Tag: #ARCS

March Wrap Up

9 Comments

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

14 Comments

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 😀

Find me here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads

 

 

#Prettyboy Must Die by Kimberly Reid

5 Comments

PBMD

#Prettyboy Must Die by Kimberly Reid

Published: February 13th 2018 by Tor Teen

A CIA prodigy’s cover is blown when he accidentally becomes an internet sensation in #Prettyboy Must Die, inspired by the #Alexfromtarget story.

When Peter Smith’s classmate snaps a picture of him during a late night run at the track, Peter thinks he might be in trouble. When she posts that photo–along with the caption, “See the Pretty Boy Run,”–Peter knows he’s in trouble. But when hostiles drop through the ceiling of his 6th period Chem Class, Peter’s pretty sure his trouble just became a national emergency.

Because he’s not really Peter Smith. He’s Jake Morrow, former foster-kid turned CIA operative. After a massive screw-up on his first mission, he’s on a pity assignment, a dozen hit lists and now, social media, apparently. As #Prettyboy, of all freaking things.

His cover’s blown, his school’s under siege, and if he screws up now, #Prettyboy will become #Deadboy faster than you can say, ‘fifteen minutes of fame.’ Trapped in a high school with rabid killers and rabid fans, he’ll need all his training and then some to save his job, his school and, oh yeah, his life.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this via Netgalley. This in no way influences my opinion.

When I first saw this on Netgalley, I decided to request it because it looked like a quick, fun, cheesy read – something that would just cheer you up and let you escape for a couple go hours. However, this book did not cheer me up, and I actually ended up DNFing it. The characters, the descriptions and some of the ideas that the author had left me eye rolling pretty hard – to the point where I’m pretty sure that my eyes got stuck in the back of my head.

I’m going to start off with the MC. I struggled to really engage in this story because I found Peter/Jake to be extremely unlikeable. He was constantly complaining and whining and was pretty condescending toward others – whether it was just his thoughts and the way in which he saw people or whether it was things he said to other characters. He was horrible the person who was supposed to be his best friend within this book and it just grated on my nerves. I physically couldn’t connect to him as a character because I found no relatable qualities in him whatsoever. Despite his many mistakes etc. he still acted like he was better than everyone else and it really drew me out of the story.

His best friend’s back story (Bunker) also seemed completely out there and extremely unlikely. His dad took him underground (for reasons I have forgotten) and he doesn’t resurface for 15 years. It then seems unlikely to me that he is able to get into a relatively prestigious school on a scholarship and that he would be relatively sane of mind and pretty current with the times when he has been underground for the past 15 years. Surely he would have various psychological, if not also physical, issues that would confine him to a hospital/unit until he has be rehabilitated into the real world?

I think the biggest issue for me, and ultimately what led me to putting the book down, is the way in which Peter (the author) dismissed the possibility of a character being the hacker he’s looking for because: She’s English and beautiful and she has an amazing English accent and her hair smells English (Strawberries and Vanilla, who knew? Pretty sure my hair currently smells like coconut, so does this make me not English?), and she kisses super amazing and she’s English and Rich as hell… Did I mention that she’s English? This is what the book basically read like for me and to dismiss a female character because of these relatively shallow things got on my goat. It made me angry and I actually put the book down because I just couldn’t face reading anymore.

All in all, I was pretty disappointed, and irritated, with this book. I was expecting something fun and cheesy and got quite the opposite. I gave this book 1/5 stars.

Find Me Here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads

Goodreads Monday

15 Comments

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off. Don’t forget to link back here and feel free to add your link to the comments so that others can see what you picked! 

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great weekend 🙂 It snowed here again – I was hoping for warmer weather, but no. Hopefully it will warm up sometime this week.

Anyway, this weeks pick for me is an ARC copy of a book that I have that releases later this month! I am extremely excited to get to it (probably be my next read after I have finished up the book I am currently reading), and I am hoping it lives up to my expectations.

PBMD

#Prettyboy Must Die by Kimberly Reid

Expected Publication: February 13th by Tor Teen

A CIA prodigy’s cover is blown when he accidentally becomes an internet sensation in #Prettyboy Must Die, inspired by the #Alexfromtarget story.

When Peter Smith’s classmate snaps a picture of him during a late night run at the track, Peter thinks he might be in trouble. When she posts that photo–along with the caption, “See the Pretty Boy Run,”–Peter knows he’s in trouble. But when hostiles drop through the ceiling of his 6th period Chem Class, Peter’s pretty sure his trouble just became a national emergency.

Because he’s not really Peter Smith. He’s Jake Morrow, former foster-kid turned CIA operative. After a massive screw-up on his first mission, he’s on a pity assignment, a dozen hit lists and now, social media, apparently. As #Prettyboy, of all freaking things.

His cover’s blown, his school’s under siege, and if he screws up now, #Prettyboy will become #Deadboy faster than you can say, ‘fifteen minutes of fame.’ Trapped in a high school with rabid killers and rabid fans, he’ll need all his training and then some to save his job, his school and, oh yeah, his life.

Find Me Here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads

Lullaby by L R W Lee

5 Comments

Lullaby

Lullaby by L. R. W. Lee

Published: January 15th 2018 by Woodgate Publishing

You’ve heard of the Sand Man. Meet his counterpart, the Sand Maiden.

Alissandra thrills to help her human charges make sense of thoughts that need refinement, problems that need solutions, worries that beg for action, and things they should or shouldn’t have said, as she weaves their dreams. She’s been doing it her entire immortal existence. But when the most powerful king in Dream realm sets his sights on her current charge, Prince Kovis Altairn, to exploit him in his quest to conquer Wake realm, Ali has no choice but to flee and pray the sovereign doesn’t hunt her down.

Prince Kovis Altairn, crown prince and the most powerful sorcerer in the Altairn Empire, knows nothing about Dream realm, let alone his sand maiden. So when Ali is discovered naked in his bedroom, how will she convince him of her intentions, as well as the danger?

Note: I received an ARC copy of this book from the author. This in no way influences my opinion.

I was a bit on the fence about reading this book. I wasn’t entirely sure if it sounded like it was going to be my kind of thing, but after discussing it over with a friend, I decided to go for it and applied for ARC when they opened up. Unfortunately, this turned out to be not really my cup of tea and I ended up DNFing it about 30 percent of the way through. I found it to be confusing and slow, as well as problematic in certain areas. I will mention that I absolutely love the cover, however. The cover art was done by Charlie Bowater and it is absolutely stunning!

The problems with this book really start from the very beginning. From the very first page of the book, we are thrust into a commotion, without any real explanation of what is happening or why. The first few pages of the book are extremely confusing and it really set the tone, for me, up until the point that I DNFed. Whilst I usually wouldn’t mind being thrown into action from page 1, I expect some form of world building and explanation to follow up so that I have a full understanding of what is really happening and why; and unfortunately, that wasn’t the case with this book. The book carried on from the events at page 1, but without any real explanation as to what was going on and why. The world building and character development was lacking and it really had a negative impact on me as a reader.

The world building itself (the environment, dream realm, wake realm etc.) was really lacking as well. I couldn’t physically picture the places we were supposed to be because there wasn’t enough description for me. Dream Realm and Wake Realm are mentioned, as well as other places that are pretty far off and not where the characters currently are (but are places with rebellion etc.), but I personally had no real idea where any of these places were in regards to where the characters were and what was really going on and why there was rebellion etc. We know it is happening, but we don’t know why and we don’t really find out, even though we have the POV of one of the Princes. I would have liked to have seen more world building itself, along with more of an idea of what is actually going on as opposed to knowing about it and not knowing why.

Another issue I had with this book was the lack of character development. I never really felt connected to any of the characters because they were never developed further from the confusing beginning. Ali was extremely naive and a complete push over. She never exhibited any signs that she was a princess from the dream realm. From the vague snippets that we get about her dad and the kind of person he was, I was expecting her to be tougher mentally, but was left pretty disappointed on that front. She let herself be pushed around in the Wake Realm as well, even after the events of the beginning of the book.

Prince Kovis was a pretty unlikeable character. He often spoke down to and was relatively condescending toward Ali, despite the way she treated him. He often looked the other way and encouraged torture, and only really got involved when it started to affect him. He never really developed from this point on and stayed a relatively unlikeable character throughout. Personality wise, he fell relatively flat and there wasn’t a particular character trait that made him really stand out in a unique way.

I also found this book to be relatively problematic. This book has sexual assault at the beginning of the book. Usually, I don’t mind books featuring sexual assault, when it is written in the right way, because it’s an issue that is extremely relevant within society today. However, I feel that the way in which the author tackled and represented sexual assault actually perpetuates it, rather than shows it to be what it is – an issue that needs to be dealt with and resolved. There was no real consequences for the people who committed the assault and the psychological issues that victims often face in the aftermath weren’t properly represented either. I felt that Ali brushed it off and seemed to completely forget about it afterward. I will add a spoiler paragraph at the bottom so that I can talk about it openly without spoiling anyone.

Unfortunately, this book was lacking in a lot of different areas and left me with more questions than answers. For me, it was relatively problematic and I was disappointed with the way in which Lee represented sexual assault. I gave this book 1/5 stars

SPOILER PARAGRAPH:

As mentioned above, the way in which Lee represented sexual assault was relatively problematic. The prince himself (not Kovis, his brother) allowed his guards to assault Ali, whilst he stood and looked away. There were no repercussions for Prince Kovis’ brother or the guards themselves. It’s also later revealed in the book that their sister was sexually assaulted, and prince Kovis’ brother claims he would never do/allow that to happen to anyone else… except clearly Ali because she’s an exception? Prince Kovis himself doesn’t even do anything about his brother or his brothers guards because “they’re his brothers’ men”. He claimed to have said to his brother that he should get rid of some guards because of questionable morals, but that he couldn’t force him.

My issue with this situations is that there is no accountability in either the guards, the prince or even Prince Kovis, who finds out about it and does nothing. Sexual assault is a societal issue that is extremely relevant, especially with victim shaming and the celebrities who are coming forward to share their stories. I feel that it is ok to have sexual assault represented within any book, as long as it does the subject justice and is dealt with in the right way. I felt that Lee never really had a reason for using it, and never did the subject and the severity of it justice. As already mentioned, nobody was held accountable and Ali herself brushed it off as of nothing ever happened. A lot of the focus for the beginning of the book was Ali either being sexually assaulted or being forced to strip her clothing. It wasn’t used in a way that brought something to the story, or even as a learning device as it should be, but rather as a filler for something to happen. I personally found it to be problematic and it didn’t sit well with me.

December Wrap Up

4 Comments

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years! This wrap up post is going to be a little longer than usual because I am also including my favourite and least favourite reads of 2017, along with all the usual things I include! I also want to mention that I managed to complete my Goodreads Reading Goal! I actually surpassed it by one book (91/90) books, so I think I will set myself 95 books for 2018 and see how it do. How did you guys get on with your goals? Will you be setting new ones?

Read:

Started:

Bought:

ARC’s Acquired:

Goodreads Monday:

Special Posts:

Book of the Month:

GS

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

Published: January 6th 2015 by Del Ray

Amazon: Golden Son

As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he faithfully served was built on lies. Darrow’s kind have been betrayed and denied by their elitist masters, the Golds—and their only path to liberation is revolution. And so Darrow sacrifices himself in the name of the greater good for which Eo, his true love and inspiration, laid down her own life. He becomes a Gold, infiltrating their privileged realm so that he can destroy it from within.

A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love—but also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind’s destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution—and strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo’s principles of love and justice to free his people.

He must live for more.

I am absolutely loving the Red Rising series (I am reading Morning Star at the time of writing this) and this book just had me completely shaken. The ending was absolutely shocking and I just sat and stared at my kindle for about 20 minutes just wondering what I had just read! I highly recommend this series if there is anyone out there who hasn’t jumped on the band wagon yet!

Favourite Books of 2017:

I’ve narrowed this list down to my top 10 books, because there were really a lot of amazing books that I could have included in this list!

  • Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – I was a little hesitant to pick this up because of the size and the layout, however, I had this finished extremely quickly and went and got Gemina because I absolutely loved it!
  • Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – This book was even better than Illuminae and I had it finished in 1 sitting in a couple of hours. I also went and pre ordered Obsidio as soon as I had finished (the wait has been killing me).
  • Warcross by Marie Lu – Another book I was hesitant to pick up because I haven’t liked any of Lu’s previous woks. I bought this on a whim when I was in the bookstore and I am so glad I did because this book had me completely hooked! I cannot wait for the sequel.
  • Red Rising by Pierce Brown – I actually had this book on my TBR for the longest time, but I never really felt the need to pick it up… I decided to pick it up this month because of the release of Iron Gold in January, and I feel like I should be kicking myself for not picking it up sooner!
  • Golden Son by Pierce Brown – I picked this up as soon as I finished Red Rising and this book just had me hooked from the beginning to the end. There’s stabby betrayal in every corner and I loved it!
  • A Bond of Blood and Fire by Karen Tomlinson – This is one of my all time favourite series and I was lucky enough to be a beta reader for this book! There is action from the beginning to the end and I really feel that this book is really extremely underrated!
  • Hoax by C. L. Stone – This is the 5th book in the Scarab Beetle series by this author and I found it to be a quick and fun read! I love the world she has created and I cannot wait for the next book in this series.
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas – Where would this list be without the Queen? There are a lot of mixed reviews for this instalment of the ACOTAR series, but I personally really enjoyed this instalment.
  • Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor – Laini Taylor is an auto buy author for me, so I pre ordered this before hand and got the Blue Sprayed edged copy. The writing is absolutely beautiful and the story even better!
  • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – This was a fast paced duology that had me constantly wanting to know what was going to happen next! Can I also just say Kaz Brekker? ❤

Least Favourite books of 2017:

So, I think it would be fun to also include my least favourite books of this year! I do just want to mention, though, that these are my own opinions, and I you did like these books, I’m glad you did! They just weren’t for me! Like My favourites, I’ve narrowed this list to 10. All links lead to my full reviews.

  • Shooter by Caroline Pignat – I feel like I waited a really long time for this book and it just fell completely flat for me. It didn’t focus enough on what should have been the main part of the story (the school shooting) and it focused on really petty things the characters kept bringing up.
  • The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee – I was extremely excited to read this book because it was pitched as Pretty Little Liars meets Gossip Girl – which are both series that I love. However, this book fell completely flat for me because I feel like it just meandered it’s way through without a huge amount really going on.
  • Hunted by Meagan Spooner – Again, this was a highly anticipated release for me because I love beauty and the beast! However, this book was extremely repetitive and there wasn’t a whole lot going on plot wise.
  • Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge – Romeo and Juliet is one of my favourites, so I was excited to get to this retelling. However, I mostly felt confused because I didn’t really understand what was going on and I feel that there wasn’t sufficient world building and plot to really keep me interested in what was going on.
  • Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon – I didn’t really get that far with this book before I DNFed it. It was basically Twilight rewritten by a different author. It felt very repetitive and I feel the Fallon basically plagiarised Twilight.
  • Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt – This book looked extremely creepy and I was really excited to read it. However, it fell completely flat both plot wise and horror wise. Nothing was really happening and I felt like it was really going nowhere fast.
  • The Switch by A. W. Hill and Nathaniel Hill – I actually received a review copy of this via Netgalley, so I feel a little bad for not liking this as much as I thought I was going to. The book was very repetitive and rehashed the same points of inter dimensional travel every time he switched to a new reality. I ended up DNfing this book by the 3rd or 4th switch.
  • First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirrowy – This was a highly anticipated read for me. I actually really enjoyed the beginning of this book – it was interesting and really had me hooked. However, I feel that the author lost her way a bit with this book because it really fell into a bit of a tangent by the middle and it felt confused and lost.
  • The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson – This book. I literally do not understand why there is so much hype surrounding it. There was nothing going on plot wise to really keep me interested and the romance aspect of the book really fell flat for me as well.
  • All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis – This was yet another highly anticipated read that really did nothing to tickle my fancy. I was expecting a lot from this book because of the subject matter, but I feel that the execution was lacking – which is a shame because it had a huge potential to be something amazing and unique!

So, that was my year (and month) in books in a nutshell! Have you read any of the books on my Favourites or least favourites? Did you agree with any of my choices, or would you have picked differently? Leave me links to your wrap posts so that I can check them out! I hope everyone has a great 2018 ❤

Find Me Here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads/Litsy @ Lauren’s Page Turners

November Wrap Up

19 Comments

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great November. I decided to fill this post out as the month went on rather than all at once at the end of the month and it has definitely helped! This post hasn’t taken nearly as long as it wold have done if I had done it all at once and I think I am definitely going to keep filling out my Wrap Up posts throughout the month. Looking back over the month, I definitely need to go onto a book buying ban until at least the new year! I feel like I had a great reading month and I am well on my way to completing this year’s Goodreads Reading Challenge with 87/90 books read so far.

Read:

fullsizeoutput_5a5

Physical Books read this month! Missing is The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye because I traded it for another book with someone 

Bought:

fullsizeoutput_5a4

Physical books bought this month! I found a website that is similar to Book Outlet but for Germany and I may have gone a little wild!

ARCs Acquired:

Goodreads Monday:

Special Posts:

Book of the Month

I’ve decided to add a new feature to my monthly wrap ups and that is the Book of the Month. This will be my favourite book read during the month! So, this months book of the month is a from an author I wasn’t expecting to love because I disliked all of her previous works!

WC

Warcross by Marie Lu

Published: September 12th 2017 by G. P. Putnam’s son book for Young Readers

My Review

Amazon: Warcross

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

This has been a fantastic month for me and I cannot even believe that it is nearly the end of the year already! In other news, I have already put the Christmas decorations up (bar the tree) and the house is looking pretty festive!

How has your month been? Feel free to let me know in the comments and feel free to add your links to monthly wrap ups so I can see what you guys have been up to!

Find me Here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads/Litsy @ Lauren’s Page Turners

 

October Wrap Up

3 Comments

Hey guys! Can you believe how fast this year has gone? I can’t believe it’s November already! I finally feel like I am back with my reading and blogging. I fell into a huge slump that lasted months and I just did not want to read, write or really do anything with books and I hated every second of it. However, I created a couple of TBR jars – one for my physical shelf and one for my ebooks – and I folded all of the titles I still have to read on pieces of paper and picked one out. This has definitely helped me get out of my slump in the sense that I didn’t have to stare at my shelf and despair over what I want to read next!

Anyway, let’s get into what I managed to read after getting out of my slump!

Read: 

There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins – 3/5 stars

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt – DNF, 1/5 stars

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus – 5/5 stars

When I Am Through With You by Stephanie Kuehn – 4/5 stars

Hoax by C. L. Stone – 5/5 stars

Frostfire by Amanda Hocking – 3/5 stars

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen – 4/5 stars

Switched by Amanda Hocking – 2/5 stars

Emancipated by M. G. Reyes – 4/5 stars

Six Little Secrets by Katlyn Duncan – ARC, 1/5 stars

Diplomatic Immunity by Brodi Ashton – DNF, 1 star – Full review to come

I definitely had a good mix of books in terms of ratings and I am so glad that I started to read some of the older ones that I probably never would have picked up had it not been for the jar!

Bought: 

A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess – I read the first book in this series when it first came out, so I am looking forward to seeing how this series continues. Also, the covers are so beautiful!

Emancipated my M. G. Reyes – I had this on my TBR for ages and stumbled back across it on Goodreads – I decided to grab a used copy from amazon and I am so glad I did!

Snape funko pop keychain – Not a book, but book related!

ARCS:

Six Little Secrets by Katlyn Duncan – I stumbled across this on Netgalley and was granted access by the published pretty quickly. Such a shame that it didn’t live up to its potential!

Switch by A. W. Hill and Nathanael Hill – Another book I discovered on Netgalley! I cannot wait to get to it

Banished by Betsy Schow – I am completely IN LOVE with this series and this author! I needed this ARC like I needed air and I am so excited to read it! I am auto approved for books from Sourcebooks Fire and I am so glad because this series is one of my all time favourites!

There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins – Someone was kind enough to send me this ARC in return for the cost of postage!

A Death Struck Year by Makiia Lucier – The same person sent me this along with Perkin’s in return for shipping costs!

I managed to grab a few ARCs this month, both old and new and I am extremely excited to read the ones I haven’t gotten to yet!

Goodreads Monday:

October 23rd – Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

I didn’t really keep up with Goodreads Monday this month, which is pretty bad from me. It came from the lack of motivation! However, since I am back, I will definitely be keeping on top of this every week!

I am so glad that I am finally out of my slump and that I finally have the motivation to read and post more often. I cannot wait to get back at it on a more regular basis!

How was your month? Feel free to link me up to your Wrap Up posts!

Find me here:

Instagram/Goodreads/Twitter/Litsy @ Lauren’s Page Turners

The Girl Who Wasn’t Dead by Samantha Boyette

5 Comments

the girl who wasnt ded

The Girl Who Wasn’t Dead by Samantha Boyette

Expected Publication: September 12th 2017 by Bold Strokes Books, Inc

Prom was supposed to be the biggest night of senior year, but for Jenny Lewis it was the night she almost died. The night someone drugged her, loaded her in a car, and dumped her body in the river.

The next morning, her soaked prom dress was found on the riverbank. Her body was never found. People whispered that she’d killed herself or gotten drunk and stupid. People moved on, went to college, and stopped thinking about her. Months later, her ex-girlfriend and three other classmates received a text from an unknown number accusing them of her murder and claiming to have proof.

The text? It came from Jenny, not dead and ready to figure out who tried to kill her. There’s going to be an impromptu reunion and no one is leaving until the would-be murderer steps forward.

Note: I received an ARC copy of this via Netgalley. This in no way influences my opinion.

I first discovered this book on Netgalley, and after reading the blurb, I absolutely had to request it! It instantly drew me and I knew I had to read it and find out what happened. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book as much as I wanted to and had to force myself to finish it toward the end.

This book centres around what happened to Jenny on the night of prom and trying to figure out who nearly killed her. She sends texts to characters who she believes may or may not have had something to do with it and gets them to meet her in a secluded cabin. The book is told from various POVs as each character recounts their version of what happened that night and where they were etc.

I think the biggest issue I had with this book was the fact that, for me, the multiple POVs all blended together. I didn’t feel like any one of the characters really had a voice that stood out on their own and I had to double check from who’s perspective I was reading before I carried on. I don’t feel like any new or explosive information was added by each of the characters every time the night was repeated, so the book felt extremely repetitive to me, to the point where I just wanted to put it down and do something else.

Another issue I had with this book was that it didn’t feel realistic enough for me. I understand Jenny being scared, but if someone had tried to kill me, I would not be meeting them in a secluded cabin four years after the fact – but rather would have gone to the police on the same evening! Jenny was too friendly with people she suspected to have had something to do with her attempted murder and even let a couple off the hook far too easily based seemingly on the history they have together. After certain events (no spoilers), I felt like the characters didn’t really care about it and it almost felt like it was thrown under the rug despite the seriousness of it.

Another issue with this book I had was that I had already figured out who it was based on their behaviour. It was easy to see who had done it because they were acting guilty – so the supposed plot twist that happened wasn’t really that much of a surprise to me. I don’t feel like the explanation that was given was really sufficient for the character to have done something that crazy and, again, I feel like it was thrown under the rug after the events were over.

What I did like about this book was the pacing of things after the ‘plot twist’ arrived. Whilst it was relatively slow through the first 70% and the last 10%, things started heating up and it made it interesting to read after the issues the rest of the boo faced. The events in the cabin in this 20% made me want to continue reading again – until about 90% where it slowed down and I didn’t really feel that the characters cared all that much.

All in all, I was relatively disappointed with this book and was expecting a lot more. It was repetitive and unrealistic, and the characters also felt 2D. I gave this book 2/5 stars.

May Wrap Up

13 Comments

Hey guys! Can you believe that we’re halfway through 2017 already?!? Where is the time going? Anyway, I’ve had a pretty good reading and hauling month, so this may be a bit of a lengthy post… Without further ado:

Read:

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor – 5/5 stars

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas – 5/5 stars

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson – 4/5 stars

Hunted by Meagan Spooner, DNF – 1/5 stars

Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser – 2.5/5 stars

Violet Grenade by Victoria Scott, ARC, DNF – 1/5 stars

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones – 4/5 stars

Ruined by Amy Tintera – 3.5/5 stars

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge, DNF – 1/5 stars

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh – 5/5 stars

The Evaporation of Sofi Snow by Mary Weber, ARC, DNF – 1/5 stars

Started Reading:

A Bond of Blood and Fire by Karen Tomlinson – ARC

Book Haul:

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones – Paperback

Hunted by Meagan Spooner – Hardback

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand – Hardback

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand – Hardback

Boundless by Cynthia Hand – Hardback

Ruined by Amy Tintera – Paperback

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Niejkamp – Hardback

Everneath by Brodi Ashton – Hardback

Everbound by Brodi Ashton – Hardback

Evertrue by Brodi Ashton – Hardback

Switched by Amanda Hocking – Paperback

Torn by Amanda Hocking – Paperback

Ascend by Amanda Hocking – Paperback

Black City by Elizabeth Richards – Paperback

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen – Paperback

Elusion by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam – Hardback

Court of Fives by Kate Elliott – Hardback

A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnson – Hardback

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge – Hardback

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh – Paperback

Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza – Paperback

Conversion by Katherine Howe – Hardback

Cinder by Marissa Meyer – Paperback

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer – Paperback

Cress by Marissa Meyer – Paperback

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch – Paperback

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch – Paperback

Frost like Night by Sara Raasch – Paperback

Firstlife by Gena Showalter – Paperback

Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum – paperback

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton – Paperback

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (Gift from Blind Date with a Book) – Hardback

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon – Hardback

A Bond of Blood and Fire by Karen Tomlinson – eArc

Eternity Fades by Katelyn Anderson – eArc

Before I Let Go by Marieke Niejkamp – eArc

S.T.A.G.S by M. A. Bennett – eArc

Loving You With Teeth and Claws by Martina McAtee – eArc

Goodreads Monday: 

May 1st – The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

May 8th – Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

May 15th – Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

May 22nd – Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

May 29th – The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Special Posts:

A Bond of Blood and Fire Cover Reveal

Far Away Lands unboxing (Meraki Candles)

*Phew*… if you made it to the end of this post, you deserve a medal! That was on long wrap up!! Next Months won’t be as long because I will not be buying books… *shifty eyes* …

Now, please excuse me while I go and massage life back into my poor fingers!