Waiting on Wednesday #235

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

NEVER EVER BY SARA SAEDI

Goodreads Description:

Wylie Dalton didn’t believe in fairy tales or love at first sight.
Then she met a real-life Peter Pan.
When Wylie encounters Phinn—confident, mature, and devastatingly handsome—at a party the night before her brother goes to juvie, she can’t believe how fast she falls for him. And that’s before he shows her how to fly.

Soon Wylie and her brothers find themselves whisked away to a mysterious tropical island off the coast of New York City where nobody ages beyond seventeen and life is a constant party. Wylie’s in heaven: now her brother won’t go to jail and she can escape her over-scheduled life with all its woes and responsibilities—permanently.

But the deeper Wylie falls for Phinn, the more she begins to discover has been kept from her and her brothers. Somebody on the island has been lying to her, but the truth can’t stay hidden forever.

Hardcover, 320 pages

Expected publication: June 21st 2016 by Viking Books for Young Readers

Pre-Order here and here

I wouldn't usually look at a book like this one. But I did. And I am so glad that I did so. Because oh, this book sounds amazing. And it looks so so gorgeous. I have been trying to get this on Edelweiss since December, but publisher still haven't approved or declined me. Ugh. Getting tired of waiting. But soon it will be published, at least :) I'm so curious about it. Just hope romance will be the very best, hih :)
What are you waiting for on this never Wednesday?

Review: The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Gosh. How do I even begin to talk about this book? I have so many thoughts. I liked it so much. The writing is gorgeous. That cover is beyond stunning. Just wishing I had the print copy, eee. Cannot wait to own the hardcover in August. Four stars for this precious book. I have so much to say about it, I think. Will try.

I have only read one book by Kelly before, The Witch's Boy. But I loved that book so much. And when I heard about this, I knew I had to read it. So glad I got accepted right away. I couldn't not read it right away too, hih. And I'm glad I did. Because this book was great. I loved it, but had a few small issues. Will explain.

When I read the summary, I was sure the book would be about a young girl, learning about magic and things like that. But then I started reading. And it was not. Because the girl was just a baby, for at least one hundred pages of the book. I was a bit sad at first, but then I started to really, really love the story, and I'm glad it was told this way. It is written in third person, I think it is called, and we get to see so many lovely characters. I loved reading about them all. Though, well, some of them were evil, and I did not like them. But the rest were so amazing. Like what I would say is the main character, Xan. She is a five hundred year old witch. And I loved her the most. She's kind and sweet and I simply adored reading about her and getting to know her.

A lot of this book focus around a small village in the forest. There are Elders in charge. And I could not stand them. Shudders. They knew the truth about the witch in the forest, that there were none, that they had made her up, and it just broke my heart. Because everyone else believes that they have to leave a small baby in the forest once a year, so that the witch will not ruin their village. And they do it. And they are all heartbroken about it. And I just. It was so sad. And I loved reading about it the most.

This is where we first meet Luna. She is one of the babies that are left in the forest. And her poor mother did not want to give her up. She went crazy with sorrow, and they locked her up for it. Shudders. Luna is left in the clearing. The Elders think all the babies get eaten by animals. But this is not true. Because every year the witch comes and takes them, and moves them to a new home, at a different town. Which I loved a lot. But those other poor families. Sigh. It was such a sad story to read about.

The witch, aka Xan, picks up Luna. She always feeds the babies with starlight, and she does the same with Luna. Except she starts caring for the baby. And then she feeds her moonlight too. And oh, this baby is now full of magic. And Xan decides to keep her. And just. I loved it lots. She was an awesome woman to read about. And I loved how she named and cared for Luna for so long. Most of the book is from her point of view, and I loved getting to see Luna grow up from her eyes. It was pretty awesome.

A lot of the book is about Luna growing older, and her magic being stuck inside her for years. An awful thing was done so that she would not hurt anyone with her magic, and it broke my heart a little. Yet it totally needed to happen too, and so I loved it. There are also some other amazing characters to get to know. Like the swamp monster, Glerk. He was so sweet and awesome and smart and I loved reading about him. And the tiny dragon with the biggest heart, Fyrian. He was so much fun. So full of life.

All of these characters were so well written. And I loved getting to know them all. In the beginning, Antain was a teenager. But as Luna grew, he grew as well, in the village. And was a man for most of the book. Gosh, how I loved reading his story. How his poor face got ruined. How his mother treated him. How he started to fall in love. It was all so beautiful. And I cared for this boy a lot. So many great stories in this book. Ack. Just wish it had been longer. Sigh. At least hope there might be a sequel.

This book is about magic. And witches. And dragons. And monsters. And evil humans. It has everything. But no boy for Luna to play with. Aw. That made me a bit sad. Which is why I want a sequel, lol. But this book was even so pretty amazing. And I liked it so, so much. So happy I read it. The magic is stunning to read about. And there is such an incredible story inside this book. I was surprised a lot. And shocked. And heartbroken. I loved getting to know all the secrets about the past. So very good and so interesting.

I don't think I have more to say about this book. Just. It wasn't like I thought it would be, but it ended up being just what I wanted in the end. The Girl Who Drank the Moon was beautiful. And I loved every word of it. The story was amazing, and all the characters were the best to read about. This story has life and heart and I loved it lots. The villain is the worst. Shudders. Loved it. You all really should read this book when it comes out in August. Thank you so much Algonquin Young Readers for Netgalley approval :)

Goodreads - The Book Depository - Amazon

My review of The Witch's Boy

In My Mailbox #232

I had a good week. Got some pretty mail, but not many books, hih. And still waiting on all my Pop figures. Ugh. They should have arrived this week. Hopefully early next week. Fingers crossed. I read one book this week, sigh. But currently reading a new one, which I will finish tomorrow morning, hopefully :) I'm mostly just stressed. Hospital this Tuesday and Wednesday, so I must sleep over there. First day is medicine and spending all day not eating anything, and getting that thing up my nose, and being in stomach pain. Sigh. I am not looking forward to it. And next day is checking everything, but hopefully I get to be asleep. Then finally home. But yeah. It will be awful. And painful to get that thing in my nose. And I am just not looking forward to it. So stressing a little bit. But it must be done, I suppose. Sigh. Hoping they figure out that I don't need to take this medicine any longer, because it doesn't really work, and I'm in pain most of the time. Hmph. Anyway. Enough about all of that :) This week I blogged a little bit. <3 Happy with it. I took part in the Blog Tour for The Darkest Corners; posted my review of it :) This week I'm waiting on The Forgetting. <3 I posted my review of A Tyranny of Petticoats. Not the best. Sigh. But still good. My latest Book Collection is books by Elizabeth Fama :D Gorgeous. Love them all.

International Twitter Giveaway of a Swag Pack. Ends 04/11. LAST CHANCE!
The Orphan Queen + The Mirror King. International. Ends 04/21. 
The Darkest Corners Finished Hardcover. US. Ends 04/24.

Zootropolis. This book is so so so cute. The figures inside are SO CUTE. Gosh, I love this movie lots.
The Blood of Olympus. Well.. I have yet to read it. Sobs. But soon. I needed this new paperback of it. <3
Demigods and Magicians. I still haven't read his other series, but wanted these short stories. Read soon.
Shadowhunters Poster. EEEE :D Thank you so much Jon. <3 SO thrilled that I won this lovely from you.
Lots of Movies. I love Sleepy Hollow. And I liked The Martian :) Must watch the last two movies soon.
Lots of Swag. Eeee :D Thank you so much Alyssa. <3 It all looks awesome. Loved trading with you :)

The Girl Who Drank the Moon. I adored the first book I read by this author, The Witch's Boy. I still haven't read her earlier books, ack, but one day. <3 I had to get this one. So thrilled that I got approved on Netgalley :D Yay. But want print ARC too. <3 I have started this one, and I like it, but it is different from what I thought it would be. Huh. But I do like it so far :) And it's so cute.

 

More Instagram photos here. <3

Book Collection #6

 
Sixth week of my new Book Collection posts. I will be doing this every Friday. And I am loving it. I own so many amazing books, and I love that I get to share my collection of many of them. I will be posting collections randomly, but I love them all. I hope you will all enjoy these posts of mine. Would love to know if you have any collections like mine, and if you own and love these books too. Let me know :)

Books by Elizabeth Fama.

I love Beth so much. She's the kindest person and such an amazing author. I have loved her three books so far. I cannot wait to know what she is writing next. Eee. It feels like forever since I read Monstrous Beauty, cannot wait to re-read it soonish. And Plus One too. Super excited. Adore these books so much.

Monstrous Beauty. Plus One. Overboard.

Review: A Tyranny of Petticoats by Jessica Spotswood

Oh. I'm so unsure about this book. I was very excited to read it, despite not really reading books that only contains short stories. But I adore so many of these authors. And I couldn't wait to read all their stories, and the other ones too. Plus this book really sounded and looked so amazing. I was so excited for it. Sigh.

But I must say that I am disappointed by it. The only stories I truly loved were by Beth Revis and Marissa Meyer. And even those were way too short, just like everything in this book. I'm disappointed. I thought there would be a lot of badass girls, with amazing stories. But there weren't. Not at all, not really.

I mean, sure, most of the girls are pretty amazing. But just about every single story had something awful happen to them, or someone close to them dying, or them dying themselves. And I just. How is that being badass? It bothered me. I expected much more. And felt like I got so little. Sigh. The writing in the stories were amazing, at least, so I'm pleased about that. And despite liking many of the stories, I was disappointed by most. Giving this one three stars, mostly for Marissa and Beth. I'm also going to be rating each of the stories below, and writing a little bit about them as well. I just, I'm a bit sad, because I really wanted this book to be epic. Sigh. I think what bothered me the most was how short every single story was. Annoying.

The first story was Mother Carey's Table by J. Anderson Coats. Set in 1710. I'm giving this story 3 out of 5. This girl was a pirate, pretending to be a boy. I liked her relationship with her dad. Though so short, so didn't get to see too much of it, sadly. I liked her life on the ship, though once again, very short. I liked it, until she tried to help them all, and they learned she was a girl. Ugh. She helped them all in such an amazing and painful way. But it did not have a happy ending. Disappointed. Could have been more.

The second story was The Journey by Marie Lu. Set in 1723. I'm giving this story 4 out of 5. I liked this one a whole lot. There is dog sledding. Awesome girl. I liked getting to know her a little bit, and reading a tiny bit about her life at her small village. But then strangers arrive. And both her parents died in the beginning. Which disappointed me. She goes to find a new place to live, which was so interesting. But she is alone the whole time. I felt like story ended right when it began. I wanted much more from this.

The third story was Madeleine's Choice by Jessica Spotswood. Set in 1826. I'm giving this story 3 out of 5. Gosh, I'm unsure. Girl was in love with a boy she danced with. Parents wants more from her. Her best friend betrays her. Was disappointed. But I liked it. The fourth story was El Destinos by Leslye Walton. Set in 1848. I'm giving this story 2 out of 5. About the three Fates. They are sisters. It was a bit poorly written. Main girl in love with boy sister marries. A bad ending, sort of. Could have been interesting.

The fifth story was High Stakes by Andrea Cremer. Set in 1861. I'm giving this story 3 out of 5. This girl was awesome. She has a power, with snakes. But someone close to her dies. A boring game. Sigh. Good ending, sort of. But was too short. The sixth story was The Red Raven Ball by Caroline Tung Richmond. Set in 1862. I'm giving this story 2 out of 5. It all takes place during a ball. Ugh. No boys. About a spy, yet boring. Grandma was awful, sister was, well, a bit mean. Didn't like this one. Shrugs. Just, boring.

The seventh story was Pearls by Beth Revis. Set in 1876. I'm giving this story 5 out of 5. At first I was a bit unsure, because the story starts with the girl having been raped. Which is heartbreaking. But it doesn't focus on it. And this girl is so strong and sweet. She is being forced to marry that awful man, and so she runs away instead, to teach a small school. It was amazing to read about. My heart ached for this sweet girl. And I loved getting to know the kids, like Annie. Ending was good, but way too short.

The eight story was Gold in the Roots of the Grass by Marissa Meyer. Set in 1877. I'm giving this story 5 out of 5. It was simply amazing. I loved reading it so much. But heartbroken that it was not a full story. The girl was incredible. She can talk and see ghosts. I loved reading about it. She is trying to help a boy that just died, James. And it was so interesting. The ending is sad, sadly, yet I found that I loved it a whole bunch. It was sad, yet the most happiest too. I really want so much more from this story. Ack.

The ninth story was The Legendary Garrett Girls by Y. S. Lee. Set in 1898. I'm giving this story 3 out of 5. Two sisters run a bar alone. They were awesome to get to know. Bad guy is taking it over. I loved how they dealt with him. A bit sad ending, though. I wish it had been longer. The tenth story was The Color of the Sky by Elizabeth Wein. Set in 1926. I'm giving this story 2 out of 5. Girl gets to see the first black woman to fly. Someone dies. She attends the funerals, travels far. It was boring and I didn't care much.

The eleventh story was Bonnie and Clyde by Saundra Mitchell. Set in 1934. I'm giving this story 5 out of 5. This story I loved a whole bunch, I think. I'm just so heartbroken that it was so short. It makes me sad. This story deserves to be a full book. I want it to be. One day, I hope. It is about a girl robbing banks as a boy, because everyone is poor. She is sharing the money. She's dating Caleb, whom seemed awesome. But he's trying to catch her as the boy stealing. The ending was good. Just, way too short.

The twelfth story was Hard Times by Katherine Longshore. Set in 1934. I'm giving this story 4 out of 5. I liked this one a lot. Poor girl traveling with a boy. Talks to young reporter man on train. Ends hopefully. I ship them. Just, I wanted and needed more. Sigh. Should been longer. The thirteenth story was City of Angels by Lindsay Smith. Set in 1945. I'm giving this story 2 out of 5. Gosh, so boring. Whole book was about girl falling in love with another girl. I felt nothing. She is a writer. Other girl is a liar. Disliked it.

The fourteenth story was Pulse of the Panthers by Kekla Magoon. Set in 1967. I'm giving this story 2 out of 5. About the black panthers. Interesting, too short. Innocent farm girl. A small romance could have happened, quick ending. The fifteenth story was The Whole World Is Watching by Robin Talley. Set in 1968. I'm giving this story 2 out of 5. Boring. There are protests, sort of interesting. Don't get why girl joined. She is in love with a girl, but being with a boy to show her father. Cheating. Did not like. Sigh.

This book was a bit of a mess. I loved the writing. I loved a few of the stories, but most of them were just meh. Nothing special at all. They were all too short, most were not exciting at all. I just wanted this book to be over at all times. Sad face. But still giving it three stars, because as I said, I loved a few of the stories. But mostly this book was not that good. I did love the author notes at the end of each story, though. I liked that it was a really diverse book. Just wished that the stories had been told better. Sigh.

Goodreads - The Book Depository - Amazon