It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - 15 June 2020

 

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

What I Read Last Week:

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

I devoured this book! It was so good and creepy and dark. I didn't want to put it down while at the same time I didn't want it to end. This is definitely getting added to my favorite reads of 2020. 

5 0f 5 Stars!

Currently Reading:

Since I really enjoyed Home Before Dark I decided to read Final Girls before what I chose last week for my next read (The House Guest... still listed below). I haven't had a ton of reading time and I honestly just wanted to savor Home Before Dark for a few days before diving into a new book so I'm hoping to get a little further into this one this week. 

Next Read:
The House Guest by Mark Edwards

I do still plan to read this one this month and I'm hoping to get to it by the end of the week. 

***

What have you been reading lately?

Book Review: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Blurb:

In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

My Review:

As far as retellings go, this one went straight to the top of my favorites list! It was the book I didn't know I was craving and couldn't get enough of.

Harper is our flawed but strong heroine, who never let her CP slow her down. Rhen is the brooding, sexy, closed off Prince who is a shell of the cocky male he used to be, who has given up all hope of breaking the curse against him. And Grey - oh Grey! His unflappable loyalty and courage and heart.. oh I think I might have loved him most of all. Even the side characters like Freya, Noah, Jake, Zo were awesome. And Lilith was the perfect villain! I wanted someone, anyone to take her out repeatedly. 

I've read one other book by this author and didn't like it but this one blew me away with how much I loved it and I'm now definitely on board with this author's writing! 

Overall, if you like strong, imperfectly perfect heroines, swoonworthy, cursed males, and retellings you're going to love this one! Go, add it to your TBRs, I'll wait ;)

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Blurb:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

My Review:

Of all the books I got from the library this month, I did not expect to love this one. In fact, I grabbed in on a whim after seeing it so much on bookstagram. Boy am I glad I did!

I love the way this book is formatted, in transcripts, ims, emails, and more. It made reading this book quickly so easy. I think I read 300 pages a day and finished it in two days, and I can officially say I. Am. Obsessed! 

You find yourself feeling for all of the characters and even starting to like the AI by the end. The fate of the Alexander was like the Titanic meets the Walking Dead... okay, maybe that's a weird way to describe it but whatever. 

Usually I don't like Sci-Fi books, there are only a select few but I can honestly say I couldn't get enough of this book and I'm already dying to read the next book.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

6 of 5 Stars! 

Book Review: My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies, #3) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Blurb:

You may think you know the story. After a miserable childhood, penniless orphan Jane Eyre embarks on a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall. There, she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester. Despite their significant age gap (!) and his uneven temper (!!), they fall in love—and, Reader, she marries him. (!!!)

Or does she?

Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Brontë, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights.

My Review:

I was so excited when I read that Jane Eyre would be the next subject for The Lady Janies. Why? Well I've never quite been able to get into any of the Bronte sister's books and the movie version of Jane Eyre left me bored to tears, but a retelling of it? Yes please! 

My Plain Jane is hilarious. I was hooked from the very beginning as the reader follows the perspectives of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte, and Alexander Blackwood. This is not the Jane Eyre you've read before, no this book is a silly, ghost-filled journey of friendship and first love. 

I really, really enjoyed the book as a whole and applaud the authors on this unique take on the classic novel. I really liked that they wrote Charlotte Bronte and her family into the story. It reminds me a little bit of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler where Courtney encounters Jane Austen. 

After reading My Plain Jane, I definitely want to go back and read My Lady Jane and can only wonder where the authors will take us next! 

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 of 5 Stars!

Book Review: TOWER OF DAWN by Sarah J. Maas

Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass Series, Book #6) by Sarah J. Maas

Blurb:

In the next installment of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, follow Chaol on his sweeping journey to a distant empire.
Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.

His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.

But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.

My Review:

Let's unwrap this puppy before I get to the good stuff. The cover... yeah. I really dislike this cover, it's probably my least favorite of the whole series. Since all the other covers have Aelin on them, I would have liked to see the cover artist's depiction of Chaol... but oh well.

Okay, onward to the story itself. I know a lot of people were unhappy either with this book or  with the fact that it was a novel, not a novella as originally planned which delayed Kingdom of Ash's release by a year. Believe me, I was one of them BEFORE I read this book. I'd been annoyed with Chaol as a character since probably... Crown of Midnight?... yeah that sounds about right. So I went into Tower of Dawn with as open of a mind as I could muster, assuming I would dislike the book but suck it up.

Then I read it... and it blew. me. away! I loved the world of the Southern Continent, for some reason it conjured images of the world of the Wrath and the Dawn books. Chaol really grows in this book in my opinion, learning to accept the events of the past and move forward and I really love the way Maas approached the disability representation with Chaol in this book. My grandmother is in a wheelchair due to spine issues, will probably be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life, and I know how much it frustrates her not to be able to get up and move like she used to and how she hates asking others for help with simple tasks and Maas illustrates that beautifully through Chaol's perspective.

And Yrene! Readers will remember her from The Assassin's Blade, The Assassin and the Healer and I loved seeing more of her in this book. To be honest, The Assassin and the Healer was probably my least favorite of the stories in The Assassin's Blade but now to see so much more of this character I wrote off before, I appreciate the story so much more. 

The character that surprised me most was Nesryn. I like flat-out completely hated her in Queen of Shadows. I thought she was snooty and a total b****, but I got to see a whole other side of her in Tower of Dawn. In fact, Nesryn and Sartaq are my newest OTP! Who loved Sartaq as much as I did???? Ahhhh. Such an awesome character. 

The one character I could have done without was Hasar. I couldn't figure out whether she really wanted to help the cause at the end or not and she kind of felt like a false friend to Yrene. 

There were only two (small) things that I didn't like or left me hanging with this book, the cover and that we as a reader never find out exactly what Kashin said to Yrene that strained their friendship so much. Was it just a proposal or something more?

Overall, Tower of Dawn is definitely worth the read! Naysayers, give it a chance!

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 of 5 Stars!

*And thus, fair bookdragons, completes my reading of the currently published books in the Throne of Glass series. I kicked the #ReadThroneofGlass challenge in the teeth and finished all the books wayyyyy ahead of schedule. All 7 books in 6 1/2 weeks! 🎉

Book Review: The Dazzling Heights by Katharine McGee

The Dazzling Heights (The Thousandth Floor #2) by Katharine McGee

Blurb:

The sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Thousandth Floor

New York, 2118. Manhattan is home to a thousand-story supertower, a breathtaking marvel that touches the sky. But amidst high-tech luxury and futuristic glamour, five teenagers are keeping dangerous secrets…

LEDA is haunted by memories of what happened on the worst night of her life. She’ll do anything to make sure the truth stays hidden—even if it means trusting her enemy.

WATT just wants to put everything behind him…until Leda forces him to start hacking again. Will he do what it takes to be free of her for good?

When RYLIN wins a scholarship to an upper-floor school, her life transforms overnight. But being there means seeing the boy whose heart she broke, and who broke hers in return.

AVERY is tormented by her love for the one person in the world she can never have. She’s desperate to be with him… no matter the cost.

And then there’s CALLIOPE, the mysterious, bohemian beauty who arrives in New York, determined to cause a stir. And she knows exactly where to begin.

But unbeknownst to them all, someone is watching their every move, someone with revenge in mind. And in a world of such dazzling heights, just one wrong step can mean a devastating fall.

The sumptuous second book in the bestselling Thousandth Floor series has all the drama, romance and hidden secrets that landed the first book in this series at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list.

My Review:

Step back into the thousand-story Tower and the amazing world of the future and all of its' amazing technology.

We met five teenagers in The Thousandth Floor and now only four remain, bound together by the horrible truth of the night their fifth died.

Leda Cole is haunted by the events of that night and she'll do anything to keep the truth from getting out. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. But what happens when she begins falling for the last person she expected to?

Watt Bakradi wants to hate Leda for blackmailing him into keeping quiet. If only he could trick her into saying what happened that night so he can have Nadia record it and he can turn her in. But what if the more time he spends with Leda, the less he sees the icy bitch he thinks her to be and begins seeing the vulnerable, hopeful girl underneath?

Rylin Myers's life changes the day she finds out she's been accepted to the most exclusive school in the country, a UpTower school attended by the last person she wants to be reminded of - Cord, the boy she fell in love with and betrayed. Will it give her a second chance with him? Suddenly back in school after two years Rylin is excelling at an advanced holography class and tentatively becoming friends with the last person she expected to. But when her teacher blurs the lines between student and teacher will her life combust again?

Avery Fuller finally has it all, including the forbidden love of Atlas. But with Leda's threat hanging over her head, the memory of the night on the roof that she can't tell anyone about, and her parents catching on to her and Atlas's relationship, can they ever truly have happiness? Or are some forbidden loves destined to remain just that?

And then there is the new girl, Calliope Brown. Beautiful, mysterious Calliope who has a hidden past with Atlas. What is she really doing in New York? Calliope is the girl with too many secrets to hide - and it's only a matter of time before someone catches on to her here too.

Throughout it all, someone is watching them from the shadows. Waiting for one of them to slip up so they can bring them down. After all, when you're on the top of the world, there's only one way down. Watch your step.

I only have one thing to say about The Dazzling Heights: WOW! I loved this book even more than the first book!

The technology and worldbuilding continue to amaze me and I loved seeing even more of this new, futuristic world, not just in the Tower, but beyond it.

I love how this book, like The Thousandth Floor, starts with a death but you don't know who it is until the end. I felt that each character grew in this book and you saw a different side of each of them. The characters I didn't like from the first book, Watt and Leda, I completely loved in this book, although Rylin is still my favorite! And a character I liked in The Thousandth Floor, Avery, I absolutely couldn't stand in this book. She definitely gave off a clingy, jealous, desperate vibe toward Atlas when Calliope showed up and I loved the addition of Calliope. She was a great new character and I can't wait to see what's going to happen to her in the next book.

Overall, this book was a fantastic, unputdownable read that I didn't want to finish because it meant the wild ride would be over. This series is a definite must-read and I'm already dying for the next book! This book ruined me in the best possible way! As with the first book, the writing and storytelling are excellent and Katharine McGee is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! 

My Rating:

6 of 5 Stars!