YOUTUBE

WRAP UP // TBR

I am quite amazed with myself this month. I believe my reading speed is picking up quite a bit. I also have to thank the many snow days and the week off of school. During the month of February I was able to complete 12 books, 5 graphic novels and 2 novellas!

Books

• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
• First Year by Rachel Carter
• Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
• The Archived by Victoria Schwab
• The Unbound by Victoria Schwab
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
• A Trip Down Reality Lane by Ian Thomas Malone
• A Time to Reap by Jonas Lee
• Enclave by Ann Aguirre
• An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund
• Shatter Me By Tahereh Mafi

Graphic Novels

• The Walking Dead Volume 1
• The Walking Dead Volume 2
• The Walking Dead Volume 3
• Saga Volume 1
• In Real Life

Novellas

• Leave the Window Open by Victoria Schwab
• Hell's Menagerie by Austin Dragon

I have a couple more reviews to go up from this list that I just didn't have a chance to write up this month.

For the month of March I have some exciting things happening, One of them is being part of the blog tour for the book - The Sara Chronicles by L. Hughes, this will be happening near the end of March and she will be visiting my blog on March 27th so watch out for that!

TBR LIST

These are books I'm hoping to finish in March, no particular order!

• The Sara Chronicles by L. Hughes
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
• Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
• Matched by Ally Condie

I am hoping I will have more time in this month to read then I foresee. We are coming into the last month of this semester so the next month is going to be full of end of semester projects and exam prep. 

I also did a video for youtube that I am in the process of editing. I am very nervous about uploading it but I'm hoping to do well with it as well! 

I hope your month of reading went well. Keep Reading!!

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ENCLAVE

"Decimated by war and plague, New York City residents live underground to early 20s. Deuce turns 15, is paired as Hunters with Fade who lived Topside as a boy. Elders refuse warnings that Freaks, tunnel monsters, are more organized and destroyed next enclave. Elders exile pair to face unexpected dangers and feelings. Girl born in darkness must survive in daylight ruins, guided by boy's distant memories." - goodreads.com

I was debating whether or not to write a review on this book, only because I don't have very much to say about. It was a very short read, something I grabbed with a pile of books while at the library. I have the second one as well but again not sure how I really feel about this book.

The author could have done so much more than she did, I felt like I was reading a whole bunch of unnecessary filler. If you have read the Maze Runner books, you would know [if you feel the same as me that is] that book two and three had a lot of filler that the books would have been fine without. Hell, Maze Runner could have been squished into one book and it would have done well... er well maybe. Just read the first book and pretend the other two didn't happen.

Anyway, this book follows a girl named Deuce.... [seriously?] who is a huntress for an enclave underground, people live underground because the 'topside' is to believed to be uninhabitable after war and plague. Deuce gets herself a partner - Fade who wasn't born in the enclave but found one day in the tunnels. Fade is from the top side... Some things happen, other things happen and Deuce and Fade find themselves exiled with nowhere to go but to the topside. Again I felt like I was reading Maze Runner while I read this book... except there wasn't a monster company controlling everything, it is a bunch of children running a small group of kids underground with ridiculous rules.

If you're looking for a short read to fill some time, maybe you have a goal for the month to read a certain amount of books, pick it up. Otherwise, I'd say don't bother.

2 out of 5 stars!!

Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. She likes all kinds of books, emo music, action movies and Doctor Who. She writes all kind of fiction in multiple genres, both YA and for adults.

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THE UNBOUND

"Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Last summer, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, almost lost her life to one. Now, as she starts her junior year at Hyde School, she's struggling to get her life back. But moving on isn't easy -- not when her dreams are haunted by what happened. She knows the past is past, knows it cannot hurt her, but it feels so real, and when her nightmares begin to creep into her waking hours, she starts to wonder if she's really safe. 

Meanwhile, people are vanishing without a trace, and the only thing they seem to have in common is Mackenzie. She's sure the Archive knows more than they are letting on, but before she can prove it, she becomes the prime suspect. And unless Mac can track down the real culprit, she'll lose everything, not only her role as Keeper, but her memorie and even her life. Can Mackenzie untangle the mystery before she herself unravels?

With stunning prose and a captivating mixture of action, romance, and horror, The Unbound delves into a richly imagined world where no choice is easy and love and loss feel like two sides of the same coin." -goodreads.com

First of all OH MY GOD was this book good. I am truly in love, head over heels with Victora Schwab's writing, to the point that I went out and purchased Vicious and A Darker Shade of Magic! I could not wait to start this book, and sadly because of that I finished it in a day so then it was gone...

This is the second book in The Archived series, we are still following Mac while she deals with the post traumatic stress from the events that happened in the first book. I don't want to give anything away, Mac is trying to figure out if the things she is experiencing are real or not. Then on top of all that people are disappearing and of course Mac was either the last person that was with them, or that they talked to. Is someone setting her up?

I loved that there are more places and people in this book than the first. Mac starts at her new school so we are introduced to new friends and new places. And then there is Wesley.. oh Wesley, I adore him so much. I would like for Victoria to create me an amazing guy like Wesley. Mac and Wes belong together. The love and pull that Wesley has to make sure that Mac is safe just makes my heart melt. He is so well written, and such an amazing character.

I know that Victoria has a spot for the third book, but we don't have a cover or anything for it yet, so sadly can't continue on with the full series just yet, BUT there is a novella that she wrote from Wesley's point of view that you can read for free on her wordpress! I of course had to read it, because as I've made very clear, I love Wesley. I rated the novella 5 out 5 stars as well!

5 out of 5 stars!!

"You sound like thunderstorms and heavy rain, did you know that?" He lets out a soft, low laugh. "I never liked bad weather. Not until I met you."

"Wesley's noise -- that strange chaotic beat -- pours into the dream, like water, washing over his body and mind and the rooftop, filling it up until everything begins to dim and vanish."

"I dreamed of thunderstorms. Did you dream of concerts?"

Victoria is the product of a British mother, a Beverly Hills father, and a southern upbringing. Because of this, she has been known to say "tom-ah-toes," "like," and "y'all."

She also tells stories.

She loves fairy tales, and folklore, and stories that make her wonder if the world is really as it seems. - goodreads.com

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A TIME TO REAP

"Pemberton Academy is not just a school, it’s a gathering place for the children of the future that are afflicted with Temporal Displacement and Telepathy; in short, time travelers and mind readers who have been diagnosed with this “disease.” The Academy is not all as it seems after an explosion nearly takes one of its classmates, but not before Carter Gabel rescues her by using an unknown symptom related to his described illness. An unsanctioned group called the Program begins taking notice as the two classmates exhibit stronger abilities when they are together. Carter's sense of reality begins to unwind as he learns more about his estranged father's involvement with it all. 

Carter will have to overcome the past of his father leaving, the present of an unknown adversary hunting him down and a future that seems to change with each decision he makes. He will have to learn who to trust out of the people in his life if he wants to conquer the looming notion that the government may be hunting him down because of his developing abilities" - goodreads.com

This book was given to me by the author for an honest review

A Time to Reap follows a boy named Carter who can leap through time but sadly can not control when or where he leaps, leaving every time a complete surprise. On top of that, he loses his clothes every time he leaps. Carter very quickly starts to learn that there are talents he has that he didn't know about and he soon learns with the help of his mother, a man named David and a girl named Mo, just how powerful he is, and how to control it. Soon Carter and Mo realizes that they are wanted by a group of people who see their talents as a threat, and this is when the fun begins.

Jonas Lee did an amazing job with this book, it was extremely funny and keeps you well entertained. There were many surprises along the way as well that had me stating "no way! Crap-sandwiches!" I really liked Carter and Mo together, the relationship they develop becomes very sweet. I enjoyed the snarkiness between them. I also really liked how there were plot twists and surprises that had me wanting to read more and more. I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

Thank you very much Jonas Lee for sending me a free ebook through the YA group on goodreads! It is an amazing book to start what looks to be an amazing series that I know many people will enjoy. I look forward to seeing what happens next to Carter and Mo!

4 out of 5 stars!!

Jonas Lee is an author making his descent from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Living in the ever-changing climate with his wife and daughter, he likes to keep his mind occupied with stories that entertain and provoke thought. A child of the 80’s, his imagination has always been rampant as thoughts of time travel, other dimensions, religion and the fight of good versus evil has always been prevalent in his stories.

His debut series is set revolving around the legend that will become Carter Gabel, a time-traveling, snarky and humorous teen who is bound to make mistakes while making you laugh. - goodreads.com

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A TRIP DOWN REALITY LANE

"College life can be tough…
For a junior pursuing a degree in English with no plans for his future, living in the present is far better than the alternative.
One morning he wakes up and embarks on an acid trip to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts with two of his friends.
A step outside reality might be the best way to come back down to earth…
Along the way, the three friends discover what matters most to them, and more importantly, that life is not so much about answers as it is about the exploration of the questions.
When the real world doesn't quite cut it, take a journey down the rabbit hole." - goodreads.com

This book was given to me by the author for an honest review. 

First of all I want to thank Ian Thomas Malone very much for contacting me and offering me his new book to review. This book is due to release on February 24th, make sure to check it out!

I have to admit this book would not be something I would pick up, but I'm glad that I did have a chance to read it. The story is very well written while adding a lot of detail to let you experience the journey and 'trip' with the characters. I have never put much thought into drugs or alcohol so it was interesting to learn what happens during the use of them. I really enjoyed their journey that they were on with all their craziness and close calls. It was a very beautifully told with a very great ending.

One thing I know I was able to connect with was the talk about what it's like to be a college/university student, because I am lucky enough to be attending university, so I understand the want to escape reality for a little while to get away from the stress at school. I give major props to the main character for taking a poetry class, in university that would be hell. Also the cover is amazing, it's a very visual image of what you'd think you would see on an acid trip, the beautiful colours.

I believe that this book would work well for people who are just starting college or university that are younger than I am (18-20), who know what it's like to attend a kegger and maybe dabble a bit in recreational activities. 

I just want to make it known that I don't condone the use of drugs.

3 out of 5 stars!!

Ian Thomas Malone is an author and yogi from Greenwich, Connecticut. He graduated from Boston College in 2013, where he founded The Rock at Boston College. Five College Dialogues is his first published work. In his spare time, Ian enjoys swimming and overanalyzing popular culture, particularly Star Wars and A Song of Ice and Fire.

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SHADOW AND BONE

"Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart." - goodreads.com

First of all, this author has an awesome last name - Bardugo, I found myself just repeating it over and over because I liked the way it sounded. [haha, I'm weird] I got this book as a 'blind date' book from the library, I was actually quite excited when I opened up my package and found this book. It was in my goodreads TBR, so I was looking forward to getting this read. I love the cover, has a very Russian feel to it.

The story follows a girl named Alina, who believes she is nothing special, just another map maker helping her fellow soldiers fight the war that has been going on for dozens of years. When they venture into the 'unsea'/fold of darkness and get attacked by the man-eating volcra something magical happens. When Alina goes to the side of her best friend who is being attacked, something deep down inside calls to her, she answers and everything explodes into light. Turns out Alina is a sun-summoner, a very valuable magic power that the Grisha have not seen in a very long time. 

I got to admit it took WELL over 100 pages to get into this book, I just was not feeling it. The author put a lot of  words into it from either another language or a made up one, and then she lacked to actually explain what those words were. I actually went to good translate once or twice to try and figure it out. Nope, no answers.. just skip the word and move on, I suppose. So because of that I found myself missing a lot of the story because I didn't understand the words that were being given to me. I honestly thought it might be Russian because of the cover. The author did include a beautiful map at the beginning of the book which helped a lot. I love when authors do this so that you can actually see how far they have traveled and really get a real sense of where things are located in these fantasy worlds. 

I also fell in love with one of the main characters who ended up, not being a good person by the end of the book, so that was disappointing. I won't give away who, I don't want to ruin it for anyone.

Thankfully, the book did keep me entertained enough for me to want to know what would happen in the end. When finished I actually really enjoyed it and do plan on continuing with the series, maybe just not right away. 

3 out of 5 stars!

"one moment, I was staring into his slate-colored eyes, and the next, his lips were pressing into mine."

Leigh Bardugo is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Grisha Trilogy (Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising).

She was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, and graduated from Yale University, and has worked in advertising, journalism, and most recently, makeup and special effects. These days, she’s lives and writes in Hollywood where she can occasionally be heard singing with her band. Her new book, Six of Crows, arrives fall 2015.

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THE ARCHIVED

"The dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead, called 'Histories', rest in the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper is dangerous and a constant reminder of those she lost, Da and her little brother. Mac wonders about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. Yet someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall" - goodreads.com

The Archived follows a young girl named Mackenzie "Mac" who is a keeper for the Archive. She hunts the narrows for Histories that have woken up. After her family moves to a new location to 'escape' from the pain of losing her younger brother Ben, things start to change. Mac uses her unusual ability to read surfaces and people to see memories, history, and things she shouldn't know. This can cause a lot of problems for her, especially when she sees a murder that took place in her new apartment 60 years ago. From that point on everything starts to fall apart, questions pile up, and soon she doesn't know who she can trust. 

I loved Victoria's writing, it was very fast paced and very detailed. I didn't have any problem imagining the settings, or the people that Mac met along the way. I did have problems connecting with the main character, but I did enjoy the relationship she builds with Wesley. Wesley quickly became my favourite character. The first half of the book was sort of slow moving as they were building up the story and explaining exactly what Mac was and how she got her job. I was confused in the first couple chapters but it gets cleared up quite quickly and the pace picks up less then half way through. I finished this book quite fast which, to my amazement.

If you like books that are out of the ordinary, that have lots of secrets, and intense characters then I suggest you give this book a try. I enjoyed it and look forward to starting the next one - The Unbound.

Favourite Quotes

"but the one time I offered you water, you growled that water wouldn't fix a damn thing unless I meant to drown you with it"

"You know, the thing about a book like this is that it's meant to be heard, not read."

5 out of 5!!

Victoria is the product of a British mother, a Beverly Hills father, and a southern upbringing. Because of this, she has been known to say "tom-ah-toes," "like," and "y'all."

She also tells stories.

She loves fairy tales, and folklore, and stories that make her wonder if the world is really as it seems. - goodreads.com

Website

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Horrorstör

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking. 

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they'll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.  - goodreads.com

This book grabbed my attention when I saw it at my local bookstore the other day, I just had to pick it up. The layout is so unique for a novel, resembling the well-known Ikea catalogs, right down to those items listed on the cover being on said pages inside. The author even makes references back to Ikea and how Orsk is a rip off of Ikea at a much better value. It is listed under 'adult' and 'horror' but I really don't think it fits well under either. It was a very simple easy read. I finished it in less than a day, and horror? No, not at all, more like parody of a haunted store. To be perfectly honest the whole concept as to why the store was haunted was silly, and sometimes hard to follow. 

I rated this book more on the lower side of the 5 star scale and gave one star for the look of the book, the creativity that went into the cover, 'coupons' for the store, delivery slips, and floor maps deserve to be noticed. I thought the book was neat, I was excited to start it, and I'm glad I did pick it up. The story itself just wasn't all that great. The author must have worked a lot of retail and hated it because he makes it very well known how terrible retail is [I agree] and how places like Ikea create a maze for customers to get lost in, so they spend more money. 

If you are looking for a unique read, something more on the 'horror parody' side of things, I suggest getting horrorstor a look OR just pick it up to see the amazing detail that went into the cover and pages at the beginning of each chapter! 

3 out of 5!! 

Grady Hendrix does a job. His job is called "writing" which means that he is completely irrelevant and can be killed and turned into food at any time. He is one of the founders of the New York Asian Film Festival, but he is not responsible for the bad parts of it. He is also not Asian. For years, he was a regular film critic for the New York Sun but then it went out of business. He has written for Playboy Magazine, Slate, The Village Voice, the New York Post, Film Comment, and Variety before Variety fired him for writing about Asians. Variety does not like Asians. He writes fiction, also called "lies," and he writes non-fiction, which people sometimes mistakenly pay him for. There is a science fiction book called Occupy Space that he is the author of, and also a fantasy book called Satan Loves You which he wrote as well. Along with his BFF from high school, Katie Crouch, he is the co-author of the YA series, The Magnolia League. With Ryan Dunlavey he was co-authored the Li'l Classix series, which are cartoon degradations of classic literature, and with his wife, and Ryan, he wrote Dirt Candy: A Cookbook, the first graphic novel cookbook in America. His fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Pseudopod, and the anthology, The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination.He is very, very beautiful, but if you ever meet him, please do not let this make you uncomfortable. He does not judge.The New Yorker once ran a short profile of him, and this means that when the time comes and they are lining people up for the Space Arks he will be guaranteed a seat ahead of you. - gradyhendrix.com

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BLIND DATE

I went to the library today to see what they had to offer, I've hit a small reading slump, no matter what I pick up I can't get into it. I thought if I just went and wandered around I would find something interesting to get into. That's when I came across a wall of books wrapped in brown paper with the stickers above on them. Each one states what genre the book is, other then that there is no indication of what the book is!

This is such a wonderful idea. I know they say "Never judge a book by its cover" but a beautiful cover will always draw you in! I decided to grab two of these, one fantasy fiction and the other horror. I also picked up one other book as well. 

If your library did this sort of thing, would you be interested in picking one up, even though you can't see what it is??

For the fantasy fiction book, this is what was inside.

For the horror book, this is what was inside. 

The downside to this one is, it is the second book in a series... So I have to find the first one. I don't think anyone realized. 

The last book I picked up was -

I'm really looking forward to reading all of these!

Review for Horrorstör coming soon!!

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FIRST YEAR // THE BLACK MAGE

Before the age of seventeen the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice -follow tradition, or pursue a trial year in one of the realm's three war schools to study as a soldier, knight or mage...

For 15-year-old Ryiah the choice has always been easy. Become a warrior and leave the boring confines of her lowborn life behind. Set to enroll in the School of Knighthood on the eve of her next birthday, plans suddenly shift when her twin brother discovers powers. Hoping that hers will soon follow, she enrolls with Alex at the Academy instead -the realm's most notorious war school for those with magic. 

Yet when she arrives Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted apprenticeships. Every "first-year" is given a trial year to prove their worth -and no amount of hard work and drive will guarantee them a spot. It seems like everyone is rooting for her to fail -and first and foremost among them Prince Darren, the school prodigy who has done nothing but make life miserable since she arrived. 

When an accidental encounter leads Ryiah and Darren to an unlikely friendship she is convinced nothing good will come of it. But the lines become blurred when she begins to improve -and soon she is a key competitor for the faction of Combat... Still, nothing is ever as it seems -and when the world comes crashing down around her, Ry is forced to place faith in the one thing she can believe in -herself. Will it be enough?

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion through the read and review program on goodreads.com.

There is absolutely no way I can give this book the justice that it deserves in this review. First of all, I am very thankful that Rachel Carter decided to post in a group that I am in on goodreads, offering us a copy of her book to review. Second, I would like to thank Rachel for creating this beautiful piece of art. 

From that I'm sure you can tell that I loved this book. I am not the type of person to purchase a book after having read it because I would never read a book twice [with the exception of Harry Potter of course]. But this book, I need to own it. I need to have it on my shelf and I will 100% be reading it again. First year brought me back to my childhood when I would spend endless night pouring over Harry Potter and just devouring every word. I felt like a child again experiencing a world I just wanted to be apart of. This book has everything I love, magic, mages, amazing friendships, and most of all the setting. I am a sucker for everything that takes place in the time of kings and queens, castles, and horses as the only way to get from a to b. First year has made it to the top of my list of all time favourite books and I am extremely excited [and impatient] to start the next one in the series. 

Rachel's writing is beautiful, and made me excited to turn the page. I'm sure anyone would admit that you KNOW a book is going to be amazing when it opens up to an action scene in the first chapter. I was hooked right away. I have to admit I did squeal during the tad bit of romance that happens in this book. I won't give it away but it defiantly needed to happen, haha. I also really liked that Rachel didn't make her main character get everything she wanted like in most books where the main character is untouchable. Sometimes, it makes a book more interesting when the main character falls flat on their [beautiful] face. 

The determination of the characters in this book is also amazing, it made me stop and go "What am I doing I should be working my butt off in school like Ryiah!" Mind you, I still didn't put the book down, haha. By the way, I wish I could have been in the stands when they were doing the final exam for Alchemy! Come on technology, where is that machine to put me right into the fantasy worlds I just want to experience?

Down side? To be honest the only downside is that the second book isn't in my hands, and because I live in Canada -- the only way to get these books [physical copies that is] is through amazon, and shipping to Canada is ridiculous!

If you have not read, going to read or currently reading this book then I highly suggest you reevaluate your TBR piles! You need to put this book at the top, I promise you will not be disappointed!

5 out of 5 Stars!!!

"Don't look now," I said to Ella in a low voice, "but I'm pretty sure if looks could kill, you and I would be dead already."

----

"This is what all of you consider trying? You are pathetic excuses for mages. I've seen war horses with more spirit than you!" He is trying to kill us.

----

If I weren't struggling, if I weren't keeled over in agony, if my muscles weren't screaming at the end of a long day... then I wasn't trying hard enough.

---

"You can scream obscenities at me after" And then he kissed me.

----

Rachel E. Carter lives in Placerville, California with her fiancé and their two spoiled pets: a feisty feline named Charlie, and Zoey, an Australian Shepherd who gets jealous of her own shadow. She loves to organize –and when she is not color-coding her closet she is always looking for the next good book. She grew up reading about magic, hot bad boys, and lady knights. The Black Mage, her debut series, is a tribute to all the things she never stopped loving. - goodreads.com





Don't miss out on First year by Rachel Carter being 99cents on Amazon [American] in the anticipation of the second book launching on Feb 17th 2015!

Amazon.com - Click Here
Amazon.ca - Click Here

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CINDER

"Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future." - goodreads.com

I really wanted to get this book off my tbr pile because it sounded so interesting, also the hype on this book is ridiculous. Currently sitting at a standing of 4.12 out of 5 on goodreads, which means its good ,right? ... Right?! Well sadly, I guess I'm the black sheep because I only gave this book a 3 out of 5, reasons soon to be discussed.

Cinder is a Cinderella retelling, Cinder is a cyborg mechanic in New Beijing. Think 7 of 9 meets Cinderella, for those of you who don't know who 7 of 9 is.. I'm sorry. Anyway, I loved the way Marissa Meyer put in little pieces here and there to represent the original Cinderella, my favourite being the orange car. The writing is beautiful, flows very well and the details are great. Marissa makes sure you know all the characters, everything they are feelings and all the small details. The book was beautiful in that aspect. My very favourite thing about Cinder is the settling. New Beijing, it had obviously a very Asian feel to it, and as someone who loves everything about East Asia, I fell in love with the setting. Not many authors set their stories in that part of the world, it was a breath of fresh air. 

Now what I didn't like? The foreshadowing in this book is ridiculous. By chapter 3 I already knew what was going to happen. I understand foreshadowing in books is so that you can think, wonder and guess what is going to happen. But there is a small line that if crossed you give away the entire ending, and sadly Marissa Meyer long jumped that line and landed four feet over it. Now, this doesn't mean the book is terrible, No not at all. I enjoyed the book, I just would rather find out the ending of the book at the end. It was like waiting all week for that last episode of your favourite show, finding out you can't watch it until the day after it airs, for it to be spoiled by friends on facebook. 

I do plan on continuing with the next books, maybe not right now, but I will get to them eventually. I feel like if a book is way over hyped that you go in with all these expectations and when they aren't met then you fall on your face and go... what? why do you all love this? Hype is great to get things known but it also ruins it. 

I do recommend this book to whoever would like to read an amazing retelling of Cinderella, but don't go in with hype on your shoulders, or you will be disappointed. 

3 out of 5 Stars!

"I don't know. I don't actually remember anything from before the surgery."

His eyebrows rose, his blue eyes sucking in all the light of the room. "The cybernetic operation?"

"No, the sex change."

The doctor's smile faltered.

"I'm joking.”

Meyer was born in Tacoma, Washington and attended Pacific Lutheran University, where she received a degree in creative writing. Before writing Cinder, Meyer worked as a book editor for five years and wrote Sailor Moon fan fiction under the pen name of Alicia Blade. In an interview with The News-Tribune, she said that doing the fan fiction helped her learn the craft of writing, gave her instant feedback and taught her how to take criticism. - wikipedia.org

You can purchase Cindy from any of the retailers below

Amazon.ca - HERE

Amazon.com - HERE

Book Depository - HERE

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THIS IS NOT A TEST

"It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?" - goodreads.com

I had to set aside everything that I had on my to-be-read list when I found this book. I'll be honest, I love zombies, everything about zombies. As long as you do the zombies right that is, they must be dumb, slow moving, fleshing eating zombies. The walking dead type of zombies. Well Courtney Summers captured this perfectly. I loved everything about this book, if it could just continue on for, forever I would be a very happy camper. 

The book is all written from the perspective of the main character Sloane. She is not only battling the walking dead outside but she has many of her own psychological issues thanks to her home life. Sloane isn't like your usual character in a zombie outbreak, she actually doesn't care whether she survives or not, she has wanted to commit suicide far before the outbreak. I just wanted to cuddle Sloane and tell her everything was going to be okay. 

Courtney Summers' writing is beautiful and flows very nicely. I enjoyed every part of the book, although there could have been MORE zombies, but that may just be a personal problem because there are never enough zombies in anything for me. I highly recommend this book to everyone, just go now to your local bookstore, or online website, and buy this book! Thanks to this book I was able to find more books about the Zombie apocalypse, so I foresee many zombie reviews coming sorry, not sorry.

Now there is a second book to this one called Please Remain Calm by Courtney Summers which I have yet to pick up (I don't know why I'm waiting), the sad thing is it only 100 pages which just doesn't seem like its going to do justice as a second book!

I have a text message.

It's the end of the world and I have a text message.

5 out of 5 stars!

Courtney Summers was born in Belleville, Ontario in 1986 and currently resides in a small town not far from there. To date, she has authored five novels. Her first novel, Cracked Up to Be, was published when she was 22 and went on to win the 2009 CYBIL award in YA fiction. Since then, she’s published three more books–2011 YALSA Top 10 Quick Pick and White Pine Honour book, Some Girls Are, 2012 YALSA Quick Pick, Fall for Anything, and 2013 YALSA Top 10 Quick Pick and White Pine Honour book This is Not a Test. Her next projects are an e-novella, Please Remain Calm (a sequel to This is Not a Test) and a new novel, All the Rage, both out in 2015. 

It is  awesome that Courtney is from the same province I am from, and she was born the same year as I was.