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review; starcrossed
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini How do you defy destiny? Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is – no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it’s getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she’s haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood… and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they’re destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history. As Helen unlocks the…
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2017; it’s a wrap
It’s the end of the year, and I have managed to post a discussion post every month! It may not seem like much, but after last year, this is quite the accomplishment for me. My traffic and stats might not be as impressive as other bloggers, but I have seen an improvement, and more importantly? I’ve made loads of good friends in the blogging community. (Where are my #CroneBloggers at?) Let’s see, I recieved my first few approvals for eARCs this year, but with things going the way they are with NetGalley and GoodReads for international bloggers, that may not happen again. Still, it was an honour and a privilege.…
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review; seraphina: the audition
Seraphina: The Audition by Rachel Hartman The Audition is a free prequel to Seraphina available online. It takes place a few weeks prior to Seraphina, covering Seraphina Dombegh’s audition to become Viridius’s assistant and thus Glisselda’s music tutor. Review:
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review; imagine
Imagine by Jenna Greene A fierce wind and a blast of green light during a strange storm causes everything to change for Katharine Bowers and Becky Thatcher. The girls wake up in Oren, an entirely different realm than their earthly city. They meet Enalie, a fading magical presence who sets an incredible destiny before them… then simply disappears. Left alone to fend off creatures that hunt them in the night, they must relay a magical heritage that doesn’t make sense, and – if possible – save a world that they know nothing about. Review:
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review; the zoya factor
The Zoya Factor by Anuja Chauhan When the younger players in India’s cricket team find out that advertising executive Zoya Singh Solanki was born at the very moment India won the World Cup back in 1983, they are intrigued. When having breakfast with her is followed by victories on the field, they are impressed. And when not eating with her results in defeat, they decide she’s a lucky charm. The nation goes a step further. Amazed at the ragtag team’s sudden spurt of victories, it declares her a Goddess. So when the eccentric IBCC president and his mesmeric, always-exquisitely-attired Swamiji invite Zoya to accompany the team to the tenth ICC…
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review; wolves & roses
Wolves & Roses by Christina Bauer Seventeen-year-old Bryar Rose has a problem. She’s descended from one of the three magical races – shifters, fairies, or witches. That makes her one of the Magicorum, and Magicorum always follow a fairy tale life template. In Bryar’s case, that template should be Sleeping Beauty. “Should” being the key word. Trouble is, Bryar is nowhere near the sleeping beauty life template. Not even close. She doesn’t like birds or woodland creatures. She can’t sing. And she certainly can’t stand Prince Philpot, the so-called “His Highness of Hedge Funds” that her aunties want her to marry. Even worse, Bryar’s having recurring dreams of a bad…
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review; masked
Masked by J.D. Wright Vada’s To-Do List: – Turn 18 (check!) – Register super name – Order supersuit – Attend superhero indoctrination – Graduate high school – Start kicking criminal tail Vada Lawson can’t wait to be a superhero. Born into a family with special powers, she’s been training to fight criminals and villains her whole life. But her indoctrination into the underground super community is derailed when normals start breaking out in superpowers themselves. Not trained to control their new abilities, the normals are frightened and vulnerable. Then their mutilated corpses begin turning up all over town. What the heck? Somehow, with the help – and hindrance – of…
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review; forest of a thousand lanterns
Forest Of A Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng’s majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high? Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the…
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review; spellcaster
Spellcaster by Claudia Gray When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed – and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future… until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed. Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together…
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books & a cuppa;
Most of us like to have a glass of something when we read. For me, usually, that glass of something is a hot drink. Coffee, tea, sometimes a chocolate drink, like a Nutella hot chocolate. I choose my drinks based on my moods, and more often than not, my moods are linked to the book I am reading. What I’m saying, of course, is that I categorise my drinks by the type of books I am reading. There are just certain stories and genres that pair well with certain drinks. Chocolate; Fantasy It can be anywhere between overly sweet and dark bitterness. For me, hot chocolate pairs well with a…