Synopsis Everything feels off—especially me. I’ve returned to Katmere Academy, but I’m haunted by fragments of days I have no recollection of living and struggling to understand who, or what, I really am.
Just when I start to feel safe again, Hudson is back with a vengeance. He insists there are secrets I don’t know about, threatening to drive a wedge between Jaxon and me forever. But far worse enemies are at our doorstep.
The Circle is caught in a power play and the Vampire Court is trying to drag me out of my world and into theirs. The only thing Hudson and Jaxon agree on is that leaving Katmere would mean my certain death.
And not only am I fighting for my life, but now everyone else’s is at stake—unless we can defeat an unspeakable evil. All I know is that saving the people I love is going to require sacrifice.
Maybe more than I’m able to give.
What I thought I was sent a copy of this book from Megan Beatie Communications and Entangled Teen for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I called it (happy dance). Okay so the big reveal at the end of the book I saw coming. I mean I saw it before 50% in. To me it was pretty obvious where this was going to go. It was confirmed for me when they are talking about how you can mate with more than one person… Anyway… I really enjoyed this book. It is a fun read, this series is enjoyable for what it is, this series is trophy and is full of YA clichés. But I enjoy it.
For me the back and forth between Grace and Hudson made the book. I love good banter in books and this had to be some of the best. Grace is a very strong young women and Hudons sees this and he pushes her to believe in herself. The amount of encouragement and support that he shows her sold me on him. I probably would not have been so accepting of him had Jaxon not been such a controlling jerk. The more the story went on the more I started to dislike Jaxon to the point that I just did not care what came of him. Grace is not made of glass and this over the top overprotective behavior was boardline dominating and I just wanted him to go.
I can not wait to see what happens in the third book.
If you want a fun read and you don’t mind trophy YA clichés then give this series a try.
As long as these are mostly working for me I am going to keep making them. This is also helping me keep up with the amount of books that I keep saying yes to reading.
I have this broke down into different categories to try to give myself a variety of books to read. I am first and foremost a mood reader so I need choices.
I have created a list of books that I am giving a last chance to read. I really wanted to read these books at one point and they kept getting pushed back so now I need to pick one a month and we will see if I like them or not. My goal is to pick up at least one of these a month until there are none left on the list.
There are also some books on my TBR that I want to read, however, I keep pushing them back because I feel like I have to read other things first. I know it doesn’t make since but I am working on it. In my Just Because section I am adding some of these books so that I am making them the priority.
Need To Read For Reviews
Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins | Self-Help, Finance | Add to Goodreads
Imagine if by the time you died, you did everything you were told to. You worked hard, saved your money, and looked forward to financial freedom when you retired.
The only thing you wasted along the way was…your life.
Die with Zero presents a startling new and provocative philosophy as well as practical guide on how to get the most out of your money—and out of your life. It’s intended for those who place lifelong memorable experiences far ahead of simply making and accumulating money for one’s so-called Golden Years.
In short, Bill Perkins wants to rescue you from over-saving and under-living. Regardless of your age, Die with Zero will teach you Perkins’ plan for optimizing your life, stage by stage, so you’re fully engaged and enjoying what you’ve worked and saved for.
You’ll discover how to maximize your lifetime memorable moments with “experience bucketing,” how to convert your earnings into priceless memories by following your “net worth curve,” and find out how to navigate whether to invest in, or delay, a meaningful adventure based on your “spend curve” and “personal interest rate.”
Using his own life experiences as well as the inspiring stories and cautionary tales of others—and drawing on eye-opening insights about time, money, and happiness from psychological science and behavioral finance —Perkins makes a timely, convincing, and contrarian case for living large.
Book Club Reads
Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins | Non-Fiction, Self-Help | Add to Goodreads
For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare – poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world’s top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him “The Fittest (Real) Man in America.“
In Can’t Hurt Me, he shares his astonishing life story and reveals that most of us tap into only 40% of our capabilities. Goggins calls this The 40% Rule, and his story illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential.
Library Holds
Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare | (The Last Hours #2) |Young Adult, Fantasy | Add to Goodreads
Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade.
But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace.
Together with the Merry Thieves, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must follow the trail of the knife-wielding killer through the city’s most dangerous streets. All the while, each is keeping a shocking secret: Lucie, that she plans to raise Jesse from the dead; Cordelia, that she has sworn a dangerous oath of loyalty to a mysterious power; and James, that he is being drawn further each night into the dark web of his grandfather, the arch-demon Belial. And that he himself may be the killer they seek.
Covet by Tracy Wolff | (Crave #3) | Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance | Add to Goodreads
I may have reached my breaking point. As if trying to graduate from a school for supernaturals isn’t stressful enough, my relationship status has gone from complicated to a straight-up dumpster fire.
Oh, and the Bloodletter has decided to drop a bomb of epic proportions on us all…
Then again, when has anything at Katmere Academy not been intense?
And the hits just keep coming. Jaxon’s turned colder than an Alaskan winter. The Circle is splintered over my upcoming coronation. As if things couldn’t get worse, now there’s an arrest warrant for Hudson’s and my supposed crimes—which apparently means a lifetime prison sentence with a deadly unbreakable curse.
Choices will have to be made…and I fear not everyone will survive.
Just Because
Prince of Secrets and Shadows by C.S. Johnson | (The Order of the Crystal Daggers #2) | Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance | Add to Goodreads
Everyone has Secrets.
PRAGUE, 1870.
After joining the Order of the Crystal Daggers, led by her dauntless grandmother, Lady Penelope, Eleanora Svobodová set out to save her kingdom from oncoming devastation.
And she failed.
Following the attack on Prague Castle, Eleanora is determined to redeem herself. She sets out to win Karl’s trust while distancing herself from Ferdy, whose secrets and lies have done nothing to stop her from falling in love with him. As she struggles to let him go, questions about the mission and her mother’s past cause a rift between Amir and Lady Penelope and add to the growing discord between Eleanora and her brother.
But when a cunning provocateur arrives in Prague, Eleanora discovers there is an even more deadly game afoot, one that reaches into Amir’s past and threatens Lady Penelope’s future. Now, the members of the Order must work together if they are to uncover the true enemy hiding in Bohemia.
Can they work together despite their divisions? Or will their division lead to even more destruction?
The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso | (Chronicles of the Bitch Queen #1) | Epic Fantasy | Add to Goodreads
A queen of a divided land must unite her people, even if they hate her, even if it means stopping a ruin that she helped create. A debut epic fantasy from an exciting new voice.
“I murdered a man and made my husband leave the night before they crowned me.”
Born under the crumbling towers of Oren-yaro, Queen Talyien was the shining jewel and legacy of the bloody War of the Wolves that nearly tore her nation apart. Her upcoming marriage to the son of her father’s rival heralds peaceful days to come.
But his sudden departure before their reign begins fractures the kingdom beyond repair.
Years later, Talyien receives a message, urging her to attend a meeting across the sea. It’s meant to be an effort at reconciliation, but an assassination attempt leaves the queen stranded and desperate to survive in a dangerous land. With no idea who she can trust, she’s on her own as she struggles to fight her way home.
The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan | (Powder Mage #3) | Fantasy, Flintlock Fantasy | Add to Goodreads
The capital has fallen… Field Marshal Tamas returns to his beloved country to find that for the first time in history, the capital city of Adro lies in the hands of a foreign invader. His son is missing, his allies are indistinguishable from his foes, and reinforcements are several weeks away.
An army divided… With the Kez still bearing down upon them and without clear leadership, the Adran army has turned against itself. Inspector Adamat is drawn into the very heart of this new mutiny with promises of finding his kidnapped son.
All hope rests with one… And Taniel Two-shot, hunted by men he once thought his friends, must safeguard the only chance Adro has of getting through this war without being destroyed…
THE AUTUMN REPUBLIC is the epic conclusion that began with Promise of Blood and The Crimson Campaign.
Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade.
But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace.
Together with the Merry Thieves, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must follow the trail of the knife-wielding killer through the city’s most dangerous streets. All the while, each is keeping a shocking secret: Lucie, that she plans to raise Jesse from the dead; Cordelia, that she has sworn a dangerous oath of loyalty to a mysterious power; and James, that he is being drawn further each night into the dark web of his grandfather, the arch-demon Belial. And that he himself may be the killer they seek.
The Queen’s Secret by Melissa de la Cruz (The Queen’s Secret #2) Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance Expected Publication: March 2, 2021
Lilac’s birthright makes her the Queen of Renovia, and a forced marriage made her the Queen of Stavin. But being a ruler does not mean making the rules. For Lilac, taking the throne means giving up the opportunity to be with love of her life, the kingdom’s assassin, Caledon Holt.
Worse, Cal is forced to leave the castle when a horrific set of magical attacks threatens Lilac’s sovereignty. Now Cal and Lilac will have to battle dark forces separately, even though being together is the only thing that’s ever saved them.
In the riveting conclusion to Melissa De La Cruz’s fantasy duet, love and magic are at war, and victory rests on a knife’s edge.
The Lost Apothecaryby Sarah Penner Historical Fiction Expected Publication: March 2, 2021
Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.
One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose—selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.
In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.
Covetby Tracy Wolff (Crave #3) Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance Expected Publication: March 2, 2021
I may have reached my breaking point. As if trying to graduate from a school for supernaturals isn’t stressful enough, my relationship status has gone from complicated to a straight-up dumpster fire.
Oh, and the Bloodletter has decided to drop a bomb of epic proportions on us all…
Then again, when has anything at Katmere Academy not been intense?
And the hits just keep coming. Jaxon’s turned colder than an Alaskan winter. The Circle is splintered over my upcoming coronation. As if things couldn’t get worse, now there’s an arrest warrant for Hudson’s and my supposed crimes—which apparently means a lifetime prison sentence with a deadly unbreakable curse.
Choices will have to be made…and I fear not everyone will survive.
A Trial of Sorcerersby Elise Kova (A Trial of Sorcerers #1) Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance Expected Publication: March 4, 2021
Eighteen-year-old Waterrunner Eira Landan lives her life in the shadows — the shadow of her older brother, of her magic’s whispers, and of the person she accidentally killed. She’s the most unwanted apprentice in the Tower of Sorcerers until the day she decides to step out and compete for a spot in the Tournament of Five Kingdoms.
Pitted against the best sorcerers in the Empire, Eira fights to be one of four champions. Excelling in the trials has its rewards. She’s invited to the royal court with the “Prince of the Tower,” discovers her rare talent for forbidden magic, and at midnight, Eira meets with a handsome elfin ambassador.
But, Eira soon learns, no reward is without risk. As she comes into the spotlight, so too do the skeletons of a past she hadn’t even realized was haunting her.
Eira went into the trials ready for a fight. Ready to win. She wasn’t ready for what it would cost her. No one expected the candidates might not make it out with their lives.
Sword of Rage by Jennifer Anne Davis Reigning Kingdoms Fantasy Expected Publication: March 16, 2021
Harley has three goals—stay alive, avenge her brother’s death, and overthrow the traitorous king.
When Harley receives an invitation to the royal castle for her cousin’s birthday, she’s elated at the offer. As the queen’s niece, she’s expected to make an appearance, but this will also be her first time attending a formal function as a married woman. However, what starts as an elegant party quickly turns into a nightmare. One that flips Harley’s world upside down.
Ackley’s mission should have been simple—arrive in Melenia, submerse himself in battle, and retake the kingdom for his sister’s newly betrothed, the rightful king. Instead, he finds the land ravaged and a young woman who could be the key to his undoing. When forced to choose between family, honor, and love, he realizes all of his years training to be an assassin, knight, and prince never prepared him for this. Ackley always thought he’d die by the sword. But what he never realized was love could be the most dangerous weapon of all.
This is the first book in a new series by Jennifer Anne Davis. Filled with romance, battles, and espionage, this book will immerse you into the world of her previous books like you’ve never before imagined!
The Three Locksby Bonnie MacBird (Sherlock Holmes Adventures #4) Historical, Mystery, Sherlockian Expected Publication: March 16, 2021
A heatwave melts London as Holmes and Watson are called to action in this new Sherlock Holmes adventure by Bonnie MacBird, author of “one of the best Sherlock Holmes novels of recent memory.”
In the West End, a renowned Italian escape artist dies spectacularly on stage during a performance – immolated in a gleaming copper cauldron of his wife’s design. In Cambridge, the runaway daughter of a famous don is found drowned, her long blonde hair tangled in the Jesus Lock on the River Cam. And in Baker Street, a mysterious locksmith exacts an unusual price to open a small silver box sent to Watson.
From the glow of London’s theatre district to the buzzing Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge where physicists explore the edges of the new science of electricity, Holmes and Watson race between the two cities to solve the murders, encountering prevaricating prestidigitators, philandering physicists and murderous mentalists, all the while unlocking secrets which may be best left undisclosed. And one, in particular, is very close to home.
Requiem Moonby C.T. Rwizi (Scarlet Odyssey #2) Fantasy Expected Publication: March 23, 2021
Salo must journey into the heart of darkness to find his way back home in the next epic book of C. T. Rwizi’s debut series.
Salo’s queen has finally accepted his desire to be a mystic despite taboos concerning men’s use of magic. But her acceptance is not support; it is strategy.
Under a disguise of the queen’s making, Salo enters Jungle City as a pilgrim to the Red Temple, only to find a magical barrier barring his entrance. Left at the mercy of the warring political factions that run the city, Salo faces a series of obstacles wrought by an unseen hand, knowing he cannot return home without completing his pilgrimage.
But Isa, King of the Saire clan, has her own plans for Salo. She needs his help to extract the Covenant Diamond from the Red Temple’s inner sanctum—an artifact with the power to end her tribe’s divisions, prevent a genocide, and even save herself from her fate. His new task in hand, Salo navigates a cursed maze of invisible authority—and when he encounters shocking revelations about the power residing in the depths of the undercity, he must wield his magic to finally bring the truth about his world’s history to light.
Are there any books that you are looking forward to this month?
A lady must have money and an army of her own if she is to win a revolution – but first, she must pit her wits against the wiles of an irresistible rogue bent on wrecking her plans…and her heart.
Lady Lucie is fuming. She and her band of Oxford suffragists have finally scraped together enough capital to control one of London’s major publishing houses, with one purpose: to use it in a coup against Parliament. But who could have predicted that the one person standing between her and success is her old nemesis, Lord Ballentine? Or that he would be willing to hand over the reins for an outrageous price—a night in her bed.
Lucie tempts Tristan like no other woman, burning him up with her fierceness and determination every time they clash. But as their battle of wills and words fans the flames of long-smouldering devotion, the silver-tongued seducer runs the risk of becoming caught in his own snare.
As Lucie tries to out-manoeuvre Tristan in the boardroom and the bedchamber, she soon discovers there’s truth in what the poets say: all is fair in love and war…
The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare (The Eldest Curses #2) Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Expected publication: September 1, 2020
Life is good for Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood. They’re living together in a fabulous loft, their warlock son, Max, has started learning to walk, and the streets of New York are peaceful and quiet—as peaceful and quiet as they ever are, anyway.
Until the night that two old acquaintances break into Magnus’s apartment and steal the powerful Book of the White. Now Magnus and Alec will have to drop everything to get it back. They need to follow the thieves to Shanghai, they need to call some backup to accompany them, and they need a babysitter.
Also, someone has stabbed Magnus with a strange magical weapon and the wound is glowing, so they have that to worry about too.
Fortunately, their backup consists of Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and newly minted Shadowhunter Simon. In Shanghai, they learn that a much darker threat awaits them. Magnus’s magic is growing unstable, and if they can’t stop the demons flooding into the city, they might have to follow them all the way back to the source—to the very realm of the dead. Can they stop the threat to the world? Will they make it back home before their kid completely wears out Alec’s mom?
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy Expected publication: September 15, 2020
A brand new space opera on an epic scale from the New York Times bestselling author of a beloved YA fantasy series.
It was supposed to be a routine research mission on an uncolonized planet. But when xenobiologist Kira Navárez finds an alien relic beneath the surface of the world, the outcome transforms her forever and will alter the course of human history.
Her journey to discover the truth about the alien civilization will thrust her into the wonders and nightmares of first contact, epic space battles for the fate of humankind, and the farthest reaches of the galaxy.
Crush by Tracy Wolff (Crave #2) Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal Expected publication: September 29th 2020
Everything feels off―especially me. I’ve returned to Katmere Academy, but I’m haunted by fragments of days I have no recollection of living and struggling to understand who, or what, I really am.
Just when I start to feel safe again, Hudson is back with a vengeance. He insists there are secrets I don’t know about, threatening to drive a wedge between Jaxon and me forever. But far worse enemies are at our doorstep.
The Circle is caught in a power play and the Vampire Court is trying to drag me out of my world and into theirs. The only thing Hudson and Jaxon agree on is that leaving Katmere would mean my certain death.
And not only am I fighting for my life, but now everyone else’s is at stake―unless we can defeat an unspeakable evil. All I know is that saving the people I love is going to require sacrifice.
Maybe more than I’m able to give.
The Crave series is best enjoyed in order.
Are there any books that you are looking forward to this month?
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:
Crush by Tracy Wolff (Crave #2) Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance Expected Publication: September 29, 2020
Everything feels off―especially me. I’ve returned to Katmere Academy, but I’m haunted by fragments of days I have no recollection of living and struggling to understand who, or what, I really am.
Just when I start to feel safe again, Hudson is back with a vengeance. He insists there are secrets I don’t know about, threatening to drive a wedge between Jaxon and me forever. But far worse enemies are at our doorstep.
The Circle is caught in a power play and the Vampire Court is trying to drag me out of my world and into theirs. The only thing Hudson and Jaxon agree on is that leaving Katmere would mean my certain death.
And not only am I fighting for my life, but now everyone else’s is at stake―unless we can defeat an unspeakable evil. All I know is that saving the people I love is going to require sacrifice.
Synopsis My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.
Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.
Which could spell death for us all.
Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.
What I thought I was sent a copy of this book from Megan Beatie Communications and Entangled Teen for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I thought that this was just going to be a vampire book but I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that it is so much more than that . The best way to describe this book is this is what happens when Twilight and Monster High have a baby. You have your instalove like Twilight but this girl has a back bone. She fights for herself and does not wait around for someone to come and save her, even though the odds are completely against her.
This book takes place in Alaska, and if there is any supernatural creatures out there that is the best place for them to hide out in plain sight. lol I said I was never going there after watching 30 days of Night back in the day and once again I am affirming that I have no plans to visit sorry.
This was such a fun and easy read that I was able to complete it in only two days. This book is over 500 pages long and I am working full time so finishing a book that size in two days is during the week is almost unheard of for me.
The ending…I did not see coming. I’m not talking about the reveal of who the evil twisted person is I actually had that one guessed, but the very end. I was shocked. And honestly that does not happen very much with YA anymore. I mean I didn’t even know that could come into play.
I can not wait for the next one to come out. Today I found out that the publication of book 2 has been moved up to September of this year. I am super excited to get my hands on book two.
If you like books that are set in a school setting or books dealing with the supernatural. Then you should give this one a shot.
