First Lines Friday – April 5

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.

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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.

My review for Scarlet can be found here.

Have you read Scarlet? What did you think of it?

Review: The Becket List: A Blackberry Farm Story

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: ★★★★

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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 – April 4

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?

Blog Tour Review: Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1)

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: ★★★★★

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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.

Author Links:

Website: https://eaduncan.com/
Twitter: @glitzandshadows
Instagram: @glitzandshadows
Tumblr: http://glitzandshadows.tumblr.com/

Buy the book:

https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/wicked-saints/

Thank you to Wednesday Books for letting me participate in this blog tour.

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – April 3

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. 

What books are you waiting on this week?

Top 5 Wednesday – Collectibles on my Bookshelf

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 Collectibles on my Bookshelf. This is a list of the different kinds of bookish things I collect. Here’s my list:

1. Funko Pop figurines

2. Candles

3. Bookmarks

4. Notebooks

5. Enamel Pins

What collectibles do you have on your bookshelf?

Review: Mera: Tidebreaker

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: ★★★★★

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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 – Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book

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:

1. Cover

2. Author

3. Title

4. Price

5. Reviews

6. Friend Recommendations

7. Preorder Incentives

8. Goodreads Recommendations

9. NetGalley Recommendations

10. Publisher ARC Lists

What are things that make you pick up a book?

Review: The Last Namsara (Iskari #1)

Title: The Last Namsara (Iskari #1)
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.

These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her. 

Review:

I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for so long, and I regret not reading it sooner. It’s an amazing story!

I loved the power of stories in this book. Stories have the ability to attract dragons and give them the power to breathe fire. However, they are also believed to steal life from the person who tells them. Words and stories are very powerful because they represent our histories and dreams. I appreciated the way stories played a small part in this narrative, as a weapon, but didn’t take over from the main narrative.

There was a strong hierarchy of power in this story. The people in positions of power own the skral people, who work as their slaves. The skral aren’t even allowed to touch or look at their masters or anyone above them on the social hierarchy. Though Asha has the power to kill dragons, she doesn’t have any power over her own life. Her father controls the decision of who she will marry, and once she marries, her husband will control her choices. Though Asha is at a disadvantage in her position, she is very strong willed, which encourages her to fight for her life.

I loved this story! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

What to read next:

The Caged Queen (Iskari #2) by Kristen Ciccarelli

Ash Princess (Ash Princess Trilogy #1) by Laura Sebastian

Have you read The Last Namsara? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – April 1

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 The Last Namsara (Iskara #1) by Kristen Ciccarelli.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman.

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