Saturday, July 8, 2017

In My Mailbox #296

This week have been pretty awesome. Yesss. I got the most amazing mail this whole week. Sigh. I'm so happy. Books via trade. Books via publishers. Books via friends. Oh, I'm so so happy. <3 They are all perfect :D Ahh. I have been bathing in my spa bath a lot lately, and I love it so much. Sigh. Finally able to do this every day, lol. Just nervous about my surgery on the 21st. Worried the doctor will make it so that I cannot bathe for weeks. He better not. Hmph. Anyway. My health hasn't been fully perfect this week. My new abscess got bigger and I had to murder it myself. Thankfully, that helped, and the pain went away. Still not fully healed, but lots better, and no need to see a doctor about it. Sigh. So happy about that. So yeah, feeling a bit better now :) Just hoping I don't get another one. Ugh. How I hate having Morbus Crohn. It's the worst. Anyway. I read two books this week, one a bit meh, one I loved. Had hoped to read more, but took me days to read these. Have so little time to read lately, and I am so tired all the time. But trying my best. And reading lots more this coming week. Got so many books I'm dying about reading, eee.  Blogged a little bit. I shared the covers for La Belle Sauvage. <3 Yess. And posted my review of Before She Ignites :) This week I'm waiting on The Dragon's Curse :D And I posted my review of Wonder Woman: Warbringer. <3 Yess. I also finally got to see the new Wonder Woman movie at the cinema this week :D Yesss. I loved it tons. Just, oh, so much stunning mail this week. I now have tons to read :D Yay.



Serafina. I have only read book one, which I liked a lot, and excited about reading book two and three.
Our Chemical Hearts. This book was an accident; ordered for someone else, but used my own address.
Nevernight. Eee, this new UK paperback edition is so gorgeous. Love this book so so much. Stunning.
Lyra's Oxford. New gorgeous hardcover version of this book. Such a short story.. but so perfect. Love.
Mulan/Merida book. Cute little book with two awesome looking stories. I adore Mulan and Merida both.
Lord of Shadows Chapter Samplers. Eee, thank you so much Sabrina for trading with me :D I love these.
Godsgrave. Ahh, thank you so much HarperVoyager UK for this perfect ARC copy :D Can't wait to read.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer + A Poison Dark And Drowning. Thank you so much Penguin Random House International for these two stunning ARCs :D Ahh. They are gorgeous. I loved WW oh so much.
The Falconer. Oh gosh, thank you so much Lena for sending me this one :D So so so happy. Love it tons.
Flashtide. Ahh :D Thank you the most for trading with me Angel. <3 Dying to read this one. So so happy.
Heartless. Eee! Dying. Thank you so so so much Donna for sending me this precious thing. <3 Love it so.
The Golden Compass + The Knowing. Ahh! Thank you Kaitlyn for trading with me :D Dying of happiness.
Odd & True Swag. Such a stunning swag pack win :D Eee. I can't wait to read this book. <3 Love these.


More Instagram photos here. <3

Friday, July 7, 2017

Review: Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

I did not grow up learning about Wonder Woman. Most likely because of my town in Norway not having any comics. But I have seen more and more of her lately, and so curious about this superhero. I also adore Leigh like crazy, and so I simply couldn't wait to try this book. So happy to say that I loved this.

The writing in this book was stunning. I loved it so. And had no issues at all connecting with everything. I loved that the book is told from the point of view of Diana and of Alia. They were both amazing to read about and I loved them so much. It's long and a bit slow to read, and I loved that lots. Didn't want this one to end.

Giving it four stars, though, because I felt like some things could have been a bit more. There could have maybe been a bit more plot and even more friendship, a bit more from the island, and a bit more romance too. But there wasn't a single thing about this book that I did not like. Because it was amazing. Eee. I have so many thoughts about it. So thrilled to have read this book. And I cannot wait to own all the editions of it. There is simply so much that I loved. I'm not sure where to begin. Or how to mention most of it. So will just start by saying that you really should read this book. No need to be a fan of Wonder Woman before you start, but I will promise that you'll be a fan of her when you finish. As I am. Oh, I wish there would be a sequel. Badly need more.

This book tells the story of Diana. She's almost seventeen years old, and she is the baby of their island. I'm not going to get into the whole backstory, with the Amazons and such, just mentioning that I loved it so, so much. This island of amazing warrior women were so interesting and awesome to read about. I loved getting to know some of them a little bit; as this book doesn't take much place on the island. Aw. I wish there had been more about it all. But I did love this small part of Diana's life, her childhood. So good.

There is so much to love about Diana. She's brave and fierce and loving. And just so much fun to read about too. She's the weakest of all her sisters, and she has wanted to prove herself to them for a long time. She wishes to be strong like them all. But I would say that she already is. And she's just so sweet and I loved reading about her so much. Sigh. Leigh wrote her so well. This book tells the story about how she rescues a girl from drowning. A girl from the outside world, who should not be at this island. Loved it.

Because she saved Alia, bad things are happening to Diana's home. And she's trying her very best to fix it. And I loved that lots. I loved how she decided not to simply let Alia die, to save her island, but instead decided to be brave and leave the island with her. To save her and to save the world. And gosh, how I adored and loved Alia. She's so fierce and kind and just so amazing. Getting to know her was the best. She's an awesome friend and I couldn't have loved her more. Enjoyed learning about her parents too.

Alia has a few friends. Like Nim. Whom was the most awesome girl and I loved her fiercely. Adored her friendship with Alia. They are such amazing friends. And I loved how she accepted Diana as well. Was sweet. And then there was Theo, a boy that Alia has a crush on. No romance in this book, but still, I can see it happening, and oh, they are adorable. Theo was pretty brave and pretty awesome too. Enjoyed reading about him too. And oh, reading about all of these characters together was simply so much fun.

Then there was Jason. Alia's brother. I'm unsure how I felt about him. He was a bit too controlling, yet fun to read about as well, and I couldn't help but enjoy reading about him and Diana fighting a little. It was fun. And I sort of shipped them. But again, no romance, because this book is not about romance. And I loved that too. I do wish there had been more romance, always, but loved how it focused on friendships instead. And the growing friendship between Diana and Alia was amazing. I loved it beyond words. Yess.

There is so much happening in this book. I'm not going to talk about most of it. Just that I loved the plot oh so much. Diana and the Amazons live on their island, mostly in the past. But Alia live in our time, so most of this book is modern, though Diana is not. And I enjoyed that so so much. Because while Diana knows some things, there are so much she doesn't know, and so there were a lot of funny scenes. But not all was fun. There is a lot of fighting too, and some heartbreaking scenes. I loved reading all of them.

This story tells of the Warbringer. A person who will make the whole world go into war. Diana makes it her mission to stop this. And I enjoyed this story so much. Diana and Alia was an amazing team. The ending was awesome, just wish it had been longer, and wish there would be more. Wonder Woman: Warbringer was a stunning story. Full of fierce and strong and brave girls. Amazing friendships. I'm so glad I read and enjoyed it tons. Thank you so, so much to Penguin Random House International for the ARC copy. Love.


Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Waiting on Wednesday #299

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

THE DRAGON'S CURSE (Transference #2) 
BY BETHANY WIGGINS

Goodreads Description:

Six months ago, Princess Sorrowlynn stood beside Prince Golmarr to defeat the glass dragon. But when the prince almost killed her after inheriting the dragon's curse of hatred, he went into hiding to keep Sorrow safe . . . from himself.

Now the princess has been training to become a great warrior, with the hope of finding Golmarr. But her search proves difficult when she discovers she has been wed to the prince of an enemy kingdom. Desperate to end her forced marriage and be reunited with her true love, Sorrow must find a way to escape her captor husband. But there's just one more dangerous obstacle in her way. A two-headed dragon is hunting her and will stop at nothing until she is dead.

Can Sorrow summon the courage to wield the only sword that can defeat the beast and save her world from the destruction of the dragon's curse?


Expected publication: February 2018 by Crown Books for Young Readers
Pre-Order here and here

Ahh. I cannot wait to read this sequel :D I enjoyed The Dragon's Price so, so much. And I'm dying to know what happens next. Eee. So so excited. Yet beyond nervous too. Six months have passed.. ahh. And sounds like there could be romance drama :( But author promised me there is no love triangle, eee, so I have high hopes for this one. <3 Just wishing I could read it right away :D I'm pretty sure I'm going to love this book. But gah. It isn't possible to pre-order this book yet. How rude. Cover was found here :D
What are you waiting for on this cursed Wednesday?

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Review: Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows

This book is so stunning. And I adore Jodi. I have been waiting ages to read this new book by her. Was sure that I would love it so much, as it sounds amazing. But oh, I ended up being a bit disappointed by this book. Feeling so sad that I did not love it. But yeah, I have a lot of reasons for why I didn't feel love for it.

I've decided to give it three stars. Which is low, yet also seems a bit high too, when I think about the fact that I did not really love anything about the book. Aw. But I did like it. And I did like the story and some of the characters. And I did like the dragons a lot. And I feel like I will enjoy the next books. Well, I hope I will.

I'm not sure where to begin to describe why I had issues with this book. I simply couldn't get into it. I couldn't connect with the characters or the plot. Not fully. I had big issues in the beginning with how it was written, and it just didn't get any better. Aw. The writing wasn't bad, I simply didn't enjoy it. Because I didn't love Mira, the main girl. The whole book is from her point of view. And while I loved so many parts of her, like her anxiety and counting, I also disliked lots of her. Like her vanity and her obsession with being pretty. Then her shame when people looked on her when she wasn't pretty. It bothered me so much. Because she did not improve. She is also so whiny and cries for everything. She cannot lie. And she doesn't do anything important or big or heroic. 

But I didn't hate this girl. I just had issues with her. Aw. I also liked her a lot at times. I just felt she was a bit too little as well. Which was depressing. As this book is about her being almost worshipped by everyone her whole life. Mira was born when the treaty was made and named after her. Everyone seems to adore her. But this book does not focus on her past life. Because instead it focuses on her right now, and right now she's being put in prison for something she said. Which, well, didn't make much sense. Weird laws.

Almost all of this book takes place in the pit, an underground prison. And oh, it grew to be a bit too much for me. Because so little happened. Was supposed to be a torture sort of place. But I felt like the villain in the prison, Altan, was a bit too little. He almost never hurt Mira. Which was disappointing. He just wasn't scary. Not to me. And that was disappointing. Ugh. Still, sort of interesting to read about even so. I didn't hate him. Which was also wrong, haha. Should have hated him. But yeah, I did not. Sigh. Disappointing.

This book is supposed to be about dragons as well. And it is. But they are such a small part. And I'm so sad about that. Because dragons are awesome. And I loved reading about the dragons in this book. I just wish they were there more. Hmph. And wish they had more awesome names, hih. But I adored reading about them. Just, yeah. Hope they are a bigger part in book two. Fingers crossed. Felt like this book was more of a prequel, despite being so, so long. Which was a bit disappointing. But excited for the next one.

Mira is in this prison for around two months. While I felt sorry for her and the other people in the prison, I sadly didn't care that much about it. Aw. Some parts were a bit horrible, but mostly it was just boring. So little happened. Mira tried to make friends with a few of her prison neighbors. Like Gerel. I liked that girl a lot, because she was simply more. Then there was Aaru, a silent boy next to her. I didn't care much for him at all. Only felt like he was a skinny and silent child. Aw. But I liked their growing friendship. Well, mostly.

And then there was the romance. Or the lack of. As there was none. And I made the mistake of reading a review that said someone was the love interest before I started. Turned out to be wrong. Sigh. But even if I hadn't read it, I still wouldn't have connected to the other boy, aw. At least Jodi says no triangle, so that's good. Except not good if this boy will be the romance, because I felt nothing for him. I liked how he thought her a secret code to talk, except I felt she learned it way too fast. And knew it too well afterwards. Hmph.

There were other characters too. Like the two best friends of Mira, from back home. Hristo and Ilina. And I thought Hristo would be the love interest. But he wasn't. Aw. But I want him to be. Sigh. He have been the official protector of Mira for years. And they are great friends too. He seemed awesome. But didn't get to know him at all. Ilina seemed so great too, but also didn't get to know her at all. Sigh. Despite Mira having been best friends with her for years. Rude. Maybe I'll get to know them both in the next book. Well, I hope.

Then there were Mira's parents. I think they love her. But barely see them. Mira always thinks that her mom would be so ashamed of her. Was a bit too much for me. Anyway. Enough about this book. Already written so much. It wasn't awful. I liked parts of it a lot. But didn't love it. Hoping that the next ones will be amazing. This cover is stunning, though. Huge thank you to Jodi and HarperTeen for the most amazing ARC that they sent me. I'll love it always. And buy finished copies too. Anyway. I do think you should read this one.



Sunday, July 2, 2017

Cover Reveal: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

Ahh :D The covers for this stunning thing have been revealed! Eee! I'm not sure which one I love the most. Hmm. I love the artwork of the UK one. But I love the writing in the US one. They are both really gorgeous, though. And I cannot wait to own several copies of each edition :D Eee. So so excited. Oh, how I am dying to read this book. Eee. This whole trilogy is going to be SO GOOD :D I loved His Dark Materials to pieces. They are such huge favorites of mine. Sniffs. And getting to read more of this world is the very, very best thing. La Belle Sauvage is the first book in The Book of Dust trilogy. This first one takes place ten years before His Dark Materials. And so Lyra is only a baby in this whole book, but still. I'm so excited to read this one. To get to know Malcolm. And everything else. Book two and three will be about Lyra ten years after the first trilogy, and holy crap, I'm excited. I hope there that Will is going to be included too. Ahh. I worry that Philip will make Lyra love someone else; and I can't imagine that at all. If it happens, it would make the last book meaningless :\ So I hope not. Either way, I'm beyond excited for all three of these books to come :D Just wish they were all out now. Hmph. And wishing I knew when book two will be out as well. Aaack. Hope the wait isn't too long :D Anyway. Super excited about this new book by Philip. Huge fan of this amazing author. Yess. And just, gosh, these covers are perfect. Love them so.

UK Cover & Details.


Eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead and his dæmon, Asta, live with his parents at the Trout Inn near Oxford. Across the River Thames (which Malcolm navigates often using his beloved canoe, a boat by the name of La Belle Sauvage) is the Godstow Priory where the nuns live. Malcolm learns they have a guest with them; a baby by the name of Lyra Belacqua . . .


US Cover & Details.


Eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead and his dæmon, Asta, live with his parents at the Trout Inn near Oxford. Across the River Thames (which Malcolm navigates often using his beloved canoe, a boat by the name of La Belle Sauvage) is the Godstow Priory where the nuns live. Malcolm learns they have a guest with them; a baby by the name of Lyra Belacqua . . .