Tag: reading

🌟 Currently Reading 🌟

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Hi hi hi! I hope you are doing well. However, today is Monday so it’s a pretty meh day. 😐

So here is a list of my current reads!

Loving this book! A really eerie story focused on a Vicar with a mysterious past and her 15 year old daughter. They recently moved to an incredibly small town where mom, Jack, is taking over as Vicar at the church. However, neither Jack or her daughter Flo, are very welcome.

This barely sums up what is happening but I like it bc it has that creepy vibe of what is teetering over the edge between good and evil. I am about halfway through and I am full of questions!

This is the next Arc I’m reading after I finish Burning Girls. It seems to be an intense psychological thriller (major emphasis on the psychological part). I love books like this about different dimensions, alternate universes. It seems like another great mind trip read and I believe it’s coming out on February 22nd! So I’m rushing to get to it!

This is the second book in the House of Night series by a mother/daughter duo working together as authors (gotta admit, that’s cool). I did not love the first one bc there was excessive slut shaming and just females putting down other females… which, is not how life should be folks!!

I just started this but put it down to focus on 1 thing at a time. But so far I am really enjoying book 2 more than the first. So, yay! I’m excited!

Rereading Percy Jackson because I love this series. That is all.

My cat and I hope you have a great day! Any thoughts or questions or book recommendations for me, please comment!! I’d love to hear from you!

🌟 Arc Review 🌟 Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi Demeester!

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Thank you Netgalley for this Arc!

This book is a very freaky! Women standing up to the patriarchy and feminism, though ❤ I definitely agree about certain men treating women this way. Basically, in a way that says we as women should be quiet and docile. We should be good girls and just swallow the pill whole, literally and figuratively.

The story follows Caroline in 2004 and her daughter, Lila, in 2019. Their stories with this beast who represents the demeaning men of the world are told in tandem. It’s very easy to see similarities and notice the differences in the two and that makes the story even more interesting.

This is a great serial killer thriller tale with a twist and I recommend it especially if you can withstand the blood and gore, animal violence and death and some disturbing imagery both sexual and not.

Look for this on January 18th!

🌟 Arc Review 🌟 Empire of the Vampire, Exclusive Sample, by Jay Kristoff

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Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this incredible exclusive sample of the amazing Jay Kristoff’s new book, Empire of the Vampire!

Okay… oookkkaaaayy now…. I feel like this was the freaking best thing I’ve ever read and I only read the first 400 pages out of a little over 700 pages of this book. What do I say? How can I convince everyone reading my little review that this is a masterpiece? First, it’s Jay Kristoff… that’s point 1 in favor of this book. Second… Vampires. All kinds of Vampires! I’m serious, so many different Vampires happening here and honestly, what more do you need in your life? A home, food, clothing, job etc….. AND VAMPIRES!!!!

Literally sate your thirst by reading this book, obsessing possibly, and perhaps giving it a bite or two just to make sure these pages aren’t actually full of vampire blood that would make you immortal, incredibly sexy with amazing hair, and the ability of becoming simply a very cool person that everyone who sees you stops and stares, wondering Who is that gorgeous brilliant super intelligent person and how can I become their best friend?

Okay, so that’s actually just some bs if you can’t tell. This book centers on Gabriel. He is part vampire but is taught with others like him to fight and destroy the full blooded Vampires and the wretched(mindless creepers roaming and attacking innocents). They are taught all the skills to fight but really their biggest weapon is their faith in God which lights up the silver tattooed on their bodies that is quite destructive towards the Vampires.

The reader really meets Gabriel years later when he has somehow been caught by Vampires and the main thing he is going through is just telling his whole story to a chronicler (vampire) named Jean-Francois. This is really brilliant. The back and forth between these two mixed with Gabriel’s incredible story is simply hypnotizing in the sense, for me, that it kept me very interested and I did not want to stop reading…. (honestly if someone could just, you know, throw the last 300 pages In my direction that’d be really great…)

I do not want to go into anymore detail because I think the story should be shrouded in secrecy and mystery. If you order the book I suggest sitting in a dark cold room in a creaky chair and reading by the light of a single candle. Or, perhaps a comfy couch or chair with a blanket and pillows and a puppy or kitten curled up asleep in your lap. Just, whatever.

Obviously I recommend this! Collect your vials of blood and be prepared to stay up all night reading this awesome book!

🌟 Arc Book 🌟 The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley

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Thank you Netgalley for this arc!!

Iris is an African tightrope dancer in a circus and the setting of Victorian London (which is so cool!). And, Iris has a secret she holds very close… she cannot die! However, she has absolutely no memory of who she is exactly and this search for her past becomes a big part of the plot. But when she meets Adam Temple everything begins to get more complicated and she is pulled into a tournament with many other characters that have really cool powers and abilities.

This book was so interesting and I’m curious to know where the next book will take me. However, I did not love the characters and the way they interacted. I feel like they just weren’t as complete feeling to me so I didn’t feel a strong connection and that made the dialog feel slightly forced at times.

I loved this world, especially at the time period, and do recommend this as a unique look at dark historical fantasy that is heaped in magic!

I’d like to add a trigger warning for racism that is taking place in the Victorian London setting, definitely part of this time period but I want anyone reading this to be aware of it.

Look for this coming out on Sept. 1st!

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang, A Quick Review

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The Poppy War by R.F.  Kuang is such an incredible historical fiction fantasy series.   The first book was good, the second was great, and the third, The Burning God,  was devastatingly incredible.   Rin takes on her War  torn country with a state of ruthless unequalled by anyone.  The emotions run high in this saga and in this last book in particular.   This story is something I will never forget.  It is beautiful and painful,  and it’s not meant to be dismissed. 

The Ravens by Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige, A Quick Review

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This book is about sisterhood, mixed in with mysterious secrets and, of course, it is brimming with witchcraft.
Vivi is moving on from a hectic life with her tarot card reading mom and moving to Savannah to attend Westerly. This is where she discovers a sorority name Kappa and meets the seemingly perfect Scarlett who will wind up becoming a major part of her life. Kappa is not a normal sorority. It is literally a sorority of witches and their sisterhood overflows with magic.
I definitely recommend this for a fun and quick read. I had a blast reading about all the awesome spellcraft and the more normal day to day life of an awkward college student. Overall a great read.

Persephone Station by Stina Leicht, A Quick Review

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This is such a cool book. I loved how the main cast of characters were pretty much all female with a great showing of diversity. Also, this world Stina Leicht creates is very interesting and unique. I did think it had a slow beginning for me, but when it picked up, it was very exciting. The ending feels a little quick, just feel like I was left hanging. However, this is definitely worth a read, especially if your in the mood for a badass space opera!

A Universe of Wishes,A We Need Diverse Books Anthology, Edited by Dhonielle Clayton, A Quick Review

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This incredible book of short stories took my breath away. Find the best way to spend a wish. How to make hard choices. Pushing boundaries. Be bold. Not to forget your past. That you may need a partner in crime. Dare to Dream. That wishes can come true. To learn the true story of the heart in unexpected ways. The true price of not feeling heartbreak. To unfold your own myth and be connected across the ages. Stories of beauty. A fairytale in NYC. How love is always real, no matter the form it takes. These stories create an enchanting and, sometimes, heart wrenching way to look at love and I cannot reccomend this higher. I do not think any of these tales will leave me any time soon.

Malice by Heather Walter, A Quick Review

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This take on a Sleeping Beauty fairytale with a twist is just as beautiful as it is dark. Alyce is the Dark Grace. She is at least half Vila, which is a different kind of Fae than all the other Graces she works around in the kingdom of Briar. A Grace usually uses her power to make a person more beautiful, more charming or more wise, not so with Alyce. Alyce is marked different, not only by her blood, but by her mainly negative potions she creates for others to use against their enemies. She usually will create something to cause warts, or perhaps hair loss, before a big event. This and the cruel treatment of the other Graces causes Alyce to believe she really is a monster. It is not until she meets Princess Aurora that things change. Princess Aurora has a curse upon her, a curse that will kill her at age 21 unless she receives true love’s kiss. Alyce must find a way to help the princess, grow stronger in her true power, all without becoming the monster almost everyone believes she is. The question is, will Alyce save the kingdom or destroy it? I highly recommend this gorgeous fairytale to fans of fantasy. It is a truly mesmerising story that had me reading late into the night! Expect Malice to be released in April of 2021. I’d also like to thank Netgalley for this ARC!

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, A Quick Review

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This story takes place in the year 1950 and follows the confident and beautiful Noemi. After being called away from a costume party by her father, she is told that she absolutely must go to her cousin, Catalina, and try to get to the bottom of the disturbing message she has sent them from her new home at the mansion High Place. It’s when Noemi arrives at this once beautiful and grand, but now grandly dilapidated, house that the creepiness begins. Noemi is a strong-willed woman and brave, however she cannot make sense of the visions and illusions that haunt her in High Place or the strange state of her cousin. This book is creepy in every way and the characters have stayed on my mind since I finished reading. The idea behind this tale is disturbing and pushed me to wonder about the morbid and hateful ideals spoken of throughout this book. It’s not just the actual imagery of horror but the mindset that created it in the first place, the master of the house and his whole horrible objective. There were parts that had my skin crawling with chills and goosebumps. Definitely a great read for this spooky season!