Review: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson and Robin Wasserman

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy
by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson and Robin Wasserman

November 15, 2016

672 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
Simon Lewis has been a human and a vampire, and now he is becoming a Shadowhunter. But the events of City of Heavenly Fire left him stripped of his memories, and Simon isn’t sure who he is anymore. He knows he was friends with Clary, and that he convinced the total goddess Isabelle Lightwood to go out with him…but he doesn’t know how. And when Clary and Isabelle look at him, expecting him to be a man he doesn’t remember…Simon can’t take it.

So when the Shadowhunter Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of demon-hunting, determined to find himself again. His new self. Whomever this new Simon might be.

But the Academy is a Shadowhunter institution, which means it has some problems. Like the fact that non-Shadowhunter students have to live in the basement. And that differences—like being a former vampire—are greatly looked down upon. At least Simon is trained in weaponry—even if it’s only from hours of playing D&D.

Join Simon on his journey to become a Shadowhunter, and learn about the Academy’s illustrious history along the way, through guest lecturers such as Jace Herondale, Tessa Gray, and Magnus Bane. These ten short stories give an epilogue to the Mortal Instruments series and provide glimpses of what’s in store in the Dark Artifices.

WoW #229: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted every week by Breaking the Spine which lets us showcase an upcoming release we are excited about! 

The Bride Test

by Helen Hoang

May 7, 2019
320 pages

Goodreads      Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
From the author of the deeply charming The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about a love that crosses international borders.

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny but not big, important emotions—not grief. And not love. Rather than believing he processes emotions differently as a result of being autistic, he concludes he’s defective and avoids romantic relationships to protect people from his emotional deficiency, driving his mother to take matters into her own hands and get him a mail order bride.

As a mixed-race girl born into the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity to be an American mail order brides arises, she leaps at it. Her groom is unwilling, but if she can change his mind, she’ll finally have a family that wants her. If she can’t, at least she will have known what it’s like to belong for one glorious summer.

Seducing Khai, however, is one horrible disaster after another. It’s not until Esme gives up that they start to make headway. Over the course of three weddings and a funeral, they fall for each other. But Khai insists it isn’t love, and Esme doesn’t believe in herself enough to see past his words to the truth. They both must learn to accept and value their differences because the fourth wedding of the summer could join them or break them apart forever.
 

As a big romance reader, this book sounds so great!

What are you guys waiting on this week?

Blog Tour - Review & Giveaway: Do You Feel It Too? by Nicola Rendell

Hey guys, I'm coming at you today with another blog tour, this one for Do You Feel It Too? by Nicola Rendell! Many thanks to Thomas Allen & Son for organizing everything. Read on for my thoughts on the book and enter for a chance to win a copy of Do You Feel It Too?!

 

Do You Feel It Too?
by Nicola Rendell

November 20, 2018

332 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

A hot summer night is perfect for feeling your way in the dark…

For urban-legend hunter and television host Gabe Powers, it’s business—investigate the most notorious haunted places in Savannah. Then he meets his new sound engineer, a dewy Georgia peach who may just turn this gig into (im)pure pleasure. All it takes is one night for them to conjure floor-rattling, wall-banging moans…but they’re not from the ghosts.

Blame the rippling abs, the cocky swagger, the granite jawline, the whole muscle-bulging package, but Gabe is bringing out good-girl Lily Jameson’s dirty side. Damn her code-of-conduct contract—this isn’t just a molten-hot fling.

There’s just one kink in the relationship they’ve been avoiding: soon they’ll be going their separate ways. Lily’s home is in Savannah, and Gabe is a globe-trotter at heart. For them to be together, they’ll both have to upend their so-very-different worlds and face their fears in the process. And suddenly things don’t feel so Georgia peachy keen at all.

Stacking the Shelves #216

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that lets us share what we've added to our shelves.

We got sexy mail from Thomas Allen & Son, thank you <3 I'm a part of the blog tour that starts next week so please check it out then!

 

What did you add to your shelves this week?

Review: Sightwitch (The Witchlands #2.5) by Susan Dennard

Sightwitch
(The Witchlands #2.5)
by Susan Dennard

February 13, 2018

240 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
From New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard, Sightwitch is an illustrated novella set in the Witchlands and told through Ryber’s journal entries and sketches.

Before Safi and Iseult battled a Bloodwitch...

Before Merik returned from the dead…

Ryber Fortiza was a Sightwitch Sister at a secluded convent, waiting to be called by her goddess into the depths of the mountain. There she would receive the gift of foretelling. But when that call never comes, Ryber finds herself the only Sister without the Sight.

Years pass and Ryber’s misfit pain becomes a dull ache, until one day, Sisters who already possess the Sight are summoned into the mountain, never to return. Soon enough, Ryber is the only Sister left. Now, it is up to her to save her Sisters, though she does not have the Sight—and though she does not know what might await her inside the mountain.

On her journey underground, she encounters a young captain named Kullen Ikray, who has no memory of who he is or how he got there. Together, the two journey ever deeper in search of answers, their road filled with horrors, and what they find at the end of that road will alter the fate of the Witchlands forever.

Set a year before Truthwitch, Sightwitch is a companion novella that also serves as a set up to Bloodwitch, as well as an expansion of the Witchlands world.
 

WoW #228: Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted every week by Breaking the Spine which lets us showcase an upcoming release we are excited about!

 

Serious Moonlight
by Jenn Bennett

April 16, 2019
432 pages

Goodreads      Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
After an awkward first encounter, Birdie and Daniel are forced to work together in a Seattle hotel where a famous author leads a mysterious and secluded life in this romantic contemporary novel from the author of Alex, Approximately.

Mystery-book aficionado Birdie Lindberg has an overactive imagination. Raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents, she’s cultivated a whimsical fantasy life in which she plays the heroic detective and every stranger is a suspect. But her solitary world expands when she takes a job the summer before college, working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel.

In her new job, Birdie hopes to blossom from introverted dreamer to brave pioneer, and gregarious Daniel Aoki volunteers to be her guide. The hotel’s charismatic young van driver shares the same nocturnal shift and patronizes the waterfront Moonlight Diner where she waits for the early morning ferry after work. Daniel also shares her appetite for intrigue, and he’s stumbled upon a real-life mystery: a famous reclusive writer—never before seen in public—might be secretly meeting someone at the hotel.

To uncover the writer’s puzzling identity, Birdie must come out of her shell…discovering that most confounding mystery of all may be her growing feelings for the elusive riddle that is Daniel.
 

All of Jenn Bennett's books I've read so far have been amazing so naturally I can't wait for more from her~

What are you guys waiting on this week?

Event Recap: Raincoast Books presents TeensRead Winter&Spring 2019 Preview

 

Last month I attended the Teens Read event hosted by Raincoast Books and had so much fun listening to all the highly anticipated 2019 releases they presented! I didn't really take any pictures except for the ones I shared on my Instagram account. Here are a few (apologies for the not so good quality).

 

Cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks was the special guest and it was really amazing listening to her story. Her books look really fun. I'm particularly really looking forward to PUMPKINHEADS, her collaboration with Rainbow Rowell!

 

 

I'm very excited for these titles (click on the covers for more info):

   

   

   

 

Here is a list of all the titles the ladies presented (click on the image to enlarge):

 

Which one of these tiles are you most excited for??

I shared the goodie bag I received in this Stacking the Shelves post.
 

Once again a huge thank you to the Raincoast ladies for the invite and presentation <3 

Stacking the Shelves #215

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that lets us share what we've added to our shelves.

PRH Canada very generously sent me a copy of this book, thank you~ I've heard great things about this author, can't wait to start it!

 

I also picked up these two beauties from Raincoast Books, thank you!! I've already devoured Famous in Small Town~ My review will be up closer to its release date (January 2019) but for now I can give you three words: SO DARN GOOD!!!

 

 

What did you add to your shelves this week?

Review: Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

Empire of Sand
by Tasha Suri

November 13, 2018

496 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
A nobleman’s daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri’s captivating, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy.

The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited.

When Mehr’s power comes to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda.

Should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance…

Empire of Sand is a lush, dazzling fantasy novel perfect for readers of City of Brass and The Wrath & the Dawn.

WoW #227: Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted every week by Breaking the Spine which lets us showcase an upcoming release we are excited about!

Dark Shores
by Danielle L. Jensen

May 7, 2019
368 pages

Goodreads      Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
Piracy, blackmail, and meddling gods meet in Dark Shores, a thrilling first novel in a fast-paced new YA fantasy series by Danielle L. Jensen.

A PIRATE WITH A WILL OF IRON
Teriana is the second mate of the Quincense, a ship beholden to the Goddess of the Seas. Her people are born of the waves, and they alone know how to cross the impassable oceans between East and West.

A SOLDIER WITH A SECRET
Marcus is the commander of the Thirty-Seventh, the notorious legion that has led the Celendor Empire to conquer the entire East. The legion is his only family, and even they don't know the secret he's been hiding since childhood.

A DANGEROUS QUEST
When a power-hungry ruler captures Teriana's crew and threatens to reveal Marcus's secret unless they help him conquer the unknown West, the two are forced into an unlikely–and unwilling– alliance. They unite for the sake of their families, but both must decide how far they are willing to go, and how much they are willing to sacrifice.
 

Danielle is an all-time favourite so I'm ecstatic to be getting a new story from her!! Andddd pirates and adventure!!!

What are you guys waiting on this week?

Blog Tour - Review & Giveaway: Hate Notes by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

Hi everyone, welcome to the Hate Notes Blog Tour! I'm really excited to be kicking things off! A huge thank you to Thomas Allen & Son for inviting me on this tour. Keep reading to see my thoughts on Hate Notes and don't miss your chance to win a copy!

Hate Notes
by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

November 6, 2018

304 pages

Goodreads     Indigo     Amazon

Goodreads Summary:
From New York Times bestselling authors Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward comes an unexpected love story of secondhand hearts and second chances…

It all started with a mysterious blue note sewn into a wedding dress.

Something blue.

I’d gone to sell my own unworn bridal gown at a vintage clothing store. That’s when I found another bride’s “something old.”

Stitched into the lining of a fabulously feathered design was the loveliest message I’d ever read: Thank you for making all of my dreams come true.

The name embossed on the blue stationery: Reed Eastwood, obviously the most romantic man who ever lived. I also discovered he’s the most gorgeous. If only my true-love fantasies had stopped there. Because I’ve since found out something else about Mr. Starry-Eyed.

He’s arrogant, cynical, and demanding. I should know. Thanks to a twist of fate, he’s my new boss. But that’s not going to stop me from discovering the story behind his last love letter. A love letter that did not result in a happily ever after.

But that story is nothing compared to the one unfolding between us. It’s getting hotter, sweeter, and more surprising than anything I could have imagined.

Something new.

But I have no idea how this one is going to end . . .

Stacking the Shelves #214

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that lets us share what we've added to our shelves.

Even though I'm not caught up with the series I still had to get this beautiful special Indigo edition of Kingdom of Ash. The kitty wouldn't stay still and I captured this picture of him rubbing against the book. It looks like he's bowing which seems kind of apt? XD

 

Also, a copy Hate Notes came in the mail from Thomas Allen & Son, thank you! I'll be kicking off the blog tour next week so stay tuned! Even the kitty wants a piece ;)

 

 

What did you add to your shelves this week?

Review: Wildcard (Warcross #2) by Marie Lu

*This review contains spoilers for the first book.
 

Wildcard
(Warcross #2)
by Marie Lu

September 18, 2018

341 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
All bets are off. This time the gamble is survival.

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems—and his protection comes at a price.

Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

Blog Tour - Q&A and Review: Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Hi guys, it's been a little while since I last hosted a blog tour but I am back today with a stop for Empress of All Seasons! I got to ask the author Emiko Jean a question and also share my thoughts below. Thank you to Raincoast Books for organizing and inviting me on the tour~

Empress of All Seasons

by Emiko Jean
November 6, 2018

384 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
In a palace of illusions, nothing is what it seems.

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete—all except yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy.

Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari’s fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yōkai outcast.

Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA fantasy.

BCP: From the story and the cover we can tell the naginata is significant. How did you decide on Mari's weapon of choice?

WoW #226: Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted every week by Breaking the Spine which lets us showcase an upcoming release we are excited about!

Famous in a Small Town
by Emma Mills

January 15, 2019
320 pages

Goodreads      Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
For Sophie, small-town life has never felt small. She has the Yum Yum Shoppe, with its famous fourteen flavors of ice cream; her beloved marching band, the pride and joy of Acadia High (even if the football team disagrees); and her four best friends, loving and infuriating, wonderfully weird and all she could ever ask for.

Then August moves in next door. A quiet guy with a magnetic smile, August seems determined to keep everyone at arm's length. Sophie in particular.

Country stars, revenge plots, and a few fake kisses (along with some excellent real ones) await Sophie in this hilarious, heartfelt story.
 

It's Emma Mills! Give it to me now please!!

What are you guys waiting on this week?

Stacking the Shelves #213

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that lets us share what we've added to our shelves.

 A surprise package from Scholastic Canada came this week, thank you!!

 

What did you add to your shelves this week?