Monday, July 27, 2015

[Double Review] Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan

Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan

Alice's Rating: 2.5 Stars
Yiling's Rating: 3 Stars
Version: Hardcover
Release Date: May 26, 2015

Goodreads synopsis:
I’m the daughter of murdered parents.I’m the friend of a dead girl.I’m the lover of my enemy.And I will have my revenge.
In the wake of the devastating destruction of the luxury yacht Persephone, just three souls remain to tell its story—and two of them are lying. Only Frances Mace knows the terrifying truth, and she’ll stop at nothing to avenge the murders of everyone she held dear. Even if it means taking down the boy she loves and possibly losing herself in the process.
Sharp and incisive, Daughter of Deep Silence by bestselling author Carrie Ryan is a deliciously smart revenge thriller that examines perceptions of identity, love, and the lengths to which one girl is willing to go when she thinks she has nothing to lose.
Alice's Review
I haven't read a mystery in a while and have mainly been reading fantasy, so this was quite a change in my reading pattern and I didn't know what to expect. I didn't really have any expectations going in this book since I haven't read many reviews about it or heard anything that leans to either extremes.

I was very curious of why the Persephone was actually attacked and the Senator's role in it, and Ryan did a great job building up suspense. However, once its revealed why the ship was attacked, I just found it to be pretty unbelievable and it was a bit of a let down. The reveal wasn't really an "oh my gosh" moment and all the buildup should have led to something more.

The main problem I had is the romance; I didn't believe it for a second. Throughout the book, we see Frances talking about her relationship with Grey on the cruise and their "love" for each other. Problem? They were ON A CRUISE. Which meant they probably knew each other for a week or less and barely knew each other, so how can they be in such deep love? Second, they were 14.. I mean, we've all had childhood and teenage crushes but it's doubtful that these crushes equate to true love. 

The last few chapters were definitely some of the most interesting in the story. I liked the direction Ryan went with the ending and it definitely contributed positively to Frances's character. By the end, Shepherd had come out as my favorite character and he served as a major plus throughout the book.

Overall, this book isn't without problems, but I wouldn't say I was disappointed as I didn't know what to expect when I started this.




Yiling's Review

One of my favorite themes is revenge, so I've read/watched a lot of different stories about it. From The Count of Monte Cristo to the TV show Revenge, there are a lot of revenge focused stories so I was so excited to read Daughter of Deep Silence and see the direction that revenge took in this book. 

The beginning of the book was the best part for me. Frances has just been rescued and she's seemingly determined in her quest for revenge. She becomes her friend Libby and has parts of a plan to expose the Senator and Grey, who have lied about their experiences of the attack on the cruise ship. However, from this point on, the book kinda went downhill for me.

Frances's characterization was all over the place. She would convey over and over by saying that she was dedicated to revenge and achieving it for Libby and her family . However, her actions didn't seem to reflect this. From the very start she messed up her identity and accidentally called Libby's dad (or her pretend dad) Cecil.  She also seemed to be way too fixated on Grey, the main love interest. It got extremely frustrating, because every time she stared into his eyes, her revenge scheme, the whole point that she was there, would take a backseat. She was still in love with him even though she believed that he had a hand in her family and friend dying. She was so frustrating as a character.

The pacing of the book was all over the place. The beginning of the book contained a lot of setting up which I thought would lead up to a bigger reveal for Francis. Carrie Ryan did a really great job on building up the suspense and that was why I liked the beginning so much more than the ending. I was so curious about Libby's revenge scheme and what had actually happened on the cruise ship with the senator. When the reason why the ship was attacked was revealed, the suspense kind of just fizzled out. For this reason, the ending was disappointing and kind of sudden to me. Frances as Libby had the setup for a good revenge plot. She took on a different identity for years, for God's sake, but that's all there was. 

I was disappointed with the direction that the book took. There was so much set up for this grand revenge but the book didn't deliver the grand revenge for me, which kind of defeated the whole point of the book. Frances did seem to grow as a character but by the end of the book, she was still way too infatuated with a boy that she knew for a couple of days when she was a teenager.  

Sunday, July 26, 2015

[Guest Post] Bookish Tattoos

The Summer Blogger Promo Tour is an annual tour hosted by The Book Bratz, where we feature a different blogger each Sunday in July and August. For today's SBPT, we have Lauren from The Tattooed Biblio talking about her many bookish tattoos!


Besides my obvious love for books, my other passion/obsession is tattoos. I don't see many tattooed readers out there, but I am seeing plenty of amazing quotes from distinguished authors being tattooed becoming more prevalent in society. I am not a biker chick (though I do love some Harleys), I've never been to jail, but once I did get a speeding ticket. Many people still judge others by their tattoos. If I am being judged, my guess is I look like a hardcore librarian. All of my tattoos are extremely personal and almost all of them are book related.



(click to enlarge)

These are just a few of my tattoos. The quote on the skull is from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables that reads, "It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live." I got that tattoo after my grandmother passed away from breast cancer. Another quote on my inner arm is from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale that reads, "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum," which is mock-Latin for "Don't let the bastards grind you down." I got that tattoo so I will always remember to respect myself. Lastly, there is a quote on my back from Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five reading, "Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt." I got that tattoo after a 7 year relationship ended. The old school typewriter was simply a choice I made for the love of authors. Readers love books, but sometimes forget to love the author. I like to do my research on my favorite authors and that tattoo reminds me of the hardships they've endured and gives me a glimpse into the life of an author. These are just a few of my tattoos, and hopefully I'll have many more to come!





Lauren is a tattooed bibliophile with a thirst for literature and the more bookish things in life. She spends her free time with her nerdy boyfriend and her weeny dog. There are too many favorite authors to list, but she enjoys a variety of genres including, but not limited to.. historical fiction, horror, apocalyptic, dystopian, science fiction, fantasy, memoirs, and the classics. She hopes to one day time travel, live in a different country, get a bookish job, and most importantly... own enough bookshelves to hold all of her books.

Friday, July 24, 2015

[Guest Post] She Dreamed of Dragons Tour


Welcome to the Blog Tour for Elizabeth J.M. Walker's 
Young Adult Fantasy Novel ~

She Dreamed of Dragons!!

Follow the tour to read exclusive excerpts, guest posts, reviews, and spotlights.


Could a dragon mage be the next ruler of the magical kingdom of Dorlith?

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Title: She Dreamed of Dragons

Author Name:  Elizabeth J.M. Walker

Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy

Length: Approx. 234 pages

Ebook ISBN:  978-0-9947490-6-2
Print ISBN:  978-0-9947490-5-5

Release Date: July 17, 2015

Publisher:  Mirror World Publishing

This is a re-release tour.  Book previously published through a different publishing company.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About She Dreamed of Dragons:

Trina is a fifteen-year-old dragon mage in a kingdom ruled by witches and wizards – the same people who have brought dragons and other magical creatures near extinction. Trina can barely control her fire powers and is desperate for an apprenticeship, but finding a fellow dragon mage to be her teacher is proving more difficult than coming across an actual dragon.

Then there’s the Royal Tourney – a competition presented by the Queen to find a successor to the throne. Trina heads to the competition in the hopes of sparking some interest in the mage society and earning herself an apprenticeship.

She never intended to be a frontrunner in the competition.

She never meant to catch the attention of the evil witch trying to take over the throne.

She never expected to fall for a wizard.

Now Trina must face tough decisions about who she is and who she could become. Trina must ask herself: Can she really win the Royal Tourney?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Guest Post 
Favourite Cat Breeds

There are plenty of feline familiars in She Dreamed of Dragons, including one cat that is modeled after my own very first cat, Smokey. I adopted Smokey with my mom when I was nine years old and she lived with us for eighteen years. Since then I have adopted and grown to love other cats, including the following:

1. Smokey
Before we learn about the other cats, let’s make sure to learn a bit more about Smokey. I wanted a cat for years – ever since I was very small I knew I was a cat person. When my mom finally decided it was okay for us to get a cat, I decided I wanted a grey and white one. My mom started looking in the paper for new litters of kittens and would call and ask if they had any grey and white kittens. We finally hit the jackpot with Smokey, who was one of six other female kittens in her litter. My mom took my brother and I to go and pick her up. She was a playful kitten, but from early on she was very shy. She was terrified of the doorbell, vacuums, and strangers. She only really liked two humans: my mom and I. She would often sleep at the foot of my bed during the night.

2. Cleo
After Smokey’s passing, my mom and I decided to get two kittens together – I would pick one and she would pick one. My mom had her heart set on finding a ginger kitten and I wasn’t really particular about what kind of cat I looking for. We visited the Humane Society several times before I found a kitten I liked – at the time her name was Tinkerbelle but I renamed her Cleo. She is a very peculiar, tiny cat who has grown very attached to my dad, so she now lives with my parents and her cat-brother Colby.

3. Colby
Colby is the tiny little ginger and white kitten my mom picked out at the Humane Society. Even though they were kittens from different litters, Colby and Cleo quickly bonded and would snuggle up and take naps together. Colby was a very playful and energetic kitten who grew up to be a very large cat who loves to be taken outside to explore the garden.

4. Callie
Callie is my little cat-shadow – she’s a fluffy black cat who likes to follow me everywhere. I wasn’t planning on adopting Callie, I just happened to see her at the Humane Society and felt something special. I already had Cleo, so at first wasn’t going to adopt Callie. After thinking about it at home some more, I ended up going back for her and am very grateful I did. She is a special cat who I love very much.

5. Lucy

Lucy is my boyfriend’s cat, but I now share a home with my boyfriend, Lucy and Callie. Lucy is an older cat and needs time to warm up to new people (and cats). Now that we have been living together for over a year, Lucy is very dear to me. Lucy and Callie are not cuddle buddies, but they do get along.
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Purchase Links:

Amazon Kindle - US -
http://amzn.to/1M1Ctat

Amazon Paperback - US -
http://amzn.to/1dVVRYG

Mirror World Publishing -
http://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/products/she-dreamed-of-dragons-e-book

Barnes & Noble -
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/she-dreamed-of-dragons-elizabeth-j-m-walker/1120223680?ean=9780994749055

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Meet the Author:



Elizabeth J. M. Walker lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has always loved books and writing. As a teen she discovered zines, which inspired her to publish her own litzine of odd fairy tales for over a decade.

She Dreamed of Dragons is her first novel.

Connect with her on her website: www.elizabethjmwalker.com
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Follow the Tour - Schedule Posted at the Following Link: 

http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/2015/07/tour-schedule-re-release-of-she-dreamed.html





Thursday, July 23, 2015

[Guest Post] Fairytales and the Role that Good and Evil Play in Them by Soman Chainani

Fairytales and the Role that Good and Evil Play in Them

      We didn’t have cable or internet or video games when I was young, so all we had was our rickety TV set and VHS tapes of every single Disney animated movie. (My parents figured Disney was an appropriate surrogate parent to my two brothers and me.) Until age 8 or so, those movies were all I watched. Everything I learned about storytelling – and about fairy tales in general – I learned from Disney. When I went to college, however, and took a class about the history of fairy tales, I became fascinated by the gap between the original stories and the Disney revisions I had grown up with. Somewhere in that gap, The School for Good and Evil was born.
     Disney took the original fairy tales -- filled with complexity and darkness and often horror -- and essentially pasteurized them to make them more entertaining, and arguably more “appropriate” for children. I'm always struck by the fact that the original Grimms' stories often spoke loudest to older teenaged readers, while Disney tries to peddle these tales to a younger audience, often by changing the core of the story.
     As a result, Good and Evil became quite simplistic, with Good associated only with handsome princes and beautiful princesses, and Evil with shrewish, ugly villains. Good and Evil were reductive synonyms for Beautiful and Ugly, and often Good characters did nothing to warrant being called Good, other than simply looking the part (I still don’t see anything in Ariel’s character in The Little Mermaid, for instance, that warrants her being a hero; if anything she’s quite selfish and dunderheaded.) The same held true not only for Good and Evil, but for the binaries of Boys and Girls and Old and Young. I knew that when it was time to write my own series, I wanted to fight these clichés head-on.
      To Disney's credit, the new regime has recognized some of these problematic character portrayals and we're seeing changes in the newest stories -- a revisionist Maleficent, a focus on sisterly bonds in Frozen, etc. But with The School for Good and Evil, I wanted to really get back to the core of the original stories and give young readers a taste of what a real fairy tale is. Because a real fairy tale is meant to be a Survival Guide to Life: a warning of all the dangers one faces by moving out of childhood and into an unprotected world. As a result, the characters are naturally and fundamentally unsafe.  In the course of a story, a boy or girl might end up with a pot of gold and an Ever After – or you could lose your head or end up pushed into an oven. There was no ‘warmth’ built into the narrator, no the predictability of a happy ending. The reader vicariously tried to survive the gingerbread house, the hook-handed captain, or the apple-carrying crone at the door just like the characters did.
     In recent years, fairy tale mash-ups, retellings, and revisions have become popular – first, as a response to Disney, and second, because the source material is just so good. That said, I had my sights set on something more primal: a new fairy tale, just as unleashed and unhinged as the old stories, that found the anxieties of today’s children. To acknowledge the past – the alumni of the genre, so to speak – and move on to a new class.

About THE LAST EVER AFTER

In the epic conclusion to Soman Chainani’s New York Times bestselling series, The School for Good and Evil, everything old is new again as Sophie and Agatha fight the past as well as the present to find the perfect end to their story.

As A World Without Princes closed, the end was written and former best friends Sophie and Agatha went their separate ways. Agatha was whisked back to Gavaldon with Tedros and Sophie stayed behind with the beautiful young School Master.

But as they settle into their new lives, their story begs to be re-written, and this time, theirs isn’t the only one. With the girls apart, Evil has taken over and the villains of the past have come back to change their tales and turn the world of Good and Evil upside down.

Readers around the world are eagerly awaiting the third book in The School for Good and Evil series, The Last Ever After. This extraordinary conclusion delivers more action, adventure, laughter, romance and fairy tale twists and turns than you could ever dream of!
 



About Soman Chainani:





Soman Chainani's first novel, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List, has been translated into 22 languages across six continents, and will soon be a major motion picture from Universal Studios. 

The sequel, A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List as well. Together, the first two books of the series have been on the print and extended NYT lists for a total of 31 weeks.

As a writer and film director, Soman's films have played at over 150 film festivals around the world, winning more than 30 jury and audience prizes, and his writing awards include honors from Big Bear Lake, New Draft, the CAPE Foundation, the Sun Valley Writer’s Fellowship, and the coveted Shasha Grant, awarded by a jury of international film executives. 

When he’s not telling stories or teaching in New York City, Soman is a die-hard tennis player who never lost a first-round match for ten years . . . until he started writing THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL. Now he loses all the time.


Giveaway:
3 Complete sets of the SCHOOL FOR GOOD & EVIL series - US Only
a Rafflecopter giveaway



Tour Schedule:

July 20 - Lili's Reflections (Interview)
July 21 - Reading Teen (Guest Post)
July 22 - Seeing Double In Neverland (Interview)
July 23 - Wonderland Novels (Guest Post)
July 24 - A Backwards Story (Character Interview)
July 25 - Cover Contessa (Guest Post)
July 26 - Good Books and Good Wine (Playlist)


Wednesday, July 22, 2015

[Review] Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: 5 Stars
Series: Six of Crows #1
Version: Advanced Reader Copy
Release Date: September 29th, 2015

Goodreads Synopsis: 
Game of Thrones meets Ocean's Eleven in this brand-new book in the world of the Grisha by New York Times-bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. 
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. 
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first. 

Six of Crows is set in the world of the Grisha, which may be familiar to those that have read the Grisha trilogy. I never actually read the trilogy, so I was afraid that I would be a bit confused but I wasn't at all. Six of Crows has an ensemble cast of Kaz, Matthias, Inej, Nina, Jesper, and Wynn as they go on a near impossible quest.

I can imagine how challenging it would be for Bardugo to write from the views of five different people, switching back and forth but she pulls this off flawlessly. The transitions were smooth and it was interesting to hear from the different characters (BTW, did anyone notice Wynn didn't have any chapters?). All of the characters are all so well developed! We learn the backstories, or at least partial backstories, of all six characters and we discover their traits through both explicit and implicit characterization. I found myself liking all of the characters (both Kaz and Matthias are my favorites, of course ;). Basically, the characters are beautiful and I love them all.

THE PLOT! I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book and there was never a dull moment. Leigh Bardugo is truly a master storyteller. The world building, such as of Fjerda and the Ice Court, is done very well. As someone that has never read the Grisha series, it was fun trying to correlate the different places with real world countries, like Ravka/Russia, Shu Han/China, Ketterdam/Netherlands, etc and it was fun how she based them off actual places.

The romance in Six of Crows is the best I've read in a while, and particularly the romance between Kaz and Inej (or maybe the lack of it?) Bardugo proves that romance does not need to be the central story line of a YA novel. Although it is fairly evident that Kaz and Inej care for each other beyond just loyalty as Dreg members, their feelings for each other aren't initially obvious and is quite subtle, which makes it all the better. Kaz's attitude toward Inej proves that he can be someone beyond just "Dirtyhands" and that HE DESERVES TO BE LOVED (it's okay, my love for him is enough<3). I think their relationship will definitely play a bigger part in the next book.

In summary, I love this book; I love the characters, the plot, EVERYTHING. I hope Leigh Bardugo does a novella or something about Kaz because I can't get enough of him.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Interview with Blogger Nori of Read Write Love

The Summer Blogger Promo Tour is an annual tour hosted by The Book Bratz, where we feature a different blogger each Sunday in July and August. Today we have an interview with Nori from ReadWriteLove28 in order to get to know her and her blog better! We're so happy to have her featured on our blog.

1. Tell us about yourself! :D
Well hello there! My name is Nori and I’m a book blogger, but I guess you know that already. ;) Hmm, well I have a party poodle named Ellie Mae and I adore her. :) In my spare time, when I’m not reading or writing, you can find me on the computer, watching anime, playing tennis, or organizing- something! I am obsessed with organization, especially online! I love spreadsheets and...well this is getting to be a bizarre introduction. Oops! Okay, so random facts: I like chocolate AND vanilla, I like coffee AND tea, and my favorite color is purple. :)

2. What got you into book blogging?
I actually was debating about starting a blog for a while, and it was going to be a general blog at first. But at the time of starting my blog, I realized that it would be really fun to share my love of reading with everyone else, and so I decided to make it a book blog!

3. So this will probably be the hardest bookish question for any book blogger, but what is your all time favorite book? Just one!
What? No. No. This question should be illegal...There are SO many to choose- how can you force me to pick just one? *ponders* Okay, if I had to pick JUST one, it would probably be Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell. It’s a hidden gem. READ IT.

4. What is your favorite thing about blogging?
Easy! It’s 100% the community. When I started blogging, I had no idea how huge and loving the book community was. I have made so many incredible friends from blogging, and I am extremely grateful for that. I LOVE YOU ALL! <3



Nori is the blogger at www.readwritelove28.com. She is obsessed with her dog, Ellie Mae, food, and books (of course), especially YA contemporary and fantasy. She is also a beta reader and offers developmental editing services on her blog. In addition, she is the founder of UBUbiz, and will be hosting Bookitcon, a charity book event in August 2015. You can find Nori online on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, Pinterest, and her blog. 

Sunday, July 12, 2015

[Guest Post] The Book Bratz Bookshelf Tour

The Summer Blogger Promo Tour is an annual tour hosted by The Book Bratz, where we feature a different blogger each Sunday in July and August. We have the co-hosts of the Summer Blogger Promo Tour, Amber & Jessica from The Book Bratz, over today giving us a tour of their bookshelves!

Jessica's Bookshelf:



Amber's Bookshelf:

 





Amber & Jessica are both high school girls and longtime good friends. They started The Book Bratz back in 2014 and spent all of their free time reading and fangirling about books. Some of their favorite activities include reading, writing, sleeping, eating, and texting (duh). Today, The Book Bratz and its followers have grown tremendously and they’re super excited to be the co-hosts of the 2015 Summer Blogger Promo Tour! Drop on by to www.thebookbratz.blogspot.com and say hi - it’s always a good time! 


Tuesday, July 7, 2015

[Review] The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker


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The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

Rating: 4 Stars 
Series: The Witch Hunter #1
Version: Advanced Reader Copy
Release Date: June 2nd, 2015

Goodreads Synopsis:
Your greatest enemy isn't what you fight, but what you fear.
Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.
Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.
But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.
Virginia Boecker weaves a riveting tale of magic, betrayal, and sacrifice in this unforgettable fantasy debut.
The Witch Hunter is Boecker's debut novel, and is one that I have been waiting on for a while; in fact, I think I did a Waiting on Wednesday a few months back on it. In summary, this book is set in a fantasy version of ~16th century England, in a world where witches, ghosts, faeries, revenants, etc all exist. The story is centered around former witch hunter Elizabeth Grey, who is accused of witchcraft herself and turns over to a powerful wizard and his allies for help.

I thought the concept of this book was pretty interesting. Although there are quite a few YA books with witches, I haven't seen many YA books with a focus on inquisitors or witch hunters, so that's pretty unique. I was surprised to see that the writing is pretty simple compared to some of the YA books I've read recently, and it was a nice breath of fresh air. Boecker describes things "just enough" without overdoing it or inserting too much imagery.

Another thing I really liked was that it didn't end in a cliffhanger! It actually sort of ends in a happy ending, but Boecker also leaves some questions lingering for the second book. Sure, I don't mind cliffhangers all that much usually, but I hate waiting!

However, although the plot is great, my biggest complaint is that it went by a little too fast and as a result, some characters were underdeveloped. There was room for at least another couple of chapters in order to develop the characters better. I don't really feel a connection to John, George, etc. and felt like I don't actually know them yet. Hopefully, we get to know more about them in the sequel.

Overall, I recommend this book to YA fantasy fans and/or YA historical fiction fans. :-)

Monday, July 6, 2015

Books for Summer- Beach Reads and more!

Summer has officially started! No more school, stress, and a lot more free time and what's better than spending that free time reading? So we here at Wonderland Novels have a compiled a list of some fun beach reads for every reader!

Sarah's Picks
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - As the first novel in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians this is a fun and quick read. Actually all of the books in the Olympian series would make great beach reading material with a main character who can control the ocean, talk to horses, and battle mythical monsters with a transforming sword and witty comebacks.







Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder - A spinoff of the study series, in this book we focus on the magical glass maker Opal, now all grown off and figuring out the extent of her own powers. In the course of learning to overcome her own insecurities and growing into her own she travels all over the magician filled lands of Sitia and Ixia. While exploring her powers and  avoiding kidnapping, Opal finds adventure, handsome stormdancers, and beautiful ocean views. This is one fantasy novel perfect for the beach.




Raisa's Picks

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - If you're looking for adventure, or at least that of the road trip variety, this is the book for you. An Abundance of Katherines has the makings of a beautiful summer - the romance, the friendship, the travel, and the lessons learned in between. Follow Colin Singleton and his best friend Hassan as they try to solve The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability in their road trip misadventures. It's a funny, lighthearted comedic romance great for an easy summer read. 


Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn - This book is full of romance, specifically a romance that spans thousands upon thousands of years. It begins with a man and a woman from prehistoric times, fighting over a gem. In each reincarnation, they are brought together over the same gem, but the endings are not always happy - until the end, the present day. You're drawn to each story of reincarnation, wondering when the two star-crossed lovers will get their happy ending. Recommended for those with dreams of summer romance.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

[Guest Post] The Ups & Downs of Blogging

The Summer Blogger Promo Tour is an annual tour hosted by The Book Bratz, where we feature a different blogger each Sunday in July and August. For our first SBPT 2015 feature, we have Naomi from The Perks of Being a Bookworm over talking about her experiences with blogging! 


~~~

"I had always enjoyed blogging but I never could keep it up. I had one blog when I was around 10 and it was filled with the most random things ever but then I deleted it out of sheer embarrassment! I had a beauty blog but I just couldn't keep it up because I didn't really enjoy doing it. I then tried out fashion blogging and then I realized that I was the least fashionable and creative person out there so I slowly gave up on that. I then found out about book tube through one of my closest friends and she was like "Hey you like books, you should start a channel" I wasn't ready to start filming so I found out about book blogging and things went from there on. I never thought I would do things like participate in blog tours and meet new people. When I first started out I was very to myself. I didn't do much, I blogged but I didn't communicate with any other book bloggers. I was scared to even comment of peoples post and then I started to participate in tags and things starting going uphill at around September 2014. Now I am blogging about things I love and I'm surprised that I have kept things up for so long, this is probably one of my proudest achievements. I hope that in the next year my blog will grow and I will make loads more blogging friends!"

To hear more of her experiences, visit her on her blog here!

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Our Favorite Books of 2015... So Far


2015 is already officially halfway over, and we have rounded up a list of our top three favorite books that we've read in the first half of 2015. 


Yiling's Picks
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1. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

2. Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond

3. Fairest by Marissa Meyer


Alice's Picks
So 2015 has been an amazing year in YA lit for me, and I've read so many amazing books! In fact, most of the books I've read this year have been rated over four stars! :) It was definitely hard narrowing down my list.



1. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (review to come!)

3. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir


What are your top 3 books of 2015 so far? Let us know in the comments!