Waiting on Wednesday #19

October 4th 2016

This week my choice is Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig!!!!

I actually already have this book (in eARC form), and should have read it by the time this post has finally posted for you all. But still, I am freaking excited.

Goodreads Synopsis: Flynn's girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own?

Flynn's girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can't answer, and her friends are telling stories that don't add up. All eyes are on Flynn—as January's boyfriend, he must know something.

But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover the truth about January's disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself.

1. Suspense novels, in any form, are my favorite.

2. I've heard great things from @rstrolle

3. I started this and the writing is beautiful.

4. SECRETS

5. Missing girlfriends.

6. Hey Flynn, I'm excited to see you grow into yourself.

7. I know Flynn is gay (or bi?) and I'm excited.

BUY IT HERE: Amazon Barnes & Noble The Book Depository

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post our most anticipated releases!

Sunday Street Team: A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

This month's Sunday Street Team book is A SHADOW BRIGHT AND BURNING by Jessica Cluess!!


This is my first time participating in SST (which is hosted by the incomparable Nori at ReadWriteLove28)  and I am so excited to talk about this fiery book! :D This book features one of the most badass, strong female protagonists I have read about in a long time and she can burst into flames which is such a plus!

Review:

4 magical stars for a magical novel!

"I know what it is to love someone so much that you would move the world only to see them smile"

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT QUOTE BECAUSE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

So imagine trying to write a review that you had lots of opinions on... but didn't write the review right away so you're kind of kicking yourself in the butt trying to formulate your opinions coherently? This is me trying to write this review. Which I have spent a significant amount of time trying to write... But alas, the words weren't really coming to me.

And then the book was released into the world and something just burned up inside me and I know what I need to say to do this book justice. (OR DO I?)

This book is a beautiful burn of a book. Yes, alliteration is my favorite thing, that's why I'm using it. IT WAS REALLY GOOD GUYS.

This book follows Henrietta Howel as she learns to control her powers which are basically:

FLAME ON

 and further develop them while dealing with these many boys who think they are better than her... and these Ancient's, the vicious creatures that are trying to destroy the world. GOD THE ANCIENTS ARE THE BEST FREAKING PART. THEY MAKE ME SO HAPPY IN A MORBID WAY AND I CANNOT GET ENOUGH!!!!

Henrietta is immediately likable and her journey and growth throughout the book is so realistic. (Which is really funny to say about a fantasy book lol)  I love that it's not too fast, and not too slow.

The feud between magicians being tricksters and sorcerers being the higher class chosen ones was extremely well done and I love how it all played out in the novel. It's hard to talk  about these things without giving things away, damn it...

The boys are swoonworthy af. There is definitely a potential for a love shape but honestly it didn't bother me... From Magnus to my personal favorite Dee... they are beautiful. There is something incredibly special about each boy and I'm just super proud of the way Jessica Cluess wrote these characters.

I could talk for a long time on Dee, and he wasn't even a huge part of the novel... which made me sad... because he was my favorite! Mostly because he was a redhead. (And I love redheads. One of my favorite fictional characters EVER, I'm looking at you Jude from The Darkest Minds, is a redhead. He brings me so much joy and I will bring everything back to him... :)  ) Anyways, Dee was a sweetheart and too pure for this world. And did I mention he is a redhead? :)

Anyways, the character dynamics are beautiful. I love the bickering between Magnus and Henrietta and Blackwood. I love the growth of Blackwood. He became one of the strongest and one of my favorite characters in the novel.

"you've suffered a great deal. Remember you're not the only one."

This quote angered me like no other. Mostly in context of the specific time this was uttered. I like the idea but GOD IT PISSED ME OFF I WAS SO MAD AT THE CHARACTER THAT SAID IT AHHHH.

If you haven't already realized this book made me feel so many emotions. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it in this incoherent review thing.

Literally, I don't think I can really say anything bad about this book. It was slow in parts, and dragged slightly, but overall the magic that is held within the books pages made up for any slow aspect of the book.

Honestly, my actual favorite character was ROOK. He's such a heartbreaking character and learning his story was my favorite journey that we went on. I want to know everything about him, ever. His character arc and story arc was just perfect and shattering.

The romance in this book is mostly a tease, but I actually quite like that. It was both frustrating and perfect at the same time and I really like that. I am always picky about romance. And it's generally too much for me, or not enough but I feel this worked perfectly for the novel.

I do, have a criticism... now that I think about it. I feel like the way Jessica twisted tropes was very well done but I do feel more could be done. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this book and thought the writing was great and very true to the time period... but there was something slightly missing. A little bit of magic was missing. Just a little. And I feel bad even thinking this. But I know that the sequel will be more magical and have what I was missing in this novel.

Mostly, this book was just loads of fun that I really enjoyed reading. I can definitely see where problems of pace and originality issues could arise for some readers... but for me, I thought the enjoyable sections far outshined the slow ones.

Jessica Cluess is a phenomenal writer and storyteller and I'm highly anticipating the sequel!

Goodreads Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23203252-a-shadow-bright-and-burning?ac=1&from_search=true

Synopsis (GR):

I am Henrietta Howel. The first female sorcerer. The prophesied one. Or am I?

Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. When she's brought to London to train with Her Majesty's sorcerers, she meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, young men eager to test her powers and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. As Henrietta discovers the secrets hiding behind the glamour of sorcerer life, she begins to doubt that she's the true prophesied one. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves?

About the Author:

JESSICA CLUESS is a writer, a graduate of Northwestern University, and an unapologetic nerd. After college, she moved to Los Angeles, where she served coffee to the rich and famous while working on her first novel. When she's not writing books, she's an instructor at Writopia Lab, helping kids and teens tell their own stories.

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Waiting on Wednesday #18

October 4th 2016

This week I have chosen Replica by Lauren Oliver!!!!!!!

Goodreads Synopsis: Gemma has been in and out of hospitals since she was born. 'A sickly child', her lonely life to date has revolved around her home, school and one best friend, Alice. But when she discovers her father's connection to the top secret Haven research facility, currently hitting the headlines and under siege by religious fanatics, Gemma decides to leave the sanctuary she's always known to find the institute and determine what is going on there and why her father's name seems inextricably linked to it.

Amidst the frenzy outside the institute's walls, Lyra - or number 24 as she is known as at Haven - and a fellow experimental subject known only as 72, manage to escape. Encountering a world they never knew existed outside the walls of their secluded upbringing , they meet Gemma and, as they try to understand Haven's purpose together, they uncover some earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls forever...

1. OMG! The fact that this book can be read so many different ways gives me so much enjoyment.

2. I can't wait to meet these characters.

3. I've always wanted to read a Lauren Oliver novel.

4. Adam Silvera loved this and I love him,

5. I cannot wait to meet Lyra who seems intriguing.

6. And Gemma who seems wonderful.

7. I just, yes. So excited. It sounds great.

BUY IT HERE: Amazon Barnes & Noble The Book Depository

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post our most anticipated releases!

Waiting on Wednesday #17

September 27th 2016

This week I have chosen the highly anticipated (by all) Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo!!!

Not only did the first book hold some of my highest ranking OTPs. The suspenseful writing and gripping action topped off with complex immoral characters brings together a beautiful beginning to what will soon become my favorite duology.

Goodreads Synopsis: Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world

1. Short and sweet and exciting as hell. I love this synopsis.

2. WE GET WYLAN'S POV. HELL YEAH. MY PRECIOUS CINNAMON ROLL.

3. I'm hoping for some more (I actually don't know the ship names yet?) but more of all of it. Every one of them. Have funnn. Because I love you.

4. Kaz is badass. Inej is even more badass. Nina is heart wrenching *badoom tssss*. Matthias is freaking wonderful. I love Wylan's "innocence." I love Jesper's freaking everything. I adore every freaking character soooo damn much.

5. WAAAAAAAAAR.

6. REVENGEEEEEEE.

7. MAGIIIIIC.

8. MORE GRISHAA! (Writing this in July really makes me want to finally read Siege & Storm and Ruin & Rising finally...!)

9.  WE HAVE TWO WEEKS GUYS AHHHHH!!!!!!!!  

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post our most anticipated releases!

Waiting on Wednesday #16

September 26th 2016

This week I have chosen Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge!

Goodreads Synopsis: When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched.

The heirs of the city’s most powerful—and warring—families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan—and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die.

Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong—killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened, Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy . . . and perhaps turn against his own clan.

Mahyanai Runajo just wants to protect her city—but she’s the only one who believes it’s in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death—and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara.

Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting. . .

1. YAY ROMEO AND JULIET RETELLING.

2. I haven't actually read Romeo and Juliet but I am a sucker for retellings of the story. I hope this twists it on its head.

3. MAGIC.

4. The cover reminds me of a cult/secret society and I actually adore plots that include that aspect especially when they do it creepily and well written. I've heard good things about Hodge's other works. I have not yet read any of it.

5. I cannot pronounce these names whatsoever but I honestly do not care. I am excited!

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post our most anticipated releases!

Mini-Review: The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter

Title: The First Time She Drowned
Author: Kerry Kletter
Page Count:
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Rating: 4.5 Stars!
Source: The Library! <3
Links: Goodreads IndieBound Amazon Barnes & Noble The Book Depository
Synopsis: Cassie O’Malley has been trying to keep her head above water—literally and metaphorically—since birth. It’s been two and a half years since Cassie’s mother dumped her in a mental institution against her will, and now, at eighteen, Cassie is finally able to reclaim her life and enter the world on her own terms.

But freedom is a poor match against a lifetime of psychological damage. As Cassie plumbs the depths of her new surroundings, the startling truths she uncovers about her own family narrative make it impossible to cut the tethers of a tumultuous past. And when the unhealthy mother-daughter relationship that defined Cassie’s childhood and adolescence threatens to pull her under once again, Cassie must decide: whose version of history is real? And more important, whose life must she save?

A bold, literary story about the fragile complexities of mothers and daughters and learning to love oneself, The First Time She Drowned reminds us that we must dive deep into our pasts if we are ever to move forward.

REVIEW:

Me before reading this book:

Me while reading this book:

Me after finishing this book:

this book was like the scene in a movie where the water slowly rises as a character is trying to escape from a dangerou situation except that scene lasts an entire book.

This book follows Cassie O'Malley as she is leaving this psych ward and entering the everyday world once again. she is going to college at Dutton, the college her mother went to.

and this book tells a story of Cassie and her mother. and everything that entails.

it is heartbreaking.

it is hopeful.

it is a rush of water pulling you under the current.

it is finding oneself even in the darkest of times.

it is everything.

it is a slow, slow burn if soulcrushing beauty that I want everyone to read.

and it dragged a little in the middle, but it's so forgivable because these words are so heartbreaking. The relationship between Cassie and her mother reminded me of the relationship between Maddy and her mother in Everything, Everything... except to me, this is a much darker tale of a mother/daughter relationship.

Absolutely recommend!