FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2017
31 December, 2017
REVIEW: TESS OF D'URBERVILLES by Thomas Hardy
Title: Tess of the D'UrbervillesAuthor: Thomas Hardy
Series: -
Genres: Classics, Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Release: 1891
Source: Audiobook/Paperback
Pages: 518
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BLURB:
When Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting her 'cousin' Alec proves to be her downfall. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future.
30 December, 2017
Saturday Tag
Welcome dear readers, to yet another Saturday Tag, where the fun never stops!
Today I will complete this fun tag:
THE NEW YEAR RESOLUTION BOOK TAG
THE NEW YEAR RESOLUTION BOOK TAG
29 December, 2017
REVIEW: KINGDOM OF EMBERS by Tricia Copeland
Author: Tricia Copeland
Series: Kingdom Journals
Genres:YA, Fantasy
Publisher: True Bird Publishing LLC
Release: February 2nd, 1017
Source: Kindle
Pages: 332
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
“He wouldn’t understand. He didn’t live in a pretend world. In truth, he did. Most beings, pure humans, walked around thinking they were the only type of people that existed.” –Alena
As a creature forbidden by both vampire and witch cultures, Alena traverses the country with her mother in search of an unknown entity. When Alena finds Hunter everything changes. Their bond may be the key to answers Alena seeks. As she investigates the connection, an equally handsome, but mysterious suitor appears. Will the truth be uncovered before it is too late? Or will her Mother’s kingdom be reduced to embers?
28 December, 2017
REVIEW: SHADOWLAND by Alyson Noel
Title: ShadowlandAuthor: Alyson Noel
Series: The Immortals #3
Genres: YA, Paranormal, Romance
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release: 2009
Source: Audiobook/Hardback
Pages: 339
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BLURB:
Ever and Damen have gone through countless lives and fought off the world’s darkest enemies so they could be together. But just when an everlasting future is finally within their reach, Damen is struck down by a curse—a dark spell separating him and Ever for eternity. Now sharing so much as a single touch could bring about Damen’s death…and send him plummeting into the Shadowland, an eternal abyss for lost souls. Desperate to break the curse and save Damen, Ever immerses her herself in magick. And in her quest, she gets help from an unexpected source...a surfer named Jude.
Although she and Jude have only just met, he feels startlingly familiar. Despite her fierce loyalty to Damen, Ever is drawn to Jude, a green-eyed golden boy with magical talents and a mysterious past. She’s always believed Damen to be her soulmate and one true love—and she still believes it to be true. But as Damen pulls away to save them from the darkness inhabiting his soul, Ever’s connection with Jude grows stronger—and tests her love for Damen like never before…
27 December, 2017
REVIEW: REINCARNATION BLUES by Michael Poore
Title: Reincarnation BluesAuthor: Michael Poore
Series: -
Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Release: August 22nd 2017
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 374
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BLURB:
A magically inspiring tale of a man who is reincarnated through many lifetimes so that he can be with his one true love: Death herself.
What if you could live forever—but without your one true love? Reincarnation Blues is the story of a man who has been reincarnated nearly 10,000 times, in search of the secret to immortality so that he can be with his beloved, the incarnation of Death. Neil Gaiman meets Kurt Vonnegut in this darkly whimsical, hilariously profound, and wildly imaginative comedy of the secrets of life and love. Transporting us from ancient India to outer space to Renaissance Italy to the present day, is a journey through time, space, and the human heart.
26 December, 2017
REVIEW: THE POSSIBLE by Tara Altebranto
Title: The PossibleAuthor: Tara Altebranto
Series: -
Genres: YA, Mystery
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release: June 6th 2017
Source: eBook
Pages: 304
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
Some storms rage from within.
What if…a teenage girl could move objects with her mind?
What if…someone turns up at her door asking questions she doesn’t want to answer?
Kaylee lives a normal life with her adoptive parents, and almost never thinks of her birth mother, Crystal, who is serving a life sentence in prison. But the woman at the front door is producing a podcast about Crystal that is about to blow Kaylee’s forgotten past wide open.
What if strange things have been happening Kaylee’s entire life, things she could not explain? What if she’s more like her mother than she ever imagined?
What if the podcast is about to put her on a collision course with Crystal—and her darkest self?
25 December, 2017
MONDAY CHRISTMAS SONGS
Happy Monday friends!
Since it's THAT time of the year again, I decided to change Monday Travels a little.
So until Christmas, every Monday I will give you guys, a Christmas Song that I absolutely love!
Just a little something from me, so you could enjoy the Winter Magic!
Get your coco and let's listen to:
NO ONE BUT YOU
NO ONE BUT YOU
24 December, 2017
REVIEW: THE SEA THE SEA by Iris Murdoch
Author: Iris Murdoch
Series: -
Genres:
Publisher: Fiction, Classics
Release: July 1st, 1999
Source: Paperback
Pages: 538
// Goodreads // BoodDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
When Charles Arrowby retires from his glittering career in the London theatre, he buys a remote house on the rocks by the sea. He hopes to escape from his tumultuous love affairs but unexpectedly bumps into his childhood sweetheart and sets his heart on destroying her marriage. His equilibrium is further disturbed when his friends all decide to come and keep him company and Charles finds his seaside idyll severely threatened by his obsessions.
23 December, 2017
Saturday Tag
Welcome dear readers, to yet another Saturday Tag, where the fun never stops!
Today I will complete this fun tag:
TIS THE SEASON
TIS THE SEASON
22 December, 2017
REVIEW: OUR DARK DUET by V. E. Schwab
Title: Our Dark DuetAuthor: V.E. Schwab
Series: Monsters of Verity
Genres: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release: June 13th 2017
Source: Paperback/Audiobook
Pages: 510
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
THE WORLD IS BREAKING. AND SO ARE THEY.
KATE HARKER isn't afraid of monsters. She hunts them. And she's good at it.
AUGUST FLYNN once yearned to be human. He has a part to play. And he will play it, no matter the cost.
THE WAR HAS BEGUN.
THE MONSTERS ARE WINNING.
Kate will have to return to Verity. August will have to let her back in. And a new monster is waiting—one that feeds on chaos and brings out its victims' inner demons.
Which will be harder to conquer: the monsters they face, or the monsters within?
21 December, 2017
REVIEW: THE SILVER WITCH by Paula Brackston
Title: The Silver WitchAuthor: Paula Brackston
Series: Shadow Chronicles #3
Genres: Paranormal, Historical Fiction, Witches
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Release: 2015
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 308
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
A year after her husband’s sudden death, ceramic artist Tilda Fordwells finally moves into the secluded Welsh cottage that was to be their new home. She hopes that the tranquil surroundings will help ease her grief, and lessen her disturbing visions of Mat’s death. Instead, the lake in the valley below her cottage seems to spark something dormant in her – a sensitivity, and a power of some sort. Animals are drawn to her, electricity shorts out when she’s near, and strangest of all, she sees a new vision; a boatful of ancient people approaching her across the water.
On this same lake in Celtic times lived Seren, a witch and shaman. She was respected but feared, kept separate from the community for her strange looks. When a vision came to her of the Prince amid a nest of vipers she warned of betrayal from one of his own. Prince Brynach both loved and revered her, but could not believe someone close to him wished him harm, even as the danger grew.
In her own time, Tilda’s grief begins to fade beside her newfound powers and a fresh love. When she explores the lake’s ancient magic and her own she discovers Seren, the woman in her vision of the boat. Their two lives strangely mirror each others, suggesting a strong connection between the women. As Tilda comes under threat from a dark power, one reminiscent of Seren’s prophecy, she must rely on Seren and ancient magic if death and disaster are not to shatter her life once more.
20 December, 2017
Waiting on Wednesday: Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson!
Maureen's latest trilogy arriving in just a month!
Publication date: January 16th, 2018
Publisher: HarperCollins
19 December, 2017
18 December, 2017
REVIEW: GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell
Title: Gone with the WindAuthor: Margaret Mitchell
Series: -
Genres: Classics, Romance, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release: April 1st, 1999
Source: Paperback
Pages: 1037
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BLURB:
Gone with the Wind is a novel written by Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936. The story is set in Clayton County, Georgia, and Atlanta during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of the poverty she finds herself in after Sherman's March to the Sea. A historical novel, the story is a Bildungsroman or coming-of-age story, with the title taken from a poem written by Ernest Dowson.
Gone with the Wind was popular with American readers from the onset and was the top American fiction bestseller in the year it was published and in 1937. As of 2014, a Harris poll found it to be the second favorite book of American readers, just behind the Bible. More than 30 million copies have been printed worldwide.
MONDAY CHRISTMAS SONGS: LAST CHRISTMAS
Happy Monday friends!
Since it's THAT time of the year again, I decided to change Monday Travels a little.
So until Christmas, every Monday I will give you guys, a Christmas Song that I absolutely love!
Just a little something from me, so you could enjoy the Winter Magic!
Get your coco and let's listen to:
LAST CHRISTMAS
LAST CHRISTMAS
17 December, 2017
REVIEW: GUNSLINGER by Stephen King
Author: Stephen King
Series: The Dark Tower 1
Genres: Horror, Fiction, Sci-fi
Publisher: NAL
Release: 2003 June 24th
Source: eBook
Pages: 231
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
Beginning with a short story appearing in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1978, the publication of Stephen King's epic work of fantasy -- what he considers to be a single long novel and his magnum opus -- has spanned a quarter of a century.
Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, The Dark Tower series is King's most visionary feat of storytelling, a magical mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror that may well be his crowning achievement.
Book I
In The Gunslinger (originally published in 1982), King introduces his most enigmatic hero, Roland Deschain of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting, solitary figure at first, on a mysterious quest through a desolate world that eerily mirrors our own. Pursuing the man in black, an evil being who can bring the dead back to life, Roland is a good man who seems to leave nothing but death in his wake.
This new edition of The Gunslinger has been revised and expanded throughout by King, with new story material, in addition to a new introduction and foreword. It also includes four full-color illustrations in the hardcover and trade paperback formats.
16 December, 2017
Saturday Tag
Welcome dear readers, to yet another Saturday Tag, where the fun never stops!
Today I will complete this fun tag:
WINTER WONDERLAND
WINTER WONDERLAND
15 December, 2017
REVIEW: GIRL IN THE TOWER by Katherine Arden
Title: Girl in the Tower
Author: Katherine Arden
Series: The Winternight Trilogy #2
Genres: YA, Fairytale
Publisher: Del Rey
Release: 05 Dec 2017, 25 Jan 2018
Source: ARC
Pages: 363
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.
Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.
14 December, 2017
REVIEW: GUNS OF THE DAWN by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Series: -
Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk
Publisher: Tor UK/Panmacmillan
Release: 2015 February 12th
Source: AudioBook
Pages: 658
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
Guns of the Dawn is a pacey, gripping fantasy of war and magic, from Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author, Adrian Tchaikovsky.
The first casualty of war is truth . . .
First, Denland's revolutionaries assassinated their king, launching a wave of bloodshed after generations of peace. Next they clashed with Lascanne, their royalist neighbour, pitching war-machines against warlocks in a fiercely fought conflict.
Genteel Emily Marshwic watched as the hostilities stole her family's young men. But then came the call for yet more Lascanne soldiers in a ravaged kingdom with none left to give. Emily must join the ranks of conscripted women and march toward the front lines.
With barely enough training to hold a musket, Emily braves the savage reality of warfare. But she begins to doubt her country's cause, and those doubts become critical. For her choices will determine her own future and that of two nations locked in battle."
13 December, 2017
Waiting on Wednesday: Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner!
Who's ready for some aliens?
Publication date: January 9th, 2018
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
12 December, 2017
REVIEW: ALIAS GRACE by Margaret Atwood
Author: Margaret Atwood
Series: -
Genres: Mystery, Historical, Crime
Publisher: Doubleday Nan A. Tales
Release: 1996
Source: Kindle/ Audiobook
Pages: 468
// Goodreads // BoodDepository // Amazon //BLURB:
It's 1843, and Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer and his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence, Grace claims to have no memory of the murders.
An up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories?
11 December, 2017
MONDAY CHRISTMAS SONG: SANTA BABY
Happy Monday friends!
Since it's THAT time of the year again, I decided to change Monday Travels a little.
So until Christmas, every Monday I will give you guys, a Christmas Song that I absolutely love!
Just a little something from me, so you could enjoy the Winter Magic!
Get your coco and let's listen to:
SANTA BABY
SANTA BABY
10 December, 2017
REVIEW: MORNINGWOOD: EVERYBODY LOVES LARGE CHESTS by Neven Iliev
Author: Neven Iliev
Series: Morningwood Vol.1
Genres: Humor, Adult Fiction
Publisher: Kindle Edition
Release: 2017 October 27th
Source: eBook
Pages: 252
// Goodreads // Amazon // -
BLURB:
Large chests are said to encompass all manner of hopes and dreams. Men covet them. Women envy them. But one fact holds true - everyone wants to get their hands on some big ones.
The same holds true for one intrepid adventurer - a strapping young lad by the name of Himmel. Armed with his grandfather’s trusty longsword and the dream of being the strongest, he sets out on the journey of a lifetime! It is sure to be a long and dangerous road, fraught with danger! And it all starts with a simple test - reach Level 5 in the dungeon called the ‘newbie zone’ and earn the right to become a full-fledged adventurer!
However, such things get hopelessly derailed when his adolescent mind beholds an exposed chest for the first time. A fateful meeting that would inevitably lead his life in a direction he never even dreamed of!
Content warning: Profanity, Gore, Sexual Themes
09 December, 2017
Saturday Tag
Welcome dear readers, to yet another Saturday Tag, where the fun never stops!
Today I will complete this fun tag:
SNOW WRITE RETELLING
SNOW WRITE RETELLING
08 December, 2017
REVIEW: THE MIDNIGHT PALACE by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Series: Niebla #2
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release: (First published 1998)
Source: Hardcover
Pages: 301
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB: In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery. . . .Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life. . . .Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere’s sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night—and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces.
07 December, 2017
REVIEW: ARTEMIS by Andy Weir
Author: Andy Weir
Series: n/a
Genres: Sci-fi, Thriller
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Release: 2017 November 14th
Source: AudioBook
Pages: 305
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
Jazz Bashara is a criminal.
Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.
Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.
06 December, 2017
Waiting on Wednesday: Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke!
Today we have a bit of an unusual novel for all of you!
Publication date: January 9th, 2018
Publisher: Clarion Books
05 December, 2017
REVIEW: THE MOON DWELLERS by David Estes
Author: David Estes
Series: The Dwellers #1
Genres: Science Fiction, YA
Publisher:
Release: June 30th, 2012
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 369
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB: In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms.After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.In their world, someone must die.
04 December, 2017
MONDAY TRAVERS: THE FICKLE ONE by Pablo Neruda
Happy Monday friends! Welcome to another edition of Monday Travels
So today we are in Chile and we will explore:
THE FICKLE ONE
THE FICKLE ONE
03 December, 2017
REVIEW: THE PRINCE OF MIST by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Series: Niebla #1
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Release: (First published 1986)
Source: Hardcover
Pages: 218
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB: A mysterious house harbors an unimaginable secret. . . .It’s wartime, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they’ve recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house there still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners’ son, who died by drowning.With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the suspicious circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called The Prince of Mist—a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden, which will change their lives forever.
02 December, 2017
NaNoWriMo Wrap-up
November has come to an end, and so has NaNoWriMo, here the occasion was marked by first snow. With it being over, I want to congratulate everyone with finishing it, trying it, or even merely starting it. Whether you wrote a page or a hundred, you’ve done well to try. And just because it’s over, doesn’t mean we have to stop, right?
01 December, 2017
REVIEW: THE CAPTIVE by Skomantas
Title: The Captive
Author: Skomantas
Series: Tales from the
Baltic #1
Genres: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Tverme
Release: 1997
Source: Paperback
Pages: 152
// Goodreads // Amazon //
BLURB:
An English translation of the original Lithuanian Teutonų Belaisvis
The setting for this series of narratives is the Northern Crusades, a fascinating and particularly brutal period within the generally bloody history of the Crusades. Unlike the well documented and frequently fictionalized crusades in the Mediterranean region, little attention has been paid to the crusades in the Baltic region. They were initiated and strongly supported by the Popes of that period and drew fighting men from all of Europe. The original intent of the crusades was to Christianize the Baltic peoples who at the beginning of the XII-th century were still adamantly pagan. Over time, however, they degenerated into straightforward genocidal campaigns to acquire lands and serfs. Several orders of knightly monks participated in the prolonged war, of these the most prominent was the Teutonic Order of Holy Mary of Jerusalem. The members of this order were drawn from the noble or knightly class and had to be of German birth. They succeeded in completely exterminating the Prussian people, and expropriated not only their land, but also their name. After over 200 years of bitter struggle only the Lithuanians and Samogitians remained unconquered and pagan. They accepted Christianity on their own terms at the beginning of the XV-the century.
30 November, 2017
REVIEW: TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens
Title: Tale of Two CitiesAuthor: Charles Dickens
Series: -
Genres: Classics, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Release: 1859
Source: Paperback/Audiobook
Pages: 489
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
'Liberty, equality, fraternity, or death; -- the last, much the easiest to bestow, O Guillotine!'
After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the ageing Doctor Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There the lives of two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil roads of London, they are drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and they soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.
This edition uses the text as it appeared in its serial publication in 1859 to convey the full scope of Dickens's vision, and includes the original illustrations by H. K. Browne ('Phiz'). Richard Maxwell's introduction discusses the intricate interweaving of epic drama with personal tragedy.
29 November, 2017
Waiting on Wednesday: Glass Town by Steven Savile
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for Glass Town by Steven Savile!
Today we have a fiction + mystery book for all of you!
Publication date: December 5th, 2017
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
28 November, 2017
REVIEW: THE LAST KINGDOM by Bernard Cornwell
Title: The Last Kingdom
Author: Bernard Cornwell
Series: The Saxon Stories #1
Genres: Historical Fiction,
Fantasy, Fiction, History
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release: July 24th, 2009
Source: Kindle / Audiobook
Pages: 355
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
Uhtred is an English boy, born into the aristocracy of ninth-century Northumbria. Orphaned at ten, he is captured and adopted by a Dane and taught the Viking ways. Yet Uhtred's fate is indissolubly bound up with Alfred, King of Wessex, who rules over the only English kingdom to survive the Danish assault.
The struggle between the English and the Danes and the strife between christianity and paganism is the background to Uhtred's growing up. He is left uncertain of his loyalties but a slaughter in a winter dawn propels him to the English side and he will become a man just as the Danes launch their fiercest attack yet on Alfred's kingdom. Marriage ties him further still to the West Saxon cause but when his wife and child vanish in the chaos of the Danish invasion, Uhtred is driven to face the greatest of the Viking chieftains in a battle beside the sea. There, in the horror of the shield-wall, he discovers his true allegiance.
The Last Kingdom, like most of Bernard Cornwell's books, is firmly based on true history. It is the first novel of a series that will tell the tale of Alfred the Great and his descendants and of the enemies they faced, Viking warriors like Ivar the Boneless and his feared brother, Ubba. Against their lives Bernard Cornwell has woven a story of divided loyalties, reluctant love and desperate heroism. In Uhtred, he has created one of his most interesting and heroic characters and in The Last Kingdom one of his most powerful and passionate novels.
27 November, 2017
MONDAY TRAVELS: TALES FROM THE BALTIC by Skomantas
Happy Monday friends! Welcome to another edition of Monday Travels
So today we are in LITHUANIA and we will explore:
TALES FROM THE BALTIC
TALES FROM THE BALTIC
26 November, 2017
REVIEW: FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC by V.C.Anderson
Author: V.C. Andrews
Series: Dollanganger #1
Genres: Fiction, YA, Mytery, Horror
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release: February 8th, 2011 / Originally 1979
Source: Kindle
Pages: 389
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
Such wonderful children. Such a beautiful mother. Such a lovely house. Such endless terror!
It wasn't that she didn't love her children. She did. But there was a fortune at stake--a fortune that would assure their later happiness if she could keep the children a secret from her dying father.
So she and her mother hid her darlings away in an unused attic.
Just for a little while...
25 November, 2017
Saturday Tag
Welcome dear readers, to yet another Saturday Tag, where the fun never stops!
Today I will complete this fun tag:
7 REASONS WHY I LOVE JANE AUSTEN
7 REASONS WHY I LOVE JANE AUSTEN
24 November, 2017
REVIEW: FOREST OF THOUSAND LANTERNS by Julie C. Dao
Title: Forest of Thousand LanternsAuthor: Julie C. Dao
Series: Rise of the Empress #1
Genres: YA, Queer, Fantasy, Retellings
Publisher: Philomel Books
Release: October 10th 2017
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 363
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress--and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.
Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high?
Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins--sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.
23 November, 2017
REVIEW: CARMILLA by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Title: Carmilla
Author: J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Series: -
Genres: Classics, Vampires
Publisher: Wildside Press
Release: 1872
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 108
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
A classic Victorian vampire novella, which influenced Bram Stoker's later treatment of the vampire mythos in Dracula.
22 November, 2017
Waiting on Wednesday: The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today we are waiting for The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden!
Here is the second book of The Winternight Trilogy!
Publication date: December 5th, 2017
Publisher: Del Rey
21 November, 2017
REVIEW: DOCTOR SLEEP by Stephen King
Title: Doctor SleepAuthor: Stephen King
Series: The Shining #2
Genres: Horror, Mystery
Publisher: Scribner
Release: 2013
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 531
// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //
BLURB:
Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special 12-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.
On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless - mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky 12-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the "steam" that children with the "shining" produce when they are slowly tortured to death.
Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant "shining" power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes "Doctor Sleep."
Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted fans of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.
