Book
ARC Review: Royals (Royals #1) by Rachel Hawkins
Longest Books On My TBR
And also probably the books that intimidate me the most because of their longness! These will be listed in order with the longest book at #1.
It’s a pretty straight forward post!
ARC Review: Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Would Re-Read Over & Over Again!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
It has now been moved over to That Artsy Reader Girl.
I don’t really re-read books ever, I have so many books I haven’t read a first time that I feel like I don’t have time for re-reads! However, for this list I decided to pick books that I WOULD definitely re-read given the chance.
I will provide links to my reviews if I have them, these are in no particular order.
Down The TBR Hole #17
This was “created” by Lost in a Story!
The Rules:
- Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
- Order on ascending date added.
- Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
- Read the synopses of the books
- Decide: keep it or should it go?
- Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week!
Kindle Books I Forgot I Bought: Part 1
I am CONSTANTLY forgetting that I own copies of books on my Kindle and sometimes forgetting about the book completely before I see it again on there! I figured this would be a fun post to share with you all so please let me know if you’d like to see a “Part 2”!
These aren’t in any particular order.
P.S. These are all just the books I have not read, there are more on my Kindle that I have read! Plus ARCs.
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Can’t Believe I Read and Loved!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
It has now been moved over to That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s theme is pretty broad you can do any spin on it that you can think of! It’s books you can’t believe you read, I decided to go with an easy one and just do a list of books that are kind of out of my comfort zone that I ended up enjoying.
I will include reviews if I have them, these aren’t in any particular order.
10.) Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
Normally I do not read contemporaries, ESPECIALLY if they’re romance focused so “Queens of Geek” didn’t seem like a book I’d enjoy. However, I was very surprised by how much I loved it! The romances were adorable, the anxiety rep was amazing, and the diversity is off the charts. Fantastic book overall and I’m so happy I gave it a read.
You can read my full review here.
9.) The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
I don’t usually read historical fiction, I find it can be a little too slow paced for me but this was an exception because it’s very fast paced and FUN! Definitely a book I didn’t think I would read!
You can read my full review here.
8.) Paper Princess by Erin Watt
If I was listing these in an actual order this would probably be #1 because it is so far from what I normally read, I didn’t think I would EVER read this but I borrowed it from the library to give it a try. I was surprised by how addicting this story was and how much fun I had reading it, it’s like reading a soap opera!
You can read my mini review here.
7.) Heartless by Marissa Meyer
This is only on the “can’t believe” list because I didn’t love “Cinder” and I could not understand what the big deal with this author was. So when she released this standalone back in 2016 I wasn’t sure if I’d like it or not, but I’m a sucker for Alice in Wonderland retellings so I gave it a go. I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it ended up being in the end!
You can read my full review here.
6.) The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
So…a YA Fantasy with a girl in a ballroom gown on the front, I NEVER would have guessed it would have been as amazing and badass as it was. Kestrel, the MC, definitely matches the cover but she isn’t a damsel in distress either, loved her!
You can read my full review here.
5.) The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury
As I already kind of mentioned, I don’t go for books that appear to be romance-heavy either by the cover or synopsis and “The Forbidden Wish” kind of appears to be romance-heavy. However, while the romance is a big part it’s such a “ship-worthy” romance and also the women in this book are total badasses! Very glad I read this one!
You can read my full review here.
4.) Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor
This is a book that you shouldn’t judge by it’s cover because honestly, the cover makes it seem very cheesy. But the three short stories within are very unique, well-written, and just downright awesome and I’m glad I made time for them!
You can read my full review here.
3.) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This book comes very hyped and very recommended by tons of people but normally slow paced, atmospheric books are not my jam. I’m glad I made an exception for this one though because it’s beautiful and very much worth my time.
2.) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
I have to say that I completely misjudged this book and I blame the synopsis, which makes it sound like this book is all about true love, insta-love, and kissing boys. Which is why I DIDN’T want to read it but I am so glad I finally caved because this book might be about a kiss but that really isn’t even half of it, there’s magic and mystery and some amazing characters! I could rave all day.
You can read my full review here.
1.) The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Once again, a book that SEEMS like it’s all about that romance (which it kind of is) but is actually filled with badass women and magic too. Definitely loved this book a TON and didn’t think I would at all!
Have you read any of these as well? What did you think?
What are some books you can’t believe you read (positive/negative)?
Let me know in the comments!
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Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Liked But Don’t Remember Much About
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
It has now been moved over to That Artsy Reader Girl.
This happens to me more than I’d care to admit, I can remember the absolute bare minimum about a lot of books and nothing else. Even some of my absolute favorite books! So this topic is pretty easy for me to discuss since I have quite a few books that fit the description.
These are in no particular order and I will link up reviews if I have them.
10.) Glitter by Aprilynne Pike
This one didn’t blow me away or anything but it was an interesting book, very unique! It’s a dystopian book where people quite literally “party like it’s 18th century France” and a girl trying to escape Versailles before she’s married to the king agrees to start selling a drug called “glitter”. Like I said it’s pretty creative and an overall fun read.
You can read my full review here.
9.) Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova
I loved this book, it was such a fun read filled with magic and diverse characters. But, I really don’t remember it that well! The sequel is finally being released this year though so perhaps I’ll need to do a re-read!
You can read my full review here.
8.) The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas
I recommend this book all the time because it’s fantastic but in all honesty I don’t remember details about it anymore. This may have to do with the fact that it’s been a while since I read it, I read it SUPER fast, and it’s a psychological mystery/thriller and the twists were great….and very twisty so I have a hard time remembering 100% what all went down!
You can read my full review here.
7.) The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
This was surprisingly awesome, I never would have thought I’d love a YA Fantasy novel with a girl in a ballroom gown on the cover. I actually went through this one very fast and I also read the sequel so all I have left is the third book, however, I may need to do a re-read because I don’t really remember what the heck happened!
You can read my full review here.
6.) The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine
This is a very underrated book with a strong female protagonist and a very unique magic system. I do really want to continue with the series but I read this book 2 years ago so I think I might need to do a re-read of this one as well before I go on.
You can read my mini review here.
5.) Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
By this I mean the entire series because I read them sooooo long ago that I could only tell you the beginning stuffs and end stuffs and maybe a few things in between like character deaths. I really should do a series re-read because I did really like it but I’m also kind of scared to because I feel like it wouldn’t live up to my memories of it. But you never know!
4.) Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
I read this way back in middle school (or maybe even late elementary school? I really don’t remember) so I don’t remember anything other then there were “uglies” and “pretties”, basically the synopsis. Once again a series I’d like to maybe re-read but might not be as great as I remember.
3.) Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
I actually bought the first book ONLY because it was a bargain book at a bookstore and looked neat. I had no idea I was in for such a treat, this is a steampunk, alternate history book. It’s set during WWI and both factions comprise their armies of either steampunk machines or mutated creatures (I don’t know how else to describe it). It’s awesome, the whole series was awesome, but I don’t remember much about it obviously.
2.) Gone by Michael Grant
Another book/series I read back in high school that I enjoyed while reading but really don’t remember much about. I know there were aliens and super powers but other than that I know nothing! And they just released a continuation of the series and I’m curious about it……
1.) Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
I did like “Inkheart” but I loved the two sequels a TON more, still they were all great books. I honestly could gush all day about this series and I really want to re-read it one day here just to feel the nostalgia!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think?
Do you have any favorite books that you don’t remember much about?
Let me know in the comments!
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ARC Review: Honor Among Thieves (The Honors #1) by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre
Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that’s made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell.
Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers.
Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.
**** Big thank you to HarperTeen for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review****
Trigger Warning: Parental Abuse
I have to say even though I liked this one I definitely didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I went into this book thinking I’d be walking away with a 5 star rating if not a 4, but sadly it didn’t live up to those expectations. I feel like this will probably be more of an unpopular opinion and will I LIKED it I didn’t LOVE it, so it’s “meh” to me.
I liked that we are thrown into action almost immediately and it’s pretty fast paced throughout the beginning. I did feel like the story really dragged in the middle and that’s where I got really bored with it but it did pick back up in the end. Overall I thought the pacing was kind of uneven though.
As for the plot itself, the premise was amazing but the execution fell short for me. I liked what little world building there was, the concept of sentient ships was really interesting but that’s as far as anything really went in this book. We hardly find out anything about the Leviathan and we really don’t learn anything about any other alien lifeforms out in the universe either. That was disappointing, however the ending seemed to promise future expansion on the world building in the sequel so I’m thinking I’ll read it just to learn more!
Other than the Leviathan (the sentient ships), the plot felt like it was really lacking any tension or action. Nothing about it compelled me to keep reading, since I felt nothing was really happening at all. This kind of carried throughout the entire story, the feeling that nothing was really happening. Which is a bummer because, come on, sci-fi should be filled with a lot more action than this! There really weren’t any big plot twists and when there were some, they were pretty anti-climatic or plain predictable.
There were some scenes where the action would pick up and things got a little interesting but it still felt…..flat and tedious. I don’t know, but the “action” scenes still felt lacking, which is a big reason I felt bored while reading.
However, the ending was pretty dang good. It’s a bit of a cliffhanger and it definitely piqued my interest enough to want to read the sequel.
Since this book mainly focuses on a pair of Honors (people) traveling alone on a sentient ship through space, there really aren’t that many characters to keep track of.
Zara Cole is the main protagonist, she’s a thief/con artist that gets herself into more trouble she can handle just as she’s selected to travel with a Leviathan. I normally enjoy the “street rat/criminal” types of characters but it really didn’t work with Zara, in my opinion. I felt that the authors were trying way too hard to make her a “badass” and she just came off really flat and at times plain rude. Having an attitude problem towards every character doesn’t make you “tough and badass”, which is exactly how I felt with Zara.
On top of that, Zara makes stupid decisions. Granted, she didn’t make stupid decisions the entire time but there were a couple incidents where I cringed and wanted to teleport myself into the book just to make her stop. For example, when meeting an alien life form that doesn’t immediately attack you maybe DON’T shoot it. Just saying. Use some common sense here, shooting first and asking questions later isn’t going to make ANY life form fond of you.
So, I guess it’s safe to say I didn’t really like Zara.
As for Beatriz, Zara’s co-Honor, I actually did really like her. She’s quieter but she’s extremely smart and very sweet, I liked her a lot more than Zara anyways. Plus what Beatriz did to their medical bot was HILARIOUS!
Zara and Beatriz actually build up a really great friendship by the end of the story, and I LIVED for it. We need more great female friendships like this in YA!
The last important character is Nadim, the Leviathan/sentient ship. Honestly, Nadim was so innocent and adorable, I wanted to protect him because he is too precious for this world! There really wasn’t anything bad about Nadim, he is very kind and adores Zara and Beatriz and will do anything to protect them. Although as sweet as Nadim is, he is a bit naive which puts them in potential danger at times.
Also there is diversity! Zara is black, Beatriz is Brazilian, and there is a side character who is Chinese.
Is there a romance in “Honor Among Thieves”? Kind of? I don’t really know myself as it was hard to tell. There was definitely SOMETHING between Zara and Nadim and while normally I would feel it was just a strong bond of friendship, I got some romantic feeling vibes. It was…….really weird. I hope it’s just a friendship thing and not romantic because that would feel really awkward in my opinion.
As I already mentioned I thought the premise for the story was fantastic but the overall execution fell short. I am interested in reading the sequel though, that ending left me feeling that the series may get better.
What I Loved:
- The world building (even though it wasn’t much)
- Beatriz and Nadim
- Strong female friendship
What I Didn’t Love:
- Uneven pacing
- Overall plot was lacking tension and excitement
- Zara’s character felt like she was trying too hard and she made some dumb decisions
- The potential “romance” between Zara and Nadim was just plain weird
I can’t really say this will be a book I’ll go around recommending but it isn’t a BAD book by any means. I did enjoy it for the most part, it just wasn’t something that blew me away. I would say if it sounds like something you’d enjoy, go for it!
Links: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository
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