Book Review: Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan

Release Date: November 5, 2019
Read: November 21st-24th, 2019
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson Books
Series: Girls of Paper and Fire, #2
Format: ARC, 403 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Description from GoodReads:

In this mesmerizing sequel to the New York Times bestselling Girls of Paper and Fire, Lei and Wren have escaped their oppressive lives in the Hidden Palace, but soon learn that freedom comes with a terrible cost.

Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn't the end of the plan---it's just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei's head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within.

Meanwhile, an evil plot to eliminate the rebel uprising is taking shape, fueled by dark magic and vengeance. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her?

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!

Book Review: The How & the Why by Cynthia Hand

Release Date: November 5, 2019
Read: October 11-18th, 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 464 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

Today Melly had us writing letters to our babies…

Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for. They’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs—except maybe the one thing she wants. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can’t answer, no matter how much they love her.

But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for.

Alternating between Cass’s search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who gave her up for adoption, this voice-driven narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.

Waiting on Wednesday: (63)

My Calamity Jane

Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

The Lady Janies, #3

Harper Teen

Expected: June 2nd, 2020

Description from GoodReads:

Welcome ​to 1876 and a rootin’-tootin’ America bursting with gunslingers, outlaws, and garou.

JANE (a genuine hero-eene)

Calamity’s her name, and garou hunting’s her game—when she’s not starring in Wild Bill’s Traveling Show, that is. She reckons that if a girl wants to be a legend, she should just go ahead and be one.

FRANK (*wolf whistle*)

Frank “the Pistol Prince” Butler is the Wild West’s #1 bachelor. He’s also the best sharpshooter on

both sides of the Mississippi, but he’s about to meet his match. . . .

ANNIE (get your gun!)

Annie Oakley (yep, that Annie) is lookin’ for a job, not a romance, but she can’t deny there’s something about Frank she likes. Really likes. Still, she’s pretty sure that anything he can do,

she can do better.

A HAIRY SITUATION

After a garou hunt goes south and Jane finds a suspicious-like bite on her arm, she turns tail for Deadwood, where there’s been talk of a garou cure. But things ain’t always what they seem—meaning the gang better hightail it after her before they’re a day late and a Jane short.

Why I Want It:

I'm absolutely obsessed with My Lady Jane and My Plain Jane. The Lady Janies do a retelling of sorts with the Janie books, retelling the original story but making it hilarious and adding a hint of fantasy. 

Having already known the history of Jane Grey and having read Jane Eyre, it made the stories all that more amazing. It's going to be the same with The Calamity Jane. Being already familiar with the original story, I CAN NOT WAIT to read the Janies version.

That's my Waiting on Wednesday this week! Will you be picking up My Calamity Jane? What are you waiting on this week?

Monthly TBR: December 2019

   I'm officially 8 books away from my GoodReads goal. I'm hoping by picking stuff that I'm SUPER excited for, that I'll actually get them read this month. It doesn't help that I can't start reading until my exam week is over (Friday), but I'm certainly excited to read these.

   In the end, I'll probably still cheat and read a graphic novel or two. But for now, I'm still really excited to read these!

December TBR Pile

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff (Hardback) (Reread)

Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff (ARC)

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto (ARC)

Here There Are Monsters by Amelinda Bérubé (Paperback)

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson (Hardcover)

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace (ARC)

Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar (ARC)

   And that's my TBR for the month! I have some of my anticipated 2020 releases on the list, as well as some Canadian titles fro this year since I'm playing catch up for MYRCA.

   What are you reading this month?

I'm Back!

Hi friends,
Long time no see. I know it's been a while since I last posted, I hope to change that.

Starting today, I'm going to be attempt to get into a routine of things again.

So I hope you bare with me, and I promise it'll be worth it.

Book Review: Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks

Release Date: February 12, 2019
Read: May 8-17th, 2019
Publiser: Roaring Brook Press
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 340 pages
Source: Won in a giveaway

Description from GoodReads:

   Miriam's family should be rich. After all, her grandfather was the co-creator of smash-hit comics series The TomorrowMen. But he sold his rights to the series to his co-creator in the 1960s for practically nothing, and now that's what Miriam has: practically nothing. And practically nothing to look forward to either-how can she afford college when her family can barely keep a roof above their heads? As if she didn't have enough to worry about, Miriam's life gets much more complicated when a cute boy shows up in town . . . and turns out to be the grandson of the man who defrauded Miriam's grandfather, and heir to the TomorrowMen fortune.

Book Review: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Release Date: May 7th, 2019
Read: June 17-19th, 2019
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Series: The Aurora Cycle, #1
Format: Hardcover, 470 pages
Source: Bought

Description from GoodReads:

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm

A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates

A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder

An alien warrior with anger management issues

A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.

Book Review: Finale by Stephanie Garber

Release Date: May 7th, 2019
Read: May 24th-26, 2019
Publisher: Flatrion Books
Series: Caraval, #3
Format: ARC, 496 pages
Source: McNally Robinson Booksellers

Description from GoodReads:

A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.

It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.

With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time: only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.

Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end…

Book Review: All the Wandering Light by Heather Fawcett

Release Date: December 4th, 2018
Read: March 11th-12th, 2019
Publisher:  Balzer + Bray
Series: Even the Darkest Stars, #2
Format: Hardcover, 488 pages
Source: Won

Description from GoodReads:

After the terrifying events on Mount Raksha, the witches have returned, and River has betrayed Kamzin to regain his dark powers. The witches’ next step: march on the Three Cities and take over the Empire—led by River’s brother, Esha.

If Kamzin is to save Azmiri and prevent the fall of the Empire, she must find a star that fell in the Ash Mountains to the north. Fallen stars have immense power, and if Kamzin and Lusha can find the star, they can use its magic to protect the Empire. To get there, Kamzin has allied with Azar-at, the dangerous and deceptive fire demon, who can grant her great power—in exchange for pieces of her soul. But River wants the star too, and as their paths collide in dangerous and unexpected ways, Kamzin must wrestle with both her guilt and her conflicted feelings for the person who betrayed her.

Facing dark magic, a perilous journey, and a standoff against the witches, can Kamzin, Lusha, and Tem find the star and save their Empire?

Book Review: Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau

Release Date: February 12, 2019
Read: November 23rd, -24th, 2018
Publisher: First Second
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 368 pages
Source: Won in giveaway

Description from GoodReads:

   Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band―if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.

Book Review: Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Release Date: April 2nd, 2019
Read: March 31st - April 11th, 2019
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Series: Something Dark and Holy, #1
Format: ARC, 385 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

   A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

   A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

   A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. 

   Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

   In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light.

Book Review: Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

Release Date: September 4th, 2018
Read: January 2nd-3rd, 2019
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Series: Market of Monsters, #1
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Source: Bought

Description from GoodReads:

   Nita doesn’t murder supernatural beings and sell their body parts on the internet—her mother does that. Nita just dissects the bodies after they’ve been “acquired.” Until her mom brings home a live specimen and Nita decides she wants out; dissecting a scared teenage boy is a step too far. But when she decides to save her mother’s victim, she ends up sold in his place—because Nita herself isn’t exactly “human.” She has the ability to alter her biology, a talent that is priceless on the black market. Now on the other side of the bars, if she wants to escape, Nita must ask herself if she’s willing to become the worst kind of monster.

Book Review: Nocturna by Maya Motayne

Release Date: May 7th, 2019
Read: April 12th-17th, 2019
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Series: A Forgery of Magic, #1
Format: ARC, 480 pages
Source: McNally Robinson

Description from GoodReads:

To Finn Voy, magic is two things: a knife to hold under the chin of anyone who crosses her…and a disguise she shrugs on as easily as others pull on cloaks.

As a talented faceshifter, it’s been years since Finn has seen her own face, and that’s exactly how she likes it. But when Finn gets caught by a powerful mobster, she’s forced into an impossible mission: steal a legendary treasure from Castallan’s royal palace or be stripped of her magic forever.

After the murder of his older brother, Prince Alfehr is first in line for the Castallan throne. But Alfie can’t help but feel that he will never live up to his brother’s legacy. Riddled with grief, Alfie is obsessed with finding a way to bring his brother back, even if it means dabbling in forbidden magic.

But when Finn and Alfie’s fates collide, they accidentally unlock a terrible, ancient power—which, if not contained, will devour the world. And with Castallan’s fate in their hands, Alfie and Finn must race to vanquish what they have unleashed, even if it means facing the deepest darkness in their pasts. 

Book Review: Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

Release Date: April 30th, 2019
Read: April 29th-30th, 2019
Publisher: Putnam
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 320 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

   Elouise (Lou) Parker is determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her life. There are just a few things standing in her way:  

   * She's landed a job at Magic Castle Playland . . . as a giant dancing hot dog.

   * Her crush, the dreamy Diving Pirate Nick, already has a girlfriend, who is literally the Princess of the park. But Lou's never liked anyone, guy or otherwise, this much before, and now she wants a chance at her own happily ever after.

   * Her best friend, Seeley, the carousel operator, who's always been up for anything, suddenly isn't when it comes to Lou's quest to set her up with the perfect girl or Lou's scheme to get close to Nick.

   * And it turns out that this will be their last summer at Magic Castle Playland--ever--unless she can find a way to stop it from closing.

Book Review: Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak by Adi Alsaid

Release Date: April 30th, 2019
Read: April 26th-28th, 2019
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 384 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

The summer after senior year is not going as eighteen-year-old Lu Charles expected: after her longtime boyfriend unexpectedly breaks up with her, Lu can’t write a single word, despite the fact that her college scholarship is tied to her columnist job at hip online magazine Misnomer. Then, she meets Cal.

Cal’s ever-practical girlfriend Iris is looking ahead to her first year of college, and her plans do not include a long-distance boyfriend. When Lu learns that Cal and Iris have planned to end their relationship at the end of the summer, she becomes fascinated and decides to chronicle the last months the couple will spend together.

The closer she gets to the couple, the more she likes them, and the more she wants to write about them. The summer unfurls, and Lu discovers what it really means to be in love. On the page, or off it. The book is touching exploration of love and how it shapes us both during a relationship and after it has ended.

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: Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

   Hello and welcome to the Bloodleaf blog tour hosted by Raincoast Books. I'm so excited to introduce you to this fantastic new fantasy series! And so, I hope you enjoy my tour stop. 

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

Release Date: March 12, 2019

Read: March 10th-14th, 2019

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Series: Bloodleaf, #1

Format: ARC, 384 pages

Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Description from GoodReads:

Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her. But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life? 

Book Review: The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli

Release Date: September 25th, 2018
Read: January 14-18th, 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Iskari, #2
Format: Signed Hardcover, 400 pages
Source: Bought

Description from GoodReads:

Once there were two sisters born with a bond so strong that it forged them together forever. Roa and Essie called it the hum. It was a magic they cherished—until the day a terrible accident took Essie’s life and trapped her soul in this world.

Dax—the heir to Firgaard’s throne—was responsible for the accident. Roa swore to hate him forever. But eight years later he returned, begging for her help. He was determined to dethrone his cruel father, under whose oppressive reign Roa’s people had suffered.

Roa made him a deal: she’d give him the army he needed if he made her queen. Only as queen could she save her people from Firgaard’s rule.

Then a chance arises to right every wrong—an opportunity for Roa to rid herself of this enemy king and rescue her beloved sister. During the Relinquishing, when the spirits of the dead are said to return, Roa discovers she can reclaim her sister for good.

All she has to do is kill the king.

Book Review: Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

Release Date: February 26th, 2019
Read: February 8-10th, 2019
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 336 pages
Source: McNally Robinson

Description from GoodReads:

How do you kill a god?

As her father's chosen heir, eighteen-year-old Rasmira has trained her whole life to become a warrior and lead her village. But when her coming-of-age trial is sabotaged and she fails the test, her father banishes her to the monster-filled wilderness with an impossible quest: to win back her honour, she must kill the oppressive god who claims tribute from the villages each year or die trying.

Blog Tour: You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook

   Hello and welcome to the You Owe Me a Murder Blog Tour, hosted by Raincoast. I'm very excited to host one of todays stops, and I've got my review and a mini interview with the author for you. So I hope you enjoy!

You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook

Release Date: March 5th, 2019

Read: February 14th-18th, 201

Publisher:  HMH Books for Young Readers

Series: Standalone

Format: ARC, 368 pages

Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review.

Description from GoodReads:

17-year-old Kim never expected to plot a murder. But that was before her boyfriend dumped her for another girl. Now, Kim’s stuck on a class trip to London with him and his new soulmate and she can’t help wishing he was a little bit dead, even if she’d never really do that.

But when Kim meets Nicki, a stranger on the plane who’s more than willing to listen to Kim’s woes, things start to look up. Nicki's got a great sense of humor, and when she jokes about swapping murders, Kim plays along—that is, until Kim’s ex-boyfriend mysteriously dies.

Blackmailed by Nicki to fulfill her end of the deal, Kim will have to commit a murder or take the fall for one.

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.

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.