Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Waiting on Wednesday #355, February 28th

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth
Expected Publication: April 10th, 2018
From Goodreads:
In the second book of the Carve the Mark duology, globally bestselling Divergent author Veronica Roth reveals how Cyra and Akos fulfill their fates. The Fates Divide is a richly imagined tale of hope and resilience told in four stunning perspectives.

Fate brought them together. Now it will divide them.

The lives of Cyra Noavek and Akos Kereseth are ruled by their fates, spoken by the oracles at their births. The fates, once determined, are inescapable.

Akos is in love with Cyra, in spite of his fate: He will die in service to Cyra’s family. And when Cyra’s father, Lazmet Noavek—a soulless tyrant, thought to be dead—reclaims the Shotet throne, Akos believes his end is closer than ever.

As Lazmet ignites a barbaric war, Cyra and Akos are desperate to stop him at any cost. For Cyra, that could mean taking the life of the man who may—or may not—be her father. For Akos, it could mean giving his own. In a stunning twist, the two will discover how fate defines their lives in ways most unexpected.

The Thief by J.R. Ward
Expected Publication: April 10th, 2018
From Goodreads:
New enemies rise and desire burns in the next thrilling novel of the #1 New York Times bestselling paranormal romance series the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Sola Morte, former cat burglar and safecracker, has given up her old life on the wrong side of the law. On the run from a drug lord’s family, she is lying low far from Caldwell, keeping her nose clean and her beloved grandmother safe. Her heart, though, is back up north, with the only man who has ever gotten through her defenses: Assail, son of Assail, who never meant to fall in love—and certainly not with a human woman. But they have no future, and not just because she doesn’t know he is a vampire, but because he is not about to stop dealing arms to the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Fate, however, has other plans for them. When Assail falls into a coma and lingers on the verge of death, his cousins seek out Sola and beg her to give him a reason to live. The last thing she wants is a return to her past, but how can she leave him to die?

As a lethal new enemy of the vampires shows its face, and the Brotherhood needs Assail back on his feet, Sola finds herself not only a target, but a mission-critical force in a war she doesn’t understand. And when Assail’s truth comes out, will she run from the horror . . . or follow her heart into the arms of the male who loves her more than life itself? 

Her Guardian Angel by Larissa Ione
Expected Publication: April 10th, 2018
From Goodreads:
After a difficult childhood and a turbulent stint in the military, Declan Burke finally got his act together. Now he’s a battle-hardened professional bodyguard who takes his job at McKay-Taggart seriously and his playtime – and his playmates – just as seriously. One thing he never does, however, is mix business with pleasure. But when the mysterious, gorgeous Suzanne D’Angelo needs his protection from a stalker, his desire for her burns out of control, tempting him to break all the rules…even as he’s drawn into a dark, dangerous world he didn’t know existed.

Suzanne is an earthbound angel on her critical first mission: protecting Declan from an emerging supernatural threat at all costs. To keep him close, she hires him as her bodyguard. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that she’s in over her head, defenseless against this devastatingly sexy human who makes her crave his forbidden touch.

Together they’ll have to draw on every ounce of their collective training to resist each other as the enemy closes in, but soon it becomes apparent that nothing could have prepared them for the menace to their lives…or their hearts.

Winter Glass by Lexa Hillyer
Expected Publication: April 10th, 2018
From Goodreads:
A curse comes undone. A kingdom shatters. But some bonds can’t be broken.

Princess Aurora, torn from the dream world, plots to assassinate the faerie queen Malfleur, only to confront temptations she never expected. Isabelle, meanwhile, opens her heart to Prince William as they attempt to unite their kingdoms and wage war against Malfleur’s army. But when the appearance of an unbreakable glass slipper prompts Isabelle to discover more about her lineage, her true identity begins to take shape and her legacy becomes as clear as ice. 

Devoted half-sisters Isabelle and Aurora will grapple with their understanding of love and loyalty as they face a threat even greater than that of the evil queen—the threat of losing each other forever.

Yeah, some more awesome books coming out! So excited for the 10th, I want to read these books!



WWW Wednesday #359, February 28th

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

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

Thanks to MizB of Should Be Writing now A Daily Rhythm for starting this meme!

I'm reading Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon, and it's pretty hilarious! Loving it!
I read Wandfasted, and it was so intriguing, and I can't wait to read The Black Witch!
I'm going to be rereading Fatal Voyage, and I can't wait, this series is just so great!

What about you guys? Happy reading!

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Teaser Tuesday #359, February 27th

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Ambrosia of The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Today's teaser comes from Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs, page 15.

"Born in the low country, Larke grew up in a Marine Corps family, then did two hitches of his own before heading off to medical school. He spoke and looked like a spit-and-polish version of Andy Griffith."

Yeah, I don't know who that is, but ok, sounds good! What about you guys? Happy reading!

Monday, February 26, 2018

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #351, February 26th

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 #350
Teaser Tuesday #358
WWW Wednesday #358
WOW #355
Will the Time Come #349
Third Sentence Thursday #340
Random Reads #326
First Lines Friday #354
The Reward Challenge Update #336
Book Blogger Hop #20
How Well I Stuck to It #188
Wrote that Review Update #185

Week 8 Reviews:
Soldier
Legion
Deadly Décisions
The Wolves of Winter
Crave
Heartstone
The Audition
Seraphina
Shadow Scale
Tess of the Road
Beyond Reach
Break Us

Random:
We Have the Title of The Nevernight Chronicle #3!!!!

OK, so I got 22 posts in 7 days, so yeah, that's a pretty decent week! I read a lot of rereads and a lot of dragon books. So I'm pretty happy with this week! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read Wandfasted, The Black Witch, Fatal Voyage, Find You in the Dark, Fractured, Inkmistress, The Queen of Blood, and Uprooted.

When they painted "Heretics" on our barn and set fire to it, I thought that was the worst it could get.

Until they sent the dragons.

But they didn't count on us having dragons of our own. And they certainly didn't count on Her. Our Great Mage. The Bringer of Fire. The Storm of Death. The Crow Sorceress. Our Deliverance.

The Black Witch.

- From WANDFASTED
A new Black Witch will rise…her powers vast beyond imagining.

Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter of the last prophesied Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner, who drove back the enemy forces and saved the Gardnerian people during the Realm War. But while she is the absolute spitting image of her famous grandmother, Elloren is utterly devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above all else.

When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren joins her brothers at the prestigious Verpax University to embrace a destiny of her own, free from the shadow of her grandmother's legacy. But she soon realizes that the university, which admits all manner of people—including the fire-wielding, winged Icarals, the sworn enemies of all Gardnerians—is a treacherous place for the granddaughter of the Black Witch.

As evil looms on the horizon and the pressure to live up to her heritage builds, everything Elloren thought she knew will be challenged and torn away. Her best hope of survival may be among the most unlikely band of misfits…if only she can find the courage to trust those she's been taught to hate and fear.
Investigating a plane crash in the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan discovers in a most disturbing way that the evidence doesn't add up. Tripping over a coyote-chewed leg at the crash scene, she performs a little mental arithmetic and realizes that this victim wasn't on the plane. Once again, Brennan's high-tech DMORT snaps into action faster than you can say "Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team."
In this chilling debut thriller, in the vein of Dexter and The Talented Mr. Ripley, a family man obsessed with digging up the undiscovered remains of serial killer victims catches the attention of a murderer prowling the streets of Seattle.

Martin Reese is obsessed with murder.

For years, he has been illegally buying police files on serial killers and studying them in depth, using them as guides to find missing bodies. He doesn't take any souvenirs, just photos that he stores in an old laptop, and then he turns in the results to the police anonymously. Martin sees his work as a public service, a righting of wrongs that cops have continuously failed to do.

Detective Sandra Whittal sees it differently. On a meteoric rise in police ranks due to her case-closing efficiency, Whittal is suspicious of the mysterious caller—the Finder, she names him—leading the police to the bodies. Even if the Finder isn't the one leaving bodies behind, who's to say that he won't start soon?

On his latest dig, Martin searches for the first kill of Jason Shurn, the early 1990s murderer who may have been responsible for the disappearance of his sister-in-law, whom he never met. But when he arrives at the site, he finds a freshly killed body—a young and recently disappeared Seattle woman—lying among remains that were left there decades ago. Someone else knew where Jason Shurn buried his victims . . . and that someone isn't happy that Martin has been going around digging up his work.

When a crooked cop with a tenuous tie to Martin vanishes, Whittal begins to zero in on the Finder. Hunted by a real killer and by Whittal, Martin realizes that in order to escape the killer's trap, he may have to go deeper into the world of murder than he ever thought.
With its gracious homes and tree-lined streets, Ansley Park is one of Atlanta's most desirable neighborhoods. But in one gleaming mansion, in a teenager's lavish bedroom, a girl has been savagely murdered. And in the hallway, her horrified mother stands amid shattered glass, having killed her daughter's attacker with her bare hands.

Detective Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is here only to do a political favor; the murder site belongs to the Atlanta police. But Trent soon sees something that the cops are missing, something in the trail of blood, in a matrix of forensic evidence, and in the eyes of the shell-shocked mother. Within minutes, Trent is taking over the case -- and adding another one to it. He is sure that another teenage girl is missing, and that a killer is on the loose.

Armed with only fleeting clues, teamed with a female cop who has her own personal reasons for hating him, Trent has enemies all around him -- and a gnawing feeling that this case, which started in the best of homes, is cutting quick and deep through the ruins of perfect lives broken wide-open: where human demons emerge with a vengeance.
A sweeping, action-packed, and romantic fantasy full of dangerous magic and dark choices, perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce and Kristin Cashore—set in the same world as Of Fire and Stars.

Asra is a demigod with a dangerous gift: the ability to dictate the future by writing with her blood. To keep her power secret, she leads a quiet life as a healer on a remote mountain, content to help the people in her care and spend time with Ina, the mortal girl she loves.

But Asra's peaceful life is upended when bandits threaten Ina's village and the king does nothing to help. Desperate to protect her people, Ina begs Asra for assistance in finding her manifest—the animal she'll be able to change into as her rite of passage to adulthood. Asra uses her blood magic to help Ina, but her spell goes horribly wrong and the bandits destroy the village, killing Ina's family.

Unaware that Asra is at fault, Ina swears revenge on the king and takes a savage dragon as her manifest. To stop her, Asra must embark on a journey across the kingdom, becoming a player in lethal games of power among assassins, gods, and even the king himself.

Most frightening of all, she discovers the dark secrets of her own mysterious history—and the terrible, powerful legacy she carries in her blood.
An idealistic young student and a banished warrior become allies in a battle to save their realm in this first book of a mesmerizing epic fantasy series, filled with political intrigue, violent magic, malevolent spirits, and thrilling adventure.

Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .

But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms.

With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne, but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits’ restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust, and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it’s bathed in blood.
Naomi Novik, author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Temeraire novels, introduces a bold new world rooted in folk stories and legends, as elemental as a Grimm fairy tale.

"Our Dragon doesn't eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that's not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he's still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we're grateful, but not that grateful."

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows — everyone knows — that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn't, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Wrote that Review Update #185, February 25th

Create your own banner at mybannermaker.com!
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 Soldier and Legion, Deadly Décisions, The Wolves of Winter, Crave, Heartstone, The Audition, Seraphina, Shadow Scale, Tess of the Road, Beyond Reach, Break Us, so I have 9 of 9 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 #188, February 25th

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 9:
Wandfasted by Laurie Forest, The Black Witch by Laurie Forest, Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs, Find You in the Dark by Nathan Ripley, Fractured by Karin Slaughter, Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst, The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst, Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Tour Books: NA.

Review Books: 1. Check.

NetGalley: 1. Check.

Edelweiss: 1. Check.

Meme Books: NA.

Rereads: 2. Check.

New Books: 3. Check.

So again, another week with a little more then I would want to put into it, but these are some really great books that I really want to read, so hopefully I'll get to at least most of them!

Week 8:
All Out Anthology, Break Us by Jennifer Brown, This Tiny Perfect World by Lauren Gibaldi, The Tombs by Deborah Schaumberg, Where I Live by Brenda Rufener

vs.

Soldier by Julie Kagawa, Legion by Julie Kagawa, Deadly Décisions by Kathy Reichs, The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson, Crave by Deborah Wilde, Heartstone by Elle Katharine White, The Audition by Rachel Hartman, Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman, Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman, Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter, Break Us by Jennifer Brown

So I only read one of what I wanted to read, but I had a ton of awesome books to reread, and some ARC's that I've been meaning to read for a while. So yeah, I'm happy with this week, and I can't wiat for next week! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Week 8 Review: Break Us

From Goodreads:
Nikki Kill doesn't see the world in black and white. Her synesthesia shades everything in view, transforming numbers, words, and emotions into colorful clues. Which means she's a dangerous commodity to anyone with something to hide.

Nikki has already taken on the Hollises—one of L.A.'s most powerful families—for murdering her half sister, Peyton. However, Nikki's next steps are clouded by the gray of uncertainty. Before she knows it, Nikki is on the trail of a cold case that couldn't be any more personal—the death of her mother.

But when the web of lies and secrets she uncovers leads back to the people who have tried to silence her, Nikki must pursue the sunbeam gold of justice, or everything—including her life—will be lost. 

My Review:
Oh, this book was a fantastic ending to this series! Nikki had one final task-find Luna again, which snowballed into also investigating her mom's murder, as well as helping Chris with the case he was working on, the one that resulted in him being run over by a car in the previous book. Yeah. Lots going on!

So Chris does have memory loss, and so Nikki's left him alone for a while. But he's out and about now, so she kinda drags him back into the investigation, which is funny, given that she tried to avoid him in the first book!

We find out why her mom went back to working for the Hollies, and it really sucks, but also seems implausable that they could be blackmailed like that. C'mon, dude, it was an accident! But a big thing about this book, is about power, and who has it and how they're using it.

The blonde dude that was Luna's getaway driver in Dare You, he has a much bigger role in this book, and he kept popping up! And when we find out why, well, I'm glad that Nikki got to take him down! That was just excellent!

This book was a really great ending to the series, and I really enjoyed reading it!

Author: Jennifer Brown
Series: Nikki Kill #3
Read: February 23rd, 2018
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Love this series, and it's a End of Series 2018 Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2018 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Published: February 13th 2018
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: Beyond Reach

From Goodreads:
Sara Linton—resident medical examiner/pediatrician in Grant County, Georgia — has plenty of hardship to deal with, including defending herself in a heartbreaking malpractice suit. So when her husband, Police chief Jeffery Tolliver, learns that his friend and coworker detective Lena Adams has been arrested for murder and needs Sara's help, she is not sure she can handle the pressure of it all. But soon Sara an Jeffery are sitting through evidence, peeling back the layers of a mystery that grows darker by the day — until an intricate web of betrayal and vengeance begins to unravel. And suddenly the lives of Sara, Lena, and Jeffery are hanging by the slenderest of threads.

My Review:
Reading this book was just so fantastic, even if it was hard at parts, because I knew how it would end! I loved the back and forth between Lena starting 3 days ago, and of Sara and Jeffery in the now. It came together so well, and it was so great to read!

There's two things that make this series realistic. The depiction of violence and it's aftereffects, and how the crimes aren't neatly solved and the bad guys arrested. This book is no exception, from the autopsies, to the fact that almost none of the Nazi group people are arrested, and that we don't find out who "Harley" is, besides that he's pretty high up, given that they were willing to make a deal to not kill Lena in exchange for not showing the pictures of him and all.

There was some justice, like that the bad guy we knew about, ferret teeth, was arrested and then Ethan got to him. And the bad guy that we didn't know about, well, I just have to write it, got exploded. He was trapped in a house that he was going to blow up, but ferret teeth turned on him. Poetic!

This is the last book in the Grant County series, though it's not the last time we'll visit the county or the characters, especially Sara, in the Will Trent series. And even knowing how it was going to end, oh, man, that just hurt so badly! Poor Sara, poor Jeffery, and poor child that they could've adopted!

I just loved reading this book, it was just so incredible, and I need to continue to read the Will Trent series again now!

Author: Karin Slaughter
Series: Grant County #6
Read: February 23rd, 2018
Source: Own
Reason Why: Rereading! And it's a End of Series 2018 Book and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2018 Book!
Publisher: Dell
Published: July 31st 2007
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: Tess of the Road

From Goodreads:
In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons get to be whomever they want. Tess, stubbornly, is a troublemaker. You can't make a scene at your sister's wedding and break a relative's nose with one punch (no matter how pompous he is) and not suffer the consequences. As her family plans to send her to a nunnery, Tess yanks on her boots and sets out on a journey across the Southlands, alone and pretending to be a boy.

Where Tess is headed is a mystery, even to her. So when she runs into an old friend, it's a stroke of luck. This friend is a quigutl--a subspecies of dragon--who gives her both a purpose and protection on the road. But Tess is guarding a troubling secret. Her tumultuous past is a heavy burden to carry, and the memories she's tried to forget threaten to expose her to the world in more ways than one. 

My Review:
This book was so freaking great to read! It was also so hard to read, because Tess has had a pretty horrible time in life. An over-religious mom, a dad that just wasn't there, and two sisters who cover all the roles except the problem child. Add in that between the way she was raised and a few mistakes she made (which in no way means that she deserved what happened to her) well, she had this big pit of doom and misery that talked to her in her mom's voice and was overwhelmingly harsh. Not fun!

First off, this is in the same world as Seraphina, and only a few years later after Shadow Scale. So we do have some updates on the royal family, and we also get to see so much more of this world! Like the fact that there's and uncle and grandmother Dombegh. And I'm glad that I read the 2.5 books of the Seraphina series because there's one or two obscure familiar faces!

Tess's story was told in alternating chapters of the present when she's on the road and the adventures she gets into along the way, and the past, telling the story of why it was planned that she was to be sent to a nunnery. Those past parts were the hardest to read, because we know they're a downward spiral, and it'll take a lot of effort to heal.

Some of the adventures that she gets into are pretty benign, like theft and creating a persona and rolling with it. Others, not so much, like the main reason she's going where she's going-the World Serpents. And that one priest guy. He was awful!

One thing about this book, is that there's hardly any dragons, and it's more like everyday life in this world without a war going on. Well, there's some minor political stuff, but nowhere near the scale of Shadow Scale. It's the smaller things, but they're important too.

In the preface, Rachel Hartman writes that this is a duology, even if Goodreads doesn't have it as such yet. I really hope this is true, because Tess is on the verge of a new adventure, and there's so much that could happen, and I just want more of her story!

Yeah, I really enjoyed reading this book, and it was just so fantastic!

Author: Rachel Hartman
Series: Tess of the Road #1
Read: November 22nd, 2018
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Love her writing and the first series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2018 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Expected Publication: February 27th 2018
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

Week 8 Reviews: The Audition, Seraphina, Shadow Scale



From Goodreads:
The Audition is a free prequel to Seraphina available online. It takes place a few weeks prior to Seraphina, covering Seraphina Dombegh's audition to become Viridius's assistant and thus Glisselda's music tutor.

From Goodreads:
Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

From Goodreads:
Seraphina took the literary world by storm with 8 starred reviews and numerous "Best of" lists. At last, her eagerly awaited sequel has arrived—and with it comes an epic battle between humans and dragons.

The kingdom of Goredd: a world where humans and dragons share life with an uneasy balance, and those few who are both human and dragon must hide the truth. Seraphina is one of these, part girl, part dragon, who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world. When war breaks out between the dragons and humans, she must travel the lands to find those like herself—for she has an inexplicable connection to all of them, and together they will be able to fight the dragons in powerful, magical ways. 

As Seraphina gathers this motley crew, she is pursued by humans who want to stop her. But the most terrifying is another half dragon, who can creep into people's minds and take them over. Until now, Seraphina has kept her mind safe from intruders, but that also means she's held back her own gift. It is time to make a choice: Cling to the safety of her old life, or embrace a powerful new destiny?

My first review of Seraphina, Shadow Scale
My second review of Seraphina
My Review
:
I loved reading this series again! Seraphina is a really dear book to me, and Shadow Scale is just excellent! I especially love the opening when the scholar asks that question, it was just so cute, and a quick look into what her life was after this series! So happy!

Both Seraphina and Lucian have deep philosophical musing, which are interesting to read, because they're hard to understand! I'm pretty sure we have the equivalents in our world, but I wouldn't know them! They just add that extra bit to this series, you know?

I loved the journey that Seraphina had to go on, both physical in finding the others like her who are half dragon, as well as the mental/emotional one, because she's basically been alone besides her uncle. So that was great to read!

Seraphina, Lucian, and Glissenda have a complicated triangle, but yeah, they'll work it out, they're close! And they have a lot of work to do, even if they defeated the enemies within and without, they still have to rebuild and such! Which is a pretty positive ending for these books, yeah!

Loved reading this series, and now to read the spin off series, yeah!

Author: Rachel Hartman
Series: Seraphina #0.5, 1, 2
First Read: July 11th, 2012, April 29th, 2012, February 11th, 2015
Second Read: January 11th, 2013
Read: January 21st, 21st, 22nd, 2018
Source: Free, Own
Reason Why: Rereading! And they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2018 Books, and Shadow Scale is a End of Series 2018 Book!
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: June 19th 2012, July 10th 2012, March 10th 2015

The Audition:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars










Seraphina:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars










Shadow Scale:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars


Week 8 Review: Heartsong

From Goodreads:
A debut historical fantasy that recasts Jane Austen's beloved Pride and Prejudice in an imaginative world of wyverns, dragons, and the warriors who fight alongside them against the monsters that threaten the kingdom: gryphons, direwolves, lamias, banshees, and lindworms

They say a Rider in possession of a good blade must be in want of a monster to slay—and Merybourne Manor has plenty of monsters. 

Passionate, headstrong Aliza Bentaine knows this all too well; she's already lost one sister to the invading gryphons. So when Lord Merybourne hires a band of Riders to hunt down the horde, Aliza is relieved her home will soon be safe again.

Her relief is short-lived. With the arrival of the haughty and handsome dragonrider, Alastair Daired, Aliza expects a battle; what she doesn't expect is a romantic clash of wills, pitting words and wit against the pride of an ancient house. Nor does she anticipate the mystery that follows them from Merybourne Manor, its roots running deep as the foundations of the kingdom itself, where something old and dreadful slumbers . . . something far more sinister than gryphons.

It's a war Aliza is ill-prepared to wage, on a battlefield she's never known before: one spanning kingdoms, class lines, and the curious nature of her own heart. 

Elle Katharine White infuses elements of Austen's beloved novel with her own brand of magic, crafting a modern epic fantasy that conjures a familiar yet wondrously unique new world. 

My first review of Heartsong
My Review:
Oh, wow, it was so great to read this book again! I totally wasn't planning on it, but two things made me want to-that I saw a post about dragons, and that I found out that this is going to be a series, that there's going to be a sequel! So I just had to read it again!

This book was just so freaking great! I loved everything about it, from the world with the dragons and the Pride and Prejudice retelling bits, to the relationship between Aliza and Alastair! I could see him actually having feelings for Aliza, vs. Darcy for Elizabeth.

The whole thing with her friend's father, and the bad choices that he made, well, introduced some of the world that I really hope we get to explore further in the sequel! What with the other land, and the beings who were at best neutral about humans, might not be anymore! I want more!

Aliza didn't actually face the Greater Worm, but she was there, and she gave another reason as to why they should kill it besides the fact that it was destroying the land-because Alistair had to eat its heart to heal. So an important role! She also severely injured a bad guy, so that helped, too!

This book was just absolutely fantastic, and I'm so excited that we're getting a sequel! I just want to read it!

Author: Elle Katherine White
Series: Heartsong #1
First Read: January 23rd, 2017
Read: February 20th, 2018
Source: Copy from Review Tour
Reason Why: Rereading, and it's a 2018 Retelling Reading Challenge Book, Historical Fiction 2018 Book, and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2018!
Publisher: Harper Voyage
Published: January 17th 2017
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: Crave

From Goodreads:
What doesn't kill you ... 

seriously messes with your love life.

Nava is happily settling into her new relationship and life is all giddy joy and stolen kisses. 

Except when it's assassins. Talk about a mood killer. 

She and Rohan are tracking the unlikely partnership between the Brotherhood and a witch who can bind demons, but every new piece of the puzzle is leaving them with more questions than answers. 

And someone doesn't appreciate them getting close to the truth. 

Go figure.

On top of that, a demon known only as Candyman has unleashed a drug that's harming users in extremely disturbing ways. 

Nava vows to take this demon down. But will life as she knows it survive this mission, or will this be the one time she should have looked before she leapt? 

Happily-ever-after? Barring death, she's got a real shot at it.

My Review:
Yeah, another amazing, fantastic book in this series! This book had a lot going on, and it was just so great to read! I just loved being with these characters again, the investigation into the Brotherhood corruption, the Candyman investigation, and oh, that she may be a witch!

The diamond that they got in the previous short story kinda kicked things off, because they got it for a reason, to find out more about the mixed magical signatures. Which set them off on another adventure, and yeah, that was so great to read!

A lot of big things happened in this book, from finding out that she was a witch, to the history of the Brotherhood and how King David was the dad of the demon from the first book, to Drio finding out that Leo was half demon. Yeah. Big things!

That ending was just evil! I mean, after everything, and the fears that she had about him making their relationship his next addiction, and her bad choice kinda wrecked things. It's not over yet, but yeah, the next book is going to be very tough!

Loved reading this book, it was just so amazing, and I can't wait to read more!

Author: Deborah Wilde
Series: Nava Katz #4
Read: February 20th, 2018
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Love this series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2018 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Ta Da Media
Published: February 20th 2018
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars