This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.
This week’s prompt is Favourite Illustrators:
Did you write a #SixforSunday post? What was your list of Favourite Illustrators?
Title: Destroy Me (Shatter Me #1.5)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Rating: ★★★★★
Perfect for the fans of Shatter Me who are desperately awaiting the release of Unravel Me, this novella-length digital original will bridge the gap between these two novels from the perspective of the villain we all love to hate, Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.
In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .
Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.
Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me, Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.
This story contains some spoilers for the end of Shatter Me, so don’t read my review if you’re planning on reading Shatter Me.
This novella takes place after the end of Shatter Me. It follows Warner after he was shot. Juliette has run away, and Warner has to deal with his father’s reaction to him losing his experiment.
Warner finds Juliette’s journal from when she was locked up in her room. When he reads it, we get to see more of what she wrote. Bringing her journal into the story was a good way of keeping her narrative in this novella.
I really liked that we get to see Warner’s perspective in this story. It made him seem like a fuller character, because we can see his relationship with his father and his soldiers.
I love this series! I can’t wait to read the next book, Unravel Me.
Have you read Destroy Me? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
I received a bunch of books from publishers this week!
I received a book from HCC Frenzy:
I was approved for two books from St. Martin’s Press on NetGalley:
I was approved for three books from Simon and Schuster Canada on NetGalley:
I was approved for a book from Graydon House on NetGalley:
I was approved for a book from Algonquin Young Readers on Netgalley:
Thank you HCC Frenzy, St. Martin’s Press, Simon and Schuster Canada, Graydon House, and Algonquin Young Readers for these books!
What books did you get this week?
Title: Twilight of the Elves (The Adventurers Guild #2)
Author: Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 13, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
I should probably start at the beginning, Zed wrote, when things first went wrong?.
Zed, Brock, and their friends may have saved Freestone from destruction, but the fight against the Dangers is far from over. No one knows what to expect next from the dark power that forced the elves to abandon their city. And the influx of elf refugees in Freestone strains resources and brews resentment among the townspeople. Things have shifted between best friends Zed and Brock, as well, with their friendship crumbling under the weight of the secrets they’re keeping from each other.
When tensions reach an all-time high, Queen Me’Shala, leader of the elves, approaches the Adventurers Guild with a mission. She wants a small group of adventurers to go behind the king’s back on a covert mission to save her city, and Zed, Brock, Liza, Jett, Micah, and their elven friend Fel join the quest. To face a powerful form of magic thought to be extinct, the adventurers will have to learn how to rely on each other and fight harder than ever before.
Don’t miss this second installment of Zack Loran Clark and Nicholas Eliopulos’s Adventurers Guild trilogy, where the stakes are raised, the action is breathless, and the dangers will stop even the bravest of hearts.
This is a fun story in the Adventurers Guild series.
I love the group of kids who form the Adventurers Guild. They are like a bunch of misfits because they don’t really belong anywhere else. There was a lot of tension between Zed and Brock, the two main characters, because they are both keeping secrets from one another. The characters got a little confusing at times because there were so many new ones, such as the elves they travelled with, and some characters have similar names.
I was reminded of Game of Thrones throughout this story. There were different creatures and species, such as dragons. The elves play an important role in this story. The Adventurers Guild has to try and help the elves get rid of the Lich, which is causing all of their dead to spring to life and attack. Their trek reminded me of when the characters in Game of Thrones go beyond the wall. This story is like a kid-friendly version of Game of Thrones.
I really enjoyed this action-packed story! This is a great series!
Have you read Twilight of the Elves? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words, where you give the first few lines of a book to hook your readers before introducing the book.
Here are my first lines:
“If I believed in omens, this would be a bad one. There’s only one suitcase left on the baggage carousel. It’s bright pink, covered with Hello Kitty stickers, and definitely not mine.”
Do you recognize these first lines?
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
And the book is… Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus.
Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery’s never been there, but she’s heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.
The town is picture-perfect, but it’s hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone’s declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.
Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she’s in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous–and most people aren’t good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it’s safest to keep your secrets to yourself.
Have you read Two Can Keep a Secret? What did you think of it?
Title: The Au Pair
Author: Emma Rous
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Publisher: Berkley Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: January 8, 2019
Rating: ★★★★
Seraphine Mayes and her twin brother Danny were born in the middle of summer at their family’s estate on the Norfolk coast. Within hours of their birth, their mother threw herself from the cliffs, the au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of dark cloaks, changelings, and the aloof couple who drew a young nanny into their inner circle.
Now an adult, Seraphine mourns the recent death of her father. While going through his belongings, she uncovers a family photograph that raises dangerous questions. It was taken on the day the twins were born, and in the photo, their mother, surrounded by her husband and her young son, is beautifully dressed, smiling serenely, and holding just one baby.
Who is the child and what really happened that day?
One person knows the truth, if only Seraphine can find her.
I was so excited about this book! I love thrillers like this. It was kind of a mystery but very suspenseful like a thriller.
I was so intrigued throughout the story. It was hard to stop reading, because I wanted to figure out what happened. There were dual narratives. It alternated between Seraphine’s perspective in 2017 where she’s trying to figure out who the baby in the picture is, and Laura’s perspective in 1992 where she was an au pair for Seraphine’s family before her birth.
I love it when books surprise me at the end, and this one definitely did. However, it was impossible to guess the ending because some information is left out until the end. I don’t like when this happens, but it was necessary to hold the suspense until the end.
I really enjoyed this story!
Have you read The Au Pair? What did you think of it?
TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.
My pick this week is Wildcard (Warcross #2) by Marie Lu.
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?
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
On February 24, I went to the HCC Frenzy YA Summer Preview. HCC Frenzy is the HarperCollins Canada Teen department. This was an amazing event!
This is a complete list of the books that were presented:
I would love to read all of them because they all sound amazing! However, I probably won’t be able to do that. These are some more details about the books that I’m super excited about for the summer!
Return once more to the deadly and dazzling world of Red Queen in Broken Throne, a beautifully designed, must-have companion to the chart-topping series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard.
The perfect addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling Red Queen series, this gorgeously designed package features three brand-new novellas, two previously published novellas, Steel Scars and Queen Song, and never-before-seen maps, flags, bonus scenes, journal entries, and much more exclusive content.
Fans will be delighted to catch up with beloved characters after the drama of War Storm and be excited to hear from brand-new voices as well. This stunning collection is not to be missed!
The first in a sweeping and epic own voices debut fantasy trilogy—set in a stunning Latinx-inspired world—about a face-changing thief and a risk-taking prince who must team up to defeat a powerful evil they accidentally unleashed. Perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi, Leigh Bardugo, and V. E. Schwab.
To Finn Voy, magic is two things: a knife to hold under the chin of anyone who crosses her…and a disguise she shrugs on as easily as others pull on cloaks.
As a talented faceshifter, it’s been years since Finn has seen her own face, and that’s exactly how she likes it. But when Finn gets caught by a powerful mobster, she’s forced into an impossible mission: steal a legendary treasure from Castallan’s royal palace or be stripped of her magic forever.
After the murder of his older brother, Prince Alfehr is first in line for the Castallan throne. But Alfie can’t help but feel that he will never live up to his brother’s legacy. Riddled with grief, Alfie is obsessed with finding a way to bring his brother back, even if it means dabbling in forbidden magic.
But when Finn and Alfie’s fates collide, they accidentally unlock a terrible, ancient power—which, if not contained, will devour the world. And with Castallan’s fate in their hands, Alfie and Finn must race to vanquish what they have unleashed, even if it means facing the deepest darkness in their pasts.
In the next striking and vibrant standalone novel by the critically acclaimed author of Allegedly and Monday’s Not Coming, Tiffany D. Jackson tells the story of three Brooklyn teens who plot to turn their murdered friend into a major rap star by pretending he is still alive.
Biggie Smalls was right. Things done changed. But that doesn’t mean that Quadir and Jarrell are okay letting their best friend Steph’s tracks lie forgotten in his bedroom after he’s killed—not when his beats could turn any Bed-Stuy corner into a celebration, not after years of having each other’s backs.
Enlisting the help of Steph’s younger sister, Jasmine, Quadir and Jarrell come up with a plan to promote Steph’s music under a new rap name: The Architect. Soon, everyone in Brooklyn is dancing to Steph’s voice. But then his mixtape catches the attention of a hotheaded music rep and—with just hours on the clock—the trio must race to prove Steph’s talent from beyond the grave.
Now, as the pressure—and danger—of keeping their secret grows, Quadir, Jarrell, and Jasmine are forced to confront the truth about what happened to Steph. Only each has something to hide. And with everything riding on Steph’s fame, together they need to decide what they stand for before they lose everything they’ve worked so hard to hold on to—including each other.
Selah has waited her whole life for a happily ever after. As the only daughter of the leader of Potomac, she knows her duty is to find the perfect match, a partner who will help secure the future of her people. Now that day has finally come.
But after an excruciatingly public rejection from her closest childhood friend, Selah’s stepmother suggests an unthinkable solution: Selah must set sail across the Atlantic, where a series of potential suitors awaits—and if she doesn’t come home engaged, she shouldn’t come home at all.
From English castle gardens to the fjords of Norge, and under the eye of the dreaded Imperiya Yotne, Selah’s quest will be the journey of a lifetime. But her stepmother’s schemes aren’t the only secrets hiding belowdecks…and the stakes of her voyage may be higher than any happy ending.
Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Mlynowski, this heartfelt and humorous contemporary take on Sense and Sensibility follows two sisters—complete opposites—who discover the secrets they’ve been keeping make them more alike than they’d realized.
For two sisters as different as Plum and Ginny, getting on each other’s nerves is par for the course. But when the family’s finances hit a snag, sending chaos through the house in a way only characters from a Jane Austen novel could understand, the two drift apart like they never have before. Plum, a self-described social outcast, strikes up a secret friendship with the class jock, while Ginny’s usual high-strung nature escalates to pure hysterics.
But this has always been the sisters’ dynamic. So why does everything feel different this year? Maybe because Ginny is going to leave for college soon. Maybe because Plum finally has something that she doesn’t have to share with her self-involved older sister. Or maybe because the girls are forced to examine who they really are instead of who their late father said they were. And who each girl discovers—beneath the years of missing their dad—could either bring them closer together…or drive them further apart.
Welcome to the Forest of Good and Evil. A dream come true, and a living nightmare.
Evil isn’t born, it’s made. One thought and action at a time. Take a good look at what you’ve made.
Far, far away, in the realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm and fairy tales are real. Except, fairy tales aren’t based on myths and legends of the past—they are prophecies of the future.
Raised in the mortal realm, Everly Morrow has no idea she’s a real life fairy tale princess—until she manifests an ability to commune with mirrors.
Look. See… What will one peek hurt?
Soon, a horrifying truth is revealed. She is fated to be Snow White’s greatest enemy, the Evil Queen.
With powers beyond her imagination or control—and determined to change Fate itself—Everly returns to the land of her birth. There, she meets Roth Charmaine, the supposed Prince Charming. Their attraction is undeniable, but their relationship is doomed.
As bits and pieces of the prophecy unfold, Everly faces one betrayal after another, and giving in to her dark side proves more tempting every day. Can she resist, or will she become the queen—and villain—she was born to be?
Best friends are forged by fire. For Winona Olsen and Lucille Pryce, that fire happened the night they met outside the police station—both deciding whether to turn their families in.
Winona has been starving for life in the seemingly perfect home that she shares with her seemingly perfect father, celebrity weatherman Stormy Olsen. No one knows that he locks the pantry door to control her eating and leaves bruises where no one can see them.
Lucille has been suffocating beneath the needs of her mother and her drug-dealing brother, wondering if there’s more out there for her than disappearing waitress tips and generations of barely getting by.
One harrowing night, Winona and Lucille realize they can’t wait until graduation to start their new lives. They need out. Now. All they need is three grand, fast. And really, a stolen convertible to take them from Michigan to Las Vegas can’t hurt.
We also got an amazing swag bag! Here are the items that were included:
There was some tea, some candies, a bath bomb, a pop socket, and a great Frenzy mug.
There was also a great pillowcase with a quote from King of Fools!
These are the ARCs I got in my bag: Ordinary Girls, The Wise and the Wicked, and Let Me Hear a Rhyme. There was also a sampler of The Evil Queen.
I’m so excited about all of these books!
Thank you so much HCC Frenzy for inviting me to this amazing event!
Title: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: November 15, 2011
Rating: ★★★★★
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.
I loved this book! I keep hearing about the series, so I bought a boxed set to see what it’s like. I read this book in one sitting, all one afternoon. I couldn’t put it down!
The story is unlike other similar YA dystopians I’ve read. It starts with Juliette already locked up to prevent her from using her powers. Typically, the main character discovers their powers in the first book in a series. I liked how this one jumped right into the story.
Juliette’s growth throughout the story is physically demonstrated on the page. At the beginning, she crosses out a lot of words and lines on the page. The author says at the beginning that these crossed out parts are intentional. As the story progresses, Juliette crosses out less of her story. She becomes more confident in her narrative. When she is more uncertain, the lines return on the page. I loved the way that her character development was portrayed in this way.
This book was an amazing start to the series! I can’t wait to read the next book!
Have you read Shatter Me? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.
The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan. The release date is April 2, 2019.
A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.
A prince in danger must decide who to trust.
A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings.
Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.
In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy.
What books are you waiting on this week?
Jill's Book Blog 