13 April 2018
Wrapping the Month: March
What's greater way to start new month than taking a look at previous one?
March was a total disaster. I didn't really read, hardly wrote reviews and seemed to blog even less. I got swept up with university and essays, as well as re-watching Once Upon A Time, which made me obsessed with Captain Swan again. That's my life currently; studies and Netflix. I'm trying to read more from now on, because I have a pile of books I've anticipated for so long that just waits to be read. I'm also very behind on writing reviews, which I want to get back on track. But yeah, for March, there wasn't much going on.
March's book haul sums up pretty perfectly how all over the place my reading habits are currently: there's classics, crime, and contemporary M/M romance.
March's reviews:
I did pretty lousy and only read three books. I did get in the middle of few others but finished nothing else. Hopefully I'll read more next month just by finishing all those that I'm in the middle of. Anyway, here's what I actually finished in March;
After such a disastrous month as March, I just hope to get back normal, weekly blogging (although it seems that beginning of April was not better on this matter) and reading much more than three books.
Henna
31 March 2018
Book Blitz + Giveaway: The Grown Ups' Crusade by Audrey Greathouse
The Grown Ups’ Crusade
by Audrey Greathouse
(The Neverland Wars #3)
Published by Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: March 27th 2018
Genres: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Young Adult
Gwen has returned to Neverland with Peter Pan and the lost children, but this time, the adults are following close behind.
The Anomalous Activity Department has plans to finally conquer Neverland by bringing the final battle to the vulnerable island. The children will have to rally fairies, mermaids, and allies from other magical realms to stand a chance against the shadow-casting army of grown-ups heading for them.
The black-coat soldiers are far from their only problem. Lasiandra is missing. No one has seen her since Gwen left her at the lakeside with Jay, and the mermaids searching have found only grave omens in the stars. With the island on the cusp of a war that threatens to strip the land of its magic, the last thing Peter and Gwen need is the ancient flagship that appears on their horizon, sailing pirates straight for their shores.
When the battle begins amid old and new enemies, Gwen’s maturity will be a double-edged sword. She will either grow stronger or grow up… maybe both.
—
EXCERPT:
Gwen gathered fruit as fast as she could in the dim of the early morning. Mangos and marionberries, peaches and papayas, star fruit and oranges… she shoved the land fruit into her bag, never breaking pace as she trekked weast across the island. She needed to get to the coast and back before any fairies awoke. The entire fairy population had indulged in joyful revelries the night before, celebrating some amorphous holiday unknown to humans. The dawn would find even the most temperate fairies still lolling in drunken dreams and merry slumber. But dawn had not yet arrived and not everyone slept; stars still speckled the bluing sky and certain inhabitants of Neverland were still speaking with them.Tromping over vines and fungi, Gwen bushwhacked her way through the forest-jungle on anxious feet. The mermaids had not been helpful as of late.
The new mermaids she’d met wouldn’t even give her their names. Eglantine and Cynara had been snide at best, and contemptuous at worst. Gwen wouldn’t have minded it—she didn’t care what mermaids thought of her—but she felt certain they knew what had happened to Lasiandra and refused to explain. This drowsy morning offered her a chance to tempt them with an overabundance of land fruit without anyone noticing. She would persuade the mermaids to cede their starry secrets and hurry back before any stray fairy or curious child found her at the incriminating lagoon.
Gwen reached the wood’s end and hurried down the steps carved into the chalky cliff face. She moved so fast she half-flew toward the slender figures half-submerged in the lagoon.
Gwen had not seen Lasiandra since the night she escaped with Jay from Lake Agana. In the chaos, she had never retrieved the scale from Lasiandra, and thus lost her ability to call her friend. She hadn’t worried about it—until days and weeks passed without sight of her at the lagoon.
“What business have you with Lasiandra?” Eglantine had demanded last time Gwen visited. “What matter is she to you?”
“I’m just worried about her,” Gwen had answered, innocent and truthful. The region’s entire Anomalous Activity Department had been on duty that night, trying to apprehend lost children and capture whatever magic followed them. Lasiandra’s disappearance was ominous, to say the least. A few fairies had not returned from the mission, and there was no question of what fate had befallen them.
In response, the mermaids had only mocked her, contorting their melodic voices into cackling imitations of her land-dwelling accent, “I’m just worried about her.”
“Worried about her! Concerned about a mermaid?” Cynara had declared, insulted and amused. “We are not of such a feeble nature as you landmaids. Mermaids have more strength in a single scale than you have in all of your heart. You need not worry for a mermaid, girl. We can take care of ourselves.”
Gwen had wanted to believe her.
Author BioAudrey Greathouse is a lost child in a perpetual quest for her own post-adolescent Neverland. Originally from Seattle, she earned her English B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University's online program while backpacking around the west coast and pretending to be a student at Stanford. A pianist, circus artist, fire-eater, street mime, swing dancer, and novelist, Audrey wears many hats wherever she is. She has grand hopes for the future which include publishing more books and owning a crockpot. You can find her at audreygreathouse.com
20 March 2018
Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Spring TBR
My spring TBR is a little bit all over the place - but that's really nothing new when it comes to my reading tastes. As usual, I might stray from this list, but all of these are high on my TBR, so I'll most likely to get around reading most of them.
Review: Where Death Meets the Devil: Coda by L.J. Hayward
Where Death Meets the Devil: Codaby L.J. Hayward
Self-published
LGBT, novella, romance, contemporary
Jack Reardon's homecoming isn't quite as peaceful as he hoped it would be...
Ten hours ago, Jack Reardon completed the messiest case of his career. Lucky to get through it with his life and a promotion, all he wants to do is catch up on missed sleep. Which won't happen thanks to a bothersome house-invasion from assassin extraordinaire, Ethan Blade - who is also the reason he almost lost his life and job...
This Code for "Where Death Meets the Devil" follows immediately after the ending of the novel and is best read afterwards as it does contain spoilers.
Coda picks up right after where Where Death Meets the Devil left off. In a sense, it's like a last chapter or epilogue as it ties the ending even tighter but also sets anticipation for the sequel (as it is now confirmed that there'll be more!)
I loved every thirty-three page of this. I simply devoured Coda, because I just love Ethan and Jack and their world. I'm amazed how much Hayward managed to fit into this without making the short story feel crammed; there was all the same elements that the book had, from fast-paced suspense to steamy romance. And Ethan's just adorable - deadly, yes, but adorable too, especially when he's with Jack.
Now I'm anticipating the sequel like nothing else!
5 of 5 stars
17 March 2018
Stacking the Shelves (73)
6 March 2018
Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Book Quotes
Doing this I realized just how many favourite book quotes I have, especially since I've done a similar post few years ago. But, here we go again with ten more of my favourite book quotes!
"Sometimes people need to lie to themselves most of all."
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
"I think if I gave you my heart, you would treat it tenderly."
Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat
"I lied to you about a lot of things... but I meant every apology."
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
"If you let the world in, you open yourself up to the world. Even if the world doesn't know that you're there."
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
"Hope is determination, you think. Hope is desperation. Hope is a yearning you can't deny. And hope is just plain old-fashioned insanity."
Escape From Hell! by Hal Duncan
"If you ain't scared... you ain't human."
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
"It is definitely annoying that straight (and white, for that matter) is the default, and that the only people who have to think about their identity are the ones who don't fit that mold. Straight people really should have to come out, and the more awkward it is, the better. Awkwardness should be a requirement."
Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
"I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world."
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
"I wish I were a girl again, half-savage and hardy, and free."
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
"If you can't fix it, you have to stand it."
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
5 March 2018
ARC Review: One Under by JL Merrow
One Under (Porthkennack, #9)by JL Merrow
Published by Riptide Publishing
eARC
LGBT, contemporary, romance
London Underground worker Mal Thomas is staying in Porthkennack to recover from a traumatic experience. Getting some more bad news from home is the last straw—until big, blond museum curator Jory Roscarrock steps up to offer some comfort.
A doctor of English Literature, Jory should be in a prestigious post at a top university. But a youthful indiscretion has led him to abandon academia to come back to his home town, Porthkennack, and the controlling family he’s never really felt a part of. He’s delighted to find a kindred spirit in the young Londoner.
But Jory’s family hurt Mal’s best friend deeply, and while Jory’s desperate to repair the damage, his own mistakes threaten to keep them apart. Meanwhile Mal’s torn between his feelings for Jory and his duty to his friend—and his fears that a failed relationship could be more than his shattered confidence can take.
Being back to this charming fictional Cornish seaside town was just what I needed, and One Under certainly didn't disappoint me. This time the Porthkennack town sweeps up Mal, who's London underground worker and recovering from a traumatic event and who we met in the first book ever set in Porthkennack, and Jory, who left the academia and university in Edinburgh to move back to his hometown to help his son to deal with school bullies. I liked Mal a lot in Wake Up Call, and I did complain back then that he wasn't introduced early enough. I'm ready to take back my words, because now Mal got his own story, and we got more Dev and Kyle from the previous story!
However, Jory became my favourite character because he was so sincere. Jory's not perfect in no means, but he means well, doesn't judge and he's just so genuine. Especially compared to his siblings, Bran and Bea, who live up to the name Roscarrock and the reputation the family has of not being the nicest people around. Jory is the black sheep of the family in that sense, and I loved to see how he learnt to stand up for himself and do what he wanted and not what his brother expected him to do. It was great that there was so much of Jory and Mal's story; family ties, finding themselves, recovery, and yes, that sweet romance they had going on. I rooted for Jory and Mal to get their happy ending, because they both deserved it.
JL Merrow is the master of authentic regional accents - whether it's south London or Cornish, it's done so well that the whole story feels better because of it. It fits the characters and really makes the stories shine more (and you can't possible forget it's set in England!) Merrow's writing feels always so authentic that I just love it.
One Under has addicting plot and characters, and I couldn't help but to devour the story. The story is charming and authentic. I do recommend checking the series out and while the books are standalone, I do recommend reading Wake Up Call before One Under - just so you can get the everything out of the story and meet Dev, Kyle and Mal before the events of One Under. And because both stories are good!
4 of 5 stars
Add on Goodreads
Thank you, Riptide Publishing, for giving me a chance to read and review One Under!
(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)
3 March 2018
Wrapping the Month: February
What's greater way to start new month than taking a look at previous one?
February was a bit slow month here, mostly because the month just flew by before I even realized I hadn't posted so much. I discovered Yuri On Ice and let me tell you, I'm obsessed! Which is not the greatest when most of my time goes to studies. I still read a nice amount, got plenty of books (but hey, you can never have too many) and wrote some reviews and other posts. So February wasn't too bad.
The lighting is horrible with the snowstorm raging on. Besides these physical copies, I got a stack of eARCS, which I've been devouring lately.
February's reviews:
New Heights (4 stars)
The Pick Up (4 stars)
Murder on the Orient Express (4 stars)
Heat Trap (5 stars)
Where Death Meets the Devil (5 stars)
Fence #2 (4 stars)
The Pick Up (4 stars)
Murder on the Orient Express (4 stars)
Heat Trap (5 stars)
Where Death Meets the Devil (5 stars)
Fence #2 (4 stars)
Four books and two comics aren't too bad for a month when new semester started. So here we go;
March will be the busiest month for uni with all the assignments I'll need to hand in, but hopefully I can keep up with blogging as usual.
Henna
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