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Reviews

Review: Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

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Review

Red sister
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
Book of the Ancestor #1
Adult, Fantasy
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Synopsis
I was born for killing – the gods made me to ruin.

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.

But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.

Stolen from the shadow of the noose, Nona is sought by powerful enemies, and for good reason. Despite the security and isolation of the convent her secret and violent past will find her out. Beneath a dying sun that shines upon a crumbling empire, Nona Grey must come to terms with her demons and learn to become a deadly assassin if she is to survive…

What I thought
Assassin Nuns do I need to say more?

Well if I do.

I really enjoyed this book.  The beginning seemed a little slow but then again that tends to happen when you are developing your own world but once I really got into it, it seemed to fly. This book has a medieval feel to its fantasy I only point that out because some people like it and some are really put off by it.

There is something about the character Nona that I just love and I can’t decide if the author intended her to be liked or not but I have made my decision. There were many times that I wanted to yell what do you think you are doing??? But then I would have to remind myself that Nona is only 10 when this story starts out.  As you read her story and see all the crap that she goes through you really start feeling like she is much older than she is.  Essentially Nona is a survivor and she values her friends above all.

I really can not wait to pick up the next book in this series so I can see what all is going to happen next.  I can’t wait to see what happens and if new bonds are formed. Yes, I have theories but we will see what happens.

Have you read this book yet if so what did you think. I really want to talk more about this book and now that I have written this I can finally pick up Grey Sister.

My Rating: /55 StarsFollow me on other platforms:
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Reviews

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

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Review

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
by Laini Taylor
Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
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Synopsis
Errand requiring immediate attention. Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. ‘He never says please’, she sighed, but she gathered up her things.

When Brimstone called, she always came.

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she’s a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in ‘Elsewhere’, she has never understood Brimstone’s dark work – buying teeth from hunters and murderers – nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn’t whole.

Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.

What I thought
I was on the fence for a very long time on whether or not I wanted to read this book.  I kept going back and forth and finally, I took it off my Want to Read list about a year ago and thought I was never looking back. Well then in walks Caz from Little Book Owl. I really like her taste in books and when she was like who wants to read these books with me starting in March…and now here we are.

So this book is partly set in Prague and I love that setting so I was like sure let’s do this but the US covers suck so I then ordered a copy from book depository. Don’t you think this one looks much better? (see above)

Sorry for rambling.  Okay so when I first started reading this book for some reason it just wasn’t jiving with me right away then somehow it all just clicked and I really got into the story.  I really do like the writing style, not having read anything else by this author I was not sure what to expect but I can say I was pleasantly surprised. So you can believe all of the hype there.

This world is not black and white in the good vs evil category. I mean this human girl has been raised by demons and they truly seem to care about her wellbeing. So it is a nice change from what you usually expect.

I felt some hate to love vibes but then it got kinda instalovey, but in the end, it all worked out and was not bad. I might have had a small idea of how it was going to work out in the end, but all and all, I really enjoyed the ride.

I will be picking up the next book in April (from my library).

My Rating: /54 StarsFollow me on other platforms:
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Waiting On Wednesday: Romanov by Nadine Brandes

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Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting On Wednesday was a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. Each Wednesday you got to highlight a book that you were really looking forward to. Unfortunately, the original creator is no longer able to host the meme and it has now linked up with Can’t Wait Wednesday over at Wishful Endings.

This week I’ve chosen: Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Romanov
Romanov
by Nadine Brandes
Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

The history books say I died.

They don’t know the half of it.

Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them . . . and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances of survival are to either release the spell, and deal with the consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya’s never dabbled in magic before, but it doesn’t frighten her as much as her growing attraction for Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her…

That is until she’s on one side of a firing squad…and he’s on the other.

Expected publication: May 7, 2019

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Reviews

Review: Night of Blood and Beauty by C. S. Johnson

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Review

Night of Blood and Beauty
Night of Blood and Beauty by C. S. Johnson
Companion Novella to The Order of the Crystal Daggers (76 pages)
Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance
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Synopsis
On a mission with high stakes and hidden passion, one man and one woman take a chance on a reckless choice. Constantinople, 1845 Amir Qureshi knew his life would never be the same the day he met Naděžda Ollerton-Cerná, much to his chagrin. With her sharp wit and brazen charm, Naděžda is as infuriating as she is irresistible, and Amir cannot stop himself from falling in love with her–even though they can never be together.

As an ally to the Order of the Crystal Daggers, under the command of Naděžda’s indominable mother, Amir knows there is no place for love in the life of a spy.

When they are sent to Constantinople to investigate a missing shipment of weapons, Naděžda’s life is endangered, and Amir races to save her, knowing he cannot deny his heart any longer. But Amir is not the only one who is keeping secrets …

Night of Blood and Beauty is a companion novella to The Order of the Crystal Daggers, a historical spy romance series from C. S. Johnson.

What I thought
I am soooo glad she put out this novella.  You know from the first book that the tale of Amir and Naděžda was a tragic one, but this was amazing.  Once I started it I couldn’t put it down so I guess I’m lucky it was only 76 pages.  This story tells the tale of when Cerná and Amir finally gave in and accepted that they loved one another. Now I can’t wait to pick up book 2 and get back into this series!

My Rating: /55 StarsFollow me on other platforms:
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Blog Tour: Slumbering by C.S. Johnson

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Tour Banner

Welcome to the Slumbering blog tour! Here we have another gorgeous book, this time the first installment in a wonderful YA series, called The Starlight Chronicles by C.S. Johnson. Read on for exclusive content and a chance to win a print copy of the book!

Slumbering CoverSlumbering by C.S. Johnson
Publication Date: December 2014
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/ Satire

Sixteen-year-old Hamilton Dinger leads a charmed life. He’s got the grades for the top of the class, the abilities of a star athlete and Tetris player, and the charisma to get away with anything. Everything seems to be going along perfectly, including his plans to ask out Gwen Kessler, as he enters into tenth grade at Apollo Central High School. Everything, that is, until a meteor crashes into the city, releasing the Seven Deadly Sinisters and their leader, Orpheus, from their celestial prison, and awakening Hamilton’s longtime dormant supernatural abilities. Suddenly Hamilton finds reluctantly allied with his self-declared mentor, Elysian, a changeling dragon, and Starry Knight, a beautiful but dangerous warrior, as they seek to protect the souls of Apollo City from the Sinisters and their evil intentions. Can Hamilton overcome his ignorance and narrow-mindedness to see what is truly real? Can he give up his self-proclaimed entitlement to happiness in order to follow the call of a duty he doesn’t want? More importantly, will he willingly sacrifice all he has to find out the truth?

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EXCERPT

“Kid!” Elysian was calling out for me. “Where are you?”

Trapped in the dark corners of my mind, I barely heard Elysian calling, but there was nothing I could do or say. It’s happening, I thought.

My powers, even though I’d never known them or even really wanted them, were surely leaving, taking hope of ever knowing the truth. My own truth was about to become a lie that would be the truth to me forever—my last defense against the relentless pursuer, the ghost who haunts me even as I try to run from him …

I don’t want this, I thought again, as I sunk further into despair. I don’t want this at all.

And yet …

There was a part of me that wished I could. I wished I could’ve wanted this. But I couldn’t. I didn’t know. I didn’t know what to do. There was nothing that I could do. I couldn’t do this.

It’s all right, something inside of me whispered. I felt the lies tangling around me, settling into my skin like new clothes. I felt my consciousness further slipping away from me, as though I were suddenly watching myself sleep. The voices, at the heart of the emptiness inside continued to whisper—comforting me, soothing me, telling me my happiness was the most important thing, the only thing …

“Kid!” Elysian called out again; this time it was louder.

Don’t listen to that ugly dragon, the voices insisted. He is full of nonsense, stories and fairy tales …

I heard Gwen scream for help again, but my relentless hesitancy refused to let me move. Time seemed to stand still, as though I was frozen. I couldn’t help it; nothing was more important to me than myself.

“Hamilton! Your friends need you!”

I cringed, torn between retreating further and going back.

Couldn’t they understand? I didn’t know who to listen to anymore! All my life, the world had said everything was relative, there were no absolutes, certainly no good or evil, there were no miracles, fate was a delusion, humans were here by accident, science was the way to see what was really true, I was in control … all these things, I’d believed, and heard, and experienced for myself … but now … now it was all circumstantial.

Either choice I went with would call for sacrifice on my part.

I started to breathe more heavily. “I … can’t do this … ”

The Starlight Chronicles

The Starlight Chronicles

 

Author-CS-Johnson


C. S. Johnson is the award-winning, genre-hopping author of several novels, including young adult sci-fi and fantasy adventures such as the Starlight Chronicles, the Once Upon a Princess saga, and the Divine Space Pirates trilogy. With a gift for sarcasm and an apologetic heart, she currently lives in Atlanta with her family. Find out more at http://www.csjohnson.me

CS Johnson | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

 

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For your chance to win a print copy of Slumbering by C.S. Johnson,
click the link below!

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Tour Banner

Blog Tour Schedule

April 15th

Reads & Reels (Review) http://www.readsandreels.com
Daily Waffle (Excerpt) http://www.dailywaffle.co.uk
Sophril Reads (Excerpt) https://sophrilreads.wordpress.com

April 16th

I Smell Sheep (Cover Love Feature) http://www.ismellsheep.com/
Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks (Review) https://quirkycatsfatstacks.com/
I Love Books and Stuff (Excerpt) https://ilovebooksandstuffblog.wordpress.com
Reading Nook (Excerpt) http://readingnook84.wordpress.com
The Bookworm Drinketh (Excerpt) http://thebookwormdrinketh.wordpress.com/

April 17th

Jessica Rachow (Review) http://jessicarachow.wordpress.com
#Bookish (Excerpt) http://erindeckerblog.wordpress.com
Yearwood La Novella (Excerpt) http://yearwooddailybookreview.wordpress.com

April 18th

J Bronder Reviews (Review) https://jbronderbookreviews.com/
The Bibliophagist (Review) http://thebibliophagist.blog/
B is for Book Review (Excerpt) https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com

April 19th

Breakeven Books (Interview) https://breakevenbooks.com
The Invisible Moth (Review) https://daleydowning.wordpress.com
Stacy is Reading (Review) https://stacyisreading.blogspot.com/?m=0

Blog Tour Organized By:

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R&R Book Tours

 

Memes · TBR

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? April 15, 2019

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It's Monday What are you reading.png

Good Morning!

It’s the start of another week. It’s Monday! What are you Reading is hosted by Kathryn from Book Date, this is a weekly event to share what we’ve read in the past week and what we hope to read, plus whatever else comes to mind.

Last Weeks Books
Howl's Moving Castle

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
3 Stars
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Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

Alphas and Airships
Alphas and Airships by Melanie Karsak
4.5 Stars
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Synopsis
With Lionheart as the new alpha, the streets of London are quiet. But above the realm, mischief is brewing. While airship pirates are a common plague upon the kingdom, the airship Fenrir proves particularly troublesome–especially on a full moon. Clemeny must take to the skies before these shape-shifting Vikings kick off a new Ragnarok. Easier said than done now that she’s down one good eye, a partner, and not to mention the fact that she gets motion sick. On top of that, the new scar across her face makes Clemeny feel like she’ll have better luck intimidating her foes than finding a beau. But Agent Edwin Hunter, recently assigned as head of Clemeny’s division, is proving to be an interesting prospect. Despite her apprehensions, it’s up to Agent Louvel to chase Fenrir across the heavens. Alphas and Airships is a retelling of the Red Riding Hood fairy tale set in Melanie Karsak’s bestselling steampunk universe. Alphas and Airships is Book 2 in the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series. 

Current Reads:
The Dark Days Club

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
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London, April 1812.

On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

The Radium Girls
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of
America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore
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The Curies’ newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.

Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these “shining girls” are the luckiest alive — until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.

But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women’s cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America’s early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers’ rights that will echo for centuries to come.

Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the “wonder” substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives…

What are your reading plans this week?

Let’s chat in the comments below!

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Why I am not going to continue with the O.W.L. Readathon

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Good Saturday Morning,

First and foremost I do not think that this is a bad readathon.  I am just not the right kind of person to do a month-long readathon with rules.  I found that I am putting way to much pressure on myself and I am not allowing myself to read things that I really want to just because they are not on my list.

The problem is not the readathon the problem is me.

So this is what I am going to do. I am going to tell you what I have accomplished and then at the end of the month, we will see what I read and where those fit in and if they do that is great. If they don’t well that’s going to be okay too.

So this is what I have accomplished as of today:

Care of Magical Creatures (Land animal on the cover)
Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies by J.K. Rowling

Herbology (Plant on the cover)
Alphas and Airships by Melanie Karsak

History of Magic (Published at least 10 years ago)
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Potions (Sequel)
Heartless by Gail Carriger

Transfiguration (Sprayed edges or red cover)
Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide by J.K. Rowling

There is only one more that I know I will be adding to this list and that is the book that I am currently listening to and enjoying.

Sorry guys to back out but I am going to make myself not enjoy reading and the stress I am putting on myself really isn’t worth it.

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