap caused everyone else to die, except her. She is running the ship all by herself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>"Love takes so much energy, and it just leads to pain." </i></b></span></div>
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Romy is an extremely emotionally strong girl to be given this role in space and be the only one on the ship. However, she suffers from debilitating anxiety, which makes her question herself and her decisions. One day, NASA tells her that a second fleet will be joining up with the <i>Infinity</i>. The commander of this fleet - 'J' is on constant contact with Romy from then on. However, some things just don't add up. And we begin to question just who J is and what his motives are. It is honestly SO CHILLING. This book is also fiercely feminist, and I just love it so much. It's hard to put my words into coherent sentences so please enjoy this neat-o list of things I liked:<br />
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Things I Liked:<br />
1. The mental health aspect.<br />
2. The slow-burn of learning the ship's back story.<br />
3. How relatable Romy is.<br />
4. The mystery surrounding J.<br />
5. The writing - it is CRAZY addicting<br />
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Things I didn't like:<br />
Nothing<br />
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<b><i>"If a life of fear isn't worth living, then why should I carry on?" </i></b></div>
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Science fiction and thriller all rolled in one - this book is so fast-paced you can definitely finish it in one sitting. I am 110% pre-ordering this gym as it is one of my favorite books of 2018! If you haven't read this book yet (because I think it's been published before), you need to PRE-ORDER it so we can discuss the amazingness that is <i>The Loneliest Girl in the Universe</i>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to Harper Collins for providing <br />this book in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-75515517288162314822018-06-04T05:00:00.001-04:002018-06-04T05:00:06.742-04:00Book Blitz: Spectacle<div style="margin: 0 auto 15px; text-align: center;">
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<img alt="" src="https://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/06/Spectacle.jpg" style="display: inline-block; float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" /><b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">About the Book:</span></u></b><br />
Title: <strong>Spectacle</strong><br />Author: <strong>S.J. Pierce </strong><br />Publication date: June 4th 2018<br />Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><u>Synopsis:</u></b> </span><br />
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<strong>Avatar meets Gladiator in this spellbinding Young Adult, Science-Fiction seriesby bestselling author S.J. Pierce.</strong></blockquote>
Two hundred years after the Great Disaster, the day earthquakes ravaged Earth’s landscapes, humanity has finally regrouped and is working toward a better future. But in New America – one of three remaining landmasses – overpopulation makes a better future seem bleaker by the year.<br />
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Mira (Mirabella) Foster and her parents are citizens of New America, and with the threat of starvation and disease looming on the horizon, a discovery threatens to push everyone to the brink of chaos:blue markings develop on people’s skin. Markings that allow them to camouflage,but also make them feared, and eventually, targets of violence.<br />
Mira’s dad is one of them.</blockquote>
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<strong>Spectacle, Part One is the beginning of a three-part series. Suitable for ages fourteen and up.</strong></blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39297707-spectacle" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Spectacle-Trilogy-Book-1-ebook/dp/B07BH81Z7K/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> / <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spectacle-sj-pierce/1122059507?ean=9781985169425" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> / <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/pa/book/spectacle/id1359959908?l=en&mt=11" target="_blank">iBooks</a> / <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/spectacle-18" target="_blank">Kobo</a></div>
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On sale for 99¢ for a limited time!</div>
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Spectacle has made it to my <strong>TOP TEN LIST OF DYSTOPIAN BOOKS</strong> to read. ★★★★★</div>
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This book is totally <strong>ADDICTIVE, FAST-PACED</strong> and <strong>SUSPENSEFUL</strong>, with great lead characters and complex world building. ★★★★★</div>
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<strong>HUNGER GAMES</strong> meets <strong>AVATAR</strong> in this spellbinding Young Adult, Science-Fiction series by bestselling author S.J. Pierce.</div>
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<i>When Luxxe and I make it into the crowd, they part for us, their cheers and attentions trained on him – the camp’s hunting trainer and star of our monthly hunting expeditions. In other words, their well-respected (and sometimes feared) hero. I’ve seen him hunt enough to know why too. He’s precise and brutal. No holds barred. It’s safe to say he’s the best one here, and I have to admit, though anything violent makes my stomach turn (even for the purpose of food), to see him in his element is like witnessing the athleticism of an Olympian god. This is what he was made for – to kill.</i><i>His arm slips from my shoulder as he turns to hug his best friend and training assistant, Cole – another mountain of a teenage boy. He wears his dreads shorter, and his eyes are the color of liquid metal. His markings have harsh angles like bolts of lightning and cover his arms and half his torso. They’ve multiplied since I last saw him.</i><i>The cheers around us ebb as they wait for Luxxe to finish his greetings and lead us into the forest; this is the part where I have to fend for myself. Then we’ll part ways into smaller groups and kill whatever we can carry. Our group is usually me, Luxxe, Taylor, and Cole.</i><i>While I stand with my hands clasped and looking at the ground, the lonely snowflake in a frenzied bed of coal, I feel some of their eyes on me but pretend not to notice. I know they wonder about me – the blonde, pale girl with no markings who hardly ever comes around; the girl Luxxe is close with even though he has a very committed girlfriend, not that it’s any of their business; the daughter of the former head liaison who met with the President all those years ago. Though most believe my dad is innocent, I think some blame him for starting the war that placed us here, though they don’t say it. At least not to me. I’ve overheard rumblings in the market a time or two about how he went ‘mad’ or ‘rogue’ and secretly planned to take the President out but was taken out instead. And it might be my imagination, but I feel their resentment when they look at me, still fresh after all this time. Like I was somehow in on whatever they assume he did.</i><i>Oh, well. Screw them. He was innocent.</i></blockquote>
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<img alt="" src="https://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/06/SJ.jpg" style="display: inline-block; float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" /><b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Author Bio:</span></u></b><br />
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Multiple Award Nominated and Bestselling Author Susan James Pierce has a degree in Marketing Management, works for a Fortune 500 company in Atlanta, Georgia, and devotes her precious, spare time to writing Paranormal, Sci-fi, and Contemporary Romance novels.</blockquote>
Please visit www.sjpiercebooks.com and sign up for her mailing list or subscribe to her blog if you'd like to hear when new books come out!<br />
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<a href="https://www.sjpiercebooks.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6562942.S_J_Pierce" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SJPiercebooks" target="_blank">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/sjpierce_author" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
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Novels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-8357126582852455142018-06-01T05:00:00.000-04:002018-06-28T11:24:46.162-04:00ARC Review: The Brink of Darkness (The Edge of Everything, #2) <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14cyyZg0XpLgNnxK99J7ChP5bSSTEWsfwvR8lTqtEpOdyL8nOBPhU0NH8Llyl9lXl_WppPtSjXOdQQp8OoONsa2F1ggTH_kM_nQQbfVenl_GRr1Vr4OtgU-Q0Gq4Nt28Rw5bK3iNe-6zr/s1600/35715509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14cyyZg0XpLgNnxK99J7ChP5bSSTEWsfwvR8lTqtEpOdyL8nOBPhU0NH8Llyl9lXl_WppPtSjXOdQQp8OoONsa2F1ggTH_kM_nQQbfVenl_GRr1Vr4OtgU-Q0Gq4Nt28Rw5bK3iNe-6zr/s200/35715509.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">Title: <b>The Brink of Darkness</b> (</span><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">The Edge of Everything, #2) </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Jeff Giles </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: July 3rd, 2018 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 400 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 4/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">Things have changed for seventeen-year-old Zoe ever since the otherworldly events that brought her together with the mysterious bounty hunter she calls X. In order to save Zoe and her family, X has done the unthinkable - he's given up his freedom and returned to captivity in the Lowlands.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">X is determined to break the lords' hold on him once and for all, but being stripped of his power pushes him toward a darkness he's never experienced and a past he's never known. The secrets that surface could be the key to reuniting X and Zoe... or they could mean the destruction of everything they have been fighting for.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Brink of Darkness</i> is the follow up to Jeff Giles' <i>Edge of Everything</i>. I really liked <i>The Edge of Everything</i> so I was very excited to read the sequel. I think I initially read T<i>he Edge of Everything </i>after I got it at BEA in 2016 so the wait has been real. </span></div>
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<i><b>"You don't believe you're going to get out of here."</b></i></div>
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<i><b>"I want it far too much to believe it." </b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Brink of Darkness</i> picks up with Ripper making a mockery of the Bounty Hunters in the Lowlands by evading them. She is seeking out the graves of her children and nothing will stop her, except X, who is the only bounty hunter she'll return with. Zoe is still recovering from the harsh truth that instead of her dad dying a hero, he was a coward who left their family. However, this sequel mostly focuses on X and all the questions that were left unanswered regarding his past. <i>The Brink of Darkness</i> has more of a setting in the Lowlands, which I love! That underworld that Mr. Giles created has such lush and rich world-building. I'd read 100 more book taking place there. The Lowlands is never boring and neither are the characters there, which makes <i>The Brink of Darkness </i>difficult to put down! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I adored the characters in <i>The Brink of Darkness</i>. We see our favorites (um, Ripper, obviously) as well as a few new faces (Plum, Maudlin). The characters all had interesting backstories that came in to play and were all thoroughly developed. It was obviously great seeing X again and equally as great that he had ample page time. Zoe was just as she was in the fist book (kind of a pain in the ass), but the fact that I loved the other characters so much made up for it. When I first started this book, I was unaware as to how many books were going to be in this series. So when I started getting closer to the end, I was thinking 'wait is this the last book'? And indeed it is only a duology. I was disappointed because just as I felt like I was becoming to REALLY love the characters, they were being taken away from me. However, I will say, this book does an amazing job tying up loose ends and providing a good conclusion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Brink of Darkness</i> is the emotional and satisfying conclusion to <i>The Edge of Everything</i> Series. And I have to say, this follow up was better than <i>The Edge of Everything</i>. If you've read the first book and you aren't sure you want to read the sequel, I'd HIGHLY encourage you to do so - especially if you love X. And while I'm quite disappointed that this series is over, I'm excited to see what Jeff Giles writes next. It would be great if he wrote a series of short stories from the Lowlands! I'd 1000% read that! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to Bloomsbury USA Children's for<br />providing this book in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-42825618462876174942018-05-29T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-29T05:00:03.176-04:00Cover Reveal: Storm of the Gods<div style="margin: 0 auto 15px; text-align: center;">
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<img alt="" src="https://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/05/Storm-1.png" style="display: inline-block; float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" /><strong><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">About the Book:</span></u></strong><br />
Title: <strong>Storm of the Gods </strong><b>(An Areios Brothers Novel)</b><br />Author: <strong>Amy Braun </strong><br />Publication date: August 27th 2018<br />Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy<br />
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The first in a brand new urban fantasy series where gods roam and mortals fight, STORM OF THE GODS follows two brothers who are caught in a conspiracy revolving around ancient artifacts, and find themselves siding with their supposed enemies rather than the Olympian who demands their loyalty…</div>
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Thirty years ago, the gods of Greek legend returned to the world. Their return restored their powers, which had been spent in a cataclysmic battle with the Titans. With the ancient deities imprisoned in Tartarus, the Olympians now reside in Néo Vasíleio, formerly known as California.<br />
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Twenty-four-year-old Derek Aerios is a war scion, a descendent of Ares, the God of War. He and his brother, eighteen-year-old Liam, capture mythological creatures and rogue scions as part of Ares’s elite military force. As he struggles to cope with his violent powers and the scars of a traumatic childhood, Derek tries to keep the two vows he has made: protect his brother, and never kill a human again.</div>
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But when Ares forces him to hunt and kill four rogue scions under Athena’s control—by threatening Liam’s life—Derek chooses to go after the scions in order to save his brother and keep his promise to himself.</div>
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Yet the closer Derek gets to the scions, the more he realizes that his orders are part of a deeper conspiracy that put him at odds with his mission and his conscience. Athena may not be the enemy, a traitor could be in their midst, and the Titans could be closer to freedom than ever before.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39331711-storm-of-the-gods" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a></div>
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<img alt="" src="https://www.xpressobooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/06/Amy.jpg" style="display: inline-block; float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" /><b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Author Bio:</span></u></b><br />
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Amy is a Canadian urban fantasy and horror author. Her work revolves around monsters, magic, mythology, and mayhem. She started writing in her early teens, and never stopped. She loves building unique worlds filled with fun characters and intense action.</blockquote>
When she isn’t writing, she’s reading, watching movies, taking photos, gaming, struggling with chocoholism and ice cream addiction, and diving headfirst into danger in Dungeons & Dragons campaigns.<br />
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<a href="http://amybraunauthor.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8452020.Amy_Braun" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/amybraunauthor/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/amybraunauthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.instagram.com/amybraunauthor/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></div>
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~Cassie</div>
Novels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-89533758225863765722018-05-18T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-18T05:00:03.892-04:00Cover Reveal: If<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Title:</b> If</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Author:</b> Randi Cooley Wilson</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Genre:</b> Contemporary Romance</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Release Date:</b> Summer, 2018</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Cover Designer:</b> Hang Le by Hang Le</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">If you knew love would hurt you, would you fall?</span>
<span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">If you knew love would leave you, would you let it go?</span>
<span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">If you knew love could never be, would you try?</span>
<span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">From bestselling author Randi Cooley Wilson comes a gut-wrenching love story about heartbreak, second chances, and letting go. The ifs that linger between the pages of this novel will break your heart and stay with you long after the final chapter.</span>
<span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">Emerson Shaw thought she’d left her old life behind her, but when she returns home for her best friend’s wedding, she has no idea her past is waiting to reclaim her.</span>
<span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">Dark and broken, Lincoln Daniels never wanted to find love. But when he met straight-laced Emerson, he fell. Hard. The only thing they seemed to have in common was an undeniable mutual attraction, but from the moment he laid eyes on her, there was something about her that called to him. Until he lost her.</span>
<span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">Tormented by demons and consumed by dark desires, it took years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of their what ifs. Just when Emerson is finally ready to let go and stop existing in a past full of pain and regret, Lincoln returns, turning her life upside down. What begins as a tentative friendship quickly escalates, and the two soon realize that all the ifs lingering between them no longer matter.</span>
<span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;">If is a love story about two damaged people whose future depends on promises made in the past. What happens when two broken people meet, fall in love, and realize they can never be? What happens when all the what ifs no longer make sense? If you knew your heart would break, would you still fall? This book is intended for mature audiences.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Randi Cooley Wilson is a best selling author of paranormal, urban fantasy, and contemporary romance books. Born and raised in </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Massachusetts, she attended Bridgewater State University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies. After graduation, she moved to California and worked in Marketing, Public Relations and Advertising on Luxury and Global Lifestyle Brands. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2014, Randi published the bestselling and award nominated Revelation Series, the Royal Protector Academy Series, and the Dark Soul Series. Randi makes stuff up, devours romance books, drinks lots of coffee</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">—though she </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">prefers champagne—and has a slight addiction to bracelets. She currently resides in Massachusetts with her daughter, fur baby, and husband.</span></span></div>
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Novels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-51223307446137635332018-05-17T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-17T05:00:01.542-04:00ARC Review: Always Forever Maybe <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95AAHXfdBAbNLAvA5jHeEV9fInd_UkAZJQCo3znnMW47Ydhj2QmvtWiBDIb41Rw1PeFAzqHQH4iqMQHvRLXzA53Vxm7izRGCJgP4j4lF9M8csys42nGFPyMfceRKJ2jo5xUGK9ag3xjOW/s1600/35122220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95AAHXfdBAbNLAvA5jHeEV9fInd_UkAZJQCo3znnMW47Ydhj2QmvtWiBDIb41Rw1PeFAzqHQH4iqMQHvRLXzA53Vxm7izRGCJgP4j4lF9M8csys42nGFPyMfceRKJ2jo5xUGK9ag3xjOW/s200/35122220.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">Title: </span><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> Always Forever Maybe </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Anica Mrose Rissi</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: June 5th, 2018 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: HarperTeen </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 256</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Contemporary </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">When Betts meets Aiden at the candy store where she works, their connection is like a sugar rush to the heart. Betts already knows the two of them are infinite. Inevitable. Destined to become an </span><em style="color: #181818;">us</em><span style="color: #181818;">.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Betts has only ever kept one secret from her best friend, Jo, but suddenly there’s a long list of things she won’t tell her, things Jo wouldn’t understand. Because Jo doesn’t see how good Aiden is for Betts. She finds him needy. Possessive. Controlling.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">She’s wrong. With a love like this, nothing else matters.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>"I didn't even know this boy, but I knew I would let him take me anywhere."</b></i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Always Forever Maybe</i> is a contemporary YA that explores abusive high school relationships. I was hesitant to start this because the last few YA novels I read regarding this topic were very similar and kind of just varied with the main characters' backgrounds and personalities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was very surprised that not only was <i>Always Forever Maybe</i> different in terms of characters, it was also a bit in different regarding plot and context. For the first half of the book, I honestly was thinking that this is just another variation of abusive high school relationships that I've read numerous times already. However, when I got to the second half of the book, I realized it was different and didn't take the path I was expecting it to take. Yes, you can tell from the beginning that Betts is not going down a good path with Aiden and that this is going to end badly for her and you just want to shake her and say "STOP MAKING EXCUSES"! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another thing I really liked about this novel was the characters. I loved the relationship between Betts and Jo. This was a big part of the novel and I think their friendship helped you to better understand their motivations and characters. I also really liked Eric, Jo's brother. I thought the romantic interest, Aiden, was kind of plain. He was not really that different from any characters like him. He could have been replaced by any character in a novel similar to this and it wouldn't have made a difference. He was abusive and used his sad past as an excuse to act like a jerk, which is pretty typical for characters like him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>"Even the very worst version of you deserves nothing but love."</b></i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I want to thank my friend Heather at Harper Collins for sending me this book! I pretty much enjoyed it and I was actually surprised because a lot of abusive relationship YA books tend to be very, very similar in context. I do wish that Aiden was a little bit different than your typical abusive boyfriend character and I wish </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">it would have went into more detail regarding how Betts' mom knew Aiden, but it just kind of left you wondering what situations happened to make her mother dislike him so much. Anyway, I think fans of YA contemporaries will enjoy this. If you think this book sounds interesting, you should definitely give it a try! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35tfIqZQ40q2o8EbrBSLoXfFzvgXQVF4_8SNHZiNADTb7ZvUEjVJaslov9yul4lT9A_E5sL0x0HlK1jTpM5FJXG4p3VSr3St-6grBkO3EoRglC3LrE69UV_p6iyDJi-mu9zfwTRsuXkwE/s1600/3.5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="1041" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35tfIqZQ40q2o8EbrBSLoXfFzvgXQVF4_8SNHZiNADTb7ZvUEjVJaslov9yul4lT9A_E5sL0x0HlK1jTpM5FJXG4p3VSr3St-6grBkO3EoRglC3LrE69UV_p6iyDJi-mu9zfwTRsuXkwE/s320/3.5.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to Harper Collins for providing<br />this book in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-85335125360319257692018-05-15T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-15T05:00:04.278-04:00Book Review: We'll Fly Away <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiSVVNzBI5jrhHuUd3AO0cMXB0YHFH8zyi_V32IVBYYx2G-7fZvW9o2bYkxkFTzBY75XZQs5SECK1_Ip0e8CTmtRHnJtJfuHEXy_QHFIPQzmBZiUje_uzANss0G9ZK3li6BtPSPNkHkUVn/s1600/35959354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiSVVNzBI5jrhHuUd3AO0cMXB0YHFH8zyi_V32IVBYYx2G-7fZvW9o2bYkxkFTzBY75XZQs5SECK1_Ip0e8CTmtRHnJtJfuHEXy_QHFIPQzmBZiUje_uzANss0G9ZK3li6BtPSPNkHkUVn/s200/35959354.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">Title: <b> We'll Fly Away </b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Bryan Bliss </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: May 8th, 2018 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Greenwillow Books </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 416</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Contemporary </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 4/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">Uniquely told through letters from death row and third-person narrative, Bryan Bliss’s hard-hitting third novel expertly unravels the string of events that landed a teenager in jail. Luke feels like he’s been looking after Toby his entire life. He patches Toby up when Toby’s father, a drunk and a petty criminal, beats on him, he gives him a place to stay, and he diffuses the situation at school when wise-cracking Toby inevitably gets into fights. Someday, Luke and Toby will leave this small town, riding the tails of Luke’s wrestling scholarship, and never look back.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">But during their senior year, they begin to drift apart. Luke is dealing with his unreliable mother and her new boyfriend. And Toby unwittingly begins to get drawn into his father’s world, and falls for an older woman. All their long-held dreams seem to be unraveling. Tense and emotional, this heartbreaking novel explores family, abuse, sex, love, friendship, and the lengths a person will go to protect the people they love. For fans of NPR’s Serial podcast, Jason Reynolds, and Matt de la Peña.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>We'll Fly Away</i> is a realistic fiction YA about two best friends who both live extremely hard lives. Luke, the all-star wrestler, takes care of his family and struggles with feeding his younger brothers while his mother has hookups with random guys. Toby, the carefree boy with an alcoholic and abusive father is just looking for someone to accept him. The novel starts with the past of Toby and Luke being as close as ever, while we also get current letters from Luke from death row. As their lives start to get more complicated, causing conflict and them to separate from each other, we get a glimpse inside modern day poverty, child abuse, and what the criminal justice system is like. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am definitely picky with the contemporary novels I read, and I'm so glad I read this one. It is jarringly emotional with the multi-dimensional characters and hardships they are going through. As a school psychologist, it is heartbreaking for me to see the kinds of things kids go through on a daily basis, and the fact that they just want semblance of a normal life. I thought that the saddest part of this novel was the relationship Luke has with his younger brothers. He is basically a father figure for them, and the only one they can really rely on. Thinking about what will happen to them while he is in jail was constantly on my mind throughout the entirety of this novel. The voice and characters of this book are so amazing, it could easily be made into an Oscar-worthy film.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Again, a huge thank you to my friend Heather for sending me this book to enjoy! If you enjoy hard-hitting and moving contemporary novels, <i>We'll Fly Away</i> is the book for you. The characters and their situations are heartbreaking. You won't be able to put this book down and it'll definitely be one that sticks with you for years to come. </span><br />
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-54215046355884271542018-05-10T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-10T05:00:08.805-04:00Book Review: Devil's Cut (The Bourbon Kings, #3) <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: J.R. Ward </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: August 1st, 2017 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Ballantine </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 418</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Romance </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At first, the death of William Baldwine, the head of the Bradford family, was ruled a suicide. But then his eldest son and sworn enemy, Edward, came forward and confessed to what was, in fact, a murder. Now in police custody, Edward mourns not the disintegration of his family or his loss of freedom . . . but the woman he left behind. His love, Sutton Smythe, is the only person he has ever truly cared about, but as she is the CEO of the Bradford Bourbon Company’s biggest competitor, any relationship between them is impossible. And then there’s the reality of the jail time that Edward is facing.<br /><br />Lane Baldwine was supposed to remain in his role of playboy, forever in his big brother Edward’s shadow. Instead he has become the new head of the family and the company. Convinced that Edward is covering for someone else, Lane and his true love, Lizzie King, go on the trail of a killer—only to discover a secret that is as devastating as it is game-changing.<br /><br />As Lane rushes to discover the truth, and Sutton finds herself irresistibly drawn to Edward in spite of his circumstances, the lives of everyone at Easterly will never be the same again. For some, this is good; for others, it could be a tragedy beyond imagining. Only one thing is for certain: Love survives all things. Even murder.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Devil's Cut </i>is the conclusion of J.R. Ward's beautiful southern mystery series involving the Baldwine's - a billionaire family of bourbon distillers who are on the brink of bankruptcy due to some shoddy business decisions from the patriarch of the family. If you haven't read this series yet, check out my spoiler free review of <i>The Bourbon Kings</i>, otherwise you are going to spoil yourself for the wonder than is this series! T<i>he Devil's Cut </i>picks up right where The Angel's Share left off - Aurora in the hospital, Gin stuck in a loveless marriage with Richard while pining for Samuel T., and William murdered. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>"Love survives all things, time marriages, deaths. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>It is more what makes us immortal than even the children we leave in our wake to our graves."</i></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Beautiful writing and creative story plots don't slow down with this final installment. Ms. Ward is able to masterfully conclude this series, while still involving the Bradfords in new twists and turns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While the plot is electric, the characters are easily my favorite thing about this series. They are so real I just want to reach right through the pages and steal them away for myself! Each one of them is wonderful. My favorites, Gin and Samuel T. get a TON of page time in this book and I couldn't be more thankful. Each character matured throughout the series, but none more than Gin. I am so happy Ms. Ward gave Gin the ending she deserves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I know J.R. Ward is most known for her <i>Black Dagger Brotherhood </i>series, but this is honestly such an underrated series. I haven't heard much buzz about it in the book world, and it's a shame because it's a hidden gem! And every expectation for this last book was blown away. I loved everything about the series - from the secrets, relationships, and mysteries. I'm sad it's over but it will definitely be going down as one of my favorite book series. If you love dramatic stories laced with romance, this series is for you! Since all of the books are out, this series would be amazing to binge while sipping on lemonade this summer. You 100% need this in your life. </span></div>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-60103810547376411102018-05-08T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-08T05:00:01.181-04:00ARC Review: Sweet Black Waves <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAFnp7FUAZWjeQfgMDIG-8AgR_6e7fq1VidflgUxe2dLttmGZNY-Q88zZH5G7fCeUDHbGQQksO4CDNHMfM3fx2ppuKScXNBhHrZltM6JQ2AsTkicfW1_AEM2WYccItn1Z17ne8-GybSRQ/s1600/31179006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAFnp7FUAZWjeQfgMDIG-8AgR_6e7fq1VidflgUxe2dLttmGZNY-Q88zZH5G7fCeUDHbGQQksO4CDNHMfM3fx2ppuKScXNBhHrZltM6JQ2AsTkicfW1_AEM2WYccItn1Z17ne8-GybSRQ/s200/31179006.jpg" width="130" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">Title: </span><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> Sweet Black Waves </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Kristina Perez </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: June 5th, 2018 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Macmillan </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 448</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="freeText17250360560389303426" style="color: #181818;"><i>Not you without me, not me without you.</i><br /><br />Two proud kingdoms stand on opposite shores, with only a bloody history between them.<br /><br />As best friend and lady-in-waiting to the princess, Branwen is guided by two principles: devotion to her homeland and hatred for the raiders who killed her parents. When she unknowingly saves the life of her enemy, he awakens her ancient healing magic and opens her heart. Branwen begins to dream of peace, but the princess she serves is not so easily convinced. Fighting for what's right, even as her powers grow beyond her control, will set Branwen against both her best friend and the only man she's ever loved.<br /><br />Inspired by the star-crossed tale of Tristan and Iseult, this is the story of the legend’s true heroine: Branwen. For fans of <i>Graceling</i> and <i>The Mists of Avalon</i>, this is the first book of a lush fantasy trilogy about warring countries, family secrets, and forbidden romance.</span><span style="color: #181818;"> </span></span></div>
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<i><b>"Odai Eti Ama - I hate and I love"</b></i><br />
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<i>Sweet Black Waves</i> is a new YA fantasy inspired by the tale of Tristan and Iseult. I was immediately drawn in by the summary of this book and the power dynamics between her cousin and love interest. This book was such a good fantasy and while I didn't love the romance, the conflicts and situations were so intriguing and the writing was so moving that it didn't matter. </div>
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The world-building was so beautiful in this novel. There were so many places and characters in this novel to remember but not once did it seem overwhelming. When I opened the book there were pages upon pages of names and descriptions and I was thinking "oh gosh what am I getting myself into"? But it wasn't like that at all and I rarely had look at the descriptions of the characters. It was crafted perfectly. I didn't like the insta-love between Branwen and Tristan. I understood why it was necessary to the novel but it just left a sour taste in my mouth. I think their love was actually supposed to drive the novel, but for me it was the magic. </div>
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I loved Branwen and her cousin Essy. Branwen was fierce and loyal, everything you would imagine the heroine of a fantasy novel would be. Essay was a privileged brat, but her character was so well developed I loved it and it added so much to the story. Branwen's love interest, Tristan, bored the heck out of me. He blew so many compliments up Branwen's ass when they first meet that I thought my eyes were going to be lodged in the back of my head because I was rolling my eyes so much. At the end of the book, he finally got a tad bit more interesting but lets be honest, the familial relationship between Branwen and Essy is the real star of this novel. </div>
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This novel was inspired by Tristan and Iseult, but honestly I've never even heard of that tale. So, I guess if you are familiar with that tale you would be interested in this! The fantasy in this book was rocking and the world-building was phenomenal. Branwen and Essy were beautifully developed characters, but I did not love the romance between Branwen and Tristan. Maybe it was just me but I can't get over instalove like that. I will probably pick up the second book, but I'm hoping the romance either gets better or disappears completely. Have you heard of Tristan and Iseult? Will you be pre-ordering this book? </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to Macmillan for providing<br />this book in exchange for my honest review</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-80901980849033062502018-05-07T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-07T05:00:02.641-04:00ARC Review: City of Bastards (Royal Bastards, #2) <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsliXiqJiMMqTxHdCW4uZkDABNZPlogtm3-BNct2kift2zNPsVxGAwlGuMFNpRPmvhQdntuiCPUGW6bfDuESkGQ0y3cWKw9FQFifUziR0a37r6qY_dDvv8fu5_IGPjAi38VoWu9dX2SBlv/s1600/35843874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsliXiqJiMMqTxHdCW4uZkDABNZPlogtm3-BNct2kift2zNPsVxGAwlGuMFNpRPmvhQdntuiCPUGW6bfDuESkGQ0y3cWKw9FQFifUziR0a37r6qY_dDvv8fu5_IGPjAi38VoWu9dX2SBlv/s200/35843874.jpg" width="134" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">Title: </span><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> City of Bastards (Royal Bastards, #2) </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Andrew Shvarts </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: June 5th, 2018 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Disney-Hyperion </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 320 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Fantasy </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">Tilla, bastard of House Kent, has it made. Safe from her murderous father in the dazzling capital of Lightspire, she lives a life of luxury under the protection of the Volaris King, alongside her boyfriend Zell and best friend, Princess Lyriana.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">So why isn’t she happy? Maybe it’s the whispers and stares that follow her wherever she goes, as the daughter of the traitor waging war against Lightspire. Or maybe it’s the memories of her beloved brother, Jax, who lies cold in his grave even as she tries to settle into a life in the city's prestigious University.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Then, Tilla stumbles upon the body of a classmate, a friend. The authorities are quick to rule it a suicide and sweep it under the rug, but when Tilla herself is attacked by a mysterious man with terrifying powers, she’s convinced of a conspiracy. Her friends beg her to stay silent; what she's suggesting is impossible... and treasonous.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">But Tilla can't, won't, let it go. And the deeper she digs, the more questions she uncovers. How is the West beating the supposedly invincible Lightspire Mages in battle? Is it connected to the shadowy cult wreaking havoc in Lightspire? Nothing is as it seems in the glorious capital, and Tilla’s presence might just be the spark that sets the Kingdom aflame.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>City of Bastards</i> is the second installment in the<i> Royal Bastards</i> series. I initially read <i>Royal Bastards</i> last spring, and I really liked it! I thought it was unique and fun, something a lot different than I'm used to reading. Unfortunately, I thought <i>City of Bastards</i> was just ok compared to its predecessor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The gang was finally in Lightspire, home of Princess Lyriana. I loved the idea of them finally staying in one place, since everyone was basically on the run for the entirety of <i>Royal Bastards</i>. Lyriana told everyone how safe and happy they would be in Lightspire, which obviously seemed too good to be true. Everyone there thought Tilla was a traitor and Zell was Zitochi scum. When Tilla's roommate is killed, questions about loyalties start to bubble up. However, with this installment, instead of the focus being on power struggles of the different nations, it seems more focused on religious zealots trying to destroy the Volaris. In this novel, both the Volaris and the Westerners aren't portrayed nicely. They both seem to have no regard to human life other than royalty. With that being said, this book took a lot of the focus off of bastards - the illigetimate royal children, and that was disappointing because that's what this series is based on! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tilla is definitely more of a spitfire than your typical YA heroine. She has realistic flaws (so hypocritical and also loves alcohol) and a hardcore personality. I didn't see much character development with her or Zell in this novel, but wow lots of character development with Princess Lyriana. I absolutely love her and Ellarion. They evolved so much from book 1. Both of them surprised me in this novel in regards to their loyalties and originality. Aside from the main characters we already know, there were so many new characters we meet in Lightspire. Unfortunately, a lot of them seemed to blur together. I don't feel like the newer characters were given the attention they deserved, so they fell pretty flat for me. I did really enjoy Markiska's character, though. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, <i>City of Bastards</i> didn't quite live up to my expectations after <i>Royal Bastards</i>. It was ok, but I was expecting a bit more after how imaginative the first installment was. I loved the diversity and the characters we already got to know, but I was a bit disappointed in the newer characters. Did you get a chance to read <i>Royal Bastards </i>last year? What did you think of it? Will you be picking up <i>City of Bastards</i> and joining the crew in Lightspire? </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to Disney-Hyperion for providing<br />this book in exchange for my honest review.</i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-64042873128519426432018-05-03T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-03T05:00:09.817-04:00ARC Review: Bring Me Back<b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpe3Mgs_PZJg_beJrr0AFT_tkKQ-T8IIosG3qhd88cm6eMrUdC3r0ryqBS59vsXa2FHIVpkgvoxaQP3aQBerCW-RzrJ1UOlf7hKZFXVbncTFYjbxoGnBnE7Fu6tppxJflIDVvV_khMD1px/s1600/35857495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="303" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpe3Mgs_PZJg_beJrr0AFT_tkKQ-T8IIosG3qhd88cm6eMrUdC3r0ryqBS59vsXa2FHIVpkgvoxaQP3aQBerCW-RzrJ1UOlf7hKZFXVbncTFYjbxoGnBnE7Fu6tppxJflIDVvV_khMD1px/s200/35857495.jpg" width="127" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: <b> Bring Me Back </b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: B.A. Paris </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: June 19th, 2018</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: St. Martin's Press</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 304</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Adult, Thriller, Mystery </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 3/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">A young British couple are driving through France on holiday when they stop for gas. He runs in to pay, she stays in the car. When he returns her car door has been left open, but she's not inside. No one ever sees her again. </span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Ten years later he's engaged to be married; he's happy, and his past is only a tiny part his life now. Until he comes home from work and finds his new wife-to-be is sitting on their sofa. She's turning something over in her fingers, holding it up to the light. Something that would have no worth to anyone else, something only he and she would know about because his wife is the sister of his missing first love.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">As more and more questions are raised, their marriage becomes strained. Has his first love somehow come back to him after all this time? Or is the person who took her playing games with his mind?</span></span></div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><u style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Review:</u></span></b></div>
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<i>Bring Me Back</i> is one of the most anticipated psychological thrillers of 2018. B.A. Paris is new to the scene, with hits like<i> Behind Closed Doors</i> and the <i>Breakdown</i>. <i>Bring Me Back </i>visits Finn, after his girlfriend, Layla, disappeared in the middle of the night while he was in the bathroom at a rest station. Almost a decade later, he is healing and engaged to none other than Layla's sister, Ellen. Suddenly, relics of Layla's past start popping up. Has Layla come back after all these years or is somebody playing a cruel joke?<br />
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I've been getting more and more into psychological thrillers, so I couldn't wait to dive right in when I found a review copy in the mail. What I love most about them is the need to keep turning the page to find out what is really going on. I definitely had that same feeling with <i>Bring Me Back</i>. My mind was turning and turning and wonder if Layla was truly back or if someone close to Finn is mentally unstable. How the story is told in alternating past-present chapters helped build the tension. While I ultimately found the end surprising, there were some inconsistencies in the story that kept me from giving this a full 5 stars.<br />
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With extreme anger issues and not being able to recall what happened the night Layla disappeared, I 100% pinned Finn as a sociopath from chapter 1. I felt bad for Layla and what could have happened to her - her story is what kept me really interested. Ellen was, for the most part, apathetic. I could take her or leave her, but I found her boring for the majority of the story. I couldn't really connect with Finn until the end of the book, when I finally found some underpinnings of an empathetic soul. This book definitely lacked some character development, but it also was only 240 pages. So, considering that fact, it's pretty decent.<br />
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While not my favorite psychological thriller, this book was surprisingly dark. With elements of severe delusions and mental instability,<i> Bring Me Back</i> is a creepy read that is perfect for beach reading when you've burnt out all of the summer chick-lit you've been binging. I already have her other hits, <i>Behind Closed Doors</i> and <i>The Breakdown</i> on hand - and I'm ready to see what her other thrillers are about. Have you read any of her previous thriller novels? What did you think?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing this book in<br />exchange for my honest review </i></td></tr>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-29913703878735044802018-05-02T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-02T05:00:08.377-04:00Blog Tour: Amal Unbound <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR14eMpZBZ7Jd1EgT7dz2wGpzao_Dp5Zx8B9lgl5E3DSlYJpHog1fBBzkKoRepVgRAsGoN8j20JTqkUiRbMWGqaDjnftmupA4LLLWN9HfiAnIg8B44wmfyiSFd_NkdrpG-Qz1w5Hk0mS36/s1600/unnamed-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1057" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR14eMpZBZ7Jd1EgT7dz2wGpzao_Dp5Zx8B9lgl5E3DSlYJpHog1fBBzkKoRepVgRAsGoN8j20JTqkUiRbMWGqaDjnftmupA4LLLWN9HfiAnIg8B44wmfyiSFd_NkdrpG-Qz1w5Hk0mS36/s200/unnamed-1.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">About the Book:</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: Amal Unbound </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: Aisha Saeed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pub. Date: May 8th, 2018<br />Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pages: 240</span><br />
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Rating: 5/5 stars</span></b><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Synopsis:</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The compelling story of a girl's fight to regain her life and dreams after being forced into indentured servitude.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Life is quiet and ordinary in Amal's Pakistani village, but she had no complaints, and besides, she's busy pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher one day. Her dreams are temporarily dashed when--as the eldest daughter--she must stay home from school to take care of her siblings. Amal is upset, but she doesn't lose hope and finds ways to continue learning. Then the unimaginable happens--after an accidental run-in with the son of her village's corrupt landlord, Amal must work as his family's servant to pay off her own family's debt.<br /><br />Life at the opulent Khan estate is full of heartbreak and struggle for Amal--especially when she inadvertently makes an enemy of a girl named Nabila. Most troubling, though, is Amal's growing awareness of the Khans' nefarious dealings. When it becomes clear just how far they will go to protect their interests, Amal realizes she will have to find a way to work with others if they are ever to exact change in a cruel status quo, and if Amal is ever to achieve her dreams.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Amal-Unbound-Aisha-Saeed/dp/0399544682/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524942191&sr=8-1&keywords=amal+unbound" style="color: #1155cc;">Amazon</a> | <span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/amal-unbound-aisha-saeed/1126974321?ean=9780399544682#/">Barnes & Noble</a> | </span><span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Amal-Unbound/Aisha-Saeed/9780399544682?id=7249422578140">Books-a-Million</a> | </span><span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780399544682">IndieBound</a> | </span><span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="http://www.powells.com/book/-9780399544682">Powells</a> </span></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">About the Author:</span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqppz6uPiAQ5cqf3OAkWVFNoCpFCRjoRPMnWd7y1WswuQ2BBDrMu6P0ECo9cEcYvrQecW3qtOj0Qg6kpMLEATbhN4NbytZwwlTDRUxG1bo2ZnIurO1WCo046uaI2hylq1vLFgeQtIfsAz/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqppz6uPiAQ5cqf3OAkWVFNoCpFCRjoRPMnWd7y1WswuQ2BBDrMu6P0ECo9cEcYvrQecW3qtOj0Qg6kpMLEATbhN4NbytZwwlTDRUxG1bo2ZnIurO1WCo046uaI2hylq1vLFgeQtIfsAz/s200/unnamed.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Aisha Saeed also wrote </span><i>Written in the Stars</i><span style="background-color: white;">, and is a Pakistani-American writer, teacher, and attorney. She has been featured on MTV, the </span><i>Huffington Post</i><span style="background-color: white;">, NBC and the BBC, and her writings have appeared in publications including the journal </span><i>ALAN</i><span style="background-color: white;"> and the </span><i>Orlando Sentinel</i><span style="background-color: white;">. As one of the founding members of the much talked about We Need Diverse Books Campaign, she is helping change the conversation about diverse books. Aisha lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and sons.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Author Links: <a href="http://aishasaeed.com/">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/aishacs">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/aishacsaeed">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/aishacs/">Instagram </a></span></b></div>
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I absolutely loved this book! It was such an important middle grade novel and I'm so happy to be showcasing it on this blog tour. I am doing a dream casting of some of the main characters from this novel, so I hope you enjoy. These are my perceptions of the characters, of course everyones will be different! This is definitely a novel you want to pre-order. </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b>Amal</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b>Jawad Sahib</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VrPgQWOaF0VyzZcKuw_4GNAuEIaMZmO-e8JsoFp5BAzThiKuPLiFSHFZ-z1duiiriM5Y2RPsn_veNrQdndKZ-PnDKTUzKAaoxh3ajo4G7Ymsz8lj-a5mjaaMufOGBAxyWvSVhTD1XjMq/s1600/MV5BMjE4NDIxNTg4NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODI5MDE5MDE%2540._V1_UX214_CR0%252C0%252C214%252C317_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VrPgQWOaF0VyzZcKuw_4GNAuEIaMZmO-e8JsoFp5BAzThiKuPLiFSHFZ-z1duiiriM5Y2RPsn_veNrQdndKZ-PnDKTUzKAaoxh3ajo4G7Ymsz8lj-a5mjaaMufOGBAxyWvSVhTD1XjMq/s1600/MV5BMjE4NDIxNTg4NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODI5MDE5MDE%2540._V1_UX214_CR0%252C0%252C214%252C317_AL_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b>Nasreen Baji</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">- Jocelyn </span></span></div>
Novels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-62082036178675256952018-05-01T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-01T05:00:04.211-04:00Blog Tour: Song of Blood & Stone <a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507052043l/36347830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Song of Blood & Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles, #1)" border="0" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507052043l/36347830.jpg" width="264" /></a><b><u><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">About the Book:</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: <b>Song of Blood & Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: L. Penelope</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pub. Date: May 1, 2018</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher: St. Martin's Press</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pages: 384</span><br />
<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;">Rating: 4/5 stars</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">A treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a war between two powerful rulers. </b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Orphaned and alone, Jasminda lives in a land where cold whispers of invasion and war linger on the wind. Jasminda herself is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where her gift of Earthsong is feared. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive--an injured spy who threatens to steal her heart. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Jack's mission behind enemy lines to prove that the Mantle between Elsira and Lagamiri is about to fall nearly cost him his life, but he is saved by the healing Song of a mysterious young woman. Now he must do whatever it takes to save Elsira and it's people from the True Father and he needs Jasminda's Earthsong to do it. They escape their ruthless captors and together they embark on a perilous journey to save Elsira and to uncover the secrets of The Queen Who Sleeps. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Thrust into a hostile society, Jasminda and Jack must rely on one another even as secrets jeopardize their bond. As an ancient evil gains power, Jasminda races to unlock a mystery that promises salvation. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">The fates of two nations hang in the balance as Jasminda and Jack must choose between love and duty to fulfill their destinies and end the war.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjerbjREFGCGYfxPx1qX3zIa21nmpxDeX0xdTvpEA2ENsBngnY4sij3bWL-CraH_vBzPG4lOsJ0N4PlY8Iwqs_p4sAkHLFfu9iPNUwN2HMfYofAaZfY-sX8cQbZ2_O3Gu9VvNwnuPa3hzFH/s1600/Penelope%252C+L._CREDIT+Valerie+Bey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="432" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjerbjREFGCGYfxPx1qX3zIa21nmpxDeX0xdTvpEA2ENsBngnY4sij3bWL-CraH_vBzPG4lOsJ0N4PlY8Iwqs_p4sAkHLFfu9iPNUwN2HMfYofAaZfY-sX8cQbZ2_O3Gu9VvNwnuPa3hzFH/s200/Penelope%252C+L._CREDIT+Valerie+Bey.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">L. Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning author of fantasy and paranormal romance. She lives in Maryland with her husband and their furry dependents.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">I am always a little weary of historical fantasy novels, but </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Song of Blood & Stone</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"> is exactly the right type of historical fantasy. This book was absolutely fantastic and a complete surprise with how much I enjoyed it. Honestly, I didn't want to put the book down!! This book breaks so many barriers and L. Penelope crafts an excellent story that truly will make waves in the book community for all the right reasons.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Song of Blood & Stone</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"> follows Jasminda, a biracial (YAY!!) heroine, who is an outcast in her society. Her world is split into 2 groups: the Lagamiri and the Elsira. Jasminda is a mix of both cultures, but she doesn't really fit into either one. Unfortunately, because she lives in Elsira and looks like the Lagamiri, she suffers much cruelty that forces her to live in isolation. When Jasminda meets a rebel solider named Jack, things start changing for Jasminda, and events are set into motion that she never imagined. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">I loved how much interracial women and relationships were brought into the story. Jasminda being the prime example, we see the struggles she faces every day. We see how she is perceived by others for no other reason then how she looks. And the interracial theme is not just seen in her character, but throughout the entire book. On top of this, the story mirrors our current world situation very well with the talk of refugees, and how we need to become more self aware of the internal prejudices we might be harboring. L. Penelope did such an excellent job at incorporating themes from our world that are important to talk about but usually hush hush in books today. I truly wish more authors actually incorporated real-world topics into their books because it will get people talking!! She also highlights how 1 news report can utterly change everyone's idea of a group of people, regardless of whether or not that report is true. I personally think this whole aspect was one of my favorite parts of the story because L. Penelope does not shy away from talking about the hard topics that we often don't want to bring up for fear of what others might think of our opinions.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Lastly, Jack was such an excellent character in this novel. I truly loved his growth and character development over the course of the story. He always treated Jasminda with the respect she deserved and never let anyone tell him differently. Jack constantly was working to be the best person he could be. He believed that all people, Lagamiri and Elsira alike, deserved equality and that one was not better than the other. Jack was constantly balancing his power and privilege and trying to make changes that would benefit all and not just some. This was so important to me to see, and shows how much people can accomplish if they truly put their mind to it. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">I would highly recommend checking out this book as soon as it comes out! </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Song of Blood & Stone</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"> was such an excellent start to this new series and I can't wait to see what L. Penelope has in store for us next. This book is the perfect example of what a historical fantasy novel should be and will easily become a favorite of 2018! </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy reading :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">~Cassie</span></span></div>
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Novels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-64386968206319062662018-04-24T05:00:00.000-04:002018-04-24T05:00:26.984-04:00Blog Tour: From the Earth to the Shadows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCeF6zPlbtLtfh7P1IHm4eJBPPENWMcpx8t5cxCw1F_ULq-GZhDDMGUU75QGf2HzPrjSYJij9JJu9mXSgc5kE5Yl_qNajz1Gcu088tajH925ihahgZ-MB52_QdFuGQMDhIo52AnXwbG0s/s1600/Amanda_Hocking_FB_Cover_v4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="828" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCeF6zPlbtLtfh7P1IHm4eJBPPENWMcpx8t5cxCw1F_ULq-GZhDDMGUU75QGf2HzPrjSYJij9JJu9mXSgc5kE5Yl_qNajz1Gcu088tajH925ihahgZ-MB52_QdFuGQMDhIo52AnXwbG0s/s640/Amanda_Hocking_FB_Cover_v4.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1497660862l/34964847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="From the Earth to the Shadows (Valkyrie #2)" border="0" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1497660862l/34964847.jpg" width="266" /></a><b><u><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">About the Book:</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: <b>From the Earth to the Shadows (Valkyrie #2)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: Amanda Hocking</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pub. Date: April 24, 2018<br />Publisher: Wednesday Books</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pages: 336</span><br />
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Rating: 4/5 stars</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="freeText365057905011827043" style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Malin’s mission to avenge her mother's murder has uncovered dangerous secrets. As a Valkyrie-in-training, Malin must slay immortals who’ve had their time, to maintain balance between humans and immortals. But her quest could destroy earth’s stability – and unleash chaos.<br /><br />Just when she needs to focus, her friend Asher is in grave danger. He’s been dragged into the underworld, where vengeful immortals plot revolution. Malin believes her feelings mustn’t distract from her goal – but is desperate to rescue him. So she ventures into the darkest of realms, knowing she may not survive. With new allies at her side and new enemies ahead, Malin will face terrible choices. She’ll have to keep her head – or be ruled by her heart.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250084806?tag=macmillan-20" style="color: #1155cc;">Amazon</a> | <span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?EAN=9781250084804&afsrc=1&lkid=J29980420&pubid=K239557&byo=1">Barnes
& Noble</a> | </span><span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/product/9781250084804">Books-a-Million</a> | </span><span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250084804">IndieBound</a> | </span><span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33241/biblio/9781250084804">Powells</a> </span></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">About the Author:</span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1407171628p5/3486415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Amanda Hocking" border="0" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1407171628p5/3486415.jpg" width="148" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amanda Hocking is the author of over twenty
young adult novels, including the <i>New York Times</i> bestselling <i>Trylle
Trilogy</i> and <i>Kanin Chronicles</i>. Her love of pop culture and all things
paranormal influence her writing. She spends her time in Minnesota, taking care
of her menagerie of pets and working on her next book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Author Links: <a href="http://www.worldofamandahocking.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://amanda_hocking/">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://amandahockingfans/">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.hockingbooks.com/blog/">Blog</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">From the Earth to the Shadows</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"> was an exciting finale in the Valkyrie duology! The story picks up right where the previous book leaves off, and we dive right into the story. Amanda Hocking has crafted yet another imaginative, wondrous story that sucks you right in. Her continued world-building was fantastic and the characters experience a lot of growth over the course of the story.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">The stakes are much higher this time around for not only Malin, but the entire world. The Underworld is in a state of unrest, which means the threat is looming for the Underworld to rise up and cause chaos on Earth. And it's all up to Malin and her friends to stop that from happening. Meanwhile, Malin's heart is not only torn with Asher being missing/possibly dead, she now has formed a fragile bond with her ex. Now, Malin is not only trying to protect the world but also those she cares about the most. I loved that we saw a different side of Malin throughout this story. She became more vulnerable and open. We already know that she's tough as nails, but this was a refreshing addition to her character. She realized that she didn't need to keep everything all bottled up inside. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">The pacing was a little all over the place in this book, which was a little frustrating. There were times when the book was incredibly fast-paced and non-stop excitement. However, there would be these extended periods of time where the story would lag a bit. Even though the story was still interesting, given the urgency of the plot, these scenes just didn't fit with the story as a whole. I kept waiting for them to remember they had a world to save, but they just took their grand ol' time in certain parts. Overall though, there was a lot more action and excitement in this novel than the first book. The action scenes were brilliantly written and were seriously epic.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">My only other complaint with the novel was the ending. Everything felt a little rushed and a bit anti-climactic. The resolution to everything almost was a "blink-and-you-miss-it" type thing which upset me. The whole book had been leading toward this epic conclusion and then it just ended. I wanted a little more from this. However, this being said, I did love how much the characters grew over the course of the novel and how much more mature they were by the end. Additionally, I absolutely adore the world that Amanda Hocking has created and it's such an excellent mix of sci-fi, Norse mythology, and fantasy.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">I definitely would recommend checking out this sequel/finale in the Valkyrie series. It was a great conclusion to the series, and while I wanted a bit more out of the ending, I was still happy with how the book turned out. If you are a fan of Amanda Hocking, you do not want to miss this one!! I can't wait to see what she writes next!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy reading :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">~Cassie</span></span></div>
Novels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2922054018506454691.post-91789332481259429972018-04-23T05:00:00.000-04:002018-04-23T05:00:57.475-04:00ARC Review: Legendary (Carval, #2) <b style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About The Book:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZIpxO9L5OoqPzU_FowgvZ7pkdPyHulrsXVSZbhZ1mZUalgJ2YtqYndKuUK5GqzWLybd9BIQo2KqY1X1tO-fU3ls_pMATN7GF5uW2gqZ3HS5NMM9XEaxusqzJTvgKPO1xcBmYK6Yf8LLK/s1600/36329818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZIpxO9L5OoqPzU_FowgvZ7pkdPyHulrsXVSZbhZ1mZUalgJ2YtqYndKuUK5GqzWLybd9BIQo2KqY1X1tO-fU3ls_pMATN7GF5uW2gqZ3HS5NMM9XEaxusqzJTvgKPO1xcBmYK6Yf8LLK/s200/36329818.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;">Title: </span><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: inherit;"> Legendary (Caraval, #2) </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Author: Stephanie Garber </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pub. Date: May 29th, 2018 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Publisher: Flatiron Books </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Pages: 416 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Genre</span>: Young Adult, Fantasy </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rate: 4/5 stars </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818;">A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.</span><br style="color: #181818;" /><br style="color: #181818;" /><span style="color: #181818;">Welcome, welcome to Caraval...the games have only just begun.</span></span></div>
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<i>Legendary. </i>This is going to be so hard to write. I guess I'll start by saying <i>Caraval </i>was my favorite book that was published last year. I loved every piece of it, because it was a giant magical puzzle. And I really liked <i>Legendary </i>too. While it didn't have the same action flow<i> Caraval </i>did, it had a uniqueness that made it special in its own right.<br />
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<b><i>"As fantastical as Caraval might feel, these next five nights are very real." </i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp9vZrpOP3AKJmWQBZRc_Qb_Md2CYmTlCnddMcvyKFdeThmRaNZIfwHYsAeNFe8Nd_kna4X5FobCbvUQnmDnljlO435YsGJ5mt3OxtMWDDSRaH-DDYsYm0vKgGVJw-sWCAPU-YPB59KJp/s1600/5ed638559b8974b391150c3da50c72bd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnp9vZrpOP3AKJmWQBZRc_Qb_Md2CYmTlCnddMcvyKFdeThmRaNZIfwHYsAeNFe8Nd_kna4X5FobCbvUQnmDnljlO435YsGJ5mt3OxtMWDDSRaH-DDYsYm0vKgGVJw-sWCAPU-YPB59KJp/s320/5ed638559b8974b391150c3da50c72bd.jpg" width="225" /></a>We left off <i>Caraval</i> on quite of a cliff-hanger with Tella. While <i>Caraval </i>was really Scarlett-based, <i>Legendary </i>is mostly Donatella-based. And I do have to say, I like Tella better than I like Scarlett. While Scarlett is safe and more reserved, Tella has a sharp tongue and is more quick-witted. Tella made some hasty decisions in <i>Caraval</i> that we see affect her in <i>Legendary</i>. We ended <i>Caraval</i> with a mysterious note from a 'friend' and we do find out pretty quickly who that friend is and exactly what he wants from her. Spoiler Alert: it's not good. It was great seeing the world of <i>Caraval </i>from another point of view, though. I think it made <i>Legendary</i> so much better because it adds the perspective of things that weren't revealed from the first book. We also meet a new cast of characters. Some of them I loved, while others I felt we didn't see enough from them to get a good snapshot of their characters and motives. </div>
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<i>Legendary</i> has an entire new setting, which is quite exciting. There is a new game but the base on which it's played is an entire new plot line that involves Legend as his history. I loved the power-struggle between the two big bads and the stakes of the game. I think my biggest turn-off from <i>Legendary</i> is that it left me with more questions than answers. I'm sure this is a good thing for many, but I wanted some closure before more plot doors were opened. The next book could go in a million different ways, but I'm worried that all will not be answered by the conclusion of the series.</div>
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It's true, <i>Legendary</i> is not <i>Caraval </i>but it's not supposed to be. I will say that when you pick up this book you get the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you read stories about your favorite characters. This book sucks you right in just like <i>Caraval </i>did, and when you finish it you're going to miss Scarlett, Donatella, and Legend. I wish that it had answered a little bit more questions that it brought up during this sequel, but I'm hoping it's just leaving them open for a fantastic and heart-stopping follow-up. Have you read <i>Caraval</i>? How stoked are you for <i>Legendary?</i> </div>
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- JocelynNovels and Necklaceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094762236713491253noreply@blogger.com0