Spring Blog Tour

Spring
Lele Iturrioz
(Seasons Within #2)
Published by: Acorn Publishing
Publication date: September 1st 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Gaia finally knows who she is and what she’s meant to do. It’s only been a few weeks since the earth element woke in her. Now that she’s embracing her role as Mother Nature, she must journey with her group of power-wielding friends in a race against time to get back home before Azazel reaches them.

​

With the awakening of a brand new element, her true past with Edan, a dangerous decision that could change the very essence of who she is, and a traitor among her group, the broken road back to Terra will be a test of strength.

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After all, even if Gaia doesn’t know it, war is closer than she thinks.

Goodreads / Amazon

Book One is on sale for $0.99 during the duration of this tour. Buy it here

Since I received both books for free, I will be reviewing both of them. When I first heard of these books, I thought it would be hard for me to keep up with the storyline because the plot seemed so complex.

These stories completely blew me away! I was not expecting it to be as addicting as it was, and I completely flew through these two books.

There were so many characters that sometimes I got confused, but they were all so interesting to learn about. Even the side characters had important roles in this story and felt fully fleshed out. The entire team worked so well together and each member got their spotlight. I absolutely loved G’s development and her figuring out her powers. 

Though I was afraid of it being too fast-paced and confusing, the books was not hard to follow, which I liked so that I could really meet the characters. I felt that the second book also had a more even pace to it. Some chapters were long and intensive, and others were fast and fun!

There’s definitely a lot more romance in the second book than in the first, but it still was not the main focus, which I appreciated.

The writing was okay in book one, but I saw so much improvement in book two. I love seeing authors grow as much as the characters they create!

 I will definitely be picking up the third installment of this series. It’s a super fun and interesting read with well-developed characters and plot. The second book is even better than the first in terms of writing, plot, and characters. I definitely recommend!

Final Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Author Bio:

Major geek by day, hermit writer by night! Love books, sugar gliders and everything that comes in a delicious taco.

I’m the author of the YA fantasy series, Seasons Within

I spend my time writing, planning on writing, reading, drinking coffee like there was no tomorrow, MMA and chilling with my friends and loved ones.

Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Moribund Blog Tour

Moribund
Genevieve Iseult Eldredge
(Circuit Fae #1)
Published by: Monster House Books
Publication date: September 12th 2017
Genres: LGBTQ+, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Dark Fae. Romance. Evil Plots. High school. Our heroines could be in for the greatest adventure ever.

If only they could decide whether to kill or kiss each other.

High school sophomore Syl Skye is an ordinary girl. At least, she’s trying to be. School photographer and all-around geek, she introverts hard and keeps her crush on sexy-hot glam-Goth alt-rock star Euphoria on the down-low. But when a freak accident Awakens her slumbering power, Syl is forced to accept a destiny she never wanted—as the last sleeper-princess of the fair Fae.

Suddenly hunted by the dark Fae, Syl’s pretty sure things can’t get any worse. Until she discovers her secret crush, Euphoria, is really a dark Circuit Fae able to harness the killing magic in technology. Even worse, she’s been sent to destroy Syl.

With mean girls and magic and dark Fae trying to kill her, it’ll take more than just “clap if you believe in fairies” to save Syl’s bacon—not to mention, her heart.

Perfect for readers of romance, urban fantasy, fairy stories and LGBT.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks

Review:

This seemed like a super interesting read full of action and adventure. The main things that sold me were the modern fantasy with LGBT!

Ahhh, the characters were so adorable! In addition, they seemed to pop out of the pages. The romance also wasn’t unrealistic at all, which happens often in fast-pasted stories. 

I was a little uncertain about this book at first because of the complex plot, but the world building was so well done and I felt myself on the edge of my seat most of the time!

This story was so beautifully written and crafted. I can tell this author put a lot of heart into this book.

This was an intense and grappling introduction to this series. I definitely hope to read more in the future!

Final Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Author Bio:

Raised by witches and dragons in the northern wilds, GIE writes angsty urban fantasy YA romance–where girls who are mortal enemies kick butt, take names, and fall in love against all odds.

She enjoys long hikes in the woods (where better to find the fair folk?), believing in fairies (in fact, she’s clapping right now), dancing with dark elves (always wear your best shoes), being a self-rescuing princess (hello, black belt!), and writing diverse books about teenage girls finding love, romance, and their own inner power.

She might be planning high tea at the Fae Court right now.

GIE is multi-published, and in her role as an editor has helped hundreds of authors make their dream of being published a reality.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy | Review

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: September 15, 2015

Pages: 384

How I Obtained It: Free eBook

Goodreads Description: 

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.
Initial Thoughts: I had heard quite a bit of buzz about this book. A lot of the reviews were mixed, but I was still interested in this book. In fact, Julie Murphy has come to speak at a local library, but I was unable to attend. Then I got an email asking to fill out a survey and that I would receive a free eBook in return. And that’s how I came to read Dumplin’.

Thoughts:

Willowdean, the main character, struggles with her weight throughout the novel. In addition, we see other characters that have disabilities. I loved seeing these characters slowly come to terms with what they view as flaws and become more confident people.

Even though this was about a beauty pageant, a lot of the book instead centered around the romance. I did enjoy the ending, when the pageant actually took place, but the other parts just seemed like filler chapters.

There’s a bit of a love triangle in this book. Not only that, the romance shows how insecure Willowdean is with her weight. Some of the romance was unnecessary but for the most part it was really cute and fluffy.

The writing was pretty standard for first person contemporary. It was simplistic, with few literary devices.

Even though I enjoyed this book, I have no urge to pick up another Julie Murphy book, but if I’m offered one for free then I’d happily enjoy more of her stories.

Final rating: 3/5 stars

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson | Review

Goodreads Description: 

Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them.

But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life.

The early years are Noah’s story to tell. The later years are Jude’s. What the twins don’t realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

Publisher: Dial Books

Release Date: September 16, 2014

Pages: 371

How I Obtained It: Purchased at Local Bookstore

Buy It Here

Initial Thoughts: The hype, man. The hype. Everywhere– on Goodreads, BookTube, Bookstagram– this book was unbearably hyped. I couldn’t find a single bad review on this book. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to pick this book up! I had tried reading this book last year but put it down after about 20 pages because I just couldn’t get into it. I eventually tried it again this year, determined to finish it!

Thoughts:

To be completely honest, I was let down by this book. Not to say it wasn’t good, it just wasn’t as amazing as the hype led it up to be.

This story is told in two perspectives– one from Noah in the past and the other from Jude in the present. I liked this at times and disliked it at others. I’m the type of person that loves super short chapters, and these chapters for 30-50 pages each. So, at times, I got tired of some of the characters. Still, for the most part, I loved these characters. Noah and Jude were so complex and unique! Oscar was so swoon-worthy and the parents had their own individual personalities rather than being wooden figures. At times, however, Jude got a little annoying. There was just so much angst! I understand she’s 16– I’m also 16– but it got ridiculous.

This book centers these twins and art. I loved the little anecdotes of famous artists and diseases(which makes more sense if you read it). In fact, there’s an art school that Noah and Jude try to get into. This really connected with me since my sister attended an art school! I didn’t expect this book to pack such an emotional punch. To be honest, I had to set the book down at times to collect myself.

The writing was kind of spotty for me. It sometimes seemed that Jandy Nelson was trying too hard to be like John Green. Other than that, the writing was very eloquent and full of quotable material.

I do own Jandy Nelson’s debut novel The Sky Is Everywhere, which I’ve also had for ages. I hope to pick it up sometime. Hopefully, I won’t wait until next year!

I think I’m growing tired of contemporary books at the moment. Since I’m a big fantasy fan, about three contemporaries in a row are all I can take! Sorry, but I’ll be diving into a high fantasy series after this!

Final Rating: 4/5 Stars

May Wrap-Up

I’ve decided that I want to start doing Wrap-Ups and TBRs on my blog.

•••

Books Read

The Inquisition by Taran Matharu:  ★★★★☆

The Battlemage by Taran Matharu: ★★★★☆

King Lear by William Shakespeare: ★★★★★

My favorite Shakespeare play! So happy I got to reread it in my English class!

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner: ★★★★☆

I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did! I hope to read more Faulkner in the future.

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera:

★★★★★

This is 100000000 times better than More Happy Than Not. I’m so eager to pick up more books by Adam Silvera

Note To Self by Connor Franta:

★★★★★

I picked this up on audiobook on a whim. I love Connor Franta, and this book only made me love him more! I highly recommend the audiobook, which is narrated by Connor Franta himself.

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson:

★★★★☆

I liked this book, only not as much as everyone else seemed to.

Kiss Him, Not Me! vol. 1 by Junko:

★★★★☆

This manga series is soooo cute!

Kiss Him, Not Me! vol. 2 by Junko:

★★★★☆

Milk and Honey by Rupir Kaur:

★★★☆☆

Beautiful poetry with really interesting artwork!

•••

I read more than I expected this month! I didn’t dislike anything I read this month either, as you can see. I’m excited to read tons more in June!

Riders by Veronica Rossi | Review

Goodreads Description:

Nothing but death can keep eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.

While recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can’t remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen—Conquest, Famine, and Death—are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence.

They fail.

Now—bound, bloodied, and drugged—Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he’s fallen for—not to mention all of humankind—he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger.

But will anyone believe him?

Initial Thoughts:

Prior to this, I had not read any of Veronica Rossi’s other books. Instead of reading her trilogy first, I decided to pick up Riders because the premise was interesting. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2016, so I bought this book the week it came out. Then, unfortunately, the book sat unread on my shelf for nearly a year. I finally picked it up on a whim in December of last year.

Thoughts:

Unfortunately, I was very disappointed by this book. Perhaps it was because I waited so long to read it or the hype that I had built up for it. Either way, I simply did not like it.

The characters were extremely annoying at times. For example, the main character left his mom and sister because a pretty girl showed up, and he didn’t even tell them! He mentioned his mom and sister perhaps once or twice during the entire book, but he kept thinking about his dead dad. In addition, the main love interest was soooooo annoying. She was an extremely flat character, and it seemed as though the author wanted us to pity her because she couldn’t tell the other characters her secrets? The one character I did like was Sebastian, or rather Famine. I felt as though I needed to protect this precious cinnamon roll from the idiocy of the other characters.

There was very little plot other than running around and trying to find some guys for an unknown reason. The reader was kept in the dark for basically all of the book. The one plot twist it had I saw coming from a mile away. Also, the pacing was very off. At times, there would be an entire chapter set in the span of minutes, and other times days would pass in a matter of paragraphs. It took me forever to read this book because I kept having to go back and figure out what exactly was going on.

The romance in this book made me angry. For one, it had one of my least favorite tropes: instalove. The main character saw a pretty girl and decided to do whatever she asked of him, because why not? In addition, the girl also had feelings for the main character, even though she knew him for maybe a couple days, but she couldn’t love him because she had to disappear one day and leave him behind. Yeah, really annoying.

Since Veronica Rossi had written an entire trilogy before this, I thought the writing would be at least alright, but it was so mediocre it was hard getting through this book. It felt as though I was reading from the point of view of a fourteen-year-old. In fact, it seemed as though the writer was trying to mimic Rick Riordan but failed.

In short, this book was a major disappointment. After reading this, I am not sure if I want to read Veronica Rossi’s other series.

Final Rating: 2/5 stars

 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | Screenplay and Movie Review

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt’s fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone…

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. Featuring a cast of remarkable characters, this is epic, adventure-packed storytelling at its very best.

Whether an existing fan or new to the wizarding world, this is a perfect addition to any reader’s bookshelf.

Initial Thoughts:

Since reading The Cursed Child, which was a huge disappointment, my expectations for new Harry Potter material lowered considerably. So, going into the movie theater and nestling up with the screenplay, I was expecting something similar to The Cursed Child.

Thoughts:

I was pleasantly surprised by both the movie and the screenplay. To create a movie from a fifty-page book is a feat in itself, but creating five movies is utterly insane. If the succeeding movies are as good as this one, I’d be ecstatic. The movie was fresh and fun, with a cast of new characters that I fell in love with.

“My philosophy is that worrying means you suffer twice.”

Eddie Redmayne is one of my favorite actors, and he played the role of Newt spectacularly. Newt is the very embodiment of Hufflepuff, and I loved seeing more representation of that house in this movie. In addition, I loved the awkwardness of not only Newt, but also Jacob. I found myself cracking up at their interactions and hope to see more lovable awkwardness in the future. One character that I feel doesn’t get enough credit is Queenie. At first, she seems like a ditzy girl, but she does prove herself by saving the other characters later in the movie. Tina was one character I hoped to learn more about. There were very brief descriptions but I still have so many questions!

“People are easiest to read when they’re hurting.”

I was expecting the plot to be boring, but it was actually really exciting. I loved seeing the different species of beasts, which appeared beautiful with the CGI. We also get to see the evil Grindelwald. I’m very curious to learn what the other plots of future movies will be. Perhaps they will have something to do with the other authors of the Hogwart’s Library books.

The screenplay was a great addition to this series. Not only did it include the funny and awkward dialogue from the characters, the stage directions were also something in which I found myself giggling. In addition to text, there were also gorgeous illustrations of fantastic beasts at the end of each scene. I really hope there will be more screenplays for the other movies!

“Will we die, just a little?”

In all, this was a fun and exciting addition to the Harry Potter universe. I adored both the movie and the screenplay, and I can’t wait another minute for the next one!

Final rating: 4.75/5 stars

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness | Review

Goodreads Description: 

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

Initial Thoughts:

I had wanted to read this book for a while but had never gotten around to it. But when I saw the trailer for the movie, I begged my friend to lend me her copy. I was a little hesitant to go into it because of the unique fashion Patrick Ness writes.

Thoughts:

Fortunately, I was not disappointed by this book! It was such a riveting story with an important message. I nearly cried while reading this book, and I never cry while reading!

The characters were probably my least favorite aspect of this book, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t like them. The main character was so adorable and I just wanted him to be happy! And the majority of the other characters were jerks to him, which made me love him so much more!

This book tells a dark story in a light, almost whimsical manner. I loved, loved, LOVED the artwork. I believe Jim Kay is also the illustrator of the new Harry Potter books. Just to give you a better idea, here is one of the illustrations:

Isn’t it just gorgeous? These drawings really added such a neat touch to the story and made it even more unforgettable!

The writing was SO good! It was eloquent but allowed room for comic relief. Patrick Ness has the style of writing that I yearn to achieve in the future.

Overall, this book was AMAZING! I’m sooooo excited to see the movie now. Just need to grab some tissues!

Final rating: 5/5 stars

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children | Movie Review

I first read Miss Peregrine’s two years ago and fell in love with the series. When I heard it was being translated into a movie, I was elated. However, once I found out that the main female role’s power was switched with that of another character, my excitement lessened; still, I watched the movie and ended up really enjoying it.

If you’ve read the book, the movie stays pretty true to it(aside from the previously mentioned problem) in the first half. In the second half, it took a wild turn. Where the first book ended, the movie continued on in order to wrap it up neatly. I didn’t hate how Tim Burton used his creative freedom, though I’ll always prefer the book series. I loved seeing the Great Skeleton War, though!

Still, the movie retained the wistful yet creepy feel that the book always had. I loved the characters, though I don’t associate the movie characters to those in the books. The villain was also hilarious, which, unfortunately, took a bit away from the scariness.

For those who haven’t read the book, I think you’ll still enjoy the movie, maybe even more than if you read the book first. I’ve heard the movie is kind of hard to follow, and it is, but not impossible. It’s just a lot of information thrown at you. Maybe look up a more detailed description of the book before watching the movie.

The description of the main antagonists is different from that in the books. Tim Burton managed to make them scarier in the movie! Unfortunately, he made the hollows look like a familiar tall and faceless creature in a suit.

As for my final thoughts, I definitely enjoyed this movie, though it’s not my favorite adaptation. The special effects are on point and the story line wrapped up with a cute ending.

Final rating: 4/5 stars