Wednesday, August 31, 2016

August/Birthday Book(ish) Haul 2016!

So on August 10 I had a birthday. I turned a whole year older. This marks the start of a lot of things, and the end of a lot of things. That being said, I got a few things for my birthday, and I bought a few things for my birthday. So without further ado, here is my book haul from my birthday month!

First, my friend sent me three ARCs that she had lying around or had gotten at Comic Con. I'm very grateful that she passed them on to me, and I realize that not everyone gets a chance to read books in advance. So thank you to my good friend for passing them on.

The first ARC she sent me is A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess. This is one of my most anticipated releases of September, so when I saw it in the box I freaked out.

The second ARC she sent me is Heartless by Marissa Meyer. I loved the Lunar Chronicles, so I'm pretty excited about this new retelling. Plus, it releases in November, so I'm ecstatic about getting to read this book so early.

And the last ARC she sent was Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland. I've been wanting to read it ever since I heard about it at BEA and I was really excited when she passed her arc on to me.

Then my best friend got me a book for my birthday. It's the second in a trilogy I'm super excited to read. I was actually about to buy the second book when she gave it to me. Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch.

Then I preordered Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. I'm excited to read this one, as it's about a female assassin (and I love me some assassins) and it came signed!

My dad then got me a book I've had my eye on for quite a while now. I was pretty darn excited when I saw it. It's the Peter Pan edition with illustrations and interactive elements like clocks you can change the hands on and maps you can unfold. It's beautiful!

He also got me the Harry Potter Marauder's Map Tumbler from Tervis. I had been wanting it for a little bit and I was ecstatic when I saw it. It's such a great addition to my Harry Potter collection!

My dad's girlfriend got me a gift card for Barnes & Noble, so of course I picked up a few things I'd been really wanting. First, I got this adorable limited edition Newt Scamander Funko Pop. It's such a great addition to my bookshelf, and I'm ecstatic for the film releasing in November.

I also got Almost Midnight and Unspoken by C.C. Hunter. AM is a collection of novellas for the Shadow Falls series and Unspoken is the third book in the spin off series. I am so incredibly excited to have both of these.

I also placed a BookOutlet order and it had come when I had gotten back from my dad's. I ordered 6 books...

The first two were Reborn and Eternal by C.C. Hunter. These are the first two books in the Shadow Falls spin off series. Now that I have all the books, I can binge read and it excites me to no end.

I also picked up An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. Everyone has been raving about this book for so long and I decided to grab it when I saw it on Book Outlet for $4. Plus, the sequel just released so if I love it like everyone else does, I can go pick up the sequel (actually I already have it preordered).

Next I grabbed The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong the first book in a series I read in middle school and liked a lot. I'm hoping that I really like it again.

After that I picked up Avalon by Mindee Arnett. This was first pitched to me as a Fast & Furious in space, and I was all about that. It was unfortunately a little pricey for me when I was already buying a lot of books, so I didn't get to pick it up until I saw it on Book Outlet!

Lastly I picked up Redeemed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast. This is the FINAL book in the House of Night series, which I am not caught up on. I have read up to book 10? 11? Anyway, I saw this special edition for a killer price and had to get it as I want to finish reading the series.

Then, for the last book this month, my grandma got me Harry Potter: Page to Screen for my birthday. This had caught my eye a few months ago, but it was sooo expensive on retailers that weren't Amazon, and then it was out of stock on Amazon. I was psyched when I saw it in the mail. It's huge AND it's gorgeous!

~

Thanks for reading
xoxo
Lauren

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Let's Talk: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Author: J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany
Series: "Harry Potter" #8
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
Page Length: 308 pages
Publication Date: July 31, 2016
Date Started: July 31, 2016
Date Finished: July 31, 2016
Rating: 5/5 stars

Wow, a new HP book...I never thought I would say (or write) those words. I don't even know how to go into this review.

I guess I can start out by saying that this book was not what I expected, but it was still amazing (because, hello? new HP book!). There were times however, where I felt like the character I was reading about was not the character that J.K. Rowling wrote in the original books. Of course, this was mostly written by Jack Thorne, so no surprise there. I was kind of expecting it.

I loved Scorpius and Albus. They tried to do the right thing multiple times and it kept blowing up in their faces. But it's the thought that counts, right? I definitely friendSHIP them (see what I did there?).

Just the amount of plot twists toward the end of the book kept me on the edge of my toes. The brilliance of it all was just WOW. I definitely want more (as in Rowling to write it as a novelization and not a script book).

It flew by way to fast. I did stay up late to finish it, but it was over too quickly and I WANT MORE. I just want more Harry and Ron and Hermione and Albus and Scorpius and everyone! Definitely loved it and wish I could see the play live. A 10/10 recommend for ANY Harry Potter fan out there.

~

Thanks for reading
xoxo
Lauren

Let's Talk: Blackheath

Title: Blackheat
Author: Gabriella Lepore
Series: "Blackheath"
Genre: YA Paranormal
Page Length: 271 pages
Publication Date: December 20, 2015
Date Started: July 24, 2016
Date Finished: July 29, 2016
Rating: 4/5 stars

I enjoyed this book, maybe not as much as I thought I was going to, but I still did nonetheless. I was really looking for a witchy novel that wasn't too complex that I could easily read. This fit the bill, and had a school setting! However, I think I set my expectations a little high.

The book was short, meaning not a lot could happen. Looking back things were pretty face-paced, which I enjoyed immensely. It didn't drag on and on like some books I've read. The plot was nice, there was mystery and romantic undertones, and I genuinely liked the characters.

But I did have a few qualms which lowered this book to a 4-star instead of a 5-star rating. The first being that some things felt to easy to me. Stuff that everyone was stressing on for the entire book was resolved too quickly. Another, there's a dislike turned love relationship that seemed more of an insta-love situation to me. Also, it was short meaning not a lot of character development could happen and not a lot of action could happen either.

I am still going to be continuing on with the second book when it comes out. I did enjoy this book quite a bit, and I look forward to reading more by this author.

~

Thanks for reading
xoxo
Lauren

Let's Talk: Walk the Edge

Title: Walk the Edge
Author: Katie McGarry
Series: Thunder Road #2
Genre: YA Romance/Biker?
Page Length: 426 pages
Publication Date: March 29, 2016
Date Started: July 19, 2016
Date Finished: July 20, 2016
Rating: 5/5 stars

*Semi-spoiler free review*

I can't decide if I like this book or the first book better. This one was set in a school (and I LOVE books set in schools) and had blackmail aspects, but the first one had mystery and I hate-turned-love romance. Also, the ending of this book, while still satisfying me, was not the one I really wanted.

I loved Breanna. She was amazing at so many things, yet sucked at other ones. She wasn't perfect, but she was amazing. I felt for her during the whole book. Her family kind of sucked, she was a whiz-kid in some subjects but sucked in others. She had a fantastic memory and a great personality. I honestly loved her.

Razor was shown from such a different side in this book. In the first book we met him but didn't really get to know him. He's a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club with Oz. This book was such an insight into his tough-on-the-outside character. He's had a shitty past, and there's a bunch of mystery surrounding it.

Breanna and Razor team up to do 2 things. Number 1 is to stop whoever is blackmailing Breanna. Number 2 is figure out a mystery in Razor's past that is coming back around into the light. All the while keeping both things a secret from the motorcycle club. Chaos ensues.

This book had me laughing, it had me on the edge of my seat, and it had me wanting more. I can't wait for the next book (it's Chevy and Violet's story!). It comes out in January (sad face), but that's better than March like this one came out in.

Bottom line, it wasn't perfect, but it was damn close.

~

Thanks for reading
xoxo
Lauren

Monday, August 1, 2016

July 2016 Wrap-Up

1.
Title: And I Darken
Author: Kiersten White
Publication Date: June 28, 2016
Days Spent Reading: 6 days
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Book Talk: http://laurensboookshelf.blogspot.com/2016/07/let-talk-and-i-darken.html

2.
Title: Nowhere But Here
Author: Katie McGarry
Publication Date: May 20, 2015
Days Spent Reading: 2 days
Rating: 5/5 stars
Book Talk: http://laurensboookshelf.blogspot.com/2016/07/let-talk-nowhere-but-here.html

3.
Title: Walk the Edge
Author: Katie McGarry
Publication Date: March 19, 2016
Days Spent Reading: 2 days
Rating: 5/5 stars
Book Talk: http://laurensboookshelf.blogspot.com/2016/08/lets-talk-walk-edge.html

4.
Title: Blackheath
Author: Gabriella Lepore
Publication Date: December 20, 2015
Days Spent Reading:
Rating: 4/5 stars
Book talk: http://laurensboookshelf.blogspot.com/2016/08/let-talk-blackheath.html

5.
Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Author: J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany
Publication Date: July 31, 2016
Days Spent Reading: 1
Rating: 5/5 stars
Book Talk: http://laurensboookshelf.blogspot.com/2016/08/lets-talk-harry-potter-and-cursed-child.html