Apr 30, 2019

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Purple Princess of The Purple Booker.


Here are the rules:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page

3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.



"Legend left the cottage with Esmeralda still slung over this shoulder. And in that moment, Legend no longer felt like Tella's enemy, or her friend, or the boy she used to love--Legend felt like every story she'd never wanted to believe about him." Kindle loc. 8%*


*This quote comes from the eARC, therefore it and its location are not final.








TITLE: Finale
AUTHOR: Stephanie Garber
PUBLISHER: Flatiron Books
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019 



Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.


This week's topic is: Top Ten Inspirational/Thought-Provoking Book Quotes 


*in no particular order


10. But I also know that true strength comes from being willing to fail in order to progress.
9. "I am always surprised to discover that when the world seems darkest, there exists the greatest opportunity for light." 
8. "Damaged people are the most dangerous kind, because they already know how to survive."


7. --there is never a happy ending because nothing ever ends.
6. "There is always magic. Even if you can't see it."
5. We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes. 


4. "Bad things are always going to happen. There's no way to avoid that. Our control comes in how we face them."
3. "Just because it hasn't been done before does not mean such a thing is impossible." 
2. The only thing that felt beautiful about my life was the way books let me escape it.


1. Words were the most powerful tool. Simple and so often underestimated. They could destroy.





 

Apr 29, 2019

Mini Re-Review--Legendary by Stephanie Garber

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

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.

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...

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . the games have only just begun.


I have now re-read my second book in probably a decade! Good thing, Stephanie Garber’s Caraval series is a trilogy, so there wasn’t too much to re-read! Lol. I was reminded yet again, why Legendary was my favorite of the two books! I love them both to pieces, but I feel more in-tune with Legendary! Tella was a character to be reckoned with! She’s fierce, brave, sassy, and outgoing! There’s nothing she wouldn’t do to save the ones she loves!

And then I was reminded again, why I preferred Dante from the romances of Caraval. He’s dark and broody and a little moody at times, he’s mysterious and fiercely loyal to the ones he cares about. It’s a wonder that he and Tella clicked!

Then we have Jacks and before I thought he was just the evil villain, but then it definitely got more complicated before the story was over and I am left wondering just what he is up to. I love a good complicated character and thankfully this time I get to just dive into the next installment and see what comes from everything!

It was fun diving back into this one, I knew I needed a refresher when it came to all the Fates. And now that I remember…Whoa. A lot of things happened that were totally mind-blowing and I am excited to see how everything will come together in this grand finale! Even more excited since it will have both Scarlett and Tella’s points of view! I know that by the end I will be suffering from the worst book hangover ever, but I am beyond excited for it too!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars AGAIN! 







 

The Netflix Book Tag

I saw this fun tag over at BackUp and thought it looked like a lot of fun! I couldn't believe I didn't see this tag already and I double checked my posts too!


RECENTLY WATCHED: the last book you finished reading

That would be my re-read of Caraval! Though I'll be close to finishing my re-read of Legendary by the time this post is up! Lol.



TOP PICKS: a book that has been recommended to you based on the books you previously read
 
This was the top recommendation based on my shopping trends! And I wholeheartedly agree with this one! It's on my list as I love Kelley's books!


RECENTLY ADDED: the last book you bought

That would be The Ravenous that I bought over the weekend during the Independent Bookstore Day festivities! From my wishlist it was the book with the highest rating on Goodreads so I went with that! 
 
 
POPULAR ON NETFLIX: books that everyone knows about (2 you've read and 2 you have no interest in reading)
 
I feel like The Beauty and the Beast retellings are really popular and everyone has heard of A Curse So Dark and Lonely and A Court of Thorns and Roses! These two were instant faves!
 
 
Even though the Throne of Glass series is over, I feel like it's still popular. I tried the first book but it did nothing for me, so I abandoned it even though I was told it gets better. Even though, again, We Hunt the Flame isn't out yet I feel like it is another popular one since I've been seeing it everywhere. But the story description just didn't grab at me. I feel terrible since I know everyone is so excited about it, but these days I've got to be pickier with what I add to the TBR pile. Let me note that I have NOTHING against these books, I'm always happy to see when people love them! I just know they aren't for me.
 
 
COMEDIES: a funny book
 
Kill the Farm Boy was a hilarious read! I read it last year and have the sequel in my TBR pile too! It's what I like to think of as a Mel Brooks film in book form! There's a lot of puns and it's just a laugh riot.
 
 
DRAMAS: a character who is a drama queen/king
 
Well, I had to search through past reviews because no recent reads had characters that stood out as drama queens to me. So apparently Natalie became a bit of a drama queen at some point in this one. Though I remember loving this series so I am sure she grew out of it!
 
 
ANIMATED: a book with cartoons on the cover
 
I decided to pick two for this one! Victoria Laurie's covers seem to always be cartoony (except for one year when the publisher tried changing it up, but that didn't last beyond the one book!) and I love that about them! The colors are so vibrant and eyecatching! Tempest Rising was another cartoony cover that caught my eye at Borders one day oh so long ago! That it screamed paranormal read had me skipping to the registers!
 
 
WATCH IT AGAIN: a book/series that you want to re-read
 
Since I am already re-reading one, I will go with what was meant to be my first return to the re-reading with The Named! Marianne Curley wrote an additional installment to the series last year, so I intend at some point to re-read them all together! I haven't read The Named in years...all three books came from Borders so that will tell you how old it is! Lol!
 
 
DOCUMENTARIES: a non-fiction book you recommend to everyone
 
I haven't read any non-fiction books in...ever. But I do have a variety of them in my TBR pile! Mostly Disney ones! And two others from actors I got to meet when they were promoting the book! So I'll go with this Disney one as it might have been the first non-fiction book to be added to the TBR pile!
 
 
ACTION AND ADVENTURE: an action packed book
 
The Falling Kingdoms series was an amazing action packed one! Though I LOVED it entirely, I will admit, the first book wasn't super action packed. I mean there's action, but it was the only one in the series that I gave less than 5 stars to. I mean I gave it 4 stars, so I still loved it, but the series really took off for me after since the events of book 1 launched everything else!
 
 
NEW RELEASE: a book that just came out or will be coming out soon that you can't wait to read
 
Since I suspect I am nearly there or am already reading Finale--you'll see the updates later this afternoon when I get home from work! lol--I'd say my next book I can't wait to read that's releasing soon is Aurora Rising! I can't wait to see the new world these two created!
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.


Last Week I Read:

The Wicked King by Holly Black (5 stars)
Caraval by Stephanie Garber (5 stars)


Currently Reading:

Legendary by Stephanie Garber


What I Plan to Read This Week:

Finale by Stephanie Garber (ARC)


Other Posts of Interest:









Apr 28, 2019

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! The meme is now hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality.


Well, this week was kind of blah. Work is still insane. Now we're apparently "trying" to move downtown in three WEEKS instead of three MONTHS! So yeah...that was definitely a shock to the senses. On top of that from what I've heard, the parking situation will NOT be pretty and my anxiety is already edging above its limits regarding that. Still trying to find a new job but it's sooooo slow going. Occasionally I get a good interview, but then I never hear back, weeks later. But onto happier things...like BOOKS!

This week I bought:

The Ravenous by Amy Lukavics
Stardust by Alyssa Rose Ivy--FREEBIE read!!


Then I also got an ARC from my favorite Indie Bookstore from the festivities yesterday and I found one I was excited for and a tad hesitant after a review, so I was happy to get this one!

The Missing Season by Gillian French (ARC)


I also bought the exclusive Independent Bookstore Day pin from Out of Print:



Then I also received my preorder gift for Finale and let me tell you I am OVER THE MOON IN LOVE with my Deck of Destiny!!!!


Expect some Bookstagram shots of these in the future! This is my lazy STS shot! Lol!!


THANK YOU Flatiron Books!!
 
 
Then in a trade on BooksforTrade I got the awesome Six of Crows socks from the April Owl Crate!! I love Out of Print's socks and these just ROCK!!
 
 
 
THANK YOU Hayley!!
 
 
And that was it for me! What did you all get?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Apr 26, 2019

Book Blogger Hop

This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!
 
 
This week's question is: At the end of a hard day, how do you get yourself psyched about writing a book review? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer
 
 
 
MY ANSWER: Well, I've always been one who has to write a review right after finishing the book. I can't start another one before the review is done because that is how my chaotic mind works. I've written them down on paper if I don't have access to a computer at the time. So basically, if I want to read another book the next day, I will make sure to write the review that needs writing!