Ohana Reads: Julie Kagawa

Showing posts with label Julie Kagawa. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Night of the Dragon

Julie Kagawa

Shadow of the Fox, #3

Inkyard Press

Expected: March 31, 2020

Description from GoodReads:

Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has given up the final piece of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers in order to save everyone she loves from imminent death. Now she and her ragtag band of companions must journey to the wild sea cliffs of Iwagoto in a desperate last-chance effort to stop the Master of Demons from calling upon the Great Kami dragon and making the wish that will plunge the empire into destruction and darkness.

Shadow clan assassin Kage Tatsumi has regained control of his body and agreed to a true deal with the devil—the demon inside him, Hakaimono. They will share his body and work with Yumeko and their companions to stop a madman and separate Hakaimono from Tatsumi and the cursed sword that had trapped the demon for nearly a millennium.

But even with their combined skills and powers, this most unlikely team of heroes knows the forces of evil may be impossible to overcome. And there is another player in the battle for the scroll, a player who has been watching, waiting for the right moment to pull strings that no one even realized existed…until now.

Why I Want It:

I love Julie Kagawa's writing. Julie is one of my auto-buy authors, and has been since The Iron King, back when I read it in 2011.

The Night of the Dragon is the third and final book in the Shadow of the Fox trilogy. Full of monsters, magic and a little bit of mischief, this series is perfect for anyone looking to start a mythical new series.

That's my Waiting on Wednesday this week! Will you be picking up Night of the Dragon? What are you waiting on this week?

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Monday, January 14, 2019

Ohana Reads' 5th Blogiversary!

Hello friends! It's certainly been a year, and I haven't spent as much time here as I would have liked. Where I miss posting all the time, I just haven't been able to get into a routine of things anymore. I think saying that, I've come to terms with it. I'm officially okay with being that person who just posts randomly, I hope you guys are alright with that too.

Even though I haven't posted a bunch on the blog, I've still been very active on Twitter and in the book community. So if you ever want to chat, don't be afraid to hit me up!

Anyways, time for me to tell you about how my 2018 went:

Break Down of the Year:

Over 203, 672 Total Page Views

247 Published Comments

462 Published Posts

My Top Series Enders of 2013 being my most viewed post...at 47, 352 views

The Ohana Reads' 4th Blogiversary Post being my most viewed post of 2018... at 300 views

28 GFC Followers

1, 386 Twitter Followers

532 Instagram Followers

Like every year, I wouldn't have been able to survive the year without the help of some amazing friends and people in my life. Here are the people that made my year amazing.

Book Review: Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: October 2nd, 2018
Read: June 30th - July 10th, 2018
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Series: Shadow of the Fox, #1
Format: ARC, 400 pages
Source: BEA 2018

Description from GoodReads:

Once Every Thousand Years...

Every millennium, one age ends and another age dawns...and whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers holds the power to call the great Kami Dragon from the sea and ask for any one wish. The time is near...and the missing pieces of the scroll will be sought throughout the land of Iwagoto. The holder of the first piece is a humble, unknown peasant girl with a dangerous secret.

Demons have burned the temple Yumeko was raised in to the ground, killing everyone within, including the master who trained her to both use and hide her kitsune shapeshifting powers. Yumeko escapes with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll. Fate thrusts her into the path of a mysterious samurai, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan. Yumeko knows he seeks what she has...and is under orders to kill anything and anyone who stands between him and the scroll.

A wish will be granted and a new age will dawn.

February Wrap Up 2017!

February went by fast, and I don't just mean because it was only 28 days instead of 30 or 31. February is always a quick month for me and my family, my sister has a birthday at the beginning of the month and I, at the end, with Valentines Day in the middle. Then this year, being in University I also had reading week. So it all flew by so fast.

At the beginning of the month my work finally had their Christmas party, we went to a Brewery where we were able to sample a beer that they had made in the building. We also had a local restaurant come in and make us this amazing meal. I've honestly been debating on doing an adventure in the summer, where I do a downtown tour of Winnipeg and just find all the best local restaurants. Now I just have to find a few people to go on this adventure with me.

When Reading Week started, I went to a craft store and bought a bunch of stuff to make bookish candles. So I've made a bunch of sample ones already, I haven't been feeling the designing vibe, but I have been getting everything else worked out. It's been pretty fun.

Then this past weekend I went to my first Escape Room, my friend had her birthday party at one. We did one that had the highest "spook' rating, and I was pretty spooked when we started out but eventually my competitiveness won over and I rushed to get all the clues done.

Overall it was a good month, I didn't get a whole lot of reading done, but it was a good month. Hopefully next month is just as good, but with even more reading done!

Now for the stats!

Books Read:

Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Allison Bechdel
Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham
Reignited by Colleen Houck

Book Haul:

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (Paperback)
Shadow Run by AdriAnne Strickland & Michael Miller (ARC)
Blood Brothers by Colleen Nelson (Signed Paperback)
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (Hardcover)
The Traitors Kiss by Erin Beaty (ARC)
But Then I Came Back by Estelle Laure (ARC)

A huge thank you to Dundurn, Raincoast Books, and McNally Robinson!

Books Reviewed:

Hunted by Megan Spooner
Freeks by Amanda Hocking
Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin
Like a River Glorious by Rae Carson
Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys
Reignited by Colleen Houck

March Releases I'm Excited For:

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton (7th)

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco (7th)

The Great Pursuit by Wendy Higgins (7th)

Shadow Run by AdriAnne Strickland & Michael Miller (21st)

The 100 Hours by Rachel Vincent (28th)

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (28th)

Hear the Wolves by Victoria Scott (28th)

That's it for this month, hopefully I get more of my TBR pile read for next month!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Ohana Talks: Bookish Christmas Wishlist

My family has the same traditions for Christmas every year or every second year. But I decided that instead of giving you all the boring details of my plans, I decided that I'd do something for fun. So today I'm going to telling you what books I asked Santa for! (Yes, Santa;)

Hardcover:

Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl

The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong

Menagerie by Rachel Vincent

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Kiss of Deceptions by Mary E. Pearson

The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Winter by Marissa Meyer

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios

The Assassins Blade by Sarah J Maas

Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid (German Edition)

Diamond Sisters - Las Vegas kennt keine Sünde by Michelle Madow (German Edition)

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater & Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Paperback:

Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass (International Edition)

Diamonds are Forever by Michelle Madow

Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Insidious by Dawn Metcalf

Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout (AUS edition if possible)

The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa

Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder (UK Edition, black background with flame)

Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder (UK edition, black background)

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout (UK Edition, white background with blue)

Yes I know I'm bad for not reading a bunch of these yet, and to be honest I forgot to add a bunch of them. Oops, too late now.

What books did you ask for for Christmas? What else do you have on your wishlist? Let me know int the comments!

Friday, December 18, 2015

Ohana Talks: Naked Hardcovers

I love hardcovers, at times they can be my book weakness. When are they my weakness? When their covers are gorgeous. The picture above is just a few examples of the ones I own. Aren't they gorgeous?

Today I wanted to show you some of my favourite naked hardcovers. I know that people don't normally know what the undercover looks like unless you own them, so these are just a few of my favourites that I have seen so far!

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

(Original Hardcover)

The Internment Chronicles, #1

Through the Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter

White Rabbit Chronicles, #2

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Bloodlines, #1

Compulsion by Martina Boone

The Heirs of Watson Island, #1

Reawakened by Colleen Houck

Reawakened, #1

The Diviners by Libba Bray

(Original Hardcover)

The Diviners, #1

Talon by Julie Kagawa

Talon, #1

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

The Lorien Legacies, #2

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Cycle, #1

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3

There is one other that I adore but have no picture of and do not own, and that's All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. If you ever stumble upon a copy of it in a bookstore, make sure to check it out.

I think my favourite thing about hardcovers is that you only get them for the first year of publication, then the paperback releases and the hardcovers become impossible to find. I guess it just makes them unique to me because the people who find the series after don't get to experience the beauty. Don't get me wrong, I do hate that the hardcovers are impossible to find after the first year. I just enjoy it too.

What are some of your favourite naked hardcovers? What do you like most about them? The covers? Or their spines?

Sunday, May 31, 2015

May Wrap Up!

Hey Y'all!

So this month was once again a busy one, and I count on the first half of June being the same. For July and August everything should be back to normal again. Either way I had a bunch of exciting stuff happen this month!

This month I died in Ikea. Yup you read that right, I died in a Ikea. Adi Alsaid participated this month in Twitter Fiction Fest and used me in his story by killing me off! Let me tell you, when you forget that you signed up to die and start getting interesting tweets on Twitter, you become a little panicked LOL. Overall it was a fun time! You can read Adi's story here!

BEA was this month! Unfortunately I was not there this year but I will be heading to Chicago for next year! I will finally get to meet some of my close friends from online. Seeing everything that went on this month just made me all that more excited for next year! You know how I designed Adi Alsaids bookmarks? Well a bunch of those were handed out at BEA too! So it was exciting to see them in pictures!

And finally A Court of Thorns and Roses and The Heir released this month! I'd already read ACOTAR in January and ADORED it but It was fantastic to see everyone else love it as well.

That was it for this month! I hope your month went as well as mine did!

Now for the bookish stats!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Book Review: Rogue by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: April 28th, 2015

Read: May 9-13th, 2015

Publisher: HarlequinTeen

Series: Talon, #2

Format: Hardcover, 464 pages

Source: Bought

Description from GoodReads:

Ember Hill left the dragon organization Talon to take her chances with rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues. But Ember can't forget the sacrifice made for her by the human boy who could have killed her—Garret Xavier Sebastian, a soldier of the dragonslaying Order of St. George, the boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, knowing that by doing so, he'd signed his own death warrant.

Determined to save Garret from execution, Ember must convince Cobalt to help her break into the Order's headquarters. With assassins after them and Ember's own brother helping Talon with the hunt, the rogues find an unexpected ally in Garret and a new perspective on the underground battle between Talon and St. George.

A reckoning is brewing and the secrets hidden by both sides are shocking and deadly. Soon Ember must decide: Should she retreat to fight another day…or start an all-out war?

Review:

Relax, oh paranoid one. I doubt there'll be Talon agents hiding in the potted plants.
I think I've come to the conclusion that this series is just not for me. I know I loved every other piece of work that Kagawa's produced, but something with this one just bothers me waaaay too much. The series just had too much of a rebelling/Government overthrowing feel rather then a dragon feel, and at this point I just can't stand those anymore. I've had my fill of them for a long time.
Rogue had some of the same problems Talon did, like Riley. We got to know him a lot more in Rogue and one thing that I noticed was his age. The book kept having chapters where we'd go back in time and see Riley as a Basilisk, like 12 years back. If Riley was a 'hatchling' then that would have made him at least 15-16, adding the additional 12 years that would make Riley 27/28 years old. This means a 27/28 year old has feelings for a 15/16 year old. I am not okay with this, this screams pedophile in my book. Even if dragons lived longer and age wasn't much of a difference, this was definitely a nope for me. This along with the 'inner dragon' urges, I just couldn't find myself truly enjoying the book.
Ember in Rogue came off as a immature little girl, and honestly I felt sad that she was written like this for Rogue. In Talon at least she had the sense to know when not to do something or if it was too dangerous. In this one she was just a mess. Nope, I could have done without her character.
Where Rogue did have some problems for me, it was still a fantastically written book. Kagawa knows how to keep her viewers interested, even when you utterly despise two of the three main characters.
This series may not be for me, but I'm at the point where I'm too invested in the series that I just have to continue it. I will be picking up Soldier when it releases.

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

" A flame that burns twice as bright lasts half as long." ~ Riley

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Dragons, Hunters, Shapeshifters, Overthrowing Governments

Friday, February 27, 2015

Book Review: Talon by Julie Kagawa

Talon by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: October 28th, 2014

Read: February 19-20th, 2015

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Series: Talon #1

Format: Hardcover, 449 pages

Source: Gift

Description from GoodReads:

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

Review:

Contains Spoilers:

Rnesh karr slithis

My first Julie Kagawa book was The Iron King, then I went on to finishing the series ( This was when The Iron Knight was still the final book), I cried a little bit then needed more. Julie's Blood of Eden series was next, which was almost even better then her first series! At this point I had become obsessed with Julie's books, it was an automatic buy from there on out. Which is how I came to get myself a copy of Talon, with the copy in my hands I just knew I was in for a ride.
Julie writes fantasy books, each book featuring it's own creature, Fairies for The Iron Fey, Vampires for the Blood of Eden and finally Dragons for Talon. The dragon genre is somewhat small when it comes to YA, sure you have a few here and there but a lot of times dragons aren't the main focus in the series unlike Talon here. I just loved Julie's take on them, how they lived in a society, that they could change into Humans, the different jobs they had to keep their species alive. I loved all of it, though I did feel like the book edged a bit to close to another YA novel I've read called Firelight by Sophie Jordan.
Out of all the jobs the dragons were given, I think the Vipers were my favourite! Who would have thought that Dragons would have their own set of assassins. I hope we actually get to see more of them in Rogue and the books after.
I couldn't stand Riley/ Cobalt, the whole time throughout the book. Every time he was mentioned all I could think of was older guys hitting on me. Someone like 20 years older then me, it freaked me out so much. It didn't help whenever Riley was with Ember she'd get "dragon urges". EW EW EW EW. I just couldn't do it, the same went with Dimitri in Vampire Academy.
The epilogue in Talon broke me a bit, I knew that Dante was going to tell Talon that Ember was going Rogue. That you could totally see coming, but putting him in charge of bringing her back? I broke a little bit.
I only had one problem with Talon, how we barely got to see any dragon action. Besides the 3 times, we didn't see much. I hope we get to see more in the future books, considering it's supposed to be a dragon book.
Talon was yet again a fabulous work from Julie, besides a few kinks here and there it was definitely a must read. After a mini book hangover after the ending, I had to pre-order Rogue most definitely. So I look forward to see where Julie takes us next!

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"They were so terrified of the big nasty monster out in the water, when there was a bigger, nastier, deadlier one right there on the beach." ~ Ember

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural, Dragons, Hunters

Friday, February 20, 2015

Ohana Talks: Cover Changes

There is one major thing book collectors tend to hate above others, when book covers change. There are many reasons why publishers end up making the decision to change them. A few being that the series is over and they want a new change, the cover isn't getting as much attention as they like and perhaps a movie is coming out based on the book so they decided to change it to have viewers connect both the movie and the book. But either way it frustrates readers.

I as a reader, have a love & hate relationship with cover changes. Sometimes I believe the swap is for the best, the original cover is just not just enough to catch my eye but then there are times where the cover is utterly fabulous and they swap it out to mush or what relates to mush. I understand that they change for marketing purposes, but I think Publishings should get an opinion from readers before they swap them. The decisions the publishing makes is not always the best one.

An example:

The first two books in the Across the Universe series by Beth Revis were stunning, but when the third and finale book in the series was released all the books got a make over. Thus leaving the first two stunning book covers with out a matching third. ( Just FYI, I believe the UK cover of Shades of Earth matches the first two books if you're a collector or maybe desperate.)

Another reason besides eye catchiness that frustrates readers, is if a series is not completed and a publishing change the covers then the reader is in a pickle. If they already owned the original set then they will never have a complete set of matching covers now because of the change, unless of course they go out and re-buy them all again. I've had this happen to me a few times already, with Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano and Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott. Sometimes I think that it's a con to buy the books again, but I'm not made of money so that won't be happening for a second time.

From what I said above you can see why I think it's a love & hate relationship, everyone has their own opinions over the matter.
I have collected a list of books and covers that have changed for you all, so I'll let you decide what you think about cover changes.

Note: Not all books in each series are shown, and that the cover go in order from when they were released, left to right. Right being the current cover you can purchase in stores.