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Showing posts from May, 2017

The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers: A Court of Thorns and Roses

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Being completely honest, this book really surprised me… I loved it! Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ... Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever. - goodreads.com summary “Rhysand stared at me for long enough that I faced him. ‘Be glad of your human heart, F

Author Interview: Misa Sugiura

HELLO! Since I am currently away for the week in California (WOOP!) I have decided to use this week to feature some smaller authors and bloggers. Today’s spotlight is featuring an author by the name of Misa Sugiura! Her book It’s Not Like It’s A Secret recently came out, you can learn more about her and her novel HERE ! For those of us who have not read It’s Not Like It’s A Secret , introduce it to us in one sentence? When a Japanese American girl (Sana) discovers her father’s affair and falls for a Mexican American girl (Jamie), she has to choose between silently enduring difficult situations, and making herself vulnerable by speaking up. I have to ask the most cliché question of them all, but how did you come up with the idea for It’s Not Like It’s A Secret ? I used to teach high school, and I didn’t see my students or their communities represented in young adult literature. I decided that I wanted to write a story where an LGBTQ couple’s queerness wasn’t the defining c

Author Interview: Katie Nelson

HELLO! Since I am currently away for the week in California (WOOP!) I have decided to use this week to feature some smaller authors and bloggers. Today’s spotlight is featuring an author by the name of Katie Nelson! Her book   The Duke of Bannerman Prep   recently came out, you can learn more about her and her novel   HERE ! For those of us who have not read The Duke of Bannerman Prep , introduce it to us in one sentence? The Duke of Bannerman Prep is The Great Gatsby meets a prep school debate team. What was your favorite part of writing The Duke of Bannerman Prep ? I loved being back in the world of high school debate. I competed when I was in high school and coached when I was teaching. It was fun to live through a season with these characters! Is the finished version of The Duke of Bannerman Prep how you always imagined the book? Or did the plot and characters change a lot over the course of the writing process? The plot changed A LOT. At first I really strug

The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers: Scythe

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Neal Shusterman does not disappoint! 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.com summary “My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There’s no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that.” INTRO I have been a big fan Neal Shusterman’s books ever since I read Unwind back in 8 th   grade. At the time, everyone thought I was crazy for reading a novel w

Blogger Interview: Julianna @ Blots of Ink and Words

HELLO! Since I am currently away for the week in California (WOOP!) I have decided to use this week to feature some smaller authors and bloggers. Today’s spotlight is featuring a blogger by the name of Julianna and blogs at Blots of Ink and Words. She is incredibly nice and fun to talk to so I encourage you to read below and I hope you enjoy! Introduce yourself and blog in one sentence! Sarcastic potato tries to review and discuss books. Do you have a favorite genre to read? Yes, young adult! Contemporary and fantasy are probably my favorites :) But I also like reading historical (young adult, usually) fiction or sometimes thriller-type, but I don’t like horror because I get scared easily even though I’m a totally tough person. Who are some of your favorite characters and ships? I absolutely love Whit + Olivia in How To Break A Boy . I LOVE Tyrus so much from The Diabolic , and I ship Nemesis with him SO HARD. Rhys and Feyre FTW. Peter and Lara Jean! ( To All The Boys

Author Interview: Christina June

HELLO! Since I am currently away for the week in California (WOOP!) I have decided to use this week to feature some smaller authors and bloggers. Today’s spotlight is featuring an author by the name of Christina June! Her book It Started with Goodbye recently came out, you can learn more about her and her novel   HERE ! For those of us who have not read It Started with Goodbye , introduce it to us in one sentence? My elevator pitch is “modern Cinderella with no magic.”  Basically, it’s about a girl on house arrest who does her best to make lemons into lemonade.  Plus, secrets and flirting.  And, the Golden Girls.  Sorry, that was more than one sentence. I have to ask the most cliché question of them all, but how did you come up with the idea for It Started with Goodbye ? I saw an abandoned shoe on the side of the road after the Homecoming dance at the school where I day job and knew I needed to write a Cinderella-inspired story. What was your favorite part of writing I

The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers: Six of Crows

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We need more heist novels in YA because   Six of Crows  was one hell of a ride! Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist: Break into the notorious Ice Court (a military stronghold that has never been breached) Retrieve a hostage (who could unleash magical havoc on the world) Survive long enough to collect his reward (and spend it) Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done - and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable - if they don't kill each other first. - goodreads.com summary “No mourners. No funerals. Among them, it passed for 'good luck.” INTRO I originally read Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy a few years ago. I only made it through the first two book before stopping so I was cautious

UPDATE: The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers!

HELLO! Quick update to say that I’ll be changing the format of book review. The new reviews will be call “The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers”. As you can probably tell the review will be split into three main sections titled “The Good”, “The Bad”, and “The Spoilers” respectively. There will also be an “Intro” and “Overall” section for my broader thoughts about why I picked up the book and what I thought of it. My recent addition of star ratings (1-5) will stay, as will my choice of a quote before the actual review. For anyone who is worried about being accidentally spoiled, FEAR NOT! The spoilers will not be mentioned until the end of the review, with a space and asterisks separating it from the rest of the review. The first review is of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows and will be coming out on Wednesday. I hope you enjoy! Keep Reading… Elise!

The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee Review

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Sometimes you just need a ‘literary potato chip’, as my English III teacher would say, to keep you from falling into that dreaded reading slump. NEW YORK CITY AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE. A thousand-story tower stretching into the sky. A glittering vision of the future where anything is possible—if you want it enough. WELCOME TO MANHATTAN, 2118. A hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and dreams. Everyone there wants something…and everyone has something to lose. LEDA COLE’s flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have touched. ERIS DODD-RADSON’s beautiful, carefree life falls to pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart. RYLIN MYERS’s job on one of the highest floors sweeps her into a world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will this new life cost Rylin her old one? WATT BAKRADI is a tech genius with a secret: he knows everything ab