Hello everyone! Today I’m going to be reviewing The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, published by Scholastic. It’s a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy and tells the story of a teenager who would later be known as President Snow.
Continue reading “Book Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes(The Hunger Games #0), written by Suzanne Collins”
Hello everyone! Today I’m going to be reviewing Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, published by Quercus Books(UK) on June 30th. The first book I read and loved by Moreno-Garcia was The Gods of Jade And Shadow. Mexican Gothic proved to be even more of a captivating and stunning book.
Continue reading “Book Review: Mexican Gothic, written by Silvia Moreno-Garcia”
Hi everyone! Today I’m excited to review Ana Huang’s NA contemporary romance, If We Ever Meet Again, book one of If Love Duet. It’s available on Amazon KU and on kindle for only $1.31!
Continue reading “Book Review: If We Ever Meet Again, written by Ana Huang”
Hi everyone! Today I’m excited to participate in the blog tour for Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen hosted by FFBC! It’s the second book in the Dark Shores series but there are new protagonists this time around.
Dark Skies(Dark Shores#2) by Danielle L. Jensen
Publication date: May 5th, 2020
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 464
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy
Buy: GOODREADS | BOOK DEPOSITORY | Wordery | B&N
Synopsis:
A RUNAWAY WITH A HIDDEN PAST
Lydia is a scholar, but books are her downfall when she meddles in the plots of the most powerful man in the Celendor Empire. Her life in danger, she flees west to the far side of the Endless Seas and finds herself entangled in a foreign war where her burgeoning powers are sought by both sides.A RUNAWAY WITH A HIDDEN PAST
Lydia is a scholar, but books are her downfall when she meddles in the plots of the most powerful man in the Celendor Empire. Her life in danger, she flees west to the far side of the Endless Seas and finds herself entangled in a foreign war where her burgeoning powers are sought by both sides.
A COMMANDER IN DISGRACE
Killian is Marked by the God of War, but his gifts fail him when the realm under the dominion of the Corrupter invades Mudamora. Disgraced, he swears his sword to the kingdom’s only hope: the crown princess. But the choice sees him caught up in a web of political intrigue that will put his oath – and his heart – to the test.
A KINGDOM UNDER SIEGE
With Mudamora falling beneath the armies of the Corrupter, Lydia and Killian strike a bargain to save those they love most—but it is a bargain with unintended and disastrous consequences. Truths are revealed, birthrights claimed, and loyalties questioned—all while a menace deadlier and more far-reaching than they realize sweeps across the world.
– My Thoughts –
You don’t need to read Dark Shores to read Dark Skies as it’s set in a different world with an entirely different cast of characters..well, except one.
In Dark Skies, we follow Teriana’s(from Dark Shores) friend Lydia to a place called Mudamora where there’s politics, Gods, and so many other things at play.
The story begins in Celadon, and during the same timeline as Dark Shores. Lydia escapes from Cel and lands in Mudamora where she comes face-to-face with two dangerous things, only one of them won’t kill her. Killian, marked by the God of war and the commander of his King’s army, meets Lydia during a fight. He saves her life and in return, Lydia repays him by saving him. This is where we stumble into a whole new world; a world where a god would suddenly appear and bestow their ‘gifts’ upon you. The gifts can be healing, fighting, growing things, water breathing, etc.
I love Danielle Jensen’s writing which gets better with every book. I never thought I’d be able to finish this book in a day, but I did. The pacing is wonderful and even though there are so many things happening, you’ll forget your bathroom break and watch(err.. read). There are assassination plots, mysteries, magic, chases, a BLIGHT(Or, a virus. I should’ve included a trigger warning) zombies, evil god, evil army leaders, more evil people, more scheming.. There’s a lot of slashing people, and more darkness.
I loved Lydia and Killian. They were both compassionate, loyal, brave and so very human. When I say ‘human’, I mean that they feel afraid, helpless, anxious considering the fact that they were god marked. The other characters in the book like Malahi, Killian’s mother, brother, Finn were written impeccably well, with just enough context to their characters.
Overall, I would highly recommend this if you love fantasy, great characters, a couple that you’ll root for, magic, politics, intrigue, plot twists, and of course if you loved Dark Shores!
Thanks to the publisher for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review and to FFBC for including me in the blog tour!
– Giveaway –
Win one copy of DARK SKIES. Enter here. Open to US residents only! Ends on May 19th, 2020
Click this link to see the entire Tour Schedule. Make sure to visit the rest of the tour stops to get more chances to win!
– About the Author –
Danielle L. Jensen is the USA Today bestselling author of The Malediction Trilogy (Angry Robot), the Dark Shores series (Tor Teen), and The Bridge Kingdom series (Audible Originals). She lives in Calgary, Alberta with her family. Follow her on:
Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
Thank you for reading! Do you think you’ll read Dark Skies? Have you read Dark Shores or any of the author’s books? I’d love to you thoughts in the comments below!
Book Subscription boxes : Do you hate them, love them, love them but hate you can’t afford ’em all? Let me know your thoughts!
I, however, fall in the third category. I love Book boxes with special edition books and merches but looking at shipping costs gives me a headache. If I really really love a book, then I just ignore the sorry state of my bank account and order the box right away.
Today, I am going to show and tell you why you should subscribe to the Book Box Club! I’ve been recently selected to be a part of the Book Box Club‘s Blogger’s Army along with fifteen other amazing bloggers.
Book Box Club is a book subscription box, founded by Libby and Kate, who met selling books in a cosy independent bookshop back in 2010. They became inseparable bookish buddies who spent their evenings talking books, baking bad cookies, swimming blindly side-by-side (no contact lenses in the pool!) and singing pop ballads together.
Book Box Club actually came about after a late night biscuit-fuelled conversation, that went something like this:
Kate: I feel as though I’d like to do something huge, something life changing.
Libby: I know what you mean. We need to shake things up.
Kate: I feel as though I’d like to sail around the world, you know? Really achieve something big.
Libby: Let’s do it!
Book Box Club sends their bookish parcels to everywhere around the world and their parcels are so aesthetically pleasing that you’ll want to take a dozen photos before unpacking them. Book Box Club is not a book subscription service but is also a secret society for all book lovers. They offer two different subscriptions(and yes, they come with an invitation to the secret society so ssshhh…):
Book Box Club Subscription – each month you’ll receive a gift-wrapped, brand new, YA read, an invitation to their exclusive online book club and a curated selection of unique themed goodies.
Purely Books Subscription – each month you’ll receive a featured read and an invitation to their online book group.
All postage to the UK is free, but they send their parcels all around the world (postage costs apply). All subscriptions automatically renew, but you can cancel or change your subscription at any time.
Posting date for Purely Books subscriptions is the same as for Book Box Club subscribers, so your parcel gets shipped around the 15th of the month.
Since I’m a rep for the Purely Books Subscription, I’ll show you the packaging and the book I received in my April parcel.
The Purely Books subscription is perfect for those of us who don’t like collecting bookish merches. The book you’ll receive will be the same book that is featured in the Book Box Club Subscription so we can all join in on the fun! Along with the book, you’ll receive an exclusive invitation to join the online book club to speak to others about the book.
If you like the sound of any of these two options then you can sign up HERE. You can also use the code BLOGARMY5 to get 5% off your first subscription to both the Purely Books and the monthly Book Box Subscription (5% off a three month Purely Books Subscription or month-to-month Book Box Club Subscription).
| Zhilan was assigned female at birth. Despite a gift for illusions, they know they are destined to live out their life within the confines of the women’s quarter. But when civil war sets the empire aflame, Zhilan is determined save their disabled father from the battlefield. By taking his place. Surviving brutal army training as a boy – Zhi – is only the first challenge. In the glittering court of the Land of Dragons, love and betrayal are two sides of the same smile, and soon the fate of a nation rests on Zhi’s shoulders. But to win, they must decide where their heart truly belongs… |
This is the book I received and I love the cover so much. There was also a note welcoming me to the Book Box Club Blogger’s Army! Below is a picture of the invitation card to the “secret” society where readers can interact with the author.
Overall, I’m extremely happy with my experience with the Book Box Club and look forward to writing more posts about my expereinces. My next post will be about the exclusive club( yes, the secret society) where I get to ask the author questions and speak to others who’ve also received the invite to the Club!
Book Rambler 