Showing posts with label gifted. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifted. Show all posts

Monday, July 27, 2015

Mark This Book Monday: ARC Review of Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell!

Hiya there people!

So today is Monday and for me it is a Monday after a tough night shift at work and a tough Monday when I try not too sleep too much or too little so I can still function during the evening when I'm meeting friends from India here in vacation but also manage to fall asleep at night!

For this week's Mark This Book Monday I have yet another ARC review! This one I got both approved via NetGalley but also got gifted a physical ARC by my friend Britt from Please Feed The Bookworm! Such a lovely cover, so I'm super happy to have the physical ARC!

As a 2015 release it counts towards by 105 Challenge too!



MechanicaMechanica by Betsy Cornwell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I fell in love with the cover of this book and really wanted to read a Cinderella retelling with not your typical ending. I ended up with both a physical and an eARC of this one and I'm beyond grateful for them!

Mechanica is a more "faithful" retelling than others that I have read before, but I cannot generalize much since I haven't read many. Nicolette is an orphan that's left with her Steps once her father dies. She's treated like a servant and lives like one. There's even a ball and a prince in this story too, but the setting and the way the story is woven sets it apart from the more known versions of Cinderella.

This is a world of clockwork and magic and secrets. Where the Fae were treated like servants before being expelled and where rebellion and a war are looming. I loved all the lil stories woven here and there about the magic and the Fae.

My favourite part of the whole book has to be seeing Nicolette working on her clockwork inventions and discovering all that had been shut down and finding a way to connect with her mother through the memories and diaries. And to see her planning and plotting a way to escape the Steps with her own work and talent, without needing anyone to rescue her!

I love that no matter what hurdles she faces, Nicolette continues to work and try to fix herself a new and better life, with her friends and some of those lovely mechanical critters that were her very first friends (and quite a wink to the Disney rodents).

I really loved many things in this book and you might be wondering why it didn't get a higher rating, but the thing is that the overall feeling was not one of overwhelming love or amazement, so I cannot give a 4 or 5 stars rating, but THIS is the kind of fairy tale I wish I could have read when I was a pre-teen and one I'll make sure young girls that I know will get to read.

We don't need books that have girls being rescued by marriage to a prince, but girls that despite being treated badly are still capable of finding friends and getting over heartbreak without bitterness and through their own work and talent rescue themselves. And this is a book that says exactly that. So big kudos to the author for writing a modern version with a very classical fairy tale feel to it.

Very much deserved 3.5 stars to this one. It'll be in the Xmas list for some young girls this year from me!



View all my reviews

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Showcase Sunday #50!!


Showcase Sunday is a weekly feature hosted by Vicky of Books, Biscuits, and Tea where all book lovers can share with others what bookish goodness we got this week, be it purchased (physical or eBook), won, gifted or for review!

It's been well over a month since my last Showcase Sunday and although I haven't accumulated too many books given the book buying ban (except for a Boxing Day Book Outlet SALE order, but 50% off was a good deal!) but I had some books still pending to arrive, I was approved for some AMAZING ARCs and my bookish friends were amazing! I also participated in the #TBTBSanta and got an amazing parcel all the way from Finland!!



The wonderful Jamie from The Broke & The Bookish organizes a Secret Santa for bookish bloggers, and I decided to sign up this year! Not only I had a blast preparing the parcel for my person, but I got an amazing parcel full of all sort of goodness from Titta! THANK YOU!!





Tea, cupcake goodies, chocolate and historical fiction books, Titta did get everything right!!


The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan


Purchased



I got signed copies of The Assasin's Blade & Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas via Books of Wonder! I needed the physical copies of these two to complete the collection!



My Black Friday order from Book Outlet finally arrived! Tin Star, Crewel (I needed this gorgeous hardcover copy!), Renegade (signed!), Broken Heart, Fences & Other Things to Mend and Bellman & Black!


And I just had to get myself these most gorgeous editions of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman! I adore this trilogy to pieces, and once I saw these editions when Carina from Carina's Books posted them in her IMM, I knew I had to get them! Bought them at The Book Depository and they arrived in perfect shape!!


I also got myself a copy of Every Breath by Ellie Marney because Kim from The Midnight Garden told me that I would want to read it before the end of the year and add it to my top 10 reads, and boy was she right! I need the next book NOW!! I bought this one from Amazon.ES


For Review (via NetGalley)

I got approved for some REALLY amazing books in this time on NetGalley!! Thank you so much Penguin Random UK Children, Bloomsbury Publishing UK and Random House - Del Rey Spectra for the approvals!!



Golden Son by Pierce Brown



The Dagger in the Desk by Jonathan Stroud



The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski


Gifted

I got some amazing gifts from my bookish friends in the mail, along with some lovely Xmas cards. THANK YOU SO MUCH LADIES! You've all made this year suck a lil less than it would have otherwise.



Xmas cards from Becca and Shelly!! Thank you my dears!!



My dear Becca from Pivot Book Reviews sent me The DUFF and I cannot wait to read it, I must read more contemporaries!


Code Name Verity was sent by the very awesome Britt from Please Feed The Bookworm! YAY historical fiction & WWII!

I also got a card and some amazing swag from La La from La La In The Library but I have no photo of it, thank you La!! AND another big thank you goes to Claire Legrand, she had this contest for Winterspell preorders and I got some lovely signed swag in the mail this week, also no photo. Thank you Claire!

Octavia from Read Sleep Repeat sent me a book for my Kindle but Amazon.ES doesn't allow books sent as gifts so exchanged it for a gift card. Amazon can be a douche sometimes... but thank you so much anyways Octavia, I'm getting Scarlet no matter what! ;)

I think that is all... but if I forget anything I can always add it to the next SS post that will be in 2015, after Reyes! I will have to show off my gifts! (Reyes is the Spanish equivalent to Santa with gifts, the three magii brought gifts to baby Jesus so we exchange gifts that day, or something along those lines).

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Showcase Sunday #41!!


Showcase Sunday is a weekly feature hosted by Vicky of Books, Biscuits, and Tea where all book lovers can share with others what bookish goodness we got this week, be it purchased (physical or eBook), won, gifted or for review!

The mail in the summers is an absolute mess, nothing for days and then everything arrives together! This week has been a fantastic mail day for many reasons, and I'm got a ton of books! Not only that, I also got a bit one-click happy and got a LOT of books for my Kindle too... so yep, long post ahead!



Purchased (via The Book Depository)


Once I heard that Strange Chemistry was closing its doors, I went and bought a few paperback from books I've loved published by them. And finally my paperback copy of The Rules for Disappearing arrived (the second copy sent). Two books were recommended by Wendy of The Midnight Garden, and I needed The Grisha series in hardcover now.



Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens
Cracked by Eliza Crewe
Blackwood by Gwenda Bond
Stolen Songbird by Danielle L Jensen
The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (UK special edition!)
Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo



Purchased (via Kindle app)



Attachments by Rainbow Rowell



Origin by Jessica Khoury



Shadows by Paula Weston



Haze by Paula Weston



Shimmer by Paula Weston



Then Came You by Jill Shalvis



Landline by Rainbow Rowell



Gifted (by the author)

And then to round up the week, Jamie Grey had a special gift for all her newsletter subscribers so we could get the Fortune's Risk novella for free!! Thank you so much, Jamie!!



Fortune's Risk by Jamie Grey



For Review (via NetGalley)


I also got a sampler for the upcoming new series by Ally Condie, so thank you Penguin books!



Atlantia by Ally Condie


Aaaannnnd that's all! Wow, what a week! Now I need to cut my book shopping for at least a pair of weeks!!

What all did you guys get this week?