Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

Hello Lovelies!! Today's Top Ten Tuesday (as per usual, brought to you by The Broke and The Bookish ) features an easy topic for me. This week's topic is Ten Most Recent Books Added to Your TBR. So without further ado... The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness Where Bear? by Sophy Henn Talon by Julie Kagawa Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel The Heir by Kiera Cass Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Septys Black Dove White Raven by Elizabeth Wein Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta Fire by Kristin Cashore AND The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski (which does not yet have a cover) If anyone is interested, I pulled these titles from my Goodreads Wish List, although I skipped a few which I've technically read, but still want to own copies of.  So there are the ten most recently added books to my TBR. What are yours lovelies? Leave me a note in the comments! I love to know what other people are reading!...

The Wrenchies by Farel Dalrymple mostly just left me feeling confused. I'm honestly so ambiguous about this book because I feel like I have no idea what happened. I needed to read a graphic novel for the Popsugar challenge, and I'm always up to reading new and interesting graphic novels. I had seen The Wrenchies on Amazon and thought it sounded really cool, so when I saw it at my library, I picked it up. Instead of a super cool, superhero-eque storyline, I found a mish-mash time-travel pseudo-plot with largely one-dimensional characters and no explanations.  It seems like Dalrymple spent so much time on the idea of the world and the creatures which embody the antagonist that he left no room for who or why. I didn't necessarily hate it. I just feel nothing for it at all. The art style is pretty cool, occasionally more graphic than I would prefer, but that's just me. I also really like certain spreads, like this one:  I just wanted something more from...

Finnikin of the Rock is Melina Marchetta's brilliant fantasy epic about a people who have lost their kin and their country.  Finnikin pledged his life to protect his friends, heirs to the kingdom, and his country, Lumatere. When the Royal family is murdered, and his country is thrown into chaos, 8-year-old Finnikin is sent out of the country with  the King's First Man. Finnikin has spent the last decade and change learning the languages of the land and trying to account for the exiled people of Lumatere. Now there's a rumor that Finnkin's lost best friend is alive and ready to bring the exiles back to their magically hidden kingdom. This book starts so light, but it immediately turns rather dark. I kept waiting for the book to return to its lighthearted beginning, but it really doesn't which makes sense. Once you have experienced the horrors of war which the Lumaterans experience, there really is no return to lightness. It's only about finding new j...

Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor is a fantastic finish to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy.  Lovelies, I loved every single thing about this series. It had me anxiously on the edge of my seat. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me rage against the antagonists. Taylor did a phenomenal job writing this series. Every character, while not always likable, is absolutely realistic. They all have their strengths and flaws. Even characters that were not introduced until the book ratcheted to the top of my faves list. This book follows Akiva and Karou as they try to stop the evil machinations of Jael, current emperor of the Seraphim. Of course, there are barriers around every turn, and new problems pop up as soon as they conquer old ones. I really cannot say enough about this series. I'm livid that I waited so incredibly long to read it. If you haven't read it yet, lovelies, get to it. I also need to track down Laini Taylor's other books now. ...

I started this series in early college, and I loved it.  Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series are fun, quick, sexy paranormal romances. I think I've read every single one of them in one sitting.  Each book follows a different Lord of the Underworld. These men are each cursed with one of the escaped demons from Pandora's Box. They're living with the demons while attempting to find Pandora's Box and return the demons to it.  The series is still ongoing, and I'm a few books behind. But my favorite so far is third: The Darkest Pleasure . It's not necessary to read these books in order for each main plot, however there is an overarching plot that will be hard to follow if you read them out of order. I would recommend these books to people looking for a little bit of racy romance. The relationships so far are entirely heterosexual, just as a heads up.  My ratings vary by book, but for the series as a whole, I'd give it.....

This author won me over with her transitional reader when I did Middle Grade March last year. I'm still not over it. Lenore Look has created several novels for young readers: the Alvin Ho series (which is my absolute favorite!), the Ruby Lu series, and several picture books.  Look makes school appearances regularly. She encourages young readers to pursue dream of writing and follow her process at her "glob" (or blog ). She even answers questions posed to her on the Q & A page! Look also maintains contact with schools on her Twitter .  Look grew up in Seattle, and now resides in New Jersey. She credits Alvin Ho with making her a Red Sox fan and gatherer of trivia about Fenway Park. Look's first book was published in 1999. Her books tend to reflect her own experience of growing up as a Chinese-American in America and draw on her experience as an American visiting China. Her characters struggle with their own identity and connecting to family. Al...

Today's Top Ten Thursday (by The Broke and The Bookish ) is all about reminiscing. These are books that I read years and years ago, and--for whatever reason--haven't reread since. Many of these may also appear on my TBT feature because they're awesome. Here's my Top Ten Books from My Childhood that I'd Love to Revisit Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls : I loved this book. I think I read it three times during sixth grade. It made me cry every time. If you haven't read it, no matter your age, you should definitely give it a try. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare : I read this in 7th or 8th grade and fell absolutely in love with it. Nat was probably my first book crush that I recognized as a crush.  Feed by M.T. Anderson : I read this during the summer between 9th and 10th grade, I think? I was old enough (and the internet was old enough) that I recognized the parallels to nascent social media sites and was creeped o...