Monthly Archives: August 2019

Currently Obsessed With: July 2019

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Hello!  I can’t believe it’s August already, and the year is really flying by!

July was a pretty fun month for me.  Not a lot happened, but it was still a great month.  I went to the San Diego Zoo a few times…I ended up getting a membership when I went on July 4th, and it’s really fun to just walk around.  I’m pretty sore for a couple of days afterwards, because there are a lot of hills, but it’s worth it.

How can you not love baby giraffes?  There are two right now!  I only got a picture of one, but they’re both really adorable.

I just love the giraffes.

I’m bummed I didn’t make it before the pandas left a while back but we have polar bears!

Gerenuks look really cool, and they remind of giraffes.  And it’s amazing how they can stand up to eat.

And I actually managed to see a koala awake, which feels like a small miracle!

Anyway, that’s enough zoo talk!  I mostly just wanted to share some of the pictures, and there may be more to come.

I also hung up some pictures last month, and I can’t believe it’s taken me over a year to start decorating my room.  I’m in love with this starfish photo, this sea urchin photo, this macaron print, a really cool pineapple print, a Dragonfly Inn poster, and a Stars Hollow poster.  It’s just nice to actually have stuff hanging on my walls.  I’m actually surprised that I don’t have anything Harry Potter related hanging up but maybe I will one of these days.

I also had book club, which was fun!  We read The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson, and I really liked it.  I really liked the magic, and how connected they were to crows.  I’m curious to see where things go, and I’m pretty excited about the next book.

Really, that’s all I have for today.  I wish I had more to talk about, but I’m pretty sure I’ll have more to talk for August!  I hope you have a great day!

ARC Book Review: Vow Of Thieves by Mary Pearson

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Book: Vow Of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Expected Publication Is August 6, 2019 by Henry Holt & Co|Expected Number Of Pages: 480 pages

Where I Got It: I received an e-ARC from netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review

Series: Dances Of Thieves #2

Genre: YA Fantasy

Kazi and Jase have survived, stronger and more in love than ever. Their new life now lies before them―the Ballengers will be outlaws no longer, Tor’s Watch will be a kingdom, and the two of them will meet all challenges side by side, together at last.

But an ominous warning mars their journey back, and in their rush to return to Tor’s Watch, just outside the fortress walls, they are violently attacked and torn apart―and each is thrust into their own new hell.

Unsure whether the other is alive or dead, Kazi and Jase must keep their wits among their greatest enemies and unlikeliest allies. And all the while, Death watches and waits.

I really liked Vow Of Thieves!  I was really excited to get an ARC of it, and I liked it just as much as I thought I would.

I thought the story was great in this book.  I liked seeing what was going on with Kazi and Jase, and things were not easy for them in this book.  I wanted them to be okay, and there were times, especially at the beginning, where I thought things wouldn’t be okay.  Things turned out just fine, of course, and I’m glad it did.  They really deserve it after everything they’ve been through.

I really liked Kazi in this book and she’s such an amazing character.  She had some tough decisions to make, and I thought she handled things the best way she could.

As for Jase…I did like him a little bit more in this book than I did in the previous book.  He’s really trying to keep his family together and to protect his people.  I wanted him to be okay, but with everything that happens, it wasn’t easy for him.  Still, he was able to make his way back to his home and family, and with Kazi, they were able to do what they needed to do in order to get Tor’s Watch back to what it was before the attack.

I thought things were wrapped up really well.  I was wondering where the story was going to go, and we definitely found out in this book.  I’m sad it’s only a duology, because I really wanted more of this story and this world.  Even though things are wrapped up and this particular story is over, there’s room for a lot more story in this world.  With how the book ended, it makes me wonder what else is on the horizon.

Things may have been resolved in this book, but there’s a lot more that can happen.  I hope it doesn’t, but you never know.  I know I’ll be waiting to see if we’ll be getting more books in this world, and who it might focus on.  It is a great end to the series, and it was definitely a page-turner.

Like the previous book, it took a little bit to get into the book, but once I did, it was hard to stop reading.  This series, and the Remnant Chronicles, are worth reading.

4 stars.  I really liked Vow Of Thieves, and it’s a great end to a great series.

ARC Book Review: House Of Salt And Sorrows by Erin A Craig

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Book: House Of Salt And Sorrows by Erin A Craig

Expected Publication is August 6, 2019 by Delacorte|Expected Number Of Pages: 416

Where I Got It: I received an e-ARC from netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy

In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next. 

I liked House Of Salt And Sorrows!  Not as much as I thought I would but I still liked it.

It very much reminded me of the tale of the 12 Dancing Princesses.  I don’t know if it’s a re-telling of that story, because I couldn’t find actual confirmation that this is the case.  Either way, I liked that they were cursed, and the reason behind what was happening to Annaleigh’s sisters was interesting.

I don’t know how I feel about Annaleigh.  She seems to be the only one who knows what’s going on, which doesn’t surprise me.  Considering how things go, and what’s really going on, it’s not surprising.  I hope things work out for Annaleigh and her sisters, and it seems like things end in a pretty good place for them.  Hopefully, nothing horrible happens to them, and they can all live happily ever after.

I wish we got more with her sisters, but with so many of them, it’s not a surprise.  You get a pretty good sense of the world they’re living in, and how suffocating it is to be in mourning all the time.  You see what people think of them, and how hard it is for them to move past it and move on with their lives.

The setting is pretty haunting and very gothic.  I mentioned how suffocating it was for them.  You definitely feel all of that throughout the book, and how hard it was for Annaleigh when her father decided days after another funeral that they were no longer going to be in mourning.

I’m not sure what else to say about House Of Salt And Sorrows.  I liked the world and the setting but I wasn’t in love with the characters.

3 stars.  I liked House Of Salt And Sorrows but I didn’t love it.

Book Review: Finale by Stephanie Garber

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Book: Finale by Stephanie Garber

Published May 2019 by Flatiron Books|416 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: Caraval #3

Genre: YA Fantasy

Welcome, welcome to Finale, the third and final book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Caraval series! All games must come to an end…

It’s been two months since the last Caraval concluded, two months since the Fates were freed from an enchanted deck of cards, two months since Tella saw Legend, and two months since Legend claimed the empire’s throne as his own. Now, Legend is preparing for his official coronation and Tella is determined to stop it. She believes her own mother, who still remains in an enchanted sleep, is the rightful heir to the throne.

Meanwhile, Scarlett has started a game of her own. She’s challenged Julian and her former fiancé, Count Nicolas d’Arcy, to a competition where the winner will receive her hand in marriage. Finally, Scarlett feels as if she is in complete control over her life and future. She is unaware that her mother’s past has put her in the greatest danger of all.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun—with lives, empires, and hearts all at stake. There are no spectators this time: only those who will win…and those who will lose everything.

I was really nervous going into Finale.  I really liked Caraval, and Legendary was just okay, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I ended up really liking it!

Both Scarlett and Tella narrate the book, and we see what’s going on with both of them.  Scarlett learns a lot about her family, and trying to decide between Nicolas, her former fiance, and Julian.  Tella, on the other hand, is keeping watch on her mother and is dealing with Legend’s impending coronation.

There’s a lot going on, and I wondered how everything was going to get wrapped up.  Between Scarlett’s love life, and the Fates, I wasn’t sure where things were going to go.

We learn a lot about Scarlett’s family, and it was not what I expected.  The Fates get defeated, and how that happened was interesting.  I wasn’t expecting it to happen the way it did, but it did make things interesting.  Everything really was leading to this book, and I liked seeing it all come together.  The history we get was really interesting, and I’m glad we got more of it.  I liked seeing more of the fates and the destruction they cause.

I really liked Scarlett, and she’s always been a great character.  I really felt for her, and all of the family stuff she had to deal with.  Tella was just okay, though I liked seeing her interactions with both Julian and Jacks.  While I’m glad we got her side of things, I also would have been fine if the book had just focused on Scarlett.  Still, Tella’s story needed to be wrapped up, so I was fine with both her and Scarlett narrating.

I was surprised by the ending, and I really want to know what it means for Legend and Tella.  It makes me wonder about the future of Caraval, and if it will come back.

I like the world, and it’s gotten bigger and bigger with each book.  It’s come to life, and it’s so vivid and magical.  I’m curious to see this series as either a movie or a t.v. show, because I’d love to see the world of Caraval on the screen, but at the same time, I’m worried it wouldn’t be as magical as the books.  And I don’t know how all of the letters and notes would translate to the screen.  At any rate, the world is pretty magical.

4 stars.  I really liked Finale, and it’s a great ending to the series.