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 Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Moxie girls fight back!
Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with her small-town Texas high school that thinks the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes and hallway harassment. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules.
Viv’s mom was a punk rock Riot Grrrl in the ’90s, so now Viv takes a page from her mother’s past and creates a feminist zine that she distributes anonymously to her classmates. She’s just blowing off steam, but other girls respond. Pretty soon Viv is forging friendships with other young women across the divides of cliques and popularity rankings, and she realizes that what she has started is nothing short of a girl revolution.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: Cold as Ice (Whatever After #6) Author: Sarah Mlynowski Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy Publisher: Scholastic Press Source: Borrowed from a friend Format: Paperback Release Date: November 25, 2014 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Brrrrrrrr. This fairy tale is FREEZING!
Even though my brother and I had decided to stay away from the magic mirror, our puppy had other plans — he bounded right in. What choice did we have but to go in after him?
When we land in a winter wonderland, we realize we must be in the story of The Snow Queen. And this fairy tale is nothing like the movie. This Snow Queen is super-mean, and she turns our dog into an ice sculpture!
To get home we’ll have to: – Defrost our furry friend – Ride a very chatty reindeer – Learn to ice-skate – Escape from a band of robbers
And if we’re not careful . . . we could end up frozen ourselves!
Review:
I really love this series! This chilly story was a great book.
I’ve never read the tale of the Snow Queen, so this story was new to me. I’ve watched Frozen, but the fairytales that Abby and Jonah enter are the original tales, not the Disney versions. This story is a dark tale, so Abby and Jonah had to try to turn it into a happy ending.
There were some big surprises at the end of this story. Abby and Jonah’s secret of the mirror was almost discovered by their parents, but at the last minute their minds were wiped. Another important memory was altered as well, so I have no idea how it will play out in the rest of the series!
As always, I can’t wait to continue the rest of this series. It is a great collection of fairytale retellings.
What to read next:
Beauty Queen (Whatever After #7) by Sarah Mlynowski
Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School #1) by Jen Calonita
Have you read Cold as Ice? 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 Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. The release date is May 14, 2019.
Goodreads Synopsis:
A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…
First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.
The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?
This meme is hosted by Lainey from Thoughts on Tomes. The Goodreads Group for Top 5 Wednesday can be found here.
This week’s prompt is Favourite SFF (Science Fiction/Fantasy) Booktubers, but since I don’t watch a lot of book tubers, I chose to list my Favourite SFF Books instead. Here’s my list:
Title: The Hummingbird Dagger Author: Cindy Anstey Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Historical Publisher: Swoon Reads Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: April 16, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
1833. After young Lord James Ellerby witnesses a near-fatal carriage accident on the outskirts of his estate, he doesn’t think twice about bringing the young woman injured in the wreck to his family’s manor to recuperate. But then she finally regains consciousness only to find that she has no memory of who she is or where she belongs.
Beth, as she takes to calling herself, is an enigma even to herself. She has the rough hands of a servant, but the bearing and apparent education of a lady. Her only clue to her identity is a gruesome recurring nightmare about a hummingbird dripping blood from its steel beak.
With the help of James and his sister, Caroline, Beth slowly begins to unravel the mystery behind her identity and the sinister circumstances that brought her to their door. But the dangerous secrets they discover in doing so could have deadly ramifications reaching the highest tiers of London society.
Review:
I love Cindy Anstey’s books! They are set in the 19th century, which is my favourite time period to read about. However, the subject matter is something that couldn’t have been written about during that time. In this story, there is a kidnapping and murder.
The cast of older teenagers have to search out the answers as to who the young lady is that was involved in an accident. She lost her memory, so they have the difficult task of finding her identity. I loved the characters. They reminded me of Jane Austen characters. Their family friend, Mrs. Thompson, especially reminded me of Mrs. Bennet in the way that she was really clueless to the things that were going on around her.
The mystery of the story kept me guessing until the end. I loved the ending. This is a great historical, YA mystery!
What to read next:
Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey
Duels and Deception by Cindy Anstey
About the Author:
Whenever she is not sitting at the computer, throwing a ball in the backyard, gardening or reading, Cindy can be found–actually, not found–adventuring around the world with her hubby.
She has lived on three continents, had a monkey in her yard and a scorpion under her sink, dwelt among castles and canals, enjoyed the jazz of Beale St and attempted to speak French.
Cindy loves history, mystery and… a chocolate Labrador called Chester.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Rainy Day Reads. This is a perfect list for this week because it’s raining all week in Toronto! These are books that are hard to put down, so they’re perfect for a rainy day when you have lots of time to read. Here’s my list:
1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
2. An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
3. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
4. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Title: Restore Me (Shatter Me #4) Author: Tahereh Mafi Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction Publisher: HarperCollins Source: Purchased Format: Hardcover Release Date: March 6, 2018 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Juliette Ferrars thought she’d won. She took over Sector 45, was named the new Supreme Commander, and now has Warner by her side. But she’s still the girl with the ability to kill with a single touch—and now she’s got the whole world in the palm of her hand. When tragedy hits, who will she become? Will she be able to control the power she wields and use it for good?
Review:
This was an amazing story in the Shatter Me series! The first three books can be read as a trilogy. This continuation of the series is even better than the first three books.
Even though so much happens in the first three books, there is still an entire world to discover in this one. The first trilogy was centred around Juliette in Sector 45. This story explores the leaders of the other continents. There was so much information that Juliette didn’t know, and that we learn along with her.
This story was different from the other ones because the chapters alternate between Juliette’s and Warner’s points of view. There are betrayals and lots of new discoveries to be made, so it was important that the two different perspectives be shown in this story. It’s also great to see Warner’s narrative again. He was the narrator in the novella Destroy Me. He’s a complicated character and I love reading his scenes.
I loved this book! I’m so glad I’m almost caught up! I can’t wait to see what happens next.
What to read next:
Shadow Me (Shatter Me #4.5) by Tahereh Mafi
Defy Me (Shatter Me #5) by Tahereh Mafi
Have you read Restore Me? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished Restore Me (Shatter Me #4) by Tahereh Mafi.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
Title: The Agony of Bun O’Keefe Author: Heather Smith Genre: Young Adult Publisher: Razorbill Canada Source: Library Format: Ebook Release Date: September 5, 2017 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Set in 1980s Newfoundland, The Agony of Bun O’Keefe is the story of a 14-year-old girl who runs away to the city and is taken in by a street musician who lives with an eclectic cast of characters: a pot smoking dishwasher with culinary dreams; a drag queen with a tragic past; a Catholic school girl desperately trying to reinvent herself; and a man who Bun is told to avoid at all cost.
Review:
After reading Chicken Girl, I wanted to check out Heather Smith’s other books. I loved this one!
This story had a diverse cast of characters, who lived in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Bun runs away from home and ends up moving in with a busker she meets on the street. He lives with a variety of people, including a guy who dresses up in drag as Cher and a chef. The Busker boy is Native Canadian. Bun comes from a mother who was a hoarder. There were many tough issues discussed in this story, including suicide.
I loved Bun! She had a childlike innocence, even though she was fourteen. She didn’t have experience in schools, because she was only sent to kindergarten. She was educated by movies that she memorized. She took everything literally, which created some funny misunderstandings. She read and memorized the dictionary for fun. I loved her innocence. She had to grow up physically and emotionally in this story.
I loved this book! I highly recommend it!
What to read next:
Chicken Girl by Heather Smith
Baygirl by Heather Smith
Have you read The Agony of Bun O’Keefe? What did you think of it?
Jill's Book Blog 