OwlCrate Monthly Haul: November 2019

 Today I wanted to show everyone my 2019 November box from OwlCrate! In order to not spoil anything for anyone, I decided to wait and post it a good while after most people have received theirs already.

   It's been a while since I received an OwlCrate subscription. The box was my first one in over two years. When they announced the theme, I immediately knew what book it was going to be and was ecstatic. I'd loved the authors previous work and had a chance to read an early copy of this one. So when a little birdie told me that the cover was GORGEOUS, I jumped on it and bought the box. In the end, I was not disappointed. 

   OwlCrate is a monthly bookish YA subscription box, which every month features a new theme. Each box features a recently released YA book, along with a few bookish goodies created specially for the box.

This months theme is: Through the Enchanted Forest!

This months box included: 

- A Cruel Prince inspired flannel blanket designed by @bookmarkd.tattoos

- The OwlCrate annual reading calendar designed by Blue Star Press.

- Enchanted Forest stickers designed by @lovepipsticks

- A Uprooted metal tassel bookmark, designed by @herpaperworld

- The Raven Boys inspired wooden ornament designed by @juniperandivydesigns

- @ireadya promotional print about Diamond & Dawn!

- Monthly enamel pin is inspired by the Through the Enchanted Forest book, designed by @fourseasonsfox.

- And finally, my personal favourite from the box, the book was Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw. The book featured an exclusive cover, and sprayed-edges to match the cover. 

   The Through the Enchanted Forest box is probably my favourite OwlCrate box that I've ever purchased. The exclusive cover is probably my favourite out of all the other editions that they've done in the past.

   OwlCrate really outdid themselves with this box, and I'm really excited to see what they have in store for next month.

Next months theme is: Tales of Trickery!

Review: The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare & Wesley Chu

Release Date: April 9th, 2019
Read: March 28th-31st, 2019
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Series: The Eldest Curses, #1
Format: ARC, 368 pages
Source: McNally Robinson

Description from GoodReads:

Magnus Bane, a centuries old High Warlock, has taken possession of one of the great relics of the supernatural world, a powerful spell book of dark magic known as The Book of the White and there are many who want to claim it for themselves.

After the Mortal War where the part-human and part-angel Shadowhunters teamed with the part human-demon Downworlders to fight against the incursion of an army of demons, Magnus and his new lover, the mortal Alec Lightwood celebrate their survival and victory by escaping the supernatural battlefield of New York City by touring the world, but the world won’t leave them alone.

Blog Tour: The Cold is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale

   Hello and welcome to The Cold is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale blog tour, hosted by JeanBookNerd! I'm so excited to be able to show you all my review and an excerpt from the book! If you're a fan of Medusa then you're certainly in for a treat. 

And don't forget to check out the rest of the tour stops, which I've linked at the bottom of the post.

The Cold is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale

Release Date: January 22nd, 2019

Read: January 18th-

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Series: Standalone

Format: ARC, 288 pages

Source: McNally Robinson

Description from GoodReads:

   Milla knows two things to be true: Demons are real, and fear will keep her safe.

   Milla’s whole world is her family’s farm. She is never allowed to travel to the village and her only friend is her beloved older brother, Niklas. When a bright-eyed girl named Iris comes to stay, Milla hopes her loneliness might finally be coming to an end. But Iris has a secret she’s forbidden to share: The village is cursed by a demon who possesses girls at random, and the townspeople live in terror of who it will come for next.

   Now, it seems, the demon has come for Iris. When Iris is captured and imprisoned with other possessed girls, Milla leaves home to rescue her and break the curse forever. Her only company on the journey is a terrible new secret of her own: Milla is changing, too, and may soon be a demon herself.

Book Review: Emergency Contact by Mary H.K Choi

Release Date: March 24th, 2018
Read: April 6-7th, 2018
Publisher: Simon and Schuster for Young Readers
Series: Standalone
Format: Signed Hardcover, 400 pages
Source: Bought

Description from GoodReads:

   For Penny Lee, high school was a nonevent. She got decent grades, had a few friends, and even a boyfriend by senior year but basically she was invisible. Having just graduated from high school, she’s heading off to college in Austin, Texas, and she’s ready for it.

   Sam has had a rougher time over the last few years. He grew up in a trailer park and had to bail when he caught his addict mom taking out credit cards in his name to buy more crap from the Home Shopping Network. He gets a job at a café whose owner is kind enough to let him crash on a mattress in a spare room upstairs. He wants to go to film school and become a great director but at the moment he has $17 in his checking account and his laptop is dying.

   When Penny and Sam cross paths it’s not exactly a Hollywood meet cute: they’re both too socially awkward for that. But they exchange numbers and stay in touch—almost entirely by text message, a form that allows them to get to know each other while being witty and snarky and intimate without the uncomfortable weirdness of, you know, actually having to see each other in person.  

Book Review: The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin

Release Date: November 7th, 2017
Read: November 16th-December 1st, 2017
Publisher: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers
Series: The Shaw Confessions, #1
Format: ARC, 384 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.

And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.


They’re right.

Review:

   Only play the games you can win.
   When I first encountered the Mara Dyer trilogy, four years ago, I was shocked and completely unprepared. The series was unpredictable, and constantly made me double think everything I thought I knew. It was a thrill to read, and I couldn't have been more excited to pick up The Becoming of Noah Shaw, when I first heard about it. That was until I had the book in my hand, then everything changed.

   I basically hated everything about The Becoming of Noah Shaw. The first, basically starting with the first page. At the beginning of the novel there was a warning for the readers, this warning contained a warning that the novel contained death, self harm, as well as a few other things. Where this should have been a pro thing, the wording of the end of the letter was terrible and completely contradicted the purpose of the letter. The final warning was to warn the reader that the book contained a lot of sex. Which once again, is completely fine, but the final sentence said something along the line of: " but if you need a warning, then you're probably reading the wrong book". I understand that the sentence was directed towards the sex warning, but the placement and wording made it seem like it referred to the entire warning, thus leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

   The Becoming of Noah Shaw can not be read on it's own. I read the final Mara Dyer novel, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, back in 2015, roughly three years ago. With this, I have forgotten many things that had occurred in the series. With this being a new, but connecting series, I had thought that not remembering everything wouldn't be a problem, that Michelle Hodkin would probably recap what had happened. Of course I was wrong, and so everything was so confusing when reading the book.
   From what I did remember from the previous series, it felt as if the entire novel was just erasing all the progress that had happened when the original series had completed. Every little progress that had been made, all erased because the author had no idea what to make the story about.

   Then the final straw that occurred, that made me officially done with the novel, was that the villain of the book was suicide. And before you say anything, it wasn't the villain in the way you think it would be. Michelle Hodkin made suicide the villain in a way that it was as if one of the main characters was messing with the other characters heads in a way that made them kill themselves. The way it was written was as if the characters should be scared that they'd eventually kill themselves too. It honestly felt like such a joke. Why, out of all the different villains you could have used or created, you decide to choose a problematic topic. I hope that anyone with any sort of tendencies, who has picked up the novel, reads the warning and decides not to continue with the book.

   The Becoming of Noah Shaw was a problematic mess, one that I will never be picking up any of it's sequels. The novel has even left a foul taste in my mouth when I think of The Mara Dyer series. I hope for better in the future, from the author. 

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"The scars you can't see are the ones that hurt the most."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Paranormal, Horror, Abilities

Book Review: The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Release Date: March 6th, 2017
Read: September 6th-7th, 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 320 pages
Source: McNally Robinson

Description from GoodReads:

   Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…

   Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town.

   Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under.

   Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into.

   Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.

   But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.

Review:

   Do you ever think about leaving this town?

   I am always subconsciously seeking out mermaid and witch books, that is how The Wicked Deep came to my attention, and of course the gorgeous cover. I'm a sucker for covers with moons, stars and trees. 

   When it comes to villains or the bad guy, I really enjoy learning about their story and how they get to where they were, how they became who they are. The Wicked Deep was perfect for that because we got two different kinds of chapter styles, flashbacks to the past, which focused on the three sisters' history, and the present with the protagonist Penny. Shea Ernshaw wrote the two kinds of chapters perfectly to the point where they both blended together in the end.

   I couldn't help but fall in love with the sisters and their story. They were three independent sisters that would sometimes cause a little mischief, but didn't deserve to die the way they did. The mysteriousness to the sisters made them all that more appealing to me, and I couldn't help but look forward to their chapters.

   I really enjoyed how Shea Ernshaw give the little town the same mysterious vibes as she did the sisters, it made everything that much more entertaining and intriguing. I've read a lot of stories that take place in small unknown towns, and after a while the trend burnt me out, but The Wicked Deep was a refreshing twist on the trend that I'm glad I gave a chance.

   Then finally, I loved the little witch hunt that occurred in the novel. Where all the students attempted to hunt down, and figure out which sister was stowed away in whomever's body. It was a thrill to read about, and I was continuously trying to figure out what sister was where before the characters in the book did. Boy was I wrong!

   Normally standalones don't appeal all that much to me, I, for the most part feel that standalones don't wrap up nicely the way the author intended them too. The Wicked Deep sure showed me differently. The story kept me intrigued, surprised and in love throughout the whole novel.

   The Wicked Deep was a thrilling and magical witch hunt that I'd recommend to all lovers of witches and possibly mermaid tales. I look forward to what Shea Ernshaw has in store for us next!

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"If only love were so easily conjured, there wouldn't be so many broken hearts."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy: 

Young Adult, Paranormal, Witches, Mystery Vibes, Magic, Courses, Redemption 

Blog Tour: The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

   Hello and welcome to The Last Magician Blog Tour! Today I have for you my review of our lovely book, as well as a giveaway! So I hope you enjoy, and good luck with the giveaway! 

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

Release Date: July 18th, 2017

Read: July 18th- 21st, 2017

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Series: Standalone 

Format: ARC, 512 pages

Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Description from GoodReads:

   Stop the Magician. Steal the book. Save the future.

   In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.

   Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.

   But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.

Review:

   freedom from the book.

   I have two secret loves that I actively seek out in YA books, ones that don't seem to be all that popular currently. One of those being witches, which is what brought my attention to The Last Magician. So of course I jumped at the chance to review it for the publisher when they put it up in their blogger newsletter, even though I now know it's not really about witches...

   The Last Magician isn't anything like I thought it was going to be, going into the book I expected magic and either a modern day or dystopian world of sorts where the story takes place. What I got was  Now You See Me vibes and a Kate and Leopold world. I knew when going into the book that we'd get some time travel, but I didn't expect the whole story to take place in the past. It was honestly a refreshing twist, the first couple chapters gave me some doubts but once the story had taken route I just knew I was in for an adventure.

   I'm not a person who usually enjoys time travel books, and yet I always seem to be reading them. The idea that if you go back in time and change something, that something in the future will swift too, is always what gets to me. Usually for the most of a time traveling book I'll send up playing the "What If" game, but I didn't find myself having to play that game with The Last Magician. Esta, our protagonist, was already constantly playing the "What If" game throughout the novel, making me overcome the need to do it alongside her thus allowing me to enjoy the book.

   My absolute favourite thing about The Last Magician was the gangsterish vibes that the story created, the characters, the city, everything made for such a unique reading experience.

   The Last Magician was a magical gangsterish read that had you constantly guessing as to who the magician really was, thus having you on your toes for the entirety of the book. I throughly enjoyed The Last Magician and can't wait to pick up the sequel when it releases!

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"Are you looking for me?"

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Magicians, Now You See Me (movie), Kate and Leopold (movie), New York

 

Lisa Maxwell is the author of Sweet Unrest, Gathering Deep, Unhooked, & The Last Magician (Simon Pulse, Spring 2017). When she's not writing books, she's an English professor at a local college. She lives near DC with her very patient husband and two not-so patient boys.

1 winner will receive a signed finished copy THE LAST MAGICIAN & swag, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


   And that concludes my stop on the tour, as well as the tour itself! I hope you all enjoyed, and if you haven't already picked up a copy of the book, hopefully you do it soon!

Week One:

7/10/2017- YA and Wine- Interview

7/11/2017- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

7/12/2017- Novel Novice- Guest Post

7/13/2017- What the Cat Read- Review

7/14/2017- Stories & Sweeties- Excerpt

Week Two:

7/17/2017- NovelKnight- Review

7/18/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

7/19/2017- Forever 17 Books- Review

7/20/2017- Wishful Endings- Interview

7/21/2017- Ohana Reads- Review

Recommendation Fridays: The Night World Series by L.J. Smith

   I've been a fan of the Night World series by L.J. Smith, since I first discovered the Twilight Saga.  After just starting my obsession with reading, the Night World series was the first series I picked up after finishing the Twilight Saga. It was the perfect series to get me out of my slump. Originally I had only picked up the first omnibus, but surprisingly I finished that in a week. And so the trend started, I would finish the omnibus in a week and then head to a store and pick up the next omnibus. The series had me hooked, with the first 6 books being their own little stories, and then the last 3 slowly connecting them all. Even though it's been 7 years since I read the last omnibus, and 19 years since the last book was released, I'm still awaiting the day when the final book in the series will be released. (The series is being published in hardcover, with new covers for the first time since the omnibus'. So I have hope that this means the series is finally coming to an end.)

   The series is full of vampires, witches, werewolves, shapeshifters, it has everything really. If you're looking to go back to the good old days, where the YA books were filled with simplistic but entertaining reads, as well as vampires, then this is the series for you. 

   Since first picking up the series, I've collected the omnibus', the original 1990s first published editions, some of the german editions and you bet your butt that I'll be picking up the hardcover editions! You could say I'm a bit obsessed.

The series would probably be best for people who like the following books:
Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Vampires, Werewolves, Shapeshifters, Witches, Soulmates, Ghouls

Night World, No. 1 by L.J. Smith

Release Date: June 3rd, 2008

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Series: Night World, #1-3

Format: Omnibus Paperback, 729 pages

Description from GoodReads:

   Includes:

   Book 1 - Secret Vampire

   Book 2 - Daughters of Darkness 

   Book 3 - Spellbinder 

   Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters -- they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

   In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy's only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.

   Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.

   Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It's a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder.

Night World, No. 2 by L.J. Smith

Release Date: November 18th, 2008

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Series: Night World, #4-6

Format: Omnibus Paperback, 662 pages

Description from GoodReads:

   Includes:

   Book 4 - Dark Angel

   Book 5 - The Chosen

   Book 6 - Soulmate

   Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters -- they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

   In Dark Angel, Gillian is saved from drowning by her guardian angel. Only visible to Gillian, Angel will fulfill her heart's every desire. But when Angel starts making strange and sinister requests, Gillian must question who he truly is and where he came from.

   Armed with a wooden stake, martial arts, and the will to resist a vampire's mind control, Rashel struggles to avenge her mother's death in The Chosen. Then she meets Quinn, her soulmate, who is part of the world she has vowed to destroy.

   Hannah receives notes warning her of incredible danger in Soulmate. But if death is her destiny, is the Lord of the Night World's love strong enough to save her?

Night World, No. 3 by L.J. Smith

Release Date: April 7th, 2009

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Series: Night World, #7-9

Format:

Description from GoodReads:

   Includes:

   Book 7 - Huntress

   Book 8 - Black Dawn

   Book 9 - Witchlight

   Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters - they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

   The apocalypse is drawing near. But four Wild Powers can save the world from the impending doom. Circle Daybreak, an underground organization with both Night World and human members, is searching for the four who can stop the darkness.

   A vampire hunter - who is half vampire - stalks her own kind to protect humans in Huntress.

   In Black Dawn, Maggie stumbles upon an old Night World kingdom where the ruling vampire prince is both an enemy and an ally.

   And Circle Daybreak hires Keller, a shapeshifting panther, to guard a new Wild power in Witchlight. But when Keller falls in love with the Wild Power's soulmate, her love could destroy everything...

   That is the Night World series for you! I hope you guys pick up the series, I hold it close to my heart!

Book Review: Broken Crowns by Lauren DeStefano

Release Date: March 22nd, 2016
Read: March 14th-15th, 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Series: The Internment Chronicles, #3
Format: ARC, 272 pages
Source: McNally Robinson/Two Thumbs Up Program

Description from GoodReads:

   The city is falling out of the sky…

   Morgan always thought it was just a saying. A metaphor. The words of the dying. But as they look up at the floating island that was their home, Pen and Morgan make a horrible discovery—Internment is sinking.

   And it’s all Morgan’s fault.

   Corrupted from the inside by one terrible king and assailed from the outside for precious resources by another, Internment could be destroyed because Morgan couldn’t keep a secret. As two wars become one, Morgan must find a way to bring her two worlds together to stop the kings that wage them…

   Or face the furthest fall yet. 

Review:

   How can you tell which are good and which are bad?
   Lauren DeStefano doesn't write books the same way that other authors do, it doesn't matter if she writes Science Fiction or Fantasy, they always have a realness to them. I learnt this when reading her first series, The Chemical Garden series, and saw the same with the first two novels in The Internment Chronicles, Perfect Ruin and Burning Kingdom. It was no different when reading Broken Crowns.
   The biggest thing that stood out about DeStefano's writing is how she's able to put a new view on everything, especially when it came to Internment. She was able to make things that are usually boring or not usually viewed as interesting, intriguing. Like the sun disease, you couldn't help but be intrigued over it, but in reality it was actually cancer. Because the people of Internment were completely new to earth, the new vocabulary was expected, but you couldn't help but feel the same amazement and emotions as the newcomers when it came to the world, drawing you into the story all that more.
   The Internment Chronicles has a new way of viewing happy endings, not everyone has to be with their true love, with no complications with life. DeStefano shows you that you can live a happy life, even if it's not like the usual fairy tale ending.
   Broken Crowns was not what I expected, and in the end, it was everything that I didn't know I needed. With solving all the characters problems in a relatively realistic way, it made the story feel as if it could one day, perhaps actually be real.
  Leaving me content and satisfied, Broken Crowns is the perfect conclusion to an unique series.

Rating:

Favourite Quotes:

"A girl should never stop thinking. Otherwise we'll become what our world thinks of us."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Sci Fi, Dystopian, Steampunk, Advenerture, New Worlds