It's Monday! What Are You Reading #416, May 27th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #415
Teaser Tuesday #423
WWW Wednesday #423
WOW #419
Will the Time Come #416
Third Sentence Thursday #406
Random Reads #392
First Lines Friday #419
The Reward Challenge Update #401
Book Blogger Hop #85
How Well I Stuck to It #253
Wrote that Review Update #250

Week 21 Reviews:
Leonie Hendricks: Demon P.I.
The Spring Before I Met You
The Summer Before I Met You
Unspoken
The Night After I Lost You
Untold
Unmade
Death and the Girl Next Door
Death, Doom and Detention
Death, and the Girl He Loves

Random:
We Have the Cover of Arc of the Scythe #3!!!!
We Have the Cover of Honey Badger Chronicles #3!!!!
We Have the Cover of October Daye #13!!!!

OK, so I got  posts in 7 days, What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read Bridal Boot Camp, Middlegame, and PERfunctory AfFECTION.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot comes the first story in her Little Bridge Island series—which also includes an excerpt from her forthcoming new full-length novel No Judgments!

Looking for a tropical escape?

Welcome to Little Bridge, one of the smallest—and most beautiful—islands in the Florida Keys, home to sandy white beaches, salt-rimmed margaritas, stunning sunsets, and some of the quirkiest—but also kindest and most resourceful—people you'll ever meet.

Physical trainer Roberta "Rob" James moved to Little Bridge hoping she'd found paradise, but things haven't turned out quite as she’d hoped. The closest Rob has come to her "happily ever after" is happy hour at the Mermaid Café with her buddy Bree, the bartender slash waitress who's got romance problems of her own.

But Rob's situation suddenly changes when sheriff's deputy Ryan Martinez accidentally enrolls in her bridal boot camp class. Turning mush into metal in time for the big day is Rob's passion (because even the happiest bride could use a little toning).

But what happens when a guy who's all mush meets a girl who's all metal?

They discover they have a lot to learn . . . about each other, themselves, and the island paradise they've come to call home.

New York Times bestselling and Alex, Nebula, and Hugo-Award-winning author Seanan McGuire introduces readers to a world of amoral alchemy, shadowy organizations, and impossible cities in this standalone fantasy.

Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story.

Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math.

Roger and Dodger aren't exactly human, though they don't realise it. They aren't exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.

Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He's not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own.

Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn't attained.

Is it better to live a lie of perfection when the truth is too ugly to survive?

Meg wants a normal life. Her new artistic style, born in the depression of her mother's death, is poised to take the art world by storm, if she could just overcome the debilitating anxiety caused by the car accident that scarred her boyfriend, Austin. Encouraged by her therapist, Meg pushes outside her comfort zone to befriend Haley, a guest instructor at the university where Meg teaches. Haley is everything Meg wants to be: charismatic, confident, and perfect, but when Austin expresses his worry that Haley is changing Meg too fast and leads her to realize that Austin is trying to keep her afraid and needing him, Meg kicks him out of her life. Or at least, she tries.

Kim Harrison, author of the number one bestselling Urban Fantasy Hollows series, brings to life a world terrifyingly near to our own, where what’s real and what shouldn't exist twine together in the madness of a troubled mind desperate for a way out. But when the truth is reveled, the question remains, is it better to live a lie of perfection, or cleave to an ugly reality that will destroy you?

Wrote that Review Update #250, May 26th

If you want to participate, set a certain amount of reviews to write, and once you make that goal, you can get a reward!

My reviews to reward is writing all of the reviews of the week, and I motivated myself to write my review for Leonie Hendricks: Demon P.I., The Spring Before I Met You, The Summer Before I Met, You, Unspoken, The Night After I Lost You, Untold, Unmade, Death and the Girl Next Door, Death, Doom and Detention, Death, and the Girl He Loves, so I have 3 of 3 reviews written!

And as always, I want to review this week's reviews!

What about you guys? Happy reading!

How Well I Stuck to It #253, May 26th

So I decided that I should have accountability on sticking to what should be in a week, so I'm doing How Well I Stuck to It every Sunday, because my schedule should be fixed in by now!

Week 22:
Bridal Boot Camp by Meg Cabot, Middlegame by Seanan McGuire, PERfunctory AfFECTION by Kim Harrison

Tour Books: NA.

Review Books: NA.

NetGalley: NA.

Edelweiss: #. Check.

Meme Books: #. Check.

Rereads: #. Check.

New Books: 3. Check.

Yeah, this is a pretty nice short week, and all new books, but they're all so great and I have to read them!

Week 21:
Again, But Better by Christine Riccio, Kingsbane by Claire Legrand, The Summoning by Heather Graham

vs.

Leonie Hendricks: Demon P.I. by Deborah Wilde, The Spring Before I Met You by Sarah Rees Brennan, The Summer Before I Met You by Sarah Rees Brennan, Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, The Night After I Lost You by Sarah Rees Brennan, Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan, Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan, Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones, Death, Doom and Detention by Darynda Jones, Death, and the Girl He Loves by Darynda Jones

Yeah, I read none of what I wanted to read, which sucks, but I read a good number of books, I got 7 full length and 3 stories, so yeah, I'm pretty happy with it! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Week 21 Reviews: Death and the Girl Next Door, Death, Doom, and Detention, Death, and the Girl He Loves

From Goodreads:
Ten years ago, Lorelei's parents disappeared without a trace.  Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home.  For Lorelei, life goes on.

High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be.  Until the day the school's designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it,  standing outside her house in the dark, night after night.  Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school.  Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity.  What does Jared know about her parents?  Why does Cameron tell Jared he can't have Lorelei?  And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real?  Thrilling, sassy, sexy, and inventive, Darynda Jones's first foray into the world of teens will leave readers eager for the next installment.

From Goodreads:
The normal part of Lorelei MacAlister's life didn't just slip away quietly the day Jared Kovach came to town. Nope. The normal part of her life shattered. It exploded. It burst into a gazillion shards of fleeting light.

It went out with a bang.

Goodbye normal.

Hello dark and eerie.

While her best friend, Brooklyn, is focusing all of her energy on helping Lorelei hone her abilities, Lorelei is dealing with the reality that Satan's second in command has taken up residence inside her body. Oh, and the fact that she has a crush on the Angel of Death. But what a beautiful death it is. If those weren't bad enough, something sinister has come to town and it wants nothing more than to hear Lorelei's dying breath as it strangles it out of her. Thank goodness the gang has a supernatural champion. But what happens when the only being who can save them switches sides midstream? How can a group of misfits capture one of the most powerful beings ever created? And will they find out how to bring Jared back to them before it's too late?

From Goodreads:
The fate of the world is not something a girl wants on her shoulders, and that is especially true for Lorelei McAlister, even though that is exactly where the world's fate has decided to take up residence. Lorelei has seen first hand the horrors that lie beneath our everyday world. And those horrors are getting her friends killed. Because of this, she agrees to leave the sanctity of her hometown and is sent to a different world entirely. A boarding school. But even here she is being watched. Someone knows what she is. What she carries inside her soul. And now, alone and vulnerable, she must face the fact that there are people who want her dead, and no matter where she goes, no matter how far she runs, the lives of her friends and family are in mortal peril. 

My first review of Death and the Girl Next Door, Death, Doom, and Detention, Death, and the Girl He Loves
My second review of Death and the Girl Next Door, Death, Doom, and Detention, Death, and the Girl He Loves
My Review:
Yeah, it was really fantastic to read these books again! It's been a while, and I'd forgotten a lot, like, basically the entire plot of the 2nd book. I did recall how she resolved it in the end, and so watching all her angst about all the pressure to save the world, was a lot of fun to read!

The characters in this series are just really fantastic! Lorelei, she's smart and loyal, and so much fun to read about. Brooke is smart and fierce and unrelenting. Glitch is hilarious and with a well deserved fear of turtles. Jared and Cameron are both badass, and in regards to Lorelei, protective. Such a great team! I loved Jared and Cameron together, the friction there, even after the big battle, is a lot of fun to read!

It's a lot to take in, the fact that you're supposed to stop a war from even happening, that you have a demon living inside you, and that while not at fault, your actions led to your parents disappearing. And Lorelei gets hit with that pretty much all at once. Not fun!

We spend almost half of the final book with the wrapping up of loose ends. Even knowing how it was going to end, it was so satisfying to read that conclusion again! There was so much stress and anxiety over how she was going to end the war before it was started, and this gave her time to relax after doing so!

Loved reading these books so much, and I still have hope that we'll get some short stories in this world of how Jared fell in love and such!

Author: Darynda Jones
Series: Darklight #1, 2, 3
First Read: December 5th, 2012, March 11th, 2013, October 16th, 2013
Second Read: July 13th, 13th, 13th, 2014
Read: May 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 2019
Source: Own
Reason Why: Rereading! And they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Books! And Death, and the Girl He Loves is a End of Series 2019 Book!
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: October 2nd 2012, March 5th 2013, October 8th 2013

Death and the Girl Next Door:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Death, Doom, and Detention:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Death, and the Girl He Loves:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 21 Reviews: The Spring Before I Met You, The Summer Before I Met You, Unspoken, The Night After I Lost You, Untold, Unmade

From Goodreads:
Introduction by Holly Black:

I had the privilege of reading this story many months ago and swooning over it almost as much as I swooned over Unspoken, the first book of Sarah Rees Brennan's gorgeously crafted modern gothic trilogy. Sarah's writing is incredible in that she is able to write these witty, lush scenes that have you smiling along until suddenly, in a single sentence, she reaches out to break your heart.

This story introduces us to one of the main characters of Unspoken, Jared Lynburn. Seeing him as the broken, dangerous, closed-off teenager that he appears to be from the outside allows us to anticipate all of the insight we'll have into his character when we get inside his head--which we will, since he's the heroine's "imaginary friend."

I enjoy the contrast of Jared's loneliness in the rough streets of Hunters Point/Bayview in San Francisco and the small, strange English town Jared is headed toward, and the girl he is about to meet. But most of all, in this story, I enjoy Jared himself, a character who is a study in contrasts--pushed to such extremes of despair and fury that he's truly capable of anything and yet capable of vast kindness, gentleness and humor.

From Goodreads:
"Take care of your spirit, Kami," said Megumi. "And don’t burn the place down."

Kami grabbed both the suitcases and headed for the cabin she was sharing with Liz and Angela. Liz walked with her, and on their way Kami stopped.

"My Sobo was exaggerating," she said earnestly. "There have been very few fires."

From Goodreads:
Kami Glass loves someone she's never met . . . a boy she's talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn't silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn't suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

From Goodreads:
A Lynburn Legacy present for you, my petal darlings.

Set the night after the end of Unspoken, before all the action of Untold. You have to keep moving in a Gothic mystery. But sometimes you can take a night to be sad.

From Goodreads:
It's time to choose sides.... 

On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren't the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she's now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

A darkly humorous take on Gothic romance, Sarah Rees Brennan's Lynburn Legacy weaves together the tale of a heroine desperate to protect those she loves, two boys hoping to be saved, and the magical forces that will shape their destiny.

From Goodreads:
A modern, magical twist on the Gothic romance and girl detective genres, the Lynburn Legacy books will appeal to fans of both Beautiful Creatures and the Mortal Instruments series.

Powerful love comes with a price. Who will be the sacrifice?

Kami has lost the boy she loves, is tied to a boy she does not, and faces an enemy more powerful than ever before. With Jared missing for months and presumed dead, Kami must rely on her new magical link with Ash for the strength to face the evil spreading through her town.

Rob Lynburn is now the master of Sorry-in-the-Vale, and he demands a death. Kami will use every tool at her disposal to stop him. Together with Rusty, Angela, and Holly, she uncovers a secret that might be the key to saving the town. But with knowledge comes responsibility—and a painful choice. A choice that will risk not only Kami's life, but also the lives of those she loves most.

As coauthor with Cassandra Clare of the bestselling Bane Chronicles, Sarah Rees Brennan has mastered the art of the page-turner. This final book in the Lynburn Legacy is a wild, entertaining ride from beginning to shocking end.

My first review of The Spring Before I Met You, The Summer Before I Met You, Unspoken, The Night After I Lost You, Untold, Unmade
My second review of Unspoken
My Review:
Man, I just loved reading this series again! I just really enjoy Sarah Rees Brennan's writing, and this series has an excellent amount of humour! I love these characters, they're full of life, and in the case of Kami, full of crazy plans, plans that Jared is more than willing to put into action!

I did come to the conclusion that this world is different than the one of the Demon Lexicon series. Because in this book, it's mentioned that besides in Sorry-in-the-Vale, sorcerers don't gather in groups. While in the other series, there's the Circles and such. So I'm glad that's put to rest correctly in my head!

A big part of this book is about how much the bond influences those who are linked. Jared thinks that it'll form a romantic bond, no matter what. Kami is in love with Jared, and because she broke their first one, knows that Jared's belief is wrong. But it causes a lot of conflict for them over the course of these books!

Oh, man, Rusty! I forgot what happened to him! I enjoyed all the scenes we had him in, he was a perfect foil against Kami, relaxed and restful. It hit me so hard when I got to the point, like, how could I have forgotten this?

Loved reading these books so much, they were just so great to read!

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Series: The Lynburn Legacy #0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3
First Read: October 31st, 2012, November 4th, 4th, 5th, 2014, April 16th, 16th, 2015
Second Read: November 5th, 2014
Read: May 18th, 18th, 20th, 20th, 21st, 21st, 2019
Source: Free, Own
Reason Why: Rereading! And they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2014 Books! And The Night After I Lost You is a LLFL Book!
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Published: September 11th 2012, September 5th 2012, September 11th 2012, September 25th 2013, September 24th 2013, September 23rd, 2014

The Spring Before I Met You:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Summer Before I Met You:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Unspoken:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Night After I Lost You:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Untold:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Unmade:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 21 Review: Leonie Hendricks: Demon P.I.

From Goodreads:
It takes a demon to catch a demon.

Got a dispute with another demon and killing them just won't solve it? Leonie Hendricks gets results, no matter what the cost.

Even if her life-long internal battle with her non-human side is seriously taking its toll.

A new case throws Leonie back into the arms of the man who broke her heart. While she'd rather stab him and get on with her life, her professional principles demand that she hunt down her client's fiendish assailant before innocent humans get caught in the crossfire.

But when things take a sinister turn, Leonie finds herself in a deadly fight not just for her heart, but for her very soul.

The stabbing, however, is still on the table. A girl's got to have a Plan B.

***Please note: While this can be read as a standalone adventure, this story is best read AFTER the Nava Katz series as it builds on events in those books.

My Review:
Yeah, I enjoyed reading this book! Leo was a really fun character in this series, and her relationship with Drio was pretty tumultuous and entertaining to read about! Plus we got to spend more time in this world, time where the world at large knows about demons, which is a recent occurrence!

Being in Leo's head was pretty excellent, because she's half Red Cap, and we got to see what that means, with her demon self and how she stays in control. The fact of her heritage is a big driving point in this book in multiple ways, from how it messed up her and Drio's relationship to the contacts she's built in this life.

There was a good mix of slower, intense scenes, and action scenes, that had excellent pacing between the two. This book is a tad bit shorter than the full length books, and with those two facts, it was a really fast read!

There's the mystery of who was behind it all. And yeah, it was a pretty awesome twist! But these characters had to be smart, clever, and tricky, to come out on top, which was just so fantastic to read, and made for a satisfying ending!

Loved this book, it was such a fantastic read!

Author: Deborah Wilde
Series: Nadia Katz #6.5
Read: May 18th, 2019
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: I really enjoy this series and her writing, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book!
Publisher: Te Da Media
Published: April 1st 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

2019 Reviews

Book Blogger Hop #85, May 24th

Book Blogger Hop

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer from Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer's permission, I relaunched the meme on February 15, 2013. Check out the hop here! 

Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end on Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop's purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

The Question of the week is: Do you continue with a book even though you aren't liking it? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

Depends on the level of dislike, and how far I'm into the book. Sometimes, if I take some time away from a book, then I can finish it. I've only DNF'ed one book with this. What about you guys? Happy reading!

The Reward Challenge Update #401, May 24th

The Reward Challenge is almost the complete opposite to a book buying ban as you'll end up buying lots of new books throughout the challenge but only after you've completed a certain amount of reading. It was hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly, so thanks to her for starting it!

OK, so I read Leonie Hendricks: Demon P.I. which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book, The Spring Before I Met You which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book, The Summer Before I Met You which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book, Unspoken which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book,  The Night After I Lost You which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book, Untold which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book, Unmade which counts 3 times as a End of Series 2019 Book a and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book, Death and the Girl Next Door which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book, Death, Doom and Detention which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book, Death, and the Girl He Loves which counts 3 times as a End of Series 2019 Book a and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book.

So I have 22 counts which translates to $11 this week! I'll use it to buy books!

First Lines Friday #419, May 24th

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. We encourage all of our fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

-Grab your current read(s)
-Share the first line(s)
-Include the title and author so that other FLF participants can add the book to their TBR Lists!

"The Bedford Fields Academy pitched itself as one of the most prestigious private schools in North America, promising a stellar education and a future brighter than an exploding supernova. Or something along those lines. In reality, it was a last-ditch effort for rich parents with kids who'd been kicked out of every other institution in the free world. The boarding school was insanely expensive, but those parents with unruly children and money to burn would pay anything for the illusion of a good education. They took their public guise seriously. Keeping up the pretense of good parentage took effort. And trust funds." -Death and the Girl He Loves by Darynda Jones

Yeah, this is sassy and just amazing! I must read more! What about you guys? Happy reading!

We Have the Cover of October Daye #13!!!!

Yeah., we have the cover of The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire! And it's so great!

Random Reads #392, May 23rd

Random Reads is a monthly meme (that I'm going to do weekly) hosted by I'm Loving Books to read some books that have been on our TBR piles for a long time. Using Random.org, I got 2265 which turned out to be At the King's Command by Susan Wiggs! It's been on my TBR pile since January 19th, 2012, and I added it because I enjoy her writing! Happy reading!

Third Sentence Thursday #406, May 23rd

Third Sentence Thursday is a weekly meme which likes to watch fireworks especially while eating a cookie!

1) Take the book you are currently reading and open it to a random page. Share the third full sentence on that page. (If there isn't a third one – like at the end of a chapter or a blank page – you can share the third sentence of the book or just choose another random page.) Feel free to share more than one sentence, if you feel the need to do so.

2) Review this sentence anyway you want (funny and silly reviews encouraged)

3) Post a link to your sentence at Words I Write Crazy (This Blog)

4) Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentences!

"Thankfully, Tabitha Sind didn't live right next door." -Death, Doom, and Detention by Darynda Jones, page 1.

Yes, thank goodness!

What are your guy's 3rd lines? Link up below!