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:

Shadow Me by Tahereh Mafi (4 stars)

Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi (4.5 stars)

Currently Reading:

The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter (ARC)

What I Plan to Read Next:

The Beyond by Chloe Neill (ARC)

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Waiting on Wednesday

Random Thursday

Book Blogger Hop

Stacking the Shelves

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.


Another meh week. Friday at work was too crazy. I am just glad that day is long behind me. Wednesday was good because I FINALLY got to meet Tahereh Mafi!! It was such a lovely signing. And there were no other incidents like my last signing, so that was nice! Lol. Book wise I got a few good ones! Two of which I am holding off on sharing because I am a dork. I ordered some international copies and they are taking awhile to get here. I want to show them off in all their glory together! Lol.


So here's what I bought:

Wicked Abyss by Kresley Cole--I had heard that this one was a good The Beauty and the Beast retelling and I am all about those kinds of reads. Since I had a coupon I decided to go ahead and buy it!

Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi--the B&N edition with the most needed deleted scene ever!! Totally worth buying!! Lol! And naturally I got it signed on Wednesday! My whole collection is signed and I couldn't be happier!

MYSTERY BOOK--to be shared at a later date

MYSTERY BOOK--to be shared at a later date 

For review I received:

The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter (ARC)--reading this one now and it's pretty intriguing!

Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson (ARC)

THANK YOU Inkyard Press & Henry Holt!!

And that was it for me! What did you all get?

 

Book Blogger Hop

This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!

 

 

This week's question is: If you could take the place of any fictional character, who would it be and why? (submitted by Charlotte @ InkBlottings)

 

 

 

MY ANSWER: Oh wow. There are SO many that I would want to choose! It's hard to pick just one!

I guess if I had to pick one, I'd have to go back to the very beginning and choose Jessica from Demon in My View!

 

We all fall in love with particular characters or relate to others, I totally related to Jessica and not just because we share the same name. She was kind of quiet, perhaps loner-ish. She was a published writer of vampire novels and then she learns that the characters she wrote about were very real indeed! So yeah, I'd totally want to be her...among a long laundry list's worth of other characters! But I will be good for once and stick to just one pick! Lol!

Random Thursday

Just one more week in the Animals chapter of The Little Book of Answers by Dave Lennox. This book has sure proven to be an excellent find! I love all these oddball little facts!

(this image was borrowed from ASPCA)

When a woman is acting hysterical it's said that she's "having kittens." This saying dates back to the Salem Witch Trials when a pregnant woman had the misfortune to have premature pains people would assume she was bewitched. Since cats were grouped with witches, people feared she was about to have a litter of kittens and they were trying to claw their way out of her. Her hysteria would be due to her "having kittens."

Wow. Clearing procreation was not discussed or studied well in this era!

(image borrowed from Wiktionary)

When a particular venture is risky it's called a "wildcat" especially if there's a good chance of failure. It came from a time before there were regulations for banks. Banks such as Bank of Michigan were allowed to issue their own money that depicted a panther's face on the bills. The money was called "wildcats." The bank eventually went down as did a lot of fortunes. It was at that point that all high-risk ventures were described as "wildcats."

Never heard of that before! 

(image borrowed from National Geographic Kids)

When your computer has a problem, it's said that it has a "bug." This came about in 1945 when Grace Hopper was designing the first large-scale computer for the American Navy. There was an unexplained problem with it that lasted for days. Finally, the problem was found to be a moth that had gotten stuck it the relay system. From that point on, any computer problems that were in-explainable were called "bugs." 

That's rather funny!

(image borrowed from Cook's Illustrated)

When someone is successful we say that they are "bringing home the bacon," an expression that dates back to thousands of years ago when there was a British competition of trying to catch a greased pig. The first time the expression came into North American use was in 1910 when Jack Johnson's mother told the press after he won the competition, "My boy said he'd bring home the bacon." From that point on the expression would mean achieving success.

Another interesting factoid I had no clue as to its origins!

(image borrowed from The Motley Fool)

A "nest egg" is money that grows with interest of through investments over a period of time. The saying about saving money for a rainy day refers to this "nest egg." The expression is very old and refers to when poultry farmers would use a trick to increase a hen's egg-laying skills by placing a fake egg (generally a doorknob) in her nest and it basically fools the chicken into laying more eggs than usual which basically meant more money for the farmer when he sold all the eggs.

Okay, I'll admit I was even confused with this as I read it! I mean if you put a doorknob in the nest, why does the chicken want to lay more eggs? I'd think it would think, I laid one. I'm done! Lol.

Waiting on Wednesday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. 

Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos may have once been the baddest of the bad, but their wicked ways are (mostly) behind them-and now graduation is almost here! But before the seniors can don their custom-designed caps and gowns, courtesy of Evie, they've got an epic plan to put into action. There are tons of villain kids on the Isle of the Lost who are eager for their chance to come to Auradon Prep-even Celia, Dr. Facilier's trickster daughter, wants in on the deal!-and Mal's crew is using their upcoming visit to the Isle to help make it happen. But Auradon's biggest threat is still at large? 

I am SO behind on this series! I enjoyed the first book and have obtained the next two! I didn't even realize it wasn't just a trilogy!! Eek!


TITLE: Escape from the Isle of the Lost
AUTHOR: Melissa de la Cruz
PUBLISHER: Disney-Hyperion 
GENRE: MG Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: June 4, 2019

Review--Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi

The gripping fifth installment in the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shatter Me series. Will Juliette’s broken heart make her vulnerable to the strengthening darkness within her?

Juliette’s short tenure as the supreme commander of North America has been an utter disaster. When the children of the other world leaders show up on her doorstep, she wants nothing more than to turn to Warner for support and guidance. But he shatters her heart when he reveals that he’s been keeping secrets about her family and her identity from her—secrets that change everything.

Juliette is devastated, and the darkness that’s always dwelled within her threatens to consume her. An explosive encounter with unexpected visitors might be enough to push her over the edge.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how truly incredible and amazing Tahereh Mafi is! The Shatter Me series is definitely one of my favorites and it’s so different from my usual kind of read. Defy Me picks up right where we left off in Restore Me and holy wow, this book will blow you out of the water!

I was excited to see that Kenji gets a few chapters in the beginning half of this novel. We pretty much rely on him for moving the story forward for a while as Warner and Juliette’s chapters are kind of scattered and mostly deal in flashbacks/memories. While those were still a lot of fun to read and were insightful to their character growth, I was desperate to know if they were okay, because you don’t get much out of a memory when it comes to knowing how the character is in the present.

When it comes down to it, this book deals in escapes and the ultimate of shocking revelations! If you thought Restore Me brought on the shock waves, well, Defy Me will definitely have your jaw dropping even further. In this one we get to know more about Juliette’s past and who she was before the events of Shatter Me too place. It was very eye-opening and just whoa.

The storyline here had Warner and Juliette being held prisoner by new enemies and they have very specific plans in mind for Juliette. It was all very secretive for the most part and even as answers slowly trickled in, they weren’t quite forthcoming with explanations. That eventually came along towards the end that basically was a huge eye-opener for more than one reason! The final book of this series is bound to be the most action pack and chaotic out of the bunch! I really can’t wait to see what Tahereh will do to us next!

In terms of pacing, I feel like this is Tahereh’s method in basically having one major event told slowly over the course of the novel through a variety of points of view. This time it’s three, but Kenji’s perspective is mostly in the beginning and then it goes back to being Juliette and Warner. Though it seems like not much really happens, there’s a greater plot in play here, one that we’re only just starting to see at the end and it’s world-changing!! The wait for the next book will be killer! And I find myself even excited for the novella as I wonder if it will be Kenji again and perhaps fill the gap that took place in between his chapters with Warner and Juliette’s. It sounds confusing coming from me, but I am basically leaving out events. You’ll know what I mean after you read this one, trust me!

Sadly, since Warner and Juliette were pretty much separated the whole book, there wasn’t much room for romance. Though I will say that Tahereh doesn’t not disappoint! Less is always more in my book and since I did read the B&N special edition one, I can say that the deleted scene does add more to that less even more! Lol! I truly have enjoyed Warner and Juliette’s relationship. It didn’t start out perfectly, but I feel like we’ve gotten to know them even better in this novel and I can’t help but feel all gushy about them!

Though Adam and James do make a popup appearance in the beginning, they aren’t around for the rest of the story. I still can’t help but want to see more of them, Adam included. I’ve warmed up to him since the events of the first trilogy that had me questioning everything I ever liked about the guy. He’s a troubled character and I honestly do hope for the best for him! I am curious to see if Tahereh brings him back into the fold for the finale!

It’s hard to really talk about this series without divulging too much information. As I said, the plot always seems somewhat simplified and there’s only so much I can discuss before heading to spoiler territory which I always avoid like the bubonic plague! So I will leave you with this, if you’ve made it this far into the series, you know you have to pick this one up! The ending was definitely more relieving than its predecessor. Though I am aching to know what will happen next, I feel like at least for once, Tahereh leaves us at a happy pause in the moment. You won’t be screaming bloody murder, let’s just say that! Defy Me was without a doubt a GREAT read that’s not to be missed! This is one you can easily pick up now and devour and not worry about the devastatingly long wait ahead of us for the grand finale! ;)


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

 

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.

"No one ever said I had to share that with anyone. Especially not with someone like Nazeera, a lying, manipulative--

Gorgeous. Gorgeous human being.

Shit." p 19

TITLE: Defy Me
AUTHOR: Tahereh Mafi
PUBLISHER: Harper Teen
GENRE: Dystopian
RELEASE DATE: April 2, 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: Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book

*in no particular order

10. DARK COLORS--since I'm a paranormal reader first, when I see a cover with dark colors it usually catches my attention and has me grabbing it to see what it's all about!

9. PARANORMAL--a cover that just screams Paranormal like 13 to Life has me grabbing the book faster than you can blink! Lol.

8. FANTASY--a gorgeous fantasy cover like the original Magic Study one catches my eye pretty quick too! Amazon initially recommended me this one..with no previous mentioning of Poison Study, so luckily I caught on pretty quick to that one!

7. SPRAYED PAGES--yeah, sprayed pages totally catches my eyes these days! Of course those are ones that are more specially ordered but it's still reminiscent of the gold lined pages some of my classics had in the beginning!

6. JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT--if I see Jennifer's name on it, I'm usually grabbing it! Though I still steer clear of contemporaries as it's just a genre I can't get into.

5. STEPHANIE GARBER--it's safe to add Stephanie to the same list as Jennifer! I'll always pick up her books (in several different editions too!) if the genre's right!

4. COLORFUL COVERS--covers like A Thousand Pieces of You totally catch my eye with their gorgeousness! *I still need to finish this trilogy!!

3. KICKASS HEROINES--when the cover features a kickass powerful heroine it totally grabs my attention!

2. A RETELLING OF...--when the cover straight up tells you it's a fairy tale retelling, I pay attention! Lol. Though in recent years they don't really say it on the cover but you get the idea from the description!

1. WOODSY COVERS--similar to why I picked up 13 to Life, when a cover has a woodsy scene it grabs my eye! I don't know why woodsy scenes grab my attention since they don't always mean werewolves. But I guess there was always just something mysterious and eerie about the woods and I love when a story happens there!

Mini Review--Shadow Me by Tahereh Mafi

Fan favorite character Kenji Kishimoto narrates t his gripping companion novella to Tahereh Mafi’s New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, set during the explosive events in Restore Me!
 
Juliette is still reeling from Warner's betrayal, and Kenji is trying to balance his friendship with her with his responsibilities as a leader of the resistance against the Reestablishment. Things get even more interesting when an unexpected person from Omega Point’s past surfaces. 

The ending of Restore Me left readers gasping, and this novella full of Kenji’s signature sass and big heart is the perfect story to tide fans over until Defy Me, the shocking fifth book in the Shatter Me series, hits shelves in April 2019.

Shadow Me is the short little read that takes place towards the end of Restore Me. This time, Tahereh Mafi lets us get inside the head of Kenji! Kenji has always been a favorite, because, how can you not love him? Lol. He’s so enthusiastic and cares for Juliette, he’s the best non-romantic person you could ask for in a series.

This story takes place in the last few chapters of Restore Me and basically gets inside Kenji’s mind that leads up to that chaotic ending! It was a treat being inside his head. I really feel like these novellas do more character building than story building and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It was Destroy Me that warmed me to Warner, if just a little. The love would come later on! Lol.

Through this story we get a little more on the inside to who Kenji is. We’ve known the story he tells Juliette and it’s all true, we just get that added sense of more by being in his head. We also see Nazeera in a different light almost.

It’s really hard to say what this novella was about really, as it all took place in a novel we already read. It really just gives more insight to Kenji and perhaps let us in on a new detail or two that didn’t make it to Warner or Juliette before the explosive ending of Restore Me. I’m happy to be able to dive into Defy Me next because the wait for that one would’ve been torturous otherwise!

This is mostly a read for Kenji fans as I feel like it didn’t really move the story any further than it already was, but perhaps some minor details that I overlooked in this one will play a larger role in the story to come. It wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars

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 Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman (ARC) (2 stars)

Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi (4 stars)

Review That Was Posted:

Grave Destiny by Kalayna Price (ARC) (4.5 stars)

About to Start Reading: 

Shadow Me by Tahereh Mafi

What I Plan to Read this Week:

Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays 

I Want to...But I Don't Book Tag 

Waiting on Wednesday 

Random Thursday 

Book Blogger Hop 

Challenges Wrap-up: MARCH 

Stacking the Shelves