Shon's March Reading Wrap Up & Book Haul

Hello Bookworms! Another month has come to an end and that means it's time for my wrap up! I read one book this month. Definitely not my best month, hoping April will prove to be much better.



March Wrap-Up






A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls by Jessica Spotswood (Editor), Elizabeth Wein, Beth Revis, Marie Lu, Andrea Cremer, Caroline Richmond, J. Anderson Coats, Marissa Meyer, Katherine Longshore, Saundra Mitchell, Robin Talley, Y.S. Lee, Kekla Magoon, Leslye Walton, Lindsay Smith


Synopsis
From an impressive sisterhood of YA writers comes an edge-of-your-seat anthology of historical fiction and fantasy featuring a diverse array of daring heroines.

Criss-cross America — on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains — from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today’s most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They're making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell.


I gave this book 2.75 out of 5 stars. See full review here.




March Book Haul


This month I pick up a total of 12 books.















The Forbidden Wish The Winner's Kiss Siren's Song








The Shadow Queen These Vicious Masks Trust Me, I'm Lying












City of Lost Souls City of Heavenly Fire Clockwork Princess











Rogues Rebel Spring Gathering Darkness

Top Ten Tuesday #23: 10 Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is 10 Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads (Or Ten Of The Best Books I've Read Recently if you don't 5 star stuff...or you could do 5 of my latest five star reads & five of my most disappointing or 1 star reads











Shon

My Most Recent 5 Star Reads

1. The Girl in 6E (Deanna Madden #1) by A.R. Torre









2. Do Not Disturb (Deanna Madden #2) by A.R. Torre









3. If You Dare (Deanna Madden #3) by A.R. Torre







My Most Disappointing Reads

1. A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls by Jessica Spotswood









2. A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab









3. Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe #1) by Rosamund Hodge

Storm Siren by Mary Weber

Storm Siren by Mary Weber

August 19th 2014 by Thomas Nelson / HarperCollins

Genres: Romance, Magic, Fantasy, Young Adult

Page: 320

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Review by: Tina





Synopsis

In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse—and the girl—can be controlled.


Set in a world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win. But what if she doesn’t want to be the weapon they’ve all been waiting for? Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she’s being prepared to fight...










Review

The story started impressively. A beautiful mysterious young girl, stands on the auction block for her fifteenth sell. Because of her super abilities, she is born a slave. Her newest master expects more from her. Passed from one master to another, Nym was never properly trained.


In the course of five weeks, Nym learns she is to be used for political purposes. But first, she must get a handle on her abilities. She was always used for destruction, she learns for the first time how to help and save those around her.


The book started off slowly. It gradually builds when the plot thickens. It takes a while to grasp who is on who's side. There is a major twist that leads to the opening of book 2.

Shon Review: A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls

Title / Author: A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls
by Jessica Spotswood (Editor), Elizabeth Wein, Beth Revis, Marie Lu, Andrea Cremer, Caroline Richmond, J. Anderson Coats, Marissa Meyer, Katherine Longshore, Saundra Mitchell, Robin Talley, Y.S. Lee, Kekla Magoon, Leslye Walton, Lindsay Smith
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year Published: March 2016
Page: 368
Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Steampunk
Source: For Review
Rating: 2.75/5 stars

Available for Purchase:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Synopsis

From an impressive sisterhood of YA writers comes an edge-of-your-seat anthology of historical fiction and fantasy featuring a diverse array of daring heroines.

Criss-cross America — on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains — from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today’s most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. 

They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They're making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell.

My Thoughts...

Collection of short stories from fifteenth bestselling young adult authors. With that many bestselling authors in one book, you would think that this book would be a slam dunk. It was not.
From the title of the book and the tagline I was expecting something more from this book. With words like bank robbers and badass girls and petticoats I was imagining 15 short stories set in the wild wild west. There is a picture of a six shooter on the cover, for crying out loud.

Instead I got stories about the Alaskan frontier, voodoo queen, shape shifters/monsters, witches, warlocks, goblins, vampires, slavery and Civil War (The American Civil War not Captain America: Civil War).

I almost stopped reading after the first couple stories. They weren’t "badass girls". This was not what I wanted or expected. But luckily, I kept reading and there were some pearls in this book. See my individual rating of each story below.

Mother Carey's Table - J. Anderson Coats
Rating: 1/5 stars

The Journey - by Marie Lu
Rating: 1/5 stars

Madeleine's Choice by Jessica Spotswood
Rating: 1/5 stars

El Destinos by Leslye Walton
Rating: 1/5 stars

High Stakes by Andrea Cremer
Rating: 1/5 stars

The Red Raven Ball by Caroline Tung Richmond
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Pearls by Beth Revis
Rating: 3/5 stars

Gold of the Roots of the Grass by Marissa Meyer
Rating: 2/5 stars

The Legendary Garrett Girls by Y. S. Lee
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

The Color of the Sky by Elizabeth Wein
Rating: 2/5 stars

Bonnie and Clyde by Saundra Mithchell
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Hard Time by Katherine Longshore
Rating: 2/5 stars

City of Angels by Lindsay Smith
Rating: 2/5 stars

Pulse of the Panthers by Kekla Magoon
Rating: 2/5 stars

The Whole World is Watching by Robin Talley
Rating: 2/5 stars

Riders by Veronica Rossi

Riders by Veronica Rossi
Published February 16th 2016 by Tor Teen
Genres: Romance, Dystopia, Paranormal, Fantasy, Young Adult
Page: 384
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Review by: Tina


Synopsis
Nothing but death can keep eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.

While recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can’t remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.



Review
I can already see myself rereading this book when the next book in the series comes out.

There are 4 horsemen in this story: War, Famine, Death, and Conquest.

The progress of the book is a bit slow paced. I envisioned it as super bad-assed since it's a story about the 4 apocalyptic horsemen. Not only is it a bit anti-climatic but the action scenes are subpar. I'm hoping the story will gradually build up to it in the following books.

My absolute favorite scene is when Gideon bonds with his flaming horse Riot. It is just wicked. My eyes lit up when he burst into flames...wow. I wish there are more chapters of just Gideon and Riot. I would definitely read a side story of their adventures together.

The elemental forms of the four horses are amazing: flames, pale, light, and ash.

I can't wait for Seeker, book 2, release date 2017.

Top Ten Tuesday #22: Ten Books On My Spring TBR (March 15)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Ten Books On My Spring TBR.






Tina


1. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater






2. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas









Shon


3. Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke







4. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski







5. Half Lost by Sally Green




6. Forest of Ruin by Kelley Armstrong




7.The Last Star by Rick Yancey









8. The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson









9. The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh









10. The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

           

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
Published August 5th 2014 by Atria Books
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Drama, Adult, Young Adult
Page: 281
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Review by: Tina


Synopsis

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to co

nsider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her:



Don’t expect a future.



Never ask about the past.






Review

This is my first Colleen Hoover book (highly rated and esteemed author in the contemporary world). Ugly Love gave me a general idea of her writing style and I like it very much. She uses two narratives to tell one story from the present and one from the past. Then she wraps it up nicely at the end.

I really enjoy how the story is written. I fall into it right away and the writing flows flawlessly. My biggest pet peeves with contemporary writing are the unnecessary over-usage of adjectives and repetition of words. This book is so beautifully written that my eyes easily skim through it page after page and I finished it in one day.

What impresses me are clever lines such as "Because he’s a solid and I’m a liquid, and right now, I’m just his wake." and "He punctuates his sentence with his kiss." Definitely paints interesting pictures in my mind. Oh Colleen, you are so clever.

Now a little bit about the story~
Ugly Love is about a girl just moved to a new city to live with her brother and meets a drunk boy sitting outside her doorstep. She's not certain what to make of him. All she knows is that he is her brother's friend and his presence is everywhere.

I give 5 stars for the outstanding outline and writing alone.

Wendy's Review on The Mara Dyer Trilogy

The Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin

Published: November 3rd 2015 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Review by: Wendy











Synopsis of trilogy from Goodreads:

Experience the spine-tingling, bone-chilling, New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer trilogy, now available in one collectible boxed set.

Mara cannot remember anything about the night her friends did. All she knows is what she’s been told: they went to an abandoned asylum, the building collapsed, and only Mara survived.


Two months later, Mara is eager to move forward with her life in a new town, but that’s easier said than done. A boy at school named Noah Shaw seems to know more about Mara’s tragic past than she does. And to make matters worse, Mara is beginning to see people and things that can’t possibly be there. Or can they?


When Mara goes searching for answers, she discovers a secret about herself that is most unbecoming. A secret that promises a future full of destruction, pain, love, evolution, and ultimately, retribution.




Review:





Okay, so I have to admit this book was my favorite out of all three. Just WOW! I did not see that coming. I was definitely addicted to this book. It had everything from love, thriller, dark, betrayal, suspense, and QUOTES! like....


"Je t'aime. Aujourd'hui. Ce soir. Demain. Pour toujours. Si je vivais mille ans, je t'appartiendrais pour tous. Si je vivais mille vies, je te ferais mienne dans chacune d'elles." - I love you. Today. Tonight. Tomorrow. Forever. If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If I were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one.


If that doesn't send chills over your body then you must be reading it wrong. Haha :) I also came to like Jamie's role. But I wonder what happened to Stella. Overall one of my favorite trilogies!

Top Ten Tuesday #21: Ten Characters Everyone Loves But I Just Don't Get or Ten Characters I LOVE But Others Seem To Dislike (March 8)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Ten Characters Everyone Loves But I Just Don't Get or Ten Characters I LOVE But Others Seem To Dislike





Wendy

1. Mara and Noah

2. Rose, Dimitri, and Adrian [love triangle]







Shon - Characters Everyone Loves But I Just Don't Get


3. Kell from A Darker Shade of Magic


4. Anna from Anna and the French Kiss


5. Feyre from A Court of Thorns and Roses

6. Tamlin from A Court of Thorns and Roses

7. Miles "Pudge" Halte from Looking for Alaska

8. Alaska Young from Looking for Alaska

9. Bella Swan from Twilight

10. Edward Cullen from Twilight

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Published January 5th 2016 by Disney-Hyperion

Genres: Fantasy, Time Travel, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Page: 486

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review by: Tina




Synopsis

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.



Review
Adventure, time travel, intrigue.


The story is not what I expected. There is blackmail. And pirates. And one family that is so corrupted, he almost completely wiped out an entire world.


The rules of a traveler is complex and far outside of the norm. A traveler exists outside of time. He is from every era. If his original time is shifted (altered or destroyed), he will not cease to exist but become trapped in a wrinkle.


This story enfolds beautifully to show a complex world and the players in it. I came up with alternate endings and Alexandra Bracken threw an unexpected curveball. The story clearly led me to believe certain players would bring about the end to the book...well nicely played.


The only reason I rated the book 4/5 is because I felt the characters needed more work. I enjoyed the progression of the story and how wonderfully each adventure tied to one another but I did not feel much for the characters. That's the only part that could use development.

Shon's March TBR & Most Anticipated Releases!!

Hello Bookworms. It's that time again.

I did not read one book from last month TBR. So in addition to the four books from last month TRB these are the books I'm planning to read this month.




1. A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls edited by Jessica Spotswood.


From an impressive sisterhood of YA writers comes an edge-of-your-seat anthology of historical fiction and fantasy featuring a diverse array of daring heroines.

Criss-cross America — on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains — from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today’s most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They're making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell.

With stories by:
J. Anderson Coats
Andrea Cremer
Y. S. Lee
Katherine Longshore
Marie Lu
Kekla Magoon
Marissa Meyer
Saundra Mitchell
Beth Revis
Caroline Richmond
Lindsay Smith
Jessica Spotswood
Robin Talley
Leslye Walton
Elizabeth Wein






2. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski. Winning what you want may cost you everything you love...

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.


3. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski. Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement... if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.




Most Anticipated Releases!

Top Ten Tuesday #20: Ten Books To Read If You Are In The Mood For X (March 1)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Ten Books To Read If You Are In The Mood For X.






Tina

1. When in the mood for adventure I turn to Alanna, the Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce.

2. When in the mood for laughs I turn to The Martian by Andy Weir.

3. When in the mood for a good cry it's a cross between Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas or Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor.

4. When in the mood for a delicious fanfic I turn to Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater.

5. When in the mood for sci-fic I pick up Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

6. When in the mood for great world building I enjoy Mistborn - The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.

7. When in the mood for contemporary I choose Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

8. When in the mood for dystopian I like Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.






Wendy - When in the mood for ---

9. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James [Duhh :P]

10. Vampire Academy By Michelle Read