Tag: YA

I Want Superpowers – I really do though…

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Stephen Bereznai

Published November 26th, 2016

Standalone (FOR NOW)

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I always get a teeny bit nervous when an author sends me an email asking me to review their book, whether the book piques my interest or not.   The reason being that a year ago when I really dedicated myself to the book world and reviewing books seriously (rather than the old “it was good!” reviews I used to write when I first started using Goodreads), I told myself that I would always be honest with how I felt, whether I enjoyed a book or subsequently did not.   I would never advocate for something that I didn’t like, but the thought of writing a negative or critical review of book that I have had interaction with the author with… now that is the stuff of nightmares.  However, when Steven Bereznai shot me an email a couple of months ago asking me to read his book, I Want Superpowers, I was really, REALLY intrigued, and said yes without so much as a second thought.
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Delirium

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Lauren Oliver

Published February 3rd, 2011 by HarperTeen

Delirium #1

30198509This review is going to be mostly an audio book review.  Mostly?!  What in the world does that mean?  Well, dear friends, it means that I downloaded this book to listen to while I walked my dogs in the evening, but I found myself so utterly consumed by the story that I needed to read it in my off time too.  So, I bought the whole trilogy on Amazon Prime one Friday night (2 day shipping is amazing!), had the series for Sunday, and continued reading/listening even when I wasn’t out for my nightly walk.

Also, just a note before I get into the actual review: the paperback republished copies are about 1000 times more attractive than the original covers, with the girl’s face on them.  Don’t know what I am talking about?  Don’t worry about it, you don’t need to see that nonsense.

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Six of Crows

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Leigh Bardugo

Published September 29th, 2015

Six of Crows #1

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I am so late to the party here, it really isn’t even funny.  But with the release of Crooked Kingdom last month, and my blog post (top ten books to read before the end of the year) I decided it was finally time to hold myself accountable for buying this gorgeous book and not reading it.

The problem, is the hype.  It is always the hype.  When everyone and their dog tells me how much I am going to love this (insert title here) book, I start to back away slowly.  There is just this awful feeling about reading a book and being undecided about my feelings:  Am I enjoying the book because I am supposed to like it based on popular opinion, OR, do I want to rate the book 5 stars because it actually blew me away?

Six of Crows left me with no questions: it absolutely deserves the hype, and 5 stars.

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The Bone Season

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Samantha Shannon

Published August 20th, 2013 by Bloomsbury

The Bone Season #1

17199504I don’t often give myself the luxury of re-reading a book, I mean, there are SO MANY UNREAD BOOKS THAT I OWN.  However, as a Bone Season Advocate, I wanted to re-read the first two books in The Bone Season series in preparation of the third book being released in March 2017.

And, while I enjoyed The Bone Season last April when I read it for the first time, reading it again this month I can walk away and say I loved this book!  The depth of this story is downright amazing, and while there are some parts that I would classify “information overload”, the world/underworld of Scion London is fascinating and addicting.

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Books on Dragonwings Unboxing!

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I love trying out new book subscription boxes. So, when I stumbled upon @booksondragonwings Instagram account a few months ago, I knew I had to give this one a shot.

Books on Dragonwings is a fairly new-ish quarterly subscription box that differs slightly from other book subscriptions in that the book featured is announced and not a surprise. books-on-dragonwings-box  I love this idea; it takes away the anxiety of purchasing multiple book boxes and having either duplicate books sent to you, OR receiving a book you have already bought.  In addition, all of the items in the box are curated to fit the book chosen, rather than a general theme.  I assume this would make for a fun and presumably more interactive reading experience.  (I haven’t actually gotten to read the book yet, so I cannot say for certain this is true)  But, I am a huge sucker for all things fantasy and science-fiction (the two genre’s this book box is centered around), plus the logo is just so cute!

The book that was featured in the September Books on Dragonwings box was The Reader, by Traci Chee!  The Reader was getting wonderful reviews pre-release, so I was pretty excited to purchase this box.  And without further ado: September’s Books on Dragonwings unboxing!

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The Graces

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Laure Eve

Published September 1, 2016 by Amulet Books 

The Graces #1

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I have always been upfront about my “problem” for picking up a book based solely on its cover, and honestly, I haven’t ever regretted this habit of mine.

Until The Graces made its way into my life.

I have been ogling this book on #bookstagram for the past few weeks, and skimmed the synopsis before I decided that I needed this book.  I didn’t even search for a better deal on Amazon or any other online retailer, just walked into Barnes & Noble one day and bought it for full price.

Maybe I wouldn’t be so bitter if I hadn’t spent $20 on this.  But then again, maybe I am just bitter because The Graces is a textbook example of the “don’t judge a book  by its cover” saying.

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Empire of Storms

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Sarah J. Maas

Published September 6, 2016 by Bloomsbury

Throne of Glass #5

28260587I guess I should start of this review by saying that Empire of Storms is/was probably my most anticipated release for 2016.  So, with that being said, I think I should review this book from the inside out:

When the cover was revealed back in May, I was in awe.  I love the attention to detail: Aelin’s hair is growing back and the cover reflects that. She is also wielding Damaris, her fire is controlled and gorgeous, and the Eye of Elena is around her neck.  Then, as if her sassy travelling/fighting outfit isn’t enough, flip the book over and she is wearing a gorgeous open-backed purple dress that shows off her tattoos.  It is amazing how psyched the outside of this book makes me.

Bloomsbury also published this book on thinner pages, since the story is so long: 693 pages long to be exact.  The thinner pages actually make the book deceivingly heavy, like it’s a dense little brick, but I like that it’s not larger than Queen of Shadows physically.  I loved the feel of these thinner pages, and I found myself almost petting them at times.  I have heard some people said they experienced easily ripped pages because of thinness, but I didn’t personally have that problem.  Aesthetically, I think it looks lovely the size of the physical books vary throughout the series, rather than just moving from smaller to larger.  Also, it should be briefly noted that the Throne of Glass chapter headers, give me life. Ok, moving on.  Continue reading “Empire of Storms” →