*Review* Furyborn – Claire Legrand

Furyborn – Claire Legrand

Expected Publication – May 22, 2018 – SourceBooks Fire

Many Thanks to Net-Galley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy. This did not affect my rating.
*4.5/5*

<i> “Two Queens will rise. One with the power to save the world. One with the power to destroy it. They carry your fate in their hands.” </i>

Furyborn was one of my most anticipated books of the year.. and I tell you dear readers, I was not let down. I am clamouring for book 2.

Furyborn is the story of two prophesied Queens.. The Blood Queen and the Sun Queen, one with the ability to destroy the world and one to save it. Both hold the power to wield all 7 elemental powers.

Rielle is a girl who is hiding many secrets.. about her powers, who she loves.. and all these come to a world shattering head when the boy she holds dear to her, is threatened by assassins. Rielle exposes her powers when she saves his life but puts her own life in danger as the King does not know what to do with her. To prove she is one of the prophesied Queens, and has control of her powers, she must face trials of all 7 elements. Along with her burgeoning powers, there is a voice that talks to Rielle, who she pushes her to be strong. But what is his agenda?
I love love love stories that have trials and tests in them.. I find them so fascinating. Claire Legrand threw the world at Rielle and it was stunning. The way the elemental magic works is so interesting. I just kept wanting to read on and on about how Rielle was going to survive the next trial.

Eliana is the Dread of Orline. 1000 years after Rielle has died and ridded the world of magic, Eliana believes that Rielle and the angels are stories. There is no magic in her world. Eliana is a skilled assassin, helping the Empire get rid of its enemies. She has a caring mother and brother – she does everything to keep them safe. Until her next mark is The Wolf. A rebel who has been wrecking havoc for the Empire. Spurred by the disappearance of her mother and wanting to keep her brother safe, Eliana strike up a bargain and throws her whole world in to chaos.

The supporting cast are all awesome characters, and I can’t wait to see how the grow in the next book.
For Rielle, there is Audric, Ludivine, Corien, and Tal.
For Eliana, there are Remy, Simon, Navi, and Zahra.

All these characters play a big role in this book.

I commend Claire for how she handled grief. It is an ever present feeling, leading both Rielle and Eliana in their journeys.

Now, I didn’t realize this book had angels, and as soon as that came up.. I was on high alert. I have only read a handful of books where I enjoyed their portrayal.. Well, rest assured, I actually enjoyed that aspect and the mythology it added to the world and I can’t wait to see where it leads.

The prologue alone had me flipping pages to see how the characters ended up there.. what happened! and while this book doesn’t get there, I can’t wait to find out.

Ahhh Romance. Each girl has their own romantic interest. Yes, there is sex in this book but it is tastefully done and respectful. The narrative emphasized consent throughout the whole scene. Hell yes to consensual sex!

Overall, I loved the mythology, the magic system, both badass women, and their supporting cast. It was a fun, action filled ride with sweet moments of young love but also friendship.

*Review* The Last Time I Lied – Riley Sager

The Last Time I Lied – Riley Sager
Expected Publication – July 3, 2018 – Dutton

Many Thanks to Net-Galley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy. This did not affect my rating.
*4/5*

Camp Nightingale, a summer camp for young girls. A beautiful man-made lake, owned now by Franny Harris-White. She strives to make the weeks the girls spend at the camp, the best.

13 year old Emma Davis is sent to the camp, and since she was late showing up.. was put in to a cabin with 3 older girls. Emma quickly befriends 16 year olds Vivian, Natalie, and Allison – mostly Vivian. Vivian the ringleader.. the trouble maker.. beautiful and bitchy. Vivian takes Emma under her wing and becomes the big sister that Emma never had.
Then one day, tragedy strikes. Vivian, Natalie, and Allison were never seen again. Camp Nightingale closed. Lives forever changed.

15 years later, Emma is an up and coming artist who paints what she knows.. the camp. Leaves and twisted branches.. and a secret underneath every piece. Emma is at her first major gallery showing when Franny shows up, and changes Emma’s life, yet again.

Emma finds herself back at Camp Nightingale as an art instructor. Bunking in the same cabin – Dogwood – with 3 girls.. Sasha, Miranda, and Krystal. Emma has decided to find out what happen those 15 years ago.

What follows is a lot of suspicion. A lot of creepy happenings. A lot of questions. Asking for forgiveness.. and more tragedy. With answers that may come at a deadly price.

Riley Sager is an author I’d never read before, but now I know I will read his previous book, Final Girls, and any other book he publishes in the future. He knows how to throw suspicion, make you rethink everything you think you know. Which is exactly what Emma does. The interweaving stories of Emma’s current return to the Camp, and her first stay there 15 years previous.

Emma is a very good unreliable narrator – you have to follow her truths and lies and figure out which is which. I loved Vivian.. she was so deliciously bitchy.

The book comes to a very satisfying conclusion – which I honestly didn’t see coming. I especially loved the unveiling during the epilogue.

If you like campy horror movies, or went to summer camp.. I think this book will be for you. So be sure to check it out.

*Review* The Wicked Deep – Shea Ernshaw

The Wicked Deep – Shea Ernshaw

Expected Publication – March 6, 2018 – Simon Pulse

 

Many Thanks to Net-Galley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy. This did not affect my rating.

*4/5*

Two centuries ago, in a small town named Sparrow, three sisters were accused of being witches and were sentenced to death. The townspeople tied rocks to their ankles and let the sister drown. Every summer since, the sisters inhabit the bodies of three unsuspecting young women, and unleash their anger upon the town. No one knows which girls are chosen or why.

“After the first night, the harmony of voices becomes undeniable. An enchanting hymn sailing over the water’s surface, cool and soft and alluring. The Swan sisters have awakened.”

This is a lovely and atmospheric novel. I loved the little asides you get before some chapters. You get to know Marguerite, Aurora, and Hazel Swan a little better.

Every summer, Sparrow teenagers have a ‘Swan Party’, which is the start of Swan Season, the time of year where the towns’ bad luck happens. This is when the sisters’ start to look for a body to inhabit. They then exact their revenge on the town by drowning the males of that are in Sparrow (not necessarily a townsperson, could be a tourist). No one sees the girls when they lure a boy out in to the ocean… so the boys deaths are ruled a suicide, or drowning.

Penny, our protagonist, lives on Lumiere Island (just a short boat ride off the mainland) with her mom who is drowning with grief. Penny’s father mysteriously disappeared a few years back and her mother has never recovered. Penny doesn’t want to go to the Swan Party, but her best friend Rose does and so Penny agrees to go along with her. Penny meets Bo, a tourist looking for work. Later that night at the party, Bo helps Penny with an unruly partygoer and they strike up a friendship. Penny gives Bo a job maintaining the lighthouse on Lumiere Island. As they grow closer, the mysterious drownings’ start, and even though the town has accepted their fate, Bo wants to figure out what to do. No one trusts anyone… and Penny has a secret she doesn’t tell anyone.

The premise of this book immediately drew me in. Legends and Curses, strange happenings… it was all well done. The writing is beautiful, Shea Ernshaw never took it too far, and she knew that there needed to be something to keep the readers intrigued, a hook. And boy, did she hook me in. I needed to know what was going to happen next, even if it was a little predictable in some points, I still needed to keep reading.

One small thing that bugged me was the insta-love.. I am never a huge fan of that.

I really enjoyed this book, and will recommend it to my friends. The writing was beautiful, the plot never dragged, the mystery was well done, as was the wrap up.

*Review* The Hazel Wood – Melissa Albert

The Hazel Wood – Melissa Albert

Expected Publication – January 30, 2018 – Flatiron Books

Many Thanks to Net-Galley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy. This did not affect my rating

*4.25/5*

Woah nelly. That was an upside down, crazy world of a book. I was immediately was engrossed with this world. The writing is a mix of fairytale and modern, which I thought Melissa Albert did a really good job with. 

Alice and her mother Ella spent Alice’s life constantly moving around from place to place because bad luck followed them everywhere. Alice has never met her grandmother, Althea Proserpine, who is the author of a book of dark fairy tales named Tales from the Hinterland. Alice is secretly obsessed with all things Althea, and desperately wants to know whatever she can about her grandmother, and the book itself. However, finding a copy of the book is near impossible.

Their circumstances become worse when Ella is kidnapped; only leaving behind the message “stay away from The Hazel Wood.” So Alice teams up with her only “friend”, Ellery Finch, who happens to be a total fanboy of Althea Prosperpine and the book. What happens next is a wild ride to find Ella. Through a lot of strange happenings, they have come to the conclusion that The Hinterland is the one behind the kidnapping. To save her, Alice must venture to The Hazel Wood. Things just never look up, Alice and Finch hit road block after road block. 

Peppered throughout The Hazel Wood, are snippets of some of the fairy tales, which are dark and twisted and I loved them. They never took me out of the main story, but elevated it. 

The book was almost a 5 star read for me.. almost.. but Alice was a mean character.. which was explained.. but I couldn’t excuse how she treated people.. especially Finch and all he was doing to help her. 

It has been announced that there will be a 2nd book, and.. AND Melissa Albert is going to write Tales from the Hinterland! I need it now. 

I have, and will continue to recommend this book to people. Especially for those fans of Once Upon A Time. 

“Because in this story, I was the monster” 

Black Friday BookOutlet Haul – I’m Back!

Hi Guys!!

Wow, it has been a while. Over 2 years. I never intended or expected that to happen. I never left the book community, I still followed it closely on Goodreads, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram. I just didn’t have the drive to blog, or to write proper reviews. I hope that by making this post, and sharing it across my platforms, that it helps me back.

Over the last couple of years, I bought a house, and in packing I got rid of almost 300 books (some went to friends, and I donated the rest) but I have still been buying books. What has changed is that I no longer feel the need to keep every single book I’ve read. I used to want to keep them all, and create a library of my own.. and while I still have hundreds of books.. I got rid of the ones that I read and didn’t like, that I read and while I liked it okay.. I knew I would never read again/didn’t want to keep for my collection, and ones that I bought and lost interest in. It was cathartic. I still buy books, obvious by this post ha-ha! But I try to thrift shop my books, and I only buy if I have been interested in it for a while.

Now that my rambling is done.. I have my Black Friday BookOutlet Haul!!! I got 9 books.. 4 from the same series that I have been eyeing for months (BookOutlet never had book 1 in stock, until that one fateful Thursday morning.. YAY!)

 

 

• Queen of Hearts – Colleen Oakes
  • A Queen of Hearts retelling. The princess, who will one day be queen, is named Dinah, which I love because my sister absolutely adores.. and I mean is obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, and our cat is named Dinah after Alices cat.
• Ten Thousand Skies Above You  – Claudia Gray
  • Book 2 in the Firebird trilogy which has multiple dimensions and a girl who is trying to catch her fathers killer.
• Starlight – Melissa Landers
  • I love sci-fi, and I have heard/read some mixed reviews but overall positive. Space pirates.. and I have read that it will fill the Firefly shaped hole in my heart (sidebar, if you haven’t watched Firefly.. do so. It is amazing. end sidebar)
• Three Parts Dead, Two Serpents Rise, Full Fathom Five, Last First Snow – Max Gladstone
  • I managed to get my hands on the first 4 books in this sic-fi series. I can’t wait to start them. Gods, magic, and necromancy. That is all I had to hear and I knew I needed to read this series.
• Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day – Seanan McGuire
  • I’ve read Every Heart a Doorway, and Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan and I loved them so much. I wanted to check something else out by her while I wait for Beneath The Sugar Sky. The premise of this sound really interesting! It has ghosts!
• The Valiant – Lesley Livingston
  • Celtic princess, captured by her sworn enemy (Julius Caesar!), and trains to become a female gladiator.

 

Have you guys read any of these books? If not, do any of them interest you?

I hope to be back and blogging, at least somewhat regularly.

 

Brianne – xx

May Wrap Up

Hello Darlings ❤

I know we are half way through June, but here is my May Wrap Up (minus 1 book that my friend is borrowing)

***

Crown of Midnight – Sarah J Maas — 4/5 Stars

– Read May 1 – May 4. A really good sequel, I enjoyed this more than Throne of Glass, just because Celaena Sardothien had more assassin-y jobs to do. I enjoyed the mystery more too. I, however, still do not enjoy the love triangle. I just feel like she can be frivolous and should be more focused on being The Kings Assassin. Also, I guessed the twist ending quite early on, so the reveal wasn’t as earth changing as it should have been. I am definitely continuing with this series.

Asunder – Jodi Meadows — 3.25/5 Stars

– Read May 4 – May 5. I read Incarnate (book 1) back in 2013, so it has been a couple years, but I had no problem jumping back in to this world. I liked this book, but it was too romance heavy for my tastes. The ending though, I needed to continue the series asap, so I ordered the book that day.

Shopaholic To The Stars – Sophie Kinsella (Not Pictured) — 2.75/5 Stars

– Read May 10 – May 11. The newest installment in the Shopaholic series, a series beloved by many, including myself. Was it as good as the previous 6 books? No. Did I enjoy it? Kind of. I started reading the Shopaholic series many, many years ago. I was in High School. I graduated 7 years ago. I loved loved loved these books! I found Becky Brandon nee Bloomwood plucky, and funny. Not so much anymore. I was exasperated by her antics. I found her selfish, immature and I wanted to shake some sense in to her! She treats almost everyone poorly. So no, this wasn’t my favourite of the series. But yes, I will be continuing on. I can’t help myself.

Infinite – Jodi Meadows — 3.5/5 Stars

– Read May 11 – May 16. I enjoyed the final installment in this trilogy the most. We got Centaurs! Phoenixes! Dragons! They talked about Trolls, and Rocs. I wished we could have found out more about all of these creatures because their stories in this world would have been fascinating. We get a pretty good ending! It wasn’t without its faults, but I enjoyed it. I just grew very tired of Sam and Ana professing their love for each other over and over again.

You – Caroline Kepnes — 3.75/5 Stars

– Read May 16 – May 17. I heard about this book through two Booktubers – Lindsey, and Lainey. They both raved about this book. It sound creepy, and thrilling. It was. But, I do not give out recommendations for this book lightly, because of the subject nature. Joe works in a bookstore. Beck is a student with major issues. Joe falls hard and fast for Beck. Joe is super creepy. This book with make you think twice about what you post online, and what you make public/private. This book, was gross, and fascinating, and creepy, and one of those books that is hard to put down. And I am glad that there is a sequel, because that ending.. man.. that ending.

The Scorch Trials – James Dashner — 3/5 Stars

– Read May 18 – May 21. I read this book because the trailer for the movie was just coming out, I read the first book, saw the first movie.. I was obviously going to continue on, even though I didn’t particularly enjoy the first book. I found the writing was okay, and I hated the slang. So the trailer coming out was what motivated me to finally pick up book 2. It was alright. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. I do, however, love Minho. He is my favourite. I finished reading the book, I watched the trailer. The movie looks awesome, I am super excited to see it, but it is nothing like the book, having literally just read the source material. Oh well.

The Death Cure – James Dashner — 3.25/5 Stars

– Read May 24 – May 25. I picked up The Death Cure right away because I read somewhere that there is a big scene that will be featured in The Scorch Trials movie. I do not know which scene, but I wanted to be in the know. Plus, I knew it would have taken me forever to pick up TDC had I not continued right then and there. I enjoyed most of this book. One death I was okay with, one death I was definitely not okay with. The ending felt off to me. I didn’t know how I felt about it then, and I still don’t now. Again, I love Minho very much <3.

So there you have it. My May Wrap Up. In the month of May, I also ended up in the hospital and in an entire leg length long brace.. I ended up with a pretty serious knee injury.. I completely tore my ACL, I tore my Lateral Meniscus, I partially tore my MCL, I tore muscles in both my calf and thigh, I tore cartilage in the knee cap, and bruised bones (my femur in one place, and my tibia in two places). My knee was super swollen, I couldn’t bend or straighten it, I couldn’t put any pressure on it, plus, when you tear ligaments, they bleed in to the joint so I had a bunch of blood in my knee. So there’s that.

Happy Reading!

I’ll be back with another post soon.

May The Book Be With You — Brianne xox.

The Little Paris Bookshop – Nina George Review

The Little Paris Bookshop – Nina George

My Rating – 3.5/5

eBook, provided for review from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A book for booklovers, plus Paris! Two of my all time favourite things.

Published – June 25, 2015 – Crown Publishing

This is a book about books, their ability to help and to heal, a floating bookshop on a barge in the Seine. I think that is a fascinating concept. Does it work? For the most part, yes. This book is shelved as ‘Literature/Fiction’, I think it should definitely say something about it being a romance as well.

I never felt truly connected with Perdu, and therefore making his journey not as rewarding as I was hoping. I wish I could have felt more towards him and Manon. But with that in mind, I would absolutely love to visit ‘The Literary Apothecary’. It was a character in its own right. In my opinion, the best thing about Perdu, was his ability to tell exactly what book a customer needed at a certain time in their life.

How Nina George describes Paris, and the French countryside, has made my urge and want and need to go to France (which was incredibly strong to begin with) infinitely more apparent.

This book, is one that you have to immerse yourself in. It isn’t a quick read. It’s meandering, which if you enjoy books like that, then I urge you to check out this one.

Frozen Tides (Falling Kingdoms book4) by Morgan Rhodes Cover Reveal

Who loves sprawling fantasy novels?

A large cast of characters?

Magic?

Love?

I urge you to check out the Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes. It is going to be a six book series, with three of the books currently out and the fourth on its’ way.

Book 1 – Falling Kingdoms

Book 2 – Rebel Spring

Book 3 – Gathering Darkness

Book 4 – Frozen Tides (expected release date December 15, 2015)

The covers of these books are beautiful, and are getting more beautiful with each book. The cover designer knows whats up, knows this series, and each book features a character from the novels and the artwork is absolutely stunning. The cover for Frozen Tides was released today by Novel Novice.

The series is published by Razorbill

& without further ado, here is the stunning cover for Frozen Tides

What do you guys think..?

You can check out Morgan Rhodes on

Twitter – @MorganRhodesYA

Instagram – @morganrhodesya

Facebook – Falling Kingdoms Series by Morgan Rhodes

Here are the covers for the first three books

May The Book Be With You

-Brianne xox

A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab Excerpt Preview Review

My Rating – 5/5

eBook, provided for review from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

V.E. Schwab (Victoria Schwab) HAS A NEW BOOK COMING OUT!

This was me when I found out.

Read the synopsis over at goodreads

V.E. Schwab has an amazing imagination. I read her three other books in 2014 and I knew that she had become one of my top authors. In the summer of 2014, she tweeted details of her new upcoming book and I knew it was going to be just as amazing.

I was lucky enough to get an arc excerpt of the first 5 chapters and when they ended, I literally squealed. Her imagination and attention to detail, along with building fascinating worlds and characters who you actually get attached to is amazing.

In ‘A Darker Shade of Magic’ we are introduced to Kell. He has a magical coat. Yes, a magical coat. Well, a peculiar coat as Kell called it.
“It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.” This is the second line of the book and this is the line that hooked me. I needed to know more.
But not only that, he can travel to various London’s.
Grey London is boring, very few remember that magic existed.
White London is ruled by mad twins, and the throne is won by whomever kills to get it. Magic is fought for. People want to control it.
Red London is where magic flourishes and is respected.
Black London does not exist anymore because the need and want for magic ended up creating chaos.

Kell is an Antari – a blood magician. “Antari could speak to blood. To Life. To magic itself.” Kell is one of the very few Antari left who can travel between the various London’s with correspondence between the rulers of each London. Nothing else is allowed to go between worlds. It a rule.

Lila dreams of becoming a pirate. But to do that, she has to masquerade as a male.. a sneaky, pickpocketing male camouflaged by a wide brimmed hat and a mask . But she doesn’t steal from the poor, she steals from the rich. Her voice is very distinct. She resonated with me because I was a tomboy growing up. I didn’t like to follow conventional male/female gender roles. I wanted to play hockey whereas my sister wanted to dance.

The excerpt ends with Kell and Lila both running from something, and then eventually literally in to each other.

I wanted, and needed more. This book did not remind me of anything else I had read, and that is why I loved it so much.

If you like Victoria Schwab, then read this book.

If you want something like nothing you’ve ever read, then read this book.

If you want a cross-dressing wannabe pirate, then read this book.

If you want a guy who has a peculiar coat, can travel between London’s, and has secrets, then read this book.

I can’t say it enough. READ THIS BOOK!

May The Book Be With You

Brianne – xox.

I’m Back!

Hello Book Lovers!!

I just wanted to say sorry for going awol. I missed you guys! Along with some personal issues, and family..not issues but my sister moved across Canada and I got in to a funk because she is my best friend. Then I had shoulder surgery and was in a sling for 6 weeks.. Well the sixth week just ended. It was awful – painful. Using my right arm is still very hard and I get tired and sore very easily. I read only 1 book in the first month of 2015 because it was too hard to hold a book one handedly, especially with my non-dominant hand.

I am going to get back to posting at least semi-regularly during the rest of my recovery (4 months of physiotherapy) and then hopefully more regularly when I don’t get so sore from typing.

I have been posting on my bookstagram account so you can also keep up with me there – @maythebookbewithyou

Here are my Top14 books of 2014

I didn’t rank them from 1-14 but my tops were definitely Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, Written in Red by Anne Bishop, and the Girl of Fire and Thorns Trilogy by Rae Carson.

May the Book Be With You

Brianne – xox