This Savage Song | Victoria Schwab

Sometimes when I order books from Books of Wonder, I ask them to personalize it to me and my pet raccoon? 

Summary from Goodreads:

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 Schwab, a 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

Okay, so what really got my attention about this book was that I started seeing all this buzz because it's a YA that's not centered around romance. There is NO romance between Kate and August and that was so refreshing. I loved that about this book. This world was a little different for me to get into but once I did, I really got into it. In this particular world there's different kinds of monsters. Obviously. Kate acts like a monster to impress her father. August is a monster who has more humanity than most humans I've seen in the past week. I am however, a little disappointed with the ending of this book. I just wasn't ready for it to end and I feel like we just got half the book. I guess I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to Kate and August for a year.. I don't know what can possibly happen in the next book but I am so ready. This book however has me really interested in Victoria Schwab/ V.E Schwab's other works and I will probably pick them up pretty soon because I have this problem where I binge read every book an author has released in the same week and then get depressed when I run out of books to read. 

Nemesis | Anna Banks ARC Review!

First yall need to read the story on how I managed to get this ARC:


So remember back in July when EVERY (or so it seemed..) Barnes and Noble decided to hold an author event or something nationwide? Well. I went out to Destin (I live in Panama City) the day before and found out about it by happenstance, and I just got lucky and I was off on that Saturday. Well. Not lucky. I have a lot of animals so Saturdays are usually reserved for trips to the CO OP, but back to the Friday when one of my friends and I were playing in Barnes and Noble..I happened to get lucky and see the booksellers setting up a table to meet Anna Banks the next day to get books signed. I happen to own most of her books, so I made sweet plans to go back with my Dad the next day (Hey, he likes books too!), Sassy (I have a raccoon. We go on adventures together <3), and my friend invited himself (I'm sure he now regrets that knowing that these books aren't really his type, because he's a book snob). Anyways. That Saturday comes and we end up being super late because the friend that tagged along can't lift a 50 pound bag of feed, and I accidentally ate a tomato so much like now, I ended up taking a bunch of benadryl. Back to the main event: I get to the bookstore with my Dad (Unfortunately, barnes and noble doesn't allow albino raccoons in the store so she hd to stay in the truck with the air running :( ), I get my books signed, and she asks me: "Do you have Nemesis?" Um. No, I didn't. It didn't release until October (I do have it preordered), and I quit blogging. WHY would I have Nemesis in July? I wouldn't. Anyways. She pulls one out of what seems to be thin air to me, signs it, and gives it to me. I have a fangirl moment, get some coffee, and then go home. To my standards I made it last a little bit because I only read it during dead moments at work. I live in a tourist town from hell and July is more than a little busy. That being said, according to my goodreads..I only read it between July 15th and July 17th, but like her other series (The Syrena Legacy), I LOVED IT. The book. Not the cover. Which completely makes sense once you really get into the book and I'm 99.9 % sure that the author doesn't have any if much say in what the cover of the book is but oh my gosh. I'm gushing now. I'll stop for a moment.

Summary (from Goodreads):
The princess didn't expect to fall in love--with her nemesis.

Princess Sepora of Serubel is the last Forger in all the five kingdoms. The spectorium she creates provides energy for all, but now her father has found a way to weaponize it, and his intentons to incite war force her to flee from his grasp. She escapes across enemy lines into the kingdom of Theoria, but her plans to hide are thwarted when she is captured and placed in the young king's servitude.

Tarik has just taken over rulership of Theoria, and must now face a new plague sweeping through his kingdom and killing his citizens. The last thing he needs is a troublesome servant vying for his attention. But mistress Sepora will not be ignored. When the two finally meet face-to-face, they form an unlikely bond that complicates life in ways neither of them could have imagined.

Okay, I'm going to be jumping around because I can't have a straight thought tonight (Sorry, guys!), but first without spoiling this gem: I loved how there is NOT a love triangle with Tariks brother. YES. A YA FANTASY WHERE THERE IS NOT A LOVE TRIANGLE. For that alone, you want to give this a read, correct? I super hate the name Tarik. My family watches a lot of HGTV and Flip or Flop just annoys the eff out of me. I managed to get over it though. I am not sure if this is a series or a duology, but I hope that it turns into something like the Shadowhunter Chronicles because this world that Anna Banks has created is INCREDIBLE. I don't even know how to begin to describe it but she has 5 kingdoms loosely based on Egyptian mythology, and I don't think one or two books is going to be enough for me to be happy. We mainly hear about two kingdoms in this book, but I sincerely hope that we get to hear more about the other three in the next book. I'm already tired of waiting for book 2 and I want it to come out next week (October 4th) instead of the first one. Yes, I'm just that impatient. :)


FTC: Your girl obviously didn't pay for this one, but I HAVE paid for a finished copy and all opinions are my own. <3

With Malice | Eileen Cook

This was another one of my audiobook finds, but this one I actually bought from Audible, and I didn't listen to it while I was driving. Well..I started it when I was driving but you know how sometimes you just HAVE to finish a book because it's got your attention and you can't think about anything else? Yeah. That's what this was for me, so I kinda binged it while I was coloring at my kitchen table.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital room, leg in a cast, stitches in her face and a big blank canvas where the last six weeks should be. She discovers she was involved in a fatal car accident while on a school trip in Italy. A trip she doesn’t even remember taking. She was jetted home by her affluent father in order to receive quality care. Care that includes a lawyer. And a press team. Because maybe the accident…wasn’t an accident.

As the accident makes national headlines, Jill finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. It doesn’t help that the media is portraying her as a sociopath who killed her bubbly best friend, Simone, in a jealous rage. With the evidence mounting against her, there’s only one thing Jill knows for sure: She would never hurt Simone. But what really happened? Questioning who she can trust and what she’s capable of, Jill desperately tries to piece together the events of the past six weeks before she loses her thin hold on her once-perfect life.

Oh my gosh. I'm not going to pretend this was some kind of fantastic piece of literature but I'm wishing I had read this when I first added it to my goodreads page, or when I checked it out of the library and then proceeded to.. not read it and then turn it back into the library. This book is very clearly based on the Amanda Nox trial but oh, it is so thought consuming. I don't want to talk it and ruin it, but seriously, go out and find a copy of this book somehow and read it. I NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT IT. I'm dying not being able to! :(

Every Exquisite Thing | Matthew Quick

Lately, I have decided that I don't like listening to public radio, at all. So when I'm not listening to Hamilton (I have a two hour commute everyday) I've been listening to audiobooks. While, audible is great and all, I can go through several audiobooks in a month. I'm a poor raccoon owner so my library's (very good) audiobook selection comes in super handy. So I listened to the audio version of this during the booktubeathon.

The Goodreads Synopsis: 

Didn’t you ever just simply want to…stop?

Star athlete and straight-A student Nanette O’Hare has played the role of dutiful daughter for as long as she can remember. But one day, a beloved teacher gives her his worn copy of The Bubblegum Reaper—a mysterious, out-of-print cult classic—and the rebel within Nanette awakens.

As the new and outspoken Nanette attempts to insert her true self into the world with wild abandon, she befriends the reclusive author and falls in love with a young, troubled poet. Forced to make some hard choices that bring devastating consequences, Nanette learns the hard way that rebellion can sometimes come at a high price.

First, I need to tell you that I'm pretty sure that my fellow car drivers probably reported me to the local police because through out this entire audiobook..I was screaming at Nan, I was crying with Nan, I just felt like Nan was someone whom I actually know but in reality..I think I am Nan in a way. Everyone is. Seriously, I can relate to Nan, everyone is trying to make decisions for her, and she's forced to be a certain way and that just makes her want to scream in the book. Hell, it makes me want to scream..actually, I DID scream and it made me feel good when I did from the comfort of my own car. Matthew Quick is the master at writing misfit characters and this was no exception. My favorite part of this book was the quote "Just because you are good at something, doesn't mean you have to do it." Seriously, that spoke to me on so many different levels, and I love how the main character reading a book caused this spiral of thinking for Nan. 

Truthwitch | Susan Dennard

I am aware that this book has been out for a hot minute and I'm pretty sure that everyone and their mother, best friend, neighbor, and cousin has read this book. I know I've had my copy for a good while. I found a signed hardcover at my local library bookstore..for a dollar so I grabbed that sucker up. I then proceeded to put it on my shelf and forget that I even had it..for months. I was coming back from North Carolina and BookOutlet was advertising another book sale, and I saw it on there for like 3.99, I believe. So like anyone else with a book "problem" I bought it. Again. Only this time I actually read it when it came in, and come to find out.. I am OBSESSED so I'm perfectly fine with having two copies of the same book when one is signed. :)
This book focuses on two main characters that are witches: Safi who is a super duper rare truthwitch (think Pikachu in pokemon go) and her thread sister Iseult. This book is mainly about Safi because her and Iseult started some trouble and now they have a bloodwitch (someone who can tell what kind of witch they are by smelling them) because he knows what Safi is and well since shes a super rare pokemon (witch) everyone is trying to catch her. What I really loved about this book is that while, yes, there is a romance in this, it really focuses on the friendship bond that Safi and Iseult share with each other. One of the witches doesn't automatically feel like she's better than the other with a haughty attitude, which when I fist began this book, I was so sure was going to happen.. I was just waiting for the shoe to drop. Neither one of them are perfect, but the way they work together, the way you can tell they have a friendship that's just so real really made me happy while reading this. Tell me how many YA novels decides to focus on that instead of the romantic love interest? Let me tell you how many I've found: NOT THAT FREAKING MANY.

It does take a good minute to really understand what is going on in this book at the beginning but this world building is so fantastic! It's kind of like an onion, where you have to peel back layers and pay attention to ALL the details to really understand it, but once you have it, you have it and you become engrossed and just so, so, so addicted. 

I don't usually fall for the over hyped books until months later and the hype has died down some but seriously. This one was hyped for a reason. I fell in love, and it broke my heart when it was over because I was not ready for it to end. 

I'm sitting here dying for the next one (Windwitch Jan 3, 2017) because patience, I have not. 

What is this?!

I used to blog book reviews around 3-4 years ago, but unfortunately I lost motivation for it because I got extremely sick and life started getting in way. Recently, I've been seeing other peoples book reviews and it's made me feel sad and nostalgic. Unlike before, I now have a full time job, I have a farm full of farm babies to take care of, and I have a illness that I'm going to have for the rest of my life. One thing however has stayed the same through out all these events: books. I still love reading. I make it a priority still. That, and sleeping are still my favorite things to do. So, bare with me while I get back into the swing of things, because I am SO EXCITED to start doing this again! :D