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Showing posts from June, 2019

My Father's Dragon ~ Ruth Stiles Gannett (My Father's Dragon #1)

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★★★★★ This was truly delightful! I'm a big fan of children's fantasy, as it turns out, because I loved every minute of this! It's whimsical and magical and really just great. It has the same vibe as The Little Prince , Peter Pan , and Alice in Wonderland , but a bit lighter on the dark themes. It's definitely something I'm going to be reading to my future children. Buy the book here: Amazon Book Depository Barnes & Noble

On The Edge ~ K.A. Wiggins

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★★★★★ Look back to the old tales of fairyland. Look back to legends of monsters and magic. Our stories have changed, but the world behind the world never does. This short story by one of my indie favs, K.A. Wiggins, really butters my bread, to be frank. It's got the spooky, fair folk vibes that I live for; the atmosphere really just shines in this. While I wasn't necessarily pulled in by the opening (such is often the case with first person for me, so there was no fault with the work itself), I was without a doubt pulled in by the tale itself. AND THAT ENDING! *literally dying* So you will want to stop here, while you still believe my words, while your world remains as it should be. Because this is the sort of story that cannot be told. Read the book here

Island of the Blue Dolphins ~ Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins #1)

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★★★★★ This was the first book that I ever really loved. I first read it when I was about 10 or 11, and I fell in love with Scott O'Dell's writing, getting my hands on any of his books that I could find at my elementary school library. It really made me into a reader. But I hadn't read it in about a decade, and I was curious how well it would hold up to my adult mind. IT WAS EVEN BETTER!!! I originally rated this 4 stars, rather arbitrarily, but this reread proved that this is truly an amazing piece of historical fiction, especially for children. Even for its time, it does a great job at portraying Native American peoples in a humanizing light, as well as young girls (which is amazing, because Scott O'Dell was clearly a white adult male). It's compelling and action-packed, and extremely educational. I really felt for Karana as she lives abandoned on an island for the majority of her life, missing her family but feeling unable to leave her home. M

The Host ~ Stephenie Meyer

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★★★★☆ (original rating: 5 stars) This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds—the most beautiful senses, the most exquisite emotions...the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached. This book holds a really special place in my heart. It's the first book I ever read that was over 600 pages, and it was one of the first books that really got me into reading. I used to keep it next to my pillow every night when I went to bed, and I'd flip to my favorite parts (still know them by heart) over and over again, just to experience them again. I love this book, and nothing can ever change that. I did, however, decide to lower this from a 5 star rating to a 4 star. It just didn't affect me in the same way, the way it once had. Perhaps I've simply numbed myself to it, but it's been over 5 years since I last read it, and I just...didn't feel anything,

The Thousandth Floor ~ Katharine McGee (The Thousandth Floor #1)

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★★★☆☆ The only thing this book really succeeded in was reaffirming why I hate snobby people and their ceaseless contrivances. If you like Gossip Girl, reality TV, and don't mind fake-politeness, then you'll probably really like this. I, however, really didn't. This is a science fiction romantic mess about the most convoluted love dodecahedron you've ever heard of. Here's a brief overview: Person A is in love with person B , who is flirting with person C . Person A and C are best friends. Person D is friends with person A and C , and was in a relationship with person E . Person E is also in a relationship with person F , who's dating person G . Person H is in love with person A , and was hired by person C to spy on person B . Persons A , C , D , F , and H are all main characters. And that's not even the end of it. It goes on and on and on and on and I hated it. Oh, and there's pseudo-incest, if you're into that kinda

Blood Promise ~ Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy #4)

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★★★★☆ This is by far my favorite entry in the Vampire Academy series. It gave me a bigger cast and a greater sense of the world. Honestly, it gave me almost everything that I've felt lacking in this series so far. The world felt so lived in, which is so hard to find in urban fantasy in my opinion. I realized, reading this, that I legitimately love this series, and not just in a so-bad-it's-good kinda way. It's really evolved into something great and well developed. It has the sillier exterior, but a much deeper, much darker undercurrent, and I absolutely love that. Rose's journey was definitely the best part. Even though very little happened for a long time, it was good build up to her ultimate decision and nice foreshadowing for what happens at the end. There was a plot twist that I definitely saw coming from a mile away, but I didn't really mind it. And I absolutely loved Dimitri's family; they were great. I wasn't a huge fan of Lissa's st

99 Nights in Logar ~ Jamil Jan Kochai

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★★☆☆ I received this ARC from Viking via Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way. All quotes are taken from the uncorrected proof and are subject to change. June 4th. 2019 update: I've decided to up my rating from 2 to 3 stars, the reason being that I've just been thinking about this book a lot, and (while I still don't know what that one chapter said), this book really stuck with me, especially after I read the Hobbit, and realized what that weird dream about food was all about.  update over (original review written January 8th, 2019) This book was a bit of a trip. I feel like I spent 99 nights just trying to read it. "During the whole length of the battle, I was scared of hiding and becoming caught. Of running and being hit. Of shooting and becoming a killer. And all my fears warred inside of me, until they massacred one another, so that it wasn't courage that let me fi

Slave, Warrior, Queen ~ Morgan Rice (Of Crowns and Glory #1)

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★★★☆☆ Lol what even was this?? When heart and sword meet, there shall be victory. I've only ever read Turned by Morgan Rice before, and it's one of my favorite so-bad-it's-good books, so I went into this expecting the same level of pure garbage that Rice always delivers. And I definitely got that, but I also got a little something more. This book honestly read like a promising but juvenile first draft. There was definitely something there, and I got some feels from certain events and the atmosphere. Ceres was hot headed and ridiculous, and probably the most cliche fantasy heroine ever, but I liked her. Thanos was definitely my favorite character, except he sometimes was a bit of a sexist pig, but it was so poorly done that I wasn't offended. The plot supposedly takes place over the course of like a week, but with every single chapter ending with some grand cliffhanger about how Ceres' life will never be the same, because she's been kidnapped

Alfheim Seoul ~ Chris Coleman (Magic Parcel Service #1)

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★★★☆☆ I hurried around to the garage door because I really had to pee. What an iconic line. Obligatory Summary Alecia is just a regular Korean-American girl living in Seattle -- at least, she was, until she started doing magic. Then she came across a strange creature in an alley and let him eat half her soul. Now she can see and hear Iverog, but no one else can. When an older relative called Grandpa Dan tells her that he's a wizard, he takes her under his wing. But when her ability to see magical objects bring disastrous results, it's up to her to save Grandpa Dan, with only Iverog and a reluctant FBI agent to help her! My Thoughts I'm not entirely sure what I just read. I think I liked it though. To be quite honest with you, this felt like a parody of 2009 MG fantasy, with some very questionable yet humorous choices (as exhibited in the quote above) and a general disregard for resolving plot holes. But I'd be lying if I said