Top Ten Tuesday | 11/3/20

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!

This week’s topic is:

Non-Bookish Hobbies

(Let’s get to know each other! What do you do that does not involve books or reading?)
  1. Crafting with Resin

It’s a hobby I just picked up in 2020 and I started selling some of my items on Etsy again. My shop is called FancifulWish is you want to check it out. I also do some hand stamping metal still (which was why I opened my shop in the first place…8 years ago now?). My shop took a hiatus when my daughter was born 3 years ago and I thought I was done with it, but I guess the creative juices in me won’t quit.

2. Plants

I have to thank quarantine for this hobby. I’ve been living in this house for about 7 years now and I did try to grow things before and all my plants died! Haha…but for some reason, during lockdown 2020, my green thumb emerged? Maybe because I really put time and effort this time and had fun doing it? I don’t know…but I’ve already propagated so many succulents – I’m proud of myself! 😀 I did tell my family if they need gifts for Xmas, please, take my extra plants and give them a good home.

3. Gaming

I’m not a big gamer, but I did pick up Animal Crossing this year. I occasional help my son out on his Nintendo games and we did finally finish Luigi’s Mansion 3 during lockdown. Yay! Haha…

4. Cooking

Another thing I started to do more during lockdown and trust me, I used to semi-enjoy cooking. I’m TIRED of my cooking sigh but I did manage to cook more filipino foods and get better at it. I’m not good haha, but at least now I can say I’m getting better at it. I have more fun baking because desserts are my weakness!

5. Netflix and Chill

I haven’t had time to sit down and watch anything since you got it, 2020 and being in lockdown! Ha! So definitely had more time to binge shows. I guess before lockdown I was taking my son to school, running around doing errands, taking them to their ballet and soccer. I had so much to do, I didn’t have time to watch anything.

Other than that my main hobby is reading! I read, I blog about reading and I post bookish things on my IG.

Drop my a link to your TTT in the comments! I’d love to know what your hobbies are outside of reading. 🤗

💞~Yolanda

P.S. My fellow Americans, please go out and Vote today it you didn’t yet!!

Cast in Firelight | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Cast in Firelight (Wickery, #1)

Author: Dana Swift

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: 11/17/20

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

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

The first book in an epic, heart-pounding fantasy duology about two royal heirs betrothed to be married, but whose loyalties are torn, and a ruthless enemy who threatens their world, perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Hafsah Faizal, and Renée Ahdieh.

Adraa is the royal heir of Belwar, a talented witch on the cusp of taking her royal ceremony test, and a girl who just wants to prove her worth to her people.

Jatin is the royal heir to Naupure, a competitive wizard who’s mastered all nine colors of magic, and a boy anxious to return home for the first time since he was a child.

Together, their arranged marriage will unite two of Wickery’s most powerful kingdoms. But after years of rivalry from afar, Adraa and Jatin only agree on one thing: their reunion will be anything but sweet.

Only, destiny has other plans and with the criminal underbelly of Belwar suddenly making a move for control, their paths cross…and neither realizes who the other is, adopting separate secret identities instead.

My Attention: totally caught

World Building: India inspired with magic – so good

Writing Style: quick, easy read with romance and humor

Bringing the Heat: 🔥

Crazy in Love: slow burn, enemies to lovers

Creativity: I love the India inspired world with different gods that bestow certain magic powers

Mood: happy 

Triggers: violence

My Takeaway: Be honest and keep trying.

  • The world building is lush with the India inspired setting. I love the magic system where gods touch certain people with power, and they are then marked on their arms. There are different levels of power one acquires and they chant words/phrases to conjure up the magic.
  • The story is told between two perspectives, Adraa and Jatin. Their first meeting doesn’t go as planned and it starts off a relationship between them that is competitive. I love these two as individuals and a couple. The enemies to lovers romance is perfect, with the competition between and the deception. I loved watching them befriend one another and ultimately fall in love. They compliment each other so well.
  • Adraa as a soon-to-be Maharani has depth. She’s got magic, she’s has her challenges (she’s got a temper and can be impulsive), she cares about her people, and she’s an inventor. What can this girl not do? Well…she can’t conjure up white magic. Adraa also is an undercover agent and a cage caster (ring fighting but with magic!), she is bad ass This girl is ready to lead and not afraid to lead. She never gives up.
  • I liked the mystery that forces Adraa to go undercover. It introduces so many aspects of the world building from Jatin and Adraa’s home towns to the seedier aspects of the cities where cage casting, drugs and the black markets exists. It gives these two characters on the verge of leading to know more about what’s going with their people.
  • The mystery, action, humor and romances balances out so nicely in this book!
  • The author reveals in her notes this is not an OwnVoices story. She mentions being in an interracial relationship and that the characters will look like her children. I think that’s awesome.

Cast in Firelight is exciting, magical, funny, heartwarming and has wonderful world building. I was craving an enemies to lovers story and this was perfect! It had the right balance of humor, romance, action and magic. I look forward to reading more stories created in this world.

The Inheritance Games | Book Review

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Title: The Inheritance Games

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Format: Hardcover (own)

Pages: 376

Categories: Mystery, Young Adult, Suspense, Contemporary

Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why–or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch–and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. 

Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a con-woman, and he’s determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather’s last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.

  • Aesthetics ~ that cover is so awesome in all it’s greenery! Confession – it’s the main reason I bought the book.
  • World Building ~ a mansion or compound more like in Texas. A billionaire who is fond of puzzles and games dies, leaving his fortune to a stranger. But why did he leave it to Avery and not to his four grandsons? This book is FUN. I loved the puzzles, the secrets, the tragic love triangle, the mystery of the Hawthornes. It did not disappoint.
  • Characters ~ Avery is a girl trying to survive after her mother’s death. She’s trying to find a way out when she comes into a mysterious inheritance with lots of strings attached. She is smart, has such a brain on her for statistics, I love it. Then there are the Hawthornes: Nash, Grayson, Jameson and Xander. All different, with their own motivations. My favorite? It’s a toss between Grayson and Xander haha.
  • Romance ~ there is a tragic romance history…is it about to repeat itself? We don’t know yet, it almost did but it stopped short of it.
  • Writing ~ fast paced, which I love because slow mysteries bore me but I read this in four hours. I could not put it down and I want book two NOW.
  • The ending is a cliffhanger but I love that this game isn’t over even though we thought it was!

I picked this up because of the cover and it didn’t disappoint at all. It was exactly what I was needing to read right now and I look forward to reading the next book in the series! If you like mystery, puzzles, riddles and handsome brothers, the you will like this one.

💚 ~ Yolanda

Aloha Friday | 10/30/20

Halloween is tomorrow and a full moon 🌕. The election is on Tuesday and my birthday is on Wednesday. It’s going to be a wild few days right?

New Books Acquired:

NetGalley ~

Overdrive Online Library ~

Netflix:

  • Over the Moon – I love the music, the animation, the super cute rabbit, and the story. I’ll be rewatching this one a few times and my daughter loved it because of the bunny but I love that she gets to watch a girl character building a rocket. Anyway, I cried! 😭Triggers: grief. Philippa Soo who is Eliza from Hamilton is the moon goddess in this movie and I love her voice so much so yes, this soundtrack is going to be on repeat on my apple music app. Also, the voice of Fei Fei, Cathy Ang has an amazing voice too. I had to look her up and so proud to know she’s Chinese-Filipina! Yay, my kids are half Filipino so I love learning about more Filipino talent out there. I’ll be watching it again soon because my son didn’t watch it (he was in his online class haha) – so he says I have to watch it with him.

Other TV:

  • Masked Singer – it was my first time watching this show, though I’ve seen it trend a lot on twitter. I really loved the Mushroom’s voice!
  • I Can See Your Voice – my son watched this with me and he got so nervous for the contestant it was funny and sweet. We had fun trying to make our guesses!

** Weird side note, all the things I watched this week had a common theme. The actor/comedian Ken Jeong was in all of them! 😅 He’s on the Masked Singer panel, he’s the host of I Can See Your Voice and in Over the Moon he is Gobi, that strange alien dog/seal/hedgehog creature and he can SING! So unexpected but he’s so talented right?**

Adulting:

  • I already voted by mail two weeks ago.
  • My mom, sister and her son will be sleeping over at our house on Halloween. The mall near us is having a drive thru trick-or-treat so maybe we’ll do that. I was thinking of doing a scavenger hunt around the house too? But…we’ll see…🤷🏻‍♀️ need to look for some ideas.

What are your plans for this weekend? Stay safe everyone!

Send Me Their Souls | ARC Review

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Title: Send Me Their Souls (Bring Me Their Hearts, #3)

Author: Sara Wolf

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 11/3/20

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Witches, Romance

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

The finale to the epic Bring Me Their Hearts series reaches its thrilling conclusion, full of intrigue, emotion, and of course romance.

Reunited with Lucien, Malachite, and Fione, Zera finally has the choice of whether or not to regain her humanity and give up her life as a Heartless. But with war raging and an army of valkerax on the loose, she’s never needed immortality more. Will they be able to stop Varia without sacrificing themselves in the process?

My Attention: read in 2 days

World Building: the same epic setting as the beginning of the series in Bring Me Their Hearts, but our characters travel to various places in this book

Writing Style: snarky characters, fun dialogue as usual

Crazy in Love: so in love 

Creativity: A wonderful fantasy series about a Heartless – who’s life is controlled by her witch (whichever witch holds her heart)

Triggers: violence, mild horror scenes, gore

  • Zera’s snarkiness is back but this time she’s a little more subdued because she and Lucien are finally together. And I think love makes her a tiny bit softer, in a good way. It’s not only the love from Lucien she has, but also with her new friends, Mal and Fione. We also get Yorl, the feline polymath back in this last book, which is great. I adore the characters in this book!
  • There is a choice to be made in this final installment – does Zera and her crew let Varia live? Or do they destroy her, the Valkerax and the Bone Tree? Varia is Lucien’s sister and Fione’s lover, so Zera needs to weigh her options, except all the options are so bleak. The final decision made me tear up a little.
  • We get to travel with Zera and her crew in this book. They visit Nightsinger in the witch-city of Windowhigh and then they board a ship, taking a journey to The Black Archives where the warrior polymaths live. Lastly, we get a little bit of Malachite’s background when the final battle takes place underground in Pala Amna.
  • I love Ev (Evlorasin), the valkerax who has a blood bond with Zera. He reminds me of Falcor from The Neverending Story! He makes a quick appearance in the book, but I always love it when he shows up.
  • The one thing I love about this series is that it isn’t afraid to get dark and gory yet it has a sense of humor also. I mean I guess I’d laugh to if I couldn’t really die from life threatening wounds most people would perish from. But this story is intense and yes I shed a tear at the end, before the epilogue haha…but ugh…my heart.
  • There are some pacing issues with this book and I think it’s because they have to figure out what to do about Varia. They are mostly trying to find out information about the Bone Tree, the Glass Tree and then the Tree of Souls…so there was a lot of info dumping. The first two books were so intense that I thought this one dragged a bit in the beginning. The action comes at the end in the final battle.
  • As for Varia…I did not care about her, at all. I know she’s Lucien’s sister and Fione’s mate but let me just say she gets it easy in the end after all the sacrifices Zera, Lucien, Fione and Malachite had to go through!

What a series! I think this was a solid ending to the series, but it’s not my favorite book in the trilogy. I shed a few tears after that final battle though so it made me feel all kinds of things. There was no good choice to make, but Zera did what she had to do. I loved Zera and her crew, they bring the fun and jokes – in many morbid situations. I’m so happy she got her heart back.

🖤 ~ Yolanda

WWW Wednesday | 10/28/20

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

What are you currently reading?

What have you finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Have you read any of these titles?

💕 ~ Yolanda

Top Ten Tuesday | 10/27/20

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!

This week’s freebie topic is:

Creepy Covers

Just to stay in the Halloween spirit…these covers have that cool, kinda creepy vibe. I don’t have 10, just 5!

And I will say…that Horrid cover – creeps me out so bad! 😅 It’s the eyes! 😑 I was trying to find covers with girl faces that had the creepy/scary vibe to it and that one just tops the list. I’ve only read The Grace Year and Sawkill Girls from this list and The Grace Year still is vivid in my mind. I was disturbed, but it was a good read.

Have you read any of these? I’m a wimp when it comes to horror but just for the season, I occasionally indulge in reading these haha.

I hope all of you have a Happy Halloween week!

🎃 ~ Yolanda

Shifter Wars | Book Review

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Title: Shifter Wars ~ Werewold Dens #1

Author: Kelly St. Clare

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 420

Categories: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Fated Mates, Werewolves

When Mum died, I inherited a lot more than a pack of lies.

I landed a $410,000 debt.
Discovered her previous surname.
And her real place of birth.

Desperate to uncover the truth, I drive to a tiny dot on the map called Deception Valley.

Coincidental name? Nope.

There, I find her secret family—because she had one of those too.

How many lies are we at? Honestly, I’ve lost count, but local gossip captures my attention. Apparently, Mum’s other family play laser tag every Wednesday. Not even joking. Laser tag.

What the hell is this place?

In hindsight, the massive guy with honey irises was my first major clue. Unusual eyes for a human, right?
Perfect eyes for a werewolf.

But sexy supernaturals, thongs, and mounting financial strain aside, Mum’s past is buried somewhere in this valley, and I need to dig up the truth or find a way to live with her lies.

What do you do when neither option will leave you unscathed?

  • World Building ~ if you read Kelly St. Clare’s previous series Vampire Towers, just know this one is similar except with werewolves and Laser Tag. I read these series because it’s so unique to base the plot around a game. It’s creative and holds my interest. The story takes place in Deception Valley but this quaint town isn’t all that it seems. The “laser tag” game between humans and werewolves are action packed.
  • Characters ~ Andie is struggling with her mom’s death and debt, trying to finish college and just found out she has family in Deception Valley. She isn’t quite a badass yet, as she’s learning the ropes about laser tag and the war between the two sides. Alaric/Sascha is a Sigma – he gets what he wants and yes he wants Andie. Their connection is electric but Andie fights it as long as she can, but you can’t do much when you are fated. I liked the supporting cast also in the werewolf clan and the human one.
  • Romance ~ Andie and Sascha are inevitable, fated mates but sort of like Vampire Towers where they had levels to achieve mate status, it happens in Shifter Wars also. But the built-up tension between them is definitely there.
  • Writing ~ I enjoy this author’s writing because of the humor and the stories are fast paced. I read this in one night and am ready to read book two when it publishes. It’s total escapism.
  • Triggers: stalking, toxic relationship, grief
  • It’s got a cliffhanger ending – but book two comes out in December, yay!

Solid start to a new series and I just enjoy how the author keeps things creative with throwing a game into the story. It’s creative, unique and keeps things fresh! I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

💙 ~ Yolanda

Aloha Friday | 10/23/20

Another week almost over and 10 days until election day – let’s do this! 💪🏾

New Books Acquired:

Hardcovers:

This is what I got for the Amazon Prime Day sales – books. Haha, it was buy 3 for the price of 2 so why not?

Kindle Unlimited:

Netflix:

  • Love, Guaranteed (movie) – super cute rom com and Rachel Leigh Cook is in it! Seeing her always takes me back to She’s All That.
  • Unsolved Mysteries (tv show) – I skipped the murder stories because I wasn’t in the mood, but stopped to watch the episode Tsunami Spirits. 💔 The 2011 tsunami footage in Japan brought me back to that night – here in Hawaii we were freaking out waiting to see if a tsunami would hit us. Seeing what happened in Japan was frightening and heartbreaking – it broke my heart all over again. 😭

Adulting:

  • Remote schooling continues – and for the most part this quarter has been smoother! We got our COVID numbers under control but…tourists are now allowed back to visit, and we are starting the next phase of opening up the state – so more people and more movement makes me think we will lock down again in oh…3 months? That seems to be the cycle.
  • I took a break from working on resin pieces because my pieces weren’t curing correctly – I think because it’s been super humid here in the islands. 😦 We have rain, yay…but when the rain stops, it’s humid! But I do have a sale going on until Halloween so check out my Etsy shop: FancifulWish if you want to do some Christmas gift shopping.
  • My kids won’t be trick or treating but they are dressing up regardless – my son will be No Face from Spirited Away and my daughter will be a pink Pikmin. 😄

Have a nice weekend everyone!

🧡 ~ Yolanda

Skyhunter | Book Review

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Title: Skyhunter

Author: Marie Lu

Format: Hardcover (own)

Pages: 371

Categories: Dystopia, Sci-Fi, Young Adult

In a world broken by war, a team of young warriors is willing to sacrifice everything to save what they love.

The Karensa Federation has conquered a dozen countries, leaving Mara as one of the last free nations in the world. Refugees flee to its borders to escape a fate worse than death—transformation into mutant war beasts known as Ghosts, creatures the Federation then sends to attack Mara.

The legendary Strikers, Mara’s elite fighting force, are trained to stop them. But as the number of Ghosts grows and Karensa closes in, defeat seems inevitable.

Still, one Striker refuses to give up hope.

Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation. Their cruelty forced her and her mother to seek asylum in a country that considers their people repugnant. She finds comfort only with a handful of fellow Strikers who have pledged their lives to one another and who are determined to push Karensa back at all costs.

When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye. Is he a spy from the Federation? Or could he be the weapon that will save them all?

  • Aesthetics ~ check out that cover, it looks simple, but oh the colors and that font. 😍😭Then if you had the hardcover edition like I do, the title is sprayed against the pages…and then….and THEN when you take off the jacket, you get more of that purple pink title and that title in that font again. I think it’s right now my favorite cover of 2020 and I didn’t think it would be at first glance.
  • World Building ~ Marie Lu knows how to build a fictional world. This story is set in a dystopian world, Mara is the last area standing against the Karensa Federation who wants to take over every inch of land in their country. This story is set way after our current civilization. There are ruins of our cities made of steel and people have learned to use the materials they found to survive. There are evolved humans, more like humans that were experimented on, that turned them into killing creatures called Ghosts. So the sci-fi aspect is very present in this story.
  • Characters ~ interesting and diverse characters. My favorite so far is Jeran, one of Talin’s friends. Talin is a solid main character – she’s strong and we shall see what happens in the next book.
  • Writing ~ engaging from the start. The story is intense with lots of action, and characters dealing with their own personal traumas. There is a great message of being brave and strong no matter what life throws at you.
  • As engaging as the writing is, the middle of the book started to lose my attention. I might have been expecting more from the story or maybe I wanted it to go deeper. Maybe I wanted more romance and I got some of it with Jeran’s storyline at least, yay! I can’t pinpoint it just yet, maybe it was too predictable? Was I not connecting to any of the characters? But I started to get bored, until the last few pages happened, which was a total cliffhanger.
  • I had a lot of questions that weren’t answered and maybe will be answered in book two – but the whole mind link thing between Red and Talin, why did it happen so quickly?
  • Triggers: violence, killing, experiments on humans, abuse, grief, trauma

The physical book is gorgeous, the writing is wonderful but I might have been expecting more because it’s a Marie Lu book. As a dystopian, sci-fi novel I think it has a lot of action and the ending makes you want to read the next book. I think I’m looking for more of a connection to the characters but maybe that will happen in book two when we find out what happens next to Talin and Red.

💕 ~ Yolanda