Monthly Wrap Up: April 2019

I think I did pretty good this month despite all the holiday events my family and I were busy with. I’ve read a lot of children’s books too but haven’t had time to write reviews for them. I’ll be adding more of them for May. So here’s what I read in April:

The Moon is a Silver Pond by Sara Cassidy – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Children’s Fiction)

Repeat by Kylie Scott – ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Honor Bound by. Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Gamer’s Guide to Getting the Girl by. Kristine Scarrow – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Priory of the Orange Tree by. Samantha Shannon – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Thirteenth Guardian by. K.M. Lewis – ⭐️⭐️1/2

Voice of Dominion by. Melanie Cellier – ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by. Ally Condie – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Bloom (The Brightside Book 1) by. Katie Delahanty – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (review coming soon)

I also read these titles on NetGalley. But I’ll post reviews of these books near their publications dates:

The Storm Crow – by. Kalyn Josephson 😍
Spin the Dawn – by. Elizabeth Lim 😍
The First Girl Child – by. Amy Harmon 😍

Hope you all had a good reading month! Happy READING 😘

Book Review: The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Author: Ally Condie

Format: E-book

Pages: 328

Categories: Dystopian, Young Adult, Grief, Revenge

Book Blurb:

There is something Poe Blythe, the seventeen-year-old captain of the Outpost’s last mining ship, wants far more than the gold they tear from the Serpentine River.

Revenge.

Poe has vowed to annihilate the river raiders who robbed her of everything two years ago. But as she navigates the treacherous waters of the Serpentine and realizes there might be a traitor among her crew, she must also reckon with who she has become, who she wants to be, and the ways love can change and shape you. Even—and especially—when you think all is lost.

Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched trilogy, returns with an intricately crafted and emotionally gripping story of one young woman’s journey to move beyond the grief and anger that control her and find the inner strength to chart her own course.

MY REVIEW

I have to admit, I borrowed this e-book because I was seeing the title and cover everywhere. I didn’t know what it was about only that it was the same author that wrote the Matched Trilogy.

This book hit me in a place unexpected and not because of the setting or overall story. Poe Blythe, the main character was recognizable to me, painfully so. This character is a sharp blade whetted by grief and anger. I recognized her as someone I used to know: once upon a time, when I was 29 years old, I was made a young widow unexpectedly. Poe Blythe was me. It was like looking into a mirror. So as I kept reading, I became highly invested in Poe. I understood all her thoughts, her coldness, her detachment, her anger, her paranoia, her obsession with her ship – all the things that made her unlikable as a character. I knew how she became that person and I felt for her.

It’s a dystopian story set in a future when resources are scarce. Poe Blythe is part of the crew on a dredge, a gold mining ship for the Outpost. The world building is sparse, because it only focused on the Outpost, the river and Poe. Her grief is a landscape on its own. She had tunnel vision and seeing Poe struggling to see more outside of her grief was triumphant.

A raider kills the one person Poe loves and she is consumed with grief, hate, and thoughts of revenge. Her grief inspires her to build a dredge ship that is equipped with armor to kill as many raiders as possible. But then she is sent on a mission where everything goes wrong. This mission makes her face her inner demons. There is a lot of action in this story and events that challenges Poe from the get go. The secondary characters are there to put dents into her armor, both her ship’s armor and her own emotional armor. As Poe says, if you understand her ship – you understand her. Poe needs to trust someone eventually – but can she? And who can she trust?

For me, this was a surprisingly quick, intense read. When it ended I was shocked – because I had no expectations of finishing it so fast. I also had no words to describe what I just read, because I was so bound to Poe, I had to decompress a little. This book took me on an emotional and familiar ride down the river of heartbreak, grief and anger. In the end, I needed to know Poe would survive her last voyage…like I did. It’s a stand alone book but I can actually see reading more books set in this world. It was well written, compelling, and it punched me in the heart. It definitely left an impression on me.

Book Review: Voice of Dominion (The Spoken Mage 3)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Author: Melanie Cellier

Format: E-book

Pages: 316

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic

Book Blurb:

Elena may be the only Spoken Mage in history, but she struggles with limitations. Unable to stockpile written workings as her mageborn year mates do, she runs the constant risk of burning out. But when the Armed Forces draw the third years to the front lines of their war, Elena’s strength and flexibility may be necessary to keep them all alive.

As Elena wrestles with how much she will sacrifice for the war, Lucas must decide how much he’s willing to sacrifice for her. Faced with a greater threat than even they realize, Elena and Lucas must work together and either fight or be consumed by their enemies.

MY REVIEW

Elena is a Spoken Mage, whereas other mages write a composition of magic on paper and then tear it up in order for the magic to happen, all she needs to do is speak the words. In the first two books Elena is at an academy learning how to harness and expand her powers. Their kingdom, Ardann has been at war with neighboring kingdom, Kallorway. This time Elena and her classmates are sent to the front lines to observe the battle but gets caught in some skirmishes.

One reason I like this series is how the magic is created with the written compositions. It’s different! It would definitely be easier to speak out a command than spend time composing it but the author shows how writing could be beneficial in certain aspects as well.

There was a lot more action in this book now that they are at the front lines. Elena’s best friends are with her and still awesome. I’m glad she has good people around her. The romance has been a clean slow burn throughout three books now. It’s a back and forth thing between Prince Lucas and Elena. But I just wish they would just stay together. The twist in the ending, made me pause hard. It threw me off and made me wonder why that needed to take place. I’m not sure that I like it. I guess we will see how it works out in the next book – but it definitely surprised me!

All the books in this series are quick, easy, fun reads – this one wasn’t my favorite though.

Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2019

I stumbled upon this hashtag on my Instagram feed #popsugarreadingchallenge2019 and got curious. I haven’t done a reading challenge before, other than the goodreads reading challenge which is basically a reading goal, so I thought this will be a fun first for me. 😊

Since I’m starting this list in April (yikes it’s almost May) – let’s see what I’ve checked off on this list so far:

A book becoming a movie in 2019:
A book that makes you nostalgic:
A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction):
A book you think should be turned into a movie: The Wicked King by. Holly Black (I want the whole series as a movie or tv series 😍)
A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads:
A book with a plant in the title or on the cover: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by. Brigid Kemmerer
A reread of a favorite book: Traitor Born by. Amy A. Bartol
A book about a hobby:
A book you meant to read in 2018:
A book with “pop”, “sugar” or “challenge” in the title:
A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover:
A book inspired by mythology, legend or folklore:
A book published posthumously:
A book you see someone reading in a TV or movie:
A retelling of a classic: Pride by. Ibi Zoboi
A book with a question in the title:
A book set on a college or university campus:
A book about someone with a superpower: Defy Me by. Tahereh Mafi
A book told from multiple POVs: The Priory of the Orange Tree by. Samantha Shannon
A book set in space: Nightchasers by. Amanda Bouchet
A book by two female authors: Honor Bound (The Honors #2) by. Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre
A book with a title that contains “salty”, “sweet”, “bitter” or “spicy”:
A book set in Scandinavia:
A book that takes place in a single day:
A debut novel: The Storm Crow by. Kayln Josephson
A book that’s published in 2019: Dark Shores by. Danielle L. Jensen
A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature: Even the Darkest Stars by. Heather Fawcett
A book recommended by a celebrity you admire:
A book with “love” in the title:
A book featuring an amateur detective: Serious Moonlight by. Jenn Bennett
A book about a family:
A book written by an author from Asia, Africa or South America:
A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in the title:
A book that includes a wedding:
A book with an author whose first and last names start with the same letter:
A ghost story:
A book with a two world title: Devil’s Daughter by. Lisa Kleypas
A novel based on a true story:
A book revolving around a puzzle or a game:
Your favorite prompt from a POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE:

ADVANCED

A “cli-fi” (climate fiction) book:
A “choose your own adventure” book:
A “choose your own adventure” book:
An “own voices” book:
A LitRPG book:
A book with no chapters, unusual chapter headings, or unconventionally numbered chapters:
Two books that share the same title (1):
Two books that share the same title (2):
A book that inspired a common phrase or idiom (e.g., Big Brother from 1984):
A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage or convent:

There are so many books I’ve read in the past that would fit all these criteria but what’s the fun in that? So I’ll try my best! And if you have any titles to recommend to help me meet my challenge – please leave them in the comments below. Thanks! Happy Reading 😘

Book Review: The Thirteenth Guardian

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Author: KM Lewis

Format: E-book

Pages: 295

Categories: Apocalypse, Secret Societies, Suspense

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Book Blurb:

Da Vinci’s secret pales. Michelangelo concealed an explosive truth in his famous Creation of Man fresco in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. Everything we have been taught about Eve is wrong—she didn’t cause the fall of man. Instead, Eve carried a far more devastating secret for millennia; one that will change the world forever.

As the modern-day world suffers the cataclysmic effects of the “Plagues of Egypt”, Avery Fitzgerald, a statuesque Astrophysics major at Stanford, discovers that she is mysteriously bound to five strangers by an extremely rare condition that foremost medical experts cannot explain. Thrust into extraordinary circumstances, they race against time to stay alive as they are pursued by an age-old adversary and the world around them collapses into annihilation. Under sacred oath, The Guardians—a far more archaic and enigmatic secret society than the Freemasons, Templars, and the Priory—protect Avery as she embarks on a daring quest that only legends of old have been on before. Avery must come to terms with the shocking realization that the blood of an ancient queen flows through her veins and that the fate of the world now rests on her shoulders.

MY REVIEW

Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc of this book for an honest review.

I was curious about this book because it mentioned the Plagues of Egypt. Usually apocalyptic stories go the way of a comet headed straight for Earth or the most obvious, climate change. When the story revealed that the Plagues of Egypt didn’t only happen in Egypt but around the world at the same time, I thought that was a fascinating take on it.

Though the plagues in this story is exciting, the whole story itself didn’t work for me. The book introduces us to these main characters who are scattered all over the world and each of them has a special trait. These special people need to survive the days of the plague. The story lost me because it kept adding more characters and locations. Throw in all this information from various religious texts, secret societies, plus the scientific aspects of these unusual events taking place, and geographical data, there was a lot going on.

Maybe with more focus on giving the main characters depth, and less on adding side characters this would have worked better for me. That way I could have actually connected to a character. Although I did enjoy some of the geographical information given (especially when the events happen) I felt like the writing became mechanical in these areas. Overall, it wasn’t a book for me but I appreciated the ideas in this book and it has a lot of potential.

Book Review: The Priory of the Orange Tree

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Author: Samantha Shannon

Format: Hard cover

Pages: 830

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, Dragons, Court Politics

Book Blurb:

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction–but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

MY REVIEW

This 800+ pages standalone saga is epic in scale. The world building is complex with a lot of information to absorb: names, titles, positions, and places. The beginning is all about world building so this story didn’t click for me until almost halfway into the book! And when I say click, I mean that’s when everything started flowing better – that’s about almost 300 pages into the story. The build up of the story took time because there are four different perspectives being told by: Ead in the West at Inys, Niclays Roos and Tané in the East, and Lord Artheloth on a ship headed South to Yscali.

Queen Sabran is the ruler of the Queendom of Inys which lies in the West. There is a woman named Ead Duryan who seems to be the eyes and ears at her court. We find out she is much more than that. The Queen needs an heir because continuing the House of Berethnet would protect their lands from their enemy, the Nameless One. He is a huge evil wrym (dragon) who was bound a thousand years ago but is about to awaken soon. The wyrms in the West are fire-breathers and feared by all.

Many of the kingdoms in this book seem to be based off on the histories of various countries in our own real world. Inys reminds me of England, Queen Sabran reminded me of Queen Elizabeth I. The East basically pulls from China and Japan. The South seems similar to the middle east and Africa.

Tané’s story anchored me to this tale because it starts with her and also because the East reveres their dragons and I wanted to read about dragons. Tané is a Sekiinese young woman who is training to be a dragonrider and she achieves that goal. Her dragon is wonderful and so wise, I loved their bond. But Tané’s past comes back to haunt her. On the other side, Ead’s story flourishes as we learn about her amazing skills. Out of all the characters, I think Ead’s story is the most fleshed out and what a story it is. Both of these women are fearless and fierce but with quite different journeys.

There is a lot going on in this story. There is court politics, mages, religion, alchemy, myth, lore, magical beasts, pirates, quests, magical artifacts, adventures across oceans, and treks across desserts. There are battles, there is loss, love and hope. This story is female driven, from the villains to the heroines and there is diversity represented in the characters and romance, which I appreciated. It touched on issues we deal with as women: love, marriage, child birth, our fears, our ambitions, our responsibilities, and our power.

This story is not perfect. I’d rather have had more of Tané’s story and less of Niclays Roos. I felt at times I wanted to read more of one perspective than another, so I would think…okay, hurry up, just get on with it. Like the quest for immortality, was that really needed? I just wanted to read more about how they were going to defeat the Nameless One.

Also, though I didn’t think I related to any one character deeply, that was okay. Each character had something I could relate to and admire: Queen Sabran with her strength and vulnerabilities, Ead with her protectiveness and knowledge, Tané with her insecurities, love for her dragon and courage, and Loth – who wants to hold onto all his beliefs but braves the open waters to try and help the people he loves. Even Niclays Roos – who I disliked the most, his resentment and bitterness from heartbreak – I could relate to that as well.

I’m still thinking about this story after finishing it two days ago. I think I may even pick it up again later when I have nothing else to read (when is that? haha) just to see if I missed anything. It’s one of those tales I won’t be forgetting anytime soon so I think overall, this book has done it’s job. It is unforgettable.

**On a side note – if you don’t want to lug around a 3 lbs hard cover book (yes I weighed it 😂) – get the ebook version! **

What I’m Reading:

What a week! Did you have a good week? I know it’s a holiday weekend but I’m exhausted. I hosted an early Easter Egg hunt at my house this past Sunday and I don’t know if I have recovered yet. To top it all off, I’m trying to keep on reading! I have The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon as my priority right now to finish because I have to return that to the library next week. It’s been slow going on that one, but I am determined. I actually read two awesome books from NetGalley, but I can’t post my reviews yet until nearer to their publication dates.

But here are the titles I’ve picked up to read next…

These are some E-books I’ve borrowed through Amazon Kindle Unlimited:

And from NetGalley I have these:

I’m finally on Edelweiss Plus! I’m working on getting approved for Arcs there. So I just got this one…

And I just got a notification on my Overdrive online library that I have this book ready to read:

What are you reading right now? What’s next on your TBR list? I hope all of you have a nice weekend and to those who celebrate Passover, Happy Passover (we do) and those who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter (we do as well haha). Happy Reading! 😘

Book Review: The Gamer’s Guide to Getting the Girl

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Author: Kristine Scarrow

Format: E-book

Pages: 208

Publication Date: July 16, 2019

Categories: Young Adult, Gaming, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**

Book Blurb:

Zach is used to living in a world of legendary battles, epic journeys, and life-or-death situations. As a gamer, he is hard-wired for adventure, even though it’s from the comfort of his parents’ couch. But nothing has prepared him for battling the biggest storm in Saskatchewan’s history.

On top of this, Zach has finally met the girl of his dreams, but he finds himself helping everyone else stay safe while his best friend spends time with her. What Zach doesn’t realize is that love always finds its way when you’ve found the right person and are ready to risk it all to save the day.

MY REVIEW

Thank you NetGalley and Dundurn for this e-arc of The Gamer’s Guide to Getting the Girl.

What drew me to this book was the title. My husband and young son are gamers. I dabble slightly in gaming when my son needs someone to game with. So I requested this book because I thought the story of this gamer boy trying to get a girl would be cute and funny.

The story is well written, there are no problems there, but I felt there was a lack of connection between Zach, our gamer, and Samara, the girl he’s trying to get. The references to video games I knew was fun and made me smile. The author took Zach’s love of gaming and put him into a real life challenging situation, to test his real life skills.

So Zach sees a girl, Samara, in the video game store and is stunned that she’s beautiful and is a gamer as well. It’s insta-love, but he just doesn’t seem to know how to approach her and connect to her, he sort of tries. Then a storm locks them and a few others in the mall. The rest of the story deals with keeping people safe, fed, happy and under control. Zach steps up to the plate and helps with all of this – he is a great guy, but does Samara notice him? It’s easy to say from all of Zach’s actions in this book he’s an all around good guy. He cares about people, he wants to save lives, he’s level-headed and smart.

It’s a crazy time to fall in love – during a storm and tornado watch! I really didn’t see how Samara was secretly crushing on him at all during the whole event. She was always upset and walking off after talking with Zach. And I don’t think Zach was doing much to get the girl at all. He was infatuated with her, for sure, but doing enough to get to know her? I didn’t feel it until much later in the book. Like his friend Cooper pointed out, Zach was busy helping everyone else. Cooper knew her much better than Zach did!

It was a fast read, with good writing and a great cast of secondary characters. I just wish there was a bit more build up to the romance and seeing Zach put more effort into really getting the girl.

Book Review: Honor Bound (The Honors #2)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Authors: Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre

Format: Hard cover

Pages: 467

Categories: Space, Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Cliffhanger

Book Blurb

Zara Cole was a thief back on Earth, but she’s been recently upgraded to intergalactic fugitive. On the run after a bloody battle in a covert war that she never expected to be fighting, Zara, her co-pilot Beatriz, and their Leviathan ship Nadim barely escaped the carnage with their lives. Now Zara and her crew of Honors need a safe haven, far from the creatures who want to annihilate them. But with two wounded Leviathan to treat, plus human and non-human refugees to help, they’ll have to settle for the nearest outpost, called the Sliver: a wild, dangerous warren of alien criminals. Zara’s skills from the Zone may be invaluable. However, Zara discovers that the secrets of the Sliver may have the power to turn the tide of the war they left behind—but in the wrong direction. Soon Zara will have to make a choice: stand against the ultimate evil or run from it. But she’s never walked away from a fight.

MY REVIEW:

The exciting space adventure continues with this second installment of The Honors series, Honor Bound.

I usually read books with romance in it but this book is different. I can’t describe it as a romance because the relationship is between Zara and her ship, a Leviathan named Nadim. I would call it a deep friendship bond – like soulmates and it’s a beautiful thing. I imagine these leviathans to be like whale space ships, who are intelligent and communicate with their Honor (their human). Are they in love? Sometimes I think they are but maybe it’s my own human limitations of my own experiences I’m applying to their relationship. I should know by now after reading two books in this series, anything can happen. And that goes for what happens when Beatriz is included in the bonding moments too. 👀😬

The world building is fantastic. I’ve only started getting into space operas, I’m not that big into the Sci-Fi genre but this series has kept me interested so far. I can imagine this world of multi-gender, slimy, blobby, tentacled, reptilian-like, God-like aliens. The writing is descriptive and the action scenes are so exciting, it kept me on the edge of my seat.

I thought the beginning of the book was slow but it does pick up when they have to dock somewhere for repairs. Of course they stop at the Sliver, a place with shady deals going on, where anything goes if you want to earn currency and is run by Bacia Annont. Zara Cole, shines in this book. She kicks ass, literally! Whether it’s in the Pits, on a mission for Bacia Anont, or fighting the Phage and the Lifekiller, this girl has the heart of a fighter and the smarts too. She’s saving her friends, making friends, and trying to keep everyone alive.

Now the ending is a major cliffhanger! I was like, NO, you can’t end there! One thing that threw me off a little and had to dig in my memory bank for was the issue back on earth with a part of Zara’s past. It emerges in the last part of the book and I was trying to remember who this person was to Zara from the first book. I think it will just make for more action and fighting in the third book, but I wasn’t sure if it was even needed? Zara is dealing with so much already in space. What’s one more thing to mess up her mission, right?

All I know is Zara Cole can handle anything that comes her way with the bonds she has solidified with her friends, new crew members and leviathans. Let’s hope she can make it out alive in book three!

Book Review: Repeat

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Author: Kylie Scott

Format: E-book

Pages: 304

Categories: Contemporary Romance, Memory Loss, Second Chances

Book Blurb:

When a vicious attack leaves 25-year-old Clementine Johns with no memory, she’s forced to start over. Now she has to figure out who she was and why she made the choices she did – which includes leaving the supposed love of her life, tattoo artist Ed Larsen, only a month before.

Ed can hardly believe it when his ex shows up at his tattoo parlor with no memory of their past, asking about the breakup that nearly destroyed him. The last thing he needs is more heartache, but he can’t seem to let her go again. Should they walk away for good, or does their love deserve a repeat performance?

MY REVIEW

Repeat is a second chance romance by the awesome, Kylie Scott. It’s an interesting story about a young woman named Clementine who loses her memory due to a head injury. So learning about who she was before and after her injury is quite fascinating. Especially when her “before” included a handsome ex-boyfriend, Ed, who seems to hate the sight of her. Interesting.

From that moment, I had to find out why, along with Clementine, Ed struggled with seeing her. Why did his friends hate her, what did old Clementine do before her injury? Was she really that awful? But there is also a mystery to be solved involving how she came by her injury – was it random or deliberate? If it was deliberate, who’s behind it? That mystery takes a back seat to the focus of the story though, Clementine and Ed’s second chance at love.

I love Kylie Scott’s writing but I had trouble getting into this story like I usually do with her other books. I wasn’t feeling Clementine or Ed until midway into the book. I think I just kept trying to piece together old Clem, but eventually I just wanted to forget about old Clem, because new Clem was pretty cool. She’s a survivor! Ed didn’t stand out much for me, except in the bedroom of course. 😬 And those bedroom scenes are sizzling hot. But I will say he’s very patient with her after getting rid of his anger for her.

I thought the ending was a little rushed but overall, I enjoyed reading this book and seeing Clementine find her new self and getting a second chance at love.