Heartless | Marissa Meyer

I am SO thankful because my best friend allowed me to ship my copy of this gem to her so she could get it SIGNED FOR ME. I have a slight obsession with signed books but that's okay. I saw a copy at walmart and oh my goodness. I took the dust jacket off and that thing is gorgeous! GORGEOUS. 

I downloaded an ebook copy so I can go ahead and read it because I have no patience and I have problems.

Okay, so update. I got my copy in the mail from my friend and I am now obsessed with this book and it holds a lot of meaning for me now. I opened it and there was a Marissa Meyer/best friend BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT. What the heck. Seriously, I screamed and I'm really excited and I feel like this is the way to tell your reader friend you're having a baby.

ANYWAYS. On to the actual book thoughts. Like every other Marissa Meyer book I have had the pleasure of reading, I LOVED THIS. I loved the story of Caath and how all she really wanted to do was open a bakery and how in the kingdom of Hearts she wasn't allowed to do that and everyone wanted her to marry the king that she had zero feelings for. I'm trying to not spoil it, but at the end, I really felt like I understood why Cath did the things that she did. The way things happen.. you feel terrible for her. 

Also my owlcrate for novemeber was totally Alice themed but I'm keeping both copies I have because look at this exclusive cover!? It's so pretty! That, and I think I'm going to collect a another or two from other countries because I loved this book and it does hold now special memories for me.

4.5/5 stars. 

Trapped in Silver | Emily Sowden

Okay, so first let me start this review by saying I have the flu and I'm supposed to be going to work right now but instead, I'm in bed writing about THE BEST DAMN YA FANTASTY I HAVE READ IN QUITE SOME TIME.

Let me start with a good ole fashioned goodreads synopsis:

Courage comes from a shadowed place in our hearts; a blurred line that straddles love and sheer stupidity.

To seventeen-year-old Ava, wild woodcats, hungry stragglers, and simple-minded townsfolk are the evils she’s grown accustomed to. But when Ethan, an unusual man with eyes of smoke and fire opal, enters her world she quickly understands that there are worse things out there than drunken men and carnivorous forest creatures. She’s a specialised liar and a hell of a fighter, but against a group of animalistic men called Berserkers she struggles to survive the encounter as the desperate swing of a dagger is all it takes to change her life for good.

Half-dead and hunted by the Berserker’s leader when he forms a monstrous obsession with her, Ava escapes his pursuit in an unfamiliar land full of impossible creatures, unlikely allies, and the man she doesn’t know whether to kiss or kill.
But after dreadful news of her missing brother surfaces, Ava becomes more involved in the centuries-long war and begins to unravel the reasons behind her relentless nightmares, discovering truths long-buried in a violent history of love, loss and betrayal.

Okay, so I am planning a much more spoilery blog post for when after this book releases in February, because I have to talk to someone about certain events that go down. I'm going to try to avoid them spoilers. That, and not knowing much about this book besides that you need to read it as soon as it's released, is the way to go into it.

This book does follow a YA trope that I usually find annoying but it was done so different in this book, that I didn't mind it at all. One thing about the ebook formatting that I loved was before each chapter you get a blank page with the characters name that the chapters perspective is written from. That made it much easier to follow unlike some high fantasy books that I have enjoyed but could have enjoyed much more (example: Game of Thrones) I've noticed a lot more YA books doing this lately and I am so not complaining about it!

Ava is an AMAZING main character. There were some things that she does that I didn't agree with but I loved the fact that in a world where women were expected to act a specific way, she was like "Um, no, I don't think so, I'm going to do this instead."

The creatures in this book are something else. I love my high fantasy to have something a little different that really makes it stand out in all the others books I go after and this book DEFINITELY did that for me! I just love the authors writing style, mainly because it reminds me of other authors that I absolutely enjoy such as Sarah J. Maas and Susan Dennard.

Now, let me tell you a little story that has to deal with this book. I was reading this book on my phone at work and I finished it right around the time of shift change, and I kind of started freaking out to the point where one of my coworkers (who shall remain nameless) offered to tranquilize me. Obviously, I didn't accept their offer but that should let you know just how invested you will be in this book. <3

5/5 stars

Release date: 02/07/17
(I don't want to wait for the second novel in this series, may I please have it now? PLEASE?)

Also, if you preorder this bad boy, be sure to email your receipt to oftomes@oftomes.com for some sweet looking preorder swag.

FTC disclaimer: I was provided an egalley of this book from oftomes publishing in exchange for an honest review. #teamBERSERKERS

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. 

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.