Happy Book Birthdays! – June 4, 2019

Happy Tuesday everyone! I’m going to try and do a book birthdays post every Tuesday to showcase the new books being published.

Image via Giphy

There are so many book birthdays today! Some of these books I can’t wait to get my hands on and some I already read through NetGalley. So 🥳Happy Book Birthday🥳 to all these books:

Breakout by. A.M. Rose

Published: June 3rd, 2019

My Review: Click HERE

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

That’s the amount of time until Lezah’s execution. 

She’ll die never knowing what got her locked up in this godforsaken prison in the first place. Her only chance of survival is to escape. Except the monitoring bracelet that digs into her wrist, the roaming AI, and the implant in her neck make freedom close to impossible. 

Her best chance is to team up with the four other inmates who are determined to break out, even if one of them is beyond (gorgeous) annoying—oh, and in for murder. But he has a secret of his own. One that could break Lezah if she finds out, but could also set him free. 

Figuring out how to work with him and the rest of this mismatched group of criminals is the only way Lezah will survive to see the outside world again. 

But nothing in this prison is as it seems. And no one.

Cinder & the Prince of Midnight by. Susan Ee

Published: June 3, 2019

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

An orphan girl. A dark and twisted kingdom. An ongoing shadow war resulting in enslaved fairies.

This is the world of Cinder. A world where a girl like her can be sold to be human prey for a ritualistic hunt.

But on this night, even the predators might have something to fear. On this night, even a royal prince might find himself trapped by the expectations of the Dark King…and a girl like no other.

Rebel Born by. Amy A. Bartol

Published: June 4, 2019

My Review: Click HERE

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

Roselle faces a mind-reeling showdown with the deep state agent controlling her psyche in the conclusion to the Wall Street Journal bestselling Secondborn series.

Roselle St. Sismode is many things: victim of a conspiracy, unwilling host of an ever-evolving mind algorithm, spy for a rebel army, and heir to the Fate of Swords. As a warrior, she’s also the anticipated main event at the Secondborn Trials. When the opening ceremonies erupt in chaos, Roselle is abducted by a sadistic agent with a diabolical plan: transform Roselle into a mind-controlled assassin to topple society. But a rogue scientist has implanted Roselle with a genius technology that is far more powerful. It renders her untouchable. Faster. Stronger. And maybe immortal.

With her enhanced abilities come the highest stakes yet, as Roselle confronts shifting realities at every turn as well as her own mother’s stunning betrayal. Racing against time with a determined resistance group, can Roselle overthrow the forces of destruction and reclaim the most valuable of commodities—her humanity?

The Rest of the Story by. Sarah Dessen

Published: June 4, 2019

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

Emma Saylor doesn’t remember a lot about her mother, who died when she was ten. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever, with cold, clear water and mossy trees at the edges.

Now it’s just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable…until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother’s family—her grandmother and cousins she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.

When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is divided into two people as well. To her father, she is Emma. But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her.

Then there’s Roo, the boy who was her very best friend when she was little. Roo holds the key to her family’s history, and slowly, he helps her put the pieces together about her past. It’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of North Lake—and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo’s spell as well.

For Saylor, it’s like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it’s time to go back home, which side of her will win out?

Sorcery of Thorns by. Margaret Rogerson

Published: June 4, 2019

Links: Goodreads * Amazon

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.

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Book Review: Rebel Born (Secondborn, #3)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Author: Amy A. Bartol

Format: eBook

Pages: 315

Publication Date: June 4, 2019 (eBook); August 13, 2019 (paperback)

Categories: Sci-Fi, Young Adult, Romance

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

Book Blurb:

Roselle faces a mind-reeling showdown with the deep state agent controlling her psyche in the conclusion to the Wall Street Journal bestselling Secondborn series.

Roselle St. Sismode is many things: victim of a conspiracy, unwilling host of an ever-evolving mind algorithm, spy for a rebel army, and heir to the Fate of Swords. As a warrior, she’s also the anticipated main event at the Secondborn Trials. When the opening ceremonies erupt in chaos, Roselle is abducted by a sadistic agent with a diabolical plan: transform Roselle into a mind-controlled assassin to topple society. But a rogue scientist has implanted Roselle with a genius technology that is far more powerful. It renders her untouchable. Faster. Stronger. And maybe immortal.

With her enhanced abilities come the highest stakes yet, as Roselle confronts shifting realities at every turn as well as her own mother’s stunning betrayal. Racing against time with a determined resistance group, can Roselle overthrow the forces of destruction and reclaim the most valuable of commodities—her humanity?

MY REVIEW

Thank you to 47 North and NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this e-arc. I screamed when I saw I was approved to read it!

Rebel Born is the last book in the Secondborn series. So here is a mini recap of what happened in the previous books: secondborn children in the Fates of the Republic (there are nine fates) are property of the government. Thirdborns die, you get the idea. Roselle, a secondborn from the Fate of Swords becomes a soldier in the fight against the rebels, the Gates of Dawn. Census is the acting body of the republic who upholds the secondborn law, among other things. One person in Census in particular, Agent Crow, has a sick fascination with Roselle. The more successful she is, the harder he tries to take her down, but his plans are more sinister than anyone imagines. With the war between the Fates and the Gates of Dawn heating up, Agent Crow is brewing up something nasty to take over everyone.

Rebel Born takes place right after that heart-stopping Traitor Born cliffhanger ending. Roselle is separated from Reykin in a horrific fashion. She is unfortunately under Crow’s mind control now but with the help of a somewhat familiar face, a technician in Crow’s lab – she has a better chance of breaking free from the madman.

This book is filled – filled with information on Crow’s ability to control minds and I wasn’t patient enough for it. Keep in mind, I was here first and foremost for Reykin and Roselle. 😉 I felt like I was hyperventilating looking for his name in the first few pages. I teared up when they were finally reunited in this story. I’ve been waiting a whole year for this to happen. After I was reassured they were okay, I told myself to really focus. And as a lover of this series, I also knew I was going to re-read Rebel Born many, many times over, so I forgave myself for rushing through a lot of the technical parts in my first read.

The author goes into tons of detail about mind control, implants, biotechnology and so much more, I got lost trying to understand how it all worked. Mind you, I am not a big sci-fi genre reader but when Amy writes it, I read it. ☺️ The first two books of this series introduces us to the Fates, the characters, the Gates of Dawn and the rebellion. This third book is about Crow’s take over of the Fates and him trying to infiltrate the Gates of Dawn. And then it escalates even more and at one point it was data overload for me. Because then the story adds additional surprising elements and it’s a mind bend. But I do get it, Agent Crow wanted it all, more than mind control, he wanted power forever…immortality and Roselle is a key to that.

But this is one of the reasons why I love this author. Amy A. Bartol always kicks things up a notch. And it seems crazy and chaotic but I find her stories super creative, fascinating and exciting, plus I love her characters. There is a new character in this book who was pretty fun to get to know. The author is so detailed in her descriptions that I can see these books on screen, and actually I wish I was watching this as a tv series instead of reading it.

Roselle, has always been a fierce and smart character. Agent Crow wants her because she’s an amazing fighter. I love how she can be strong and yet vulnerable. Here in Rebel Born, she is broken down emotionally by the mind control, but she is also upgraded in amazing ways.

When I read the ending I thought I missed something because I was waiting for Crow’s ultimate destruction. I wanted him completely eliminated. He is such a villain, so I thought the ending was abrupt but the epilogue made up for it. Then I realized the ending left a possibility to return to this world some day and that made me really happy.

In the end, I was satisfied with the story. It gave me exactly what I wanted for Reykin and Roselle especially, and then some. I’m not even sure if the extra stuff was needed, but I’m here for it all if Amy is writing it. Overall this is a good ending to a fabulous series. I’m already looking forward to see what she will be writing next.

Get it here: Amazon

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