Review: Corpse and Crown (Cadaver and Queen #2)

Title: Corpse and Crown (Cadaver and Queen #2)
Author: Alisa Kwitney
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: February 12, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Oliver Twist gets a fresh take in this reimagining of the Dickensian classic taking the familiar characters and turning them on their heads in a historical thriller packed with weird science, political suspense, and steamy romance, perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper and Marissa Meyer’s Cinder.

From Alisa Kwitney comes a connected novel set in the same alternative Victorian England of Cadaver & Queen. Corpse & Crownfollows the story of Agatha DeLacey, an Ingold nursing student who travels to London and uncovers a devastating secret about the country’s Bio-Mechanicals. Inspired by the classic story of Oliver Twist and complete with a dashing Artful Dodger-inspired male lead, this retelling is a satisfying follow-up to Kwitney’s clever and critically acclaimed young adult debut.

Review:

This is a fun series! It is set in Victorian times, with science fiction themes.

The first book in the story, Cadaver and Queen, is an adaptation of Frankenstein. This story is an adaptation of Oliver Twist. I actually haven’t read either of those books, so I’m not sure how much of the original story is included, though the characters are there.

There are a lot of medical scenes because it is set in a hospital. I’m quite squeamish, but I was able to get through those scenes. There were some blood and surgeries involved. However, these scenes were limited so I was able to enjoy the story.

The biomechanicals in this story are corpses who have been turned into machines by attaching different body parts. An interesting aspect of these creatures is that they can continue to experience the lives and memories of the donor. This was similar to the phantom limb syndrome, which is when a person can still feel their limbs after they have been amputated.

I really enjoyed this book!

What to read next:

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (Montague Siblings #1) by Mackenzi Lee

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

Have you read Corpse and Crown? What did you think of it?

First Lines Friday – February 15

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 like to save things. Not important things like whales or people or the environment. Silly things. Porcelain bells, the kind you get at souvenir shops. Cookie cutters you’ll never use, because who needs a cookie in the shape of a foot? Ribbons for my hair. Love letters. Of all the things I save, I guess you could say my love letters are my most prized possession. “

Do you recognize these first lines?

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

And the book is… To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #1) by Jenny Han.

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898-2.png

Goodreads synopsis:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

Have you read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before? What did you think of it?

Review: Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School #1)

Title: Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School #1)
Author: Jen Calonita
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Would you send a villain to do a hero’s job? An exciting new twisted fairy tale series from award-winning author Jen Calonita.

Full of regret, Cinderella’s wicked stepmother, Flora, has founded the Fairy Tale Reform School with the mission of turning the wicked and criminally mischievous into upstanding members of Enchantasia.

Impish, sassy 12-year-old Gilly has a history of petty theft and she’s not too sorry about it. When she lifts a hair clip, she gets tossed in reform school-for at least three months. But when she meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there’s more to this school than its sweet mission. There’s a battle brewing and she starts to wonder: can a villain really change?

Review:

I love fairy tale retellings! There are so many great middle grade series about fairy tales these days. After reading Misfits, which is set in the same world as this series, I wanted to check out Jen Calonita’s other fairy tale books.

In this book, Gillian, a cobbler’s daughter, is sent to the Fairy Tale Reform School after being caught stealing. The school is meant to reform kids in the fairy tale school. It is run by Flora, who was Cinderella’s stepmother. The teachers are reformed villains, such as the Big Bad Wolf, the Sea Witch, and the Evil Queen.

This story was very fast paced. There was lots happening in the story. Since there were so many villains, it was hard to know who to trust. It made the story more exciting, because it was unpredictable.

I really enjoyed this story! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

What to read next:

Charmed (Fairy Tale Reform School #1) by Jen Calonita

Misfits (Royal Academy Rebels #1) by Jen Calonita

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

TBR Thursday – February 14

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 The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories #1) by Chris Colfer.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Alex and Conner Bailey’s world is about to change, in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairy tales.
The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.

But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought.

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

Review: King of Scars

Title: King of Scars (Nikolai Duology #1)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Orion Children’s Books
Source: Indigo Book Box
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal. 

Review:

I’ve been excited about this book for months! I’m so glad I finally got to read it.

It’s been a while since I read Six of Crows and the Grisha trilogy, so it took me a few chapters to get oriented in the story. It was a little confusing because there are characters from both series in this one, so I had to remember what happened in both series to understand this one.

This story was so thrilling. It was so hard to put down because there were a lot of plot twists. This book followed different perspectives, like the Six of Crows series, including Nina, Nikolai, and Zoya. We get to learn a lot about their histories. These were some of the most interesting characters so I’m glad they were the focus of this book.

This is a fabulous story! I recommend reading the Grisha trilogy and the Six of Crows duology before reading this book, since those characters appear in this book. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

What to read next:

Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1) by Kendare Blake

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1) by Laini Taylor

Have you read King of Scars? What did you think of it?

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – February 13

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 Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett. The release date is April 16, 2019.

Goodreads Synopsis:

After an awkward first encounter, Birdie and Daniel are forced to work together in a Seattle hotel where a famous author leads a mysterious and secluded life in this romantic contemporary novel from the author of Alex, Approximately.

Mystery-book aficionado Birdie Lindberg has an overactive imagination. Raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents, she’s cultivated a whimsical fantasy life in which she plays the heroic detective and every stranger is a suspect. But her solitary world expands when she takes a job the summer before college, working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel.

In her new job, Birdie hopes to blossom from introverted dreamer to brave pioneer, and gregarious Daniel Aoki volunteers to be her guide. The hotel’s charismatic young van driver shares the same nocturnal shift and patronizes the waterfront Moonlight Diner where she waits for the early morning ferry after work. Daniel also shares her appetite for intrigue, and he’s stumbled upon a real-life mystery: a famous reclusive writer—never before seen in public—might be secretly meeting someone at the hotel.

To uncover the writer’s puzzling identity, Birdie must come out of her shell…discovering that most confounding mystery of all may be her growing feelings for the elusive riddle that is Daniel.

What books are you waiting on this week?

Top 5 Wednesday – Independent Ladies

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 Independent Ladies.

1. Nina Zenik (King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo)

2. Mare Barrow (Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard)

3. Cat Agatta (This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada)

4. Esta Filosik (The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell)

5. Nancy Drew (The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene)

Who are your favourite Independent Ladies?

Review: Super Mario Adventures

Title: Super Mario Adventures
Author: Kentaro Takekuma, Charlie Nozawa
Genre: Graphic Novel, Children’s
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 11, 2016 (first published in 1993)
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Super Mario Adventures, inspired by the bestselling Super Mario video game franchise, is a collection of comics that originally ran in Nintendo Power magazine in 1992-93. 

The peril-plagued Princess Toadstool is kidnapped by the diabolical deadbeat Bowser but super plumbers Mario and Luigi hatch a plan with their new friend Yoshi to rescue her. Are the Super Mario Bros’ plans a pipe dream? Can they stop the Koopa King before he forces the Princess to be his bride?! 

Long out of print, this stunning, full-color graphic novel is now available once again!

Review:

I’ve always loved playing Super Mario video games! I was so excited to find this graphic novel. It tells stories in the Mario world.

These stories were interesting because they tell some origin stories for the characters. For example, Princess Peach was originally called Princess Toadstool because she was from the Mushroom kingdom. The Toads lived in the castle with her. I loved reading these stories and seeing where the characters come from.

I would love to see more Super Mario graphic novels or books. I would definitely read them, and the games are still so popular with kids today. For now, this is a great story!

What to read next:

Sonic the Hedgehog Archives: Volume 1 by Michael Gallagher, Dave Manak, Patrick Spaziante

Have you read Super Mario Adventures? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Couples in Books

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 Favourite Couples in Books. Here’s my list:

1. Harry and Ginny (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling)

2. Alina and Mal (Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo)

3. Jesse and Suze (Shadowland by Meg Cabot)

4. Scarlet and Wolf (Scarlet by Marissa Meyer)

5. Elizabeth and Darcy (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)

6. Mara and Noah (The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin)

7. Molly and Mal (The Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters)

8. Pippa and Dylan (The Rule of Thirds by Chantel Guertin)

9. Charlie and Alyssa (Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde)

10. Lara Jean and Peter (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han)

(All images taken from Goodreads)

Review: Dream On (Whatever After #4)

Title: Dream On (Whatever After #4)
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 26, 2013
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the magic mirror bite….

It was supposed to be the best sleepover ever. Just me, my best friend, Robin, and an awesome night of s’mores, secrets, and staying up late. No pesky little brothers allowed. And DEFINITELY no magic mirrors.

Everything was perfect…until the mirror sucked Robin into Sleeping Beauty’s story! My brother and I dove in after her, but we couldn’t stop her from pricking her finger on the spindle. Now we’re REALLY in trouble. Robin’s fast asleep–and Sleeping Beauty is wide-awake! To save the day I’ve got to:

– Host a fake birthday party for Jonah
– Find a prince to wake up Robin
– Avoid getting cursed by scary fairies

We only have ten hours to make things right…or this day will become a nightmare!

Review:

This was a really fun story! It had some elements that were different from the past books in the series.

When Abby and Jonah travel to Sleeping Beauty’s story, Abby’s friend Robin ends up going with them. The problem was that when they got there, Robin pricked her arm on the spindle that was meant for Sleeping Beauty, aka Bri. Robin fell asleep instantly, taking the spell that was meant for the princess. The kids had to figure out a way to wake Robin up and fix Bri’s story.

Some of the parts didn’t go as smoothly as they did in the other stories. They planned a birthday party for Jonah in order to get wishes from fairies to save Robin. However, that didn’t work out when the fairies discovered that it wasn’t actually Jonah’s birthday. They had to find another way to fix their problems.

I was glad to see more of Abby and Jonah’s real lives in the story. Even though Abby’s friend was asleep for most of the story, I liked hearing about her friends. Up until this book, we only really heard about their adventures in fairy tales. There was even an addition to the family at the end of the story, who I believe will be making appearances in later books too.

This was a fun adaptation of Sleeping Beauty! I’m excited to read the next book!

What to read next:

Bad Hair Day (Whatever After #5) by Sarah Mlynowski

Cinderella Stays Late (Grimmtastic Girls #1) by Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Have you read Dream On? What did you think of it?