Thou shalt kill.
A
world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has
conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes
are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in
order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and
Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants.
These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the
consequence of failure could mean losing their own.@goodreads
This is a re/read of this book in anticipation for the next book coming out in January 2018! ♥
I freaking love this book!
Citra
and Rowen are two teenagers who get the pleasantry of meeting the
honorable Scythe Faraday. No one wants to run into a scythe, much less
talk to one or spend any kind of time with one. They have the ability to
kill you if they see fit. That is their duty. But Citra and Rowan had
the chance to meet this particular scythe and they were both not very
pleasant to him. In some cases this could mean they would be gleaned
depending on the unpleasantness, but Scythe Faraday was taken with these
two individuals and brought them both under his wing as apprentices. Of
course neither of them wanted to be apprentices and possibly become
scythes themselves. Although there could only be one and it's not the
norm for a scythe to take on two apprentices, but such is life.
To
be a scythe you have to give up many things, but they are necessary in
this new world where there are no illnesses and you do not die. So there
has to be an executioner if you will. There are some evil scythes in
the book that enjoy the killing and this goes against their creed but
everything works out at some point.
I love these characters. I
loved them so much. Citra and Rowen are just awesome and Honorable
Scythe Faraday is awesome too. Even though he is a killer and has lived
hundreds of years, he's a nice man and JUST READ THE BOOK!
Some
things happen and Citra and Rowen get separated and are training under
different scythes. Citra is under Honorable Scythe Curie and Rowen gets
the evil Scythe Goddard <--- I'm not even calling him honorable. He's
a twat!
There is a lot more going on in the book and reasons for this that and the other but you can read all of that for yourself.
For me, the book was awesome and that's all I care about. And that ending . . .
YES, JUST YES!!!! ♥
Happy Reading!
Mel ♥
GoodReads Review
“This is a powerful
story of grief, love, forgiveness, and holy mystery, and I loved it.
Billy Coffey is a master storyteller.” —Lauren Denton, USA Today bestselling author of The Hideaway
Owen Cross grew up with two loves: one a game, the other a girl.
One of his loves ruined him. Now he’s counting on the other to save him.
Owen Cross’s father is a hard man, proud in his
brokenness, who wants nothing more than for Owen to succeed where he
failed. With his innate talents and his father’s firm hand guiding him,
Owen goes to college with dreams of the major leagues—and an emptiness
full of a girl named Micky Dullahan.
Owen loved Micky from the
first time they met on the hill between their two worlds: his
middle-class home and her troubled Shantytown. Years later he leaves her
for the dugouts and the autographs, but their days together follow him.
When he finally returns home, he discovers that even peace comes at a
cost. And that the hardest things to say are to the ones we love the
most.
From bestselling author Billy Coffey comes a haunting story
of small-town love, blinding ambition, and the risk of giving it all
for one last chance.
“In one evening, a single baseball game,
Coffey invites us into a lifetime. With lyrical prose and aching
description we join Owen Cross on a journey of love, loss, faith, the
unexpected—and America’s favorite pastime.” —Katherine Reay, author of Dear Mr. Knightley and The Austen Escape
@goodreads
This is a book about Owen Cross and his life in the past and present. I did get confused at times the way this went back and forth. It seemed suddenly to me and I had to play catch up.
I don't like baseball so those parts were boring to me. I enjoyed all of the meaningful things in the book.
EXCERPT:
The memory of crumpling those two pieces of paper and tossing them into the trash has followed me like a curse. The crinkle of the pages in my hand; the edge of Dad's letter nicking the side of my forefinger, drawing blood; the faint smell of Mom's perfume. None of it mattered to me then, non of it felt real. I slipped down the hallway and fell to bed, forgetting how far that ball had traveled and how proud my mother would be regardless. I could have gon oh-for-five that afternoon and sacrificed a puppy between innings, she still would have left me a note that said, Love Mom.
It meant little to me then. It means near everything now that she's gone.
The above excerpt I can totally relate to. There are many times I think back over my life that I got rid of things that I would give anything to get back now. Things that may have seemed little but are so much more important now. I try not to do that now.
I was a little confused with the relationship with Micky and Owen. I guess he wasn't supposed to be with someone lower than him. I'm not really sure. But she loved him and I know he loved her.
I also love how the author writes some lyrical words.
EXCERPT:
Micky went rigid with wonder. Her hand thrummed in my own. Our eyes met, and in them we each beheld entire worlds. Her lips parted to breaths that came in the soft noise of joy wedded to bliss, leaving her own golden suns to rupture and race. When that breath crossed my path, I felt every ripple and hidden atom. They caressed me like a mother's touch, the tickle of a dandelion held at your chin. What felt like warm water flooded down my arm into Micky's. Tingling, almost probing me, the way a fish will nibble at your toes when you dangle them just over a pond's surface. That arm rose as Micky lifted the hand I held. It came into sight bathed in the train's honey-yellow-lights--all the outside world the bubble allowed to penetrate. Our fingers were laced, and with a terrible awe two joined objects so filled of wonder and horror that I felt my mind strain and bend and finally snap.
Those words seem magical to me.
I think Micky was trying to be a really good person even though she had a horrible father. Just because your family is bad doesn't mean you have to be. I think she tried so hard to help others that were in the poor community she was in.
EXCERPT:
"I tried telling y'all this, though I don't think I been too good at it. But the Shantie fold know. It's easier for the poor folk to hear the truth of things. They ain't got as much to lose. We got a new church out there called the Fellowship of the Lost, since that's what we was. And I want to invite y'all. Don't matter to us who you are, you're welcome. I guess I'll be the one to preach. You'll hear much of what I told you today."
I think a lot of people will love this book and that is wonderful. It really is a good book, especially if you love baseball and people that are real.
*Thank you to BookLookBloggers for a print copy of this book.*
Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal. . . .
A murder… . . . a tragic accident… . . . or just parents behaving badly?
What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.
But who did what?
Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:
Madeline
is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she
remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi
new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their
daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is
this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter
seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This.
Possible?).
Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes
the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times,
who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys
are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king
and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a
price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to
pay.
New to town, single mom Jane is so young that
another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years
and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and
Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the
arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.
Big Little Lies
is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and
daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell
ourselves just to survive. @goodreads
Loved this book more after the show and a re/read
I
love how the three women became close friends. I loved how Madeline
took Jane and Ziggy in and was a truly great friend. And she's funny
too.
Madeline
has a husband and three kids, one of which she shares with her
ex-husband. She's not happy about any of this but it is what it is. And
it makes her a bit crazy which is understandable.
Jane
is a single mom to Ziggy whom she loves very much. Jane's has a sad
story too but I'm so glad she had so many great new friends to back her
up!
Celeste is living in a world of lies but it all works out in the end
I don't care about the murder. I think it was well deserved and I don't care what anyone thinks about that statement. 😊
In the end it all comes down to great friends and taking care of one another.
Happy Reading.
Mel
Old 2015 Review
When
I first started this book I was confused and not sure I could get
through it because I checked out the audio version from my library.
But.. I soon got into it and starting learning about the characters and
fell in love with it. This book WILL be put on my Amazon wishlist to be
bought and read again!
I loved listening to these people's
lives. Each person had a sad story to tell, just regular life for most
people. I was so upset when little Ziggy was targeted as a bully when he
was not, and this in turn made people and children start bullying him! I
didn't think that was right. I was so glad to find out the real reason
behind all of that and to find out that Ziggy was a little trooper for
it.
We all know the book starts out with a murder by the blurb
and anyone that has read the first of the book. But it doesn't say who
or what, it goes right into telling about the people involved on that
fateful night and their lives.
I was so shocked at the end. I
DID NOT see that one coming at all. It's not just about trying to figure
out who murdered who..whom? You think you might know what's going to
happen by the things being told about these stories of each woman's
life, but you just don't. There are several little surprises in the book
and a few people you would like to beat into a pulp.
I just
thoroughly loved this book. I have to say this is the first book I have
read by this author but it's not going to the last if they are as good
as this one!
Goodreads Review
It was supposed to be epic.
During
a late-night poker game, tennis teammates Colin, Ceo, Grahame, and
Rhody make a pact to go on a camping trip in Yosemite National Park. And
poker vows can’t be broken.
So the first sign that they should
ditch the plan is when Rhody backs out. The next is when Ceo replaces
him with Ellie, a girl Grahame and Colin have never even heard of. And
then there’s the forest fire at their intended campsite.
But instead
of bailing, they decide to take the treacherous Snow Creek Falls Trail
to the top of Yosemite Valley. From there, the bad decisions really pile
up.
A freak storm is threatening snow, their Craigslist tent is a
piece of junk, and Grahame is pretty sure there’s a bear on the prowl.
On top of that, the guys have some serious baggage (and that’s not
including the ridiculously heavy ax that Grahame insisted on packing)
and Ellie can’t figure out what their deal is.
And then one of them doesn’t make it back to the tent.
Desperate
to survive while piecing together what happened, the remaining hikers
must decide who to trust in this riveting, witty, and truly
unforgettable psychological thriller that reveals how one small mistake
can have chilling consequences. @goodreads
*I would like to thank BookishFirst and Hachette Book Group for a print copy of this book*
When
I first read the sampler to the book I thought it sounded awesome and
the summary didn't sound too bad either. But unfortunately, this was a
"Bad Call" for me.
The story is about a group of people: Collin,
Ceo, Grahame and Ellie going out on a camping trip together. Now
another friend was supposed to go with them but he backed out. He was
the lucky one.
There ends up being fights, fires, snow storms, maybe a bear, an axe and a very strange adventure in my opinion.
I know plenty of people will love this book so pick it up and decide for yourself.
Happy Reading!
Mel ♥
Kaine Prescott is no
stranger to death. When her husband died two years ago, her pleas for
further investigation into his suspicious death fell on deaf ears. In
desperate need of a fresh start, Kaine purchases an old house sight
unseen in her grandfather's Wisconsin hometown. But one look at the
eerie, abandoned house immediately leaves her questioning her rash
decision. And when the house's dark history comes back with a vengeance,
Kaine is forced to face the terrifying realization she has nowhere left
to hide.
A century earlier, the house on Foster Hill holds nothing
but painful memories for Ivy Thorpe. When an unidentified woman is found
dead on the property, Ivy is compelled to discover her identity. Ivy's
search leads her into dangerous waters and, even as she works together
with a man from her past, can she unravel the mystery before any other
lives--
including her own--are lost? @goodreads
This story is told in two stories. We have the story of Ivy from the past and Kaine from the present. But they are both intertwined.
We begin with Ivy's story. She helped her father with dead bodies, trying to figure out what happened to them.
The body of a woman found in a tree at the Foster Hill House was pretty creepy.
Excerpt:
The petite body was curled into the position of a babe, inside the tree's womb. Blond hair hung free over her cold, bare shoulders and floated out on the wind. Her torso was covered in a paper-thin dress of gray calico. It was nowhere near enough to keep her warm, but it was more than the cold that tinted the young woman's skin blue. It was death.
In the present, Kaine buys Foster Hill House sight unseen and she's in for a shocker at the creepy, broken-down house.
but Kaine is bound and determined to make it work because she can't go back to the city. Her husband died and she believes he was murdered. She's terrified that she was being stalked by the killer so she moved, but now she thinks the killer followed her to her new home.
Kaine finds some really nice friends in Joy and Grant, maybe a little more in Grant later on. She also adopts a sweet dog named Olive.
Like I saId, the story goes back and forth from Ivy to Kaine. Ivy finds out that the dead girl had a baby, but where is the baby? And what happened to this girl.
The stories come to a head at the end when they all come together.
I thought the story was a good little mystery.
*Thank you to BethanyHouseBloggers for a print copy of this book.*
OMG! I got me a little surprise delivery here on Sunday morning. Yes, Sunday morning. Wow, I could have used this box to start my youtube channel but I jumped the gun and managed to only snap some pictures as I opened the box!
The box is freaking awesome! Wait until you see the inside of the box. Needless to say I'm keeping said box as well as all the goodies!
Ta-da! What I saw when I opened the box! Look the the awesome picture on the top and the cool paper with all the goodies wrapped!
Look at the close up of the little sticker. I didn't want to tear it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I opened the pretty paper, this is what I saw.
I couldn't fit everything into the main picture so I crammed them into the shot the best I could.
We have a shirt of the 100th episode with Rick and Negan along with 3 pairs of socks! What! Yessssss!
We have an awesome card of King E. and one of The Gang! Love them so much!
There is a big sticker of all the groups in the show!!
And last but not least I have a Jesus Funko Pop, A lanyard and a mug! How freaking awesome!
I hope you guys enjoyed looking at this box as much as I did receiving it!
Happy Watching!
Mel ♥
I was born for killing – the gods made me to ruin.
At
the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a
few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes
beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to
deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of
blade and fist.
But even the mistresses of sword and shadow
don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is
brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused
of murder: guilty of worse.
Stolen from the shadow of the noose,
Nona is sought by powerful enemies, and for good reason. Despite the
security and isolation of the convent her secret and violent past will
find her out. Beneath a dying sun that shines upon a crumbling empire,
Nona Grey must come to terms with her demons and learn to become a
deadly assassin if she is to survive… @goodreads
Do not mess with these nuns . . . 
It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you
bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of Sweet Mercy
Convent Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men
No child truly believes they will be hanged. Even on the
gallows platform with the rope scratching at their wrists and the shadow
of the noose upon their face they know that someone will step forward, a
mother, a father returned from some long absence, a king dispensing
justice . . . someone. Few children have lived long enough to understand
the world into which they were born. Perhaps a few adults have either,
but they at least have learned some bitter lessons.
First off you must know there are a bunch of jerk holes in
this book. Taking children from their homes to sell for different
reasons. Mainly to fight for some other jerk in the rings. Children
being killed for whatever stupid reason. And there was one part with a
horse that pissed me right off and I wanted to kill everyone in the
immediate area. But I digress.
Nona was about to be hanged but
she was saved by one of the sisters and carted off to the nun school.
Here she will train with the best and become what she is to become. You
find out if you have powers and what you will actually be. Killing with
poison, a stealer, a flat out killer with blades, your mind, etc and so
on.
Some of the teachers were beyond bad ass. Sister Tallow for one.
"More importantly you will learn about pain, fear, rage,
and control. You will learn how to balance the first three to achieve
the fourth. and you will carry those lessons into Grey Class where I
will put weapons in your hands and teach you what it is to be a Red
Sister. In Grey Class I will teach you how to make the fuckers bleed.
Pretty awesome!
I'm not going to go into all of the classes etc. Why? because I don't feel like it and spoilers and you can read the book.
There
are mixed reviews on the book. Some people think it was too boring and
some loved it. I loved it and you need to decide for YOURSELF what you
like. I can't wait for the next book out this coming year! Because I
have a feeling that it's going to be the one that takes this to whole
new level. Now don't get me wrong, there are some bloody killings in
this book but we will get to the main stuff in the other books I do
believe.
Happy Reading! Mel ♥
Below is my main picture with all of the goodies.
Next we have the book of the month which is Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills. A letter from the author, signed bookplate, & a cute little embroidered patch
Next we have a gorgeous little magnet inspired by Percy Jackson. We have a candle inspired by The Names They Give Us by Emery Lord. It smells nice too ♥ And the little pin we always get from Owlcrate =)
We have a lovely tote bag that is inspired by the wonderful Harry Potter series ♥
We have a beautiful 2018 planner and reading journal with a beautiful Owl design on it. We have the card with all of the spoilers on it as well as the Owlcrate pamphlet that has some goodies in it.
The next two photos look the same but I wanted to add the double-sided bookmark that has quotes from The Serpent King as well as The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Also a wooden ornament inspired by Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. And another bookmark as well. Along with the teaser card for next month which looks like with be about Fairy Tales
I hope you have enjoyed this unboxing! Merry Christmas and Happy Reading! Mel ♥
The stunningly
original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent
young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their
world...or doom it.
When assassins ambush her best friend,
the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing
her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only
people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of
prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood
and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven
trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless
the trials kill her first.
A thousand years later, the legend of
Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora.
When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to
keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her
mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in
their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous
mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more
terrible than she ever imagined.
As Rielle and Eliana fight in a
cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the
shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their
world--and of each other. @goodreads
Holy
shite balls! I loved this freaking book and I have a new favorite
author and I hope the rest of the books in the series are just as good! 
I
love some bad arse woman in books. I had about 20 gifs of bad arse
women to go with this statement but we will just go with a couple or
so.... =D 
This
story is about Eliana and Rielle. This is told from both of their
stories, one from the past and one in the present. I'm not going to get
to heavy into this book as it comes out in May 2018.
Both women
have wonderful characters in their stories. They have magic and they do
good things and not so good things. It's a world people, a world full of
everything! I love it! Fighting, killing, plotting, magic, assassins,
angels, etc ....
I'm going to add a few excerpts that are actually some chapter headings:
"Since our war with the humans began, I have had only one
dream. Every night, the fog surrounding it lifts, and I understand more
of what I see: a woman, made of gold brighter than the sun. She stands
in a river of blood, and light falls from the ends of her hair. Is she
friend or foe? This my dreams have not made clear to me. But I know
this: she will come. In this war, or the next-she will come."
-Lost writings of the angel Aryava
***
"Lift your eyes to the eastern skies
Wait for the sun, and with it-rise
We will march down the roads gone black with the dead
We will tear down their walls and paint their crowns red."
-A rowing song composed by suspected Red Crown ally
Ioseph Ferracora during the siege of Arxara Bay
***
"Dark-hearted
Tameryn had never seen anything good come by daylight. With her
daggers, she carved shadows from every corner and hollow. She breathed
life into their gasping mouths, twined them around her limbs and neck,
tied their newborn fingers into the ends of her hair. There the shadows
whispered secrets to her, in gratitude, and so she was never alone, and
always safe in the shroud of night."
-The Book of the Saints
This book made my day!
Happy Reading! Mel ♥
