TBR Trail #1, March 2021

When Kim from Expedition Through Pages opened up to have the community get rolls, I had to participate. So I'm going to get 4 rolls for March (and you know I'll participate the next time there's a slot open.)

The rolls I got where:

2021 TBR - Read a Book Set in a Country Different to Your Own

Well, this is easy, because I live in Canada. I could go for Non-North America...

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins-which is set in New York City, Paris, and Barcelona, all of which are cities that are not in Canada, and 2/3rds are not North America. This is a book from my NetGalley 21 Books to Read in 2021. (I was debating using Nil by Lynne Matson, but it was set on a island, so a bit more iffy on fulfilling the prompt.

Free Choice - Listen to an audiobook

Well, this is not easy. I have trouble with audiobooks, for the same reason I have trouble with phone calls, I just have trouble understanding what's being said. (I really love subtitles for when I'm watching things. So I'm going to bend it a little bit to "read a format rarely used" instead.

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Katara and the Pirate's Silver by Faith Erin Hicks and Peter Wartman, Illustrated by Adele Matera 

This is a graphic novel, which I don't read much of. Though I'm trying to read more of it! 

STEM - Read a book with green on the cover

I have two choices for this one. One I have to reread the first book, but I want to finish the series. The other, I own, I got an ARC of, and it came out years ago. Oh, and one that has hints of green, so I'm not too sure it counts but is also an ARC that comes out March 2nd.

Strange Skies by Kristi Helvig

or 

Black River Falls by Jeff Hirsch

or 

Dead Space by Kali Wallace

Who knows, maybe I'll read all 3 of them this month! 

Fiction/Free Choice - Read a book with red on the cover

Oh, man, this was so easy! 

Amid the Crowd of Stars by Stephen Leigh

This is a fiction sci fi with a cover that is half red, so it definitely works! 

And I agree, it was really satisfying that all 8 places got a prompt! And I can't wait to read these books on my TBR! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Week 8 Review: Sabriel

From Goodreads:
A tale of dark secrets, deep love, and dangerous magic!

Since childhood, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who refuse to stay dead. But now her father, the Charter-Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world. With Mogget, whose feline form hides a powerful, perhaps malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage, Sabriel travels deep into the Old Kingdom. There she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life--and comes face-to-face with her own hidden destiny. 

My Review:
I had a great time reading this book. I've read 2 of his latest books, but this is one of his older book, and most well known series, I'm pretty sure. And I've been meaning to read this book for a while, I bought it and most of the series last year. So I was really glad that I got around to reading it! 

This was a really great read, and I can't wait to continue the series! 

Author: Garth Nix
Series: The Old Kingdom #1, Abhorsen #1
Read: February 26th, 2021
Source: Bought
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Book!
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: September 30th 1996

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: The Initial Insult

From Goodreads:

Welcome to Amontillado, Ohio, where your last name is worth more than money, and secrets can be kept… for a price.

Tress Montor knows that her family used to mean something—until she didn’t have a family anymore. When her parents disappeared seven years ago while driving her best friend home, Tress lost everything. She might still be a Montor, but the entire town shuns her now that she lives with her drunken, one-eyed grandfather at what locals refer to as the "White Trash Zoo," – a wild animal attraction featuring a zebra, a chimpanzee, and a panther, among other things.

Felicity Turnado has it all – looks, money, and a secret that she's kept hidden. She knows that one misstep could send her tumbling from the top of the social ladder, and she's worked hard to make everyone forget that she was with the Montors the night they disappeared. Felicity has buried what she knows so deeply that she can't even remember what it is… only that she can' look at Tress without having a panic attack.

But she'll have to.

Tress has a plan. A Halloween costume party at an abandoned house provides the ideal situation for Tress to pry the truth from Felicity – brick by brick – as she slowly seals her former best friend into a coal chute. With a drunken party above them, and a loose panther on the prowl, Tress will have her answers – or settle for revenge.

In the first book of this duology, award-winning author Mindy McGinnis draws inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe and masterfully delivers a dark, propulsive mystery in alternating points of view that unravels a friendship . . . forevermore. 

My Review:


Author: Mindy McGinnis 
Series: The Initial Insult #1 
Read: February 25th, 2021
Source: Edelweiss
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded great, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books 
Published: February 23rd 2021

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: In Command

From Goodreads:

Amihanna di Aetes is used to fighting, surviving, and relying on her strength to get through the hard times. She thought the worst was over when she accepted her engagement to Lorne ni Taure, the High King of the Aunare, and claimed her place as the future High Queen.

It should be easy to slide into her new role. How hard can it be living in luxury with your soulmate after growing up alone on the streets?

But the more she learns about the Aunare and their politics, the more she realizes that the true test of her strength is just beginning.

Amihanna di Aetes is in for the battle of her life if she wants the Aunare to accept her.

My Review:


Author: Aileen Erin
Series: Aunare Chronicles #2.5
Read: February 24th, 2021
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Book! 
Publisher: Ink Monster 
Published: February 23rd 2021 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: City of Lost Souls

From Goodreads:
The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon. Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge.

Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

My first review of City of Lost Souls

My second review of City of Lost Souls
My Review:


Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #5
First Read: August 4th, 2012
Second Read: December 30th, 2013

Read: February 23rd, 2021

Source: Own
Reason Why: Rereading! And it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Book!
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Published: May 8th 2012

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: Lore

From Goodreads:

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love and redemption.

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.

Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

My Review:


Author: Alexandra Bracken
Read: February 23rd, 2021
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded really good, and it's a 2021 Retelling Reading Challenge 2021 Book, SAC 2021 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Disney Hyperion 
Published: January 5th 2020

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: Of Beast and Beauty

From Goodreads:
In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...

In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city's vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.

Isra wants to help the city's Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan's enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.

As secrets are revealed and Isra's sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.

My Review:


Author: Stacey Jay
Read: February 22nd, 2021
Source: Own
Reason Why: Loved her previous books, and it's a 2021 Retelling Reading Challenge Book and a SAC 2021 Book!
Publisher: Delcorte Press
Published: July 23rd 2013

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: Part of Your World

From Goodreads:
What if Ariel had never defeated Ursula? Five years after the (twisted) events of the film, Ariel is now the queen of Atlantica, and Ursula is running Eric's kingdom on land. But when the sea witch threatens Atlantica once more, Ariel finds herself returning to a world (and a prince) she thought she'd left behind forever.

My Review:


Author: Liz Braswell
Series: Twisted Tales #5
Read: February 22nd, 2021
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Love her writing, and it's a 2021 Retelling Reading Challenge Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Disney Press
Published: September 4th 2018

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: Firstborn

From Goodreads:

Of the son of a High Duke of the interstellar Empire, much glory is expected. And expected. And still expected, despite endless proof that young Dennison Crestmar has no talent whatsoever for war. But the life Dennison is forced to live will have its surprising lessons to impart...

My Review:
This was a really fantastic read. I don't know why I put it off, it only took like half an hour to read, and I know I love Brandon Sanderson's writing. I mean, it was a little longer than your average short short (who is surprised by this?) But it was a really quick, easy read, and I really enjoyed it!

I really enjoyed this story of a guy who fails where his brother excels, and has basically wallowed in his failure. But his father-and his emperor-keep pushing him to follow in his brother footsteps. And when we find out the reason why, well, it's a little shocking! 

To be fair, Dennison may have been intensely studying his brother for the past year, but he was missing a bit of context. But that studying definitely gave him a leg up when everything went down. But still things looked grim, and I had to know what was going to happen next! 

The ending was pretty incredible, though! Just when all hope seemed to be lost. It was really clever, and it could've easily gone wrong. It was a bit shocking what happened, and a bit abrupt, but it is a short story, and it was an epic note to end on. It just really came full circle! 

 

This was a really wonderful read, and I'm so glad that I read it! 

Author: Brandon Sanderson
Read: February 21st, 2021
Source: Online
Reason Why: Love his writing and it sounded really good, and it's a SAC 2021 Book! 
Publisher: Tor Books 
Published: December 17th 2008

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 8 Review: The Promised Queen

From Goodreads:

In The Promised Queen, the thrilling finale to Jeffe Kennedy's Forgotten Empires trilogy, the fate of the world hangs in the balance as Con, Lia, and their allies sacrifice everything in a final bid to destroy the corrupt empire.

Claim the hand that wears the ring, and the empire falls.

Conrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, claimed the hand that wears the Abiding Ring, but the prophecy remains unfulfilled. Queen Euthalia of Calanthe returned to her island kingdom, but broken in mind and body. With the blood of war unleashing ancient terrors, Calanthe isn’t the haven it once was.

Lia must use her magical bond with Calanthe to save their people while Con fights to hold off the vengeful Emperor Anure and his wizards. Con and Lia will have to trust in each other—and in love—to fend off ultimate disaster.

My Review:
I loved reading this book! I've really enjoyed this series, and I was really anticipating seeing how it would end. And it didn't disappoint, it was a thrilling read, and it was an amazing end to this series. And I'm just so glad that I read this book and this series! 

I basically devoured this book. After the ending of the previous book, well, I had to know what was going to happen next, with Lia, with Calanthe, as well as dealing with Anure. I really enjoyed how it all worked out! 

There was a good deal of relationship drama and building blocks, between the whole "Con could be king" and that he'd had to spend the majority of his time in his country, and she in hers, well, it wouldn't work that way. Plus there's Con's need to get revenge on Anure, even at the cost of his own life, which isn't contusive for the couple to have a future together! So that was fun to read.

I loved that we got answers in this book, of Lia and her mysteries. Of why Ambrose and Merle were the way that they were. I do have a question or two about them, though, as to how they got into that situation in the first place, though! 

Reading this book was fantastic, and it was a wonderful end to the series! 

Author: Jeffe Kennedy 
Series: Forgotten Empires #3
Read: February 20th, 2021
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and it's a End of Series 2021 Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Expected Publication: May 25th 2021

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

21 Books to Read in 2021 Update 2

Yeah, I read my next book for the 21 Books to Read in 2021 Challenge! I have a few more that I'm going to be reading soon, so hopefully I do so! 

So I read Of Beast and Beauty, from the Physical list!

Yep. Happy reading!

Here's the link to this year's post with my journey.

But to recap, I wanted to do a version of These Books Will Self Destruct in 12 months without the self destruct. I wanted to read books that I've had for a while, that I really needed to get read, but maybe I forgot about them or that I had them. So I made 3 lists, one for each way I have them, as physical books, as an NetGalley ARC, and as an Edelweiss ARC.

Book Blogger Hop #177, February 26th

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, Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer 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 use Goodreads to keep track of your books? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

Yeah, unfortunately. I don't like it much now, for a few reasons, but I still use it because a) it has so much of my data since I've been using it since 2011, b) inertia and c) I'm too lazy to find other options. But I do use it. What about you guys? Happy reading!

First Lines Friday #511, February 26th

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!

"It was little more than three miles from the Wall into the Old Kingdom, but that was enough. Noonday sunshine could be seen on the other side of the Wall in Ancelstierre, and not a could in sight. Here, there was a clouded sunset, and a steady rain had just begun to fall, coming faster than the tens could be raised." -Sabriel by Garth Nix

Well, at first I was thinking that something was up, but then I understood what was there, and now I'm not quite sure if that there is something, it was the thing I was thinking of. But I can't wait to continue! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

2021 Reviews

Random Reads #484, February 25th

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 2741 which turned out to be I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi! It's been on my TBR pile since October 14th, 2019, and I added it because it sounded really great! What about you guys? Happy reading!

Third Sentence Thursday #498, February 25th

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!

"Her mouth is tight as we head out to the Allan house, my bells jingling as I nod along with the music." -The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis, page 29.

Yeah for bells jingling! Must read more, though it said previous this line why there's a person whose mouth is tight. 

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

Will the Time Come #508, February 25th

Every Thursday I am going to list a book which I really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! Thanks to Jodie from Books for Company for this meme!

Want to Join?

-Pick a book you have been meaning to read

-Do a post telling us about the book    

-Link the post up in the linky  

-Visit the other blogs

From Goodreads:

A teen is snatched outside her kung fu class and must figure out how to escape—and rescue another kidnapped victim—in this chilling YA mystery by New York Times-bestselling author April Henry .

When Savannah disappears soon after arguing with her mom’s boyfriend, everyone assumes she's run away. The truth is much worse. She’s been kidnapped by a man in a white van who locks her in an old trailer home, far from prying eyes. And worse yet, Savannah’s not alone: ten months earlier, Jenny met the same fate and nearly died trying to escape. Now as the two girls wonder if he will hold them captive forever or kill them, they must join forces to break out—even if it means they die trying.

Why the time hasn't come yet...

I don't know, there's just so many April Henry books that I haven't read, that this one has slid between the cracks. But I want to read it! What about you guys? Happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday #511, February 24th

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

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs

Expected Publication: March 16th, 2021
From Goodreads:

Mated werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham must discover what could make an entire community disappear—before it's too late—in this thrilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Alpha and Omega series.

In the wilds of the Northern California mountains, all the inhabitants of a small town have gone missing. It's as if the people picked up and left everything they owned behind. Fearing something supernatural might be going on, the FBI taps a source they've consulted in the past: the werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham. But Charles and Anna soon find a deserted town is the least of the mysteries they face.

Death sings in the forest, and when it calls, Charles and Anna must answer. Something has awakened in the heart of the California mountains, something old and dangerous—and it has met werewolves before. 

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs 

Expected Publication: March 16th, 2021
From Goodreads:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with her twentieth gripping novel featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, whose examinations, fifteen years apart, of unidentified bodies washed up from the sea may be connected to a deadly new pestilence.

A storm has hit South Carolina, dredging up crimes of the past.

On the way to Isle of Palms, a barrier island off the South Carolina coast, forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan receives a call from the Charleston coroner. During the storm, a medical waste container has washed up on the beach. Inside are two decomposed bodies wrapped in plastic sheeting and bound with electrical wire. Chillingly, Tempe recognizes many details as identical to those of an unsolved case she handled in Quebec fifteen years earlier. With a growing sense of foreboding, she flies to Montreal to gather evidence and convince her boss Pierre LaManch to reopen the cold case. She also seeks the advice—and comfort—of her longtime beau Andrew Ryan.

Meanwhile, a storm of a different type gathers force in South Carolina. The citizens of Charleston are struck by a bacterium that, at its worst, can eat human flesh. Thousands panic and test themselves for a rare genetic mutation that may have rendered them vulnerable.

Shockingly, Tempe eventually discovers that not only are the victims in both grisly murder cases related, but that the murders and the disease outbreak also have a common cause…

Last Strand by Jennifer Estep

Expected Publication: March 16th, 2021
From Goodreads:

Every bloody thread has been leading to this . . .

I’ve battled a lot of bad guys in my time, both as Gin Blanco and as the notorious assassin the Spider. But I’ve never faced off against anyone quite as powerful and deadly as the dastardly leader of the Circle secret society.

Just when I finally have a lead on how I can defeat the evil group once and for all, new information comes to light that throws me for a loop. Suddenly, everyone and everything I love is in imminent peril of being destroyed, and I’m racing against the clock to figure out a way to save my friends.

The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the danger has never been greater. Somehow, I need to weave one last strand in my web of death—and kill my enemies before they kill me . . . 

Our Last Echoes by Kate Alice Marshall

Expected Publication: March 16th, 2021
From Goodreads:

Kara Thomas meets Twin Peaks in this supernatural thriller about one girl's hunt for the truth about her mother's disappearance.

Sophia's first memory is of drowning. She remembers the darkness of the water and the briny taste as it fills her throat. She remembers the cold shock of going under. She remembers her mother pulling her to safety before disappearing forever. But Sophia has never been in the ocean. And her mother died years ago in a hospital. Or so she has been told her whole life.

A series of clues have led Sophia to the island of Bitter Rock, Alaska, where she talked her way into a summer internship at the Landon Avian Research Center, the same center her mother worked at right before she died. There, she meets the disarmingly clever Liam, whose own mother runs the LARC, as well as Abby, who's following a mystery of her own: a series of unexplained disappearances. People have been vanishing from Bitter Rock for decades, leaving only their ghostly echoes behind. When it looks like their two mysteries might be one and the same, Sophia vows to dig up the truth, no matter how many lies she has to tell along the way. Even if it leads her to a truth she may not want to face.

Our Last Echoes is an eerie collection of found documents and written confessionals, in the style of Rules for Vanishing, with supernatural twists that keep you questioning what is true and what is an illusion.

The Last Secret You'll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Expected Publication: March 16th, 2021
From Goodreads:

Bestselling author Laurie Faria Stolarz returns with a thrilling novel where an eighteen-year-old girl's search for answers lands her in one of the most terrifying situations imaginable.

Four days…

Trapped in a well, surrounded by dirt, scratching at the walls trying to find a way out.

Four days of a thirst so strong, that when it finally rains, I drink as much as possible from the dripping walls, not even caring how much dirt comes with it.

Six months…

Since my escape. Since no one believed I was taken to begin with – from my own bed, after a party, when no one else was home…

Six months of trying to find answers and being told instead that I made the whole incident up.

One month…

Since I logged on to the Jane Anonymous site for the first time and found a community of survivors who listen without judgment, provide advice, and console each other when needed.

A month of chatting with a survivor whose story eerily mirrors my own: a girl who’s been receiving triggering clues, just like me, and who could help me find the answers I’m searching for.

Three days…

Since she mysteriously disappears, and since I’m forced to ask the questions: will my chance to find out what happened to me vanish with her? And will I be next?

Namesake by Adrienne Young

Expected Publication: March 16th, 2021
From Goodreads:

Filled with action, emotion, and lyrical writing, New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young returns with the final book in the captivating Fable duology.

Trader. Fighter. Legend.

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.

On This Unworthy Scaffold by Heidi Heilig

Expected Publication: March 16th, 2021
From Goodreads:

Jetta is in the center of a war. With her magical power, she could save everyone, save her country… or she could destroy it all.

Jetta’s home is spiraling into civil war. Le Trépas—the deadly necromancer—has used his blood magic to wrest control of the country, and Jetta has been without treatment for her malheur for weeks. Meanwhile, Jetta’s love interest, brother, and friend are intent on infiltrating the palace to stop the Boy King and find Le Trépas to put an end to the unleashed chaos.

The sweeping conclusion to Heidi Heilig’s ambitious trilogy takes us to new continents, introduces us to new gods, flings us into the middle of palace riots and political intrigue, and asks searching questions about power and corruption. As in the first two books, the story is partly told in ephemera, including original songs, myths, play scripts, and various forms of communication. 

There's some really excellent books coming out! I'm so hyped to read these! What about you guys? Happy reading!