Tag: #Adult

March Wrap Up

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Hey guys! I hope you all had a great month. I have definitely had an amazing month, and when I look back through it, I feel like March has been extremely long. In amongst everything I managed to read, I also managed to binge watch Vampire Diaries up until about episode 8 in season 5. So… I’ve definitely gotten through a lot this month!

Read:

Started:

Bought/Acquired:

ARCs/Review Copies:

Beta:

  • Rock – A – Bye Baby by LRW Lee

Goodreads Monday:

 

Other posts:

Book of the Month:

TCP

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Published: January 2nd 2018 by LBBFYR

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

I hope you all had an amazing month like I did! Feel free to add your links to the comments so I can check them out!

February Wrap Up

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Hes guys? How was your February? I felt like it has gone really quickly in comparison with January – which took about 9 years to come and go! I can safely say that I have had a better month reading wise and I am so glad that I am finally getting out of my slump.

Read:

Started:

Bought:

ARCs/Review Copies:

Beta:

  • A Bond of Sovereigns and Souls by Karen Tomlinson

Goodreads Monday:

Other Posts:

Book of the Month:

SOW

Society of Wishes by Elise Kova and Lynn Larsh

Published: January 29th by Silver Wing Press

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.

Josephina Espinosa makes her living as a hacker-for-hire in the Lone Star Republic, a remnant of the fractured U.S.A. That is, until the day she and her best friend are gunned down in a government raid.

With her dying breath, Jo uses magical lore passed down from her grandmother to summon a wish-granter. Her wish? To save her friend’s life. Except wishes have costs, and for Jo, the price is the erasure of her entire mortal existence.

Now, as the most recent addition to the mysterious Society of Wishes, Jo must form a new “life” alongside the seven other members, one of which being her savior himself. Living as an occupant of the Society’s lavish mansion should be quite the perk, but while it is furnished with everything its inhabitants could possibly need, it lacks one thing—freedom.

Her otherworldly identity crisis takes a backseat, however, when Jo learns that the friend she sacrificed everything for is headed down the same path to ruin. Jumping in head-first, Jo uses her newfound magical abilities to protect him, only to realize that the ripples of her actions have far-reaching consequences. When the Society’s aloof leader Snow decides to give her a taste of his own ancient magic, Jo discovers that there are threads woven into the tapestry of her new reality that reach far beyond the wishes she is now required to grant. Ones that, if tugged on, could mean the unraveling of the world itself.

How was your month? Feel free to leave links in the comments so that I can check them out 😀

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January Wrap Up

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Hey guys! I hope you have all had a great January and start to the year. My start has been absolutely terrible reading wise. I really lost my motivation to read and take pictures for my instagram – and even blog, which I am sure you gathered from the sparse posting throughout the month! I am currently 5 book behind schedule on my goodreads goal… I really felt that January just kind of dragged on, and I am so glad that it is finally coming to a close. However, having said that, I finally feel my mojo coming back, so I am hoping to really start getting back into everything and be back more regularly and finally be in the mood for doing what I enjoy the most! Sorry that this post is so short – hopefully next month will be better!

Read: 

  • Dirty Uncle by Alexa Riley and Jesse Kane – Adult, Reviewed on Goodreads, 4/5 stars
  • Lullaby by L R W Lee – Arc received from the author, DNF, 1 star. Full review still to come!

Started:

  • Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk – ARC received through Netgalley. I’m currently about 72 percent of the way through this and I am LOVING it! I highly recommend it.
  • Rock Hard Bodyguard by Alexis Abbott – Adult book, will only review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Bought: 

ARCS Acquired:

Goodreads Monday: 

Book of the Month:

BAS

Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk

 

Published January 16th by Tor Teen

FORGED IN BATTLE…
FROM THE DUST OF THE ARENA…
A LEGEND WILL RISE

The action-packed tale of a 17-year-old warrior princess and a handsome gladiator who dared take on the Roman Republic―and gave rise to the legend of Spartacus…

For teens who love strong female protagonists in their fantasy and historical fiction, Blood and Sand is a stirring, yet poignant tale of two slaves who dared take on an empire by talented debut author C. V. Wyk.

Roma Victrix. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire―an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves.

Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor. Enslaved as a child, Xanthus is the preeminent gladiator of his generation.

Against all odds, Attia and Xanthus form a tentative bond. A bond that will spark a rebellion. A rebellion that threatens to bring the Roman Republic to its end―and gives rise to the legend of Spartacus…

I know I mentioned above that I am not yet finished with this book, however, it is so good, I KNOW that I want to feature it as this months book of the month! It is a Spartacus retelling and has had me hooked throughout. I am hoping to have this done within the next couple of days.

That is it for me. As you can see, my month was pretty terrible, so here is to having a better February! I have a bundle of ARCs to get through and a whole bunch of new releases that I really want to pick up as well 😀

Feel free to add your links to your Wrap up posts so I can see how your month has been.

 

Top Ten Tuesday

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toptentuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and Bookish

Hey guys! This weeks TTT is top ten underrated books (books with under 2000 ratings). 2 of these books are going to have over 2000 ratings, because I don#t have enough not to do it like that!

10. dirt daughter Dirt Daughter by Michele Shaw. This book only has 21(?!?) ratings! I actually got an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley – but this book really needs to be read more!

9.little white lies.jpg Little White Lies by Lesley Lokko. 202 ratings. I bought this book on a whim at the airport whilst waiting for a flight back to Germany! I actually really enjoyed it.

8. emerge- The awakening The Awakening by Melissa A. Craven. 237 ratings. Again, this is a book that I requested from Netgalley and I absolutely loved it! I cannot wait for the next instalment!

7. unspeakable Unspeakable by Michelle K. Pickett. 490 ratings.  This book tackled some really tough issues and I am surprised that more people haven’t read this!

6. reclaimed Reclaimed by Sarah Guillory. 731 ratings. This book surprised me in so many ways! I absolutely loved it and I really need to check out some more of this authors work!

5.every ugly word Every Ugly word by Aimee L. Salter. 1249 ratings. This book sent me on a rollercoaster ride full of emotions! Definitely worth the read!

4. say her name Say Her Name by James Dawson. 1747 ratings. This is a great take on the Bloody Mary story! I had to know what was going to happen all the way throughout this book!

3. tiny pretty things Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charapoitra and Dhonielle Clayton. 1953 ratings. I am actually so surprised that this book doesn’t have more ratings! I loved it and I cannot wait until the next instalment comes out!

2. spelled Spelled by Betsy Schow . 2100 ratings. Despite having over 2000 ratings, I still think this book is underrated! everyone should be reading this book! It is hilarious!

1. endure Endure by Sara B. Larson. 2174 ratings. This book wrapped up the Defy trilogy pretty nicely!

So, that is my list!  Do you have any of these books on your list? Feel free to leave comments and links and I will check them all out!

A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin

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a storm of swords

Here is the third volume in George R.R. Martin’s magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Together, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. And as opposing forces manoeuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others—a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords… (Goodreads)

So, I became a hug fan of A Game of Thrones and from that, decided that reading the books was an absolute must! Of course, the first book was fairly similar to the film, as was the second – although it had its differences. This book, however, was completely different and I found myself having to completely forget everything I thought I knew about ASOIAF and take the events as if they were completely new to me. I still love it! It was so amazing and just… *sigh* how do I even find the words?

I have to admit, I was forced to put this book down quite a few times and for quite a while. However, when I picked it back up again, it wasn’t that difficult to remember where I was and what had happened beforehand in the book. I think, considering the amount of information that the reader has to take in on a general basis with this series, Martin has done a good job of making it fairly easy to follow and to remember who is who and what is going on in multiple places at any one time.

Of course, as an major fan of this series, I had to get to the Red Wedding and the Purple Wedding. I have been waiting to read these events sinceI started the book and I finally got to it! I felt just as emotional reading the book, as I did watching the events take place within the tv series. There were, obviously, differences – however, I loved the fact that there were differences because the experience is new. I felt sorry for Tyrion, as I always do – he is the scapegoat for everything and Joffrey treats him especially bad. It almost makes me wish that Tyrion was the person who poisoned him. Joffrey is dead! Let’s throw another party to celebrate!!

Sansa bugs me. A lot. She is childish and seemingly stupid when it comes to politics and the way that people are in general. You would have thought that she would have learned by now that she should trust nobody and always be on her guard, but no. This hasn’t happened. She is still our naive character – maybe she will learn in the near future?

The characterisation and world building within, not just this book, but this series, is so good that it is easy for the reader to fall into this story and forget about the world around them. I could easily sit and read this book for an entire day and still not get bored. This is also one of those books that you can read multiple times and you will always pick up/learn something new that you may have missed the first time round.

I love this series, both in word and in motion and I gave this book 5/5 stars.

Top Ten Tuesday

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toptentuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and Bookish.

Hey guys! time for another TTT and this week is top ten characters who are fellow book lovers. When I first read this, I completely blanked. Then I thought about it some more and realised that there are a fair few out there. So, in no particular order:

10. Shatter Me Juliette from Shatter Me. Juliette is a very curious character and she comes across as someone who wants to know everything there is to know about everything. She is also a character who would use books as a form of escapism from her life, who wrote in her notebook when she was locked up.

9. throne of glass Celaena from Throne of Glass. Celaena is a character well known for being a female MC who kicks a lot of butt. However, she is also a book lover! Who would have thought it?

8. Harry Potter Hermione from Harry Potter. I can imagine that Hermione is going to be a particularly popular choice this week! She is our beloved smart ass – who wouldn’t pick her for this weeks topic!

7. game of thrones Tyrion Lannister from A Game of Thrones. Tyron uses his mind to keep an edge on those around him – and to do this, he always has a book in his hand.

6. pride and prejudice Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice. As Darcy points out, Elizabeth is constantly extending her knowledge through copious amounts of reading. She always seems to have a book in her hand!

5. the bad beginning Klaus from A Series of Unfortunate Events. Back to my childhood for a moment to visit Klaus Baudelaire. He was our inventor, who managed to get the Baudelaire children out of horrid situations through his constant studying and reading.

4. First Days Sang from The Academy Series. Sang, although she isn’t constantly reading, she does enjoy a good book – I guess thats what makes her so relatable.

3. to all the boys I've loved before Lara from to all the boys I’ve loved before. While it isn’t shown that Lara is someone who enjoys to read, she definitely comes across that way. She is a typical nerdy character and she did write all those letters – her way of communicating her feelings!

2. belle Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Now, I don’t actually know if Belle was a book nerd from the get go, but I grew up watching her on screen and there she was a book nerd. So I guess I am cheating – but I am sure you don’t mind!

1. beautiful player Hanna from Beautiful Player. Until Hanna is forced to go and get a life, she is a character who is constantly studying and working – so it would make sense that she is a book worm!

What did you guys come up with? Feel free to leave comments and links below.

Stacking the Shelves

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Stacking the shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s reviews.

This post is coming a little late in the day because it is the first time today where I have had a chance to write it! I have two additions this week – one of which was a spontaneous addition earlier on after a shopping trip with my mother in law and husband

cinder Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Move aside, Ke$ha, I’m yelling’ CINDER! It is about time that I got a copy of this. I guess I shall soon find out if the hype was worth it!

grey Grey by E. L. James. As I was food shopping with my husband and mother in law, I came across this in the shop – in English!!! I decided to snap it up as soon as I saw it before I never saw it in my beautiful language again! 🙂

That’s it, folks! What did you guys add? Feel free to leave links and comments in the section below!

Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren

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beautiful player

A bombshell bookworm. A chronic Casanova. And a lesson in chemistry too scandalous for school.

When Hanna Bergstrom receives a lecture from her overprotective brother about neglecting her social life and burying herself in grad school, she’s determined to tackle his implied assignment: get out, make friends, start dating. And who better to turn her into the sultry siren every man wants than her brother’s gorgeous best friend, Will Sumner, venture capitalist and unapologetic playboy?

Will takes risks for a living, but he’s skeptical about this challenge of Hanna’s…until the wild night his innocently seductive pupil tempts him into bed- and teaches him a thing or two about being with a woman he can’t forget. Now that Hanna’s discovered the power of her own sex appeal, it’s up to Will to prove he’s the only man she’ll ever need. (Goodreads)

I actually started this series a while back – I can’t believe it took me this long to actually crack open this book. It has been sat waiting for me for a fair few weeks now and I literally feel like kicking myself.

What I love about this book (and, indeed, the series) is that, although we are introduced to new characters, we have the familiarity of the old characters. The connection between the reader and the book itself deepens in a sort of sense because we can see how the lives of the characters we first fell in love with pan out.

What I also enjoyed about this book, possibly more so than in the other books, is that the emotions that the characters felt for each other were already established before they even began sleeping together. The emotions experienced in the first two books both stemmed after they all started sleeping together. In a sense, it felt more real and I felt like I could relate more to this situation than that of the first two.

Will and Hanna are characters that seem to click from the very get go. They have a chemistry together which makes them enjoyable to read. While they needed to work on their communication and some points within the book (which couple doesn’t?), I loved the fact that they were both mostly open with one another throughout. It meant that the reactions of the other one were more genuine. They are funny and a good example of the idea that love can happen to anyone at anytime.

I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book within this series and I gave it 5/5 stars.

Top Ten Tuesday

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toptentuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and Bookish.

Hey people! Time for another TTT. Is it just me, or does it seem like this year is flying? It feels like yesterday when I wrote last weeks TTT. Oh well, this weeks TTT is Top Ten Books on My Summer TBR. My summer TBR is a list that seems to be constantly updating itself, so while this is what I am currently hoping to read this summer, it may change based on books that I add to my TBR or books that I actually get. Without further ado, and in no particular order:

10. those girls Those Girls by Lauren Saft. I added this book to my TBR a few weeks ago, and it made my summer TBR 🙂

9. spelled Spelled by Betsy Schow. Who doesn’t love a retelling of childhood fairytales?

8. p.s. i still love you P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han. I loved To All The Boys I’ve loved Before and I have been waiting for this book for ages! I actually already own a copy and I will be cracking it open after I have finished reading A Storm of Swords!

7. beautiful player Beautiful player by Christina Lauren. Again, another series that I have adored so far and again a book that I already own but need to read!

6. the art of being normal The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson. I added this to my TBR list after reading a glowing review of it! Plus, I am adding it to my British Books Challenge – definitely a book that I want to read over the summer!

5. the fill in bf The Fill In Boyfriend by Kasie West. Anything Kasie West has written is perfect Summer reading and I literally cannot wait to open this book! I have loved every book that she has written and she is definitely on my favourite authors list.

4. tiny pretty things Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton. As a Black Swan fan and as a current PLL binge watcher (although I was a fan quite a while back), these two definitely need to meet! Who doesn’t enjoy reading about bitchy girls?

3. they all fall down They All Fall Down by Roxanne ST. Claire. Again, PLL meets Final Destination. I know what Final Destination is about but I have never actually seen it! Either way, this is definitely on my summer TBR.

2. the revenge playbook The Revenge Playbook by Rachael Allen. I find books about revenge fairly funny and enjoyable and they normally remind me of John Tucker Must Die and they are, at least for me, feel good books! Schadenfreude…

1. the dead house The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich. I guess this is really a summery book, rather more of a halloween read. However, this is being release late summer and it is a book I NEED!! It looks so cool! So, to hell with normal, cutesy summer reads and bring on the horror! 🙂

That’s it guys! I could have easily carried on beyond the realms of ten books, but I stuck to the rules. *pats back* Now, I am off to have a lay down before attempting to eat again… What are your summer TBR’s this year? Feel free to leave your comments and links below and I will check them all out! 🙂

Stacking the Shelves

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Stacking the shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

Hey guys! 🙂 Another Saturday and time for another Stacking the Shelves. I only have two additions for you this week, so I will include both the synopsis’ of the books and the links to Goodreads in case you want to add them to your own TBR!

the wrath and the dawn

The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh.

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

beautiful player

Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren.

A bombshell bookworm. A chronic Casanova. And a lesson in chemistry too scandalous for school.

When Hanna Bergstrom receives a lecture from her overprotective brother about neglecting her social life and burying herself in grad school, she’s determined to tackle his implied assignment: get out, make friends, start dating. And who better to turn her into the sultry siren every man wants than her brother’s gorgeous best friend, Will Sumner, venture capitalist and unapologetic playboy?

Will takes risks for a living, but he’s skeptical about this challenge of Hanna’s…until the wild night his innocently seductive pupil tempts him into bed- and teaches him a thing or two about being with a woman he can’t forget. Now that Hanna’s discovered the power of her own sex appeal, it’s up to Will to prove he’s the only man she’ll ever need.

I jumped onto The Wrath and The Dawn bandwagon not too long ago after seeing it absolutely everywhere. I am not going to lie, I didn’t want to put this onto my TBR list because of the hype monster and I am struggling to actually sit down and read it without going and doing something else. So far I have absolutely loved the Beautiful Bastard series by the duo Christina and Lauren and I am definitely looking forward to reading this books offerings!

More than anything, I have added a ton of books to my TBR list thanks to Netgalley and Goodreads … This list will never shrink at this rate!

So, what about you guys? Have you added anything interesting? Feel free to leave your answers and links in the comments section below and I will check them all out! In the meantime, I am going to go and get some lunch…