Magical and fun - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

Title: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

Author: J.K. Rowling

My rating: 5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pub. date: November 18th 2016

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Synopsis: J.K. Rowling's screenwriting debut is captured in this exciting hardcover edition of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay.

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone…

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. Featuring a cast of remarkable characters, this is epic, adventure-packed storytelling at its very best.

Whether an existing fan or new to the wizarding world, this is a perfect addition to any reader's bookshelf. (synopsis from Goodreads)

The magic of libraries - Assassin of Truths ARC Review

*Disclaimer: I received an Advance Readers Copy from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. This does in no way affect my opinion, and all thoughts expressed in this review are unbiased and my own.*

Title: Assassin of Truths

Series: The Library Jumpers #3

Author: Brenda Drake

My rating: 3.5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pub. date: February 6th 2018

Synopsis: The gateways linking the great libraries of the world don’t require a library card, but they do harbor incredible dangers.

And it’s not your normal bump-in-the- night kind. The threats Gia Kearns faces are the kind with sharp teeth and knifelike claws. The kind that include an evil wizard hell-bent on taking her down.

Gia can end his devious plan, but only if she recovers seven keys hidden throughout the world’s most beautiful libraries. And then figures out exactly what to do with them.

The last thing she needs is a distraction in the form of falling in love. But when an impossible evil is unleashed, love might be the only thing left to help Gia save the world. (synopsis from Goodreads)

Review: Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Crooked Kingdom

Author: Leigh Bardugo

My rating: 5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Pub. date: September 27th 2016

Publisher: Orion Children's Books

Synopsis: Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world. (synopsis from Goodreads)

Review: Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers #2) by Brenda Drake

*I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is no way affects my opinion, all opinions expressed in this review are honest and my own.*

Title: Guardian of Secrets

Author: Brenda Drake

My rating: 4 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Pub. date: February 7th 2017

Publisher: Entangled: Teen

Synopsis: Being a Sentinel isn’t all fairytales and secret gardens.

Sure, jumping through books into the world’s most beautiful libraries to protect humans from mystical creatures is awesome. No one knows that better than Gia Kearns, but she could do without the part where people are always trying to kill her. Oh, and the fact that Pop and her had to move away from her friends and life as she knew it.

And if that isn’t enough, her boyfriend, Arik, is acting strangely. Like, maybe she should be calling him “ex,” since he’s so into another girl. But she doesn’t have time to be mad or even jealous, because someone has to save the world from the upcoming apocalypse, and it looks like that’s going to be Gia.

Maybe. If she survives. (synopsis from Goodreads)

ARC Review: The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1) by Rin Chupeco

I have mixed feelings about this book, actually. On one hand, I really loved the characters and it was really original and unique, both the plot and the change between present time and Tea’s past. On the other hand, the plot was pretty slow, which made it difficult to get into it.

Title: The Bone Witch

Author: Rin Chupeco

My rating: 3.5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pub. date: March 7th 2017

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Synopsis: When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha — one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.

Memoirs of a Geisha meets The Name of the Wind in this brilliant new fantasy series by Rin Chupeco! (synopsis from Goodreads)

Review: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas

*Warning: This review will include a lot of capital letters and exclamation signs, because I’m still not over that ending.*

I don't even know what to say. This book. THIS BOOK! I won't even try to write a review right now, because I will just yell (aka use capital letters and lots of exclamation signs) if I were to express my feelings right now. My heart is absolutely broken. I am so scared of the last book (THE LAST BOOK!!!).

Title: Empire of Storms

Author: Sarah J. Maas

My rating: Why, why, WHY cant I give it more than 5 hearts?

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Pub. date: September 6th 2016

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Synopsis: The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down? (synopsis from Goodreads)

Review: Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1) by Cassandra Clare

Title: Lady Midnight
Author: Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 emotional, badass, swoony hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Pub. date: March 8th 2016
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Synopsis: The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series. (synopsis from Goodreads)

Book Blitz: Thirst: Blood of my Blood by R. P Channing

 

I'm excited to bring to you the Book Blitz for Thirst by R. P Channing. Stay tuned for an excerpt!

Waiting on Wednesday: Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices) by Cassandra Clare

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

 

I'm back! Sorry for the long leave, but now I'm back again.

 

Today, I picked Lady Midnight, the first book in the new series by Cassandra Clare. Now, I know a lot of people are upset because she's writing another series set in the same world, but I'm really looking forward to it. I'm really looking forward to reading about Emma and Julian. I liked them in City of Heavenly Fire, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.

Blog Tour and Review: Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers #1) by Brenda Drake

I reviewed this as part Thief of Lies Blog Tour. Below, you can enter a giveaway and read the top ten reasons why Arik is swoon-worthy.



Title: Thief of Lies
Author: Brenda Drake
My rating: 5 hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publication date: January 5th 2016
Publisher: Entangled Teen
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.

Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216
B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/library-jumpers-brenda-drake/1121817874
iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/thief-of-lies/id1000566034
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/thief-of-lies
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216
Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/Library-Jumpers-Brenda-Drake/dp/1633752216
Powell’s: http://www.powells.com/book/thief-of-lies-9781633752214/72-1
Books-a-Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Thief-Lies/Brenda-Drake/9781633752214
The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Thief-Lies-Brenda-Drake/9781633752214
Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/ip/46127498
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17669243-library-jumpers?ac=1

Review: Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1) by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Born Wicked
Author: Jessica Spotswood
My rating: ❤❤❤
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Historical
Release date: February 7th, 2012
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Summary: Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Keen Cover Friday: Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins

Hosted by Keep Booked

 

Hex Hall

by Rachel Hawkins

 

My pick for Keen Cover Friday this week is Hex Hall, because I really like the idea with the reflection. Really, I was unsure of which one I loved the most, since all the covers in this series is really awesome, but I loved that blue color (blue is my favorite color, by the way), so I picked this one. Except that it is very cool, I also like the metaphor; she used to be just a normal girl, and then it turns out she isn't. I Think the cover can actually say something about the plot (not too much, but it definitely tells us something). Most of the time, when I find a cover I love, I just can't understand what it has to do with the plot, but now I do.

Summary: Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.
By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag-along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.
As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her. (summary from Goodreads)