HAPPY EASTER!!!

I hope everyone celebrating today has a happy and wonderful Easter! Or just a really GREAT day else wise!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

And because bunny cuteness:

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!


This was another pretty good week! Got a few new books and had an awesome signing that I attended on Friday! So fun to have LOCAL signings and on the weekend too! Yay for no work in the morning because I got home a little later than anticipated. And if you didn't know, I'm a morning person vs a night owl, so by "late" it's probably what you all call early! LOL!


Here's what I bought this week:

 Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke--already read & reviewed!

The Skylighter by Becky Wallace

My preorder gift from Jodi Meadows! I thought her calligraphy cards were gorgeous and though I still need to read The Orphan Queen, I just jumped ahead and preordered The Mirror King and got this awesome little baby in the mail already!!

It's hard to read, but it says: She was love without masks

Cannot wait to find out what that means!! ;)

And then Disney Store (website) had the Tsum Tsums on sale! Buy 2 get 1 free! So I bought myself Maximus, Rapunzel, Pascal in a dress, Thumper, and a skeleton pirate from Pirates of the Caribbean (ride)! I also bought a second Maximus for mom because we both love that horse! He reminds us of our dog, who just so happens to be all white too!

And that was my haul this week! What did you all get?

Review--Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

Every story needs a hero.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.

Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One
boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.

What really happened?
Someone knows.
Someone is lying.

April Genevieve Tucholke is a writer with a very unique style to her books. They are very lyrical kinds of reads. It’s not as classy as poetry or classics, but there’s definitely a distinct style to it as you read. Wink Poppy Midnight was yet another unique and beautifully told tale, but like her previous books, there’s a foggy air of mystery and no clear-cut answers.

There are three main characters in this story, Wink, Poppy, and Midnight. One’s a hero, a villain, and a liar. Who’s who is up to you to figure out. Wink is your carefree spirit kind of girl. She’s very different and is almost innocent like with her behavior and knowledge of things. She enjoys reading fairy tales and is constantly reading them to her siblings. Poppy is your sort of stuck up popular girl with a definite mean streak. And Midnight is the boy caught between the two. He was in love with Poppy but she shunned him for the most part, even after they were together. She was cruel and mean to him, unless she wanted something from him.

It’s hard to say what goes on in this book because one, spoilers, and two…it’s really hard to say! LOL! Midnight starts hanging out with Wink more and that makes Poppy jealous and soon she’s angling to play a cruel prank on Wink and she wants Midnight’s help.

I struggle to write this review, because I struggle to understand what I read. When dealing with a liar—and we know someone’s lying here—you are never sure who to trust in a story. Can we trust their accounts of what’s going on? Can we trust anyone’s? It’s all a big mystery and puzzle. And in the end, you still aren’t entirely sure what the big picture is.

And yet, I didn’t hate the book. I wasn’t 100% in love with it, because I like answers. I like to have a clear cut idea of what all just happened and while I feel like we get some of that, I just don’t have the big picture down. It’s like a puzzle with key pieces missing. You can almost see what the final result is, but the missing pieces are making it rather difficult.

Still, I did really like this one! There’s mystery and secrets and some creepy things happening too towards the end. And still, that not knowing part actually adds to the mystery because you aren’t entirely sure if it was real or not. It’s almost like an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Most particularly Lady in the Water, because it had the strange air of mystery and fantasy to it and how everyone has a part to play. Though I haven’t seen that movie in years, and I found it a tad confusing towards the end, much like I did with this book! But oddly enough, I’m almost okay with not knowing. Maybe it’s all about the interpretation. Our own imaginings just might be the ending of the story.

Wink Poppy Midnight is an intriguing and mysterious read but is not for the faint of heart. It will confound and confuse you at times and there may not be an answer to what you want to know most. So be prepared for that, otherwise, enjoy a truly beautifully told tale and the characters with deeper meanings and motives within!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars

 

PENGUIN TEEN ON TOUR--Interview with Karen Bao & a Giveaway!!

So  I just came back from the Penguin Teen Authors on Tour!! They all came to St. Louis, so I've been bouncing off the walls all week waiting for Friday night!! And best yet? I got to interview Karen Bao!

Q. What inspired you for Dove Arising?
A. Well, I was kind of a worry wort about the state of the planet, always wondering about the what it means politically. How would things turn out and such and basically decided I wanted to move everyone to the moon. My heroine was of the quiet, introverted type instead of the butt-kicking one. My mom was always more quiet and sort, but always thinking too.

Q. Why the moon?
A. There is a lot of mythology about the moon in Chinese culture. There's a lot of folklore centering around it. So I basically decided to mix the moon and earth and delve into their politics!

Q. How many books do you plan to write for this series?
A. It's a trilogy, so three.

Q. What's next?
A. After I finish the trilogy, I've started working on a fantasy series. It'll be for a more mature YA crowd, so kind of like New Adult, though less heavy on the romance scheme of things.

Q. What was your road to publication like? How did your pitch go?
A. I decided to write a story when I was a senior in high school and it took me about a month to write. And I talked to a teacher of mine who happened to be an agent as well. I asked him if he would mind looking over it and telling me what he thought. And shortly thereafter, he basically said 'let's do this!' It took a year of edits to get it ready for pitching to publishers and Penguin picked it up right away!

Q. What are some of your favorite reads?
A. Villette by Charlotte Bronte; the protagonist has some of the similar traits as mine own. And is what helped to inspire my own protagonist. Another is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Q. What do you like to do in your free time?
A. I do taekwondo and just got my black stripe. I also like incorporating it in my books as well.

Q. Comic books, yes or no? Marvel of DC?
A. Definitely more of a Marvel fan! I love the Netflix series Jessica Jones and Daredevil!

Q. Favorite ice cream flavor or other dessert?
A. Well, I'm lactose intolerant, so no ice cream. But my favorite dessert is a Chinese dish called Ma Quiu. It's a red bean pasted coated in squishy rice and sesame seeds and it's all fried!

I always love attending signings! Especially local ones and just hearing the authors talk! It's rare that I have a question to ask, because I'm just a listen and absorb kind of girl! I love hearing about their journeys to publication though! It's always inspiring for me since I'm in the struggling querying stage, though I've stalled at the moment! They're always a delight to listen to, whoever I'm seeing in person! And of course I struggle to tame my inner fangirl! But it's all good fun!

And now for the giveaway!! I have a SIGNED copy of Dove Arising by Karen Bao, plus a SIGNED copy of Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke (with the slightly creased cover in the corner) and a SIGNED poster by all the authors!!

Giveaway is US only, so sorry!! (but if you use a US address where someone else can get the book to you, that totally works too!) Just enter the rafflecopter and you're good to go!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow Friday

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read

The Rules:

• The goal is to increase blog followers, make friends and have something to post.
• You create your own post using the post prompt.
• You leave your link and thumbnail in the linky list that links back to your post prompt.
• Once you have your post up and linked, visit other posts and tell them hi. The point is to FOLLOW them not just comment.
• If you see a post that just hit it to the moon, or just want to show appreciation to a fellow blogger friend, like their name on the linky list to show some appreciation.
• The person with the most likes gets chosen as the next Feature (you can be chosen every 90 days unless we are in need of features)
• It is required that if you participate that you have to follow the FEATURE. It is a big no-no to participate and ignore the feature. They are the special snowflake in this little blizzard.
• As a participant it is up to your discretion on how you want people to follow. Please post RSS, GFC etc if you have a follow of choice.

Specific RULES:

• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
• If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed FOLLOW as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
• Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers

This week's prompt is: Short stories (as companions to a series): What do you love or hate about them?

MY ANSWER: Well, if it's coming from a series I LOVE, then I am excited for MORE story! More insight to a secondary character or something like that! I love getting more story when I feel invested in a series. Though I have been known to skip some novellas if I just really like a series or aren't feeling the novella read at the time. And sometimes it's about the time it takes to stop the series and squeeze the novellas in.

But one thing that I love about them is how they provide that insight we might not of have before! Take the Shatter Me novellas, I LOVE getting inside Warner's head. It made it easier to understand him. Of course, it doesn't excuse his lesser actions, but still we got to know some of the WHY behind his other actions! The same can be said of Adam as well! That kind of thing is what I love about novellas! Ones that add to an incredible story already!

Random Thursday

Time for more That's a Fact Jack: A Collection of Utterly Useless Information [Updated] by Harry Bright and Jakob Anser!! And soon to come, some fun Disney facts and such! I got quite a bit bookmarked and noted for the next month or so! We're going to have some fun!

"The ideal knuckleball should complete less than a single rotation on its way to the home plate. Its erratic path is created by the difference in air molecules traveling over the baseball's seams and smooth surfaces."

Never would've thought about all the science to throwing a knuckleball!

Waiting on Wednesday

I hate waiting...

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.

For a select group of girls, the Glittering Court offers a shot at a life they’ve only ever dreamed of, one of luxury, glamour, and leisure. To high-born Adelaide, whose wealthy family is forcing her into a loveless marriage, the Glittering Court represents something else: the chance to chart her own destiny, and adventure in an unspoiled, prosperous new land across the sea.

After a chance meeting with the dazzling Cedric Thorn, Adelaide poses as a servant to join the crop of impoverished girls he promises to transform into proper ladies. But her familiarity with upper class life comes with a price: she must hide her identity from her new friends, mysterious refugee Mira and fiery former laundress Tamsin, and most importantly, from Cedric himself—even though she’s falling in love with him.

Everything begins to crumble when Cedric discovers Adelaide’s ruse, and she catches the eye of a powerful young governor, who wants her for a wife. She didn’t leave the gilded cage of her old life behind just to become someone else's property. But nothing is as daunting—or as wonderful—as the potent, forbidden attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. One that, if acted on, would make them both outcasts in a wild, dangerous, uncharted world, and possibly lead them to their deaths.

While I am so excited for a new Richelle Mead book, I will admit to some hesitancy with this one. There's no paranormal or fantasy and has very little of that "weird" or "magical" factor I love in my reads. But since it's Mead, I am willing to try the first book out!

TITLE: The Glittering Court
AUTHOR: Richelle Mead
PUBLISHER: Razorbill
GENRE: Fiction YA--seriously no idea how to genre-ize this! 
RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2016

Lia Nautilus may be a Mermaid but she’s never lived in the ocean. War has ravaged the seven seas ever since the infamous Little Mermaid unleashed a curse that stripped Mer of their immortality. Lia has grown up in a secret community of land-dwelling Mer hidden among Malibu’s seaside mansions. Her biggest problems are surviving P.E. and keeping her feelings for Clay Ericson in check. Sure, he’s gorgeous in that cocky, leather jacket sort of way and makes her feel like there’s a school of fish swimming in her stomach, but getting involved with a human could put Lia's entire community at risk.

So it’s for the best that he’s dating that new girl, right? That is, until Lia finds out she isn't the only one at school keeping a potentially deadly secret. And this new girl? Her eyes are dead set on Clay, who doesn't realize the danger he's in. If Lia hopes to save him, she’ll have to get closer to Clay. Lia’s parents would totally flip if they found out she was falling for a human boy, but the more time she spends with him, the harder it is for her to deny her feelings. After making a horrible mistake, Lia will risk everything to stop Clay from falling in love with the wrong girl.

Mermaid read? Heck yes!!!

TITLE: Emerge
AUTHOR: Tobie Easton
PUBLISHER: Month9Books, LLC
GENRE: Fantasy YA
RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2016

 

Mini Review--The Straw King by Danielle Paige

Once upon a time, the Scarecrow's only wish was to have a brain. This digital original novella is the fifth installment in the prequel arc to the edgy and thrilling New York Times bestsellers Dorothy Must Die and The Wicked Will Rise and follows the Scarecrow after he finally gets his wish.

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow received the gift of a brain from the Wizard and was appointed the new ruler of Oz. In The Straw King, the Scarecrow's tale takes a crooked turn when his reign is threatened. With faith in his newfound wisdom shaken, the Scarecrow will turn to anyone who can help—even if others have their own interests at heart. 

The Straw King by Danielle Paige is a dark and compelling reimagining of a beloved classic and is perfect for fans of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Beastly by Alex Flinn, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire.

The Straw King is yet another installment in the 7 part prequel set of novellas by Danielle Paige! In these novellas we basically see what was happening in Oz after Dorothy left. In The Straw King we focus on the Scarecrow.

I sometimes forget how different the movie Wizard of Oz is compared to the books. I never did read all the books about Oz, but I feel like I get the general idea about them through these stories. There’s mentioning of places and events that feel familiar, but yet weren’t ones I am aware of. No matter, that’s not really necessary to know in order to enjoy this story.

In this one we see the Scarecrow trying to read and learn as much as he can about Oz in order to be a fit king. But no sooner than when he starts, Oz is attacked by Jinjur and her army and soon the Scarecrow and the Lion are fleeing the palace. They will have to work together along with his subjects from the forest and a set of flying monkeys in order to get the palace back. But while Scare has ideas on how to go about doing that, no one feels like listening. Except for Glinda.

Glinda is the only one willing to listen, but even then she really doesn’t hear what Scare is saying and basically lets him in on her plans. I felt like in this one we didn’t really learn much about Scare as a character. He’s a freaky scientist dude cutting into people’s brains in the series itself, but in this one, we just see him as wanting to read and learn. Perhaps that’s a good precursor for his soon to be diabolical character, but it just wasn’t enough of an “ahh, I see” moment.

We do see how some things get set into motion for when Dorothy comes back to Oz, but it’s been so long since I’ve read the second book, I can’t quite put things together as well as I should be. I really regret not taking better notes up until a few reads ago. But live and learn I guess!

The Straw King was yet another interesting novella, but didn’t really give me the hidden insight or backstory that I had been hoping for. But it was still pretty entertaining, for I feel like we’re getting to know the Scarecrow before he becomes an evil whack-job…almost like Gotham in a way, with Ed and seeing him before he turns into the Riddler! LOL!

Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by MizB of Books and Beat

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.

"Wrong, wrong, wrong, my inner alarm screamed.

The wind kept gusting, first into my face, then from behind me, then swirling, and with each gust the trash moved--but didn't blow away.

A shape started to emerge from the trash. A head. A torso. Two arms, two legs.

Not possible." Kindle loc. 19%*

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

TITLE: Nightstruck
AUTHOR: Jenna Black
PUBLISHER: Tor Teen
GENRE: Horror YA
RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

This week's topic is: Ten Books/Series I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven't Talked About Enough/In A While 

*in no particular order

1. THE WATCHERS SERIES by Veronica Wolff--this series kind of fell of the bookshelves awhile back and I hadn't lost hope with it but I've read all of them and my reviews are here for the liking! But I am THRILLED to say I just read the FINAL book in the series that Veronica sent me and I LOVED IT! You can expect my review next week!!

2. CHARLEY DAVIDSON SERIES by Darynda Jones--here I have no excuse. None!! I'm a terrible reader for getting sooo far behind in this series! I've been struggling to get caught up with other series and finishing some and then it was review books and reading books prior to signings...hope to get back to this series very very soon!

3. THE IRON DRUID SERIES by Kevin Hearne--see the reason above! Literally word for word!

4. OLD MAGIC by Marianne Curley--how I ADORED this book as a teenager! It was one of the rare gems; a paranormal-y YA read in a world where there were so few to be had! Aka, the early 2000s. Scary times my friends, scary times! But this one was SO incredibly good! I re-read it several times because it was a favorite of mine! Time traveling, magic, witches, curses, and of course, a bit of romance!

5. THE FORBIDDEN GAME TRILOGY by L.J. Smith--this was my first series by L.J. and I think it's still my favorite vs The Vampire Diaries, which I did read as well! It was exciting and thrilling and a bit tragic in some ways. A lot of scary stuff happens, and did I mention someone DIED in the FIRST book?!

6. DARKWORLD by Cara Lynn Shultz--a read that was SO amazing, I was left heartbroken when a sequel wasn't present right away. Goodreads currently says in August 2016 we get the Untitled one, but I have my doubts. Still hoping for one though!! I love a good ghosty read!

7. STUDY SERIES by Maria V. Snyder--I feel like it's been awhile since I mentioned this series! Which is probably another word for last month! Though you all pretty much know how I adore Maria's books! Sooo excited that this series was picked up for the second and current trilogy!

8. FALLING KINGDOMS SERIES by Morgan Rhodes--eegads I am behind on this series! By 1 book yes, but that kills me! Though these endings kill me! So I'm saving myself a little bit of pain with the waiting. Sort of. Not really. But perhaps in the endgame? But this fantasy series is far more awesome incredible than I ever could imagine!

9. THE MEDIATOR SERIES by Jenny Carroll/Meg Cabot--because I feel that old--LOL--I read this series with these original covers and yes it was phenomenal! Again, this was in the years where there was NO Paranormal YA section at the bookstore, but one lump of YA books. I found this gem hidden in the shelves and was pretty much hooked from the getgo! I think after I read the first one I immediately bought the next three! And it was discovering a 5th and 6th and yes, 7th book over the next several years that led to many happy dances in Borders! If their security tapes still exist I am sure you will see those two times since the third one was done in my room reading about book 7 on Meg's blog! This series will always hold a special place in my heart!

10. SHADOW SERIES by Erin Kellison--while scanning my shelves for inspiration this one caught my eye! I loved Erin's Shadow series! It was soo fantastical! It's like Dark Fantasy for adults! In a way, some of them reminded me of a fairy tale or two. Just in a few elements here and there! It was quite the series!!

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:

Between the Spark and the Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke (4 stars)

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton (4.5 stars)

Lost by Alyssa Rose Ivy (ARC) (4.5 stars)

Reckoning by Veronica Wolff (ARC)--Review to come at a later date

DNF'd:

Once Upon a Dream by Liz Braswell (ARC)--DNF review to come at a later date

About to Start Reading:

Nightstruck by Jenna Black (ARC)

What I Plan to Read this Week:

The Straw King by Danielle Paige

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Waiting on Wednesday

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!! 

Random Thursday 

Follow Friday

THE SKYLIGHTER BLOG TOUR--Author Interview & Contest!

Stacking the Shelves