The Gist Okay, so I have been absent from the book review world for a long time. Well, it feels long to me. With last year being the crap cherry on the crap sundae, I couldn’t focus on anything but making it through 2023 with that little shred of sanity intact. About halfway through last year, my insomnia took a lovely and intense turn for the worst, and I changed my entire sleep hygiene in an attempt to fall asleep before 4 am. This included making it a habit to read before bed to calm down that busy monkey mind of mine. Enter my reawakened determination to read. I have…
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Starborn – Worldmaker Trilogy #1
Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Starborn in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Starborn by Lucy Hounsom is a gripping and imaginative fantasy novel that takes readers on a thrilling adventure through a beautifully crafted world of magic, mystery, and danger. The novel follows the journey of Kyndra, a young girl who discovers that she has the power to control the elements and that she is destined to play a crucial role in the fate of her world. The Details Hounsom’s writing is both descriptive and engaging, bringing to life a rich and…
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The Sacrifice
Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Sacrifice in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist You know what? I’m kind of tired writing these negative, or shall we say unfavourable reviews. There have been a lot of them lately. So, here I am, excited to start Rin Chupeco’s newest story. I loved her Bone Witch trilogy and Never Tilting World duology, but there was something missing in The Sacrifice. The Details I loved the premise, the setting, the contradiction between such a beautiful location and the terrible things that happen on the island. It…
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Belladonna
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace My rating: 1 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Little, Brown for Young Readers, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Belladonna in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I don’t know what to say. I am so done having to deal with this book; I just want to forget about it. Less than a week ago I made the YouTube book review video for Belladonna, thinking at least that part is out of the way. I thought wrong. It appears my microphone decided to break halfway through the shoot and I had to make the…
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The Thread Collectors
The Thread Collectors by Shaunna J. Edwards & Alyson Richman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Graydon House and NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC of The Thread Collectors in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This novel is a collaboration between award-winning Jewish author Alyson Richman, and black debut author Shaunna J. Edwards. The Gist It is written by a black and Jewish woman about a black and jewish woman during the Civil war. Gripping, captivating and it will not leave you for a long time. It is vivid and personal. There is no escape once you have started…
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Book Haul 2016
I’m trying something new and giving this book haul trend a go not only on my YouTube channel, but also on my blog. I noticed that I have a lot of books that I read in the past few years that never made it on this blog or even Goodreads. So, in order to clean up this mess, I’m doing a sort of book haul by the year. Turns out I have to go back six years. That a long time ago and so much has changed since then. Each book gets a paragraph or two in which I talk a little bit about the impressions the story has made…
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Where Darkness Blooms
Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hanna My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Where Darkness Blooms in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Trigger Warning: mention and referral to sexual assault/rape. The Gist I started reading Where Darkness Blooms at the beginning of my vacation and then wasn’t able to read anymore until I was on the plane back home. So, there was a good week and a half during which the book stayed unopened. I don’t like taking big breaks while reading a book. It takes me out of the…
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Gilded Serpent
Gilded Serpent by Danielle Jensen My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Tor Teen, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Gilded Serpent in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist So, this is part three in Jensen’s epic fantasy series and boy do I love it! I started Gilded Serpent over a year ago. Had to stop, because life got kind of stupid and then started again many months later from the beginning. At first I just wanted to finish it as quickly as possible, because I NEEDED to know what was going to happen. I quickly realized…
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NetGalley’s Book Advocate Toolkit
NetGalley’s Book Advocate Toolkit by We are Bookish My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, We Are Bookish, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of NetGalley’s Book Advocate Toolkit in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist This is going to be a quick little review. I can’t remember how I stumbled upon this guide book, but I’m glad I did. I have been requesting and reviewing book titles on NetGalley for almost ten years now and thought I had it pretty much figured out. However, it is always good to brush up on one’s skills, especially if any…
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The Last of Seven
The Last of Seven by Steven Hartov My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Hanover Square Press and NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC of The Last Of Seven in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Steven Hartov definitely knows what he is writing about. He joined the U.S. Merchant Marine Military Sealift Command in 1973 and has weaved his experiences into his novels. This story is bold, based on true events and a true male version of WWII. But it also held the hopes and heroic attempts of ordinary soldiers and for that I had to bow. The…
