Tag: #bought

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 😀

Find me here:

Instagram/Twitter/Goodreads

 

 

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.

 

December Wrap Up

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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

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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:

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

Bought:

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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

 

July Wrap Up

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Hey guys! 🙂 This post is coming a couple of days late – but better late than never! I hope you all had a great July. So without further ado, let’s jump into it.

Read:

Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee by Mary G. Thompson – 5/5 stars

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon – 5/5 stars

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton – 4/5 stars

Ok, I had a pretty terrible reading month! I am hoping that I am finally coming out of the slump that I have been in for AGES!!

Book Haul:

Bought:

Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley

Nemesis by Brendan Reichs

A Darker Shade of Magic Trilogy by V. E. Schwab – I bought all three at the same time

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson

Now I Rise by Kierstin White

ARCS/Gifted:

The Border by Steve Schafer – ARC (Sourcebooks Fire)

Wicked Fallout by Kelly Charron – Copy sent to me via the author

Goodreads Monday:

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson

Nemesis by Brendan Reichs

The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

So, that’s it! I did not have the best of months, but I was in a bit of a slump. However, I definitely think I am coming out of it, so here is fingers crossed to a better August! Hope you all have a great month 🙂