Review: Riverdale: The Day Before

Title: Riverdale: The Day Before
Author: Micol Ostow
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: December 26, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Based on the massively successful CW show, Riverdale, this prequel novel explores what the gang was doing before Season One. 

Why did Jughead and Archie have a falling out? What did Veronica’s life look like in the Big Apple? And how long has Betty really been in love with Archie? 

Told from multiple POVs, your favorite characters tell their story their way.

Review:

I was so excited to read this book! It’s super fast-paced. I read most of it in one sitting!

Each chapter is narrated by a different character, either Archie, Jughead, Betty, or Veronica. This story takes place the day before the Riverdale TV series begins. That means that Betty is in LA doing an internship (which I don’t remember being in the show) and Veronica is in New York City, because she hasn’t moved to Riverdale yet. Archie and Jughead are in Riverdale, but they have drifted apart.

This story does some foreshadowing for what’s to come in the series. Though there is the mystery of the murder that happens at end of the book, fans of the show will already know what happened. Between chapters, there were other forms of narratives, such as texts and emails between other characters.

I loved this book! It is a must read for fans of Riverdale!

What to read next:

Road to Riverdale, Vol. 1 by Mark Waid

Have you read Riverdale: The Day Before? What did you think of it?

First Lines Friday – March 1

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:

“I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen. The first of these came as a terrible shock and, like anything that changes you forever, split my life into halves: Before and After. Like many of the extraordinary things to come, it involved my grandfather, Abraham Portman.”

Do you recognize these first lines?

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And the book is… Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

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Goodreads synopsis:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

Have you read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children? What did you think of it?

Litjoy Unboxing – January 2019

This is my unboxing of the Litjoy January 2019 box.

I love the new charm bracelets that are going to be included in quarterly Litjoy boxes! There is a banner to hold pins and buttons. There is also a sheet to make a fortune teller!


I love these pirate themed coasters. The shot glass is amazing too!

We got two books in this box! The first book is Ship of Smoke and Steel. The extra book is Brightly Burning, because the book in the previous box wasn’t the printed the way they wanted.

The trading cards in this crate are characters from Throne of Glass. I also ordered the Harry Potter trading cards as an add-on!

Did you get this box? What did you think of it?

Owlcrate Unboxing – January 2019

This is my unboxing for the Owlcrate January 2019 box!

I love this branch bracelet! It’s beautiful!

This “Master of Death Socks” are super comfy!

I love this pouch from the Darker Shade of Magic series!

This is a letter opener, which is the Sting Sword from the Hobbit.

I love the art on this banner with a quote from Philip Pullman.

This is a great luggage tag! It’s definitely useful to have an extra one!

This is the first of the pin in the monthly pin collection from Owlcrate! It matches the book in the box.

The book is The Gilded Wolves. I’ve heard it’s great so I can’t wait to read it!

The theme for the next box is Whimsical Beasts.

Did you get this box? What did you think of it?

Review: Secret of the Time Tablets (Cleopatra in Space #3)

Title: Secret of the Time Tablets (Cleopatra in Space #3)
Author: Mike Maihack
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Graphix
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Cleo and her friends journey from Yasiro Academy to the city of Hykosis, where some of the most notorious thieves and assassins live. They’re in search of information about the time tablets that could determine Cleo’s fate – whether she wants them to or not. But the group is separated when Xaius Octavian’s fleet attacks their ship, and Cleo and Akila are on their own until they run into an old nemesis. Will Cleo find the information she needs and get out of Hykosis alive? 

Review:

This series is a lot of fun! In the first book, Cleopatra is transported from ancient Egypt into a planet in the distant future.

Cleopatra finds the time tablets in this story. These tablets have the ability to send Cleo back to her time and her family. She goes on an adventure with her friends and she has to escape the evil villain, Octavian. We get to see another planet in this story after they have a battle in space and are stranded.

My favourite character is Khensu. He is Cleo’s history teacher and he is a cat. He’s hilarious, but wise. I love it when he appears in the story.

This is a great series that I highly recommend!

What to read next:

The Golden Lion (Cleopatra in Space #4) by Mike Maihack

Have you read Secret of the Time Tablets? What did you think of it?

TBR Thursday – February 28

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 Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before #3) by Jenny Han.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lara Jean is having the best senior year.

And there’s still so much to look forward to: a class trip to New York City, prom with her boyfriend Peter, Beach Week after graduation, and her dad’s wedding to Ms. Rothschild. Then she’ll be off to college with Peter, at a school close enough for her to come home and bake chocolate chip cookies on the weekends.

Life couldn’t be more perfect!

At least, that’s what Lara Jean thinks . . . until she gets some unexpected news.

Now the girl who dreads change must rethink all her plans—but when your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?

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

Owlcrate Unboxing – December 2018

Here’s my unboxing for the Owlcrate December 2018 box!

I love this wooden ornament! It looked great on my Christmas tree!

I use this bag all the time. It’s light and roomy, so it holds lots of stuff!

Here’s a candle called Lunar Queen, which is from the Lunar Chronicles.

This is a sampler for King of Fools which comes out on April 30. I can’t wait to read it!

This is the monthly pin and a magnet!

I love this Reading Planner! It’s a great way to track your books and new releases.

The book in this box is Amber & Dusk! I had never heard of it before, but it looks great! I love this exclusive Owlcrate cover. There was also a matching necklace in the box.

The theme for the next box is Magical Artifacts!

Did you get this box? What did you think of it?

Litjoy Unboxing – December 2018

This is my unboxing for the Litjoy December 2018 box!

I love this travel cup! It says “I’ll rule the world. As soon as I finish one… more… chapter.”

I’m obsessed with this pin! Weasley is our king!!

These are the perfect socks for any fantasy reader!

This is a beautiful notebook with illustrations from the Chronicles of Narnia.

The book is Once a King by Erin Summerhill. I haven’t read any of the books in this series but they’ve been on my TBR for a while now. Unfortunately, the book didn’t have the special inserts that they requested from the printer. To make up for it, Litjoy is including an extra book in the next box. That is great customer service!

The cards feature characters from Throne of Glass!

Did you get this box? What did you think of it?

Review: An Affair of Poisons

Title: An Affair of Poisons
Author: Addie Thorley
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: February 26, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

No one looks kindly on the killer of a king. 

After unwittingly helping her mother poison King Louis XIV, seventeen-year-old alchemist Mirabelle Monvoisin is forced to see her mother’s Shadow Society in a horrifying new light: they’re not heroes of the people, as they’ve always claimed to be, but murderers. Herself included. Mira tries to ease her guilt by brewing helpful curatives, but her hunger tonics and headache remedies cannot right past wrongs or save the dissenters her mother vows to purge.

Royal bastard Josse de Bourbon is more kitchen boy than fils de France. But when the Shadow Society assassinates the Sun King and half of the royal court, he must become the prince he was never meant to be in order to save his injured sisters and the petulant dauphin. Forced to hide in the sewers beneath the city, Josse’s hope of reclaiming Paris seems impossible―until his path collides with Mirabelle’s.

She’s a deadly poisoner. He’s a bastard prince. They are sworn enemies, yet they form a tenuous pact to unite the commoners and former nobility against the Shadow Society. But can a rebellion built on mistrust ever hope to succeed?

Review:

This fantasy story is based on the real events of the seventeenth century, referred to as the Affair of Poisons. I didn’t realize that it was a real event until I read the author’s historical notes at the end. That made it more fascinating!

This story was fast paced. Many things happened in this fairly short novels. I liked that it was a stand alone story, because many contemporary fantasy novels turn into long series.

For some reason, I didn’t feel connected to the main character, Mirabelle. Compared to her mother and sister, she was a great person, but I wasn’t rooting for her in the story. I liked Josse much more! He was determined to help his family no matter the costs. He was an admirable hero.

I enjoyed this historical fantasy story!

What to read next:

Grim Lovelies (Grim Lovelies #1) by Megan Shepherd

Enchantée (Enchantée #1) by Gita Trelease

Have you read An Affair of Poisons? What did you think of it?

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – February 27

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 Hurricane Season by Nicole Melleby. The release date is May 7, 2019.

Goodreads Synopsis:

This debut novel—about taking risks and facing danger, about love and art, and about growing up and coming out—will make its way straight into your heart.

Fig, a sixth grader, wants more than anything to see the world as her father does. The once-renowned pianist, who hasn’t composed a song in years and has unpredictable good and bad days, is something of a mystery to Fig. Though she’s a science and math nerd, she tries taking an art class just to be closer to him, to experience life the way an artist does. But then Fig’s dad shows up at school, disoriented and desperately searching for Fig. Not only has the class not brought Fig closer to understanding him, it has brought social services to their door.

Diving into books about Van Gogh to understand the madness of artists, calling on her best friend for advice, and turning to a new neighbor for support, Fig continues to try everything she can think of to understand her father, to save him from himself, and to find space in her life to discover who she is even as the walls are falling down around her.

Nicole Melleby’s Hurricane Season is a stunning novel about a girl struggling to be a kid as pressing adult concerns weigh on her. It’s also about taking risks and facing danger, about love and art, and about coming of age and coming out. And more than anything else, it is a story of the healing power of love—and the limits of that power.

What books are you waiting on this week?