Monday, February 25, 2019

My Thoughts: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36307634-king-of-scars
King of Scars
(King of Scars Duology #1)
Website | Twitter | Instagram

Publication Date: January 29th 2019
Publisher: Imprint
Pages: 528
ISBN: 9781250142283
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy
Source: Own

Add to Goodreads

Available for Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal. (Goodreads)


While I was SO SUPER EXCITED to finally get my hands on King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo, I was also a little bit terrified to actually read the book. Nikolai was probably my most favorite character in the Grishaverse trilogy, and while I was excited to finally have his story, I was also pretty terrified that I would, for some reason or another, not like the book. Having finally devoured it, I’m pretty happy with how the story went, and I’m super curious to see where it goes next.

As I mentioned above, Nikolai has always been one of my most favorite characters. I just love everything about him, and I couldn’t wait to read more of his story with this new novel. He definitely has an interesting backstory, and I feel like a lot of this were explained in this new book. (And, yes, I definitely love him even more now than I did before.) Besides Nikolai, we also get to see quite a few characters from the previous books, and it was so fun to catch up with them! I can’t wait to see more of all of these characters in the next book.

One thing I loved the most about the book was being back in the Grishaverse world. It’s been a few years since the events of the first three books took place, and it was nice to kind of get an update on what had happened since the last book ended. I’m really glad I re-read the original series before starting this one, but I also wish that I would have taken the time to re-read the Six of Crows series as well, as there were a few things referenced that I don’t seem to remember from those books. Otherwise, the storyline for this book was interesting, thought it almost feels like there are two storylines, and I’m having a hard time figuring out where one of those fits in to the story. (I feel like I’m missing something with it.)

And lastly, I want to say that this book ends with a pretty MASSIVE cliffhanger, one that I TOTALLY DID NOT SEE COMING, and which definitely left me wondering what in the world just happened! I need the next book, like, NOW. The wait for the next book is going to take FOREVER, but at least that will give me time to re-read ALL of the books before the next one is released.

Overall; though I was kind of terrified to read King of Scars, I am SO glad that I did! I really enjoyed the story, and being back with the characters I love, and I’m super curious to get my hands on the next book to see what’s going to happen next! Leigh Bardugo fans are really going to enjoy this newest book, and if you haven’t yet started the series, YOU TOTALLY SHOULD!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtTu_2NH-Vs/

Monday, February 4, 2019

My Thoughts: Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38251237-fame-fate-and-the-first-kiss
Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss
by Kasie West
Website | Twitter | Instagram

Publication Date: February 5th 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780062675798
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Source: Free Copy from Publisher

Add to Goodreads

Available for Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Lacey Barnes has dreamt of being in a movie for as long as she can remember. However, while her dream did include working alongside the hottest actor in Hollywood, it didn’t involve having to finish up her senior year of high school at the same time she was getting her big break. Although that is nothing compared to Donavan, the straight-laced student her father hires to tutor her, who is a full-on nightmare.

As Lacey struggles to juggle her burgeoning career, some on-set sabotage, and an off-screen romance with the unlikeliest of leading men, she quickly learns that sometimes the best stories happen when you go off script. (Goodreads)


I’m always super excited when an author I like has a new book coming out, and whenever Kasie West has a new book coming out, I get super excited! Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss sounded super cute, and I absolutely couldn’t wait to get started on it. Having finally read the book, I can tell you that I really enjoyed it, though it’s not my most favorite book by Kasie.

Let’s start this off by talking about the characters. Lacey, the main character, is an up-and-coming actress that just got her first big break in a zombie movie. It was really interesting to read the story from Lacey’s point of view, especially the parts on the movie set. I enjoyed watching the relationships between her and her co-stars grow as the story went along, and the relationship between her and her tutor, Donovan, was super cute, even if it did take me a bit to warm up to it. Also, her dad is pretty great as well.

The storyline for this book was a lot of fun. The movie that I mentioned above in which Lacey will star in actually sounded like it would be interesting to watch, and I kind of love that it was based off a book as well. There is also a bit of mystery included in the book, as someone on the set has set out to sabotage Lacey, (not a spoiler, it’s in the synopsis!), and it was constantly trying to figure out what it was. Having that included definitely kept things interesting!

Overall; though Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss is not my most favorite book by Kasie West, it was definitely a super cute read, and just the cute read that I needed at the moment. I think fans of Kasie’s books, and of contemporary stories in general, which definitely enjoy this new release!

https://www.instagram.com/thereaderbee/

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Weekly Wrap Up & Book Haul • Week 5


Happy Sunday, Bookworms!!

Welcome to my weekly Weekly Wrap Up & Book Haul post!

Here I'll be sharing what books I read over the past week,
and what books I bought, borrowed, and received for review as well.

Check back every Sunday for new updates!

This past week was another really great week for books! So many new books were released into the world, and I'm thrilled to have added so many of them to my collection. Here are the books I purchased this week:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36307634-king-of-scars?from_search=true https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36300625-99-percent-mine?from_search=true https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39816076-the-lost-girls-of-paris?from_search=true

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
(Already devoured, I need the next book ASAP.)

99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne
(SO CUTE!)

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
(Reading this now!)

• • •

And since I started reading Courting Darkness this week, I decided to pick this up as well!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38640725-grave-mercy

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

• • •

And I received a few different books in the mail from publishers as well!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40409247-the-beast-s-heart https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40719305-fumbled?ac=1&from_search=true

The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross
Fumbled by Alexa Martin
*Provided by Berkley Romance*

• • •

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Serious-Moonlight/Jenn-Bennett/9781534425149 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250295521 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765379320

Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett
*Provided by Simon Teen*

Enchantee by Gita Trelease
*Provided by Flatiron Books*

Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
*Provided by TorTeen and BigHoncho Media

• • •

And a few books from Netgalley and Edelweiss as well!

https://www.avonromance.com/book/9780062872845/fix-her-up/ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35583527-there-s-something-about-sweetie?from_search=true

Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon


• • •

I also managed to finish three books as well this week, which is not as much as I had hoped, but is definitely better than nothing!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36307634-king-of-scars?from_search=true https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36300625-99-percent-mine?from_search=true https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38251237-fame-fate-and-the-first-kiss

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
99 Perfect Mine by Sally Thorne
Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West

I really enjoyed these books so much, and I'm hoping to have my thoughts for King of Scars and Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss up on the blog this week!!

• • •

That's all for me this week! How was your week??



Friday, February 1, 2019

My February '19 TBR!!


Happy First day of February, Bookworms!!

It's a brand new month! Have you picked out what books you want to read this month?
I have quite a few that I am hoping to tackle, and I'm really hoping that this month
is a much better reading month for me than last month was.

My TBR this month is a made up of a few new releases,
a few re-reads, a few new-to-me books, and a few review books.
I'm hoping I can keep up!

Here's what I am hoping to read in February!
(In addition to the books from my Jan TBR that I didn't read.)


New Releases:
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
The Wicked King by Holly Black

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
(Courtesy Harper Collins)
(I can't wait to read these new releases!)


New-To-Me Reads:
Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
Rogue by Julie Kagawa
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
(So excited to finally read these!)

Re-Reads:
The Selection by Kiera Cass
(I've read the first book in this series, but never finished the rest.)

Review Books:
Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto
Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
(Super curious about both of these!)


•  •  •  •


I also have a few e-ARC's to check out as well:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35215746-the-blood-spell?from_search=true https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39752830-california-girls?from_search=true

The Blood Spell by C.J. Redwine
The Art of Losing by Lizzy Mason
The Huntress by Katie Quinn
California Girls by Susan Mallery


•  •  •  •

And a few pre-orders too:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29774026-the-priory-of-the-orange-tree?ac=1&from_search=true

Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon


•  •  •  •

So many books, so little time. :)
I am super excited to read as many of these as I can this month!


Now, what's on your February TBR??