Hype or Like Friday – Coming to a Close and Shining Stars

This meme and Goodreads group were created by myself, Jill @ Rant and Rave Books, and Britt @ Geronimo Reads. To join our group and find out more information about what it’s all about, please go to our Goodreads page HERE.

The November BOTM is Zodiac (Zodiac, #1) by Romina Russell.

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RULES:

  • Answer the weekly discussion topic.
  • Optional: Discuss your chosen hyped book of the week.
  • Optional: Talk about your progress on the BOTM.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: I’m combining last week’s topic and this week’s because I missed it.. Oops!

Coming to a Close… What book(s) do you hope to read before the end of the year?

Shining Stars… What have been your favorite reads of 2017?


Coming to a Close

  • The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang
  • The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh
  • The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1) by S.A. Chakraborty

These are all books that I’ve received from Book of the Month Club this past year. I’ve heard some amazing things about each one of them and am super excited to hopefully get to them before then end of the year. I’ve been trying to actually read some of the books I’ve received from that subscription service more, as I had really just been putting them off. I think 4 in a month seems like a good step in that direction, haha!

Shining Stars

  • Caraval (Caraval, #1) by Stephanie Garber
  • Defy the Stars (Constellation, #1) by Claudia Gray
  • Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
  • An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
  • This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1) by Victoria Schwab
  • A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
  • Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto
  • Heartless by Marissa Meyer
  • Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2) by Marissa Meyer
  • A Million Junes by Emily Henry
  • The Song Rising (The Bone Season, #3) by Samantha Shannon
  • The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
  • The Dark Days Pact (Lady Helen, #2) by Alison Goodman

Basically you all should just go read these books/series because they’re amazing. Seriously. Stop reading this post and go pick one up. RIGHT NOW.


What are some books that you hope to finish by the end of the year? What have been some of your favorite reads of 2017 so far? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your Hype or Like Friday post in the comments below!

Hype or Like Friday – #OwnVoices

This meme and Goodreads group were created by myself, Jill @ Rant and Rave Books, and Britt @ Geronimo Reads. To join our group and find out more information about what it’s all about, please go to our Goodreads page HERE.

The November BOTM is City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson.

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RULES:

  • Answer the weekly discussion topic.
  • Optional: Discuss your chosen hyped book of the week.
  • Optional: Talk about your progress on the BOTM.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: #OwnVoices… What #ownvoices novels do you recommend?


As I was looking through my books, I realized how low my number is of #ownvoices novels that I’ve read. Luckily, I’m making a conscience effort to change that in the future and have a bunch sitting on my TBR shelf to read. We can only become a better person when we make the effort and so that’s one of the things that I plan to work on! With that being said, I’m going to combine #ownvoices novels with some of my favorite books written by diverse authors!

I obviously recommend every single one of these books/series. GO READ THEM NOW! 🙂


What #ownvoices books do you recommend for me to add to my TBR? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your Hype or Like Friday post in the comments below!

Book Review: This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1)

I still don’t know why I put off picking up This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1) by Victoria Schwab. Actually, I might blame it on the fact that I heard it involved music and that reminded me of the most boring book I picked up and ultimately DNFed last year, Passengers. But I will never doubt goddess Schwab ever again, because this book was just amazing.

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwaba young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

I’ve come to recognize Schwab’s writing style to almost be soothing. You’re probably like, Larkin has lost her mind and must be thinking of a different author. But fear not readers, I have not lost my mind… YET. Just kidding! Anyways, what I mean when I call her writing style soothing, I mean that it reads at a steady pace (or it does for me anyway). Even when there’s tons of action going on, the pacing never changes for me but just continues along. I think that really emphasized the darkness of this book, almost giving it a surreal quality while reading it. It made the tragedy of the situation that much more terrible and basically highlighting the fact that it can only end one way, tragically.

It’s time to just all agree that Schwab is the queen of strong and independent female characters. If you loved Lila Bard, then Kate Harker is going to be your next obsession. She’s incredibly strong, cunning, and full of enough snark and attitude to keep you grinning through the entire book. Yet, you can see how vulnerable she is. She’s just a typical teen looking for her father’s approval. Then you have August, who is in constant battle with himself to stay in control and not lose any of the little bit of humanity that he does have. He refuses to be the monster that he is. I found August to be one of, if not the most, complex character that I’ve read about so far this year. I really enjoyed being able to experience his struggles along with him. At times he seemed even more human than the actual humans. I especially loved his interactions with his fellow Sunai and being able to see the differences between each of them.

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The world-building in this book was amazing. Schwab took the typical dystopian setting and completely turned it into something unique and engaging. The idea that our negative actions actually morph into physical monsters is such an interesting concept. You can see that Schwab was actually using this metaphor to commentate on the evil that occurs every single day. I love it.

I think my only issue with this book was that I struggled in the beginning to understand what was going on. You’re immediately thrown into the story and are not really explained as to what is happening until further on. I found myself confused by all of the different terms used to describe the monsters. Luckily, things do eventually get explained but I don’t think that happens until after about 50 pages into the story.

I totally recommend this book. It’s dark and isn’t full of rainbows and sunshine, but it will make you think and have you hooked from the very first page. If you haven’t read any of Schwab’s novels before now, I do recommend starting off with this duology to get a feel for her writing style. You will not be disappointed!

Final Verdict: 4/5 Stars


Have you read This Savage Song? What did you think of compared to Schwab’s other novels? Did you like August or Kate better? 

WWW Wednesday – July 19th, 2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

  • The Bone Season (The Bone Season, #1) by Samantha Shannon
  • The Wicked & The Divine, Vol. 2: Fandemonium by Kieron Gillen – graphic novel
  • Parker by Jillian Quinn
  • The Winter Sea (Slains, #1) by Susanna Kearsley – audiobook

Don’t ask me how I got to be reading/listening to 4 different books. I honestly have no idea, because this isn’t typical for me at all. I do plan on finishing The Wicked & The Divine tonight though, so that should cut it down to a more acceptable amount… I hope so at least.

What did you recently finish reading?

  • The Wicked & The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen – graphic novel, 4/5 stars
  • Bone Gap by Laura Ruby – audiobook, 2/5 stars
  • This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1) by Victoria Schwab – 4/5 stars
  • Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity, #2) by Victoria Schwab – 5/5 stars

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • The Mime Order (The Bone Season, #2) by Samantha Shannon
  • The Song Rising (The Bone Season, #3) by Samantha Shannon

The most logical choices as I continue on with Smashing Series Summer. I’m really excited to see where this series is going next as I’m falling in love with The Bone Season all over again!


What are you currently reading? Did you finish any good books this week? Have you read any of the books on my list? What did you think of them?

WWW Wednesday – July 12th, 2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

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This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1) by Victoria Schwab

I won’t lie and say that I wasn’t confused for about the first 50 pages of this book, because I totally was. Confused but insanely intrigued. This book starts off with a bang and I cannot wait to see where it leads to next. Thanks to everyone who voted this book as my next read the other day on the Twitter poll!

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwaba young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

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Mischling by Affinity Konar

This is my current audiobook and it’s interesting so far. I’m having trouble focusing on actually listening to it lately so I’m going  a little slower than when I first started. Hopefully work calms down a bit so I can really get back into this story. I just hope I don’t end up crying at work!

Pearl is in charge of: the sad, the good, the past.

Stasha must care for: the funny, the future, the bad.

It’s 1944 when the twin sisters arrive at Auschwitz with their mother and grandfather. In their benighted new world, Pearl and Stasha Zagorski take refuge in their identical natures, comforting themselves with the private language and shared games of their childhood.

As part of the experimental population of twins known as Mengele’s Zoo, the girls experience privileges and horrors unknown to others, and they find themselves changed, stripped of the personalities they once shared, their identities altered by the burdens of guilt and pain.

That winter, at a concert orchestrated by Mengele, Pearl disappears. Stasha grieves for her twin, but clings to the possibility that Pearl remains alive. When the camp is liberated by the Red Army, she and her companion Feliks–a boy bent on vengeance for his own lost twin–travel through Poland’s devastation. Undeterred by injury, starvation, or the chaos around them, motivated by equal parts danger and hope, they encounter hostile villagers, Jewish resistance fighters, and fellow refugees, their quest enabled by the notion that Mengele may be captured and brought to justice within the ruins of the Warsaw Zoo. As the young survivors discover what has become of the world, they must try to imagine a future within it.

A superbly crafted story, told in a voice as exquisite as it is boundlessly original, Mischling defies every expectation, traversing one of the darkest moments in human history to show us the way toward ethereal beauty, moral reckoning, and soaring hope.

What did you recently finish reading?

  • King’s Cage (Red Queen, #3) by Victoria Aveyard – 4/5 stars, Review
  • Leviathan (Leviathan, #1) by Scott Westerfeld – 4/5 stars, audiobook
  • Starfall (Starflight, #2) by Melissa Landers – 4/5 stars, full review to come
  • The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead – 2/5 stars, audiobook

I think I did a good job catching up on my reading after slacking during the holiday weekend. I also really enjoyed these books for the most part. Unfortunately, I think the hype was just wayyyyy too much for me with The Underground Railroad. I had heard such great things about it, but I just did not enjoy any of the characters and the writing was a bit too much at times. I might try another of Whitehead’s books in the future though to see if I enjoy it more.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Bone Gap by Laura Ruby – audiobook
  • Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity, #2) by Victoria Schwab

My wait list is finally up on Bone Gap from Overdrive so that’ll be up next on my audiobook schedule. I’ve heard amazing things about this story and I’m really excited to dive into it. And of course, continuing with my Smashing Series July, I’ll finish up the Monsters of Verity duology. I can’t decide what series to start after that so I may be doing another Twitter poll. Make my decisions for me, social media peeps!


What have you read this week? What’s next on your TBR? Have you read any of the books on my list? If you read The Underground Railroad, what did you think of it?

Teaser Tuesday – July 11th, 2017

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme currently being hosted by Ambrosia @ The Purple Booker. All are welcome to participate!

Rules:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two ‘teaser’ sentences from somewhere on that page.
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! You don’t want to give too much away so as to not ruin the book for others!
  • Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

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This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1) by Victoria Schwab

“—the man downstairs, he told me,” she went on, as if she hadn’t heard him. “It spilled right out of his mouth, little brother. He couldn’t keep it in. He went back and forth, back and forth, but then he broke, like all things do….”

-page 292

Starting on this beauty right after I finish this post. Excited to see what all of the hype is about!


 What are you currently reading? Have you read This Savage Song? What did you think of it?

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Musing Mondays – August 1st, 2016

Musing Mondays is a weekly theme hosted by the lovely MizB @ Books and a Beat, that asks you to answer one of the prompt questions and that week’s random question.

PROMPTS:

  • I’m currently reading…
  • Up next I think I’ll read…
  • I bought the following book(s) this past week…
  • I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I can’t wait to get a copy of…
  • I wish I could read ___, but…
  • I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Make a sentence using the spines of some of the books on your bookshelf.


I Bought the Following Book(s) this Past Week…

So I bought some new books last weekend at Barnes and Noble, thanks to two 20% discount coupons that I had, and I know I shared those with you a few days ago. However, Thursday night my B&N app notified me that I had received another 20% code to use online, and like seriously, how lucky is that?! Well with good luck such as that, I figured it is the world’s way of telling me to buy more books. So I did. Thank you, Barnes and Noble, for helping me to spend all of my hard earned money!

I decided to pre-order a couple of books that have been on my list for a while now. I think Nevernight was a no-brainer ever since Amie Kaufman sold me on it when I spoke with her and Kristoff at BookCon. I know a bunch of people have been reading the ARC recently and loving it, so yeah, I NEED it!

I’m still up in the air with how I feel about Schwab’s books. I have enjoyed her Shades of Magic series so far, but I’m just not enthralled with her writing as some people are. However, I’ve heard great things about this new release of her’s so I thought I’d give it a shot. Hopefully it’ll be able to finally settle my opinions on her as a writer, or at least show me what everyone else seems to see with her work.

As for Crooked Kingdom… Well I own Six of Crows but I haven’t read it yet, so maybe I jumped the gun a bit on buying the sequel but I don’t think so. I’ve heard only amazing things about it and while I deplored the ending to her Grisha Trilogy, I’m fairly certain that I’ll probably be buying any book that Bardugo writes in the future. It will also be coming out just in time for Series Smashing September, so it was basically fate that I buy it.

Make a Sentence Using Book Spines…

The Demon KingEnsnaredThe Young ElitesDark Disciple…(in)…The Serpent King(‘s)Dark Days Club.

Honestly, that sounds like the synopsis of a pretty interesting story. I’d read it!


Leave a link to your own Musing Mondays post in the comments! Feel free to leave me your opinions or links to your reviews on any of the books that I’ve purchased this week. Also, create your own sentence using the books on your shelf in the comments!