Harry Potter Moment of the Week [93]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

First, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! 

Favorite wand from the series? Not the one you'd want for yourself but your favorite out of the ones we learned about.

via GIPHY

We have Dumbledore's wand since that one is the most important wand in the story. Plus, it's a really neat looking wand.

If I had to pick a fav that wasn't one I wanted though, I'd go with Hagrid's. I love that, strictly speaking, he's not supposed to do magic. Everyone that is important to him knows he does and lets him keep that umbrella handy with the pieces of his broken wand in it. I love that it worked out so he could still use it. It's possible that Dumbledore used his wand to fully restore Hagrid's and they concealed it in the umbrella, but we were never told.

What wand do you choose?

When life's kicking your butt...how about a theme song? [19]

My friend Robyn from robgirlbooks tasked us with coming up with a theme song each month, and I love it! Music is a VERY big part of my life.

This month is December dancing and January beginnings.

The Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling

I have a good feeling about 2016 and the potential it brings :D


What is your choice this month??

Sunday Cover Scramble [149]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

ARC Review: Girl of Myth and Legend (The Chosen Saga #1) by Giselle Simlett

Published: December 29, 2015 by WWS Publishing, LTD
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: Netgalley for honest review

Goodreads Summary

A girl with a past she tries to forget, and a future she can’t even imagine.

Leonie Woodville wants to live an unremarkable life. She wants routine, she wants repetition, she wants predictability. So when she explodes in a blaze of light one morning on the way to her college, it’s enough to put a real crimp in her day.

And things only get weirder…

Leonie learns from her father that she is last of the Pulsar, a phenomenally powerful member of a magical species called the Chosen. It will be her sole duty to protect the Imperium, a governing hierarchy, from all enemies, and to exceed the reputation of the Pulsar before her. So – no pressure there, then.

Leonie is swept away from her rigorous normality and taken to a world of magic. There, she is forced into a ceremony to join her soul to a guardian, Korren, who is both incredibly handsome and intensely troubled, a relationship for which ‘it’s complicated’ just really doesn’t cut it.

But Leonie is soon to learn that this ancient world is no paradise. With violent dissidents intent to overthrow the Imperium, and dark entities with their own agenda, she and Korren find themselves caught in a war where they will have to overcome their differences if they are to survive.

Dare to dream. Dare to hope. Dare to be a legend.

Book One in The Chosen Saga.

A land of impossibility, a land made of myth and magic.

The Good

The POV is alternating between our main character, Leonie who is a Chosen and her kytaen, Korren. Kytaens are basically the bodyguard for the Chosen and are considered as tools to use and are not regarded as friends or comrades in arms. The Chosen are broken down into groups based on who has the most magic. These two are very different from all others of their kinds. Leonie was raised in the human realm so she grew up with different beliefs than other Chosen in the story. Korren is a kytaen who is done with it all and ready to bring the Chosen down. He's a little bent on revenge. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and watch them change throughout the story. Their backgrounds and beliefs are very different and the POVs were well done in keeping those voices separate. Korren is the one that I'm most drawn to because his story as an immortal and all that he's gone through grasps me.

The world and setting in Girl of Myth and Legend is fantastically drawn out and unique. I love that they entered a portal and were taken to a different realm called Duwyn. With rebels attacking almost the second Leonie arrives, to the night becoming alive around her in the creepy, be-scared-of-the-dark way, this setting is one that I enjoyed. I am looking forward to exploring this world more in future books.

There is quite a lot going on throughout the pages. There are attacks after attacks, training for Leonie's powers, learning about this world, and it ends with another wild situation. There are deaths already in the first one which I enjoy seeing. It makes this despair real and the attacks mean more and it also means that Simlett isn't afraid to kill off characters. I'm very excited to see where this story goes in future books.

The Bad

If you are not a fan of cliches, you will immediately see the heroine that has the best power of everyone and just realizes that she has it. While this doesn't bother me in the least, those of you that get tired of seeing certain things in YA will be affected.

The dialogue was a little odd to me. It grows on you eventually, but my copy has all discussion in a single quotation instead of double quotation marks so it makes it more difficult to see when dialogue started. I did get used to it after a bit and wasn't a problem anymore.

The very beginning is harder to swallow than all the rest of the book. Leonie is a little hard to relate to when we first meet her and she is thrust immediately into a new world with new powers and finding out that her dad has lied to her all her life. It all happens in a very short amount of time and there is quite a bit of an info-dump with it. It all smooths out rather quickly however.

The Romance

There is no romance to discuss in this one. I enjoyed the friendship (if they would even admit to that) between Korren and Leonie. Korren has been raised around kytaens being treated rather poorly and having to do whatever the Chosen say. Leonie comes on to the scene not caring that she's supposed to treat him a certain way, she wants to be his friend and learn more about him. They make quite a pair and I was very glad to see that Leonie never succumbed to treating Korren badly.

Conclusion

This is a good one. The interaction between the characters is very amusing. I also like that they stand firm on their own moral beliefs instead of preconceived notions or the community's idea of right and wrong. The setting was imaginative and unique and I can see the potential this series has to go in the future. The pacing was very nice with a nice balance of action and dialogue. Recommended.

Excerpts

"Unless I missed something when I was learning about puberty, eyes bleeding or changing colour or whatever the hell is happening to them is not supposed to happen!"

Of course the Chosen wouldn't address us. To them, kytaen are just tools, objects, shields that protect them. We're not even worthy of the title slave.

She is a beautiful, almost angelic-like existence, though there is something stern about her, something bleak.

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [92]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

First, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!! And Happy Holidays!!

What long lost magical item do you find in the Room of Requirement?

via GIPHY

I'm not sure if we are going with magical items from Potterverse or just in general, so I'll choose two.

Not from Potterverse, I'm choosing the Dagger of Time.

The Dagger of Time is from The Prince of Persia. It's a game that I loved playing, mostly on my Gamecube. There was also a movie made for it that featured Jake Gyllenhaal.

The dagger has a lot of properties such as seeing glimpses of the future, being able to change the past, and you can even become immortal with it. While there are many downsides to using this magical artifact and weapon, I believe I wouldn't need to use it often enough to cause much trouble.

And apparently I'm into time, because from the Potterverse I would choose the Time Turner, hoping there was one lost somewhere that didn't get demolished in The Department of Mysteries. Harry has the invisibility cloak and The Marauder's Map so neither of those are lost. I'd also already have a wand so the next best magical item is the Time Turner.

What magical item do you find?

Review: Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy #1) by Wendy Higgins

Published: May 1, 2012 by HarperTeen
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Format: ebook
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary

Fans of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series will be drawn to Wendy Higgins's sexy, thrilling Sweet Evil series.

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences? This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She's aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn't until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He's the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

"Pleasure is the bait of sin." - Plato

Colorful Auras

Anna is one of those goody-two-shoes characters that truly is just good. By definition, it comes across in the fact that she's a virgin, she stays away from alcohol and drugs, and she gets all her homework done on time. Deeper than that, this girl truly abhors lying to others and when she sees the propensity towards addiction in her best friend, Jay, she does her best to steer him away from those temptations. Her character is refreshing. She doesn't try to load off her beliefs on others and lets them do as they wish, but she also has no desire to change the person she is. Even though she comes across as naive, she is very strong of will. She has a ton of powers that she hides from the world as she tries to come across as a normal person.

The world is intricate and I really loved learning about all the details. Higgins does a great job of making Sweet Evil more than just an angel/demon book. Anna is different from anyone, as she's a Nephilim that is part angel and part demon. There are other Nephilim out there that she learns about as she gathers more information about her true heritage. These Nephilim are part demon and part human. The Nephilim are the part of the story that hurt my heart to read about. They are regarded as nothing important and are required to do the "work" of their demon parents. These parents are all men, the Dukes of the deadly sins (and a few more sins thrown in). I don't want to give too much away about the intricacies of the story, as it's really interesting to learn all about.

There are so many wonderful characters thrown in. From the other Nephilim that Anna meets to her human friends and even her adopted mother, Patti, it's hard not to love each and every one of them.

Sins Run Rampant

The only thing that I'd watch out for is that this is young adult as the characters are all indeed in that age range. There are some young adult books that are acceptable for my son to read who is about to turn 13. This one isn't one I'd call acceptable for him just yet. So if you have an avid reader on your hands as I do who is a bit younger and likes to read 'older' books, I would just read this one first to determine whether you think they should read it. There are teenagers in this world whose main function is to spread the sins of their fathers far and wide. It's very hard to watch remembering their ages and the people they go after, but it's also very important to the story.

Oh Boy

Well Higgins doesn't hold back on the love interest in Sweet Evil. Kaidan Rowe is the son of the Duke of Lust and definitely doesn't disappoint. He's a drummer in a band, has bad boy written all over him, and basically couldn't be a better opposite to our straight-laced heroine Anna. While there are some definite steamy scenes with him involved, he doesn't do commitment. Also, Nephilim aren't allowed to date each other. So while Anna would like nothing more than to tame her a Kaidan and have him all to herself, there are a lot of obstacles she'll have to cross before getting there. Right now, it's heartbreak alley for her. Still, it's a blast to read about. He's incredibly sweet to her while also being a jerk trying to push her away so she doesn't get too attached. I'm very interested in how this will all play out since Nephilim are killed on the spot for dating one of their own.

Do You Believe in Fate?

Sweet Evil is an excellent opening book to the series. We get a lot of information about the workings of the world, in small tidbits sprinkled throughout the entire book so it's not information overload. I loved the descriptions of how the Angels and Demons all fit together and the backstory for their lives. I adore the characters and the depth each one has. The romance is a definite complexity that I'm itching to see play out. I am also absolutely invested in finding out how everything ends. Recommended to Paranormal Fantasy lovers.

Excerpts

I noticed several things about the drummer all at once. He was focused on the task at hand, keeping perfect rhythm. Instead of a swirl of transparent colors around his torso, there was a small, concentrated starburst of bright red at his sternum. But otherwise his aura was blank. Huh. That was strange. But before I could contemplate it too much, my eyes landed on his face. Wowza. He was smokin' hot. As in H-O-T-T hott. I'd never understood until that moment why girls insisted on adding an extra T. This guy was extra-T worthy.

"I met someone who's like me," I said. The train blew its whistle. The newspaper slipped from Patti's hands and fell to the floor in a crinkly swoosh. I was taken aback by the black storm cloud of emotion that billowed around her.

Before I could turn away he punched the side of my head and I staggered to the side, bending and catching myself with my hands on the floor. My ear rang and my head throbbed, but with slow movements I got to my feet. I kept my eyes down, scared to see the bloodlust in his eyes. I saw his arm lift and I braced myself.

Sunday Cover Scramble [148]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Review: Spirit Legacy (The Gateway Trilogy #1) by E.E. Holmes

Published: July 2, 2013 by Smashwords
Genre: YA, Paranormal Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: Sent for honest review

Goodreads Summary

“The Gateway is open...”
These cryptic words wake college student Jess Ballard from a terrifying dream into an even more terrifying reality.
Jess' life has never been what anyone would call easy; doing damage control in the wake of your nomadic, alcoholic mother doesn't exactly make for a storybook childhood. But now her world has fallen apart just when it should be coming together: her mother gone—dead under mysterious circumstances; her life uprooted to stay with estranged relatives she’s never met; and there’s something odd about some of the people she’s been meeting at school:
They’re dead.
Aided by Tia, her neurotic roommate, and Dr. David Pierce, a ghost-hunting professor, Jess must unravel the mystery behind her hauntings. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger shadows her every move. An ancient secret, long-buried, is about to claw its way to the surface, and nothing can prepare Jess for one terrifying truth …
… her encounters with the world of the dead are only just beginning.
Spirit Legacy is the first of three thrilling novels in The Gateway Trilogy by E.E. Holmes.

"Help me. Find Hannah."

The Good

It starts out quickly throwing Jess into a completely different setting. She's just lost her mom and is going to live with her aunt and uncle. She's also just started college. There is a lot of stress and a lot of change, and Jess actually does a pretty darn good job of handling it all. That is until crazy things start happening to her. "I see dead people" (I said that in my head all whispery and creepy like The Six Sense). While the story does seem reminiscent of The Six Sense, the concept Holmes uses here is original and entertaining. Jess still goes on like a champ though and with the help of her roommate, Tia, she tries to figure out what is wrong with her.

I enjoyed seeing the different personalities of all the characters thrown in there. There isn't a specific character that stands out to me as my favorite yet. I like the setting of a college campus and I enjoyed it a lot when Jess audits the class with the ghost hunting professor, Pierce, teaching.

The ending went up quite a few notches in action, adventure, and mystery and has me very curious about where this one will go in the future. Spirit Legacy ended on a high note.

The Bad

Don't go into this book looking for a lot of action. While there is some, this isn't an excitement based book. There's not a lot of action going on, more like gaining knowledge and suspenseful moments. The pace is fairly slow, although it is entertaining and interesting.

Romance

The romance was a little odd in this one. I do like Tia with Sam though so I hope that pans out.

Conclusion

Overall, Spirit Legacy was a well-written book with an interesting concept and varied characters. The pace was slow and it could've used some more action, but the ending was very well done and has me excited to see where the series goes.

Excerpts

"So, do you only tell your name to warm-handed boys, or..."
"Oh, sorry! I'm Jess Ballard."
Evan's grin widened, "Oh, excellent!"
That didn't seem like the appropriate response. "Sorry?"

I stared back into the mirror. A dark figure, shoulders heaving, fists clenched, stared not back at me, but down at Anthony. I watched him reach for another book, and then stop, hand outstretched, as he caught my gaze. His eyes were blazing and his handsome features were twisted in anger, but I recognized him right away. Evan.

"You know what, forget it. I'll find someone else to help me. Enjoy your book."
I turned to leave. My hand was on the doorknob when Pierce suddenly spoke. "What do you mean, 'someone to help you'?"

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [91]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

Which books would you recommend to Ron?

via GIPHY

From the Potterverse, I'm going to go with:

• One Minute Feasts - It's magic

He obviously wants to be able to duck out of chores a little more quickly so I think he'd actually read a book about how to get done with household things in a more timely fashion.

I couldn't think of any titles from our world so I'm going to make up some that he should definitely read:

• What Not to Say to a Girl
• How to Tell if Your Rat is Really an Evil Wizard in Disguise
• Overcoming Phobias: When Those Eight Legged Ninja Beasts Fill Your Nightmares
• How to Tell if You've Been Walloped with a Love Potion

What books would you recommend to Ron?

Review: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Published: June 17, 2014 by Henry Holt and Co.
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

"Please tell me you plan to dress up as a volcra and jump out of a cake."

Blinding Light

The best part of this one by far was the beginning. I loved seeing Nikolai take charge and the rescue missions by him are always a blast to read. Truly, I wish this series was about him as he is an amazing character but unfortunately he's not in this story much.

I enjoyed learning more about the Darkling's past and the history of this world. I thought getting more information about the amplifiers was a great touch to the story.

Again, the side characters are always fun to read about. There is a large group of very different people that all add their own quirks to the story.

Darkness Reigns

So this one was good in the beginning, progressively got boring, and then just flat made me angry. There are so many amazing powers in this story, and the heroine has this huge power that could've had such astonishing potential, and she hardly ever uses it. I am just astounded by how much her power is 'talked' up and then she barely delivers.

Back to our heroine, she makes some incredibly outrageous choices in this one. In the first one she was lacking in self esteem, in the second one she actually wanted to die in parts, and in this one she is greedy and self-serving. Yes, everyone has faults, but this is supposed to be the mobad heroine that the whole world is rallying behind and frankly she doesn't deserve the support. The way everything was 'resolved' just leaves me shaking my head. I cannot fathom the choices that were made. It was all very unbelievable to me.

Bound Together

The romance I enjoyed in this one until a crazy choice by Alina. Then I'm just trying to figure out how on earth Mal can stand to be around her.

Pyres Burning in the Distance

The series as a whole started out good and slowly got worse. I was expecting much more out of the story because the concept is so wonderful. The powers that the characters have could truly have gone somewhere fantastic. This one was a let down. The side characters are great and definitely carry the story.

Excerpts

"It's good to see you, Oretsev." The smile Mal returned was genuine.
"You too. Thanks for the rescue."
"Everyone needs a hobby."
"I thought yours was preening."
"Two hobbies."

"You must not do this, girl. You must not trifle with this kind of power. This is what created the Fold. Only misery can come of it."

"Nikolai's a born leader. He knows how to fight. Knows how to politic. But he doesn't know what it is to live without hope. He's never been nothing. Not like you or Genya. Not like me."
"He's a good man," I protested.
"And he'll be a good king. But he needs you to be a great one."

Fandom Mashups [8]

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:

It's party time! You're going out for a night of well-deserved fun! Who are you inviting along?

1) Tony Stark - Marvel

via GIPHY

Tony knows how to throw a heck of a party. He's always in high demand and a ton of people come out to celebrate with him for absolutely no particular reason. He'd also be great at funding the event.

2) Magnus Bane - The Mortal Instruments

via GIPHY

In Mortal Instruments, we meet Magnus at a huge shindig. He throws the best parties, and the ones that everyone wants to get in to.

3) Adrian Ivashkov - Vampire Academy and Bloodlines

via GIPHY

Adrian is well known for his party-boy ways and would be a blast to have around for a fun get-together.

4) Luna Lovegood - Harry Potter

via GIPHY

This girl would be fun to be around at any time. After Slughorn's party though, she's an absolute must for my party night. I might even dye my eyebrows.

5)Peregrin Took - Pippin - Lord of the Rings

via GIPHY

This Fool of a Took would be sure to make sure we had food surrounding us during a fun time together.

Who would be on your dream team this week?

Sunday Cover Scramble [148]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [90]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows.The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself! Click the links to the blogs to see how to join up &  upcoming topics.

Would you rather care for a blast ended skrewt or get hit with the slug eating curse?

via GIPHY

Clearly this is a trick question. The slug eating curse had no cure but to just wait it out. Poor Ron sat there gagging these things up over and over and over again until it stopped. 

On the other hand, the blast ended skrewts are disgusting and quite violent. I would have to say caring for one of them though would be more enjoyable than the slug eating. Hopefully, we'd only have to care for the for like an hour or so, and can't they just stay in their cage during that time? These things are resilient, they will live just fine without the danger of singing my eyebrows off.

What would you choose?

Review: Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Published: June 4, 2013 by Henry Holt and Co.
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

"A dead martyr was less trouble than a living saint."

Golden Sunbursts

My favorite part of this one is the character of Sturmhond. He is a privateer that comes out of nowhere and it's hard to see where he stands. He's mischievous, full of swagger, and surrounded by powerfully loyal friends. I loved his entry into the story and all the twists and turns that he brought with him. I loved his personality and his quick wit. I also appreciated the two characters of Tolya and Tamar that worked alongside Sturmhond. They are twins, incredibly loyal, and a pair that you definitely want on your side.

Alina and Mal in the beginning of Siege and Storm are on the run. It's actually quite entertaining to see them on the run though you'd expect that to be the boring part. I liked their characters a lot better in the beginning.

I continue to appreciate all the side characters and how every single character in the series has both good and bad in them. This makes them far more realistic and also harder to tell who deserves to be rooted for.

Martyrdom

This book suffered from 2nd book syndrome in my opinion though I'm sure others will disagree with me. It became all angsty instead of revving up the action. As far as I'm concerned the beginning was good and the ending was good (though it's a cliff hanger), the rest was quite tame and boring. Our heroine who has so much incredible power barely even uses it, instead gets captured time and again. She also embraces her own death at one point which incredibly infuriated me. I fail to see how her death would've helped at all. The romance was horribly disappointing.

Proposals Everywhere

The romance in this one is terrible. Just figure out what you want! I don't even give a crap who it is with, just that all this angst and wanting with no resolution finally go somewhere.

Into the Unsea

The side characters are fantastic. The world building and powers included are quite fascinating. However, the action lowered and parts of this read were just lackluster. The angst was on high and everything else was on low. I will read the next book as I'm quite enthralled by the characters and have to know now how all this ends, but this one was not as good as the first.

Excerpts

I could cut the Darkling in two with my power. I could crack this whole saintsforsaken building right down the middle. But not before Ivan opened Mal's throat.

So this must be Sturmhond. He looked too young to be the captain of anything.

He was watching me in that cold, assessing way that always made me feel as if he were reading me like words on a page, his fingers moving over text, gleaning some secret knowledge that I could only guess at. I tried not to fidget, but the irons at my wrists chafed. 

Fandom Mashups [7]

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:

You need to locate an ancient magical heirloom - but - there's a time-limit. If you don't find it in 72 hours, the world will be in unimaginable danger. You need speed, quick-thinking and more time than you have. Who's going to help you locate the trinket?

1) Indiana Jones

via GIPHY

Ancient magical heirloom...I'm having a hard time seeing why Indiana Jones wouldn't be involved in this :D

2) Lara Croft

via GIPHY

Same as Indiana Jones. Girl has fun toys, can hold her own, and can definitely find the ancient heirloom within the time limit.

3) Sherlock Holmes

via GIPHY

We need quick-thinking? I can't imagine anyone better at that part than Sherlock.

4) John "Hannibal" Smith - A-Team

via GIPHY

I used to watch the old show, but I fell in love with the movie. Hannibal can get himself out of pretty much any situation. "I love it when a plan comes together"

5) Hiro Nakamura - Heroes

via GIPHY

The Master of Space and Time definitely has a spot on this team.

Who would be on your dream team this week?

Sunday Cover Scramble [147]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I am pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

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Review: Winter (Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

Published: November 10, 2015 by Feiwel and Friends
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Format: ebook
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

As she was forced into the elevator, it occurred to Cinder that, for the first time since this had all begun, she was alone.

Aces

This was such a fantastic way to end this series! I have enjoyed each book more and more as the series progressed into this finale. Winter introduces us to the new Princess Winter (also in Fairest if you've read that one) and brings back Cinder, Kai, Scarlet, Wolf, Cress, Thorne, Iko and Jacin. I'm very drawn to character driven books, and Meyer has a way of making every one of her characters have such different personalities, voices, and reasons for being there. I am very attached to these characters. Winter was a great addition to an already stunning cast. She's got this lovable personality and truly cares about others while also being a tad crazy from not using her Lunar gift. It makes you want to pick her up and hug her while simultaneously laughing out loud at her random outbursts. While all the characters are here and each of them has a great deal of time dedicated to them, I love how they kept being split up and separated. It made for some pretty fun pairings as they were split based on who had what job to do. My two favorite pairings of characters were Thorne and Kai who had some wonderful banter and Scarlet and Winter. Scarlet is the brash, no-nonsense girl with a soft spot for crazy people (everyone called her Grandma crazy).

The action was there from the start. I was never bored once. I was on the edge of my seat wondering who was about to get killed or how they were going to get out of whatever new sticky situation they'd gotten themselves into. One second it would look like everything was going smoothly, and the next was like watching when you drop a Cheeto into an ant hill with everyone scattering and just trying to make it work.

Meyer had a ton of ways to end this between killing different characters and letting some live, etc. Also they each had different decisions to make about their future if they made it out alive. I know not every reader will agree with how everything is wrapped up, but it was very satisfying to me.

Every Princess Needs Her Prince

Since this series was divided up into introducing new characters in their own environment and then throwing them all together to fulfill a mission, we got a bunch of people who had crushes on people they were raised with, or meeting new gorgeous strangers for the first time. Needless to say, there was a lot of attraction running throughout. I thought the couples were spot on. I liked how some were deep and committed and how some were still shallow and feeling things out.

Oh Stars!

I loved it. This was such a great series, and Winter was an excellent way for it to end. There is a ton happening here, so much changing from start to finish. The characters are so easy to become attached to and I thought it was great that Winter gave us so much time with each and every one of them. I love it.

Excerpts

"What did you bring me today?" Scarlet asked. "Delusional mutterings with a side of crazy? Or is this one of your good days?" 
The princess grinned and sat down in front of Scarlet's cage, uncaring that the path of tumbled black rock and ground covers would soil her dress. "This is one of my best days," she said, setting the basket on her lap, "for I have brought you a treat, with a side of news."

"Scarlet's the priority. The only priority." Cress considered mentioning that overthrowing Levana and crowning Cinder as queen were decent-sized priorities too, but she dared not.

"Um, hi, I'm Carswell Thorne, a convicted criminal in your country. Have we met?"
Kai rolled his eyes. "I'm saying maybe you should stop putting so much energy into lamenting the fact that Cress was wrong about you, and start putting your energy into proving her right, instead."
"I appreciate the confidence, Your Imperial Psychologist, but we're way beyond that. Cress is over me and...it's for the best."

Fandom Mashups [6]

Fandom Mashups is a feature hosted by Lunar Rainbows Reviews. There's a different scenario each week, and you choose a "dream team" of five characters from five different fandoms whom you think are best suited for the situation.

This week's topic is:

You've found a map that seems to lead to hidden treasures (Pirate Booty!) Who's part of your swashbuckling team?

1) Star Lord - Guardians of the Galaxy

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He's hilarious, he likes to steal things, and he can save the galaxy. Did I mention that he's also Chris Pratt? I would love having this space cowboy/pirate on my team.

2) Dread Pirate Roberts - The Princess Bride

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Well known for his sword fighting and able to spin quite a reputation, I'd love Westley on my team. Through fear and word of mouth, people just turn over their wealth to him to keep from what they believe is certain death. Sure would be helpful to have someone like him :D

3) Danny Ocean - Oceans 11

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He leads a team that robs five Las Vegas casinos. I don't think you can get much better than him. I love these movies so much. The wit and way he is so many steps ahead of everyone else is intimidating. Plus, he is great at slight of hand, having people look one way while he's doing something else.

4) Hector Barbosa - Pirates of the Carribean

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He's ruthless and borderline obsessive. He will stop at nothing to break his crew of the curse that fell on them from the Aztec treasure.

5) Robin Hood - Once Upon a Time

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I love the crazy turns of Once Upon a Time where Robin Hood is dating The Evil Queen. He's righteous but has no problem stealing when necessary. He has a strict set of morals to follow though and sure can fight for what he believes in.

Who would be on your dream team this week?