April Wrap Up

Hey, loves! I know this is so late! I  have been slacking with reviewing and commenting, but hopefully I’ll get that caught up soon. In May I have a lot of blog posts already planned out and many are drafted so I have a really good feeling about this month.

So to get to the books that I read during the month of April. I read some fantasy books this month which I feel great about as it’s my favorite genre but I have been struggling to get into lately, I give many thanks to the lovely ladies who buddy read with me! I have some varied ratings with the books I read starting from 2 stars up to 4 stars. Okay let’s stop talking and get into what books I read in the month of April!

(Like always, you can click the links in each of the titles to read a more in-depth review of each book.)

Caraval by Stephanie Garber – ★★★★

This was a re-read, because I really wanted to get to Legendary before Finale was released. This time around I read this book via audiobook and it was just as amazing as the first time I read it. This book was just absolutely ENCHANTING! From the very first page up until the last, there was never a dull moment.I got to fall in love with the characters all over again. Stephanie Garber is an incredibly talented author, and a master at weaving beautiful lyrical words.

Legendary by Stephanie Garber – ★★★★★

It has taken me over a year to read Legendary, and I am so happy to have finally read the sequel to Caraval. This book is on my must reads of 2019 and I can now say that I love this book so much! I loved being back in this world, Caraval was such a magical story and Legendary was no different. The romance in this book, I was completely living for it! And that ending!?! The big reveal took me by surprise because it felt a little to obvious so I wasn’t expecting it. Needless to say I am beyond excited for Finale!!

Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kauffman – ★★

I want to start this review by saying that I was very fortunate to have been given a EARC, I swear that my neighbors could hear me cheering. With that said, this book disappointed me so much! I really wanted to love it and I really didn’t like it until the last 30% of the book. I loved Jay and Amie’s Illuminae Files and I do enjoy there writing. I just wasn’t connecting with the story.This book was a huge miss for me, I know there is a lot of high praise already. I know I’ll probably get some hate for this but no one is more disappointed with my feelings than I am.

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott – ★★.5

I originally rated this book a three but I took it down to two and a half stars. I only read this book because I want to see the movie. And I only want to see the movie because of Cole Sprouse. Anyway this book is about two teens living with cystic fibrosis, and there relationship. The story overall I enjoyed it, i found it entertaining but the writing was so cringe worthy. I love beautiful prose and this definitely want it.

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson – ★★★★

I really LOVED this book! The Storm Crow is filled with the potential to be a great, captivating series. It’s gripping within the first chapter, the characters are all amazing and the magic is uniquely written. With a large variety of majestic crows that can control the elements they provide everything needed for it’s country.  The crows gave me major  How to Train your Dragon vibes. Josephson has created such a rich and gorgeous world!

Wilder Girls by Rory Power – ★★★★

Wilder Girls has been everywhere lately, with its gorgeous cover to amazing synopsis. I have to say this cover is probably my favorite cover of the whole year.I’m going to need all the sapphic horror books from now on. The female-female relationship in this book was everything! I loved these girls so much and was horrified for what they were going through.Rory power’s writing is beautiful yet it does a fantastic job at making your skin crawl, with it’s deliberate descriptive details. Power’s does not hold back on the horror scenes, as a horror movie lover I found some of the horror to be tame but to others it can be quite triggering. That being said this was one of the most unique young adult novels I had the pleasure of reading.

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing – ★★★★

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey – ★★★★

THIS WAS SO ADORABLE AND CUTE!!! I’ve seen a couple of my friends give it a low rating and I can see why some people wouldn’t enjoy it. That wasn’t the case for me. This book is basically a long homage to romantic comedies, which made me realize I have not watched a lot of the movies mentioned, and I quickly wrote them all down to add to my Netflix queue.This book is the perfect summer beach read!

---

That’s all! I am so sorry this is going up so late! So those are the books I read this month let me know down in the comments what your favorite book was in April.

---

 Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads|Facebook

Advertisements

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

1.) Caraval ★★★★

“Every story has four parts – the beginning, the middle, the almost ending, and the true ending.”

It has taken me over a year to read Legendary, first it was because Emmy was a newborn and I had absolutely no time to read, and then I just never got around to it. With the release of Finale looming nearer I did a re-read of Caraval and finally read Legendary.  I loved being back in this world, Caraval was such a magical story and Legendary was no different.

In Caraval, we followed the story from Scarlett’s point of view, how she and her sister Donatella escape from there abuse fathers estate and journey to an island where Caraval is being held that year. Donatella was taken as part of the game, and upon winning Caraval Scarlet was able to save her sister. Legendary start immediately after the outcomes of Caraval, but in this book we are told the story from Donatello’s point of view. She is thrown into her own game and mystery to solve. There are so many twists and turns in this book, more secrets are revealed.

“But the best villains are the ones you secretly like, and my nana always said Legend was the villain in Caraval.”

Donatella “Tella” : she was a pleasant surprise for me, I did not love her in Caraval but in Legendary she stole my heart. I loved her! She is vulnerable but strong in the moments that count.

Scarlet: Is Tella’s sister, and in this book she is a hot mess.

Dante: holy I love Dante with every fiber of my being. He is arrogant, witty and sarcastic, which makes him my favourite type of character.

Jack: A new character introduced early on. He is the villain in this book and he is AMAZING. He is cruel and cunning, he was unpredictable and I can’t wait to see where the story takes him.

In Legendary the story centres around Tella trying to find their mother Paloma. She left them when they were just children and they haven’t seen or heard from her since then. Paloma was truly a woman of mystery, but we learn a little about her through flashbacks from Tella. This book does not fall into second book syndrome at all. Garner took everything we learned in Caraval and turned it all upside down.

The romance in this book, I was completely living for it! Tella and Dante spoke to my soul. They had that a slight enemies to lovers vibe going and as you may know that trope is my favourite.

Not everyone gets a true ending. There are two types of endings because most people give up at the part of the story where things are the worst, where the situation feels hopeless. But that’s when hope is needed most. only those who persevere can find their true ending.

I loved how colourful and descriptive Garber’s writing is. You get immediately thrown into this magical, vibrant world that oozes mystery. I’m a sucker for beautiful writing and this book has so many quotes! And that ending!?! The big reveal took me by surprise because it felt a little to obvious so I wasn’t expecting it. Needless to say I am beyond excited for Finale!!

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads

Aurora Rising by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff

Many thanks to Random House Kids for sending me an eARC via NetGalley for my honest review!

I want to start this review by saying that I was very fortunate to have been given a EARC, I swear that my neighbors could hear me cheering. With that said, this book disappointed me so much! I really wanted to love it and I really didn’t like it until the last 30% of the book. I found it to be extremely boring. I loved Jay and Amie’s Illuminae Files and I do enjoy there writing. I just wasn’t connecting with the story.

They are not the heroes we deserve. They are just the ones we could find.

Aurora Rising Follows the story of six legion cadets who make up the squad 312, they are chosen to work together during the draft,which Tyler missed. He was to busy saving a girl from a ship he found floating in the fold. He is one of the top students but he is landed with the misfits of the academy who make up his squad..

Tyler: The Alpha, Squad Leader,Scarlet’s brother and captain “hotness”. The amount of times his dimples or attractiveness was mentioned was absurd.

Aurora: An Asian human girl,who was Cryogenically frozen for the last 200 years and was supposed to wake up on Octavia III. She has some wicked powers but she also has no idea how to control them.

Scarlet: The Face, the diplomat and Tyler’s twin sister.She is described as having fiery red hair and is just as attractive as her brother.

Cat: The Ace, the pilot, has been friends with Tyler and Scarlet since kindergarten. She is a strong woman and takes shit from no one. She is covered in tattoos with a Mohawk and not so secretly in love with Tyler.

Kal: The Tank, Syldrathi, he has darker skin and silver braided hair. The Syldrathi are in the midst of a civil war and also have a war history with the Terran people. This boy is full of rage, but oh can he throw down. He was hands down my favourite character.

Finian: The Gearhead, Tech Division. He is Betraskan, his skin is white.He’s bisexual and has a disability for muscle weakness, nerve damage, impaired mobility. He has to wear a exoskeleton suit to help him with his movements. His character also made this book tolerable, he’s sassy and says inappropriate things at the worst times.

Zila: The Brains, Science Division. She is described as having dark brown skin with curly black hair. She loves to wear hoop earrings and can be a little trigger happy.

The six of us? Against the whole galaxy?

The book is divided up into three different parts, I really struggled with part 1 it was incredibly boring and slow moving.Part 2 took place on the world ship, where the squad was a part of a very drawn out heist. We got a little bit of backstory to some characters,but I still wasn’t vibing with the story. It wasn’t until part three where I found myself actually invested in the plot. It was short lived though because then the book needed, just when things were getting good.

I had a really hard time picking up the book to actually read it. The action scenes were well written but because I didn’t care about the characters I was invested in there well being. Well, I did like Kal and Fin, they were the only characters with some personality.

This book was a huge miss for me, I know there is a lot of high praise already. I know I’ll probably get some hate for this but no one is more disappointed with my feelings than I am. I think this book would have been hugely improved by not having seven different POV, if they stuck with just Tyler and Aurora I think it would have been less confusing. I struggled with remembering who was talking in each chapter.

I ended up giving Aurora Rising 2.5 Stars.

Buddy Read with Amy!

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads

Get To Know Me Tag

Hello! Since I’ve gained so many awesome new followers in the past two months, which I am so blessed you all subscribed to my blog! I thought I would do this tag as a way to introduce myself.

1. What do you study/what is your job?

First of all I’m a mom to two beautiful kids, my son is 12 and my daughter just turned 15 months old. You can read her most recent update here. Aside from mommying, I work full time as a personal support worker in a mental health special care home. I’m not currently studying but I am halfway through the LPN program, I’m not sure if I’m going to return or not at the moment.

2. What is your favorite social media channel?

Currently it’s Instagram, I’m a visual person. So I love seeing everyone’s photos and there creativity. I’ve been busy trying grow my presence over the past two months and I’m really loving it.

3. If you had another channel, what would it be about?

I would really like to make booktube videos but my anxiety gets the better of me. But I’m hopeful that one of these days to dive into youtube. I’d like to creat book content ,as well as mommy lifestyle content.

4. Do you play an instruments?

No, but I would love to learn guitar.

5. What hobbies do you have other than reading?

I don’t have to much time for much else between the kids, work and reading. But I don’t binge a lot of tv, and I’m trying to get more into photography.

6. Favorite TV Shows?

Here is where I could go on forever but I’ll try and narrow it down a little. My all time favourite tv show will always be Gilmore Girls. I love this show and its characters so freaking much. Another fave is Game of Thrones, who else is excited for the final season?! Hmm let me see I also love The Office, Jane the Virgin, This is Us,Queer Eye and How to get away with murder. There’s more of course but I’ll stop here.

7. What got you into reading?

I have always been a huge reader, I didn’t have many friends growing up. Books ended up being my best friend and shaped who I am today. My dad would take me to the library during the summer and I’d spend hours browsing the shelves.

From goosebumps to the babysitters club. In middle school I became obsessed with Stephen King I couldn’t get enough. Then I discovered Harry Potter and it changed my life! I didn’t read as much in high school then I had Noah. Around the time Noah was 2 I started reading Twilight and it re ignited my love for reading and I never stoped.

8.What are your favorite and least favorite genres?

My heart will always belong to Fantasy. I love huge lush worlds full of magic. Also contemporary is becoming what I teach for the most. My least favourite would have to be historical, steampunk and westerns.

9.What books define your childhood?

I discussed some in an earlier question, but some others include Heartland, The Saddle Club, Shivers and Nancy Drew.

10.Tell us an interesting fact about you!

Sorcery Of Thorns by Magaret Rogerson

ARC received by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Sorcery of Thorns has been at the top of my list when it comes to 2019 releases. Enchanted of Ravens was one of my favorite books of  .To say I loved this book would not even begin to describe how I felt about it!

Elisabeth, works as an apprentice in a magical library full of magical books with souls, who whisper and interact with the characters. When the books get damaged they turn into huge rampaging monsters. Elisabeth’s interactions with the grimoires gave me all the feels! Elisabeth inst like all the other apprentices, she grew up in the library having been abandoned on its steps as a baby, the other apprentices only start to study at the library at the age of thirteen.  Despite growing up in the library some of the wardens look down on her.

When a dangerous grimoire is released Elisabeth is is thrown into the middle of the situation and soon find herself with charges against her. She is taken away from the library by the Magister,a sorcerer she had briefly met in the past. He is to bring her to the capital to be judged for her crimes.

Elisabeth: I loved her so much! Honestly one of my new favorite characters!! She is full of sass, always getting herself into trouble. She was a badass, and didn’t take crap from anyone and stood up for those she cared about. She also has a soft spot when it comes to the grimoires, I love how she interacts with them.

Nathaniel: I fell in love with immediately. He is such a soft boy! He is also Bi. He openly says that he enjoys the company of men and women. He is portrayed as the villain but he is so much more than a sorcerer.

Silas: OHMYGOD I loved him so much!! He is a demon that turns into a big white fluffy cat. He is bound to Nathaniel but there relationship goes way beyond master and servant. He genuinely cares for Nathaniel, though he tries to hide it. I love that he is supposed to be this evil powerful demon, but he cooks and makes sure there all dressed nicely.

Another thing that I really liked was the romance. It was a slow burn romance, which is one of my favorite tropes. There relationship is everything, its so sweet. You can feel the tension are there interacts become more frequent.

The ending was absolutely amazing It had me on the edge of my seat, and I honestly wanted to jump up and down! I will 100% be pre-ordering the hardback.Sorcery Of Thorns will be released on June 4 2019, and i strongly urge you all to pick it up!

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads

February Monthly Wrap Up

Hello bookworms! February just flew by, it was a pretty busy month for me. First off it was my birthday and my Mom threw me a party at her home with all my family. It was really nice being with everyone! I’ve been trying to clean and purge the apartment, I’d really like that to be finished by summer. I tried to participate in ContemporaryAThon but I got into a slump right in the middle of the week, but I did manage to read 3 books.

Books Read

My Favourite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren

“Sometimes, the thing we want is right in front of us, and we’re the last ones to see it.” 

I am such a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, so when I heard that the writer duo Christina Lauren was putting out this story about best friends turned friends with benefits, I was dying to get my hands on this book.Luckily, I was right, because I was obsessed with this read and could not put it down. Honestly can’t get enough of Christina Lauren’s writing. Their books bring me so much joy!

Born,Darkly by Trisha Wolfe

“A smart man once told me the wait for something to happen can drive a sane man mad. And this place is full of madness.” 

Holy Crap !! What did I just read? This book was one wild ride with no stops until the end. I’m sitting here trying to make sense of what I just read and how to feel about it. This book was like nothing I’ve ever read before, if I had to compare it to something it would be Saw meets Harley Quinn. Starting this I really had no idea what I was getting myself into,only that is was about a romance with a serial killer. That’s all I needed to know! Trisha Wolfe is a new to me author, that I am pleased to say she didn’t disappoint.

A Girl Like Her by Tailia Hibbert

Read as part of the Dragons and Tea Book Club. I’ve read one other Tailia Hibbert book and halfway through this one I added almost all of her other books to my TBR. I love her writing and her characters; this book was everything! I loved it so much, Tailia is a gem and everyone should be reading her books. This book was absolute perfection! I loved that Ruth has autism and that this is #ownvoices.

Aquicorn Cove by Katie O’Neill

“Everything has a use. Sometimes beautiful things are made through necessity.”

Aquicorn Cove follows a young girl named Lana, she along with her father come to visit her Auntie Mae. There was recently a really bad storm on her little island.As Lana explores the beach, she discovers a small injured aquicorn. With the help of her aunt, they care for the small creature.Katie O’Neil had the most breathtakingly adorable illustrations!  The Aquicorns are the perfect mixture of unicorn and seahorse.

The Simple Wild by KA Tucker

“Just don’t make the same mistake I did and fall in love with one of those pilots.”

This book brought on so many tears, happy tears and sad tears. And, this book is just so breathtakingly beautiful. This book turned out to be so much more than my initial expectations. I just loved this. The setting was absolutely perfect and so very atmospheric. I loved the romance and the family dynamic. I LOVED this with all of my heart & soul! It is deferentially one of my new favorite romances and I recommend it to everyone!

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

Heroine follows the story of  Mickey Catalan, a high school senior and well-known catcher for her school’s softball team. Mickey and her best friend Carolina, are is a tragic car accident. Mickey’s injuries are severe, she needed surgery to have pins pit into her leg, followed by physical therapy. She is prescribed Oxycodone as a pain killer, shes used the drug to numb her life as well as the pain. This is a very dark and graphic story about a teen who fights against her addiction.

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads

February Book Haul

I’m still waiting for a couple of these to come in the mail, since I ordered them from Book Depository. I’m so excited for all of these books!

Physical Books

On The Come Up- Angie Thomas
Auquicorn Cove- Katie O’Neill
Heart Stopper- Alice Oseman
Senlin Ascends- Josiah Bancroft
Kings of the Wyld- Nicholas Eames

Netgalley/ Edelweiss ARCs

KingsBane- Claire Legrande
The Storm Crow- Kalyn Josephson
There’s something about Sweetie- Sandhya Menon
Sorcery of Thorns- Magaret Rogerson
Love from A to Z – SK Ali
The Unhonneymooners- Christina Lauren
Kings of Fools- Amanda Foody

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Trigger and content warnings for unwanted touching and forced kissing, lowkey sexual harassment, anxiety attacks, abandonment, a loved one with a chronic illness.

The Kiss Quotient is so deserving of all the hype it has received thus far.This book has very explicit and graphic sex scenes, so be warned if that is not something you’re into.

“I don’t want just a night or a week or a month with you. I want you all the time. I like you better than calculus, and math is the only thing that unites the universe.”

This is an ownvoices novel about a high-functioning autistic woman who has a successful career, however her life is lacking personal connections. Her mother is pressuring her to find a boyfriend, but Stella feels un-confident that she is able to have a relationship where she can be herself.She believes that she is bad at sex, so she hires an attractive escort to teach her.

Michael is an escort that has one rule he doesn’t do more than one session per client. However, he is willing to make an exception for Stella. Michael is biracial (Vietnamese and Swedish), his dream is to be a fashion designer, and has always put his family first. He is such a swoon-worthy hero. I loved his relationship with his mother, they are the cutest!

“She didn’t know how to be semi-interested in something. She was either indifferent . . . or obsessed.”

I just adored everything about Stella! I have a family member on the autism spectrum, and personally I’ve never read about a character with the same diagnosis. I loved the way that Stella and Michael’s relationship evolved,they both treated each other with respect from the beginning and they had such sweet tender moments that melted my heart.

This book had the perfect amount of cuteness,and the fake dating trope done flawlessly done.I recommend The Kiss Quotient with all my soul.

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Couples in Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018.

---

Hello! Today’s topic I’m really excited about. I get to talk to all of you about my favorite couples in books! These are in no particular order.

---

1.) Juliette and Warner – Shatter Me Series by Tahreh Mafi

2.) Feyre and Rhys – A Court of Thorns and Roses

3.) Katniss and Peeta, The Hunger Games

4.) Jude and Cardan – The Cruel Prince

5.) Manon and Dorian – Throne of Glass

6.) Alina and The Darkling – Grishaverse

7.) Tessa and Will – Infernal Devices

8.) Cress and Thorne – Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

9.) Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell – Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

10.) Kestrel and Arin- The Winner Curse by Marie Rutkoski

---

 This was a really fun topic! Who is your favorite book couple? I hope you all have a happy valentines day💖🌸💋

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads

ContemporaryAThon TBR

Hello loves! It’s time for another readathon. This round of the ContemporaryAThon is running from Monday February 11 through Sunday, February 17. I am so excited to be participating again. I love contemporary books, and I fly through them so I’m hoping I can get through my TBR.

---

Host

Chelsea
Julie
Melanie
Natasha

---

Challenges and TBR

1. Read your most recently purchases Contemporary.

Two Can Keep a Secret- Karen M McManus And if I have time I’d really like to try and read On the Up Come by Angie Thomas if not I will still be reading it this month regardless.

2.Read a Contemporary with blurple (blue or purple) on the cover.

Autoboyography – Christina Lauren

3. Read a Diverse Contemporary(keeping in mind that it is Black History month!)

The Wedding Date -Jasmine Guillory

4. Read a dark, taboo or emotional book.

Heroine – Mindy McGinnis

5.Read a Contemporary you meant to read in 2018 but didn’t get to.

The Simple Wild- K.A Tucker

6.Read a Contempoarary in a non-traditional format (ebook, audiobook,graphic novel etc)

The Bride Test – Helen Hoang

7.Read a Contemporary with a picture on the spine (not a color but an image)

I’m going to leave this one blank, as I’m not sure I will be able to read seven books.

---

---

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin|GoodReads