Mark This Book Monday: ARC Review of The Whatnot by Stefan Bachmann!

And for the next and last installment of Mark This Book Monday of this week, a review of a middle grade story that releases tomorrow!


The Whatnot by Stefan Bachmann

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


When I requested The Whatnot I had expected I would have had the time to read The Peculiar already, but I had almost all but forgotten about my request when I was approved for the eARC on NetGalley last Friday, which left me shuffling my reading schedule to read The Whatnot before release date!

Thankfully it is not really necessary to have read The Peculiar to read The Whatnot since it's a companion book and not a sequel or prequel exactly. Some of the main characters are common and of course they take place in the same world, but I could follow the events and understand the world without having read The Peculiar.

Stefan creates a wonderful world, with very many unique and intriguing and creepy characters, with unlikely heroes and heroines, and quite a bit of character growth during the story. Pikey starts as a guy that only thinks of going on and candied apples and ends up being a key part on holding the others together. Hettie starts scared and completely doubting herself and through all her not very pleasant experiences at The Old Country, she ends up finding bravery in herself to face the battle. Barthy, her brother and the main character in The Peculiar is also still here, looking for Hettie and unexpectedly ends up pairing with Pikey for it, he's more motivation than hero in this book though.

The plot is a bit dark and a bit creepy, with a few surprises and ugly revelations but also contain some great lessons that not only the MG readers might need, but all of us could do with a reminder: not give up easily, trust our friends and family and always strive to do what's right. Let's not take the easy way out or simply sit and complain.

The writing style is great, really captivating and engrossing, with some great descriptions of characters and places without making it overbearing, and the author is very good at painting the Fae as the not so nice characters from the old stories.

For someone other than me, this book would probably deserve a much higher praise, and let me tell you it is a highly entertaining book with very few flaws, I just simply am not a fan of faery stories and that was what kept on marring my enjoyment of the book, it was a great book about the Fae, but only about the Fae and humans trying to fight them, and that's not exactly my cup of tea. So 3 and a half stars from me, and if you loved The Peculiar or enjoy books about the Fae, you'll probably love this book much more than I did!.



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Mark This Book Monday: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater!!!

Hello everyone! Welcome to a new week, a new Monday and a few new entries of Mark This Book Monday!

For the first of them a quite long and quite rambling review of a fantastic second book in a series, that was also part of my September is for Sequels Challenge!

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was ecstatic when my copy of The Dream Thieves arrived in the mail just one day after release day, so I started reading it as soon as it opened the parcel!

The Dream Thieves has been another of those eagerly awaited books that has not only exceeded expentantions but completely blown me away! I loved the Raven Boys and fell in love with the characters and the story and their search and the writing and the pacing... and now with The Dream Thieves, the impossible has happened and I'm even more in love with the whole world and characters!

For some reason I took my time reading this book, not only cause of life and work getting in the way of my reading time, but also cause I tried my best not to rush through the book! There are so many details, so many things you might miss! So I did my best to slow my reading, even with taking little breaks after a few pages to let all that I had read settle in and give it a few swirls in my head.

I'm gonna try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, even more cause this book deserves to be enjoyed with all its twists and surprises intact!

This book could be said that it is Ronan's book, cause we really get to know so much more about him, about his past, his family and we get to understand him and ,in my case at least, love him and root for him in a way that I didn't think possible in Raven Boys. In book 1 I appreciated his loyalty to his friends, but really didn't understand his self deprecating and self destructive tendencies. Well, dear Ronan, the poor guy has so much on his shoulders, and half of it he doesn't even know what to think or do about it! He's not just a bit of a hero in this book beyond his unexplainable ability to talk to the trees in Cabeswater but he does learn some lessons about his heritage and even more important ones about himself.

Quite a bit of the focus is also given to Adam, his own conflicts with accepting himself and learning what the sacrifice he made to wake the ley line will really ask of it, but also of the way he deals with Gansey and Blue and how he seems to be too wrapped up on his own world of Adam proving his worth doing things the Adam way. He managed to get on my nerves a pair of times cause he simply seems to reject all help out of a misplaced sense or need of self validation, but there was a part of a conversation between Blue and Gansey that made me understand Adam a bit better, and I got to feel for him again so much in the final part of the book.

Gansey and his quest aren't so much in the forefront in this book, but that doesn't mean that his character doesn't continue to grow and have a lot of presence in the story. Gansey really is one, if not my absolutely favourite characters in the book. He's so complex with the many faces of him, his loyalty, his kindness and his naivete in some aspects. His search is still going, but there are very few new clues and very many new obstacles!

Blue and her family also get quite a development, we learn more about all the different pyschic females of the family, there's more Calla, there's more Penelope and there's more Orla, and one way or another all of them contribute greatly in their own little ways to the story. Maura also gets to be quite a bit more than just the pyschic mother of Blue.

Noah is still his own ghostly self, no more back story or any intriguing bit reveals about it, he's there as a good friend to the boys and to Blue.

And Blue, well if I had to pick a fave character, she'd be it! I love how she's trying to figure out herself, trying to be supportive of her friends, trying to understand all the boys even if sometimes Ronan acts like deserving of a good slap and even when Adam isn't helping his case at all... she's always being strong and proving everyone and herself that Blue is awesome being herself! She cares for the boys, she loves her strange family and she is managing to quite succesfully mixing both.

There are quite a few new characters, some more important than others, some that were in the background of Raven Boys and came front stage in this one. A new and rather disturbing character is the Gray Man. He describes himself as a hit man and it's looking for a rather mystic "object" on the orders of a collector. Every mention of the Gray Man made me think of the legends of the Green Man, and how his no use of his name or how unnoticeable he tries to keep himself, he seems to be taking a name that represents a character that has been represented by other people at other times. I don't know if that hunch will prove correct in book 3, or it'll be just an odd idea I had. He first comes trying to do his job, but as he learns more about what he's looking for he becomes more embroiled in the whole plot and more involved with our Raven boys and the Pyshic ladies.

The writing is fantastic, the plot is brilliant and keeps you on your toes with the twist and turns and all the little bits of information you keep on gathering. Character development is great and the way the relationships betweent the characters is fantastic. The romance doesn't have a big up front place in this book, but it is there, the progress or lack of progress of it, and it is still a bit of a motivatior for actions or lack of them. And that ending, damn! Why did it have to end with such an absolutely unexpected cliffhanger as that one!?

Really brilliant book, very much well deserve 5 (and even more) stars! Now forgive me while I go hug my copy of the book while rocking back and forth waiting for the next one!



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Showcase Sunday #11!

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 Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

Alice In Deadland Trilogy by Mainak Dhar

Hunted by Jill Kaelin

Purchased (via The Book Depository)

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Wicked And The Just by J. Anderson Coats

Gold by Talia Vance

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Won (via Giveaway)

I was lucky enough to give this HC preorder from My Friends Are Fiction (Thank you Kristen!)

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

And I have to thank Hafsah from Icey Books and author of this book for the chance to win an ARC for it via Twitter!

Unbreathable by Hafsah Laziaf

For Review (via NetGalley)

The Whatnot by Stefan Bachmann

Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb

For Review (via the author)

ParaWars: Uprising by Caitlin Greer

Ultraviolet Catastrophe by Jamie Grey

I was so happy this week when my UK paperback of The Dream Thieves arrived just one day after release day! The mail apparently is working a bit better the UK to Spain route! I also got some very cool ARCs for review, and the two books I got from NetGalley were like last minute approvals super close to release day, throwing my schedule for a loop!

What all did you guys get this week?

Friday Reads: ARC Review of Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb!

For the next Friday Reads, a surprise approval from Harper Collins on NetGalley that through my reading & reviewing schedule off and a welcome change of pace, back to one of my fave genres, historical fiction.


Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I got an ARC of Witchstruck on NetGalley via the publisher but that did not influence my opinion or review of this book at all.

Witchstruck is the first book in The Tudor Witch Trilogy, I was so drawn to this book because it combines historical fiction with the paranormal world of witches.

It is the story of Meg, a young woman with the gift of magick that has been thought how to control her gift and the secrets of white magick by her aunt. She has been brought by her father to the service of Lady Elizabeth, the banned Tudor princess sent into exile and reclusion by her half sister and queen, Mary. Meg didn't want to leave her aunt but was glad to get away from a suitor intent on marrying her, the county's official witchfinder, Marcus Dent.

Being a woman in the 16th century was not easy but being a witch even less, having to hide your gift for fear of being hanged or burnt just on the mere baseless accusation. And being a witch on the circle of the lady Elizabeth, who is always watched waiting for a mistake, could be the most dangerous position of them all. Even more since England is getting a wave of Catholicism washing over it with the marriage & alliance of queen Mary with Philip, the future king of Spain. And to make sure the lady Elizabeth is being catholic and properly pios, she get sent a priest and a future knight of the order of the Compostela Knights to watch over her.

I really liked the way both the paranormal aspect and the historical period mixed in this book, never once I felt it didn't work together. Elizabeth was known to have a certain fascination with horoscopes and seeing the future, proven by her long association with John Dee (alchemist, astrologer and all around mystic) so for me it was no stretch of the imagination to think that she'd want to have & use a young witch as her companion.

I really liked both Meg's and Elizabeth's characters, both are young and are facing not the best of odds, but they both try to do what's right and stay strong and true to themselves despite the pressures from outside. I loved how close Meg's relationship with her aunt was and how she was ready to face danger for her and others she cared for.

Our Spanish Compostelan knight, Alejandro, was a character not difficult to love, showing kindness and not being a horrible fanatic and clearly from the beginning you see something will happen between him and Meg, but I liked that it progressed slowly, with loads of stops and starts because you don't expect things between a witch and a Catholic night to be all passion from day one!

The plot was engaging but without too many surprises, no big twist and turns but still enough intrigue and strife to make you want to keep on turning pages to see if Elizabeth will come back to court, to see if Meg will not be discovered and hanged as a witch...

The only thing that didn't all the time sound right to me where the uses of Spanish words from the Spanish characters, cause some times they weren't actual Spanish words, as when Alejandro's servant kept on calling Meg "signorina", cause that's Italian.

All in all a very engaging read in a genre that I really like and haven't been reading much as of late (historical fiction) and one that leaves you wanting to read more of the story in the next book without a terrible cliffhanger in the end.

Very well deserved 3 and a half stars.



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Friday Reads: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell!!

Friday is here, and with it a few reviews in the shape of Friday Reads posts.

For starters, a fantastic book that lived up to the hype and more!


Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


You know that feeling when you read so many good reviews of a book that you expect it to be great and then when you read it, and you don't even know how, but it totally exceeds your expectations and you are happy that you totally disregarded your TBR list and schedule and stayed up till almost 7 am reading it?

Yep, that was how good Fangirl was for me. Another hint of how good it is? My tablet run out of battery around 4 am, I got out of bed, found the charger, plugged it in and continued reading!

I loved Fangirl so much that I'm shocked! I'm not usually a big fan of contemporaries, and Fangirl is a contemporary read through and through, but it is full of all the things that make it an outstanding book.

Fangirl is the story of Cath, a girl that is not good in social situations, even less in new ones, a girl that doesn't deal with change too well, a girl that loves things that are known and safe, and a girl that loves fiercely, from her dad, to her sister to the ever important fanfiction she writes for her favourite book series.

The thing about this book is that it all felt so real! The characters just seemed alive in those pages, being scared, being in love, growing up, refusing to face things... it all happened and it all felt real! The relationships between Cath, her twin sister Wren, her dad, Reagan the room mate, Levi... ah Levi! Nick the writing partner... Everything feels so alive, so genuine, so real!

The story is full of growth, on how to deal with life, how to face those things we don't love, how to not just stay with what's easy but take risks, and how to deal with our messed up selves. As it is, this is not a story that requires plot twists but there is a wonderful progression, with ups and lows, starts and stops... just like life.

The romance is just perfect. Perfect for the story and the characters, and perfect to just make you root for both of them, despite feeling like smacking Levi at one point, from the beginning to the end!

The addition of the Simon Snow quotes and Cath's fanfiction throughout the book is simply genious! It helps you relate to Cath more, and with its slight Potteresque hints, it made me want to read more both of the original stories and of Cath's fanfiction!

All in all an absolutely brilliant read that made me cry, made me laugh and made me all fuzzy inside! 5 of 5 stars without a doubt!



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Ultraviolet Catastrophe Blog Tour: Review + Favourite Quote!!

Hello everyone and welcome to my stop in the Ultraviolet Catastrophe blog tour! I am quite excited to share this book and both my fave quote and review of it! Ultraviolet Catastrophe comes out September 24th!

I had such a blast reading this book that I had quite a hard time choosing just one quote, but this one was hilarious and totally geek (and Whovian!) friendly!


"It's bigger on the inside", I whispered.
 Dad chuckled and ushered me into the building. "Just another one of QT's specialities. Spatial adjustment. Inside, it's a five-story building. Outside, visitors only see a normal, unobstrusive house."


Intrigued already? Do check out the gorgeous cover and the blurb!

 Quantum Electrodynamics. String Theory. Schrödinger's cat. For sixteen-year-old Lexie Kepler, they’re just confusing terms in her science textbooks, until she finds out that her parents have been drugging her to suppress her outrageous IQ. Now Branston Academy, a school run by the world’s most powerful scientists, has tracked her down and is dying for her to attend - as a research subject.

She takes refuge at Quantum Technologies, a secret scientific community where her father works as a top-notch scientist, and begins her new life as girl genius at Quantum High. But the assignments at her new school make the Manhattan Project look like preschool - and Lexie barely survived freshman algebra.

Her first big assignment – creating an Einstein-Rosen bridge – is also her first chance to prove she can hold her own with the rest of QT's prodigies. But while working with the infuriatingly hot Asher Rosen, QT’s teen wonder, Lexie uncovers a mistake in their master equation. Instead of a wormhole, the machine they’re building would produce deadly ultraviolet rays that could destroy the world. Now Lexie and Asher have to use their combined brainpower to uncover the truth behind the device. Before everyone at Quantum Technologies is caught in the ultraviolet catastrophe.

About the author: Jamie Grey spent most of her childhood writing stories about princesses who saved the day and pretending to be a daring explorer. It wasn’t until much later that she realized she should combine the two. Now, as a tech-obsessed gamer geek, her novels mix amazing scientific developments, future worlds, and the remarkable characters that live in them.

Jamie lives in Michigan with her boyfriend and their pets, who luckily tolerate her overspending on tea, books, and video games. You can learn more about her at www.jamiegreybooks.com, or follow her on twitter via @jamie_grey.

Jamie on Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/Jamie_Grey

Jamie on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jamiegreybooks



My review

I discovered this book by reading the first chapter at the end of One by Leigh Ann Kopans, and it hooked me up from the starting line: "You know your life is never going to be the same when your mom pulls a gun at the shopping mall".

I added it to my TBR list and when I had the chance to get an advance copy from the author in exchange for an honest review, I just jumped at it, and I'm so glad I did.

Ultraviolet Catastrophe is a YA mix of contemporary and science fiction, with loads of actual science and many brilliant geeky references mixed in.

Lexie is a normal teenager that lives with her mum and has some serious abandonement issues with her mostly absent brilliant scientist dad. But she discovers that maybe she isn't such a normal teenager after all, after a massive freak out from her mum at the mall, getting some weird flashes of knowledge in her brain and having to move with her dad for her safety. Turns out her parents had been lying to her to protect her and supressing her incredible genious level brain with medication.

It is not exactly unexpected that Lexie does completely freak out on her parents and refuses to see reason or even try to understand what's at stake or the reasons her parents might have had. Teenagers are not usually very good at perspective, and Lexie is a very genuine teenager on her reactions and her hurt, but never going overboard. I did shake my head at her reactions and her temper on occasion, but never really felt like shaking her into common sense!

Now on top of having who she thought she was being completely shaken, she's moved in with her dad and starting at a new school in QT (Quantum Technologies) the institution where her father works, and a school for geniuses. She's the new girl, and she's not even sure if she's good enough to try to fit it. And when her group of students is included in the newest project from the institute to build a Einsten-Rosen Bridge, she feels like she might not be up to it.

The relationships with her fellow students feel really genuine, starting with some reservations from some, to curiosity and acceptance from others. There's also romance but it keeps on building along with the plot and it never seems to be at risk to overtake it.

Lexie does grow up during the book and we learn that the past hides many more secrets that she could even imagine, and that there are traitors where you wouldn't expect them to be. The climax might have been resolved a bit quickly, but the build up was pretty good, and I kept on waiting for the shoe to drop. Thankfully it was neatly resolved but the ending was open enough for a future series but also with enough closure for it to be a stand alone. I'm rooting for more books though!

Ultraviolet Catastrophe is a very solid 4 stars and if you like science fiction and science references with added geeky goodness, this is your book. It's a very solid 4 stars and it made me want to go do some reading and researching on physics. Only for that and the Doctor Who, BSG & HP references I feel like I should give it another half star!

Waiting On Wednesday #8!!

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 the book I'm quite dying to read is Not A Drop To Drink by Mindy McGinnis!

Goodreads summary:

"Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water.

Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.

Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.

But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it….

With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own."


Why am I eagerly awaiting Not A Drop To Drink? Well, since the moment I saw the cover with that title and then read the summary... It just captured my attention! So much that I decided to preorder it on my Kindle app there and then! And since I've been reading so many stellar reviews for this one, I'm even more excited to finally get to read it next week!!

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

Mark This Book Monday: ARC review of All Is Fair by Emma Newman!!

Hey there everyone! Monday is here again and with it a pair of new Mark This Book Monday entries!

I will start with the review of the ARC of the third book in the Split Worlds series that I got from NetGalley and that I had as part of my September is for Sequels challenge!

You can also check my reviews for book 1 (Between Two Thorns) and book 2 (Any Other Name).

 All Is Fair by Emma Newman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


All Is Fair is the third book in the Split Worlds series and it would be the last one if it was a trilogy, but I'm really really hoping it won't be!

As always, since this is the third book in a series some spoilers for previous books are to be expected, but I will try my best not to let any spoilers for this one creep in.

A lot has changed for Cathy and Will since we first met them and both of them have grown a lot, changing their own expectations and ideals, and even more pointedly for Cathy, adapting and growing and stopping running away from things. Their relationship is growing steadily, even if their life in the Nether as Duke and Duchess of Londinium is putting a lot of pressure on them. They finally have proper conversations, proper communication and despite all the things they keep on doing on asides from each other, they finally know how to be together and united.

Cathy has to deal with recovery from her ordeal, the awful Dame Iris, the expectations of the Iris fae patron and with finding away to work against the system from within. She will try her best to find allies but in the end she'll have to be the one to take the initiative and be the one willing to take on the risks.

Will, oh dear will, he finally gets into the position of power his patron asked of him, and now he starts discovering so many uncomfortable truths, and he has to deal with so many regrets... He's trying to do what's right, fix some wrongs and ends up getting some revengue... but afterwards he truly realizes he has no taste for it. By the end of the book there's still one big secret he's keeping from everyone including Cathy, and I'm so sure it's going to bite him in the arse sooner than later...

Max and the gargoyle, those two are such a pair! They can be a bit of a comic relief on occasion but they both are also key players on all the confusion with unraveling what's really going on with the Sorcerers and despite the bloody mess it all ends up being, they will stick together through and through! They both learn a lot of lessons, and I'd really look forward to see what they're manage to build out of the rubble they're left with.

Sam... well Sam is the one that undergoes the most unexpected path for me, and the one that made me cry, since his was a very emotional charged path, unexpectedness aside. He'll became quite an ally in the changing of the future of the Split Worlds, and quite more of an enemy to the Fae that they'd ever expect!

This book was quite a ride, even if at times I was a bit reluctant to see what came next, since I'm not too much of a fan of when-the-shit-hits-the-fan bits on books! Some tentative friends turned into enemies but then turned into friends and allies, and we meet a character that was both hilarious and confusing, dear Rupert! And let's not forget some of the not exactly unexpected but equally disturbing revelations/confirmations we get about the Fae & the Nether in this book.

The ending could be left as is, I guess, but there are so many tiny threads all over left unresolved and frankly, as open as it is, I'm hoping we'll get to read more! I can't wait to see Cathy kicking arse and taking names, even if I'm sure the Fae will come craking down hard next!

Very well deserved 4 stars for this one, and already hoping Emma with work on a 4th book soon!



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