Showcase Sunday #8!!

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!

Purchased (via Kindle app)

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson 

Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

Origin by Jennifer L Armentrout

Undone by Elizabeth Norris

Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris

Deception by C.J. Redwine 

(I had it preordered which means I'll re-read it soon!)

The Liberator by Victoria Scott

The Emblazoned Red by Dawn McCullough-White

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Purchased (via the author's website)

Pretty When She Destroys by Rhiannon Frater

I had a fairly crazy week of book buying between quite a few preorders I had on my kindle and then the Unravelling series I got after reading the reviews for them on The Secret Life of a Bookworm!

What did you guys get this week? Hope you all had a great week too!

Friday Reads: Asunder by Jodi Meadows!

Due to a lot of technical difficulties and my super busy schedule of this past weeks, I'm only gonna have one entry on the Friday Reads, but a very worthy one! Another second book in a trilogy that doesn't have a middle syndrome!


Asunder by Jodi Meadows

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wow, hats off to Jodi Meadows, if book 1 was great, Asunder has all the great and some more for good measure!

We are getting some answers finally, as Ana keeps going through her journey and more questions that only the inquisitiveness of the New Soul can raise. There are big issues dealt with in these books, the hate of those who are different, the dismissiveness of those who we consider inferior... all of that started in the first book, and it's taken into even higher stakes in here.

There's so much of Heart's story that we don't know about, and apparently not even their own inhabitants are aware of it! Anna discovers part of Janan's secrets, but still there's so much more to find out about, and the threat is bigger than ever!

And in the more personal level, Sam and Anna deal with more troubles in their relationship, dealing with their own issues and differences, and dealing with some external influences, all of it well wrapped in some amazing swooniness!

I just can't wait for book 3 and hopefully all the answers to the questions left and others that might come up in the last book itself!



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Waiting On Wednesday #5!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

This week I'm quite excited to finally get my hands on the sequel to The Hallowed Ones (see my review here), The Outside by Laura Bickle!

Goodreads summary:

"One girl. One road. One chance to save what remains…

After a plague of vampires is unleashed in the world, Katie is kicked out of her Amish community for her refusal to adhere to the new rules of survival. Now in exile, she enters an outside world of unspeakable violence with only her two “English” friends and a horse by her side. Together they seek answers and other survivors—but each sunset brings the threat of vampire attack, and each sunrise the threat of starvation.

And yet through this darkness come the shining ones: luminescent men and women with the power to deflect vampires and survive the night. But can these new people be trusted, and are they even people at all?

In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, it’s up to one Amish girl to save her family, her community, and the boy she loves . . . but what will she be asked to leave behind in return?"


Why am I eagerly awaiting The Outside? Well, I loved The Hallowed Ones, and found it a very unique and compelling story, with a different take on the postapocalyptic, with Amish and monsters! Loved Katie's attitude and I really want to know what happens next after that ending!


What are you all (im)patiently waiting to read?

Mark This Book Monday: ARC Review of Kenobi by John Jackson Miller!

And for the last edition of this week's Mark This Book Monday, an ARC review!


Kenobi: Star Wars by John Jackson Miller

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I got this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Thank you DelRey/LucasBooks.

I have to start saying that I have been a huge Star Wars geek since I was 13 and since I'm turning 33 that means I've been a fan now for 20 years, and I've devoured the books in the Expanded Universe since I discovered them and started ordering them online. My love for the books and events going on got seriously dimished after reading The Dark Nest trilogy by Troy Denning, and I just couldn't get into The Legacy of the Force series or the Fate of the Jedi ones. I thought reading about events in between movies would help me get over that slump, so I very enthusiasticaly requested Kenobi.

It took me quite a while to get into the book but I don't really think it's the book's fault, it might just be me not being ready to go back into the Star Wars universe.

We get to see Obi-Wan getting settled into the new life he's going to try and carve in Tatooine, when his mission and his purpose is watching over Luke. We follow a few stories that are intertwined, both the settlers in Tatooine fighting the harsh Twin Suns and using any technology they can to get water and thrive, and the Tusken raiders/warriors that feel it's their sacred duty to fight the settlers and destroy their technology in any shape and form.

It's a frontier land look at it, and life is tough. The characters are rough but they are distinct enough and well fleshed out. We also get a deeper look to the Tuskens' way of life and a look at their way of thinking, since the story changes POV and some of those are Tusken warriors.

My favourite parts of the book were Obi-Wan trying to contact Qui-Gon's ghost, sort of like diary entries, reflecting on his responsabilies, actions and choices.

I had issues keeping my attention in the book for long, and I kept on taking breaks from it, but again, I don't think it's the author or the book's fault, the story in itself was good and it showed a different side of the Obi-Wan we all know and love, the one that becomes Ben, the old crazy wizard living on the Jutland Wastes.

This book could appeal even to not Star Wars fans, cause the story focus is not just on Ben, but on the life of the settlers and the story is a true survival tale in the frontier style, even a bit western-ish. I'm not even sure I just didn't feel like rooting for the characters as much.

Even if I'm a bit torn, I give it 3 stars.



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Mark This Book Monday: Any Other Name by Emma Newman!!

For the next Mark This Book Monday entry, the sequel to Between Two Thorns that didn't disappoint!


Any Other Name by Emma Newman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Any Other Name is the second book on the Split Worlds series and it continues right from the point where Between Two Thorns left us.

I don't think I can avoid spoilers for book 1 since so many of the twists and revelations are rather important to continue the story, but I will try my best to avoid spoilers for this one.

This book doesn't have to do with any of the introduction to the world that the first one had, and that makes it even more dinamic and with an even more complex plot. I won't say the plot is fast, cause with the amount of politics and court intrigue and general social & family drama going on, it's not a run-for-your-life fast sort of a plot, but everything that goes on keeps on moving the plot forward and adding more levels of complexity to the master plan(s) that seem to be leading the two sides on the Nether.

Cathy and Will got married, Will is trying to make the best out of it and Cathy is still raging and refusing to even try to work at it. Max and the gargoyle are expanding their investigation of what happened at their chapter and the actual reach of it all and discovering even more connections. They still work with Cathy on occasion but the mistrust is still there which leads to missing links that could be crucial in unravelling some of the enigmas they face. The Sorcerer continues to show signs on inestability and is not exactly the mastermind the investigation would need, despite his reputation and connections in both the Nether and Exilium.

Sam is still trying to figure out what to do with his life after being dragged into all the drama, and how to try and fix his marriage. He's still looking out for Cathy and being used by the Fae.

Aside from the four points of view we had in book one, we have two more added here, the newly named White siblings, Amelia and Cornelius from the Rosa family. They're perspective does give us a lot more information on how twisted really are the plans of the Fae, and how little any of the families in Society really know.

There is quite a bit of character growth and progression, mostly in Cathy and Will, and there is also a very slow and very painful progression in their relationship.

Cathy is no longer just the rebel that wants to run away from Society, but she's beginning to see that there might be something more for her to do that what Society expects of her and that she might be able to start changing things from the inside. Will also grows in kindness and in understanding of Cathy and her ways, he still can't really understand what her problems are but is determined to make the best of the marriage, even though he surprises himself by how hard he works at it. He's too focused on what he's supposed to do to realize that maybe not all the advice he gets is genuine. Despite being a bit of an arse on occasion, he's really grown on me and I think he's quite a good guy.

Max and Sam don't have as much character growth as Cathy and Will, but they also take more initiative and action to get information and find out what's going on. Max & the gargoyle are a bit like a dinamic duo of superhero and sidekick!

There are more questions asked since the plot progresses than questions answered, and I'm really hoping we'll get more answers in the next book!

On a side note, I completely love the fact that this is British English book through and through with all the awesome idioms all over the place!

Very well deserved 4 stars for a great sequel that's better than the first book!



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Mark This Book Monday: Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman!

A very unexpected surprise in the shape of a Fae based book that I really enjoyed for the next Mark This Book Monday entry!


Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Between Two Thorns is the first book on the Split Worlds series. We are introduced to Cathy who has been living on the run in Mundanus Manchester, Max an Arbiter that polices the interactions between the Fae, their puppets and the humans, Sam a human that had a night drinking in the pub go terribly wrong when he gets mixed in the affairs of the Rosas and William, one of those touched by the Fae and at their service.

Since it's the first book there's a lot we need to learn about the Nether, Mundanus and Exilium, and the different races that inhabit them. We're taken through 4 different points of view in the story: Cathy, Max (and his gargoyle), Sam and Will. Every bit of narration seems to be a bit disconnected at first, but little by little it all adds up, and contributes to getting a bigger picture of this world.

Right from the start I felt so much for Cathy, she has made some very hard choices and has worked very hard to get away from her family and the Nether and it's outdated Victorian rules and restrictions. She's always wanted more and was never good at complying with what was expected of her. Once her protection is blown she's dragged back into her family and the restrictions and obligations of those tied to the Fae, expect that it seems that Cathy is the only one that thinks like that, while the rest of the society can't understand what her problems with their way of life are.

Max is a hard character to get to like, since he feels no emotions and only cares about doing his job, protecting the innocents and find out who destroy his chapter and all his fellow Arbiters in Bath. His character is complemented by the gargoyle that for a fortuite event got reanimated and had Max's emotions tranferred to him. We also got the Sorcerer who is Max's top boss and quite powerful but inept on human interactions.

Sam's your regular bloke, he likes going out for a beer to the pub with his best friend and is married to Leanna, a fierce ambitious woman working hours without end. He goes out one night and witnesses something he shouldn't have and from then on is dragged into the Split Worlds affairs.

William is once of the Fae touched, and his the perfect example of what an inhabitant of the Nether should be, charming, sociable and skilled at navigating all sort of intrigues and politic affairs.

All these characters are so distinctly written and despite my affections for them changing a bit on the course of the book they feel so very real! The plot is more complicated than you might think on the start of the book, because every time there's a discovery through one of the stories, it adds another layer of deceit and misdirection. It doesn't seem to escalate so far, and despite all of Max's detective work, what gripped me more was Cathy's plight once returned to the society she despises and how she doesn't give up on trying to find a way to escape it while trying to navigate intrigues worth of any old royal court!

I'm not usually a fan of stories about the Fae and their twisted politics, but the way Emma weaved this story and the focus on not only the Fae politics but a big femininistic outlook, I thouroughly enjoyed it and I'm very much looking forward to continue reading this series!

A very well deserved 3 and a half stars.





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Mark This Book Monday: Reaper's Rythm by Claire Davidson!

Welcome to yet another edition(s) of Mark This Book Monday!


Reaper's Rhythm by Clare Marie Davidson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Reaper's Rhythm had a premise intriguing enough with strong hints on the paranormal.

Kim finds her sister dead in their home and it seems that Charley took her own life. Kim doesn't have any memory of her finding Charley and she refuses to believe her older sister took her own life, so despite everything thinking she's just acting out of denial & grief, she starts trying to discover what really happened, and who killed her sister if she didn't commit suicide. Every time she gets closer to get new information, more people are in danger and the stakes get higher.

Reaper's Rhythm bigger strenght are the characters and how raw and believable the interactions, relationships and emotions are. Kim's reactions as well as her family's are so real, you so feel how utterly broken Cherley's suicide has left them.

The mystery bit of the plot, with Kim trying to figure out what really happened worked fairly well, and Claire managed to write a very well rounded and realistic 16-year-old.

The paranormal side of the plot seemed to be the one thing that didn't seem to work for me so well. The way the mystery around Matthew was built and how he kept on witholding information and help on the name of protecting Kim simply ended up annoying me. The revelations at the near end of the book had a few twists here and there and were done nicely, but the paranormal world building was pretty scarce, it might have been done like that since it can be developed more in future books, but it was a bit of a turn off for me.

All in all an entertaining read, but not a gripping one. Final rating 3 stars.





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Showcase Sunday #7!!

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!

Purchased (via Kindle App)

This week I had no preorders, and all the books were on recommendation, the Stacia Kane ones after reading a review of one of the books of that series from Maja from the Noctural Library. 

 Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

Finding Magic by Stacia Kane

 

 And the next one came highly recommended from Stacee from Adventures of a Book Junkie and I will be reading it along next month with Kristen from My Friends Are Fiction!

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

For Review (via NetGalley)

Resist by Sarah Crossan

 

Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike

For Review (via Edelweiss)

This past week I finally managed to get around to finally dedicating time to read Ink Scratchers's blog post about Edelweiss, so I've finally requested books there! So far I have to hear from 5 and already got a rejection, but also got my first ARC!

White Space by Ilsa J. Bick

Another nice week for me, and now I feel much better since I can request ARCs on Edelweiss too!

What all did you guys get this week? Hope you had a good week!