Monday, September 28, 2020

The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning



When a princess’s commoner true love is kidnapped to coerce her into a political marriage, she doesn’t give in—she goes to rescue him.

When her warrior father, King Sendoa, mysteriously dies, Princess Amarande of Ardenia is given what would hardly be considered a choice: Marry a stranger at sixteen or lose control of her family’s crown.

But Amarande was raised to be a warriornot a sacrifice. 

In an attempt to force her choice, a neighboring kingdom kidnaps her true love, stable boy Luca. With her kingdom on the brink of civil war and no one to trust, she’ll need all her skill to save him, her future, and her kingdom.

The Princess Will Save You is a YA fantasy adventure inspired by The Princess Bride, in which a princess must rescue her stable boy true love, from the acclaimed author of Sea Witch, Sarah Henning.

MY REVIEW: 4 Stars ⭐️ 

This has nothing to do with Princess Bride. Will people stop with that crap....



I was back and forth for a bit with the book because I’m in some kind of book slump crisis crap thing!! 

Anyway, I loved ole what’s her head. I thought she was a good bad ass girl with a good head on her shoulders. Oh and she killed some bad people. 

I loved the secondary characters as well! I do look forward to the next book and damn if the cover of that book isn’t awesome too!! Charlie Bowater!! I still want her to sale her own art picture book!! 

Happy Reading Peeps! 
Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎ

Friday, September 25, 2020

The Girl Of Hawthorn And Glass by Adam Jerreat-Poole


Eli isn’t just a teenage girl — she’s a made-thing the witches created to hunt down ghosts in the human world. Trained to kill with her seven magical blades, Eli is a flawless machine, a deadly assassin. But when an assignment goes wrong, Eli starts to question everything she was taught about both worlds, the Coven, and her tyrannical witch-mother. 



Worried that she’ll be unmade for her mistake, Eli gets caught up with a group of human and witch renegades, and is given the most difficult and dangerous task in the worlds: capture the Heart of the Coven. With the help of two humans, one motorcycle, and a girl who smells like the sea, Eli is going to get answers — and earn her freedom

MY REVIEW: 2 Stars ⭐️ 

Wow! I’m sad I didn’t love this book! I thought I might be different from the majority of my friends and really love it.

I love the idea of this book. I loved the main character and a few others. I loved that this was a weird book. I love that it made me feel like it could have been a crazy teen version of Bladerunner in its own weird way. I never go by what any synopsis says a book is like; comparing it to other books. I find, in my opinion, that is generally crap and nothing like any other book. This book has its own uniqueness, but there was something missing. And I might give this book another shot someday just to make sure it’s not my mood.

I would love for people to give this book a chance as it could be your jam as it was right on the edge for me.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book.

Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎ

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Warmaidens by Kelly Coon



Warmaidens is the dark, action-packed conclusion to the heartwrenching Gravemaidens fantasy duology. Kammani and the maidens are now going to war against the ruler who tried to entomb them.

Just a few moons after escaping the tomb in Alu, Kammani and the other runaway maidens have found refuge in the city-state of Manzazu. There, Kammani has become a respected healer, especially among the warriors she’s brought back from the brink of death. Now that the nightmares of Alu are fading, she can finally decide whether or not to take Dagan’s hand in marriage.

But when an assassin murders a healer he believes is Kammani and attempts to kill the displaced queen of Alu, the maidens realize they’ve been found.

Hungry for revenge, Manzazu’s queen wants to strike back at Alu with her fiercest weapons—her scorpion warrior maidens—but Kammani knows that war harms more than it heals. To save the innocents and any chance of a future with Dagan, Kammani must take down Alu’s ruler before their lives burn up in the flames of war.
 

MY REVIEW: 3 Stars ⭐️ 


I actually enjoyed the first book more than this conclusion. And I have to point out the covers of these books are beautiful! 

Dagan is my favorite character, he’s just a sugar plum! I got mad sometimes at how Kammani treated him. I still enjoyed Kammani, but she seemed a bit different. 

There is still some blood and gore, nothing major in my opinion as I read some Grimdark, but it’s there. Naturally, some people die as well. 

I was happy with the ending and I loved the story of the boatman, that brought a little tear to my eye. 

At any rate, I still enjoyed the book. 

Happy Reading! 
Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎ

*Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for a digital copy of this book

Monday, September 21, 2020

Cujo by Stephen King



THE ULTIMATE BEAST IS LOOSE--AND STEPHEN KING IS SENDING HIM YOUR WAY!
A big, friendly dog chases a rabbit into a hidden underground cave - and stirs a sleeping evil crueler than death itself. A terrified four year-old boy sees his bedroom closet door swing open untouched by human hands, and screams at the unholy red eyes gleaming in the darkness. The little Maine town of Castle Rock is about to be invaded by the most hideous menace ever to savage the flesh and devour the mind...
--back cover

MY REVIEW: 4.5 Stars ⭐️ 

Love book & movie!



Found two old school books of Cujo and one has pics!















Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎ

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Primer by Jennifer Muro



Primer introduces a brand-new superhero with a colorful array of superpowers to explore.

Ashley Rayburn is an upbeat girl with a decidedly downbeat past. Her father is a known criminal who once used Ashley to help him elude justice, and in his attempt to escape, a life was taken. He now sits in federal prison, but still casts a shadow over Ashley's life. In the meantime, Ashley has bounced from foster home to foster home and represents a real challenge to the social workers who try to help her--not because she's inherently bad, but because trouble always seems to find her.

Ashley's latest set of presumably short-term foster parents are Kitch and Yuka Nolan. Like Ashley, Kitch happens to be an artist. Yuka, on the other hand, is a geneticist working for a very high-level tech company, one that's contracted out to work for the government and the military. And it's Yuka's latest top secret project that has her very concerned. Developed for the military, it's a set of body paints that, when applied to the wearer, grant them a wide range of special powers. Fearful that this invention will be misused, Yuka sneaks the set of paints home, substituting a dummy suitcase with an ordinary set of paints in their place.

From here, signals get crossed. Ashley comes home from school one day with her new friend Luke and, thinking that the Nolans have purchased a surprise gift for her upcoming birthday, finds the set of paints. Being an artist, Ashley naturally assumes these are for her. It isn't long before she realizes that she's stumbled upon something much bigger and a lot more dangerous. Although she uses her newly discovered powers for good, it's not long before the military becomes wise to what happened to their secret weapon. And this spells big trouble not only for Ashley, but for her newfound family and friends as well.
 

MY REVIEW: 5 Stars ⭐️ 

Gah! That was super cute and I loved the art! I borrowed it from the library but I added the paperback to my Amazon wishlist πŸ˜ƒ. Here’s some graphics 

















Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎ


Saturday, September 19, 2020

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman



This is a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.

Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers slowly begin opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.

As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.

MY REVIEW: 5 Beautiful Stars ⭐️ 

Omg!! I love this author so much!! It took me awhile to quit crying so I could write a few words. This book gave me all of the feels and got plopped right on my favorites list!



This is a story about a bank robbery, an apartment viewing, and a hostage drama. But even more it’s a story about idiots. But perhaps not only that.


I love each of the characters so damn much. They just stole my heart. This book is funny, sad, hopeful.... There is suicide. There is everything. I marked many pages. The book took me by surprise because I thought one thing was happening and things turned out so different and good and beautiful.

This book also had me laughing on and off as well as the crying. I’ll leave a few more quotes and end it there. I look forward to reading this over and over. And I have to say, I wish I could find me a crazy, sweet group like this and be friends forever.

"So now we all know each other! Lovely!" Estelle declared, so delighted that she clapped her hands. And for such a slight person she could clap her hands surprisingly hard. Which isn’t a great thing to do in a room in which someone is holding a pistol, seeing as everyone thought that the sudden clap was a pistol shot and threw themselves down to the floor.

The bank robber looked at the prone bodies in surprise, then, with a scratch of the head, turned to Estelle and said: "Thanks. That was very helpful of you."

*

Then Roger looked around for something heavy to attach the note to, and eventually found a round object that seemed just the right density. That was how the police came to hear someone shout from the balcony again, and when Jack looked up, a lime hit him on the forehead.

From a distance, that makes one hell of a bump.




Happy Reading!
Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎ

Friday, September 18, 2020

Owlcrate September Unboxing

OMG Y’ALL! I love everything in this box! 

First up is an Edgar Allen Poe blanket with the full text of The Raven!


Next is stainless steel skull spoons inspired by The Bone Houses. Sleepy Hollow lip balm. A Black Flame candle inspired by Hocus Pocus and smells great! And the cutest enamel bookmark (death before DNF)


The book of the month and lovely enamel pin. Horrid by Katrina Leno and OMG, look at the art under the dustjacket! This is the best Owlcrate bookish stuff!! 





Happy Reading! 
Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎ

Thursday, September 17, 2020

The Scarecrow (Solom #1) by Scott Nicholson




Katy Logan wasn’t quite sure why she left her finance career in the big city to marry religion professor Gordon Smith and move to the tiny Appalachian Mountain community of Solom.

Maybe she just wanted to get her 13-year-old daughter Jett away from the drugs and bad influences. Maybe she wanted to escape from the memories of her first husband. Or perhaps she was enchanted by the promise of an idyllic life on the farm that has been in Gordon’s family for 150 years.

But the move has been anything but stress-free, because the man she married seems more interested in the region’s rural Baptist sects than in his new wife. The Smith family secrets run deep: Gordon teases Katy and Jett with a story about a wicked scarecrow that comes in from the fields at night to slake an unnatural thirst. Gordon’s great-grandfather was a horseback preacher who mysteriously disappeared while on a mission one wintry night, and some say a rival preacher did him in.

Gordon’s first wife Rebecca died under equally mysterious circumstances, and Katy’s starting to believe Rebecca’s spirit is still in the house. The scent of lilacs drifts across the kitchen, doors slam shut with no one else home, and the kitchen curtains flutter even when the windows are closed. Katy becomes obsessed with Rebecca’s recipes and clothes, and she finds herself driven to find out more about Rebecca to emulate her and therefore please Gordon. To make matters worse, Gordon’s herd of goats watches Katy every time she leaves the house, fixing their rectangular pupils on her as if waiting for some silent command.

Jett is worried about Mom, but she has worries of her own. A Goth girl in a rural elementary school, she gets teased for being different. She misses her dad, and feels guilty because her drug abuse forced Mom to enter a hasty marriage with Gordon. The pressure leads her back to drugs despite her promise to Mom. Now she fears the drugs are blowing her mind. She’s starting to hallucinate, and the goats, scarecrows, and a strange man in a black hat are all part of her madness.

But the residents of Solom know all about the man in the black hat. They whisper the legends around the pot-bellied stove at the general store, they pray for protection from him in their little white churches, they think about him as they gather hay, harvest corn, and work their gardens. The brave ones talk about him, believing him dead and buried, but nobody dares to utter his name.

The Reverend Harmon Smith has come back more than century after his last missionary trip, and he has unfinished business. But first Katy and Jett must be brought into the family, and the farm must be prepared to welcome him home. Gordon has been denying his heritage, but now it’s time to choose sides. Does he protect the ones he loves, or surrender to the ancestral urge for revenge?

And can Katy and Jett forge a bond before night falls on Solom forever?

MY REVIEW: 4 Stars ⭐️ 

Holy crap on a saltine cracker!! I read this book for my Horror Group Challenge and I was a wee bit cray! 



The thing loomed, seven feet tall, a lantern in one gloved hand that cast flickering shadows up into a face she couldn’t see because of the straw hat pulled low. It’s other hand held a darkly gleaming scythe.

"The scarecrow wasn’t always an outfit of clothing stuffed with straw,” Gordon said, returning to work. "In those days, a live man was tied in the garden."




And there are possessed goats. I love goats so much, but not possessed ones. 



And we not only have the creepy scarecrow and possessed goats, we have a crazy preacher on a horse and a ghost! 





Jett’s mom Katy married a nutcase man named Gordon. They moved out to his goat/corn farm and things go from worse to worse!! 

I enjoyed this book but for a few things. I would definitely read it again. 

Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎπŸŽƒ

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Kitty’s Mix Tape by Carrie Baughn


The final installment of the bestselling Kitty Norville series showcases the paranormal escapades of Carrie Vaughn’s fan-favorite werewolf talk-show host. This engaging short fiction collection - with its own soundtrack for each tale - is sure to delight both existing Kitty fans and anyone who enjoys urban fantasy at its grittiest and best.

“The only urban fantasy world where I want to read every book of the series.” -The Denver Post

“Enough excitement, astonishment, pathos, and victory to satisfy any reader.” -Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse series

Kitty Norville still can’t stay away from trouble of the supernatural kind.

Everyone’s favorite werewolf DJ is here to mix it up just one last time. Here you will find, or even newly discover, the irrepressible Kitty Norville with friends and enemies alike: Rick the vampire; Jessi Hardin, paranormal detective; Kitty’s husband Ben; Cormac, the bounty hunter; and the villainous Dux Bellorum. These irresistible tales are full of unpredictable twists and turns: lupines experimenting with astronomy, a cheating boxer with preternatural strength, vampires arriving from the Philippines.

As a special treat, author Carrie Vaughn (Bannerless) has provided her own selections for a mix-tape: story notes and songs dedicated to each tale.

So whatever you do, don't miss Kitty before she is gone. . . .

MY REVIEW: 3 Stars ⭐️ 

I love all of the Kitty Norville books. I have all of the mass market paperbacks as well. So I was excited to see this new book after all of these years. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the five star book I figured it would be. Don’t get me wrong, I still liked it but didn’t love it and that’s okay. 

I love the title and that’s exactly what the book is, random stories about Kitty or her world or other worlds. 

Kitty and Ben will always have a special place in my heart

*Thank you to Netgalley and Tachyon Publications for a digital copy of this book. 

Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎ




The Rage Of Dragons by Evan Winter



Game of Thrones meets Gladiator in this debut epic fantasy about a world caught in an eternal war, and the young man who will become his people's only hope for survival.

The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable fight for almost two hundred years. Their society has been built around war and only war. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.

Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war.

Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He's going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn't get the chance. 

Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He'll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him.

The Rage of Dragons launches a stunning and powerful debut epic fantasy series that readers are already calling "the best fantasy book in years.

MY REVIEW: 4.5 Stars ⭐️ 

Omg!!! Why did I wait so long to read this book!! I love me some revenge books!!! Eff them up Tau!! 







The freaking action in this book is right out of the gates people. The battles! I was on the edge in my mind screaming, KILL THEM ALL!! 

I didn’t feel there was too much world building in this book. I felt it was more character driven which is just fine with me. You don’t want to step away from the characters for one freaking minute! And I love Tau! He’s my hero..uh...warrior. I loved all of the characters. 

Tau had so many things happen to him and it made me sad for him and all involved. But.... 

And just like that, there was no going back. A dragon had been called, and someone would have to die.




Yeah, bitches! He’s coming for you!! Woot! πŸ˜‚πŸ€£

Mel πŸΆπŸ–€πŸΊπŸΎ

Monday, September 14, 2020

The Shadows by Alex North



You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat.

Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and senile, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.

It's not long before things start to go wrong. Reading the news, Paul learns another copycat has struck. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.

It wasn't just the murder.

It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...

MY REVIEW: 3 Stars ⭐️ 

Holy shit!! Boom! Bitch ass bullies!!


And zee creepy hands. Muahahaha...

Red hands, red hands, red hands everywhere—




Well, it got me for awhile and then it pissed me off. I liked how the ending tied up nicely. But, like I said, a few parts got to me and pissed me off. AND NO, DON’T ASK

Anyhoo, on to the next! 😘

Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎ



Saturday, September 12, 2020

Beastars Volume 5 by Paru Itagaki



At this high school, instead of jocks and nerds, the students are divided into predators and prey.

At a high school where the students are literally divided into predators and prey, friendships maintain the fragile peace. Who among them will become a Beastar—a hero destined to lead in a society naturally rife with mistrust?

Dwarf rabbit Haru has been abducted by Shishi-gumi, a gang of rogue lions infamous for torturing, murdering and devouring herbivores. The mayor offers to help, but can he be trusted when he himself is a lion? Meanwhile, Legoshi tracks Haru’s scent, determined to rescue her at any cost, while Haru both defies her captors and tries to accept her fate. Elsewhere, red deer Louis is faced with a terrible temptation…

MY REVIEW: 4.5 Stars ⭐️ 

I love this series, although some things are disturbing. This book in particular has disturbing scenes to me. Mature audiences only. And I’m not showing those scenes!












Mel πŸ–€πŸΆπŸΊπŸΎ