31 January, 2016

REVIEW: END OF DAYS by Susan Ee

Title: End of Days
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & the End of Days #3
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Angels
Publisher: Skyscape
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 344

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SYNOPSIS: End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy. After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

30 January, 2016

29 January, 2016

REVIEW: WORLD AFTER by Susan Ee

Title: World After
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & the End of Days #2
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Angels
Publisher: Skyscape
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 320

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SYNOPSIS: In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

28 January, 2016

REVIEW: SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY by Mary Robinette Kowal

Title: Shades of Milk and Honey
Author: Mary Robinette Kowal
Series: Glamourist Histories #1
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Tor Books
Source: Physical copy
Pages: 306

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PLOT SUMMARY: Shades of Milk and Honey is an intimate portrait of Jane Ellsworth, a woman ahead of her time in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality. But despite the prevalence of magic in everyday life, other aspects of Dorchester’s society are not that different: Jane and her sister Melody’s lives still revolve around vying for the attentions of eligible men.

Jane resists this fate, and rightly so: while her skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face, and therefore wins the lion’s share of the attention. At the ripe old age of twenty-eight, Jane has resigned herself to being invisible forever. But when her family’s honor is threatened, she finds that she must push her skills to the limit in order to set things right--and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.

This debut novel from an award-winning talent scratches a literary itch you never knew you had. Like wandering onto a secret picnic attended by Pride and Prejudice and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Shades of Milk and Honey is precisely the sort of tale we would expect from Jane Austen…if only she had been a fantasy writer.

27 January, 2016

26 January, 2016

25 January, 2016

REVIEW: ANGELFALL by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & the End of Days #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Angels
Publisher: Skyscape
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 288

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SYNOPSIS: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

24 January, 2016

REVIEW: PRETTY DANCER by Cora Graham

Title: Pretty Dancer
Author: Cora Graham
Series: -
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 325

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SYNOPSIS: Meet Lilly - talented dancer, quick mouthed, take no shit tough girl who's also good at hiding the fact that she's scared. She doesn't believe in true love or happily ever afters. Unless you count the unbreakable love she has for her overprotective, bullheaded twin brother, who also happens to be her knight in shining armor - which she doesn't. Kind of hard to love when you can't trust, and trust was something that got shattered along with the rest of her years ago. A lot was taken from her at a young age. She's never gotten over it as much as she's just refused to deal with it.

Her twin brother and quirky best friend are the only ones she lets see her true self. Her only dream is to get accepted into The Elite Academy of Dance and spend the rest of her life dancing on a stage, away from all that haunts her. To her, that's easier than dealing with the demons from her past and the scars they left on the person she has become today. She's more than willing to tuck all those dark and nasty things away, and go on pretending. Never hoping for anything more. Never allowing herself to feel.

That is, until a certain guy walks into her life like he was always meant to be there and refuses to go away. He turns her world upside down and confuses her to no end. He makes her wonder if there really is something more worth fighting her demons for. But then a secret comes to light that has her questioning if her shattered heart could have been saved all its hurt so many years ago.

A story about a girl who fights to overcome her past and dances her way into the future she wants. And maybe, just maybe, along the way finds a way to trust again, to love again.

Love, Humor, Passion, Artistry, a story of acceptance.

22 January, 2016

REVIEW: BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE by Maggie Stiefvater

SPOILERS OF PREVIOUS BOOKS

Title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle #3
Genres: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 400

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SYNOPSIS: The third installment in the mesmerizing series from the irrepressible, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

21 January, 2016

REVIEW: THE PROPHECY OF SHADOWS by Michelle Madow

Title: The Prophecy of Shadows
Author: Michelle Madow
Series: Elementals #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Mythology
Publisher: Dreamscape Publishinng
Source: ARC
Pages: n/a
Publishing date: 26th January, 2016

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SYNOPSIS:
Filled with magic, thrilling adventure, and sweet romance, Elementals is the first in a new series that fans of Percy Jackson and The Secret Circle will love!

When Nicole Cassidy moves from sunny Georgia to gloomy New England, the last thing she expects is to learn that her homeroom is a cover for a secret coven of witches. Even more surprisingly … she’s apparently a witch herself. Despite doubts about her newfound abilities, Nicole is welcomed into this ancient circle of witches and is bedazzled by their powers—and, to her dismay, by Blake—the school’s notorious bad-boy.

Girls who get close to Blake wind up hurt. His girlfriend Danielle will do anything to keep them away, even if she must resort to using dark magic. But the chemistry between Blake and Nicole is undeniable, and despite wanting to protect Nicole from Danielle’s wrath, he finds it impossible to keep his distance.

When the Olympian Comet shoots through the sky for the first time in three thousand years, Nicole, Blake, Danielle, and two others in their homeroom are gifted with mysterious powers. But the comet has another effect—it opens the portal to the prison world that has contained the Titans for centuries. After an ancient monster escapes and attacks Nicole and Blake, it’s up to them and the others to follow the clues from a cryptic prophecy so that they can save their town … and possibly the world.

20 January, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas


Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas!

Another book that comes out on May 3rd! Seriously, it must be a special date for all publishers... anyway this will be the second book of A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy (I don't know if it will be a series)

Publication date: 3rd May, 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

19 January, 2016

18 January, 2016

REVIEW: SISTERS' FATE by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Sisters' Fate
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #3
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Witches
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Source: Physical copy
Pages: 368

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PLOT SUMMARY: A fever ravages New London, but with the Brotherhood sending suspected witches straight to the gallows, the Sisters are powerless against the disease. They can’t help without revealing their powers—as Cate learns when a potent display of magic turns her into the most wanted witch in all of New England.

To make matters worse, Cate has been erased from the memory of her beloved Finn. While she’s torn between protecting him from further attacks and encouraging him to fall for her all over again, she’s certain she can never forgive Maura’s betrayal. And now that Tess’s visions have taken a deadly turn, the prophecy that one Cahill sister will murder another looms ever closer to its fulfillment.

17 January, 2016

REVIEW: A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by V. E. Schwab

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic
Author: V. E. Schwab
Series: Shades of Magic #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Fiction
Publisher: Titan Books
Source: Paperback / Kindle Edition
Pages: 400

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SYNOPSIS: Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.

16 January, 2016

15 January, 2016

REVIEW: UP TO THIS POINTE by Jennifer Longo

Title: Up to This Pointe
Author: Jennifer Longo
Series: -
Genres: YA, Contemporary
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Source: eGalley ARC
Pages: 352
Publication: January 19th, 2016

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SYNOPSIS: A refreshingly original contemporary YA, unlike anything readers have seen before. Perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson, John Corey Whaley, and Libba Bray.

She had a plan. It went south.

Harper is a dancer. She and her best friend, Kate, have one goal: becoming professional ballerinas. And Harper won’t let anything—or anyone—get in the way of The Plan, not even the boy she and Kate are both drawn to.

Harper is a Scott. She’s related to Robert Falcon Scott, the explorer who died racing to the South Pole. So when Harper’s life takes an unexpected turn, she finagles (read: lies) her way to the icy dark of McMurdo Station . . . in Antarctica. Extreme, but somehow fitting—apparently she has always been in the dark, dancing on ice this whole time. And no one warned her. Not her family, not her best friend, not even the boy who has somehow found a way into her heart.

14 January, 2016

REVIEW: THIEF OF LIES by Brenda Drake

Title: Thief of Lies
Author: Brenda Drake
Series: Library Jumpers #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Source: eGalley ARC
Pages: 400

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SYNOPSIS: Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.

Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.

13 January, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi


Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi!

Mark down this date on your calendars because there are several awesome books coming out May 3rd! Hopefully it won't mean that The Star-Touched Queen goes unnoticed because it sounds great, doesn't it?

Publication date: 3rd May, 2016
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

12 January, 2016

10 January, 2016

RESEÑA: EL GATO NEGRO Y OTROS CUENTOS DE HORROR por Edgar Allan Poe

Título: El Gato Negro y Otros Cuentos de Horror
Autor: Edgar Allan Poe
Serie: -
Géneros: Classic, Horror, Short Story
Editor: Vicens-Vives Editorial S.A.
Fuente: Libro de bolsillo
Páginas: 178

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SINOPSIS: Six of Edgar Allen Poe's classic tales of horror together with his three masterly stories of the unknown at sea (including his only novel)

Stories:
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
The Imp of the Perverse
The Black Cat
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Premature Burial
The Oblong Box

Sea Stories:
MS. Found in a Bottle
A Descent into the Maelstrom
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (novel)

09 January, 2016

08 January, 2016

REVIEW: RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein

Title: Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog
Author: Garth Stein
Series: -
Genres: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Paperback
Pages: 304

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SYNOPSIS: Have you ever wondered what your dog is thinking?

Meet one funny dog—Enzo, the lovable mutt who tells this story. Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: most dogs love to chase cars, but Enzo longs to race them. He learns about racing and the world around him by watching TV and by listening to the words of his best friend, Denny, an up-and-coming race car driver, and his daughter, Zoë, his constant companion. Enzo finds that life is just like being on the racetrack—it isn't simply about going fast. And, applying the rules of racing to his world, Enzo takes on his family's challenges and emerges a hero. In the end, Enzo holds in his heart the dream that Denny will go on to be a racing champion with his daughter by his side. For theirs is an extraordinary friendship—one that reminds us all to celebrate the triumph of the human (and canine) spirit.

This is a special adaptation for young people of the acclaimed New York Times bestselling adult novel The Art of Racing in the Rain.

07 January, 2016

REVIEW: STAR CURSED by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Star Cursed
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #2
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Witches
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Source: Physical copy
Pages: 384

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PLOT SUMMARY: With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to Born Wicked, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess's quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England.

06 January, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday: The Crown by Kiera Cass


Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for The Crown by Kiera Cass!

The last book from The Selection series! Beware: there are spoilers if you haven't read at least the first 3 books... and also The Heir. It's a continuous series so you have to read them in order one after the other to avoid spoiling yourself!

Publication date: 3rd May, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen

05 January, 2016

04 January, 2016

REVIEW: MODERN MONSTERS by Kelley York

Title: Modern Monsters
Author: Kelley York
Series: -
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Source: ARC
Pages: 352

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SYNOPSIS:
Vic Howard never wanted to go to the party. He’s the Invisible Guy at school, a special kind of hell for quiet, nice guys. But because his best friend is as popular as Vic is ignored, he went…

And wished he hadn’t.

Because something happened to a girl that night. Something terrible, unimaginable, and Callie Wheeler’s life will never be the same. Plus, now Callie has told the police that Vic is responsible. Suddenly, Invisible Vic is painfully visible, on trial both literally, with the police, and figuratively, with the angry kids at school. As the whispers and violence escalate, he becomes determined to clear his name, even if it means an uneasy alliance with Callie's best friend, the beautiful but aloof Autumn Dixon.

But as Autumn and Vic slowly peel back the layers of what happened at the party, they realize that while the truth can set Vic free, it can also shatter everything he thought he knew about his life…

03 January, 2016

REVIEW: UNTAKEN by J.E.Anckorn

Title: Untaken
Author: J.E. Anckorn
Series: -
Genres: YA, Science Fiction, Aliens
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Source: ARC
Pages: 261
Published: March 23rd 2015

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SYNOPSIS: It turns out that a real alien invasion is nothing like the Sci-fi shows 14-year-old Gracie loves. Not when it’s your own family who are swallowed whole by those big silver ships. Not if it could be you next.

In her search for her family, Gracie meets Brandon, a high school dropout who would never have been caught dead hanging out with a dork like Gracie before the world ended. Gracie isn’t too crazy about Brandon either, but he has one thing she doesn’t: A plan.

Brandon’s uncle has a cabin up in Maine, and If Gracie and Brandon can survive long enough to get there they can hide out until the Space Men pack up their ships and leave.
Until the army guys come to rescue them, says Brandon.
Brandon is big into army guys.

Gracie has to admit that Brandon’s Awesome Plan probably would have worked out great if wasn't for Jake.
They found 5-year-old Jake, laying half-dead under the remains of someone’s ranch house. He’s a good kid, even if he won’t-or can’t- talk.

But Jake has a secret, and when Gracie finds out what it is, the fragile new life they’ve started to forge looks set to break apart.

When the people you’ve been counting on to put the world back together start hunting you down, alien invaders are the least of your worries.

02 January, 2016

01 January, 2016

TBR: JANUARY of Laura


JANUARY TBR


HAPPY NEW YEAR MY DEAR BLOGGERS!

New year. New life. Did you already start working on your resolutions for 2016? I did but it will take long because my resolutions are related to studies and dance so I just have to work them out everyday. How many presents did you get? Books? Lots of books? Good. Now, January I have some books I've been dying to read! I will be reading A Darker Shade of Magic, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, The Diviners, Everything, Everything, Up To This Pointe (ARC) and The Rose Society! I have my exams mid/end January as well so I don't know if I will manage but I will try. What are you reading?

Are there any books you want us to review in particular? If you'd like to suggest a book to Hannah and/or me to read for February please use the Contact Us tab above.