September 2018 Wrap-Up & October 2018 TBR

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So September went back to being a normal reading month for me. Another 12 books finished! I probably could have finished more, but I got sick about halfway through the month and it put a temporary stop on my reading for 4 or 5 days. Bleck! But still. 12 books is solid! Reviews that are live are linked. If it's not linked, it's scheduled for sometime in the next two weeks.

What I Read This Month:
So Muse of Nightmares!!! Ahhh. SO SO GOOD!! Man. So much happened. And I finally read The Cruel Prince and Three Dark Crowns and absolutely loved both of them! :D

Wow guys. I didn't even realize putting together the images, that I made an entire line of 5 star reads. LOL. So I've come to realize that since Heir of Fire I've been easily 5 starring ever ToG book, but each book for different reasons than the last. I like that each one gives me different reasons to loved it. And Impostors!! Guys. You guys know I've been happily waiting for this. New Uglies books?? YES PLEASE! Impostors was great. It stayed true to ideas and events in the original books while also introducing a wonderful intriguing new story. LOVE! And Wildcard! Ok. So I've noticed something. It seems like people are half and half, but I've noticed a specific half and half. It seems like the people that LOVED and 5 starred Warcross felt meh about Wildcard. But then people like me who were super meh about Warcross LOVED Wildcard. I personally thought it was fantastic and MUCH better and not predictable like Warcross was. 

  • The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes #2) by Brittany Cavallaro (4/5 Stars)
  • The Case for Jamie (Charlotte Holmes #3) by Brittany Cavallaro (4.5/5 Stars)
  • Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #3) by Jenny Han (5/5 Stars)
  • Furyborn (The Empirium Trilogy #1) by Claire Legrand (DNF 1/5 Stars)

So I'm all caught up on the Charlotte Holmes novels! I really like them. Such fun mystery books! I was pretty happy with the ending to Always and Forever, Lara Jean. Ok, lets talk about the elephant in my wrap-up. I DNF'ed Furyborn. I tried so hard guys. I've tried reading it 4 separate times and only managed to get 33% of the way (about 150-160 pages). This is my first DNF this year. I just couldn't. I didn't feel much towards either character. It was confusing me as to who is supposed to be what queen. The worlds didn't really feel much different even being 1000 years apart. I really wanted to love it but I just can't. I did write up a DNF review for it since I did get 150ish pages in and it was from NetGalley. I did notice I wasn't the only one that had some of these issues. It seems like Furyborn was either a big hit or a huge miss depending on the person.

Happenings On The Blog:

Posts I Enjoyed Around The Blogosphere:

Hehe. So I've clearly made a more Halloween/October Themed graphic for this. :D I'm so excited for October guys. Like you have no idea!!! :D :D :D You'll also notice a fair amount of my October reads have a darker, or Halloween type of feel. 

So obviously minus Kingdom of Ash, these are all books from my September TBR that I wasn't able to get to. I almost had time for Tower of Dawn. I just cut it too close to the end of the month with finishing Empire of Storms. 

So obviously I'm planning to catch up on the Three Dark Crowns series!!! And Beneath The Citadel comes out on October 9th! So I'm reading that. I actually am already about 5 chapters into it, but obviously I'll be finishing the bulk of it in October!

If you've been following me this month, you'll know I did start Nevernight. Just haven't got back to it yet. Got distracted by other books. Lol. And I've been saving This Savage Song just for October. 

Stacking The Shelves #119/Sunday Post #51

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Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality as a way to share all the books we got during the week!

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. Its a weekly post to showcase what books you got, recap the week, and talk about what will be coming up this week on the blog!


Ahhhhhh!!! Guys. I don't know if I've expressed my love for the Uglies series but I LOVE THOSE BOOKS. And Impostors is the first book in a continuation of it! I LOVED THIS! LOVED!!!! This book stayed so true to all the ideas and events that happened in the first 4 books, while introducing such a fantastic, new, invigorating story! This is 100% one of my fave reads of the year! :D :D My review will be up on the 10th.

So this week ended up being a much better reading week for me! First I finished The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro. Enjoyed it! I gave it a 4/5 stars. The I read Impostors by Scott Westerfeld (AKA the aforementioned book I fangirled on). Absolutely loved it! 5/5 Stars! Then I read The Case for Jamie by Brittany Cavallaro. My favorite of the Charlotte Holmes novels so far! 4.5/5 Stars! And finally I finished Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas! Really enjoyed that! I haven't solidified my rating yet. But it'll be either 4.5 or 5/5 Stars. I also started the audiobook of Royals by Rachel Hawkins but I'm only about 2 chapters in. I'm aiming to read Always and Forever, Lara Jean by the end of the weekend (and the month) so I can have an even 12 books read. So that's my reading plan this weekend. 

It's been another quiet week. Finally got over the sickness on Monday. So I'm happily feeling much better than last week. I got to making a physical calendar for October so I can write out my planned reviews. I know I could use google calendars but honest to god I suck at checking digital ones. LOL. I'm doing good with the one I made though. And I have the first 2 weeks of October filled with reviews already! Woot! On the flip side, I have no idea what I'm putting on my TBR for October. Tune in Monday to find out what I choose! LOL. But for real. Only know for a fact like maybe 4 books I'm gonna read. Other than that, its up in the air. I'm trying to do a themed month. So I need to see what I have that would fit into a spooky/paranormal/halloweenish theme. 

Also, on the topic of Halloween, is there any Halloween themed content you want to see? I love October so I'm all for fun Halloween themed ideas! :D I do have a recommended reads post ready for this week filled with books you should read in October (cuz Halloween theme, duh). LOL. 

Also, REGULAR SEASON HOCKEY STARTS AGAIN THIS WEEK!!!! I'M PUMPED!! The Sharks recently acquired Erik Karlsson from the Senators and I am thrilled to see what he's gonna bring to the team!! And OMG. I just checked the app and hell yes, first Sharks game of the season is gonna be on NBC Sports Network. I'm thrilled we actually get to watch the game instead of just listening to it!!! :D :D :D Can you tell I'm excited for hockey guys??? :D 

  • Recommended October Reads
  • Review: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas
  • September Wrap-Up & October TBR
  • Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I'd Love To Meet
  • New Releases: Week of October 2, 2018
  • Review: The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes #2) by Brittany Cavallaro
  • DNF Review: Furyborn (The Empirium Trilogy #1) by Claire Legrand
  • 2018 Dystopia Reading Challenge: October Link-Up

Review: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1)
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Little, Brown BYR
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Pages: 370
Format: Hardcover/Own

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.


Review: I avoided this book right when it came out because of the hype, but I'm so glad I finally picked it up. Definitely worth the read! So this book was nothing like I expected going into it. I've read a lot of fae books that have the idea of the fae being awful but actually really aren't. This one actually lived up to the idea of fae being the wicked creatures they are and I loved it. 

So Jude is human. Not secretly fae or anything like that that we normally see. Just human. She comes to Elfhame after her parents are murdered by the man that now acts as her father. More about that later. But her older sister Vivi, is the actual fae child and Jude is pretty much with the fae because of her. Jude has it pretty rough, not gonna lie. Most of the Fae treat her like garbage because of her being human and them thinking lesser of humans. I really like Jude. Despite the fact she and her sister were treated like garbage by the fae, she refused to stand down. She stood her ground against Cardan and his awful friends, she refused to give in when everyone called her weak because of being human. I love Jude. She is so strong. I also found her incredibly interesting because of the fact you see her upbringing in the wicked fae world affecting her choices and playing huge roles in her actions. She was brought up knowing how dark the fae can be and she embraces that darkness. She uses her fighting skills from Madoc, her being human to blend in among servants to get places she otherwise couldn't go, her being human to be able to lie and spy her way through people since the fae themselves can't actually lie. I loved seeing Jude embrace her upbringing with the fae and mixing it with her human traits. Jude was definitely not a sunshine and lollipops kind of light person. She might be human, but she can be just as dark and wicked as the fae. 

Madoc. So he is the one who killed Jude's parents and now acts as their father. He was married to Jude's mom. Jude's mom ended up faking hers and Vivi's deaths to escape Elfhame, but eventually Madoc finds out it was a ruse and finds them in the mortal world and kills her and her new husband (Jude and Taryn's dad). While not shocked by the brutality of this, I was surprised at the fact Madoc takes all three girls and raises them when his only obligation was to Vivi. He claims that since Jude and Taryn are his wifes children that it falls to him to raise them regardless. Despite how wicked Madoc could be, I thought this was actually a pretty noble thing for him as a fae, to do. And the fact that he genuinely tries to do his best by them was even more shocking. He could have easily only given Vivi the luxury of being fae born but he raised all three girls with the luxury of the fae. Wanting for nothing and having almost every opportunity the fae were given. And on top of that, he even saves things for Jude and Taryn from their actual father to give to them. He might be a bloodthirsty general, but he did try to do his best with the girls. However, his decisions regarding the High King and Princes, that however is up for debate. He definitely showed his wicked, bloodthirsty side there. 

Taryn and Locke. So I'm not a huge fan of Taryn. She is Jude's younger sister and she unlike Jude, seemed perfectly content to just roll over and let the fae walk all over them. She never seemed to want to stand up for herself, and pretty much counted on finding some jawdroppingly handsome fae boy to marry to give herself a better status in Elfhame. She on top of that had the nerve to get upset with Jude for standing up for herself and making her seem like the bad guy. I'm sorry, Taryn was just so unlikable for me with her high and mighty attitude towards Jude. Locke. So despite him seeming like a good guy, he definitely annoyed me too. Being all sweet to Jude, making her feel like she found one decent guy in Elfhame just to have him go off and propose marriage to her sister. And then he still tells Jude he wants her. Like is this guy for real?? Just eww. You made your choice, live with it. I love though that Madoc doesn't think Locke is good for either sister. Haha!

The royals. Holy shit guys. So much behind the scenes. Poisonings, killings, coups, spies, schemes within schemes. Just wow. So we first think Cardan is pretty bad with the way he treats Jude, constantly irking her on for being mortal and trying to trap and provoke her into doing stuff that could get her killed or thrown out of the faery lands forever. But then we meet his older brother Balekin. Not only does he seem more evil than Cardan, but then we witness the abuse he does to his own brother for not being as good as he wants him to be. Not to mention Balekin is scheming behind the scenes to get the crown because he knows he isn't the favored child. I definitely think Balekin is a worse person that Cardan. And then Dain. He seemed like a good guy on the outside compared to his brothers, but then we learn what he did in secret to Locke's mother and her unborn child. Just whoa. That was pretty dark in itself. And what happened during the ceremony with the coup. Guys, just... Wow. Was not expecting all the bloodshed we get. Just wow. 

I thought the ending was really great. We learn all this stuff about Oak and who he is really. We see Jude become a serious master schemer using Cardan to protect Oak, but then turn around and use him in a completely different way than he agreed to. And he can't to anything about it because of the oath he took to Jude. Vivi agreeing to take Oak to the mortal world and raise him. Jude. Guys, she outwitted Madoc and Cardan with her schemes. Jude is brilliant and I love her and I can't wait to see what she does in The Wicked King!! :D


Review: Wildcard by Marie Lu

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Wildcard (Warcross #2) 
Author: Marie Lu
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons BYR
Publication Date: September 18, 2018
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover/Own

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price.

Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?


Review: So I wasn't the biggest fan of Warcross. I loved the whole idea behind the story, but just found it predictable and slow for a while. However, I absolutely loved Wildcard. I wasn't sure I was going to read it but I'm so glad I did. Wildcard completely outdid Warcross and is honestly my favorite Marie Lu finale book. We know I didn't enjoy the endings of the Legend trilogy and The Young Elites trilogy, but this has completely changed things for me. This is the first Marie Lu ending I have thoroughly enjoyed without complaint. I really enjoyed this whole story because it felt so different from the slow, predictable pace of Warcross.

So I wasn't sold on the whole romance between Emika and Hideo in Warcross. I wasn't feeling it at all. This book completely changed that. There was a lot of raw emotions expressed by Hideo and it softened my view of him immensely. The fact he was so vulnerable with all Emika told him about his brother, and not just with one memory, really made me start to like him. Everything about the romance just felt incredibly weird to me in Warcross and to me, it felt more genuine and heartfelt in Wildcard. You could see how Emika really felt for Hideo and wanted to make him feel better. You could see Hideo genuinely let Emika in. The romance just had a whole different tone which completely changed my view on it. 

I also thought the whole backstory with Zero being Sasuke, Hideo's brother, was incredibly interesting. We ended Warcross with Emika seeing that Zero's account had the name Sasuke Tanaka on it. And we see this whole story about Sasuke take off from that in Wildcard. I was not even close to expecting or predicting his story at all. In fact, Sasuke's story really broke my heart. I really can't talk much about it without spoiling a huge part of Wildcard. But man. His disappearance ends up being linked to a study his parents had willing put him in to try and help him. And poor Sasuke slowly has his memories taken from his during this study. Which eventually leads to him becoming Zero with almost no memory of his life. Like, I just can't with all the stuff regarding Sasuke. That tiny bit of information is literally just scratching the surface of his story and it was just so heartbreaking to read. I was not expecting the story to take this turn at all, but it truly made for a great overall story. 

I also loved that we don't even know who the real villain is. It starts off being Hideo wanting to use his Neurolink to control the population and prevent crimes like his brothers abduction and find his brother abductor. But then it leads to looking at Dr. Taylor as the villain for her huge role in Sasuke's disappearance and the fact she was the head of the study Sasuke was in in the first place. She definitely seemed the worst evil for a while since we also learned she wanted Hideo's algorithm for herself. But then we add in Zero was a villain when he undermines Dr. Taylor and uses Hideo's rage towards Dr. Taylor against him to get the algorithm for himself. It was just a whirlwind of trying to see who was the bigger villain and who wanted to use the algorithm for the worst purpose. Overall, despite Hideo seeming bad at the beginning, he definitely had the least awful use for the algorithm. It seemed bad, but in reality, he was just trying to find his brother's abductor from all the criminals turning themselves in. 

All the side characters. I still love the Phoenix Riders. They are such real, true friends to Emika and I loved seeing these friendships throughout the book. The backstory regarding Tremaine and Roshan's relationship. Definitely a little sad. I can't imagine being Tremaine and constantly thinking he will never be good enough for Roshan because of his upbringing. I'm glad we got to see them work through some of their issues. Dr. Taylor and her Blackcoats. Dr. Taylor is just a piece of work. What an awful excuse for a human being thinking that everything she did was justified. And Jax. I definitely wasn't sure of her at first, but she grew on me. Seeing her share her story, how it intertwined with Sasuke's, how she wanted to fight against everything Dr. Taylor and Zero were trying to do but didn't have any allies until she met Emika. I just really grew to like her. She seemed bad but only really was forced into a bad situation from her youth but ended up choosing the right people to help in the end. She was definitely one of my favorite characters. 

I thought it was fitting that in order to stop Zero using Hideo's algorithm for his own purposes, they had to play a game of Warcross through Zero's mind to get to the little bit of Sasuke left in him and release his memories. I just thought it was so fitting that this whole story started with Emika hacking into Warcross, and then it ends with Emika and Hideo playing Warcross to stop everything. I also loved that through the whole story and even this last game of Warcross through Zero's mind, the Phoenix Riders stuck with Emika and had her back through the whole thing. I loved that the friendships she built in Warcross held this strong in Wildcard. 

Like I said, this is the first Marie Lu ending that I really enjoyed. I thought this ending really was fantastic and wrapped things up nicely. Jax could have easily put Hideo behind bars for life with her testimony about the algorithm, but instead, she made it seem like he solely did it to find Sasuke. Many people knew it was a little more than that, but she knew Hideo didn't deserve that awful of a punishment despite what he did. And Emika being offered an actual job at Henka Games to help them rebuild with something good. I just loved it. With all Emika did in these books, she definitely deserved that job. And the "news story" last page. AHHHH. That is so cool. Can't spoil, but DEFINITELY cool. Loved it! Also, glad that Emika and Hideo were able to put the past in the past and have a relationship in the midst of the algorithm aftermath. I just think this book wrapped up so nicely, but also, in an unexpected way for me. 

New Releases: Week of September 25, 2018

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Give The Dark My Love (Give The Dark My Love #1) 
Author: Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: September 25, 2018

When seventeen-year-old Nedra Brysstain leaves her home in the rural, northern territories of Lunar Island to attend the prestigious Yugen Academy, she has only one goal in mind: learn the trade of medicinal alchemy. A scholarship student matriculating with the children of Lunar Island's wealthiest and most powerful families, Nedra doesn't quite fit in with the other kids at Yugen, who all look down on her.

All, except for Greggori "Grey" Astor. Grey is immediately taken by the brilliant and stubborn Nedra, who he notices is especially invested in her studies. And that's for a good reason: a deadly plague has been sweeping through the North, and it's making its way toward the cities. With her family's life--and the lives of all of Lunar Island's citizens--on the line, Nedra is determined to find a cure for the plague.

Grey and Nedra continue to grow closer, but as the sickness spreads and the body count rises, Nedra becomes desperate to find a cure. Soon, she finds herself diving into alchemy's most dangerous corners--and when she turns to the most forbidden practice of all, necromancy, even Grey might not be able to pull her from the darkness.

Black Wings Beating (Skybound #1)
Author: Alex London
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: September 25, 2018

The people of Uztar have long looked to the sky with hope and wonder. Nothing in their world is more revered than the birds of prey and no one more honored than the falconers who call them to their fists.

Brysen strives to be a great falconer--while his twin sister, Kylee, rejects her ancient gifts for the sport and wishes to be free of falconry. She's nearly made it out, too, but a war is rolling toward their home in the Six Villages, and no bird or falconer will be safe.

Together the twins must journey into the treacherous mountains to trap the Ghost Eagle, the greatest of the Uztari birds and a solitary killer. Brysen goes for the boy he loves and the glory he's long craved, and Kylee to atone for her past and to protect her brother's future. But both are hunted by those who seek one thing: power.


Vengeful (Villains #2)
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor
Publication Date: September 25, 2018

Eli Ever and Victor Vale were only medical students when their mutual discovery that near-death experiences can, under the right conditions, manifest extraordinary abilities.

They were best friends, and rivals, and then enemies. They were dead, then alive, and then---Eli killed Victor, once and for all.

Or so he thought---but Sydney Clarke felt otherwise, and used her own superpower to tip the scales. Now, a trio hides in the shadows, while another takes advantages of post-death life to take over the city of Merit.

If there can be life after death—will there be calm after vengeance, or will chaos rule?

Other New Releases This Week:
For A Muse of Fire (For A Muse of Fire #1) by Heidi Heilig (9/25/18) [Greenwillow]
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White (9/25/18) [Delacorte]
A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney (9/25/18) [Imprint]
The Caged Queen (Iskari #2) by Kristen Ciccarelli (9/25/18) [Harper Teen]
The Tomb by S.A. Bodeen (9/25/18) [Feiwel & Friends]

Top Ten Tuesday: Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Haven't Read

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Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Topic:
Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Haven't Read

Review: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

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Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1)
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: September 20, 2016
Pages: 398
Format: Hardcover/Own

When kingdom come, there will be one.

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown.


Review: Ok guys, So I don't know why I was so hesitant to read this at first. I really enjoyed it, much more than I was initially expecting. I loved the whole premise behind this book and it really intrigued me. 

So the idea of there being triplet queens of which would eventually have to kill each other in order to get the throne. Wow. That's a bit dark guys. Having to kill your sisters just so you can rule. Dark. And the fact the sisters are brought up from age 6 on to believe the other sisters hate them just to make them want to kill each other. Guys, the politics on Fennbirn are incredibly dark. Just wow. So really, the politics. Each faction associated with each sister are making plots and ploys to try and get their Queen in power and their people on the council. We see this the most prominent with Mirabella's priestesses. They know Mirabella is the strongest of the sisters thus far and they are trying to do every little thing to get her in power. Including spreading a huge half truth/half lie regarding a prophecy about a generation of queens where one appears to be strong and the others weak or giftless and that those weak queens should be sacrificed during the quickening. This was by far the biggest plot. The priestesses had everyone spreading that rumor to try and make it happen. But of course once the other queens factions got wind of it, they cooked up some ploys of their own and thwarted that plot. But coming in at a close second was Katharine's poisoner faction. They were definitely greasing the wheels, trying to make Katharine look stronger and better than she actually was. We also see Natalia making deals and plots in the background to try and strengthen Katharine's chances and keep a poisoner queen on the throne still. The only faction we don't see doing a whole lot of scheming is Arsinoe's naturalist faction. They were definitely the least schemey all around. But man, I was just amazed at all the politics and stuff going on without any of the queens knowledge.

Out of all the girls, I think I liked Arsinoe the most. She seemed to have to more down to earth caregivers, the ones that cared more about her than her gift, though they obviously wanted her gift to show. She also seemed to be the most realistic one. She knew she wasn't the strongest by any means and she made it perfectly clear there was going to be a huge chance she was going to be killed. But she was also a good friend. Getting the group to saddle up and go search when Joseph went missing, encouraging Jules to talk to him after the stuff with Mirabella. Honestly, I just loved Arsinoe all around as a character despite not having her power. I was a little disappointed she was using low magic though. It has consequences and she was too good of a person to get stuck using it. However, I was kinda disappointed that Arsinoe's chapters were overshadowed by Jules. Obviously Jules will be playing a huge part of the story further down the line, but she was just front and center of everything with Arsinoe and it kinda sucked. If Jules is gonna play such a huge role, give her her own freaking chapters. I'm not sure how I feel about her right now. 

I did like Mirabella because of the fact she absolutely did not want to kill her sisters because she loved them. But she was a bit boring for a fair chunk of the book. It wasn't until she ran away and then started standing against her priestesses ideas did she really start coming out of her little shell. And she was especially angry when she learned what they were going to do to her sisters. Mirabella was definitely the character that grew on me. She wasn't my immediate favorite, but she's definitely not bad either. And her elemental powers are pretty cool as well! I think my favorite thing about Mirabella is just how human she is. She has emotions, she loves her siblings even though she's been taught not to. She refuses to wipe the love from her brain and it made her a better person for sure. 

Katharine honestly is my least favorite thus far, though she's not a bad character by any means. I really felt for her regarding her caregivers. Constantly being poisoned to build up her immunity since her poisoner gift hadn't showed. That's cruel. The amount of poisoning and everything she was put through was awful to read. Not to mention the Arrons just seemed like cruel people in general for the most part besides Natalia and Pietyr. She is honestly treated the worst of the three queens and it shows. The poisoning making her weak, the constant put downs making her not feel any bit of confidence about herself, the fact that at the end, she's the one who deals with a pretty shitty things happening to her. She might not be my favorite, but I have mad respect for the amount of stuff she puts up with and can completely understand why she's angry at the end of the book. 

I'm not sure how I feel about any of the men. Joseph is Jules boyfriend but ends up becoming super infatuated with Mirabella after she saves him and inadvertently causes big issues. He's just kinda a meh character for me right now. Billy, idk. He's a suitor and I'm not super into him either. I did like that he was more honest than Joseph at least. He said what he meant upfront. And he seems overall like a decent guy. I also liked that he stayed loyal to Arsinoe despite not having the interest of marrying her for the crown. Loyalty is a good thing. And Pietyr. I liked him, he seemed to have Katharine's best interests at heart compared to the rest of the Arron family. He even seemed like a decent match for her. But what he did at the end... Not cool man. Not cool. Was not a fan of that. 

The ending. GUYS, THE ENDING. HOLY SHIT!! I did not see that coming! I was completely surprised by that and now I'm literally dying to read the next book. I can't say anything without spoiling this books ending, but omg. That definitely explains some of the issues with Arsinoe and Katharine. I am dying to see how all this stuff plays out in the next books!!! 

Stacking The Shelves #118/Sunday Post #50

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Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality as a way to share all the books we got during the week!

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. Its a weekly post to showcase what books you got, recap the week, and talk about what will be coming up this week on the blog!


So this was my only buy this week. Honestly, I wasn't even sure I was going to read this after giving Warcross barely a 3.5 stars earlier this year. But I just had this gut feeling when I was at Barnes & Noble to buy it and give it a chance. I'm so glad I did. I thought Wildcard blew Warcross out of the water. It was 100% better for me. And it's the first Marie Lu ending I actually don't hate! YAY!!! 


Thank you Abrams & NetGalley! So I didn't even know this book existed until it started popping up on my timelines a few weeks ago. So when I saw it on NetGalley after having read what it was about I was like yeah, lets request it. And I got approved. I already started it and so far I'm enjoying it. Plus how cool does the cover look! It comes out in a little over 2 weeks. Look for my review around release day! 


So this week had everything to be a great reading week with lots of books... Up until Wednesday, I'll get to that a little later. But this week I read 2 full books. So first I read Wildcard by Marie Lu. I really loved it. Compared to Warcross, it was 100% better. 5 starred Wildcard. And it's the first Marie Lu ending I've actually enjoyed. WOOT! I was iffy on whether I wanted to read Wildcard in the first place, and I'm really glad I did decided to. Worth it! I also finally read The Cruel Prince by Holly Black!!! And I really enjoyed that as well! Definitely a bit different with the amount of genuine dark and wicked things going on in that book. I gave it a 4.5. I also gave Furyborn by Claire Legrand a 4th try this week and I'm done. I got to about 33% and I can't. I DNF'ed it. I tried guys. I really wanted to like this book and the prologue was so promising but it just fell super flat for me. I did write up a DNF review for it since I did read over 150 pages in it. That'll go up in October. I did start The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro but only got about 40 pages in. 

So, I probably could have read more than 2 books this week like I mentioned above, but.... I got sick. My in-laws got back from their cruise in Alaska last Saturday and my mother-in-law brought home a cold. Unfortunately despite her best efforts not to, she got both me and James sick. They stayed at our apartment since they got in at like 9:30PM and didn't wanna drive 2 hours home. So since about Wednesday on I've been dealing with a cold. It really hit Thursday night with the stuffy nose and coughing and everything and has yet to let up (Friday Night/Saturday Morning). So I've been on Dayquil and Nyquil trying to knock this cold out. And it's definitely had an effect on my reading. The constant pressure from my stuffy nose is making focusing on reading difficult. Hopefully I can knock the cold out this weekend. 

Guys... It's so quiet. Like I mentioned, the in-laws got back from their cruise last week and when they headed home, we let Ana go with them. She's been asking to go to Nana's house for weeks now so we figured since they were gonna stay here after they got in, they could just take her when they went home. It's so quiet in the apartment without a toddler running out every five minutes or constantly wanting to play. Lol. But she is having such a great time with Nana and Granddad. They have a sandbox for her, a fun water play table, lots of areas for her to use sidewalk chalk and lots of toys for her to play with. We've been getting pictures and video called them once so far and she's having a lot of fun. She was so excited to show us all her toys and the 3 new outfits Nana bought her on the call. We miss our little girl but we're also happy we're getting a small break. It gives us a chance to deep clean the apartment and have a little one on one time, which is rare when you have a kid. LOL. 

Last but not least, I totally forgot to tell you guys this last week! But I completed my Goodreads Challenge! Honestly, I wasn't expecting to hit it this early. With how the year started, I was sure I'd be struggling to read 75 by the end of the year. But looky!! LOL. At least now I can feel comfortable setting it at 100 or higher like I used to for next year. 

  • Review: Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1) by Kendare Blake
  • New Releases: Week of September 25, 2018
  • Top Ten Tuesday: Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Haven't Read
  • Review: Wildcard (Warcross #2) by Marie Lu
  • Discussion
  • Review: The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
Ok guys, I plan on posting a discussion this upcoming week but I'm tossing around a few ideas and haven't decided which to settle on yet. Will update when I decide! :)

Review: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

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Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #2)
Author: Ransom Riggs
Publisher: Quirk Books
Publication Date: January 14, 2014
Pages: 400
Format: Audiobook/Library

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.

Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerising) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages.

Review: So I listened to this on the audiobook from my library and I really enjoyed it. I was really struggling to to make progress in the physical book so I switch to audio and love it. I thought the narrator was so good. The voices, the accents. Everything. Very good. It kept me completely engaged when the physical book wasn't! 

I really enjoyed how our group was pretty much on an adventure of sorts. We see them coming across loops, jumping in and out of them trying to find another ymbryne to help Miss Peregrine. And when they finally get a lead on one not captured, it is such a chore just to get to her. They are being chased and cornered everywhere by the hollowgasts and wights. They just could not catch a break. Even when they were almost safe sometimes, one of them would slip up and use their power and they'd be found. But I definitely think all the new loops we got to see were pretty cool. The different time periods, the different peculiars. 

I also enjoyed how Emma, Jacob and Bronwynn took charge of everyone doing the things that needed to be done. Helping the younger kids, keeping everyone going towards the goal. They really stepped up with Miss Peregrine out of the picture now. But then of course we had others like Enoch just complaining and being a downer all the time. The constant complaining from him really grated on my nerves. It was almost like he never had anything positive to say and that's just annoying. A lot of the group was already feeling down and uncertain as it was and he just made it worse. I'm also still a bit grossed out with the Emma/Jacob love interest. Especially now that Jacob admitted he's in love with Emma. It's really weird to me. She loved his grandfather. He might be dead and she might still look like a teen/young adult like Jacob, but it doesn't change facts.

I didn't enjoy the fact that this felt repetitive. Honestly, It was like jump into a loop, find hollowgasts, run from them and the wights, find another peculiar/loop, escape. It was just like this for 3/4 of the book and it just made thing really repetitive. You can only read the same thing so many times before it gets kinda boring, even in a unique book like this. It also just felt a lot like filler. We only see the same few events happening. It takes until the last quarter of the book for a huge plot twist to happen. 

*Next paragraph is a bit spoilery about the ending*

That being said, the ending was huge. The bird they've been carrying around for days and had Ms. Wren nurse back to human form not even being Miss Peregrine! OMG. It was her freaking brother, who we've been told is a wight now, who then pretty much traps them and captures them after being brought back to human form. ARGH!!! And the fact the groups ends up split. Only Jacob and Emma manage to get away from the wights holding them hostage and are now gonna have to save everyone with only the help of Addison who they met in one of the loops. And the fact they are in Jacobs time at the end of the book. And the phone conversation with his dad. Lets pause here, Jacobs dad. Like honestly, if it's drugs or something we'll get you help. Like you got him help for the peculiar world he was seeing and refused to believe him?? Yeah. No. I'm not even close to amused with his dad. All it is is Jacob's crazy and needs help for something, not maybe for once I should actually listen to what my kid has to say and even consider believing him.