Book Review: "A Darkness Strange and Lovely" by Susan Dennard

Title: A Darkness Strange and Lovely

Author: Susan Dennard

Series: "Something Strange and Deadly" #2

Genre: YA Paranormal/Supernatural/Steampunk

Page Length: 406 pages

Publication Date: July 23, 2013

Date Started: July 22, 2019

Date Finished: July 22, 2019

Rating: 4 // 5 stars

Goodreads

Book 1 Review

Y'all...this book was great. There's just something so easy about Susan's writing that allows me to just fall into it. I read this entire book--start to finish--at work and I loved it. I didn't even realize how much of it was passing until I turned to the last few pages.

I think what I like most about these books are how addicting they are. Once I start, I can't stop until I finish. This could be partly because of how they are written but I also attribute it to the mystery aspects and high stakes present.

This book definitely amps it up from the first one in terms of everything. The plot gets more intense with sacrifices, necromancy, and trying to catch a murderer while fight off dead things all set against the backdrop of high-society Paris. The relationships between the characters are evolving and it was interesting to see how choices each of them made either made their relationships stronger or start to crumble. Additionally, the inner struggles that our main character goes through are so compelling. The characters are still my favorite part of this. I'm an angst-lover and this book was FULL of angsty moments between characters.

Overall, I don't have much to say about this book other than I really enjoyed it! As I'm writing this review, I've already finished the third and final book and I have A LOT to say about that one and I don't want to spoil this book so I think I'll leave this review with these parting words: I highly recommend this trilogy for anyone who is a fan of paranormal/steampunk books or any book-lover in general!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Book Review: "Embrace" by Jessica Shirvington

Title: Embrace

Author: Jessica Shirvington

Series: "Violet Eden Chapters" #1
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Page Length: 369 pages
Publication Date: September 2012

Date Started: April 23, 2019
Date Finished: April 23, 2019
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars 

Goodreads

This book was very reminiscent of the books I would read when I first started getting into YA. I'm not going to say that this book is a literary masterpiece in any way, but I did enjoy it a lot. It's an easy, likable read that doesn't require too much brain power to follow. 

I got sucked in pretty much from the beginning. The writing is easy to follow and quite nice and the main character is pretty awesome. Things don't take forever to get started, either, and there's action pretty quickly. 

We do have our stereotypical love triangle, but I still loved it. I don't hate love triangles if they are done well enough and this one was. It wasn't the best love triangle I've ever read, but considering there's four more books, I'd say there's plenty of room for improvement. 

The plot and world were interesting enough. I'm sure they're only going to get even more in depth and interesting in the next books. Looking back, this is a book that very much sets up the rest of the series. I thought more was going to happen here but they didn't rush this pivotal part of the main character's story which I enjoyed. 

Overall I thought this was a very enjoyable and addicting book. It had a super nostalgic feeling, the characters were enjoyable, and the plot was interesting. I read it in one sitting and I'm interested to see where the story goes next.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Book Review: "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Title: Strange the Dreamer

Author: Laini Taylor
Series: "Strange the Dreamer" #1
Genre: Fantasy

Page Length: 536 pages

Publication Date: March 28, 2017

Date Started: April 14, 2019

Date Finished: April 17, 2019
Rating: 4 // 5 stars

Goodreads

Did I ask for that heartbreak? No. Did Laini deliver it anyway? Yes.

This book is so magical and lyrical and wonderful. The world is amazing, the characters are so intriguing, and I'll admit to being completely sucked in. I can see how so many people absolutely adore this book and I can also tell why there's so much hype surrounding it.

I have to say, I would die for Lazlo Strange. He's the sweetest, most amazing character every and I'm so excited to see how he grows in the next book. I just...he's wonderful. Sarai was great as well. I found her struggles really made me sympathize for her. A few of the secondary characters were quite interesting as well, though I will say that I would have liked to see even more of them, especially from the inhabitants of Weep.

The world building was pretty great. Every time I envision Weep in my head it's so pretty and I can't wait to look up fan art and depictions of it. I can't wait to see what happens in this city next. Especially with how things were left after the ending of this book. I can only imagine what will happen next in the city.

I will say I didn't think this lived up to my expectations. I think all of the hype got me thinking I'd be blown away and I wasn't. Don't get me wrong, I did absolutely enjoy this book and I had all the feels reading it, but for a book that long it just seemed like not much happened? It was beautiful writing, a beautiful world, and wonderful characters but I kept waiting for the plot to pick up and when the big ending happened I was like, "wait, that was it?" I did really enjoy this book but everyone's hype for it definitely impacted my expectations.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I'm excited to see how things play out in the sequel. Especially considering how my favs were left at the end of this one (insert sobbing emoji here). I would definitely recommend it to those who like fantasy and don't mind a slower moving plot!

Have you read Strange the Dreamer? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Let's Talk: "The Burn Zone" by Renee Linnell

Title: The Burn Zone

Author: Renee Linnell

Genre: Memoir

Page Length: 299 pages

Publication Date: October 9, 2018

Date Started: January 1, 2019

Date Finished: January 4, 2019

Rating: 4 // 5 stars

Goodreads

*I was provided a free copy of this book from FSB Associates in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own*

As someone who reads primarily YA fantasy books, this memoir was a definite step outside of my comfort zone. I didn't expect to be sucked in like I am when I read fantasy or science fiction. I planned on reading a little bit every day, but after about a third of this book had passed, I was sucked in. I ended up reading the rest in one sitting and was unable to think about anything else.

This book truly was something else. Reading about Renee's journey was heartbreaking, addicting, inspiring, and so much more. 

It's hard to sit here and think about how to review a memoir. You've read about someone's life and their struggles, not some fictional tale that can be picked apart to find the flaws. In this case, I can only rate this book on how Renee told her story.

Her journey was addicting to read, yes, but her writing aided it and pushed me to read most of this book in one sitting. The way she structured her story--where we'd get flash backs to her childhood and life before the cult before flashing forward to her time in a cult--was a great move. It definitely helped me see more of how she changed as a person. 

I can't remember the last time I read a memoir and it was refreshing to read one. I find Renee's story to be moving and inspirational, but also a cautionary tale. Overall, I'll leave you with this: I enjoyed this memoir and recommend it to those who seek spiritual Enlightenment.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Let's Talk: "Neutral" by Jaymin Eve & Jane Washington

Title: Neutral

Authors: Jaymin Eve & Jane Washington

Series: "Curse of the Gods" #4.5

Genre: RH Fantasy  

Page Length: 180 pages

Publication Date: September 30, 2018

Date Started: December 10, 2018

Date Finished: December 11, 2018

Rating: 4 // 5 stars

Goodreads

Book 1 Review

Book 2 Review

Book 3 Review

Book 4 Review

*Non-spoiler for this book, but may have small spoilers for previous books in this series* 

I really enjoyed this installment in one of my favorite series. When the announcement went out that the final book was being pushed back, I was a bit disappointed until I heard that it was because we were getting a novella from Emmy and Cyrus's points of views. We'd been seeing the two of them throughout previous books but never got a chance to see their POV. Additionally, their character interactions in the fourth book had me dying to know more about the status of their relationship/friendship/tolerance-ship. 

I think that this was definitely an important installment to help bridge the gap between book four and five. I know now, after reading this, that if I'd skipped this novella I would have been completely confused by the time I started the final book in the series. We had lot of important plot developments and reveals in this book that upped the stakes even higher for the final book. 

I loved seeing Emmy and Cyrus's relationship develop in this book and get a glimpse into their thought processes. In the previous books, we'd gotten to see a little bit about it from other people's views but it wasn't clear what exactly was going on. It was nice to have this clarification as to what exactly happens between them.

Did I like this book more than the others? No, it's probably my least favorite in the series simply because we had a lot less Willa. Willa is clumsy and has no filter and is utterly hilarious whereas Emmy, while a strong and amazing character herself, doesn't bring the comedic effect that I've found to be the thing I like most about this series. Plus, I still prefer the five Abcurses over a single Cyrus anyway. 

All in all, I enjoyed this book and I'm both excited and scared to dive into the final installment. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Let's Talk: "Forged Alliances" by Katherine McIntyre

Title: Forged Alliances

Author: Katherine McIntyre

Series: "Tribal Shifters" #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Page Length: 184 pages

Publication Date: November 13, 2018
Date Started: November 12, 2018

Date Finished: November 13, 2018

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

Goodreads

*I was sent a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

When I was contacted to review this book, I was very excited. I've read one of Katherine's other books and really enjoyed it, so I was pretty interested in reading this one. Not only that, but I am and always have been a sucker for shifter/paranormal romance books. So this was pretty exciting going in.

I enjoyed this book. I really liked all of the characters we got to know, and my favorite outside of the main two was Finn. I'm interested in seeing where all of these character relationships go and how everyone interacts with each other in subsequent books.

One thing I felt we missed out on, though, was seeing more of the Tribe, but I'm sure we'll get more of that in more books. I also think that we didn't get much of Drew's motivations for all of the trouble he was causing. It seemed to me like he was being the antagonist just to be the antagonist. Don't get me wrong, I think he was a good antagonist, I just wanted to see more of his motivations.

I loved the wit and sass between the two main characters. I thought they complimented each other well and I'm excited to see how they progress in subsequent books. For me, I think that we've reached just the tip of the iceberg on their relationship and I want to see a lot more of their connection.

I enjoyed the action scenes, but I think that some of them could have been a bit longer or more fleshed out to really leave me with a fast heartbeat and sweaty palms over what's going to happen.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book but I wished it had been longer because I just want more. I want more from these characters and I want to know what happens next! I cannot wait to see how the series progresses and a big thank you to Katherine for allowing me this chance to read this book!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

---

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Let's Talk: "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo *Updated Review*

Title: Six of Crows 

Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: "Six of Crows" Duology #1

Genre: YA High Fantasy

Page Length: 465 pages

Publication Date: September 29, 2015

Date Started: September 30, 2018

Date Finished: October 6, 2018

Rating: 4/5 stars

Goodreads

This was my second time reading this book, actually. Since my feelings have changed from the first review I wrote, I thought I'd go ahead and write an updated review. Also, I feel as if I should preface this review with the disclaimer that I reread this book for my writing class. While I've been wanting to reread it for a while, I had to force myself to read this one right now even though I wasn't 100% wanting to in order to do a group presentation on it. Therefore, my experience reading this book, and, in turn, my thoughts on it, were a little bit skewed from having to force myself to read it instead of taking my time and waiting for the right moment.

That being said, I didn't love this book. I enjoyed reading it and it's been so long since the first time I read it that there were plenty of parts that I had forgotten about and shocked me. I didn't love it, but I liked it. I have plans to read the sequel and I did enjoy it a lot more than the first time I read it at the beginning of 2016. I still probably would have enjoyed it more had I read it on my own terms, but we're past that now.

Overall, like I said, I enjoyed this book. There were definitely times where I thought that the plot was slow or the pace was lacking. Mostly this was when the crew was planning their heist and traveling. By the end, the pace had picked up and I actually blew through the last 150-200 pages, which was a surprise to me.

What I liked most about this was that, since it had been so long since the first time I read it, I had forgotten pretty much everything about this book except the ending and was able to read it with fresh eyes. Like, I didn't even remember the names of all the main characters. That made this reading experience so much more fun than a typical reread.

The story was interesting, the writing was pretty good, and the characters were hilarious. The first time around I didn't realize how funny these characters and their interactions are. I love Jesper and I would literally die for him. I cannot wait to see more interactions between him and Wylan.

I am excited to go into the next book, although I don't know when that will be. It's probably won't be by the end of this year since my TBR is so packed, but that's okay because I can always bring it with me next semester.

So, yes, overall I enjoyed this book more the second time around but I wish that it would have been on my own terms since I wasn't in a SoC mood when I read this book. Still, I loved the characters and the plot is intriguing enough to have me coming back for more.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

---

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September 2018 Wrap-Up!

So September wasn't a terrible reading month for me, but it wasn't fantastic either. I ended up finishing 6 books this month, a drastic decrease from the 14 I finished in August. However, considering I started back at college and got a new job, I'd call this a pretty successful month. Plus, I've read a lot of short stories for my writing class so far so it's not like I'm just not reading at all.

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BOOKS READ

1.

Title: The Iliad

Author: Homer 

Rating: N/A

I read this book for one of my classes and it was pretty good. Since I read it for a class, though, I'm giving is a neutral rating on Goodreads. It was interesting, and I'm glad I finally had the push to read it since I've been interested in reading it for a few years. I'm super excited to have this backstory before I go into The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. 

2. 

Title: Crown of Midnight

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 5/5 stars

Rereading this book was so fun. As you probably know if you follow me on Instagram, ToG is my favorite book series of all time and I recently started rereading the entire series in preparation for the final book coming out next month. I loved rereading this one since it's been a few years since I read it for the first time. Whenever I think about the books in the series that are my favorites, this one never seems to make the list. I think just because it's been so long since I read it and after reading Heir of Fire, the world just exploded and got so much more intense. But it was fun for me to reread this book and revisit why I love it just as much as some of the others. Of course, now that I've finished it, all that I want to do is immediately read the next one, even though I have so much required reading for classes and some review books to check out.

3.
Title: The Demon Race
Author: Alexandria Warwick
Rating: 3.75/5 stars
Review

4.
Title: Light Years
Author: Kass Morgan
Rating: 4/5 stars
Review

5.
Title: The Odyssey
Author: Homer
Rating: N/A

Like with The Iliad, I read this for my Ancient and Medieval Lit class. It was a fun read as far as required readings go and I quite enjoyed it compared to when I read it freshman year of high school. For me, the difference in how we went about analyzing the book was a lot different in my college course than high school. Here, we talked about morals and possible reasonings behind different actions and the different ethic systems in ancient Greece, whereas in high school we got quizzed on the events of the epic but we didn't really discuss it at all. Suffice to say, I definitely enjoyed it more this time around. 

6.

Title: Check, Please!: #Hockey
Creator: Ngozi Ukazu
Rating: 5/5 stars

Not to be dramatic or anything but I would literally die for Bitty. This book was so god damn cute and I loved every second of it! I definitely think that this story is best told the way it is: in a graphic novel format. I adored the illustrations and being able to see the characters and their facial expressions. Not only that, but I was laughing out loud at this book almost from page one. It was hilarious and heartwarming and everything I needed. I cannot wait for the next one!

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BLOG POSTS

August 2018 Wrap-Up!

August 2018 Book Haul!
Let's Talk: "The Demon Race" by Alexandria Warwick
Let's Talk: "Light Years" by Kass Morgan
Finally Fall Book Tag

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TV SHOWS/MOVIES
I finished rewatching seasons 2 and 3a of Teen Wolf aka my favorite TV show. It was so fun just to revisit these characters and this story. I could rewatch this show over and over and never tire of it. Plus, the character development is just so on point!

I also watched Sierra Burgess is a Loser this month and unfortunately did not like it very much. I guess it was enjoyable at times? Overall, I just kept constantly checking to see if it was almost over and I had a lot of problems with different aspects of it.

But to make up for Sierra, I finished season 2 of Queer Eye and I'm dying. I love that show and the Fab Five so much. They're honest to god just so sweet and amazing and I would definitely love for them to come in and give me a makeover and fix my trainwreck of a life. I cannot wait for season 3.

And lastly, I finished seasons 9 and 10 of Bones. These were some of the most heartbreaking seasons for me to watch and I definitely am not almost finished with season 11 already...pfffft nooo. Anyway, this show really does know how to put on a good episode. It's strange because you'd think after over 200 episodes they'd run out of things to talk about or they'd somehow do a repeat, but there's constantly new cases and plot points. I could watch this show forever and I'm very sad that I'm almost on the last season.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

---

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Let's Talk: "Light Years" by Kass Morgan

Title: Light Years

Author: Kass Morgan

Series: "Light Years" #1
Genre: YA Science Fantasy

Page Length: 372 pages

Publication Date: October 9, 2018

Date Started: September 19, 2018

Date Finished: September 20, 2018

Rating: 4/5 stars

Goodreads

*I was provided an advance copy in exchange for an honest review*

When I heard that Kass Morgan was coming out with a new book, I was pretty excited. I hadn't read her other series but I had seen the TV adaption and I knew that I was interested in whatever the creator had come up with again. I was not disappointed.

This book was really good. I was pulled in from page one and I never was bored. I didn't think I was going to finish it in just two sittings, but lo and behold, I did. It was intriguing and paced really well. 

I think for me, a lot of what made me want to read this book late into the night and on my breaks at work was that I had to know what happened next. I didn't just want to know, I needed to know. You connect with these characters on so many different levels that make you feel so invested in their stories. 

Speaking of the characters, none of them were perfect and I loved that. They made mistakes, the acted rashly, they sometimes did the wrong thing. But that's how real people are and I've read so many books where the characters are perfect. I love that these characters weren't perfect people, and that made them the perfect characters.

The story was engaging. I would have liked it to be a bit longer just because I wanted more of each character's perspective and story as well as just more in general. Especially after that ending! I need the next book, yesterday! 

Overall, this was a great book and I can't wait to see where this story goes next. I am so happy that I got a chance to read this book early since it's been on my radar for months now. Do yourselves a favor and go buy this book the day it comes out! 

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Thanks for reading and a huge thanks to Novl for providing me with this review copy!

xoxo

Lauren

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Let's Talk: "The Demon Race" by Alexandria Warwick

Title: The Demon Race
Author: Alexandria Warwick

Genre: YA Fantasy

Page Length: 372 pages

Publication Date: September 18, 2018

Date Started: September 14, 2018

Date Finished: September 17, 2018

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

Goodreads

Alexandria Warwick's Guest Post

*I was provided a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Okay so this book was pretty great. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this story. I thought that, especially for a debut, the writing style was incredible. Alexandria really knows how to create art out of words. Her imagery is fantastic and her writing poetic.

As for the actual story, it was interesting and fast-paced. I was never particularly bored and I thought that there were a lot of great high-action scenes. The slower scenes in between any fighting or fleeing were interesting in their own way as they provided backstory, character development, and other fantastic aspects to this novel. It was also pretty graphic at some parts in terms of the gore and the darker parts of the story. I think this added it's own level of depth to it that made it that much more interesting for me.

I will say that for me this felt like a largely character-driven story, which is a good thing because I'm constantly annoyed when books focus more on plot than on character. I really enjoyed reading about Namali and Sameen's journey--which is what I saw this book as. For as long as the race was, it didn't really feel like a race except for the beginning and the end. It felt more like a journey. But it was a great journey to see the two characters grow independently and as friends. I was more invested in their story than I though and I found myself blinking back tears numerous times throughout the book.

I would have liked to see a little more of the outside world, though. The most we get is few setting details when the characters are in a city. I'd love to have learned more about the world, culture, etc outside of the setting and whatever myths are told about The Demon King. I can only imagine how beautiful and also cruel this world would be if we'd been told more about it.

The one thing that is very well described in this entire book, though, is the oppression against women in this world. It's hard to read about but I also love how this book tackled it in the instance of Sameen and Namali. There's one scene where Sameen is insistent that he isn't an oppressor, but Namali explains to him how there are different ways of oppression and that he is, in fact, part of the systematic oppression that keeps so many women and girls silent. Instead of getting angry or lashing out, Sameen asks how he can do better. I wish more people in our world would act like that instead of getting anger and defensive.

Overall, I thought this was a good book and I'm happy to have read it. I'm so grateful to Alexandria for letting me experience this story and these characters. I'm so excited for the rest of you to experience them too!

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Thanks for reading! Links to purchase or more information can be found at the top of the page under the link to Alexandria Warwick's guest post :)
xoxo

Lauren

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August 2018 Wrap-Up!

Hello everyone and welcome to my August wrap-up! Today I'm going to discuss all of the books I read and more! I read an astounding 13 books this month! I haven't read that many books in a month in a very long time, so I am very excited about this. For the first 9 days of the month, I finished a book a day. It was pretty great. I slowed down a bit towards the end of the year as I got super busy but overall it was a fantastic reading month! Let's go ahead and get started. 

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BOOKS READ

1.

Title: The Assassin's Blade

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 5/5 stars

Review

I loved rereading these, even if it definitely broke my heart. Just knowing what I know from reading all the other books in the series, I loved seeing how Sarah hinted and foreshadowed at everything in this novel. It was amazing having these revelations too. It had also been about three years since I first read this novel, so I really just enjoyed revisiting these stories and characters and seeing all the detail that I've been forgetting since my first read.

2.
Title: Seafire
Author: Natalie C. Parker
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Review

3.
Title: Obsidian
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: 5/5 stars

I can't believe that I've never written a review for this book before. I absolutely love this book and rereading it was such a treat. I'm not going to lie, I definitely binge-read it all in one night when I should have been sleeping. But Jennifer's writing does that to you: it makes you want to stay up late and never stop reading until you finish the book...and then the next one and the next one. I definitely came into this book knowing that I would love this book but it was so refreshing to revisit this story and find all these details that I had forgotten since my first read three years ago. I highly recommend this book! 

4.
Title: Onyx
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: 5/5 stars

As with the first book in this series, I absolutely adored rereading this book! Having already read this book, I obviously knew how it ended but I was still racing to finish this book. There wasn't one moment where I wasn't actively engaged and trying to read as fast as I could to get to the next part and the next one and the one after that. It was quite a fun ride and also made me realize why I love this series so much. It's the epitome of a good read for me in that it keeps me engaged with the plot, I fall in love with the characters, I'm having just good ole fun reading it, and I never wanted to put it down. Reading this book again filled me with a giddy sense that I only get when reading certain books...and the constant search for that giddiness it was keeps me reading book after book after book. All in all, this reread was phenomenal and I can't wait to continue on! 

5.
Title: Captivating Melody
Author: Katherine McIntyre
Rating: 4/5 stars
Review

6.
Title: Four Psychos
Author: Kristy Cunning
Rating: 4/5 stars

I was happily surprised a few days ago when I saw that the third book in this series had released without my knowledge. I first read this series a little over 7 months ago and fell in love. I love love love the characters and the angst. I think that I really just love reading from the anti-heroine and seeing her crazy mind. It's been such a blast.

7.
Title: Three Trials
Author: Kristy Cunning
Rating: 4/5 stars

Since I randomly reread book one, I decided to also read book two since I was already in the mindset of this series and I loved my reread of this one. It's been a while since I first read this book and it was awesome rereading my favorite scenes and discovering things that I had forgotten. It was steamy and action-packed and full of plot development that made my head spin. I can't wait to continue on to the newest release! 

8. 

Title: Two Kingdoms
Author: Kristy Cunning
Rating: 3.75/5 stars

I enjoyed this book, but I don’t think it was as good as the ones before it. This one seemed to have a lot of the same things being said over and over. I also spent most of this book confused as to what what being explained. However, I did really enjoy it. I loved the main characters, the humor, and their interactions with each other. I only hope there’s a happy ending coming their way. Overall, I enjoyed this book but it definitely was not my favorite of the series. The first two books were amazing and this one...wasn’t? It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as great as the first two.

9.
Title: The Cruel Prince
Author: Holly Black
Rating: 3/5 stars
Review

10.
Title: Throne of Glass 
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5/5 stars
Review

Rereading this book was such a treat for me. I absolutely love this series and this was the book that got me back into reading, so the entire time I was immersed in this story I was just feeling so nostalgic. I truly love this story and I'm so happy that I decided to reread the entire series before the final book comes out. Honestly, I think rereading this was so amazing. It's been about three years since I read it through fully and, while I still knew what happened, it was awesome to be able to see what details I had forgotten. Also, all of the foreshadowing that comes to light in Empire of Storms, aka four books later, was so amazing to see. It really just shows how much time and thought Sarah has put into these books. I can't wait to reread the next one!

11.
Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Rating: 5/5 stars
Review

12. 

Title: Harnessing the Winds

Author: Morena Silver

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review

13.
Title: Sadie
Author: Courtney Summers
Rating: 4/5 stars
Review

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BLOG POSTS

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorites I'd Like to Revisit

July 2018 Wrap-Up
July 2018 Book Haul!
Let's Talk: "Seafire" by Natalie C. Parker
Let's Talk: "Captivating Melody" by Katherine McIntyre
Let's Talk: "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Let's Talk: "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" by Jenny Han
Guest Post: Alexandria Warwick - "The Demon Race"
Let's Talk: "Harnessing the Winds" by Morena Silver
Let's Talk: "Sadie" by Courtney Summers

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TV SHOWS/MOVIES

I also watched two new movies and finished a TV season this month on top of all the books I read and things I did. The first movie I saw was Mamma Mia! I hadn't seen this yet but I finally got together with my friends and we watched it. I loved it and I watched it at least 7 times this month. Of course, that wasn't simply because I enjoyed it, but because my niece is now obsessed with it and asks about either watching it or listening to the soundtrack at least three times a day.

I finished season 8 of Bones this month and I loved it. I just really love this show and I'm so excited to continue on to finishing season 9, because as the time I write this, I've watched some of it and it's been super fun.

Lastly, I watched To All the Boys I've Loved Before on Netflix and it was so. freaking. phenomenal. I loved the book when I read it and I immediately watched the movie the next day. It was so cute and while it differed from the book occasionally, it was such a good adaption! 

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Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren

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Let's Talk: "Sadie" by Courtney Summers

Title: Sadie

Author: Courtney Summers

Genre: YA Thriller 

Page Length: 320 pages

Publication Date: September 4, 2018
Date Started: August 21, 2018
Date Finished: August 23, 2018

Rating: 4/5 stars

Goodreads

*I was sent an arc of this book for free in exchange for an honest review*

Prefacing this review, I would like to put a trigger warning for this book for mentions of child abuse, self harm, drug use/addiction, and more. Please read responsibly. 

Wow. Just...wow. This book man. I'm not going to say I loved it, because I don't think this is a type of book someone can love like they do a contemporary--I say this just because of all of the terrible things inside--but I did feel it. I felt this book deep in my chest and I know I'm going to be thinking about it for a very long time.

Like I said, this isn't a book I can love. The things that the main character and other characters go through in this book...they're not pretty or pleasant. This book truly delves into the horrors of mankind and leaves you breathless...and not in a good way. 

My heart breaks for Sadie, it really does. She's just lost her sister, only a few years after their mother walked out on them. She's all alone, save for a grandmother-type figure, and feeling the immense guilt of her sister's murder. She knows, or at least she thinks she knows, who killed her sister and she leaves her town on a wild ride to hunt down this person. 

It was an intense journey, to say the least. We're pulled along Sadie's journey through her eyes. We're seeing her grief and her struggles to stay sane. Every step of this hunt, we're right there with Sadie. My god, I just...this book really knows how to strike a person to their core.

We don't just follow Sadie's direct story, but we also follow a podcast that is hosted by a man who is searching for Sadie at the pleading of the grandmother-type figure. That was more of a true-crime podcast and I think that it definitely added to this story for me. I don't want to say how it had an impact on my reading experience because I don't want to spoil the book, but it definitely was an interesting and much-needed addition to the novel. 

I just...as I write this my thoughts are muddled yet racing at 100 miles an hour. I don't know what to think and I'm confused. I feel like I know Sadie. I feel like I don't know Sadie. I have so many questions. I want more answers but I also don't because the ending was so powerful. 

I think to wrap-up this review, I'm going to just say that this book will mess with your mind. It was a slow start for me getting sucked in but by the time I was done, I was surprised that 300 pages had just vanished. It's a fast story yet a slow one. I don't know how to describe it. I read about 75 pages of and binge-read the rest in one sitting. It was fantastic.

I don't normally read thrillers and I'm more of a fantasy person myself, but this book shocked me. It's the first thriller that I've read that I actually felt was a thriller. It messes with your head and exposes the darker sides of humanity and shows you that not everything is as it seems. Gosh, it was brilliant. I didn't love it, because I can't love a book where the characters suffer so much, but it was a bloody brilliant thriller. And it had to be, because I've hated every thriller before this. 

Hats off to Courtney Summers. I will definitely reach for more of her works next time I'm in a thriller mood. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Let's Talk: "Harnessing the Winds" by Morena Silver

Title: Harnessing the Winds
Author: Morena Silver

Series: "A Tale of the Abandoned" #1
Genre: New Adult/Adult Nautical RH 

Page Length: 226 pages

Publication Date: June 26, 2018

Date Started: August 18, 2018
Date Finished: August 19, 2018

Rating: 4/5 stars 

Goodreads

*I was sent a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I really enjoyed this book. It was refreshing to read a newly released RH that wasn't just insta-love, smut, and possessive men. This one had an actual storyline, developed side characters, and a likable main character as well as smut and hot men.

Things I liked about this book:

• The main character's badassery about pretty much everything.
• The fact that the crew was all women and feminist. 
• All the side-characters played an actual role and were active in the story instead of just being there to further the main character.
• The action and slower scenes were balanced.
• The smut scenes.

What I wished had been better:

• There was a bit of insta-love, so I feel the story could have been a little bit longer to allow for a bit more of a development on that side of things. Once the characters were all in love, it was fun, but I did think it was rather abrupt
• There wasn't as much of the men as I would have liked. I still loved them, but I would have liked to see a lot more of all of them together and having a good time outside of smut or action scenes

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I'm only hoping that the series continues on following these characters so that I can get more of the relationships between the main character and her men. I thought that for a start to a series, it was strong. 

I highly recommend this book to RH fans everywhere! 

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Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren

---

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Let's Talk: "Captivating Melody" by Katherine McIntyre

Title: Captivating Melody

Author: Katherine McIntyre

Series: "Discord's Desire" #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance 

Publication Date: June 25, 2018

Date Started: August 4, 2018

Date Finished: August 5, 2018

Rating: 4/5 stars 

Goodreads

*I was sent a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I really enjoyed this book. From the moment that I read the synopsis, I was so interested in this story. This book really had everything I like in a paranormal romance. It was interesting and steamy and awesome and about a band...I really am a sucker for band stories.

There were multiple sexy, funny men (even if the main character is only interested in one, the others are fun to learn about, too). I love that they weren't all the same, either. A lot of the time with romance books, I find that a lot of the characters are almost exactly the same even if they have different names and backgrounds. These characters were all different and I could actually tell them apart. I loved getting to know each of them and I can only hope that the others in the series focus on different band members.

The main character was also awesome. She was so realistic and I absolutely loved it. I could identify with her a lot because she's one who hides her emotions and what she's really feeling, even around those who she's closest with. That's something that I struggle with to this day and I could really understand her character. I also thought that she was funny and just very relatable.

The plot was fun, if a bit slow at times. I enjoyed every second of me reading this book and I was never bored. I thought that it went to realistic lengths and I enjoyed reading these characters' adventures. I also loved that it was about fae and brought in that lore. With the whole fae deal, I was really impressed that it wasn't the exact same as a bunch of newer fantasy novels that deal with fae. I really enjoyed it, overall.

In short, I thought this book was great. It was fun...it was steamy...it was adventurous and action-packed...it was awesome. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves paranormal romances!

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Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren

---

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Let's Talk: "Seafire" by Natalie C. Parker

Title: Seafire

Author: Natalie C. Parker

Series: "Seafire" #1

Genre: YA Nautical Fantasy

Page Length: 384 pages

Publication Date: August 28, 2018

Date Started: August 1, 2018
Date Finished: August 2, 2018

Rating: 4.5/5 stars 

Goodreads

*I was sent a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and spoiler-free. *

Wow. That's all I can really say at the end of this book. It wow'ed me. I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I mean, I expected to like it, but I didn't think that I would love it like I did. It was a very fun and excellent ride.

I started reading this at about 10 at night, just intending to get a few pages in before I went to bed. I ended up reading about a fourth of it and absolutely loving it. Then, between my breaks at work and the time I had when I got home, I finished it off the next day. It was binge-worthy and kept my attention the entire book.

I loved these characters, this story, and the world. I thought that everything was well-planned out and all the strings were connected, yet it wasn't too complex and overwhelming. I never knew for sure what was going to happen and while it terrified me, I also loved that aspect of the book.

The thing about this book is that the characters really make it a game changer. This book is primarily about a group of female characters, with only a handful of men in the entire story. I loved that. It was awesome to see an all-girl crew that knew how to fight and be strong without men. In fact, one of the rules on the ship is that no males are allowed. I just loved how feminist and badass they all were.

Not only were these female characters badass, but they were all diverse and had their own way of bringing something new to the table. We had amazing representation in this book with POC characters, deaf/disabled characters, LGBTQ+ characters, characters who struggled with addiction, and more. I think that was just awesome because not only does it let people who fall into those categories have a character or two that they can identify with, but it also shows that just because someone isn't the textbook definition of strong doesn't mean they can't be a badass in their own way.

There were a lot of character arcs in this book but the one that really stands out is Caledonia, the main character. As we're viewing this story from her POV, it's easier to see her character development than others, but if you were to look at one character at the beginning of the novel and the same character at the end, you'll see the difference.

I personally loved Caledonia's perspective and just her as a character. She's not perfect and I think that's what was awesome. So often in YA novels we're told that a female character is a badass who can do no wrong and they end up always saving the day and making the right decisions and everything goes perfectly as planned. For Cala, that was not the case. She made mistakes, she has doubts and guilt, and nothing seemed to go as planned for her. Yet she always found a way to continue on and figure something out for her and her crew. She's strong, yes, but she's also vulnerable. And seeing her journey from the beginning of the book to the end was awesome.

The world building was just enough for me to not be confused by what was going on but the author didn't overwhelm me with unneeded details. We got what we needed for the plot at the time, and I can only imagine that the world will build even bigger in the next installment. I'm so excited to learn more about the world and different cultures and, more importantly, how the antagonist got to where he is.

I've been dying to read a pirate book for so freaking long. I have a few nautical fantasies on my shelf right now that I'm itching to read too, but it's just a pure stroke of luck that I ended up being sent a review copy of this one. I loved the nautical aspects of this book and I thought that they were really well researched and well-done. I can't wait for more pirates and ships and sea-battles in the next book. This brings me to another thing: I loved the technology. Usually in a lot of fantasies, there's not as much modern technology, but this book had solar energy and batteries and electrical weapons and so much more. Of course, they were named other things, but I loved seeing the technology woven in with everything else.

The plot was excellent. I thought that everything was paced well and there were plenty of high-action scenes mixed in with the more calm ones. Still, everything kept me turning the page and reading as fast as I could because I needed to know what happened. I'm both happy and sad at how this book ended. Some things I wanted to happen, happened. But others didn't happen, or happened in a way I wasn't expecting, or ended in a freaking cliffhanger! *cue me crying because I just want more*

My heart is full, yet also breaking. I can't wait for the sequel and can only hope that I'll get my hands on an arc when they are printed. I'm so grateful that I was given a chance to review it early and I'm so happy that I loved it this much. Seafire has definitely found a home in my favorites.

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Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren

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Follow my Instagram here. New giveaway will be posted very soon!

Get 10% off your first order, plus 50 rewards points, when you use this link to purchase a personal aromatherapy diffuser from Monq

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