ARC Review: Blood for Blood

Blood for Blood (Wolf by Wolf #2)
Author: Ryan Graudin
481 Pages
Will be Published: November 1, 2016

Synopsis: 

The action-packed, thrilling sequel to Ryan Graudin’s Wolf by Wolf.

There would be blood.
Blood for blood.
Blood to pay.
An entire world of it.

For the resistance in 1950s Germany, the war may be over, but the fight has just begun.

Death camp survivor Yael, who has the power to skinshift, is on the run: the world has just seen her shoot and kill Hitler. But the truth of what happened is far more complicated, and its consequences are deadly. Yael and her unlikely comrades dive into enemy territory to try to turn the tide against the New Order, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost.

But dark secrets reveal dark truths, and one question hangs over them all: how far can you go for the ones you love?

This gripping, thought-provoking sequel to Wolf by Wolf will grab readers by the throat with its cinematic writing, fast-paced action, and relentless twists.

 

 

Review: The Secret History

The Secret History
Author: Donna Tartt
523 Pages (Kindle Edition)
Published: September 1992

Synopsis:

Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt’s cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement – both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and for ever.

Review: Captive Prince

Captive Prince (Captive Prince #1)
Author: C. S. Pacat
270 Pages
Published: April 7, 2015

Synopsis:

Damen is a warrior hero to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos. But when his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave.

Beautiful, manipulative, and deadly, his new master, Prince Laurent, epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.

For Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity. Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to hate him than anyone else…

 

 

Review: Me Before You

Me Before You
Author: JoJo Moyes
369 Pages
Published December 31, 2012

Synopsis:

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

 

Musing Mondays (4.18)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme created by booksandabeat that asks you to answer one of the following questions as well as a bonus question that changes every week.
Questions:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…

I bought the following book(s) in the past week…

I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…

I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…

I can’t wait to get a copy of…

I wish I could read ___, but…

I blogged about ____ this past week…

Bonus Question: Name your least favorite plot device employed by way too many books that you actually enjoyed, otherwise.

______________________________

I am currently reading The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman and Marvel’s Civil War Part 1 comic. 
Hmm. I would have to say my least favorite (and most favorite!) plot device are love triangles. I love it when the author executes it correctly and beautifully where we are on the edge of seats, rooting for someone, trying to see the foreshadowing, and where both of the interested parties have an even chance. I absolutely HATE it when you can tell which way it’s going to go because the author plays favorites with one of the parties, and gives the other no chance. I also hate predictable love triangles. They just bore me and I feel like it’s a waste of time. 

Review: Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)
Author: Brandon Sanderson
643 Pages
Published July 31, 2007

Synposis:

Once, a hero arose to save the world. A young man with a mysterious heritage courageously challenged the darkness that strangled the land.

He failed.

For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist ruled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably.

Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and even the Lord Ruler himself. A new kind of uprising is being planned, one built around the ultimate caper, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine, a street urchin who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a Mistborn.

Dusting Off the (Digital) Bookshelf: The Kingdom of Childhood

Apologies for the ill-formatting – currently posting this from my phone. I’ll re-format it when I get home tonight.

Instead of reading a brand new release I have decided to read a book that has been on TBR for quite some time.

My choice is The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman.

Has anyone read it? If you have what did you like and not like about it?

 

Synopsis:
The Kingdom of Childhood is the story of a boy and a woman: sixteen-year-old Zach Patterson, uprooted and struggling to reconcile his knowledge of his mother’s extramarital affair, and Judy McFarland, a kindergarten teacher watching her family unravel before her eyes. Thrown together to organize a fundraiser for their failing private school and bonded by loneliness, they begin an affair that at first thrills, then corrupts each of them. Judy sees in Zach the elements of a young man she loved as a child, but what Zach does not realize is that their relationship is—for Judy—only the latest in a lifetime of disturbing secrets.

Review: Winner’s Kiss

The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Curse #3)
Author: Marie Rutkoski
496 Pages
Published March 29, 2016

Synopsis

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win?

Monday Musings (April 4)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme created by booksandabeat that asks you to answer one of the following questions as well as a bonus question that changes every week.

Questions:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

Bonus Question:

What is your favorite “comfort” read?

_________________________________________________________________

I am currently reading (STILL!) Mistborn – The Final Empire Book 1. Its a great book so far; according to Goodreads I am 55% percent of the way done, I have just been so busy I have not had time to read! 😦 Hoping to finish it this week!

 

My absolute favorite comfort read is Harry Potter. I feel like my response is always Harry Potter, but its always the right answer! 😀 I started reading HP when I was 7 and I read the last page of the series when I was 16. I grew up with that story, the characters, and the wizarding world and I miss it terribly. I used to have a tradition of re-reading the series every summer and winter just so I can relive it. Sadly over the last five or so years life has gotten the better of me, and I have no kept up this tradition. I think in the next couple months I will reread it.

The Entertainer Blogger Award

Thank you Kirsty for nominating me! 😀

Rules:

• Write a post with the award picture.
• Nominate 12 other bloggers who are funny, inspiring, and, most important of all, ENTERTAINING!
• Add these rules to the post.
• Thank the person who nominated you and leave a link to their blog!
• Also, answer these questions down below!

1. Why did you start a blog in the first place?

I originally started this blog (first was my bookstagram to get myself acclimated to the book community and to learn more about it) but to help people find some new books that they would have never read before. Sure everyone will post reviews about all the super popular books out on the market – I do it too, but I also like to tell people about those books that don’t get recognized.

2. What is your favourite book?

Harry Potter hands down. Thinking about that I really need to reread the series again. Its been a couple years since I’ve read them. I also love Where the Red Fern Grows

3. What do you dislike the most?

People who don’t take the time of day for others.

4. What is your favourite food item from the mall?

I don’t usually eat at the mall but probably the falafel shop or Panda Express.

5. What is your favourite pastime?

Reading, playing with my cat, and drinking coffee.

12 people is a lot, and I don’t think I interact with that many people on here – yet. So here is who I nominate:

• Lashaan and Trang
• Jenny
• Emma
• Ashleigh
• Tina