Tag: bookstagram

eARC Review – Last Memoria

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Title: Last Memoria (Memoria Duology #1)

Author: Rachel Emma Shaw

Publisher: Self Published

Publication date: May 10th, 2020

253 pages

5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

A heartbreaking dark fantasy thriller about flawed people making flawed decisions. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Joe Abercrombie.

Sarilla has learnt one thing from stealing memories. Everybody lies.

There’s nothing Sarilla hates more than stealing memories, but the king forces her to take them to keep his subjects in line. She wants to escape to where nobody knows what she is or what she can do, but her plans go awry when she runs into Falon.

Falon has a six month void in his memories that he’s desperate to restore. He doesn’t know why they were taken or what they contained, nor why the man he loves is acting so cagily about what happened during that time. He hopes to use Sarilla to get back his stolen memories and doesn’t care what she wants or why she’s desperate to escape. She will help him get them back, whether she wants to or not.

Review

**Thank you to the author for providing me an early copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review**

Last Memoria reminds me of The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy where people have the ability to steal memories. However, in this world it is called being a memoria and it is something that is considered monstrous and is shunned. Sarilla, the MC, is a memoria who is used by the King to manipulate and punish those who work against him. Sarilla doesn’t want to be used this way, but she doesn’t have a choice. When she gets her chance to escape she does, but not without consequences.

I found Last Memoria to be captivating, well-written, and at times heartbreaking. The characters were easily likable and there was a good amount of development from beginning to end. For a fairly short book, a lot happens without the writing feeling forced or the plot moving along too quickly.

The ending includes some twists, but one is so big and I did not see it coming at all! I was also excited to learn that it will be a duology. The ending doesn’t involve much of a cliffhanger, but there is clear possibility for the story to continue which I am looking forward to and will definitely read when it comes out.

I highly recommend this self-published book, especially if you read and enjoyed The Memory Thief.

Happy reading, folks!

Book Review – Muse of Nightmares

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“People are our safe places. I have one: a person who’s a home and a world to me.”

Title: Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2)

Author: Laini Taylor

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication date: October 2nd, 2018

522 pages

5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old.

She believed she knew every horror and was beyond surprise.

She was wrong.

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice—save the woman he loves, or everyone else?—while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the Muse of Nightmares, has not yet discovered what she’s capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel’s near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this astonishing and heart-stopping sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer.

Review

I would have chosen you, if they had let me choose.

laini taylor, muse of nightmares

Strange the Dreamer was one of my favorite reads of 2019 and I have no idea why it took me so long to read Muse of Nightmares. Thankfully, it did not disappoint!

Muse of Nightmares picks up where Strange left off with the Mesarthim gang and Lazlo. To avoid spoilers, I won’t go into the synopsis so much, but let’s be real you probably read the Goodreads synopsis already. But anyway, after the end of Strange, the group has a lot of issues they need to deal with…

I adore Laini’s writing. This duology was the first of her books I’ve read so now I desperately want to read her backlist titles. The writing is so beautiful and captivating that it’s hard to put the book down. The flow is great and it keeps the plot moving along smoothly. The romance between Lazlo and Sarai is also so endearing, and focused more on their feelings for each other than any sexual chemistry (even though it is definitely there!). Their relationship is beautiful and Lazlo is my new fave soft boi, cinnamon roll, book boyfriend.

My only, and I mean only, request from this book would be MORE. The ending definitely leaves it open for Laini to return to this world, because things weren’t really wrapped up. And I want it. And I need it. Kay thanks!

Happy reading, folks!

May TBR!

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Happy May!! Yesterday, I scheduled a time to go donate blood plasma in Delaware to help those sick with COVID-19 since I am already recovered! I’m not necessarily looking forward to it, but at least I know I will be helping people!

My May TBR is going to look a little different than normal, I’m trying something new out! I will only be planning my ebook and eARC reads because I had such a hard time getting into physical books last month. So instead of stressing myself, I will plan my library and Netgalley books and just leisurely read physical books without the pressure to read all of them! It’s just a test for this month, so we’ll see how this goes in like 31 days!

EBOOKS (from the library)

  1. Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1), Robin LaFevers
  2. Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2), Robin LaFevers
  3. Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3), Robin LaFevers
  4. Courting Darkness (Courting Darkness #1), Robin LaFevers
  5. Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1), Talia Hibbert
  6. The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1), Lyssy Kay Adams
  7. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

EARC’S

  1. The Bride, Wendy Clarke
  2. The Plus One Pact, Portia MacIntosh
  3. Dark Skies (Dark Shores #2), Danielle L. Jensen
  4. The Trouble With Hating You, Sajni Patel
  5. Set Fire to the Gods (Set Fire to the Gods #1), Sara Raasch
  6. More Than Maybe, Erin Hahn
  7. Love Sold Separately, Ellen Meister
  8. Queen of the Unwanted (The Women’s War #2), Jenna Glass
  9. Where Dreams Descend, Janella Angeles
  10. Dear Emmie Blue, Lia Louis
  11. Keep My Heart in San Francisco, Amelia Diane Coombs
  12. The House Guest, Mark Andrews
  13. Igniting Darkness (Sampler) (Courting Darkness #2), Robin LaFevers

So, this is pretty adventurous, but we’re going to try to get through it all! My Netgalley ratio will love me!

How do you plan your TBR’s?

Happy reading, folks!

April Wrap Up!

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Hello again, friends!! It is already the last day of April and I lament the end of this month that was almost completely spent indoors, whether at work or at home. I have never been a huge outdoors person, but my body is desperately missing the ability to go places and just hang out. I also seem to be going through a bout of insomnia, which the internet says could be due to a lack of natural light… but the weather’s been so bad here that I haven’t been able to spend time outside! I am yearning to take a chair outside and read but nooooope not fun in almost daily rain.

Anyway, that’s how my month has been going. I’ve been reading, but it’s been a struggle and I haven’t wanted to read anything I planned to read. (Spoiler alert I did not read everything on my April TBR!) I did however manage to read 18 books this month, but 6 of them were very short, fluffy, Kindle Unlimited books – because it’s what I needed in my life at that time.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

  1. The Wife Between Us, Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen – 4/5 stars
  2. Magic For Liars, Sarah Gailey – 3.5/5 stars
  3. Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #1), Laini Taylor – 5/5 stars
  4. House of Salt and Sorrows, Erin A. Craig – 4/5 stars
  5. Well Met, Jen DeLuca – 5/5 stars

NETGALLEY EARC’S

TBH I really only wanted to read books on my phone/iPad this month for some reason… I wasn’t interested in physical books at all! So strange for me, because it’s normally always the opposite! Oh well, it was good for my Netgalley ratio!

  1. The Girl with the Whispering Shadow (The Crowns of Croswald #2), D. E. Night – 4/5 stars
  2. Chasing Lucky, Jenn Bennett – 5/5 stars
  3. What Lies Between Us, John Marrs – 4/5 stars
  4. By the Book, Amanda Sellet – 3.5/5 stars
  5. A Taste of Sage, Yaffa S. Santos – 4/5 stars
  6. The Circus Rose, Betsey Cornwell – 4/5 stars

EARC FROM AUTHORS

  1. Last Memoria (Memoria Duology #1), Rachel Emma Shaw – 5/5 stars

KINDLE UNLIMITED

  1. Love at First Fight (Geeks Gone Wild #1), Maggie Dallen – 4/5 stars
  2. My Virtual Prince Charming (Geeks Gone Wild #2), Maggie Dallen – 4/5 stars
  3. Once Upon a Comic-Con (Geeks Gone Wild #3), Maggie Dallen – 3.5/5 stars
  4. Playing the Enemy (The Trouble with Tomboys #1), Maggie Dallen – 4/5 stars
  5. Play to Win (The Trouble with Tomboys #2), Stephanie Street – 4/5 stars
  6. Playing the Field (The Trouble with Tomboys #3), Christina Benjamin – 3.5/5 stars

So that’s that! All 18 books I read this month! I have also revamped my plans for my TBR moving forward, but I’ll leave that for tomorrow’s post!

Happy reading folks!

April Haul!

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Holy cow, how is it already the end of April?! Time in quarantine is really flying now! I hope all you lovelies are getting through quarantine and isolation in the best way you can. I certainly find it hard to hold on some days, but I’ve taken to trying to create a routine and doing a bit of cleaning every day to get my house in order. It’s really a long time coming, you would understand if you could see my house! Of course, I’m doing some reading as well, just not as much or exactly which books I wanted to.

So without further ado, my whole haul is below. I treated myself a bit to an extra BOTM book and bought two backlist sequels that I’ve had my eye on in order to support a local bookstore. I will likely cut back again next month and resume my ban!

SUBSCRIPTION BOXES

  1. Beach Read, Emily Henry – Book of the Month
  2. The Guest List, Lucy Foley – Book of the Month
  3. Ruthless Gods, Emily A. Duncan – Owlcrate Special Edition (thanks fiance!)

THE IVY BOOKSHOP

  1. A Heart So Fierce and Broken, Brigid Kemmerer
  2. These Divided Shores, Sara Raasch

My Owlcrate monthly book box has not arrived yet, thanks COVID, so that will be added in next month’s haul!

Let me know in the comments what books you hauled this month!

Happy reading, folks!

March Wrap Up!

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Welcome back to my monthly post about all the books I read (and all the one’s I didn’t read) as planned! I initially planned to be super ambitious and read 20 books in March. Spoiler alert: this did NOT happen! But really, who is surprised by this?

I want to say I did well with my reading… but I really didn’t. In total I read 15 books, which is great don’t get me wrong, but it was HARD to read in March. Especially by the end. And still is as I’m writing this frankly. The nonsense with COVID-19 has got me in more of a depressed state, so reading doesn’t hold quite the same stress relief as it normally does. I’m working through it though!

Without further ado, below are the books I read in March, and even further below are the books I meant to read in March but didn’t.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

  1. The Shadows Between Us, Tricia Levenseller – 5/5 stars
  2. Girls with Sharp Sticks (Girls with Sharp Sticks #1), Suzanne Young – 3/5 stars
  3. Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1), Kat Cho – 3.5/5 stars
  4. Ember Queen (Ash Princess #3), Laura K. Sebastian – 5/5 stars
  5. Tigers, Not Daughters, Samantha Mabry – 4/5 stars (ARC)
  6. Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1), Cassandra Clare – 3.5/5 stars
  7. Sky Without Stars (System Divine #1), Jessica Brody & Joanne Rendell – 4/5 stars

EARCS

  1. What I Like About Me, Jenna Guillame – 4.5/5 stars
  2. Girls with Razor Hearts (Girls with Sharp Sticks #2), Suzanne Young – 4/5 stars
  3. Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2), Alisha Rai – 3/5 stars
  4. What I Like About You, Marisa Kanter – 5/5 stars
  5. You Deserve Each Other, Sarah Hogle – 5/5 stars
  6. Between Burning Worlds (System Divine #2), Jessica Brody & Joanne Rendell – 4.5/5 stars
  7. Night of the Dragon (Shadow of the Fox #3), Julie Kagawa – 4.5/5 stars

AUDIOBOOKS

  1. Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist #1), Renee Ahdieh – 3.5/5 stars

BOOKS I DID NOT GET TO AS PLANNED

Continuing the theme from February by having 8 books that I did not read from the TBR.

  1. The Beckoning Shadow (The Beckoning Shadow #1), Katharyn Blair
  2. Diamond & Dawn (Amber & Dusk #2), Lyra Selene
  3. Magic For Liars, Sarah Gailey
  4. Defy Me (Shatter Me #5), Tahereh Mafi
  5. Imagine Me (Shatter Me #6), Tahereh Mafi
  6. Well Met (Well Met #1), Jen DeLuca
  7. The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1), Renee Ahdieh
  8. Infinity Son (Infinity Cycle #1), Adam Silvera

I plan to read all of these, minus The Beautiful and Infinity Son in April. I planned to read those two via audiobook, but with the statewide shut downs and working from home mostly – I’ve given up on audiobooks for the time being. I hope to get back to them once the world is in a better place.

Tune in tomorrow for my April TBR post! Quick, sneak peak… I plan to read a ridiculous amount of books again!

Happy reading, folks!

March Haul!

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Anyone else feel like March took exactly 93 days?? I swear March was so ridiculously long, mostly because of all this COVID-19 nonsense. In fact, I spent a week sick because I tested positive for the virus myself!! Unfortunately, April doesn’t seem like it’s going to be any better, so it’s time to hunker down with books and snacks and try to remember what it was like to go outside.

I acquired several books this month, mostly thanks to subscription boxes. Below is a full itemization of my acquisitions!

SUBSCRIPTION BOX BOOKS

This month I got both my Owlcrate and BOTM hauls!

  1. Kingdom of Back, Marie Lu
  2. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, Josie Silver
  3. Bringing Down the Duke, Evie Dunmore

BARNES & NOBLE

I put in some preorders at Christmas time for two books that released in March.

  1. Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1), Cassandra Clare
  2. The Midnight Lie (The Midnight Lie #1), Marie Rutkoski

How many books did y’all haul this month? What are you looking forward to in April? Check back tomorrow for my March Wrap Up!

Happy reading, folks!

March TBR!

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Happy March! I’m so excited for this month because it means spring it coming! February is always the most dreary month, but March brings promise of warmth and happiness! Daylight Savings time starts and I am able to take book photos when I get home from work again!

I plan on reading SO MUCH this month – I can’t imagine I will get to all of these but I’m sure going to try! I’m trying to be more flexible with myself this month, but there are some that I NEED to read this month. I am including a mix of physical, ebooks, and audiobooks in this list and a few will be new releases I’m really excited for!

PHYSICAL BOOKS

  1. Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1), Kat Cho
  2. The Beckoning Shadow (The Beckoning Shadow #1), Katharyn Blair
  3. Girls With Sharp Sticks (Girls With Sharp Sticks #1), Suzanne Young
  4. Sky Without Stars (System Divine #1), Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell
  5. Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1), Cassandra Clare
  6. Ember Queen (Ash Princess Trilogy #3), Laura K. Sebastian
  7. Diamond & Dawn (Amber & Dusk #2), Lyra Selene
  8. Magic For Liars, Sarah Gailey
  9. Defy Me (Shatter Me #5), Tahereh Mafi
  10. Imagine Me (Shatter Me #6), Tahereh Mafi
  11. Well Met (Well Met #1), Jen DeLuca
  12. The Shadows Between Us, Tricia Levenseller

EARCS

I recently started getting eARC’s from Edelweiss as well as Netgalley, so I’ve revised my header to include both.

  1. What I Like About Me, Jenna Guillame
  2. Girls With Razor Hearts (Girls With Sharp Sticks #2), Suzanne Young
  3. Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2), Alisha Rai
  4. What I Like About You, Marisa Kanter
  5. You Deserve Each Other, Sarah Hogle

AUDIOBOOKS

I recently started checking audiobooks out of the library and a few holds came in, so I’m going to try and get to those this month!

  1. Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist #1), Renee Ahdieh
  2. The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1), Renee Ahdieh
  3. Infinity Son (Infinity Cycle #1), Adam Silvera

So for those counting at home, that’s 20 books! I read 18 in February so it wouldn’t be completely out of the ordinary, but who knows! Check back at the end of the month to see how I do!

Happy reading, folks!

February Haul!

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Happy end of February! This month has just flown by. Even with it being a leap year and having one extra day in February, I still feel like it just started yesterday. Somehow it is already almost March and will be spring before we know! Time flies when we’re having fun!!

I have been SOOO good with not buying books this month. We are really trying to save for this wedding we have next year, so I’ve been utilizing the library more now than I normally would! I still have some books to talk about – I can never go a month without getting at least one!!

SUBSCRIPTION BOX BOOKS

This month I only got the Owlcrate book of the month and an Owlcrate special edition book. I skipped BOTM because I wasn’t invested in any of the choices.

  1. Heart of Flames (Crown of Feathers #2), Nicki Pau Preto – special edition sequel
  2. All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1), Adalyn Grace

AMAZON

I was also gifted a book and got in a preorder this month! Ember Queen was a gift from my fiance for Valentine’s Day 🙂

  1. Ember Queen (Ash Princess #3), Laura K. Sebastian
  2. The Shadows Between Us, Tricia Levenseller

Let me know if you picked up, or have read, any of these books this month! Ember Queen and The Shadows Between Us are definitely on my March TBR!

Happy reading, folks!

2020 Reading Goals!

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Happy New Year my bookish friends!! I’m so excited for 2020, and I have a bunch of goals I want to keep in mind while reading this year! Not to be confused with a typical resolution list, the below are some goals I want to reach toward to improve my reading habits, bookstagram, and blogging! I started my blog in 2019 as a method of getting my thoughts and feelings about my books down, and I’ve really loved it. At the end of 2019 I got into a slump and wasn’t really posting, so I want to work on that this year!

READING GOAL

I plan on reading at least 150 books this year. This is my Goodreads goal, and since I read over 160 this year I feel I can make it happen. I also want to complete the Popsugar Reading Challenge. I came as close as ever to completing it in 2019, so I’d like to be able to say I completed it in 2020.

BE MORE CONSCIOUS OF WHAT I’M READING

I know this can mean anything, so let me explain. I have a million TBR books, but I seem to be reading only new released and not backlist. So this year I can break this goal down to a few smaller goals

  1. Read 2 subscription box books a month until I am caught up
  2. Read a backlist book each month
  3. Binge series’ together

NETGALLEY READING/POSTING

This one is short and simple. I want to get my Netgalley percentage up to 80% and keep it there. I am currently at 75%, so I feel I can make this happen over the next year. On top of this, I’d like to be mindful about posting my promotional photos when I say I will, by actually using my planner like I said I would.

BLOGGING

I’d like to do a few things in this category. First, I’d like to review every book I read, and post them to Amazon and Barnes & Noble. This one may not happen, but I figure I can at least review *most* of the books I read. I also would like to participate in Top Ten Tuesday, which I feel will help my blog be more diverse and interesting.

BOOKSTAGRAM

I would like to be more engaged in my bookstagram. I am incredibly shy and super awkward, so I don’t often interact with my fellow bookstagrammers. I want to reach out to at least a few a month to talk about books, and hopefully begin some friendships. I also want to continue talking to my Baltimore Bookstagram friends in our group chat. On top of this, I’d like to try and post daily, along with being more active in stories and highlights.

I think this about covers my plans for 2020. I thrive when I have a semblance of organization (the actual organization is unnecessary, so I already feel better with having this list written down for future reference.

Talk with me in the comments about your goals! Do we share any?

Happy 2020 reading, folks!!