February 2020 Book Haul

Whereas my reading month for February was mediocre, my book haul for February is quite exciting! I picked up eight physical books this past month and I'm excited about most of them (two were textbooks for a class and, thus, won't be talked about here because they're boring). Let's go ahead and dive right in!

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The first book I got this month was the Owlcrate exclusive edition of All the Tides of Fate by Adalyn Grace. This is the sequel to All the Stars and Teeth which I read last year and adored. This edition is not only signed, but it has a gorgeous purple cover that I couldn't resist! The regular pink one is pretty, but purple is my favorite color and I have a weakness for it. I haven't yet had the time to start this new release but I hope that, with the end of my undergrad career approaching, I'll have time to devote to this one come May! I've noticed I like nautical fantasies a lot in the summer and so I'm excited to have quite the lineup for this year. 

The next book I got was an ARC of Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert. This is the third and final book in the Brown Sisters companion trilogy of romances and I'm so excited! I won a copy of this in a giveaway and I've been meaning to binge these books for a while. Now that I have all three (in varying formats), I can have a nice romance binge soon. I've heard nothing but great things about all of these books and I can't wait to curl up with a romcom. Spring season always makes me crave them for some reason. 

Up next, I picked up a copy of the new hardcover of A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas. These books went through a cover change and, as the newer releases match the new covers, I wanted to have a matching set. I will say that, although I was hesitant when these were first announced, the new covers are stunning in person and have grown on me quite a bit. I can't wait to have bookshelves again to where I can display all of the different editions.

The next book I picked up was Stormbreak by Natalie C. Parker. I loved Seafire, the first book in this trilogy, and am so excited that it's now complete. I wasn't able to read Steel Tide when it first came out and then decided to hold off on reading when I finally had the time because Stormbreak was scheduled to come out just a few months later. Then, presumably because of COVID, the release got pushed back to February 2021 and I just kept waiting. Now that it's finally out, I can't wait to binge this trilogy and finally see how it ends!

The last two books I picked up (outside of my textbooks) were two different editions of A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas. The first is just the regular hardcover edition that I've been annotating and tabbing and the second is the Barnes & Noble Exclusive edition that I will be painting the edges on. I did read this book at the beginning of March and absolutely loved it. I'm quite excited to have a bunch of different editions coming my way and I can't wait, again, to have shelves to display them on in the future! Stay tuned for a review on this one later in March!

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Well, those are all of the physical books that I picked up in February. I anticipate my March haul being significantly smaller, but who knows? What books did you get in February? Let me know in the comments below!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Blog Tour: "Steel Tide" by Natalie C. Parker

Hello everyone! Today I'm bringing you a super exciting blog post to celebrate the release of Steel Tide, the sequel to Seafire, by Natalie C Parker! Seafire was one of my absolute favorite reads of last year so when I had the opportunity to be a part of the blog tour for the second book I jumped at the chance. A quick overview of what you'll find in this post: descriptions for both books, information on the author, purchase links, and a moodboard created by me inspired by the series! 

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SEAFIRE

After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, who have lost their families and homes because of Aric and his men. The crew has one mission: stay alive, and take down Aric's armed and armored fleet. 

But when Caledonia's best friend and second-in-command barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all...or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for? 

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STEEL TIDE 

(Spoilers for Seafire)

The second book in a heart-stopping trilogy that follows the captain of an all-female ship intent on taking down a vicious warlord's powerful fleet.

     Caledonia may have lost her crew, but she's not done fighting yet. After nearly dying at the hand of a powerful foe, Caledonia is pulled from the sea and nursed back to health by a crew of former Bullets that call themselves Blades. The Blades escaped Aric Athair's clutches and now live a nomadic existence, ready to disappear at a moment's notice should trouble come their way. 

     But Caledonia wants to do more than just hide. She wants to find the Mors Navis and her beloved sisters. She wants to continue fighting Aric's fleet and to take back the Bullet seas. She'll need to do everything in her power to convince the Blades that fighting is their only option, that there has to be a life better than the one under Aric Athair's reign, and that finding the women of the Mors Navis is the first step to revolution.

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MEET NATALIE C. PARKER

Natalie C. Parker is the author of the Beware the Wild duology, the Seafire trilogy, and the editor of Three Sides of a Heart. She earned her BA in English literature from the University of Southern Mississippi and her MA in gender studies from the University of Cincinnati. She grew up in a Navy family finding home in coastal cities from Virginia to Japan. Now, she lives surprisingly far from any ocean on the Kansas prairie where she runs Madcap Retreats with her wife. She tweets @nataliecparker.

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PURCHASE LINKS

Seafire (August 28, 2018) - all retailers

Steel Tide (Sep 17, 2019) - all retailers

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MOODBOARD INSPIRED BY

SEAFIRE & STEEL TIDE 

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I hope you're as excited about this trilogy as I am! I absolutely cannot wait to reread Seafire and then dive straight into Steel Tide! If you're wondering about more of my thoughts on Seafire, you can find my non-spoiler review here.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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My Favorite Books of 2018!

It's insane that 2018 is already finished. I was so looking forward to this year and all of the amazing releases and to think that it's over and I'm looking towards 2019 now is just insane. I read so many wonderful books, found new favorites, and reread some old favorites. I read 100 books in 2018, but I narrowed my favorites list down to my top ten! For this list, I decided to group books of a series together or else there could have been books from the same series taking up half of the list. I also excluded rereads from this list, even if I loved revisiting the stories. 

It was actually really hard to rank these after I got past my number one, so while they are ranked numerically, most of them could be interchanged at some point! So, without further ado, here are my top ten books and series from 2018! 

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At number ten, we have Seafire by Natalie C. Parker. This wasn't really a book I knew much about until about a month or so prior to its release when I was able to get an e-arc of it. Let me just say, this book took me by surprise! I fell deep in love with the story and characters from page one and I ended up binge-reading it in a day. I cannot wait for the second book coming out hopefully next year! You can find my full, spoiler-free review of this book here :)

At number nine, we have the most recent and final releases in the Curse of the Gods series, Strength  (book 4) and Pain (book 5) by Jaymin Eve & Jane Washington. This is one of my favorite RH series and I just loved how the story wrapped up. I wish I could get more of these characters but I'm also happy with how the authors wrapped the plot and conflict up. For my non-spoiler review of book 4, go here, and for my non-spoiler review of book 5, go here. 

For number eight, I decided upon Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This was the incredible finale to the Illuminae Files trilogy. This is one of my favorite sci-fi series that I've ever read and it's so bittersweet to see it come to an end. This book also really, really scared me. Although, I did accidentally (and stupidly) spoil a part of it for myself so one of the big plot twists wasn't as impactful for me. For my full, non-spoiler review, go here! 

Coming in at number seven, we have Furyborn by Claire Legrand. I was really anticipating Furyborn and it ended up being such an amazing read. I already cannot wait to reread it and see what I've forgotten or missed on the first time around. It was such a surprising fantasy read and I cannot wait for the sequel in 2019! For my full, non-spoiler review, go here :) 

At number six, I chose Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young. It feels like I read this forever ago since I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader's copy, but this book has stuck with me all year. Whenever I see someone mention it, I get so excited. And while this book seems to stay in the back of my brain, when I was going through what I'd read this year, this one popped right out as one of my favorites. It was a surprising and fun, short fantasy that really hit its mark. You can find my full, non-spoiler book review here!

At number five, in a last minute read, we have Internment by Samira Ahmed. I just finished this book moments ago and I knew I had to adjust my favorites list to include this one. This book was hard. It was so hard to read. It was so much more real to life than anything else I read this year. I am heartbroken, I am angered, I am inspired. This book challenges you to read the horrors that have occurred in our [America's] past and no doubt are occurring right now in our very country and then do something about it. I am not the same as when I went into this book. Review here. 

For number four, I went with Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. This was a last-minute read of 2018 and I absolutely loved it. The more and more I think about this book, the more I just want to escape back into this world and these characters. I cannot believe it took me so long to finally read this book yet I'm so glad I finally did! You can find my spoiler free review here :)

At number three, we have all three books in the To All The Boys I've Loved Before trilogy by Jenny Han, which includes the first book by that same name, P.S. I Still Love You, and Always and Forever, Lara Jean. I can't decide if I like the first or second book the most, but all three were so cute and binge-able. I ended up falling in love with this trilogy and the movie back in August and I'm so glad to have finally read it, even though I'm questioning why I waited so long to read them! You can find here my non-spoiler reviews of book one, book two, and book three! 

For number two, we have A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas. I think the reason I enjoyed this book so much more than a lot of people did was that I went into this book expecting it to be exactly how it was. I expected it to be a short, holiday-themed story where nothing happened except the characters all being together. In fact, more things happened than what I expected. But I just found this a cute, fun little read that was a great bridge book between ACOWAR and the next book coming out! You can find my non-spoiler review here.

And finally, at the top spot of number one, is Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas, a pick that no-doubt surprises no one. This was the final novel in my favorite series that released this year and it was such an amazing ending, in my opinion. Do I think there were things that could have been done differently to make it better? Yes. But did I absolutely love it and think that it was an amazing end to the series? Also yes. I'm still working on compiling my spoiler discussion of this book, but you can find my non-spoiler review here!

Well, there you have it! The top 10 books I read in 2018. I can only hope that 2019 brings as great of a reading year as 2018 did. These last few months especially have been excellent reading months and I cannot wait to see how these upcoming ones go! 

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Thanks for reading! For all of my 2018 wrap-up posts, check them out here. 

xoxo

Lauren

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August 2018 Book Haul!

Hello to all! So today I am here with a ginormous August book haul of 19 physical books and 1 ebooks! I have a lot of books to show you for this month and I'm super excited about each and every one of them. And for as many books that are in this haul, I only bought 6 of them! It was my birthday this month and I got a lot of books as gifts or from publishers/trades to review. Let's just jump right in before I bore you to death. 

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The first book that I got this month was from a wonderful person on Twitter who sent me a signed arc of Seafire by Natalie C. Parker. I read this book as an e-arc earlier this month and I absolutely loved it. The moment I was done, I hopped on Twitter to see if anyone was getting rid of their arc and someone was. When it turned out that I didn't have anything they wanted at the time, they offered to just send it to me instead! I am beyond excited about this and I can't wait to read more. 

The second book I got was a copy of To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. This was sent to me by a wonderful person on Twitter who saw my bookish wish and offered to send it to me! I'm so beyond happy to finally have this book in my hands after years of wanting it. I binge-read it in one day before I watched the movie and I can officially say that I am obsessed with this story. I can't wait to read the next two!

Then I got a finished copy of Dive Smack by Demetra Brodsky as a thank-you for participating in the blog tour a few months back! I am so happy to have this finished copy in my hands as it's even more gorgeous than the arc!

Technically I bought this next book, but it was with a preorder that I used a gift card on a while ago so does it really count? Anyway, that book is a signed copy of Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas. If you know me at all, you know that Sarah J. Maas is my queen and top auto-buy author so I will literally read anything she publishes, even if it's her grocery list. I'm so excited to have this...maybe I should start reading the series now? 

After that, I got a copy of The Byline Bible by Susan Shapiro. This was sent to me and I'm super excited to have it! As a college student, I'm excited to see how I can apply the information in this book about writing and publishing shorter nonfiction pieces to my studies and personal works!

Then my wonderful friend got me the illustrated edition of Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan and I'm still crying over it. I love this book and series and it's been such a staple of my childhood that I am over the moon to have an illustrated edition. And seriously, all of these authors and illustrators are really killing it with these editions...I just need them all!

The seventh book I got this month was a copy of Malice by John Gwynne. I had seen Piera from Piera Forde on YouTube raving about this series so when I saw it for super cheap on Amazon marketplace, I just had to get it! I can't wait to read it, hopefully before the year is up! 

Then I got an arc of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. I was sent this and I'm super excited to read it! I've had my eye on it for the longest time and I just know that I'm going to enjoy it. It's like Groundhog Day meets Agatha Christie and I'm super excited to see how this book goes.

And of course after I finished reading the first book in the trilogy, I just had to get the rest by Jenny Han. I one-click ordered P.S. I Still Love You and Always and Forever, Lara Jean, which are the sequels to TATBILB. I loved book 1 and right when I finished reading it, I knew that I needed the others. I brought them to college so hopefully I'll be able to read them soon!

Then I got an arc of Virgil Wander by Leif Enger. This sounds like it could be a deep and powerful book about recovery and rebirth. Plus, the cover is stunning. I'm hoping to read this one soon but no promises!

I also got a signed arc of The Girl King by Mimi Yu. I traded somebody on Twitter for this and I'm super excited to have this book in my hands. It's an asian-inspired fantasy with tons of political intrigue that I can't wait to dive into! 

After that, I got a copy of Murder Mile by Lynda La Plante. This sounds like an interesting thriller that I could potentially be super interested in upon starting it. I also really enjoy the cover, so we'll see how this one goes! This was sent to me by the publisher, so I'll hopefully get to it soon.

Next I got a copy of The Darkest Legacy by Alexandra Bracken. I'm not quite sure what to do with this book since I haven't finished reading the original trilogy, but maybe I'll just keep it on my shelf until I get around to rereading book 1 and continuing on. 

Then I got some awesome surprise mail from Hatchette and TheNovl: an arc of Light Years by Kass Morgan! I've had my eye on this book for a while now and I'm super excited to be able to read it early, so a huge thank you to TheNovl for letting me become a member of their book squad! 

After that, I was sent another arc of The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I did a trade last month for a copy, but I'm super excited to have this one in my hands. It's the sequel spin-off to one of my favorite series and I can't wait to get around to reading it! It also came with a giant sticker on the front that took me three days to peel off (cue nervous laughter). 

And lastly, I placed a Barnes & Noble order because they were having a 50% off select titles sale and I couldn't resist when I saw what was up for grabs. The first book I picked up was the paperback of Warcross by Marie Lu. I haven't read this book yet and I didn't have a huge interest in it when it first came out, but I've heard nothing but stellar things. I figured that since it was only $5 through this sale, I could give it a shot.

The second book I picked up was a finished hardcover of Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsey Cummings. I have an arc of this book and I haven't read it yet, but the hardcover is just so stunning and I'm excited to have this at college now. Maybe I'll get to it sooner because of the fact that it's here with me. 

And the last book from B&N that I got, and the last book I picked up for the month, I have Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli. I loved Simon vs... by Becky Albertalli, so I have high hopes for this one since it seems to be a companion novel to that one. I can't wait to see what all of the awesome characters have been up to while I've been away! 

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As for the single ebook that I purchased this month, I have A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews. I've seen rave reviews about this book all over bookstagram since before it was even released, so when I saw that the ebook was on sale for less than a dollar, I decided I would go ahead and give it a try! 

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Well, that concludes my book haul for this month! I don't anticipate as many books in my haul for the month of September, but I can't rule anything out! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more book reviews and book tags. 

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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