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 my preorder of a book from Indigo:
Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Disney Book Group:
Aru Shah and the Song of Death (Pandava Quartet #2) by Roshani Chokshi
I was approved for three books on NetGalley from Simon and Schuster Canada:
The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore
The Daughter’s Tale by Armando Lucas Correa
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Wednesday Books:
The Last Hope (The Raging Ones #2) by Krista & Becca Ritchie
Thank you Disney Book Group, Simon and Schuster Canada, and Wednesday Books for these books!
Title: The Devouring Gray Author: Christine Lynn Herman Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Source: Indigo Summer Preview Format: Paperback Release Date: April 2, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
On the edge of town a beast haunts the woods, trapped in the Gray, its bonds loosening…
Uprooted from the city, Violet Saunders doesn’t have much hope of fitting in at her new school in Four Paths, a town almost buried in the woodlands of rural New York. The fact that she’s descended from one of the town’s founders doesn’t help much, either—her new neighbours treat her with distant respect, and something very like fear. When she meets Justin, May, Isaac, and Harper, all children of founder families, and sees the otherworldly destruction they can wreak, she starts to wonder if the townsfolk are right to be afraid.
When bodies start to appear in the woods, the locals become downright hostile. Can the teenagers solve the mystery of Four Paths, and their own part in it, before another calamity strikes?
Review:
I loved this book! It’s spooky and suspenseful.
This story has been compared to The Raven Cycle and Stranger Things, and I was definitely reminded of both of those series while reading it. In this story, there is a place in the woods called the Gray. It is like an alternate version of the forest where time feels different. The Gray holds a beast that kills people in the town, so the founding families use their special powers to defend the town. This reminded me of the Upside Down in Stranger Things, which is also like an alternate version of their town.
This town felt like a real place because of all of the history it had. There were four founding families, each of which has their own special power, including seeing the future and bringing stone to life. There was so much history of the town that it seemed like a real place, though it would be a creepy town if it were real.
The characters were also well developed. They had intense histories, including losing family members. The three main characters have to do rituals to get their powers, if they have them. If they don’t have powers, the town looks down on them. The narrative alternated between the perspectives of Justin, Violet, and Harper. They are each in a different position in terms of their relation to the town and the Gray, so they have very different perspectives of the town.
I really enjoyed this story. The ending was open ended, so I’m curious to see what happens in the rest of the series.
What to read next:
The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down by Gina McIntyre
Have you read The Devouring Gray? 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:
“Scarlet was descending toward the alley behind the Rieux Tavern when her portscreen chimed from the passenger seat, followed by an automated voice: ‘Comm received for Mademoiselle Scarlet Benoit from the Toulouse Law Enforcement Department of Missing Persons.'”
Do you recognize these first lines?
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And the book is… Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer.
Goodreads synopsis:
Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.
Title: The Becket List: A Blackberry Farm Story Author: Adele Griffin, LeUyen Pham (pictures) Genre: Middle Grade Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: April 2, 2019 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Adventure and discover with the bold and intrepid Becket Branch when her family’s move from city to a country farm means big changes!
Everything is changing for Becket Branch. From subways to sidewalks to safety rules, Becket is a city kid born and raised. Now the Branch family is trading urban bustle for big green fields and moving to Gran’s farm, where Becket has to make sense of new routines from feeding animals to baling hay. And as much as Becket loves to yell “Beautiful Alert!” there’s a lot about the countryside that is just plain odd.
But Becket is ready to put her own spin on country life. Whether selling her mouth-puckering lemonade, feeding hostile hens, or trying to make a best friend of her new neighbor Frieda Franca, Becket is determined to use her city smarts to get a grip on farm living. Laugh and learn with Becket as she mucks through the messy, exuberant human experience of change she didn’t ask for, in a story that sparkles with quirky characters and lasting connections.
Review:
This is a great story about growing up and life changes.
Becket goes through many changes in this book. At the beginning, her family moves to her grandmother’s farm. She has to adjust from city life in an apartment to country life on a farm. She also goes to a camp, but it is very different from the camp she used to go to in the city. She doesn’t make friends as easily as she did before. I loved that Becket had to deal with all of these changes in this book, because often kids books just focus on one kind of life change rather than many different ones.
I loved the pictures in the book. There were some at the beginning, but they tapered off towards the end. I had an ARC so this may have changed in the final edition, but I would have loved to have even more pictures because they were so great!
The one thing I didn’t like about this book was the ending. I won’t spoil it, but something happens to one of the animals. It was upsetting to me, because I could relate to it, which made it difficult to read. Things happen to animals as part of life on a farm, so I understand why it was in the story. However, I don’t like reading about things that happen to animals, so it is a personal preference.
I really liked this story. It’s great for middle grade readers.
What to read next:
The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden
Clara Voyant by Rachelle Delaney
Have you read The Becket List: A Blueberry Farm Story? 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 Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Keralie Corrington may seem harmless, but she’s, in fact, one of Quadara’s most skilled thieves and a liar. Varin, on the other hand, is an honest, upstanding citizen of Quadara’s most enlightened region, Eonia. He runs afoul of Keralie when she steals a package from him, putting his life in danger. When Varin attempts to retrieve the package, he and Keralie both find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that leaves all four of Quadara’s queens dead.
With no other choices and on the run from Keralie’s former employer, the two decide to join forces, endeavoring to discover who has killed the queens and save their own lives in the process. When their reluctant partnership blooms into a tenuous romance, they must overcome their own dark secrets in hopes of a future together that seemed impossible just days before. But first they have to stay alive and untangle the secrets behind the nation’s four dead queens.
An enthralling fast-paced murder mystery where competing agendas collide with deadly consequences, Four Dead Queensheralds the arrival of an exciting new YA talent.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) Author: Emily A. Duncan Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Publisher: Wednesday Books Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: April 2, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
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..
Review:
This book definitely lived up to the hype. It had lots of emotional ups and downs. I loved it.
While I was reading it, I kept thinking of the Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. They both have a strong presence of saints in the world. There are monsters masquerading as humans in both worlds. Also, the main character has special powers that she is just learning how to use to the fullest.
I became so emotionally invested in the story by the end. Some characters were not who they appeared to be at first, so I didn’t know who to trust. I loved that both Nadya and Serefin had separate narratives, so two sides of the story were told.
The final scenes were some of the most intense scenes I’ve ever read. There was tons of action and there were revelations that I wasn’t expecting. I never could have guessed how the story ended!
I loved this book. I’m excited to see what happens in the rest of the series!
What to read next:
Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
About the Author:
EMILY A. DUNCAN works as a youth services librarian. She received a Master’s degree in library science from Kent State University, which mostly taught her how to find obscure Slavic folklore texts through interlibrary loan systems. When not reading or writing, she enjoys playing copious amounts of video games and dungeons and dragons. Wicked Saints is her first book. She lives in Ohio.
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 Love & Other Curses by Michael Thomas Ford. The release date is April 9, 2019.
Goodreads Synopsis:
The Weyward family has been haunted by a curse for generations—if a Weyward falls in love before their seventeenth birthday, the person they love dies. Sam doesn’t plan to fall for anyone in the nine weeks before his birthday. He’ll spend his time working at the Eezy-Freeze with his dad; cooking up some midsummer magic with his grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother (the Grands); and experimenting with drag with the help of the queens at the Shangri-La, the local gay club. But when a new guy comes to town, Sam finds himself in trouble when they strike up a friendship that might be way more than that.
As Sam’s birthday approaches and he still hasn’t quite fallen in love, the curse seems to get more powerful and less specific about who it targets. A mysterious girl Sam talks to on the phone late at night and a woman he’s only seen in a dream might have the answers he’s been looking for—but time is running out to save the people he cares about.
Title: Mera: Tidebreaker Author: Danielle Paige, Stephen Byrne Genre: Graphic Novel Publisher: DC Ink Source: Indigo Spring Preview Format: Paperback Release Date: April 2, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
From Danielle Paige, the New York Times best-selling author of Stealing Snow, comes a Mera and Aquaman origin story that explores Mera’s first steps on land as well as her first steps as a hero or a villain, forcing her to choose to follow her heart or her mission to kill.
Mera is teenage royalty, heir to the throne of Xebel, the other not-so-lost colony under the sea. But Mera is destined to wear a different crown, that of Atlantis. When the inhabitants of Xebel plot to overthrow their homeland of Atlantis, Mera is sent to kill the heir to the throne, Arthur Curry. As the unrest between their colonies grows, Mera and Arthur unexpectedly fall in love…will Arthur Curry be the king at Mera’s side in Atlantis, or will he die under her blade?
Mera by Danielle Paige is an astonishing story that explores themes of duty, love, heroism and freedom, all through the eyes of readers’ favorite undersea royalty.
Review:
I am so excited to review this graphic novel! It was a lot of fun.
I liked that this was one complete story about a superhero. So many superhero comics are spread out over multiple books. This is also Mera’s origin story. She begins the story as a girl who is rebelling against her father, but then she realizes she has to work for what she wants in life. She meets Arthur Curry (who will later turn into Aquaman) and her life changes.
I loved the art in this graphic novel. Most of the colours were in green tones, just like the cover. However, Mera’s and her parents’s hair had that vibrant red colour, which contrasted with the rest of the images and made them stand out. With that bright red hair, she reminded me of the Little Mermaid.
This is a great graphic novel! It’s a lot of fun for kids or adults!
What to read next:
Mera: Queen of Atlantis by Dan Abnett, Lan Medina
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Have you read Mera: Tidebreaker? What did you think of it?
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 Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book. Here’s my list:
Jill's Book Blog 