TBR Thursday – May 6

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 From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898.png

Goodreads Synopsis:

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Review: Meg and Jo

Title: Meg and Jo
Author: Virginia Kantra
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Retelling
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: December 3, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

The timeless classic Little Women inspired this heartwarming modern tale of four sisters from New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.

The March sisters—reliable Meg, independent Jo, stylish Amy, and shy Beth—have grown up to pursue their separate dreams. When Jo followed her ambitions to New York City, she never thought her career in journalism would come crashing down, leaving her struggling to stay afloat in a gig economy as a prep cook and secret food blogger.

Meg appears to have the life she always planned—the handsome husband, the adorable toddlers, the house in a charming subdivision. But sometimes getting everything you’ve ever wanted isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

When their mother’s illness forces the sisters home to North Carolina for the holidays, they’ll rediscover what really matters.

One thing’s for sure—they’ll need the strength of family and the power of sisterhood to remake their lives and reimagine their dreams.

Review:

Meg and Jo are the eldest March sisters. Jo moved to New York City to follow her dream of being a writer, but she’s working as a prep chef and writing an anonymous food blog on the side. Meg is the reliable sister who stayed in their hometown and has a family of her own. All of the March sisters are summoned home at the holidays by their mother’s sudden illness. They need to come to terms with the decisions they’ve made and rebuild their family bond.

This story reimagines Little Women. All of the sisters are young adults who have chosen their own paths. Despite living in different cities, they’re all brought back home by their close bond. Even though the characters are older than the girls in the original Little Women, they had to face the same dilemmas. Jo was conflicted about following her dreams, and had an affair with an older man. Meg took her place as the oldest sister by looking after everyone, but she ended up with too much on her plate. They were the same characters, but older and in a contemporary world.

The bond of sisterhood was important in this story. There were other famous sisters mentioned throughout the story which reinforced this sisterhood bond. Meg and Jo referred to themselves as Elizabeth and Jane from Pride and Prejudice many times. The sisters liked to watch White Christmas which also has a famous pair of sisters. The relationship between Betty and Judy in White Christmas was more of a mother/daughter relationship, which represents the bonds between Meg and Amy, and Jo and Beth. Both of the sisters mothered one of the younger girls. Despite all of the problems the March girls faced, they supported each other.

This was a great retelling of Little Women. The sequel, Beth and Amy, comes out in a couple of weeks, and I’m excited to read it!

What to read next:

Beth and Amy by Virginia Kantra

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Have you read Meg and Jo? What did you think of it?

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – May 5

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 A Chorus Rises (A Song Below Water #20 by Bethany C. Morrow. The expected publication date is June 1, 2021.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898.png

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Hate U Give meets Shadowshaper in Bethany C. Morrow’s A Chorus Rises, a brilliant contemporary fantasy set in the world of A Song Below Water.

Teen influencer Naema Bradshaw has it all: she’s famous, privileged, has “the good hair”— and she’s an Eloko, a person who’s gifted with a song that woos anyone who hears it. Everyone loves her — well, until she’s cast as the awful person who exposed Tavia’s secret siren powers.

Now, she’s being dragged by the media. No one understands her side: not her boyfriend, not her friends, nor her Eloko community. But Naema knows the truth and is determined to build herself back up — no matter what.

When a new, flourishing segment of Naema’s online supporters start targeting black girls, however, Naema must discover the true purpose of her magical voice.

What books are you waiting on this week?

Review: Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy #1)

Title: Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy #1)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBT
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

The dreamers walk among us . . . and so do the dreamed. Those who dream cannot stop dreaming – they can only try to control it. Those who are dreamed cannot have their own lives – they will sleep forever if their dreamers die.

And then there are those who are drawn to the dreamers. To use them. To trap them. To kill them before their dreams destroy us all.

Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes out of his dreams and into his compromised reality.

Jordan Hennessy is a thief. The closer she comes to the dream object she is after, the more inextricably she becomes tied to it. 

Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. Her brother was a dreamer . . . and a killer. She has seen what dreaming can do to a person. And she has seen the damage that dreamers can do. But that is nothing compared to the destruction that is about to be unleashed. . . .

Review:

Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. Dreamers can bring things into the real world from their dreams, but if the dreamer dies, the things they have dreamed will permanently go to sleep. Jordan Hennessey is a dreamer and a thief. The dreamers are also being hunted. Carmen Farooq-Lane is one of the hunters, who had a brother who was a dreamer and a killer. The dreamers must try to survive the hunters but also the killers that are only found in their dreams.

This story had Maggie Stiefvater’s beautiful poetic language. The rhythm of the sentences almost made it feel like I was in a dream while reading it. There are so many small scenes that seem unrelated to the plot at first, but they end up having an important clue or introducing an important character. I think you could read this book over and over and notice new things every time.

This book is the first in a trilogy that is based on The Raven Cycle. Ronan was one of the main characters in The Raven Cycle. Ronan is a complex character who could probably fill multiple book series with his extensive history as a dreamer. This story mentioned some of the things that happened in The Raven Cycle, but I would recommend reading The Raven Cycle before this one, so that you have the background of the characters.

I loved this book! The second one in the series comes out in a couple of weeks, so I can’t wait to read it!

What to read next:

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by Maggie Stiefvater, Morgan Beem (illustrator)

Have you read Call Down the Hawk? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday – My Ten Most Recent Reads

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 My Ten Most Recent Reads. Here’s my list:

1. Dark One, Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly

2. A Universe of Wishes by Dhonielle Clayton (editor)

3. The Cost of Knowing by Brittney Morris

4. Stargazer by Anthony Cleveland

5. Jane Austen Investigates: The Abbey Mystery by Julia Golding

6. These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy

7. Riverdale: The Ties That Bind by Micol Ostow, Thomas Pitilli (illustrator)

8. The Sky Above Us by Natalie Lund

9. Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall

10. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

(All book covers from Goodreads)

What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?

Happy Pub Day – May 4

Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!

Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser

The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim

Into Darkness by Liz Braswell

10 Truths and a Dare by Ashely Elston

Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson

Legend of the Dragon Slayer by Brandon Mull

Brontë by Manuela Santoni

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark

Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

Blade of Secrets by Tricia Levenseller

Sky Breaker by Addie Thorley

The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He

The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A. Harwood

Counting Down the You by Tashie Bhuiyan

Sunkissed by Katie West

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Dark One, Vol. 1

Title: Dark One, Vol. 1
Author: Brandon Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Publisher: Vault Comics
Source: Diamond Book Distributors via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 18, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Visions of a dark and fantastic world haunt Paul Tanasin, but when he discovers they are prophecies from Mirandus–a world in which he’s destined to become a fearsome destroyer–He’ll have to embrace the fear, rise up as The Dark One, and shatter everything.

Review:

Paul Tanasin is haunted by visions of a girl who claims to be his sister. He is sent to therapy but he can’t explain what is going on. One day he is captured and brought to a fantasy world, Mirandus, where he is destined to be the Dark One. Meanwhile, his mother is a attorney representing a serial killer. This murderer has an unusual request that she hasn’t seen before, but she must do her best to give him what he wants. Both Paul and his mother must face their demons in the real world and in Mirandus.

I like it when fantasy stories begin in the real world and then transport the characters to a fantasy land. There were some hints that something greater was going on in Paul’s life when he was haunted by a girl claiming to be his sister. He was destined to fulfill his role in the “narrative” that the people of Mirandus had to follow.

This story had the narrative trope of the “chosen one.” When Paul reached Mirandus, he was told that he was meant to play a particular role there. It didn’t take long for Paul to start to fill in that role, even though he didn’t want to at first. If someone is told that they are something enough times, they start to believe it, whether it’s good or bad.

This graphic novel finished on a cliffhanger so I’ll have to read the next one!

Thank you Vault Comics for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

White Sand, Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson, Rik Hoskin, Julius Gopez

Have you read Dark One, Vol. 1? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – May 3

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 Dark One, Vol. 1 by Brendan Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – May 2

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 8 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With… Dark One, Vol. 1

The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.

This Sunday I’m reading Dark One, Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898.png

Goodreads Synopsis:

Visions of a dark and fantastic world haunt Paul Tanasin, but when he discovers they are prophecies from Mirandus–a world in which he’s destined to become a fearsome destroyer–He’ll have to embrace the fear, rise up as The Dark One, and shatter everything.

What book are you in bed with today?