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.

 

Whoa! This book is seriously creepy! And not in the way you would expect, but it is that kind of creepy too!

 

"Mattie didn't move for several moments. There was no other sound so she cautiously started forward again, trying to make less noise. She was conscious of every rustle of clothing, the swipe of her long braid against the back of her coat, the squeak of her leather boots, the rough exhale of her breath.

Something else was breathing." p 74*

 

*Quote comes from the ARC, therefore it and its page number are not final.

 

 

TITLE: Near the Bone
AUTHOR: Christina Henry
PUBLISHER: Berkley Books
GENRE: Horror
RELEASE DATE: April 13, 2021

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: Valentine’s Day/Love Freebie Top Ten Favorite Book Couples

 

*in no particular order

 

10. AUDREY ROSE & THOMAS--these two just had such a great dynamic together!
9. RACHEL & KISTEN--I loved how these two came together and yes, I'm still torn up by what happened!
8. KATE & JARROD--an oldie but goodie! A high school romance that wasn't instant is so refreshing!

7. ELENA & CLAY--one of my first adult couples that I took too! I like that they had to work at their relationship and wasn't an easy thing to fall back together.
6. CAT & BONES--is there a greater romance than the vampire slayer and the vampire? <3
5. KATY & DAEMON--one of the best hate to love romances ever!

4. CHARLEY & REYES--I mean honestly, I love these two! They're polar opposites yet they fit so well together!
3. MARY ANN & RILEY--yes, I put a cancelled series couple on my list! I loved that Mary Ann was not your average girl (sorta), she was the nerdy type, yet she caught the eye of this super hot werewolf!
2. CLEO & MAGNUS--if you told me when I started this series that they'd be my favorite couple, I would've laughed at you, but OMG THEY ARE MY FAVORITE COUPLE OF THE SERIES!

1. TELLA & LEGEND--I mean, duh!

BONUS PICKS BECAUSE SOMETIMES I CAN'T LEAVE IT AT 10!

JUDE & CARDAN
LOU & REID
JESSICA & AUBREY

 

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. 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:

Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent (ARC)--Review to come at a later date
Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning (4 stars)

Review That Was Posted:

The Iron Raven by Julie Kagawa (ARC) (5 stars)

 

Currently Reading:

Near the Bone by Christina Henry (ARC)

What I Plan to Read Next:

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

 

 

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Waiting on Wednesday
Random Thursday
Book Blogger Hop
Let's Discuss: When You Don't Like a Favorite Author's Book
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.

 

February is turning into second January! Lol. Slow and boring. I finally got a replacement for my missing Fairy Loot package! Huzzah! But now I am awaiting another international package that has yet to arrive! A friend of mind got hers Friday, I was hoping that meant I'd get it yesterday but I didn't. I'd camp out by my mailbox if I didn't have work. Snow and all! Lol. Really missing life outside of Covid. How about you?

 

Books I got this week:

How The King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black--Fairy Loot edition! AT LAST!
All the Tides of Fate by Adalyn Grace--Owl Crate keeper copy
A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer--Fairy Loot edition! Though since I didn't get to read the ARC for the third book, I'm debating about waiting for my B&N copy to read so I can read the short scene from Lilith's POV directly afterwards, otherwise I might never get around to it! Maybe once I get word of it shipping I'll start this one! Lol.

For review from the publisher I received:

Near the Bone by Christina Henry (ARC)--reading this one now and omg it's all kinds of creepy!!!

THANK YOU Berkley Books!

Other fun goodies that I bought/received this week:

DISNEY KEYS! Yes, I have gotten addicted to these things! But since their latest Valentine's set are "blind boxes" I was not going to go through the ordeal of trying to get all 6 designs. So I just settled on two and I received The Lion King one and the MYSTERY 101 Dalmatians one! Not too bad at all!

Then, naturally, I bought the UP 10th Anniversary key! Is anyone else feeling old with all these Disney movie anniversaries?

This was a cute little Christmas ornament I saw on the Give Kids the World website that I wanted to buy at Christmas, but was sold out. So when I popped on the website last month I saw it and decided to buy it before it vanished again! This was designed by a 14 year old girl named Diana.

For those not in the know, Give Kids the World is a village in Kissimmee, Florida where children (mostly from Make a Wish that I am aware of) stay when their wish takes them to Disney World! I went once when I was a young teen after I had my medical issues take another turn. I didn't have strong memories of my early days Disney trips as a toddler so I wanted to go back for concrete memories and we got to stay at this magical village! It's a really nice place to stay for kids with medical conditions, they are able to forget they're sick and have a nice time! You almost don't even need to leave the village, I mean you can have ice-cream for breakfast!

Anyway, when you buy anything online at their website, all proceeds go to them to help keep things running. I bought one of these ornaments a few years ago when it was a gingerbread house! I thought this snowflake was so pretty though and I wanted to have it! It was the 2019 ornament of the year!

 

Then I finally tracked down the Caraval pillow cover! I think it was Illumicrate and someone on the BooksForTrade hashtag was giving it away for shipping costs so I snagged it! I originally bought one on Mercari but the seller kept forgetting to mail it then mailed it to her family instead with Christmas gifts...it was a fiasco. I was refunded eventually but I still wanted to get this gorgeous pillow case!
 

 

And that was it for me this week! Really only 2 books were added to the TBR, but I'm reading 1 now, so more like 1 itself! Hoping maybe Valentine's Day might make B&N give a coupon for the weekend so I can stock up on those January releases that I still need to get! What did you get this week?

Let's Discuss: When You Don't Like a Favorite Author's Book

 

Have you ever picked up a new series from one of your favorite authors and just thought this is so not for me? Or perhaps they were a debut author and you LOVED their first book but then when they started something new, you just couldn't get into it?

When You Don't Like a Favorite Author's Book

I mean, I have steadfastly believed that not every book is for everyone. But when you have an author whose book or books you've loved but then you encounter that new release of theirs and you just couldn't get into it...does it ever hurt? Do you feel guilty? I mean, I have felt guilty for some reason. Lol. I know it's not anything against the author or anything like that. But once I so enjoyed their first book or handful of books, I felt like they were just a favorite author...an automatic buy if you will. And then when I read one of their new releases and find my mind drifting...there have been times I had to DNF the book. There have been times that I forced myself to the end or skimmed through bits and pieces to get the idea of it.

I don't want to name books and authors for this one. Because yeah, the guilt! But have you ever discovered that you didn't enjoy one of your favorite author's books? Or perhaps just enjoyed it less than you thought you would?

Review--Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning

 

“The Little Mermaid” takes a twisted turn in this thrilling sequel to villainess origin story Sea Witch, as the forces of land and sea clash in an epic battle for freedom, redemption, and true love.

Runa will not let her twin sister die. Alia traded her voice to the Sea Witch for a shot at happiness with a prince who doesn’t love her. And his rejection will literally kill her—unless Runa intervenes.

Under the sea, Evie craves her own freedom—but liberation from her role as Sea Witch will require an exchange she may not be willing to make. With their hearts’ desires at odds, what will Runa and Evie be willing to sacrifice to save their worlds?

Told from alternating perspectives, this epic fairy tale retelling is a romantic and heart-wrenching story about the complications of sisterhood, the uncompromising nature of magic, and the cost of redemption.

 

 

Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning continues the story of Evie the sea witch and what became of her after she helped a little mermaid live her dream on land. Told through Runa, Alia's twin sister, and Evie's points of view, we get a story both on land and sea and how two young women will go to great lengths to keep their homes safe.

The story starts with Alia being on land and Runa mourning the loss of her twin. She knows that Alia must kill the prince she loves so much before her final day as human or else she will die. But Alia loved Nik too much to want to kill him, even at the cost of her own life. Runa makes a deal with Evie to go up on land and help her sister do the deed, so that she may at least live out her life as a human, but as you might imagine, things go irrevocably wrong.

War is brewing both on land and in the sea. Explosive mines are being set into the ocean and when they go off it kills everything around it and above it should that be the case. When Runa is forced to change her plans in order to save the rest of her kingdom, she's willing to do whatever it takes to save her sisters, friends, and her new friends on land.

One thing that kind of bothered me about this book was how very little we got to hear from Evie. It was not an even amount of alternating between points of view, which saddened me since she was our star in the first book, naturally. 

This is definitely a sequel book, so you should read Sea Witch before reading this one. This one picks up some years after the first book, but since Evie is now immortal, it seems like little time has passed.

I did enjoy the friendships that Runa soon developed on land. She ends up helping a small group of witches and try to save their world from the impending war. While I will say that one of these friends is a very handsome boys, it was rather pleasing to see that the romance wasn't a focal point. It was just kind of there every once in awhile.

This book was definitely full of surprises! Mostly from the characters and the choices they made. They weren't always what you would expect to happen. What I did really enjoy was how the book continued to follow the fairy tale from Hans Christain Andersen. It's easy to want to think of Disney's The Little Mermaid, but this is definitely not that story! There's some paid homage to Andersen if you know where to look for it. Though I will admit, when we saw the Sea King being his imposing self, I kept seeing him as King Triton.

The ending was pretty satisfying too. Hard choices were once again made that led the two heroines on their chosen paths. While I would've liked a more concrete bit of closure, the story wasn't a wash at all. It was a magical adventure about the "other" little mermaid and it was a most enjoyable read!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars

Book Blogger Hop

 

 

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

 

 

This week's question is: What book series would you like to see adapted as a Netflix series? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) 

 

MY ANSWER: Well, one of my all time faves is already in the works which I am super excited about! But of course COVID delayed it. 

One I would love to see adapted though would Gena Showalter's Intertwined Series!

And yes, I choose this because then maybe I can at least SEE a finale! Lol!

 

Random Thursday

 

Today's the last day of learning 49 Interesting Things You Didn't Know About Every Single Ride at Disney World by Fiona Clair. This was a fun article that did actually surprise me with the bizarre facts about all the different rides in all of the parks.

As promised, here is the link to the article in full. As before, any pictures not noted were borrowed from the article.

The Alien Swirling Saucers is a copycat of Disneyland's Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.

Never rode this one myself, I can't even do the teacups anymore without getting severely dizzy! Lol.

Avatar Flight of Passage's line queue was designed to keep guests occupied for a 6 hour wait.

I think when I rode it I had about 90 minutes of wait time. It was interesting considering I never saw this movie!

(image borrowed from Polygon)

In 1985 when Imagineers were designing what would soon become Dinosaur (the ride), paleontologists uncovered the remains of a Carnotaurus. This dinosaur would soon become a featured character in the ride and the movie!

 

Another ride I never got to.

 

 

Expedition Everest has been broken pretty much since it opened. The fearsome yeti who "haunts" the mountain was supposed to jump out at guests near the top of the mountain but broke shortly after the ride opened. Imagineer Joe Rhode vowed to fix the yeti, but there has been no plans to do so since 2006 and since Joe retired last year, it's looking pretty bleak.

I rode this one a few times when I last went! It was so much fun! I wish I could've seen what the ride was meant to look like.

(image borrowed from Disney Fanatic)

The Kali River Rapids is meant to show the terrors of deforestation and logging. The name even comes from the Hindu goddess of death and the destructive forces of nature.

I hardly ever ride the water rides anymore. Never feel like walking around the park soaking wet the rest of the day! Hate the feel of wet socks!

The Acacia trees seen on the Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom are not real trees. They are really just "manicured" oak trees.

That's an interesting factoid!

(image borrowed from Disney Wiki - Fandom)

There's a backstory to Dinoland USA, it's the town where fossils were found and Chester and Hester wanted to cash in on the publicity and created a roadside amusement park. The TricerTop Spin is the last ride in Dino-Rama with Primeval Whirl closed in 2020.

I think I bypassed Dinoland USA. Must be how I missed Dinosaur.

On the Na'vi River Journey, you will hear an entire song sung in Na'vi. Paul Frommer, a professor at the University of Southern California developed the language of Na'vi and even wrote the song for this ride.

I rode this one, but since the language wasn't familiar to me, I chalked it up to never seeing the movie! Lol.

(image borrowed from Youtube)

The Wildlife Express Train takes guests to a lesser known part of Animal Kingdom. After the 7-minute ride, guests can see a backstage part of the park to see the veterinary's headquarters and learn more about the conservation efforts, and even learn how to draw a Disney character.

 

So yeah, I'm making my list of things to do on my next visit. It should've been this year, but 2020 man. :(

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.

 

Kara Thomas meets Twin Peaks in this supernatural thriller about one girl's hunt for the truth about her mother's disappearance in Kate Alice Marshall's most commercial book yet.

Sophia's first memory is of drowning. She remembers the darkness of the water and the briny taste as it fills her throat. She remembers the cold shock of going under. She remembers her mother pulling her to safety before disappearing forever. But Sophia has never been in the ocean. And her mother died years ago in a hospital. Or so she has been told her whole life.

A series of clues have led Sophia to the island of Bitter Rock, Alaska, where she talked her way into a summer internship at the Landon Avian Research Center, the same center her mother worked at right before she died. There, she meets the disarmingly clever Liam, whose own mother runs the LARC, as well as Abby, who's following a mystery of her own: a series of unexplained disappearances. People have been vanishing from Bitter Rock for decades, leaving only their ghostly echoes behind. When it looks like their two mysteries might be one and the same, Sophia vows to dig up the truth, no matter how many lies she has to tell along the way. Even if it leads her to a truth she may not want to face.

Our Last Echoes is an eerie collection of found documents and written confessionals, in the style of Rules for Vanishing, with supernatural twists that keep you questioning what is true and what is an illusion.

 

SUPER excited for this one! LOOOVED Rules for Vanishing! I think this one has Halloween Giveaway potential too!

 

TITLE: Our Last Echoes
AUTHOR: Kate Alice Marshall
PUBLISHER: Viking Books for Young Readers
GENRE: YA Horror
RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021