N.E.W.T.s Magical Readathon 2019 Wrap-Up

Wow, August was an absolutely insane month! Between my Hogwarts studies and my real life university studies, I can’t believe I’m still standing at this point. But, I successfully completed my first-ever readathon! And for it to be a Harry Potter-themed readathon makes it even more awesome. I had so much fun taking (and passing!) my N.E.W.T.s. I’m so happy I gave this a try. In total, I ended up reading twelve books which is more than I’ve read in a month in a while. So, without further ado, here is a look at my readathon results. I’m planning on having full reviews up for all of these at some point this month, so keep an eye out!

Profession:

Mind Medic

Grades Required:

O in Charms
O in Defense Against the Dark Arts
E in Muggle Studies
E in Potions
E in Transfiguration

A: Read a book that you think has a gorgeous cover

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig (Full Review)

E: Read a comic/graphic novel/manga (or book under 150 pages)

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker (Full Review)

O: Spongeify (softening charm) – Read a paperback book

Your Heart Is The Sea by Nikita Gill (Full Review)

A: Book that’s black under the dust jacket

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young (Full Review Coming Soon)

E: Gilderoy’s memory charm – first book that you remembered just now from your TBR

His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler (Full Review)

O: Cornish Pixie! Swat it away with a book written by an English author or set in England

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal (Full Review Coming Soon)

A: Cover that includes an actual photo element (person, item, place, etc.)

The Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney (Full Review)

E: Book set in our real world

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin (Full Review Coming Soon)

A: Polyjuice Potion – Read your friend’s favorite book

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

E: House ingredient – book with a cover in your Hogwarts house color (Ravenclaw)

Doctor Who: Myths and Legends by Richard Dinnick (Full Review Coming Soon)

A: Read a book with LGBTQA+ representation

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon (Full Review)

E: Read a book that’s not a first in the series

Restricted Section Swap: Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell (Full Review Coming Soon)

And now I’m a Mind Medic! I’m so pleased with how this readathon went and it’s made me really eager to do another one soon. I’m thinking of maybe doing the O.W.L.s readathon before the end of the year since I missed it, just so I can feel my studies are complete! How about you guys? Did any of you do the N.E.W.T.s Magical Readathon this past month? If so, let me know how you did, or if not, let me know what your favorite books of the month were!

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October 2017 TBR

Happy October, everyone!

Or maybe I should be calling this ARC-tober—I’ll be catching up on quite a few review books this month! I haven’t made a TBR for a few months, mainly because I’ve been so terrible at sticking to them recently. However, I really want to push myself to keep to this list as much as possible this month…so we’ll see how that goes! 😛

October TBR

The Ghostwriter by Alessandra Torre

I have three months to write the last book of my life. Three months to confess the details of that day, and how it changed everything for me.  

My name is Helena Ross. I’ve written fifteen romance novels, ten of which have become international bestsellers. But this one isn’t a romance, no Happily Ever After in place. This novel holds only the truth, which I have run away from for four years. The truth, which I have hidden from the police, from my loved ones, from the world.

This final book? 

It’s my confession.

Invictus by Ryan Graudin

Time flies when you’re plundering history.

Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far’s birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he’s ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past.

But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with knowledge that will bring Far’s very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: History is not as steady as it seems.

Artemis by Andy Weir

Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Libby Day was just seven years old when her older brother massacred her family while she hid in a cupboard. Her evidence helped put him away. Ever since then she has been drifting, surviving for over 20 years on the proceeds of the ‘Libby Day fund’. But now the money is running out and Libby is desperate. When she is offered $500 to do a guest appearance, she feels she has to accept. But this is no ordinary gathering. The Kill Club is a group of true-crime obsessives who share information on notorious murders, and they think her brother Ben is innocent.

Ben was a social misfit, ground down by the small-town farming community in which he lived. But he did have a girlfriend – a brooding heavy metal fan called Diondra. Through her, Ben became involved with drugs and the dark arts. When the town suddenly turned against him, his thoughts turned black. But was he capable of murder? Libby must delve into her family’s past to uncover the truth – no matter how painful…

Chasing Eveline by Leslie Hauser

Sixteen-year-old Ivy Higgins is the only student at Carmel Heights High School who listens to cassettes. And her binder is the only one decorated with album artwork by 80s band Chasing Eveline. Despite being broken-up since 1989, this rock band out of Ireland means everything to Ivy. They’re a reminder of her mom, who abandoned Ivy and her dad two years ago. Now the music of her mom’s favorite band is the only connection she has left.

Even though Ivy wavers between anger and a yearning to reconnect, she’s one-hundred percent certain she’s not ready to lose her mom forever. But the only surefire way to locate her would be at a Chasing Eveline concert. So with help from her lone friend Matt—an equally abandoned soul and indie music enthusiast—Ivy hatches a plan to reunite the band.

The road to Ireland won’t be easy, though. And not just because there is no road. Along the way they’ll have to win over their Lady Gaga-loving peers, tangle with some frisky meerkats, and oh yeah, somehow find and persuade the four members to play a reunion gig. It’s a near-impossible task, but Ivy has to try. If she can’t let go of the past, she’ll never be able to find joy in the present.

The Splendid Baron Submarine by Eric Bower

Waldo “W.B.” Baron is back with another amazing adventure in another incredible invention! Pirate treasure? A clandestine meeting? A terribly rude monkey with personal boundary and hygiene issues? Two of those things sound like a dream come true to W.B, whose clever inventor parents are hired―by the Vice President!―to go on a super secret and intensely important treasure hunt to repay a national debt. If only it weren’t for that lousy, rude monkey, it would be the beginning of a perfect adventure. But at least it isn’t squirrels…

The treasure hunt gives the Baron family the opportunity to use their exceptional steam-powered submarine, freshly biggened and ready for adventure! But things are seldom straightforward for the eccentric Baron family, and this treasure hunt is no exception. W.B.’s trademark bad luck has him suffering monstrous marine misfortune and marauding monkey misery. 

Can the Baron family embark on their newest adventure without the eggy and depressing Aunt Dorcas? Will the Barons find the treasure they seek? Will they save the country from financial ruin? Where does the monkey fit in, anyway? Do we like asking questions? Not really, but inside you’ll meet someone who likes asking questions and then answering them (despite his claims to the contrary, he really does like it).

Oh, did we mention the pirate’s curse?

Spin the Golden Light Bulb by Jackie Yeager

It’s the year 2071 and eleven year-old Kia Krumpet is determined to build her 67 inventions, but she won’t have the opportunity to unless she earns a spot at PIPS, the Piedmont Inventor’s Prep School. Kia, who has trouble making friends at school, has dreamed of winning the Piedmont Challenge and attending PIPS ever since she learned that her Grandma Kitty won the very first Piedmont Challenge. After she and four of her classmates are selected to compete for a spot at PIPS, they travel by aero-bus to Camp Piedmont to solve a task against forty-nine other state teams to earn their place at the best inventor’s school in the country.

All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis

In a world where every word and gesture is copyrighted, patented or trademarked, one girl elects to remain silent rather than pay to speak, and her defiant and unexpected silence threatens to unravel the very fabric of society.

Speth Jime is anxious to deliver her Last Day speech and celebrate her transition into adulthood. The moment she turns fifteen, Speth must pay for every word she speaks (“Sorry” is a flat ten dollars and a legal admission of guilt), for every nod ($0.99/sec), for every scream ($0.99/sec) and even every gesture of affection. She’s been raised to know the consequences of falling into debt, and can’t begin to imagine the pain of having her eyes shocked for speaking words that she’s unable to afford. 

But when Speth’s friend Beecher commits suicide rather than work off his family’s crippling debt, she can’t express her shock and dismay without breaking her Last Day contract and sending her family into Collection. Backed into a corner, Speth finds a loophole: rather than read her speech – rather than say anything at all – she closes her mouth and vows never to speak again. Speth’s unexpected defiance of tradition sparks a media frenzy, inspiring others to follow in her footsteps, and threatens to destroy her, her family and the entire city around them.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. 

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost by Lucy Banks

Kester Lanner didn’t know what to expect when he followed his mother s dying request to contact the mysterious Dr. Ribero, but he wasn’t expecting to find his long lost father. Nor was he expecting to join the family business: catching supernatural spirits.

Kester is intrigued despite his fear, and finds himself drawn into an ancient ghost story that will test the entire agency.He soon becomes enmeshed in a struggle with the spirit, who is so malevolent and haunting that his first real case might just be his last.

Recent Reads

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire – 5/5 stars (Full Review)

Everything Reminds You of Something Else by Elana Wolff – 2/5 stars (Full Review)

Pillow Thoughts by Courtney Peppernell – 5/5 stars (Full Review)

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur – 3/5 stars (Full Review)

The Chaos of Longing by K.Y. Robinson – 2.5/5 stars (Full Review)

The Timekeepers by Jenn Bregman – 1/5 stars (Full Review)

Remember, Remember by Anna Elliot – 3.5/5 stars (Full Review)

Dead Over Heels by Theresa Braun – 4.5/5 stars (Full Review)

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis – 5/5 stars

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis – 5/5 stars

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan – 5/5 stars

What books are you guys planning to read this month? Let me know in the comments!

June 2017 TBR

Happy June, everyone!

I’m so excited because, once again, I had another amazing reading month! I managed to get through eleven books! As usual, I didn’t quite stick to my TBR entirely…but I tried! So this month, I am also going to create a rather ambitious TBR. I should have a lot of time to read this month and during my travels toward the end of the month, so I’m really hoping to get a lot of reading done. Here are some of the books I would really like to get to during the month of June! 🙂

June TBR

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. 

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

Paper Wishes by Spencer Hoshino

There is a belief that with each origami star folded, a falling star is saved. After folding 365 stars while mourning the loss of her mother, Vilvian makes a wish that will change her life forever.

Enter Nox Bright, the handsome and mysterious guy who has been haunting Vilvian’s dreams. She can barely believe it when he walks into her homeroom near the end of the school year. Has she gone crazy or is it possible that wishes really do come true?

The Evaporation of Sofi Snow by Mary Weber

Ever since the Delonese ice-planet arrived eleven years ago, Sofi’s dreams have been vivid. Alien. In a system where Earth’s corporations rule in place of governments and the humanoid race orbiting the moon are allies, her only constant has been her younger brother, Shilo. As an online gamer, Sofi battles behind the scenes of Earth’s Fantasy Fighting arena where Shilo is forced to compete in a mix of real and virtual blood sport. But when a bomb takes out a quarter of the arena, Sofi’s the only one who believes Shilo survived. She has dreams of him. And she’s convinced he’s been taken to the ice-planet.

Except no one but ambassadors are allowed there.

For Miguel, Earth’s charming young playboy, the games are of a different sort. As Ambassador to the Delonese, his career has been built on trading secrets and seduction. Until the Fantasy Fight’s bomb goes off. Now the tables have turned and he’s a target for blackmail. The game is simple: Help the blackmailers, or lose more than anyone can fathom, or Earth can afford.

The Windfall by Diksha Basu

A heartfelt comedy of manners, Diksha Basu’s debut novel unfolds the story of a family discovering what it means to “make it” in modern India.

For the past thirty years, Mr. and Mrs. Jha’s lives have been defined by cramped spaces, cut corners, gossipy neighbors, and the small dramas of stolen yoga pants and stale marriages. They thought they’d settled comfortably into their golden years, pleased with their son’s acceptance into an American business school. But then Mr. Jha comes into an enormous and unexpected sum of money, and moves his wife from their housing complex in East Delhi to the super-rich side of town, where he becomes eager to fit in as a man of status: skinny ties, hired guards, shoe-polishing machines, and all.

The move sets off a chain of events that rock their neighbors, their marriage, and their son, who is struggling to keep a lid on his romantic dilemmas and slipping grades, and brings unintended consequences, ultimately forcing the Jha family to reckon with what really matters. Hilarious and wise, The Windfall illuminates with warmth and charm the precariousness of social status, the fragility of pride, and, above all, the human drive to build and share a home. Even the rich, it turns out, need to belong somewhere.

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

**Minor spoilers for A Darker Shade of Magic**

It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift–back into Black London. 

Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games–an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries–a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court

(a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage

(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward

(and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.

The Guns Above by Robyn Bennis

The nation of Garnia has been at war for as long as Auxiliary Lieutenant Josette Dupre can remember – this time against neighboring Vinzhalia. Garnia’s Air Signal Corp stands out as the favored martial child of the King. But though it’s co-ed, women on-board are only allowed “auxiliary” crew positions and are banned from combat. In extenuating circumstances, Josette saves her airship in the heat of battle. She is rewarded with the Mistral, becoming Garnia’s first female captain.

She wants the job – just not the political flak attached. On top of patrolling the front lines, she must also contend with a crew who doubts her expertise, a new airship that is an untested deathtrap, and the foppish aristocrat Lord Bernat – a gambler and shameless flirt with the military know-how of a thimble. He’s also been assigned to her ship to catalog her every moment of weakness and indecision. When the Vins make an unprecedented military move that could turn the tide of the war, can Josette deal with Bernat, rally her crew, and survive long enough to prove herself to the top brass?

Birthrights by J. Kyle McNeal

To escape the burden of his family’s past, Whym accepts an apprenticeship with a master his parents fear and revile. He soon finds himself entangled in a web of treachery and on a perilous journey to locate a creature of myth and magic-a journey that will transform Whym and shape the future of the realm.

Meanwhile, Quint, the son of a powerful religious leader, abandons his faith to join the fight against a corrupt council. As the adviser to a remote tribe, he must find in himself the wisdom and fortitude to save the people from the invading army-and their own leaders.

Civil war looms, defeated foes plot revenge, and an ancient deity schemes to destroy them all. While navigating the shifting sands of truth, the two young men must distill what they believe, and decide on whose side they will stand in the coming conflict.

Hell and High Water by Tanya Landman

Mystery turns to mortal danger as one young man s quest to clear his father’s name ensnares him in a net of deceit, conspiracy, and intrigue in 1750s England.

Caleb has spent his life roaming southern England with his Pa, little to their names but his father s signet ring and a puppet theater for popular, raunchy Punch and Judy shows until the day Pa is convicted of a theft he didn’t commit and sentenced to transportation to the colonies in America. From prison, Caleb s father sends him to the coast to find an aunt Caleb never knew he had. His aunt welcomes him into her home, but her neighbors see only Caleb s dark skin. Still, Caleb slowly falls into a strange rhythm in his new life . . . until one morning he finds a body washed up on the shore. The face is unrecognizable after its time at sea, but the signet ring is unmistakable: it can only be Caleb s father. Mystery piles on mystery as both church and state deny what Caleb knows. From award-winning British author Tanya Landman comes a heart-stopping story of race, class, family, and corruption so deep it can kill.”

Marriage of a Thousand Lies by S.J. Sindu

Lucky and her husband, Krishna, are gay. They present an illusion of marital bliss to their conservative Sri Lankan–American families, while each dates on the side. It’s not ideal, but for Lucky, it seems to be working. She goes out dancing, she drinks a bit, she makes ends meet by doing digital art on commission. But when Lucky’s grandmother has a nasty fall, Lucky returns to her childhood home and unexpectedly reconnects with her former best friend and first lover, Nisha, who is preparing for her own arranged wedding with a man she’s never met.

As the connection between the two women is rekindled, Lucky tries to save Nisha from entering a marriage based on a lie. But does Nisha really want to be saved? And after a decade’s worth of lying, can Lucky break free of her own circumstances and build a new life? Is she willing to walk away from all that she values about her parents and community to live in a new truth? As Lucky—an outsider no matter what choices she makes—is pushed to the breaking point, Marriage of a Thousand Lies offers a vivid exploration of a life lived at a complex intersection of race, sexuality, and nationality. The result is a profoundly American debut novel shot through with humor and loss, a story of love, family, and the truths that define us all.

May Wrap-Up

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab – 5/5 stars (Full Review)

Thin Places by Lesley Choyce – 2/5 stars (Full Review)

Alice by J.M. Sullivan – 4.5/5 stars (Full Review)

Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault by Candace Robinson – 3.5/5 stars (Full Review)

Send by Domenico Capilongo – 2.5/5 stars (Full Review)

Leave This Song Behind by Teen Ink – 4/5 stars (Full Review)

The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate by Eric Bower – 4/5 stars (Full review)

Pretend We Are Lovely by Noley Reid – 4/5 stars (Full review)

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan – 4/5 stars

The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis – 5/5 stars

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis – 4/5 stars

What are your reading plans for the month? What were some of your favorite May reads? Let me know in the comments!

May 2017 TBR

Happy May, everyone!

Wow, this month really flew by! I had a surprisingly good reading and reviewing month, especially compared to the last few. I think I can safely say that I am out of my reading and blogging slump!

This past month, I ended up reading twelve books, which is insane considering I was barely managing to read one book per month for so long! I definitely want to keep up this momentum while I have it. My goal for each month is about ten books, so I’ve decided my TBRs will consist of ten to fifteen possibilities to choose from…that are most definitely subject to change since I am a mood reader! 😛

May TBR

Spellslingers by Sebastien de Castell

There are three things that earn you a man’s name among the Jan’Tep. The first is to demonstrate the strength to defend your family. The second is to prove you can perform the high magic that defines our people. The third is surviving your fourteenth year. I was a few weeks shy of my birthday when I learned that I wouldn’t be doing any of those things.”

Kellen’s dreams of becoming a powerful mage like his father are shattered after a failed magical duel results in the complete loss of his abilities. When other young mages begin to suffer the same fate, Kellen is accused of unleashing a magical curse on his own clan and is forced to flee with the help of a mysterious foreign woman who may in fact be a spy in service to an enemy country. Unsure of who to trust, Kellen struggles to learn how to survive in a dangerous world without his magic even as he seeks out the true source of the curse. But when Kellen uncovers a conspiracy hatched by members of his own clan seeking to take power, he races back to his city in a desperate bid to outwit the mages arrayed against him before they can destroy his family.

Spellslinger is heroic fantasy with a western flavour.

Alice by J.M. Sullivan

“Always protect your queen.”

Ever since the outbreak of the Plague, life hasn’t been easy, and for seventeen-year-old Alice Carroll, it just got worse. Her sister, Dinah, has contracted the ‘un-deadly’ Momerath Virus and without a cure, will soon be worse than dead. She’ll be momerath.

Alice must leave the safety of the Sector and venture into Momerath Territory to find the antidote – if it exists. Chasing a rumor about a mysterious doctor with the cure, Alice falls down the rabbit hole into Wanderland, where ravenous momerath aren’t the only danger lurking.

Pretend We Are Lovely by Noley Reid

Consuming and big-hearted, Noley Reid’s Pretend We Are Lovely details a summer in the life of the Sobel family in 1980s Blacksburg, Virginia, seven years after the tragic and suspicious death of a son and sibling.

Francie Sobel dresses in tennis skirts and ankle socks and weighs her allotted grams of carrots and iceberg lettuce. Semi-estranged husband Tate prefers a packed fridge and secret doughnuts. Daughters Enid, ten, and Vivvy, thirteen, are subtler versions of their parents, measuring their summer vacation by meals eaten or skipped. But at summer’s end, secrets both old and new come to the surface and Francie disappears, leaving the family teetering on the brink.?

Without their mother’s regimental love, and witnessing their father flounder in his new position of authority, the girls must navigate their way through middle school, find comfort in each other, and learn the difference between food and nourishment.

It Started with Goodbye by Christina June

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

In the underground city of Caverna, the world’s most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare—wines that remove memories, cheeses that make you hallucinate, and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even as they slit your throat. On the surface, the people of Caverna seem ordinary, except for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned, and only the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to express (or fake) joy, despair, or fear—at a steep price. Into this dark and distrustful world comes Neverfell, a girl with no memory of her past and a face so terrifying to those around her that she must wear a mask at all times. Neverfell’s expressions are as varied and dynamic as those of the most skilled Facesmiths, except hers are entirely genuine. And that makes her very dangerous indeed . . . 

Roses by Melinda Michaels

When Poppy Pruette comes home for the summer after her first year at college, she expects it to be just like every summer before it: filled with cookouts, nosy neighbors, town hall meetings and long, hot days.

She never expects a murder. Not in Miner’s Way, Virginia. 

But the sanctity of her small town is shattered when Poppy’s widely beloved grandmother, Rose, is brutally killed the night of a neighborhood barbecue. No one knows what to make of it or who might be responsible, least of all Poppy—until Detective Owen Peirce arrives from out of town with strange questions and a family history far more sinister than Poppy ever imagined.

Owen believes Poppy was the intended target, not Rose. Now, to save herself, Poppy must go into hiding and learn the truth about her family legacy. What she uncovers will change her life forever. 

A grim and delightfully plausible fairy tale retelling, Roses is the story of a young woman contending with the question: what do we owe to our ancestors?

The Perfect Stanger by Megan Miranda

In the masterful follow-up to the runaway hit All the Missing Girls, a journalist sets out to find a missing friend, a friend who may never have existed at all.

Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later. 

Determined to find Emmy, Leah cooperates with Kyle Donovan, a handsome young police officer on the case. As they investigate her friend’s life for clues, Leah begins to wonder: did she ever really know Emmy at all? With no friends, family, or a digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Soon Leah’s credibility is at stake, and she is forced to revisit her past: the article that ruined her career. To save herself, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey—and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.

Everyone in this rural Pennsylvanian town has something to hide—including Leah herself. How do you uncover the truth when you are busy hiding your own?

The Magnificent Flying Baron Estate by Eric Bower

Waldo Baron awakes one morning to find his inventor parents have turned their house into a flying machine, and they intend to enter into a race across the country in the hopes of winning the $500 prize. His parents’ plans go astray when they are kidnapped by Rose Blackwood, the sister of notorious villain Benedict Blackwood, who intends to use the prize money to free her brother from prison. But Rose is not what she seems to be, and Waldo finds himself becoming friends with their kindly kidnapper as they race across the country in the magnificent flying Baron estate!

Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts

At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax’s floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father’s side, resplendent in a sparkling gown, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who’s been in love with Tilla since they were children.

Then, at a feast honoring the visiting princess Lyriana, the royal shocks everyone by choosing to sit at the Bastards’ Table. Before she knows it, Tilla is leading the sheltered princess on a late-night escapade. Along with Jax, Miles, and fellow bastard Zell, a Zitochi warrior from the north, they stumble upon a crime they were never meant to witness. 

Rebellion is brewing in the west, and a brutal coup leaves Lyriana’s uncle, the Royal Archmagus, dead—with Lyriana next on the list. The group flees for their lives, relentlessly pursued by murderous mercenaries; their own parents have put a price on their heads to prevent the king and his powerful Royal Mages from discovering their treachery.

The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time. And if they can survive the journey . . .

Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell

With swashbuckling action that recalls Dumas’s Three Musketeers, Sebastien de Castell has created a dynamic new fantasy series. In Traitor’s Blade, a disgraced swordsman struggles to redeem himself by protecting a young girl caught in the web of a royal conspiracy.

The King is dead, the Greatcoats have been disbanded, and Falcio Val Mond and his fellow magistrates Kest and Brasti have been reduced to working as bodyguards for a nobleman who refuses to pay them. Things could be worse, of course. Their employer could be lying dead on the floor while they are forced to watch the killer plant evidence framing them for the murder. Oh wait, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Now a royal conspiracy is about to unfold in the most corrupt city in the world. A carefully orchestrated series of murders that began with the overthrow of an idealistic young king will end with the death of an orphaned girl and the ruin of everything that Falcio, Kest, and Brasti have fought for. But if the trio want to foil the conspiracy, save the girl, and reunite the Greatcoats, they’ll have to do it with nothing but the tattered coats on their backs and the swords in their hands, because these days every noble is a tyrant, every knight is a thug, and the only thing you can really trust is a traitor’s blade.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

I’m Traveling Alone by Samuel Bjork

A six-year-old girl is found in the Norwegian countryside, hanging lifeless from a tree with a jump rope around her neck. She is dressed in strange doll’s clothes. Around her neck is an airline tag that says “I’m traveling alone.” 

A special homicide unit in Oslo re-opens with veteran police investigator Holger Munch at the helm. Holger’s first step is to persuade the brilliant but haunted investigator Mia Krüger to come back to the squad–she’s been living on an isolated island, overcome by memories of her past. When Mia views a photograph of the crime scene and spots the number “1” carved into the dead girl’s fingernail, she knows this is only the beginning. She’ll soon discover that six years earlier, an infant girl was abducted from a nearby maternity ward. The baby was never found. Could this new killer have something to do with the missing child, or with the reclusive Christian sect hidden in the nearby woods?

Mia returns to duty to track down a revenge-driven and ruthlessly intelligent killer. But when Munch’s own six-year-old granddaughter goes missing, Mia realizes that the killer’s sinister game is personal, and I’m Traveling Alone races to an explosive–and shocking–conclusion.

The Owl Always Hunts at Night by Samuel Bjork

When a troubled teenager disappears from an orphanage and is found murdered, her body arranged on a bed of feathers, veteran investigator Holger Munch and his team are called into the case. Star investigator Mia Kruger, on temporary leave while she continues to struggle with her own demons, jumps back on the team and dives headfirst into this case: just in time to decode the clues in a disturbing video of the victim before she was killed, being held prisoner like an animal in a cage.

Meanwhile, Munch s daughter, Miriam, meets an enticing stranger at a party a passionate animal rights activist who begins to draw her into his world and away from her family.

Munch, Kruger, and the team must hunt down the killer before he can strike again in this sophisticated, intricately plotted psychological thriller by the newest phenomenon in international crime fiction.

April Wrap-Up

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco – 3/5 stars (Full Review)

Bitter Roots by C.J, Carmichael – 1.5/5 stars (Full Review)

The Wingsnatchers by Sarah Jean Horwitz – 5/5 stars (Full Review)

A Chosen War by Carly Eldridge – 2/5 stars (Full Review)

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire – 5/5 stars (Full Review)

The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan – 4.5/5 stars

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis – 5/5 stars

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang – 3.5/5

Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, and Brooke Allen

Volume 1 – 3/5 stars

Volume 2 – 4/5 stars

Volume 3 – 3/5 stars

Volume 4 – 4/5 stars

What books are you guys planning on reading this month? What were some of your reads last month? Let me know in the comments! 🙂

June 2016 TBR

Happy June, everyone! (…two weeks late…) 🙂

This is going to be a bit of a shorter post than usual, since May ended up being a rather unproductive month for me and I’m trying to get back into the swing of things this month. We are also already halfway through June, so I’m obviously running a bit behind. Nevertheless, I still have a plan and I still wanted to update you on this plan! Also, I went to the bookstore recently and sort of did a thing…so…book haul time! 😀

June TBR

1. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

This is most likely going to be both a June and July TBR read. I will be traveling a lot toward the end of the month and I figured that this would be the perfect time to begin reading a giant book. And thus, A Game of Thrones finally finds itself on my TBR! I can’t wait to get started on the series!

2. Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond

I recently received an ARC of the companion novel to this book, so I figured, even though it’s not a direct sequel, I should give this a read before I move on to the second one. On top of that though, it also sounds like something I totally would have picked up anyway. It’s gotten some mixed reviews overall, but I’m hoping that I’ll end up enjoying it!

3. Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond

Well…I guess this one is already pretty self-explanatory! Gotta get those ARCs read! I’m also very excited to get to this; it sounds like it will be a pretty interesting story.

4. Beastly Bones by William Ritter

I loved Jackaby so much, frankly, it’s pretty crazy that I haven’t continued the series yet. I’m also extremely excited because I recently got an ARC of the next novel, Ghostly Echoes, so I definitely need to get going on this one! Since June is already half over and it’s shaping up to be a very busy second half, I’m not sure how much reading I’ll be able to get done. For that reason, this is going in the “in case I have extra time” category, and will be a July read if I can’t get to it.

April and May Book Haul

  

1. Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond (ARC)
   

2. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

3. The Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith

4. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

    

5. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

6. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

7. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
   

8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

What have you guys been reading this month? Anything you have really loved? What are your most anticipated releases of June? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana

April 2016 TBR

Happy April, everyone! I am quite late with my TBR and wrap-up this month—and it’s definitely going to be a bit of a shorter one than usual—but it’s finally here. If you read my update post last week, you’ll know that I had a bit of a difficult March. However, I am back and as quirky (and nerdy) as ever! Things are finally beginning to get back on track, and I am aiming to catch up on reading and blogging as much as possible in April. Thank you guys for all the love and support. Hopefully this month will be much better than the last! 🙂 ❤

April TBR

1. The Masterpiecers by Olivia Wildenstein

This is one of the books I have received for review, and it is what I am currently reading. I’m not too far into it yet, but at this point I’m enjoying it quite a bit. The writing style flows very well and the mystery in the premise has me very interested to see where the story goes. Dark, mysteries are a definite favorite of mine to read, so I’m hoping this plot will continue to remain strong.

2. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

This is one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I am beyond excited to read it. I’ve been hearing some mixed reviews, but that has not got me any less eager to dive into this novel!

3. The Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith

This is another book that I was sent for review (thank you, David!). It is a retelling—or a continuation, rather—and a darker sounding one at that, which we all know is one of my favorite types of stories. I’m quite intrigued by the premise and I am really looking forward to seeing where he takes the idea. This should hopefully be my next read, in fact.

 

I will also be continuing to read The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror by Joyce Carol Oates and The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Read in March

Not surprisingly, this was a bit of a rough reading month, but I did manage to get a few books finished.

 

1. Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick – This was my first experience with Matthew Quick’s work and I’ll say it was definitely a solid one. It was a pretty enjoyable read overall, and it’s got me looking forward to reading his other novels. Full review coming soon!

2. The Haters by Jesse Andrews – I’m running a bit behind on my review for this book because I’m still trying to get my thoughts about it in order. It’s one of those books where I’m still not entirely sure how I felt about it and I need to let my brain do a bit more processing. Full review coming soon!

Anticipated Releases of April

 

1. Don’t Tell, Don’t Tell, Don’t Tell by Liane Shaw (April 5^th, 2016)
2. Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey (April 19^th, 2016)

What books do you want to read in April? Are you looking forward to any new releases this month? Let me know in the comments! 😀

-Ariana

February 2016 TBR

Happy February, everyone! First off, I want to apologize for my absence these last few weeks. This past month was a bit rough for me and, because of that, I did not post nearly as much on here as I usually do. I’ve been suffering from migraines for a while now, but the amount I have been getting has dramatically increased recently to the point where I’ve been having them every other day. This made it very hard to sit in front of a computer screen for any amount of time to write posts and reply to comments.

I’m so sorry I’ve been away as much as I have. I’ve missed posting frequently and I’ve missed talking to all of you every day on here and on your posts! Thank you all for being patient with me. I’m hoping to get them under control soon, and I definitely plan to be back blogging and chatting with you guys in full force this month! 😀 ❤

February TBR

I still have some books off last month’s TBR that I want to get to this month, but here are a few more that I am adding to the pile.

1. More Than This by Patrick Ness

It has been far too long since I have read a Patrick Ness book. I read A Monster Calls over a year ago and completely fell in love with his writing to the point where I went out and bought most of his other novels. However, I have not yet had a chance to read any of them yet. I plan to start the Chaos Walking trilogy later this year, so I figured I would tide myself over with this one. It has an incredibly mysterious and intriguing premise, and I’m not at all sure what to expect from this story. I can’t wait to dive in!

2. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Cycle is one of the series that I have been wanting to start for a while now, and with the final book coming out soon, I figured this would be a great time to begin. I have heard fantastic things about this series and it has been recommended to me quite a lot, so I’m really looking forward to checking it out.

3. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

I’ve gone a month without reading a V.E. Schwab novel and I am already dying to read another one. This has been at the top of my TBR for a while, so I’m hoping I can finally get to it this month. Plus, I have A Gathering of Shadows on pre-order and I’d like to finish this before that is released so I can continue on when it gets here (though I’m then going to have to deal with waiting for the final book!).

4. The Reluctant Sacrifice by Kerr-Ann Dempster

I’ve been making really good progress catching up on reviews and this is a review copy that I have had for a while, so I need to get to it soon. I’m really excited to check it out and see what I think of it. This will be one of my top priorities for the month, and most likely one of my first reads.

5. The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath by Ishbelle Bee

I found out about this book through Booktube and was immediately intrigued by it. It is pitched as a dark, adult fairytale and seems like it will be an extremely unique story, similar in style and atmosphere to Neil Gaiman’s novels. I believe this is a duology, and I already have the sequel, The Contrary Tale of the Butterfly Girl, so I might continue right on to that when I’ve finished if I enjoy it.

6. Doctor Who: Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale

This is another review copy that I’ve received recently and need to get to, so it will be another priority for me this month. I’m always happy to read anything Doctor Who related, which I’m sure comes as no surprise to anyone!

Read in January

Despite my failure in the blogging department, this month was actually fairly productive reading-wise. I managed to read five books and get through a good chunk of a sixth one. I also ended up really enjoying all of these reads quite a lot; they were a great way to begin a new reading year. I’m already making good progress on the reading challenges I’ve given myself and finally catching up on some review copies I’ve needed to get to as well. After feeling a bit slumpy for the past few months, this was definitely a wonderful change, and hopefully it will stay this way.

  

1. Doctor Who: Death Riders by Justin Richards – As I’ve already said, I love to read anything to do with Doctor Who, and this novel was a really fun read. This was one of the review copies I recently received from Netgalley. Click here to read my review!

2. Doctor Who: System Wipe by Oli Smith – This was my least favorite read of the month, but it was still a quick and entertaining story. This was another Netgalley review copy that I received. Click here to read my review!

3. The Book Thief by Markus Zuszak – I finally did it you guys! After all these years, I finally read The Book Thief—and loved it, of course! Review to come soon.

  

4. Alice by Christina Henry – Again, I have to thank Heather for this fantastic recommendation. Review to come soon.

5. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn – I’ve been wanting to read more of Gillian Flynn’s work recently, and this was absolutely fantastic (as always!). It’s got me even more excited than I already was to continue on to her next full novel! Review to come soon.

6. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer – I’m not quite finished with this one yet, but I got through a little over half before the end of the month. This will be my first completed read of February, and there will be a review coming very soon after.

January Book Haul

 

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Anticipated Releases of February

   

1. A Criminal Magic by Lee Kelly (Release Date: February 2^nd, 2016)

2. Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (Release Date: February 2^nd, 2016)

3. These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas (Release Date: February 9^th, 2016)

4. A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab (Release Date: February 23^rd, 2016)

What books do you guys have on your TBRs for February? Which new releases are you looking forward to this month? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana

December 2015 TBR

Happy December, everyone! If you celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope you had a wonderful holiday, and if not, then a wonderful end of November. 🙂 I just finished up a lovely week spending time with my family (and baking tons of cookies!), and I’m ready to get back into the swing of things here on my blog.

December is shaping up to be the month of reading books I planned to read earlier this year but haven’t gotten around to yet. Many of these have already appeared on previous TBRs, so I think most won’t come as a surprise. The first four in particular are ones that I am absolutely determined to read before the year is out, and if I don’t, you all have permission to yell at me in the comments on my December wrap-up!

December TBR

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The time is finally here! I will, without fail, be reading The Book Thief this month. I am a million years late with this, but I am so excited to finally have the chance to read it. I am ready for all the sadness and awesomeness that are bound to come out of this novel! I’ll probably be saving this until later in the month, but it is definitely my most anticipated read.

2. Vicious by V.E. Schwab

This is another one I’ve had on my shelves (and my TBRs) for a long time now, and it’s about time I get to it! I have heard nothing but incredible things about this novel and it has been recommended to me countless times. This is totally my kind of story, so I’m incredibly eager to dive into it and see what all the hype is about!

3. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Okay, I have absolutely no excuse for this one. I have been meaning to read this all year, and yet here we are in December and it is still on my TBR. I will definitely finish this by the end of the month. I need to continue on and complete this series; I have to know what happens next!

4. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

I am absolutely dying to read some more of Gillian Flynn’s work, and I just picked up a copy of this short story. Since December is pretty hectic, this is absolutely perfect to tide me over until I have a chance to read another one of her full novels. This story sounds absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait to get started on it.

December is a fairly busy month for me, so I am trying to keep my TBR fairly small. However, these next two books are ones that I would like to get to if I have extra reading time this month. If I can’t, they will roll over to my January TBR!

5. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Read in November

I have been in a bit of a reading slump for a few months now, but I am finally beginning to emerge from it! 🙂 Because of this, I plan on starting to do more thorough monthly wrap-ups in the new year. For now, here is a brief one for this past month!

   

1. The Map by William Ritter
2. The Marvels by Brian Selznick (review)
3. Saga: Volume 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
4. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (review coming soon)

November Book Haul

   

  

1. Binge by Tyler Oakley
2. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
3. The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror by Joyce Carol Oates (Review Copy)
4. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
5. This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee
6. To Kill a Mockingbird (Leather bound Edition) by Harper Lee
7. Winter by Marissa Meyer

What are you guys planning on reading this month? What was your favorite book you read in November? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana