Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue

 Blue Lily, Lily Blue
 Raven Cycle - Book 3
 Maggie Stiefvater


It's been a while since I read book 2, and jumping into this one was a bit awkward in the beginning - but I quickly picked up on what was going on (There's really only one goal on these boys' minds ... well, depending which boy)

Anyways!

So, the gang is still looking for their King.
but with Blue's mother missing
and prophecies dictating everyone's actions
and mysterious people hanging around
and Cave searching
and a screaming, tall man

there is a lot to keep track of.

p.s I hated the chapters of the dude and his wife. they were just annoying.

This one so far is my favourite. We get a lot more emotion from this point in the story, and we are getting closer to the end so the build up is getting heavy.

There are 3 beings; 2 need to be woken, 1 should not be.
Who are they, and who should do the waking? and how do we find them?
them's the questions aren't they.
It's rather a crazy journey we go on in this one but worth every page!

p.p.s I love Adam.

I wish I paid more attention - I've been waiting for the raven king to come into paperback so my series can match. and it was supposed to be this month. and now the store is saying January. which is just rude. i waited to read BLLB thinking I could finish the series but NOPE.

However, if you have this series or have been thinking about picking it up - do it! It's amazing and these characters are so richly written with incredible things happening to them...  you just fall in love with everything.

Review: Half Wild (book 2)

 Half Wild
 Half Bad - Book 2
 Sally Green



Continuing from where we left off in Half Bad, Nathan continues to be on the run from the Hunters.

Now that he has received his gifts, and knows his powers, he is struggling to control them.
With Mercury holding Annalise captive, he knows he must save her.
Even if Gabriel doesn't trust her.

When Marcus is asked to join the team against the Council everyone except Nathan is on edge. His father is finally around.
This is a calming effect but when things begin to go amok, Nathan begins to question everything he knows and everything he is.


A rush of excitement on every page, this series is a wild ride (no pun intended. well, maybe a little) as Nathan races against time and fate to save the girl he loves, prove himself to everyone - including himself - and see if he can figure out his half selves.

I really liked this one, but for some reason the second installments of series always take me forever to finish. I don't know what it is.

It was busy, there were a lot of new characters, and a lot of gore (could've been worse considering) but as a series, I am loving it so far.

onto book 3!

Review: Half Bad (Half Bad book 1)

 Half Bad
 Half Bad - Book 1
 Sally Green


A world divided between good and evil; White Witches and Black Witches.

When a child is born of mixed White and Black, the world is set against him. Even his own family members.

When Nathan is taken away from his home and put into the care of a woman controlled by those who sit in power, he knows he must get out. He keeps a routine inside his head in order to maintain sanity.

but the cage is unforgiving.

When his captors are no more, he is by himself in a world where he stands out like Black on White (haha, see what I did there?) His only chance at survival lies in the hand of another woman, Mercury, who's payment for help is the same as everyone else's:

Kill your father, Nathan.


An amazing opening at an in-depth, powerful story. Nathan, his history, these characters and the surroundings are all written so rich and with such detail that you can't help but fall in love with all of it. I wish we got a little bit more of the "magic" aspect of it, but it's only book one so I'm hopeful for what's to come.

I also can't get over the writing style; so unique and so bluntly written that I am in awe and love every bit of it. If you love sarcastic and sassy, grab this series.  The sneak peak at book two Half Wild leads me to see more uniqueness coming through and I cannot wait!


  

Review: The Thousandth Floor

The Thousandth Floor 

Katharine McGee 

I was intrigued with the cover on this one, and the multi-POV story line (which I love, if you haven't noticed yet)

but the more I got into it, the more annoyed I got.
I am not one for "Pretty little liars" and story lines like that and that is pretty much what I got.

I was expecting more from some of the plot points (like Atlas') ... but this is still book 1 so maybe book 2 will be better.


We have a group of a friends (and a few misfits who fall in) who all live in this 1,000 floor Tower in New York

The year is 2118.

Avery, and her adopted brother Atlas, live at the very top.
As you go further down the tower, life gets less luxurious. 

The Tower has everything - shops, spas, hotels - and as long as you have the money, you have free reign to go where you please.

When a girls family is torn apart by secrets, she tries to keep up appearances.

When a boy is asked to spy on the group, he finds himself on a higher floor than he's used to. 

When a girl is in need of some extra cash, she finds herself falling in love with someone who could hurt her.

When a girl finds out a secret, or two, her addiction has her struggling to survive.


Overlapping stories keep you intrigued but only so far.
It ends on a high note (small pun intended) and we are left with a bitter taste of vengeance from an outsider.

like the cover says, the higher you are - the farther you fall. 

I liked it, overall, but I wasn't crazy about it. There are some stories I am more interested in others - just like anyone would be - and I will be picking up book 2 to see what happens and how the secrets come to pass so the author did her job in getting my attention. 

Would I recommend it? Only if you like high-school drama stories.


 

Review: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass 5)

Queen of Shadows
Throne of Glass - Book 5
Sarah J Maas


I remember how anxious I was to get my hands on this .. and when I finally got it, it sat on my shelf for a year haha (what else is new) but with Tower of Dawn out now, I need to get this series finished!

Also, considering it's been a year since I read Heir of Fire, I jumped into this one with very little remembrance of what was going on. 

But it didn't take long for me to clue in... although half way through I did look up my review of HoF because I could not remember some things. oops. 


Aelin is back in Rifthold to settle her debts. 
Of vengence. 

With demons possessions and a kingdom about to crumble, Aelin and her Court, with Chaol and his group of rebels, are trying to save their city while destroying it at the same time. 

Every step is being watched. 
Every step is calculated.  
Trust no one... until there is no one left. 

Manon Blackbeak and her 13 are ruthless.  
They are witches and killers and show no mercy... except to a small, shackled handmaiden who has a secret. 



I could barely put this one down. Falling back into this world was easy. Maas' world is full of magic, of heartbreak, and it keeps you on your toes the whole time. This one is action packed, while touching on remembrance, and the bonds of family and friendship.

Plus we see Aelin come into her own more.
With the help of Rowan, of course, but even on her own - she knows what she must do and while she is petrified, she knows her strength.

That ending will have you reaching for Empire of Shadows before QoS is even fully closed.

Powerful,with an insane cliffhanger, I cannot wait to see what happens next!


 

Review: Strange the Dreamer

Strange the Dreamer
Laini Taylor


To be honest, this was a bandwagon buy.
The cover is gorgeous (all of them)
and everyone was raving about it

so I bought it.

I didn't even read what it was about ...
which explains why I had no idea what was going on as I started reading it.
Fell in love with this man pretty quick though haha - Hello, bookhusband #237905732
I ... am still unsure how I feel about it. It was good, but that ending was odd.
It did keep me hooked enough to read it in one sitting so that's something. 


Lazlo strange is just that, strange. A dreamer, with his head in the books as he lives and breathes the ancient library's texts day in and out. An orphan boy saved as a child.

When Lazlo Strange has the chance to join an expedition to go to the city of Weep  (who's real name has been forgotten) he knows it's now or never. 
We then see the story from these Children of Gods.  Living in an a city unseen, found again. 
The 5 children that were saved from "the carnage" have 1 rule: leave no sign of existing. 
Each child has their own gift that they use to sustain themselves and the city of Weep that exists below them. 

When one of the children and Lazlo meet, in the most unexpected way, they discover they both have a purpose in life, and it just may be each other.  



The writing will have you locked in from page one, for sure.  I waited so long to read this and I'm kicking myself for it ; absolutely amazing (but again, that ending threw me off). There are beautiful passages all over the place, and these rich characters and back-stories that have you wanting to take these children into your arms and protect them from harm. 


BUT!
ITS NOT THE END!
which annoys me even more.

People, put "book 1" or "A *name of series* book" on your covers SO I KNOW to expect a cliffhanger! jeeze. 


so I am torn on this one; no fangirl flail over here ... but I am intrigued enough to read the next one. 

"The universe was endless, and love had it's own logic" 

End of Summer 2017

August 2017 wrap up!

What a weird month.

It started off so slow but now I look at the calender and it says September - what?!

Alright, let's get to it:

personal books read:

- Peter Pan
- (finished) A city of Heavenly Fire
- The Wrath and the Dawn
- The Rose and the Dagger
- HP and the cursed child (reread. defense blog to come!)
- bittersweet dreams
- strange the dreamer
- queen of shadows
- beast
- Inked souls

(behind in posting reviews! they're coming though)

Plus I read 6 for my sister site, TDC Book Reviews 
where I'm known as Canadian Rebel

= 16 books which puts me at 137/200 for the year.

so overall, not a bad month. but! From the Rose and the Dagger to Inked Souls were all read in a week... Hubby and I escaped to the trailer for a week and I only packed books and PJs. It was fantastic.


I had a MASSIVE bookhaul this month - 32 books ; if you want to see the pile, check out my insta @inafieldofbooks

I also got to redo my office and split it into 2 so now I have a library - which is also posted on insta. *swoon*

September = college starts and I have full time hours which is good, but sucks for reading time.

my TBR for the month includes:

- Half bad/wild/lost
- Blue lily, lily blue
- love and gelato
- beauty's release
- the thousandth floor (which is done already, woot)

and I have 7 booked for TDC

and I started up with a new review group where my focus will be YA and so far I just have 2 (non YA) books with them, plus whatever I want to review.

exciting, exciting.

plus there are so many books coming out in September and my wallet is scared



 

 Not much is happening outside the book life ; hubs is trying to go back to work so he's got some prep to do for it.  and we had our kitty cat (who was 26 but his breed could go til 40 so we still called him a kitty) pass away so we had to rearrange our pet situation...  still have 2 dogs so all is good. 

like I said earlier, I am slammed with work. I got 2 students at college this semester so I am busy, busy, busy. (for those who don't know I am a sign language interpreter) there are breaks here and there so I will try and squeeze in my reading.

otherwise life is pretty great.

not looking forward to fall/winter - we're supposed to have a bad season here in Ontario and we live a) north-ish and b) near the water so we get chilly nonsense all the time.



hey looks, puppies!

           

 Brandi (goldren retriever)

 Squeeker (chihuahua)

- A

Review: The Rose and the Dagger

The Rose and the Dagger
The Wrath and the Dawn - Book 2
Renee Ahdieh


I was nervous to start this one, just because of the puddle of feels I was left in when I finished The Wrath and the Dawn but I ventured in anyways ... and finished it in a few hours, just like the first.

Picking up from where we left Shazi and Khalid, now separated due to circumstances and curses, we follow Shazi on her mission to get back to her heart and her home. 
Taken to the camp where her sister Irsa, and her rebel friends and father are staying, she knows she is in danger. 
She also knows she must play her part if she is to survive. With the help of a magic carpet, she is off to find the man who gave it to her in hopes if setting her world straight and finding her ever after. 


More action packed than the first, we are taken on a wild ride through the desert as this love story struggles to find a happy ending. I could not put it down and was gasping and yelling at the book with all its twists and turns. 
We do get different POVs, which I love, and it just helped create a more full story. The ending broken into smaller chapters that were quick and packed a punch kept me at the edge of my seat. I just wanted to crawl inside this world and never leave - or at least find a Khalid of my own. 



I wish there was more. These two have made my favourite couples list and I have added them to the "reread worthy" pile. I will definitely be taking a magic carpet ride again, and again, and again ...