Saturday, May 30, 2020

In My Mailbox #447

This past week have gone by so fast. Gah. Haven't read a book, but I started re-reading Aurora Rising, and have made it halfway. So yay for that. And fully behind on everything else, as always. Yeah. Health sucks. Still waiting on medicine. Have a hopeful date for getting more, but unsure. Hmm. My wrist is still hurting every time I use my laptop. So simply not getting anything done. So rude. So only one new blog post. This week I'm waiting on One True King. <3 Only one book made it to my mailbox this week. Ugh. Waiting on many, but seems to be taking about a whole month to make it here these days. Which sucks. But all my books should get here one day, I suppose :) Hope you are all staying safe and are doing well.



DEV1AT3. Pretty US paperback edition :D I.. have not read this second book just yet. Ahh. But very soon.


More Instagram photos here. <3

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Waiting on Wednesday #450

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

ONE TRUE KING (The School for Good and Evil #6)
BY SOMAN CHAINANI

Goodreads Description:

Beyond Good and Evil. Beyond Ever Afters.

The fairy tale of Sophie and Agatha comes to a dramatic conclusion in this sixth and final book of Soman Chainani’s New York Times bestselling fantasy series.

Who will sit on Camelot’s throne and rule the Endless Woods? Who will be the One True King? Prepare yourself for the End of Ends . . .

Hardcover, 496 pages
Expected publication: June 2nd 2020 by HarperCollins
Pre-Order here and here

I feel like I have waited forever for the final book in this series. Gosh. It is going to be so very good, eee. I am so nervous, though, haha. But very hopeful for happy endings :) I just don't really want this series to actually end. Hmph. Love these books so very much. And oh gosh. It is out in less than a week! Ahh! And look at that gorgeous cover :D Love. So much. I will be re-reading the first books now in June. Can't wait.
What are you waiting for on this epic Wednesday?

Saturday, May 23, 2020

In My Mailbox #446

How is it already Saturday again? Ahh. Time is moving way too fast :) And I haven't read anything since I finished the last book a week ago. Oops. But I know what I'm reading next, hoping to get to it this coming week :) Fingers crossed. This week have been busy for me. So much to do all day long. Ack. And health sucks. And everything seems to be going wrong. Uuugh. But I'm doing my best and staying positive :) A couple of new posts. I shared my review of Among the Beasts and Briars :) And this week I'm waiting on Igniting Darkness, eee. <3 And gosh. I actually got two books this week, haha :) Finally. Both gorgeous.



Aurora Burning. Sigh. So lovely. US hardcover has arrived. I may have peeked at final pages, haha :D
The Red Scrolls of Magic. New gorgeous US paperback :D With new cover design too. Eee. I love it so.
Pikachu. Eee. Isn't this Detective Pikachu plush all kinds of adorable? I love him so. I had to buy him :)


More Instagram photos here. <3

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Waiting on Wednesday #449

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

IGNITING DARKNESS (Courting Darkness #2) 
BY ROBIN LAFEVERS

Goodreads Description:

When you count Death as a friend, who can stand as your enemy?

Sybella, novitiate of the convent of Saint Mortain and Death’s vengeance on earth, is still reeling from her God’s own passing, and along with him a guiding hand in her bloody work. But with her sisters on the run from their evil brother and under the watchful eye of her one true friend (and love) at court, the soldier known as Beast, Sybella stands alone as the Duchess of Brittany’s protector.

After months of seeking her out, Sybella has finally made contact with a fellow novitiate of the convent, Genevieve, a mole in the French court. But when Genevieve mistakenly draws the attention of the French king to the convent of Saint Mortain and its deadly arts, she may do her sisters (and herself) more harm than good. Sybella, having already drawn the ire of the French regent, may not be able to depend on her sister and ally as much as she hoped. Still, Death always finds a way, even if it’s not what one expects.


Hardcover, 560 pages
Expected publication: August 4th 2020 by HMH Books for Young Readers
Pre-Order here and here

Eeee. I had been meaning to post a cover reveal post for this gorgeous thing. But I never got the energy for it, oops, and it has now been many many months since this cover came out. Ack. But yesss. I am so DYING to read this book. I loved Courting Darkness so so so much. And the original trilogy is perfection too. I cannot wait to know how it all ends. Ack. So very nervous too, of course. But simply cannot wait :)
What are you waiting for on this dark Wednesday?

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Review: Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston

I have wanted to read this ever since it was first announced. As I adore the author. Though I have only read one other book by her so far. Yet I still wanted to read this one so badly. It sounded and looked so very amazing. And so I could not resist getting it early from Edelweiss. And reading this months before it is officially out.

I wanted to read this book because it seemed like it would be an epic fantasy story with adorable characters and an epic quest to save everyone. I ended up being a little disappointed, sadly. And so I'm giving this book three stars. Which hurts my heart; I really wanted to love this book. But I had too many issues with it. Sigh.

I'm not sure where to begin. The writing was mostly good, but I still did not really care for any of the characters. I did not feel like things were scary or like they were all going to die. This book did not feel nearly as epic as it was trying to be. Which makes me so sad. Hmph. I was also a little annoyed with how many mistakes there were in the writing. I do know, and hope, these will be fixed before the final printing, but still. It made me fall out of the story every time I noticed this. I also felt like so much of the things happening did not make much sense. There were also way too many descriptions, and they all made me a little insane. I tried my very best to love this writing and this book. But I did not. I liked the story a lot, though. But no love. I did love the setting though.

This book is mostly told from the point of view of Cerys. She is best friends with the princess of the small town she lives in. She is the daughter of the village gardener. She and her dad grow flowers for the royals and everyone else. She has a good life. Yet it is mentioned a few times that she does not know anything else, that she doesn't know to want more for herself. This seemed silly, as we never got to see her life as a gardener. She seemed to love her life. Anyway. I liked Cerys. She was interesting. I just didn't love her.

The King has just died, and so her best friend is about to become Queen. I did like this friend, but we see so very little of their friendship in this book. And so I did not really ever get to understand why they were such good friends. It also drove me kind of crazy how when this friend was mentioned in the whole book her name and nickname were both used several times in a short amount of time. I wish it had been one of her names, not both all the time. Too confusing and weird. And wish we had gotten to see their friendship.

This book is about a cursed forest. For three hundred years Cerys's town have been protected from this cursed forest by a magical crown. But it is no longer so, after the king died. Evil creatures arrive from this forest, turning almost everyone at the coronation for the new Queen into evil creatures themselves. Only Cerys manages to escape, along with the crown. And her other best friend, a fox that have been with her for years. They escape into this cursed forest, searching for a rumored town that might save all of them.

It could have been such an epic tale of trying to save everyone from the cursed forest and evil creatures. But it was too silly for me at times, which just hurt. And yet I still liked this book. I still liked reading about the characters and wanted to know how it ended. But I wanted more. Much more. The plot was good, but could have been better. The ending was way too happy. Well, one happy thing I did want, but something else was too good to be true, and that bothered me. But still. I did really adore reading about this forest.

One thing that bothered me very much was this one sentence that was included from beginning to end. How the main girl was only a gardener's daughter. It drove me crazy. How she was only that, not meant for quests or important things. Yeah. It was not good. And another thing was how the boy was a coward at times, and how this was made to be a bad thing. Not once did anyone say it was okay for him to hide like he did. It was very much okay to do that. He was a goddamn child. So yeah. Made me angry. Ugh.

It also bothered me how the twists in this book were not really twists at all. Everything was obvious from the very beginning, which was disappointing. I wish it had all been more of a mystery. There was some romance, but I did not really care for it, because there was some silly drama I did not like. Hmph. I also very much disliked how convenient everything was. It was a bit too much at times. Also, when the fox turned into a boy, how this fox boy just knew everything about being a human, everything to say. Weird.

Although I did not love this book, Among the Beasts and Briars was still an interesting and quick book to read. I adored parts of it, but sadly did not love it. But still so glad that I read it. I only wish that it had been more magical. There were magic included, but too little and a bit too boring too. Oops. I so wanted more. I wanted more danger, more excitement. They were attacked many times, then always saved at the last moment. I just wanted more danger and hurt and more epic adventure. Still, was not all bad. Three stars.

Although this book is not out until October, I could not resist reading it already. And even though it was disappointing to me, I still liked it a lot. And I still think that all of you should read it too when it comes out. I cannot wait to see how very gorgeous the finished copy will look. Also curious if there will be companion books. The ending very much teased that. I would read more from this world. Thank you to Balzer + Bray for auto approval on Edelweiss that allowed me to read this book early. I'm glad that I gave this one a try.


In My Mailbox #445

This week I actually got nothing in the mail. How very rude. The mail is so slow these days. Sigh. Waiting on some books, hoping they will get here one day, ha. And ahh! I have read two books this week, eee :D Review for the second one coming up shortly. But, ugh. Both were three stars. Which is depressing, as I really want to read an epic story. Hmph. Hoping my next read will be better :) Fingers crossed. But so so so glad that I'm reading more, finally. Sigh. Although, my health is not any better. Rude. I'm in more pain each day. Sigh. But doing my best, despite this :) I hope you are all doing well too. <3 So anyway. Two new blog posts this week; with my review coming tonight. I shared my review of The Kingdom of Back :) This week I'm waiting on The Mirror: Broken Wish. <3 It is still so cold and still snowing at times. So rude.



Among the Beasts and Briars. I actually downloaded this weeks ago, oops. Just read it this weekend :D
Panda. Bought this expensive designed ornament for birthday money. <3 So goddamn cute, eee. Love.


More Instagram photos here. <3

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Waiting on Wednesday #448

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

THE MIRROR: BROKEN WISH BY JULIE C. DAO

Goodreads Description:

Sixteen-year-old Elva has a secret. She has visions and strange powers that she will do anything to hide. She knows the warnings about what happens to witches in their small village of Hanau. She's heard the terrible things people say about the Witch of the North Woods, and the malicious hunts that follow.

But when Elva accidentally witnesses a devastating vision of the future, she decides she has to do everything she can to prevent it. Tapping into her powers for the first time, Elva discovers a magical mirror and its owner-none other than the Witch of the North Woods herself. As Elva learns more about her burgeoning magic, and the lines between hero and villain start to blur, she must find a way to right past wrongs before it's too late.

The Mirror: Broken Wish marks the first book in an innovative four-book fairy-tale series written by Julie C. Dao, Dhonielle Clayton, Jennifer Cervantes, and L. L. McKinney, following one family over several generations, and the curse that plagues it.


Hardcover, 320 pages
Expected publication: October 6th 2020 by Disney-Hyperion
Pre-Order here and here

I am so curious about this book :D I have read one book by Julie so far, which I adored so very much, and I cannot wait to read more books by her. I love that this is book one of four, by different authors. It sounds like such an exciting story and I cannot wait to read it. Hoping that I will love this so so very much, eee :)
What are you waiting for on this broken Wednesday?

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Review: The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

I have waited a long time to read this book. Though, confession, I do not know anything about Mozart. I may have heard some of his music before, but I cannot remember it. Yet I still wanted to read this book. Because I adore Marie and have loved many of her books before. But I was expecting too much from this story.

And so I ended up being a little let down by this book. Giving it three stars, as parts of the book were so good. But not higher as this book was not everything that I wanted it to be. Which was all kinds of depressing. I had expected a great fantasy book about siblings, with romance included. This was not what it was about.

Will begin by saying that the writing was lovely. I had no issues with connecting to the characters or this world. I liked the words a whole lot. But sadly that didn't save this book for me. For most of the time I so adored Nannerl. Her relationship with her brother Wolferl was so beautiful at times. She was about four years older than him. He was the younger brother who always looked up to her. And their connection was so lovely to read about. But it was not this all the time. Nannerl was so jealous of him. And because of this their relationship was strained so many times. It was painful. She hurt him. He was not all innocent, but he was so young and only wanted to please her. I understood her too, somewhat. Still. I wish they did not have bad feelings between them.

What confused me most about this book was that I was certain it was YA. Goodreads says it is. Summary mentions Nannerl as a young woman. But for over half of the book she is less than twelve years. I mean, I love middle grade books. So much. But that is not what I thought this book would be. This should have been made clear before I started the book. Hmph. But still. I adored Nannerl. And I enjoyed reading about her growing up. But it was a little too boring for me at times. Sigh. I wanted more action, some romance.

Because there was no romance in this book. There are mentions of a boy she meets, who writes her two letters. Then no more mentions of him. But yeah, this book was more a sibling story. There was nothing wrong with that. I simply wanted a little more. Because there was too much pain between these siblings. I also thought the ending would be different. The whole book is about Nannerl wanting to be remembered, wanting the world to know she can compose music like her brother can. She's never remembered for this.

But anyway. There was some fantasy in this book too. Nannerl and her brother creates a world together when she is only eight years old. A world she sees in her dreams. Unsure if this world was real or not, as things seemed to be just as she made them up. But even so, this world was exciting to get to know. They named it The Kingdom of Back. And getting to know how this world worked and the creatures that lived in it was interesting. A little weird at times, but still good to read about. Exciting. For the most part, anyway.

Because there was a person from this world that kept visiting Nannerl for almost ten years after they first made this world. A faery princeling, her age. He wanted to help her get her wish to be remembered. She only had to help him with a few things first, before he would help her. At first these things that she helped him do in the kingdom seemed easy and harmless enough. Until later, when things got darker. And with Nannerl on the edge of sacrificing her brother. I did not like how she seemed to hate her brother at times.

Anyway. I do not know what else to say about this book. It was a story about two siblings. And their crazy father who wanted more than anything to make money out of them performing and making music. They were both so good at making music. But their father was not always doing what was best for them, which was depressing to read about. With this book being set far in the past, things were not as they are today. Women were not allowed to write their own music, not allowed to defy their fathers or anything like that.

And so Nannerl did not have an easy life. Which was also sad to read about. I wanted more for this girl. And it makes me even sadder that she ended up being forgotten by the world; with only her brother being remembered. So yes. I wish this book had ended differently. But I still thought that The Kingdom of Back was an interesting book to read. Exciting and fun at times, with lovely siblings. But a little too boring and weird at other times. Still, I'm glad that I read this book. And very curious to know what others think of it.


Saturday, May 9, 2020

In My Mailbox #444

Oh my gosh. I have read a book this week. Ahh! Only one, but still. First book read in almost two months, so yay for that :) And I will make myself start another in a few days too. Hmph. I love reading. So much. But have had no energy for it, no will to pick anything up for ages. Oops. I am hoping to change that now. Anyway. No books in the mail this week. What even. Waiting on a few, but shipping is not the fastest right now. So yeah. Hoping some will arrive next week :) Still. Got a few movies, haha. So sharing about those. And two new blog posts, which I haven't had in weeks and weeks, lol. This week I'm waiting on Murder on Cold Street. <3 Then shared my review of The June Boys :) I hope you are all doing well and are staying safe. I'm still fully busy playing Animal Crossing. If you want to friend me, send me a message on twitter :) I also turned 27 on Sunday, gosh, so old, haha. But had a great birthday; which I always love. I'm so very behind on everything, though. And haven't taken instagram photos in ages. Hoping to do that very soon :)



Movies. I loved Uncaged and Crawl. Love monster movies, haha. So excited to see the other two soon :)
Plush. I bought this cutie today, eee. And sharing since I have this big obsession with cute plushes, haha.


More Instagram photos here. <3

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Review: The June Boys by Court Stevens

I have been meaning to pick up this book for weeks. But I have not read anything for ages. Until yesterday. And I am so glad that I finally read this book. Although it sadly was not all that I wanted it to be. But I still enjoyed a lot of it. Giving it two stars, though, as I had some issues. The mystery of this book was mostly exciting.

But my issues was still a few too many. Mostly I had problems with the writing. I did not like it. I was not able to connect fully to the characters or the story. I simply did not care enough. I just wanted this book to be so creepy and exciting. It was somewhat creepy, but not nearly enough. The ending was best of all of this.

What I really liked about this book was the story. How one person had been kidnapping boys for the past ten years. All boys and all under age eighteen. And always happening on June 1st. It's what made me interested in this book. I wanted to read a fully creepy kidnapping story with great characters and a very horrible villain. Sadly, this was not really what I got. This book focused more on Thea and her life. Which was actually kind of boring and I never grew to really like her. Which was depressing. Her cousin was taken almost a year ago. Thea has been investigating the Gemini Thief ever since. But no one has ever found this person, and the missing boys have always been returned one year later. Until now, when one of the boys show up dead next to a road.

Which is what starts Thea into thinking that her father might be the criminal here. There were clues that lead to him being the one taking the boys. But she does not want this to be true, despite believing that it is. And so this book was mostly about her trying to find her missing cousin and finding out who took him. It was kind of a mess, to be honest. Everyone close to her ended up being a suspect in her eyes. It was such a mess, as they all could have done it. The evidence was messy too and I just wanted it to be better.

Because this whole investigation thing bothered me. Thea doesn't seem to see obvious things. And she suspected everyone. The clues about the real thief were not done very well. As this book felt like it was all over the place. When we finally found out who was the thief, it seemed a little silly. The person behind it has some weird reasons; Thea finding out was weird too. I liked the ending, but I wish it had been better and more creepy. I did not really like knowing the thief at all, because the thief was too boring in my eyes.

Thea had a boyfriend. Nick, three years older than her. They met the day after her cousin went missing, so they have been dating for almost a year. I wish I could say that there was a sweet and good romance in this book. But it wasn't. It was barely there. And they did not seem close at all, despite the fact that they were supposed to be so in love. It was weird. I liked Nick, I did like them together, but there was no love there. There was no passion, no romance. Which made me even more sad, haha. I simply wanted more.

More of everything, honestly. It should have been more creepy. The romance should have been better. The writing definitely should have been better. So many weird words in weird places. It was impossible to connect. Sigh. Thea had a few friends. They were interesting, but easy to forget. I didn't feel anything for any of these people. I wanted to, but it wasn't written well enough for me. Others might love this, though. But I wanted more. But there was one thing that I sort of liked a whole bunch. Issues with it too, but still.

The book is told from the point of view of Thea. But this is also told through letters written by her captive cousin. And I liked getting to know this boy. Some of these letters were just weird and silly, but near the ending it got really interesting and exciting too. Heartbreaking at one point, but even that could have been much more than it was. Sigh. It was interesting to read about the captive boys. It was so depressing that they were captive, how it changed them. But I wanted it to be darker. Much darker. I'm a bit disappointed.

But anyway. Despite not loving it, I did find The June Boys to be a good read. I was interested in knowing how it all ended, despite not caring for any of the characters. Only wish it had been more dark and written better and that it had more heart. There was also a little bit too much religion mentioned. I don't believe in any of that, so it was a little weird to read about someone saying God spoke to them. Yeah. But I am sure others will enjoy this book a whole lot. It simply was not really a book for me. I am glad I read this, though.


Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Waiting on Wednesday #447

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

MURDER ON COLD STREET (Lady Sherlock #5)
BY SHERRY THOMAS

Goodreads Description:

Charlotte Holmes, Lady Sherlock, is back solving new cases in the USA Today bestselling series set in Victorian England.

Inspector Treadles, Charlotte Holmes’s friend and collaborator, has been found locked in a room with two dead men, both of whom worked with his wife at the great manufacturing enterprise she has recently inherited.

Rumors fly. Had Inspector Treadles killed the men because they had opposed his wife’s initiatives at every turn? Had he killed in a fit of jealous rage, because he suspected Mrs. Treadles of harboring deeper feelings for one of the men? To make matters worse, he refuses to speak on his own behalf, despite the overwhelming evidence against him.

Charlotte finds herself in a case strewn with lies and secrets. But which lies are to cover up small sins, and which secrets would flay open a past better left forgotten? Not to mention, how can she concentrate on these murders, when Lord Ingram, her oldest friend and sometime lover, at last dangles before her the one thing she has always wanted?


Paperback, 304 pages
Expected publication: September 8th 2020 by Berkley Books
Pre-Order here and here

EEE! Is it time for this most gorgeous book yet? :D Gosh. I completely love this series. And I cannot wait for more. The slow burn romance is fully killing me. It's so good. And the characters so lovely. Everything is perfect. Sigh. This book is going to be fully perfect. And I simply cannot wait for it. Need it now, please.
What are you waiting for on this historic Wednesday?

Saturday, May 2, 2020

In My Mailbox #443

Another week gone by, still not reading anything. Sigh. But this coming week I will be starting a book for sure. I need to read again, ha :) A little bit of mail this week; some stunning books. <3 But no other blog posts, oops. This week I am waiting on Soulswift :) And tomorrow is my birthday. Eee. Turning 27. Gosh. But I am so excited about my birthday. Presents, cake, good food. Sigh. Hoping it will be a good day :) My health still sucks, but I'm doing my best and staying safe from the virus. Hope you are all doing well too :)


The Empire of Dreams. Hoping to get to re-read the original trilogy one day soon, eee. Excited for this.
Aurora Rising. The new US paperback edition :D I mean, duh. Of course I had to own this one too, haha.
Two Dark Reigns. Finally this one came out in US paperback. <3 Ugh. These books are so good and evil.
A Crystal of Time. Ahh. Gorgeous US paperback edition :D I'm so not ready for the final book in a month.
Trolls. Oops. Another version of the movie tie-in edition, haha. I just had to own this one too :) Too cute.


More Instagram photos here. <3