Waiting on Wednesday #398

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

SEA WITCH RISING (Sea Witch #2) BY SARAH HENNING

Goodreads Description:

“The Little Mermaid” takes a twisted turn in this thrilling sequel to villainess origin story Sea Witch, as the forces of land and sea clash in an epic battle for freedom, redemption, and true love.

Runa will not let her twin sister die. Alia traded her voice to the Sea Witch for a shot at happiness with a prince who doesn’t love her. And his rejection will literally kill her—unless Runa intervenes.

Under the sea, Evie craves her own freedom—but liberation from her role as Sea Witch will require an exchange she may not be willing to make. With their hearts’ desires at odds, what will Runa and Evie be willing to sacrifice to save their worlds?

Told from alternating perspectives, this epic fairy tale retelling is a romantic and heart-wrenching story about the complications of sisterhood, the uncompromising nature of magic, and the cost of redemption.

Hardcover, 416 pages

Expected publication: August 6th 2019 by Katherine Tegen Books

Pre-Order here and here

Okay, kind of cheating, as I haven't read book one yet, lol. But I do own it :D And I am so excited to read both books when this one comes out in August. Eee. They look so gorgeous. I love these covers. And they sound pretty heartbreaking yet so exciting. Crossing all my fingers that I will love both these books :)
What are you waiting for on this rising Wednesday?

In My Mailbox #394

How is it another week gone by already? I'm so exhausted and so busy and have no time for anything. What even. But I just got more medicine this week, and hoping it will maybe finally make me feel better. Though I think it just makes me worse and that I have to stop taking it soon. Sigh. I hope not. But yeah. Not doing so well. But I'm happy. And dealing with it. Sort of. Hoping that I will have more time to read, though. I have so many books I still have to read. Ack. Just need more energy for it. So far I have none. Ha. But yeah. I got some gorgeous mail this week, which I love so very much :D And waiting on more stunning things too. <3 Gosh. I'm so excited. Only a couple of new blog posts. This week I'm waiting on The Shadows Between Us :) And I took part in the blog tour for The Pumpkin War. <3 Which is the only book I read this week. Ack. I'm so very behind on every single thing. But I am hoping to catch up soon :)

We Hunt the Flame. Ah, this hardcover is all kinds of gorgeous. Yay! And eee, I got the special gold one.
Aurora Rising. International paperback edition has arrived :D And it looks so stunning. Ugh. I loved this.
The Dog. Ahh. Look how awesome he is :D So much love! He is my third version of this dog, haha. Love.
Morgul Blade. My third letter opener. And gosh. It is just so gorgeous. I had to have it. So glad I bought it.
Pop Figures. Eee. All of these are so awesome and I just had to have them all :D New Alien ones. Love.

More Instagram photos here. <3

The Pumpkin War Blog Tour: Review

Today I'm taking part in the blog tour for The Pumpkin War by Cathleen Young :D Thank you so much to the publisher, Random House Kids, for inviting me to take part in this blog tour. And for sending me a free ARC copy of it to read and review. This book looks all kinds of adorable and I am happy I had the chance to read it. Today I'm sharing my review of it and details about the book. I think that you should all get this stunning middle grade book. It's worth reading. It was not perfect to me, but I still enjoyed it a whole lot. A three star for me, but a positive one. A book I think everyone must read. A story of family and friendships.

Review of The Pumpkin War.

When I got the chance to read this book for the blog tour I just couldn't say no. Because that cover is all kinds of adorable looking. It seemed like such a sweet and fun summer book and I could not wait to read it. I ended up enjoying it a whole lot. It was not perfect for me, so I'm giving it three stars, but gosh, parts of this book were so good. And I am really glad I read this story. This was a beautiful middle grade book about family and friendships. About growing pumpkins and caring for bees. It was a pretty awesome read.

It tells the story of twelve year old Billie. We get to know her and her family a lot. Her little sister was so cute. And her parents were mostly great too. I liked reading about them all just being a family and doing life things together. This book is a summer in the life of Billie. We get to see her spend time with all her friends and her family. We get to see her grow her pumpkins to be ready for the race in the fall. There are llamas. And some pretty sweet scenes. I did feel like it could have been a bit more, but I liked it so much.

What this book is most about, though, is Billie and her friendship with her neighbor Sam. They have been best friends since they were born, always doing everything together. But last summer Billie got convinced that Sam cheated in the pumpkin race, that he made her lose, so he could win instead. And she has not been friends with him since then. She has been treating him so badly. I did not approve one bit. But I so enjoyed reading about all of it. How she grew to realize her own mistakes. How she kind of missed Sam.

I only with there had been more about it. More missing. More heartbreak because of it. I wanted Sam to get angry with her. I mean. She had been ignoring him for months and months. I needed more about it all. And yet it was pretty great to read about even so. I liked Sam a whole bunch. He was so sweet and kind. And though they were not really friends in this book, I could still see their friendship. And it was so sweet. I liked the summer part of this book. I really liked the history of the lake they live near. It was interesting.

There was one part of the book that I liked more than anything. And it was written pretty much perfectly. Billie and her grandfather is on a small boat. Then a storm suddenly arrive. It was pretty sad to read this scene. And it felt real and scary. And I enjoyed it to pieces. It almost made me cry too. I wish there had been more about what happened after this accident. Felt like there could have been more. But I was also happy with this scene and how it made me feel. So rude. But so very good to read as well. Liked it tons.

This book shares a lot about how to take care of pumpkins. And how to take care of bees and get their honey too. It was a book about friendship and family and also a little about nature. Which I enjoyed so much. I liked the parts about the pumpkins and how Billie cared for them, watching them grow over the summer. I enjoyed reading about her relationship with her parents and her friends. I wish there had been more of all of it. But this book was short and sweet. And I'm so glad that I read it. You all need to read it.

I will not share too much about what I did not like about this book. But I will share all of it. It's a three star for me because I had some issues with the writing. It was like the book could not decide what kind of way it should be written. It drove me a little insane. The writing was not bad, though, just a little bit annoying. I also wanted there to be more focus on the friendship. And on healing the friendship. There was too little of that for me. I wanted it to be sweeter. But those were my only issues with this book. They were not big.

Okay, honestly, my issue with this book was the way Billie was acting towards Sam. She had behaved this way towards him for months. I was not okay with it. I wanted a bigger scene of her making it alright again. And I did not get that. I'm a little bitter, haha. But I also did not mind too much. Because I liked the ending of this book a lot. The Pumpkin War was not perfect, but it was pretty incredible even so. Biggest thank you to the publisher Random House Kids for sending me a free ARC of this one to read and review.

Goodreads - The Book Depository - Amazon

"Cathleen Young's characters will forever have a place in my heart." --Holly Goldberg Sloan, author of Counting by 7s

Former best friends compete to see who can grow the biggest pumpkin and win the annual giant pumpkin race on the lake. A great pick for fans of Half a Chance and Gertie's Leap to Greatness.

At the end of every summer, Madeline Island hosts its famous pumpkin race. All summer, adults and kids across the island grow giant, 1000-pound pumpkins, then hollow one out, and paddle in it across the lake to the cheers of the entire town.

Twelve-year-old Billie loves to win; she has a bulletin board overflowing with first prize ribbons. Her best friend Sam doesn't care much about winning, or at least Billie didn't think so until last summer's race, when his pumpkin crashed into hers as she was about to cross the finish line, and he won. This summer, Billie is determined to get revenge by growing the best and biggest pumpkin, and beat Sam in the race. It's a tricky science to grow pumpkins, since weather, bugs and other critters can wipe out a crop. Then a surprise visit from a long lost relative shakes things up, and Billie begins to see her family, and her bond with Sam, in a new way.

Buy The Pumpkin War: Amazon - B&N - The Book Depository - Indiebound - Kobo

Like Billie in her book The Pumpkin War, Cathleen grew up among storytellers. She often went fishing all around the Badger State with her father, who was a newspaper reporter.  Ever since she was little, Cathleen’s dream was to write for kids.

After graduating from the University of Georgia, Cathleen began writing for magazines like McCall’s and Working Mother. Later, she worked as a police reporter at CITY NEWS BUREAU in Chicago. She then moved into television, writing everything from soap operas like The Young and the Restless to shows like Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and MacGyver.

She has over a dozen television movies to her credit, including the award-winning HALLMARK HALL OF FAME movie, A Place for Annie. Cathleen is now the executive director of HUMANITAS, where she gets to help aspiring writers break into film and tv.  She lives in Santa Monica, California, with her twin daughters, Shaelee and Gemma, her husband Patrick, and the family dogs Butch and Rexxy.

It was only after her twins were born that Cathleen discovered her true writer’s voice.

Where to find Cathleen Young:

Twitter. Facebook. Goodreads. Instagram. Website.

Waiting on Wednesday #397

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US BY TRICIA LEVENSELLER

Goodreads Description:

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:

1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

Hardcover, 352 pages

Expected publication: February 25th 2020 by Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan

Pre-Order here and here

This book sounds all kinds of dark and delicious. And I want to read it right away. Eee. The cover is so pretty. And the summary pretty much killed me a little. Gosh, I hope this book will end up being amazing.
What are you waiting for on this cunning Wednesday?

In My Mailbox #393

Two books read this week :D Yay. I feel happy about this, haha. Still so far behind on everything else, though. Sigh. My body is just exhausted every damn second. And I spend so much time with my sister and her kids these days. No time left. But I love my family time the most. And my spa bath for two hours almost every day, eee. Exhausting, but worth it. It's the best part of my days, when I have the energy for it. But anyway. I'm hoping to get more done in this coming week. Crossing my fingers. Oh. Wait. Hospital on Wednesday. And this time I will be gone the whole damn day, until late in the evening. Oh. Will murder me, probably, haha. But looking forward to a day of shopping and food too, lol. Anyway. So need to catch up to everything. Hopefully shortly. Happy to have gotten to read two books this week at least. Hoping to read more going forward. I love reading so much. Just never have the time or energy lately. Ugh. Anyway. A few new blog posts :D I posted my second review of Sky in the Deep. <3 So precious. This week I am waiting on Ninth House :D Then posted my review of The Girl the Sea Gave Back :) Which I am so sad that I did not like much. Ack. I did not get a lot of books this week, but that's okay. More coming. Oops. And oh gosh. Some eARCs. Eee. So happy. I love my pretty mail this week. <3 Hope you are all okay :)

Aurora Rising. My UK hardcover has arrived, eee :D And it looks so very gorgeous. Sigh. I loved this one.
York. I adored the first book :D But gosh. Been two years since I read it now. What. Excited for this book.
Plush. When I saw this adorable pink pig I had to get him. So soft. I so love buying plushes, haha :) Love.

Oh. What even. It was my third time requesting those three books from Wednesday Books on Edelweiss. I had gotten declined twice. Hoped third time was the charm. Then I got an email saying I was approved for all three! Ahh! What. I pretty much died, haha :) Went to download them. Which I could, thankfully. But it said that I was declined, not approved. What. And so I think I got approved by accident. Oops. But I do not mind, haha. Just so thankful that I got to download them :D So so excited. Sigh. And very happy. <3

Darkdawn. Oh my gosh. I peeked. I'm now too nervous to read this one. Sigh. But I will. One day. Soon.
The Girl the Sea Gave Back. Was so very excited about this one. Oh. But I did not like it much. Sad face.
The Grace Year. I am SO excited about this :D It looks gorgeous. Sounds creepy and exciting. Can't wait.
The Star Shepherd. EEE! I adore MarcyKate. Thank you publisher and Netgalley. <3 Cannot wait to read.

More Instagram photos here. <3

Review: The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young

It does not happen often that I finish a book feeling confused. But it happened now. And I cannot even describe how confused I feel right now. I went into this book expecting it to be epic. To be fully exciting and romantic. To be just as amazing as Sky in the Deep, if not better. That's not what I got. At all. I'm beyond disappointed.

I just. I do not understand. I do not understand how I could have disliked this book so much. Why it was so bad for me. Even the cover tricked me. It made me think this one would be fierce. That the girl would be. That it would be about the sea. It was neither of those things. I wanted much more from this book. I'm left wanting.

Which is not a good feeling to have after finishing a book. But oh. There is nothing I can do about it. I did not love this book. I barely liked it. I thought I would give it three stars. But it never got good for me. Not once. And so two stars it is. Which is so breaking my heart. Because I honestly thought I would love this book the very most. Considering that I've now read Sky in the Deep twice and loved it beyond words. And I adore this author. But. Well. The Girl the Sea Gave Back was simply not a good book for me. I wish I could say that I think I'm the only one that will have issues with it. But I don't think so, not really. Because, for me, this book had so many faults. And because I cannot stop myself from being honest, I will share all my thoughts about it. Well, most of them.

There is so much that I need to share about this book. And so much that I am not going to share about it too. I wish I could only say good things. But, honestly, I do not have any good things to say. The cover is gorgeous. I love this author. And that is all the positive things I have to share. Sigh. It was supposed to be such an epic companion novel, set ten years after Sky in the Deep. But it was not. I was supposed to love Halvard. I did not. Was supposed to love the small peeks into the lives of Fiske and Eelyn. I did not. Sigh.

This book tells the story of Halvard and Tova. It is told from both point of views. And there are several flashbacks included into their past. I wish I could say I loved it. But I really did not. I did not care at all for the things that happened in the past. I did not connect with Halvard or Tova. They were truly not strong characters. They were not interesting. They were not soft or broken or exciting to read about. There was not even a romance between them. Sure, one almost kiss at the end, which was beyond awkward. Ugh.

There is so much I want to share about this one. But I'm going to control myself. Ha. I really wanted to love Halvard in this one. I adored him as a child in Sky. But I could not find it in myself to care for him at all in this story. Which breaks my heart. There was just nothing to care about. I felt like I never really got to know this boy. Only that he did not really want to be the next chief, which he was going to be. We see so little of his family. And what we see was bad. He has a few friends, and even that was awkward to me.

Then there was Tova. A girl I was expecting to love. And I did not like her one bit. I did not hate her, I just did not feel anything for her at all. The book begins with her being dead as a child, her clan sending her out to the sea. And then a man from another clan finding her, and her not being dead any longer. He lies to her, yet raises her. She spends her life in this village telling these people their future. They are scared of her. She knows nothing about her past. Well, that is all there is to know about her. Sigh. Wanted more.

This whole book felt unfinished to me. The ending was kind of silly. It was way too rushed. There were not any answers at all. This book felt like half a story. And not the good half. There were things that I wanted to know that were never answered. I'm disappointed. This whole book was about one war. That lasted for, what, half an hour at most. Haha. Yeah. It took place within a few days. Nothing really happened. I did not feel anything for these characters. And I'm so sad about it. I really truly wanted much more from this one.

I went into this expecting it to be as amazing as Sky was to me. I ended up being way too disappointed. The writing was different. I wish I could say it was as great as the first book, but it really truly wasn't. I was not able to focus. There were a bunch of mistakes, which I hope are fixed in the finished copies. But even without those, the writing did nothing at all for me. And in Sky I loved it so very much. I am just confused. So confused. This didn't feel like the same type of book at all. Nothing was the same. I'm so sad about it.

As it was not only the writing that was different from the first book. This book did not have any exciting moments. It did not have a broken character, like Eelyn was. It did not have the same type of strength at all. I even felt like the world was different. In Sky I fell in love with the Viking setting. In this book I didn't even notice it at all, because it was barely there. I just. I have already said too much. I wish this book was different, better. It was simply not for me. It might be perfect for others, but it was so not perfect for me.

Huge thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for approving my request to read this book early. I'm glad I had the chance to. Despite not liking this book much, I am still going to try my hardest to collect all the editions, as I have managed to do with Sky. Because that cover truly is gorgeous. And I need to own it. And I am still going to read the next books by this author. And hoping they will end up being better for me. Crossing all my fingers. I'm curious to know what everyone else will think of this book. Let me know.

Goodreads - The Book Depository - Amazon

Waiting on Wednesday #396

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

NINTH HOUSE BY LEIGH BARDUGO

Goodreads Description:

The mesmerizing adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

Hardcover, 480 pages

Expected publication: October 1st 2019 by Flatiron Books

Pre-Order here and here

This adult book from Leigh is going to end up destroying me, I'm sure of it. And I cannot wait, eee :D It's going to be SO GOOD. And I need it in my life already. Sigh. I love love love that black snake cover :D SO pretty. And I cannot wait to own all the copies of this book. Sigh. I shared about the stunning cover here. <3 This book seems so very good. And I just cannot wait to meet and love all these characters :)
What are you waiting for on this sinister Wednesday?

Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

I had forgotten how very much I loved this book. And so reading it again now was the very best thing. It held me captive from start to finish. I simply loved every moment of it. Sigh. I loved it the most when I read it last year, and I loved it even more this second time. It completely ruined my heart. I simply couldn't have loved it more.

Writing down my thoughts about this book a second time will not be easy. I will try not to share too much, haha. Although I already have trouble finding the words. This book was just what I needed right now. I'm so glad I finally decided to re-read it. Because it was everything for me. Beautiful and heartbreaking. Exciting and evil.

The writing is perfection, which I'm so happy about. There was not a single thing I did not like about this. I had forgotten how much it hurt me, though. How sad it made me at times. But my gosh, how good that was. Because it was also full of hope and such beautiful relationships. Everything was written so well and I felt so much for this book. The characters pretty much killed me. My love for them all will never end. I felt so conflicted about certain parts of it, same as Eelyn. And I loved it so much. Sigh. I mean. I knew I loved this one last year. I remembered most of it. And at the same time I had completely forgotten how very good it was. Sigh. I need to read it again pretty soon, I think. So precious. I can't even begin to say how thrilled I am that I loved it so much this time too.

This book tells the story of Eelyn. It is a story set in the time of the Vikings. Set in a world of warriors who fight to the death every five years. They are two clans that fight each other; which they have done for so many years. They are the biggest of enemies. Because of something that happened with their gods ages ago. Eelyn lives with one of these clans, the Aska. Getting to know Eelyn and her life was the best thing. She was so interesting and exciting and I also adored her best friend and her father. Both were awesome.

Eelyn was such a precious character to me. Probably because of how much pain she was in through this whole book. The book starts with the clans fighting. With Eelyn seeing the face of her dead brother, whom she saw die five years before. Except he isn't dead. And hours later she sees him again. But this time she follows him, and ends up being captured by the Riki, the clan they are fighting against. They cannot know that Iri is her brother. And so she gets treated as a captive. Which include being sold, to be used for labor.

And reading all of this pretty much broke my heart. It hurt so badly to read about everything that Eelyn went through. It was so painful. Yet so good too. She gets to see her brother again. While also being a captive by the enemy clan. Which, for her, is so not a good thing. Though her brother now feels like he belongs to them, and not his own family. This betrayal almost ruins Eelyn. And me too. I still don't really forgive him. Okay, yes, I do see why he did everything he did. But even so. It will always hurt my heart.

Eelyn goes through so much in this book. Although it only takes place in a few short weeks. But those weeks were enough to change her. She was a fierce warrior, never broken. And after being taken captive she has been almost broken several times. It hurt so badly to read about. But, thankfully, it was not truly horrible either. It could have been so much worse. But Eelyn ended up with Iri's found family. Staying with his new brother, Fiske. And his mother and little brother. Whom I loved beyond words. Gosh. So precious.

These characters meant so much to me. Fiske ruined my heart. He and Eelyn started out as enemies. Then slowly they turn into something more. It happens so slow. But so perfect. And though they seem to be so different, they are perfect for each other. And I shipped them more than I can say. Sigh. Romance was perfect. Not rushed, not silly, no drama. Just. Perfect. Fiske was such an interesting character to get to know. And I loved him the very most. His family was the cutest too, and I adored getting to know them.

There is so much about this book that I loved. So much that I could write about. But I already feel like I have written down too much. Yet not nearly enough. But I will stop now. Because all I really want to say is that I loved this book beyond words. Everything about it was perfect. The story, the writing, the romance, the friendships. This whole book was complicated. Hurtful at times. But had such an amazing ending. And though it hurt my heart so many times, I was always happy while reading it. Because it was just so good.

If you have still not read Sky in the Deep you are seriously missing out. It is not a book to be missed. It is a book that must be read and loved. Then read again and again. These characters will break open your heart and move inside of it. And you will love them for it. Sigh. It is so heartbreaking at times. So sad and evil. But so full of hope and happiness and gosh. My love for this book will never end. So excited to read the companion book, The Girl the Sea Gave Back, next. It will be perfect, I just know it. And I cannot wait.

Goodreads - The Book Depository - Amazon

In My Mailbox #392

Oh. This post is a little bit behind, as my day was all kinds of busy. Oops. But it's here, finally, haha :D I managed to read a book this week, eee. And it was the most precious one. Sigh. I loved it so much. So happy. Hoping to read more this coming week. It's just difficult. Health sucks. Hoping to get answers to some blood work I took next week. Fingers crossed it will help. And so I have a couple more blog posts this week, haha. I shared my review of The Magnolia Sword. <3 This week I'm waiting on Ghosts of the Shadow Market :D Then I took part in the international blog tour for Aurora Rising. <3 I am pretty much exhausted. But trying. Hoping to finally get some things done soon. Anyway. I got a whole lot of mail this week, ahhh :D And I love it all so very much. <3 Way too many books, oops. I love them all. The most :)

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. I read her upcoming book as an eARC, eee, and loved it. I needed this.
Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix. And this one too. I cannot wait to read them both. Hopefully soonish :D
Finale. Okay, I have yet to read book one. Ahh. But now I own hardcovers of all three, so reading soon.
The Red Scrolls of Magic. The regular US hardcover finally arrived, haha. It just looks so stunning. Love.
Obsidio. Eee, gorgeous new US paperback edition :D I love this series so very much. Sigh. It is perfect.
Aurora Rising. One of many have arrived, finally :D And ahh. It is so gorgeous. I loved this book the most.
Furyborn. Oops. Foreign edition, German :D I had to get it, for the cards inside. I adore this one so much.
Sawkill Girls. Paperback edition already! Ahh! I loved this precious book. And it's just soso very precious.
Onyx & Ivory. Another lovely paperback edition :D I very much adored this book as well. It's so awesome.
Hero at the Fall. Oops. One more paperback, haha :D I haven't read book two and three yet, though. Ack!
Taylor Swift. EEE! I'm in love with this Taylor pop socket :D I had to buy it. And tiny hearts! So much love.
Pop Figures. Eee, Toothless is so very precious :D The cutest. And another Dumbo pop. So adorable :)

More Instagram photos here. <3

Aurora Rising Blog Tour: Review + Spotlight

I'm so excited to be taking part in the international blog tour for Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff today :D Hosted by the amazing Penguin Random House International team. <3 Thank you guys for inviting me to take part in this blog tour. Today I will be sharing my review of the book, and a spotlight on it, with book and author info :D And a few pictures I have taken of this book, though not with the final cover, as I have not gotten all my copies of the book yet. Soon, though. I am so excited. I first posted my review back in February, here. <3 And now again below, as I had to share my thoughts about this book a second time :D I simply can't wait to read this book again before the second one is out. Sigh. It will break my heart all over again, though, ha. But I'm so excited. I need book two in my life so badly. You all need Aurora Rising in your life. It is very much worth reading. So evil, but beyond thrilling. Go buy it already if you haven't gotten it :) Jay and Amie are the very best. And I adore them so. Their books are incredible.

Review of Aurora Rising.

This book was every bit as perfect as I expected it to be. Okay, I was not sure what this book would be like. But I adore these two authors so much. I hoped it would be like Illuminae. It was. Just as good. Just as exciting. Despite being written the normal way, haha. This one was everything I wanted it to be and much more.

And because of that it will probably be impossible for me to find the right words to write this review. It always is, with books that I love. My love for Aurora Rising was all kinds of huge. The writing was perfection. The world created was incredible. The characters were different and so much fun and I adored them all very much.

This story was simply the best. And I will try my best to figure out how to describe how much I loved it and why. Will start by saying that the ending killed me, haha. Which is so usual with these two authors. How rude. Though I will admit that this ending was more rude than any of their previous books, as I know this ending was final. Such a cliffhanger. Yet not. Beyond exciting too. The ending was epic. But it was heartbreaking and rude too. And it made me pretty much die to get my hands on book two. I must know everything that happens next. Okay, I will write about the beginning of the book now, lol. I just wanted to mention how much I loved that truly evil ending. Though I must say that I loved every part of this book. I fell completely in love with all of these characters.

This story is somewhat told from seven point of views. Which usually is a bit too much for me. But it was perfect for this book. And I loved every single one of them. One of the point of views was a bunch shorter than the others, only a few sentences. But I loved her too. Although I have my favorites of the characters, I loved them all. And getting to know them was the best thing. I will be sharing a little about what I loved about each of them. I will not share too much about the plot. Only that I loved it so. It was written so well.

This book takes place in space, far into the future. It begins with Tyler, the goldenboy at Aurora Academy. He have been the best at everything, and will get first picks for his squad before they get their important missions around the galaxy. It's the night before graduation, and Tyler cannot sleep. So he goes out flying in space. And he ends up hearing a distress call from a ship that have been missing for over two hundred years. Everyone on board is dead. Except for a single person. Whom Tyler risk his life to save, of course.

And so missing his chance at first squad picks. But he did save the girl. And ended up with his sister and best friend on his squad. Along with three others that no one else wanted. That was all kinds of amazing, to be honest. They do not fit together. At all. But they must work together, as they are all important. It do take time, but gosh, how I grew to love these special people. And how they grew to care for each other. I love how they learned to work together, to listen to each other. They were all so awesome. I loved them.

But yes. To be fully honest, Tyler was my favorite of all the characters. He was too adorable. And a born leader. And good at pretty much everything. Except not really. Because he is flawed as well. And that just made me love him more. I loved how he tried his best to take care of them all. I simply loved him. His twin sister was Scarlett. And this girl was so beyond amazing. So fierce and smart and I loved her to pieces. I loved how she pretty much always knew what to do. Felt like she held the group together. Adored her so.

Then there was Aurora. That gorgeous girl on the cover. The girl that fell asleep over two hundred years ago and just woke up. My gosh. It was fully complicated. I loved her like crazy. She was incredible. And getting to know her was so good. She was a bit scary, because of things happening with her. It was truly awesome. And her past was so great too. Always something new to learn about her and I loved that. Auri was simply awesome. She is going through so much, and she is being the bravest about it all. Loved that.

There was also Finian, whom I was so unsure about at first. He is always making jokes and being kind of rude. But then we get his chapters. And they were incredible. I loved getting to know this boy. And oh. My heart was always aching for him. I shipped him and someone, and I hope they happen, eee. Would love it so. Loved getting to know him. Then there was Zila. There was so little about this girl. And so I didn't love her, not yet, but I hope there will be much more of her. She seemed scary yet so fierce and awesome too.

Cat was the best friend of Tyler and Scarlett. And also completely in love with Tyler. And oh gosh. Their past pretty much killed me, getting to know a little more about it through the whole book. I shipped them. Yet not, because she was all kinds of jealous and it hurt my heart a lot to read about that. There was not enough about Cat in this book. I wanted to know her more. Yet she was so interesting to read about too. Did not like how she behaved around Auri, though. It was fully rude. But she got better. Well, somewhat.

The last character was Kal. The elf of this space, lol. And I can't. I could not decide if I was supposed to love him or hate him. It started out as a dislike, haha, but I am pretty sure I ended up loving him a great bunch. He was so complicated. His customs was complicated. Yet beyond interesting and exciting and I wanted to know more about him and his family and his people. Yet he was all kinds of angry and weird at times too. But also sweet at times. And hmm. I think that I will love him so much more in the second book.

Gosh. I have already written way too much about this book. Yet I have barely written anything about the plot. So much is going on. There is space. A bunch of flying. A party. A most creepy planet that freaked me out beyond words. Those final chapters were truly good but so evil and I loved it the most. The world building in this book was done so well. The characters were done so well. The secrets that were revealed were way too rude. And I simply cannot wait to read what happens in the next books. I'm so very excited.

Aurora Rising was everything I had hoped that it would be. So exciting and thrilling. Filled with incredible characters that I fell in love with right away. This story ruined my heart but I loved it more than anything. This book was so good. And I'm so glad that I read it. I'm sharing a quote that I loved beyond words at the end of this review. It make me so happy to read it again and again, haha. Since this is an ARC, the quote may not be final. It might change. But oh, how I hope it will stay. The book was gorgeous and I loved it so.

Huge thank you to the UK publisher, Rock the Boat, for sending me a free ARC of this book to read and review. I am so thrilled and so thankful that I was able to read this book early. My collection have started, haha. Cannot wait to own all the editions of this most precious book. It is coming out in May, and you all need to get this book in your life. You will love it. And curse it too. Aurora Rising is a book everyone must read. Completely thrilling and exciting and so very evil. I loved every moment of this book. It was so good.

we the legion

we the light

burning bright against the night

Goodreads - The Book Depository - Amazon

From the internationally bestselling authors of THE ILLUMINAE FILES comes an epic new science fiction adventure.

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.

Buy Aurora Rising: Amazon - B&N - The Book Depository - Indiebound - Kobo - Bokus

Norwegian places to buy the book: Tanum - Akademia - Adlibris 

Aurora Rising is published by Random House Children's Books. International ISBN: 9781984893956.

Jay Kristoff is a #1 international, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction. He is the winner of five Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, has over half a million books in print and is published in over thirty five countries, most of which he has never visited. He is as surprised about all of this as you are. He is 6’7 and has approximately 12,000 days to live.

He does not believe in happy endings.

Where to find Jay Kristoff:

Twitter. Facebook. Goodreads. Instagram. Website.

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of young adult fiction. Her multi-award winning work is slated for publication in over 30 countries, and has been described as “a game-changer” (Shelf Awareness), “stylistically mesmerising” (Publishers Weekly) and “out-of-this-world awesome” (Kirkus). Her series include The Illuminae Files, The Starbound Trilogy, Unearthed and Elementals: Ice Wolves. Her work is in development for film and TV, and has taken home multiple Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, a Gold Inky, made multiple best-of lists and been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Raised in Australia and occasionally Ireland, Amie has degrees in history, literature, law and conflict resolution. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, their rescue dog, and an extremely large personal library.

Where to find Amie Kaufman:

Twitter. Facebook. Goodreads. Instagram. Website.

Waiting on Wednesday #395

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

GHOSTS OF THE SHADOW MARKET 
BY CASSANDRA CLARE

Goodreads Description:

From New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Cassandra Clare comes an exciting new short story collection that follows Jem Carstairs as he travels through the many Shadow Markets around the world. Ghosts of the Shadow Market is a Shadowhunters novel.

The Shadow Market is a meeting point for faeries, werewolves, warlocks, and vampires. There, the Downworlders buy and sell magical objects, make dark bargains, and whisper secrets they do not want the Nephilim to know. Through two centuries, however, there has been a frequent visitor to the Shadow Market from the City of Bones, the very heart of the Shadowhunters’ world. As a Silent Brother, Brother Zachariah is a sworn keeper of the laws and lore of the Nephilim. But once he was a Shadowhunter called Jem Carstairs, and his love, then and always, is the warlock Tessa Gray. And Jem is searching through the Shadow Markets, in many different cities over long years, for a relic from his past.

Follow Jem and see, against the backdrop of the Shadow Market’s dark dealings and festival, Anna Lightwood’s doomed romance, Matthew Fairchild’s great sin, and Tessa Gray as she is plunged into a world war. Valentine Morgenstern buys a soul at the Market and a young Jace Wayland’s soul finds safe harbor. In the Market is hidden a lost heir and a beloved ghost, and no one can save you once you have traded away your heart. Not even Brother Zachariah.

Hardcover, 624 pages

Expected publication: June 4th 2019 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

Pre-Order here and here

Okay, I'm still so behind on a few of these books. Ahh! I have not read any of the short stories collection books yet, ack! And only behind on Queen after those :) But yeah, re-reading Lady Midnight and Lord of Shadows very very shortly, so I can finally get to read Queen of Air and Darkness, eee. Then I will begin with catching up to the short stories too. And besides. I'm so dying to own all the copies of this gorgeous thing :D I have it pre-ordered, haha. It looks gorgeous. Sigh. I cannot wait to read all of these stories :D Okay, I will be honest. I have been Team Will forever and ever. And I am unsure about all these stories about Jem. My poor heart. Yet I did adore him. Mostly, haha. So I think I will be fine :) Can't wait to get it.
What are you waiting for on this ghostly Wednesday?

Review: The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas

There is so much I loved about this that I do not know where to begin. This Mulan retelling was every kinds of epic. And I loved every moment of it. I'm a huge fan of Sherry. And of the Disney movie version of Mulan. And so I knew I would adore this book. Which I did. So happy about it. Because this book was perfect.

Writing down my feelings for this book will not be easy. Simply because my heart is so full of love, and that is the most difficult thing to find the words for. But gosh, how I will try. As this book ruined me with how good it was. Five stars for sure. It is a book that I would read over and over again. As it made me so happy.

This book tells the story of nineteen year old Mulan. A girl I loved from the very start, all the way until the end. This girl was fierce and brave and I loved her to pieces. She was scared and honest and I could not have loved her more. Getting to know Mulan was the best. She has such a great past too. A bit heartbreaking, but all interesting. I adored her relationship with her little brother and her Auntie and her child. And her father too, kind of. He was so complicated. And ended up having so many secrets. Yet I enjoyed reading about him too. For years now he has been training Mulan all the time, to get ready for a duel with a rival family. They have had this duel for ages, and this time it is Mulan's turn to try to reunite two special swords. Complicated, yet so exciting.

The book begins with her having a practice fight with the man she will duel with in just a few weeks. They have met a couple of times before, all done secretly. Him hiding his full face, her dressing as a man. But despite this, Mulan has slowly been falling for this man she is fated to duel with, a man she could never be with. Their first scene together was pretty much amazing. Sigh. I shipped them right away, haha. Just could not help it. But then, just two weeks before their duel, the war suddenly shows up at Mulan's door.

And she is the only person in her household that can go fight this war. Her father cannot walk, her brother is too young, and the son of her Auntie is not well enough. And so Mulan must dress up as a man, taking the place of her long dead twin brother, to go fight in the war. It was all full of details. And I loved it so very much. Her family seemed amazing. And her heartbreak about having to leave felt so real too. Her family want her back safe, but she does not believe it will be possible. Though she will try her hardest to survive.

Which we get to witness almost right away. When she ends up showing her skills to a captain, and ends up travelling with him and a prince. A prince that make her think of the man she was to duel against. She is not sure if it is him or not, as she doesn't think it could be possible. But oh. Possible it was. Eee. And I just cannot tell you how much I loved it all. This book was full of small secrets. And they were all so very awesome. Mulan is hiding the fact that she is a girl, from everyone. Well, almost everyone. Loved that so.

While doing that, she has to fight a war. And this war was pretty exciting to learn about. I loved all of the details included. I loved reading about the first time Mulan was attacked and had to defend herself. It did not go well. Despite how amazing she is at fighting. It felt so real and honest and I loved that. And then there were all the characters. She travels with only a few men, and they were all amazing. My gosh. How I loved getting to know them all and read about them. They were fun and so very adorable. All awesome.

And then, of course, there was the princeling. Kai. I loved this man more than I can say. I loved reading about him and Mulan together, getting to know each other. I loved how Kai tried to protect her in small ways. I adored how they got to know things about the other. Their growing romance pretty much killed me. I shipped them so very much. And though this book does not take place over such a long period of time, it was still enough. Enough for me to love them both so much. Gosh. They were so cute together.

But, you know, she is pretending to be a man. And Kai has a lot of secrets himself. Some revealed early, which I loved. This man was simply the best. He was afraid of so many things. And it made me love him more, because of how open he was with Mulan. I loved that there was no drama at all between them. A few secrets, but nothing big. Nothing that hurt. Sigh. This romance was perfection. Okay, there was one thing that bothered me. Spoilers. There was not a single kiss. What even. My poor heart, lol. But so good.

This story takes place in ancient China. Which I loved so very much. I loved the history Sherry included in this book. I loved all the mentions of the different food and such. I loved the culture and diversity. I adored the Chinese names they all had. And what I loved so much as well was the open gay in the book. There were men in love with other men, and it seemed like a normal thing in this world. I loved that. And it was written well too. There is a lot of fighting included, martial arts ways, and it was so well done. I loved it all.

The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan was everything I could have hoped for. It was so fun and exciting and oh so perfect. The characters were so well written and I adored the small romance. Getting to know Mulan and Kai made my heart truly happy. This Mulan retelling was every kind of perfect. Which I adored beyond words. It was not really a dark book, despite the war. It made me smile so often. It was sweet and adorable and a little dark and serious too. It was full of history and amazing characters. I truly enjoyed it.

Biggest thank you to the publisher, Lee & Low Books, for approving my request to read this book early via Edelweiss. So glad I got to read this book right now. It was so precious to me. I cannot wait to own all the copies when it comes out in September. And my gosh, how badly I need to own the print ARC too, for my most perfect collection of books by Sherry. I shall go hunting for it. This book was every bit as perfect as I thought it would be. And you all need to read this book too. Was so easy to fall in love with. Truly perfect.

Goodreads - The Book Depository - Amazon

In My Mailbox #391

I turned 26 yesterday :D Yay. I love my birthdays, haha. Not many presents, small family, but still perfect. I had lots of cake and had some good food too :) Besides that, this week have not been very good for me. My health is going bad, worse than usual. Rude. And so I didn't manage to read anything. Next week. For sure. Also only a couple of blog posts this week, as I did not read at all this week. Ah! But reading tonight. I am sure of it. So little time and so little energy. Sigh. Anyway. I shared the cover for The Art of Theft :D And this week I'm waiting on Immunity. <3 And gosh, so little mail this week, haha :) But that's totally fine. More will come. Oops. Still, a bit of pretty mail :D Also, I saw Avengers: Endgame. It was awesome. But. Well. My favorite died. Ugh. Then I saw Game of Thrones. And my favorite died there too. What the hell. I am not pleased. Sigh. I watching loved both, but so disappointed as well, to be honest. I'm still behind on everything, but slowly catching up, whenever I have the energy for it. Still get pretty much zero comments so please do leave one if you visit. It would mean the very most to me. <3 I hope you are all doing well :)

LIFEL1K3. Stunning US paperback edition is out :D So pretty. Gosh. I will be re-reading this book soon.
Pop Figures. Dumbo is all kinds of cute. And mystery mini LotR :D I got my favorite; Legolas, haha. <3

More Instagram photos here. <3

Waiting on Wednesday #394

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

IMMUNITY (Contagion #2) BY ERIN BOWMAN

Goodreads Description:

Survivors of a deadly planetary outbreak take on a new, sinister adversary in the white-knuckle sequel to Contagion, which New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman called “gripping, thrilling and terrifying in equal measures.”

They thought their nightmare was over, but Thea, Coen, and Nova’s rescue was only the beginning. After being imprisoned on a ship they thought was their ticket to safety, it’s clear that the threat they left behind isn’t as distant as they’d hoped—and this time the entire galaxy is at risk.

Now that threat is about to be unleashed as an act of political warfare. To prevent an interstellar catastrophe, the survivors must harness the evil they faced on the planet Achlys and learn to wield the only weapon they have left: themselves.

The first installment in Erin Bowman’s duology earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, who called the plot “intricate and action-packed,” and fans of Jonathan Maberry, Rick Yancey, and Madeline Roux will relish in Bowman’s tense, high-stakes conclusion to the events of Contagion.

Hardcover, 448 pages

Expected publication: July 2nd 2019 by Harperteen

Pre-Order here and here

It is almost July now, right? Because, my god, how I am waiting and dying for this book. Ahh. Have waited forever already, haha :D Simply cannot wait to read this one. I adored book one. Contagion was so very good. I am beyond excited for this one. Cannot wait to know everything :D My cover reveal post here. <3
What are you waiting for on this immune Wednesday?