Unexpected Mini Hiatus

I know, I know. I said in my May Wrap-Up that I was back to blogging regularly this month but as life is unpredictable it seems that isn’t going to be the case after all.

I’ve been pretty absent on the blogosphere this past week and it had to do with a mixture of changes at work that kept me busy and then constant headache and vision problems that left me avoiding being on the computer for anything but work. I thought it was getting better after not having a headache yesterday only for it to start back up again today.

So, I think it’s time for me to shake off the denial and officially announce that I’m forcing myself to go on a small blogging hiatus, mostly where posting is concerned. Mainly because I’m not letting myself be on the computer for long stretches of time until I can do so without triggering a headache and it takes me hours to write posts a lot of time.

But I will still be around replying to comments and blog hopping. I’m going to be slowly catching up on all of the comments and posts I missed this past week over the next few days. I just won’t be on as much as I normally am for a little while.

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Waiting On Wednesday #20 | An Enchantment of Ravens

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming book releases that you’re eagerly anticipating!

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This week I’m spotlighting An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson. I stumbled across this one a few weeks back and two words had me sold on it before I even finished reading the synopsis – fair folk. I’ve probably said it a million times now but any book with faeries is one that I automatically add to my TBR. That plus the fact that this book sounds like it’s going to be incredible has me beyond excited to read it once it’s released.

Release Date: September 26th, 2017
Genre: YA, Fantasy

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized among them. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes – a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love, violating the fair folks’ ruthless Good Law. There’s only one way to save both their lives, Isobel must drink from the Green Well, whose water will transform her into a fair one—at the cost of her Craft, for immortality is as stagnant as it is timeless.

Isobel has a choice: she can sacrifice her art for a future, or arm herself with paint and canvas against the ancient power of the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.

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You can pre-order it on: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo

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What books are you excited for!?

If you do Waiting on Wednesday link me to your post so I can see. 

 

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Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

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Title: Throne of Glass (ToG #1)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Format: eBook

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass–and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

That’s A Wrap! Reading, Reviews, and What’s Ahead | May-June

Half way through 2017 and I’ve hit a blogging slump.

Standalone Sunday | Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Standalone Sunday is a weekly feature created by Megan @ bookslayerReads that spotlights a standalone novel that you loved and would recommend or one that you’re excited to read. Be sure to check out her blog and original post by clicking on the above link! 😊

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Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

-Goodreads Synopsis (x)

So, I ended up reading this book in a matter of hours this past week – it was unputdownable. Given how quickly I read it, I also ended up not taking any notes for a full review and just put a quick mini-review on Goodreads. But, of course, I couldn’t not mention it on my blog in some way or the other because I loved it so much!

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda has so many things I love seeing in the YA contemporaries I read – diversity, a cute romance, family dynamics, and last but not least incredible friendships. I absolutely adored Simon and his family and his friends. Especially his family! I need more contemporaries in my life with great parents and siblings. Also, this book has one of my favorite romance tropes which I’m now calling mysterious love interests who write letters to each other. I’ve only read two, this being the second, and officially need more of them in my life. The romance between Simon and Blue was so cute! I was a fangirling mess by the end. And contrary to what I believed going into this I ended up not finding out who Blue was until right before it was revealed and then I proceeded to facepalm because it was so obvious.

All in all, if you’re looking for a cute, quick, and quirky read with incredible characters and a romance that will make you fangirl then I highly recommend this book!

Also, who else is beyond excited for the movie!? I CAN’T WAIT!

“Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another, and it shouldn’t be this big awkward thing whether you’re straight, gay, bi, or whatever. I’m just saying.”

– Becky Albertalli, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

You can check out my mini-review on Goodreads here.

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Have you read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda? Did you like it? If you participate in Standalone Sunday be sure to link me to your post so I can see it. 😊

 

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Review: 180 Seconds by Jessica Park

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Title: 180 Seconds
Author: Jessica Park
Publisher: Skyscape
Genre: NA, Romance
Format: eBook

Goodreads Synopsis:

Some people live their entire lives without changing their perspective. For Allison Dennis, all it takes is 180 seconds…After a life spent bouncing from one foster home to the next, Allison is determined to keep others at arm’s length. Adopted at sixteen, she knows better than to believe in the permanence of anything. But as she begins her third year in college, she finds it increasingly difficult to disappear into the white noise pouring from her earbuds.

One unsuspecting afternoon, Allison is roped into a social experiment just off campus. Suddenly, she finds herself in front of a crowd, forced to interact with a complete stranger for 180 seconds. Neither she, nor Esben Baylor, the dreamy social media star seated opposite her, is prepared for the outcome.

When time is called, the intensity of the experience overwhelms Allison and Esben in a way that unnerves and electrifies them both. With a push from her oldest friend, Allison embarks on a journey to find out if what she and Esben shared is the real thing—and if she can finally trust in herself, in others, and in love.

Waiting On Wednesday #19 | Tarnished City

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming book releases that you’re eagerly anticipating!

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This week I’m spotlighting Tarnished City (Dark Gifts #2) by Vic James. At the end of last year/beginning of this year I had the opportunity to read and review the first book in the series, Gilded Cage, early and I ended up loving it so much. It was my first five star read of the year and left me wanting to have the second book in my hands ASAP. So, you know, I am beyond excited for this book. Counting down the days and wishing it was September already excited. Which means I had to do a Waiting on Wednesday post for it. I just really can’t wait to find out what happens next!

Release Date: September 5th, 2017
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopia

Goodreads Synopsis: 

The continuation of the darkly fantastical Downton Abbey-esque series—set in an England where curiously gifted aristocrats reign—and the commoners who are doomed to serve them attempt to spark a revolution.

The rebellion to free the lower classes from ten years of forced service to unfairly advantaged, magically powered rulers may have failed. Teenage siblings and would be revolutionaries – one imprisoned, the other desperate for aid – have seen their magical allies stripped of their power. While the mysterious young aristocrat has revealed the incredible extent of his dark gifts.

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You can pre-order it on: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository, Google Play, and Kobo

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What books are you excited for!?

If you do Waiting on Wednesday link me to your post so I can see. 😊 

 

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Standalone Sunday | Ugly Love

Standalone Sunday is a weekly feature created by Megan @ bookslayerReads that spotlights a standalone novel that you loved and would recommend or one that you’re excited to read. Be sure to check out her blog and original post by clicking on the above link! 😊

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When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

-Goodreads Synopsis (x)

Much like the last Standalone Sunday I did, I realized this week that I’ve never recommended a Colleen Hoover book. Which needs to be changed because she’s one of my all-time favorite authors. Thus, this week I’ll be recommending Ugly Love.

It’s been a long time since I last read it but, hands down, it’s one of my favorites by her. It’s told in alternating perspectives that also go from past to present as well as from prose to being in a sort of verse form. That may sound confusing but honestly it flowed extremely well and added beautifully onto the story. Ugly Love is a friends with benefits to lovers story that has some minor NA cliches but combined with the heartbreaking message of grief and moving on as well as Colleen Hoover’s incredible writing and characters it was a standout story for me. I remember it being a book that was unputdownable as well as one that I cried so much over. Trust me, if you’re into NA and haven’t checked this one out yet I highly recommend it.

“Sometimes not speaking says more than all the words in the world.”

– Colleen Hoover, Ugly Love

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Have you read Ugly Love? Did you like it? If you participate in Standalone Sunday be sure to link me to your post so I can see it. 😊

 

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Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas + Feyre/Rhys Playlist

Warning: If you’ve not read A Court of Thorns and Roses or A Court of Mist and Fury then I would highly recommend not reading this as it has spoilers for both. However, if you’ve read both then this is a spoiler-free review.

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Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOTAR #3)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Format: eBook

Goodreads Synopsis:

A nightmare, I’d told Tamlin. I was the nightmare.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit—and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords—and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

The Five Stages of Anticipating a Book’s Release

Originally I had another discussion-esque post planned for this month but then I started thinking about how I react when I’m really anticipating the release of a book and decided that would be more fun to talk about. Between The Song Rising releasing at the beginning of the year and two of my other most highly anticipated reads releasing this month (one of them tomorrow as I’m writing this on May 1st) I’ve realized that I go through different stages when I’m excited about a book. Five stages to be exact, and I have a feeling a lot of us go through these. Especially when it comes to anticipating books in a series we love. This is going to be half serious half over dramatic but I hope it makes you guys laugh.