Showing posts with label Adriana Mather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adriana Mather. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

August Wrap Up 2016

   August was certainly as busy as July was, and I definitely got as much reading done, maybe more. Starting with a bunch of books that I had to get done for publishers. 
   Like last month, my family went camping again. This time to a closer location, maybe 15 minutes away from my home. Because of the campsite being so close, we ended up having a ton of visitors. They ranged from visits from family, to friends, to many squirrels that decided to taunt and mess with my dog. Then there was my new hammock that I got to finally try out, unfortunately everyone else had the same idea too..

   After camping, for a brief moment of actually being my home after a week of camping, I was able to celebrate my best friends birthday with her! We spent the evening hanging out with her boyfriend, and another friend of ours, then going out to eat. Overall I had an amazing time, and I couldn't have been happier that my bestie wanted to spend her birthday with me. 
   Then exactly the next morning my family went on a quick weekend trip to the US, Fargo, North Dakota to be exact. Sometimes we enjoy heading down there for a weekend of shopping, and oh boy did we shop. My bank account is weeping still, and it's been a couple of weeks already. oops. I did get tons of amazing shoes, purses and clothes though.....
   Probably the best thing about that trip was that I finally got to use my Cold Stone Creamery gift card that Steph had gotten me for my birthday last year. We don't have CSC in Canada, so we had to celebrate the occasion with a ridiculous picture after waiting so long to try it.
   Besides that, I've worked the rest of the time or I've spent my time driving my sisters around for summer camps or work as well. Not the best way to spend the last few days of my Summer Break but whatever.
   With University starting shortly, I've had to say goodbye to a few of my friends who went out of province for school. I'm excited for them to go to school out there, but I'm sure as heck going to miss them. 
   And that sums up my August, with me going to University for the first time I'm not sure what you guys should expect for September. I already have a ton of things scheduled and ready to go, but I guess we'll have to see where things take me from there.
   Until next month!

   Now for the monthly stats:

Books Read:


Book Haul:

The Swan Riders by Erin Bow (ARC)
Sisters of Salt and Iron by Kady Cross (Hardcover)
Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Paperback)
Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid (German Edition Hardcover)
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (Hardcover)
Trono de cristal by Sarah J Maas (Spanish Edition)
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes (ARC)
Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder (Paperback)
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Hardcover)
The Turning by Jennifer Armintrout (Paperback)
A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole (Paperback)
Recreated by Colleen Houck (Hardcover)
P.S. I Like You by Kasie West (Hardover)


   A HUGE thank you to Simon and Schuster, Adi Alsaid, my best friend and my sister for 
most of the books I received from this month!

Books Reviewed:


September Releases I'm Excited For:



   That's August! I'm super excited to see what's to come, but I'm also super nervous at the same time. Anyone else starting University for the first time this fall? Tell me about some of your new experiences, I'd love to hear them!



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Thursday, August 4, 2016

Book Review: How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather

Release Date: July 26th, 2016
Read: July 16th-19th, 2016
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 368 pages
Source: BEA 2016


Description from GoodReads:


   Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?

   If dealing with that weren't enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with the Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it's Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself.


Review:


    Names have power.
   I hadn't heard really anything about How to Hang a Witch until my sister had it on her gigantic list of books that she wanted me to pick up at BEA 2016. Then after grabbing a copy and heading home, I slowly started seeing mentions of it everywhere on Twitter. From the publisher, as well as other bloggers. After the book trailer was released, I knew I had to read it ASAP.
   No matter how many books I've read, I can never get tired of reading about witches. It was a new experience with How to Hang a Witch entirely, of course it had its made of moments with having ghosts and actual witches, but in a way I'd say that it was also a bit of a historical fiction. With the author being an actual descendant of Cotton Mather, the blame to the Salem Witch Trials, (You can read the authors note about it at the end of the book), she actually threw in a lot of historically accurate stuff. It was very interesting to see the mix of the real and the made up together.
   Adriana Mather's writing was past paced and easy to read through, making How to Hang a Witch the perfect book for anyone looking for a quick witchy read. Although her writing was that way, I still found her characters to be a little predictable and native. With that, I was constantly groaning at the characters actions, and was always irritated at them. Sometimes just reading on to get through particular parts.
   How to Hang a Witch was an intriguing yet sometimes predictable read, I would definitely recommend giving it a read for its historical accurateness if you're someone who can usually get past somewhat predictable plots.

P.S The banana, honey, and peanut butter sandwiches aren't that bad!

Rating:


Favourite Quote:


"A peaceful rest before thou wake."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:


Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Mystery, Witches, Salem Witch Trials, Ghosts




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Sunday, July 31, 2016

July Wrap Up 2016

   July was busy, busy, busy. There was never a dull moment. Starting with celebrating Canada Day with friends, then our annual schools over clean up, (We do a huge clean up of our house), celebrating my sisters birthday, working, wisdom teeth removal, camping, like I said, it was jam packed. 
   The two things that took up most of my time were my surgery and my camping trip. With school being done, I finally got my wisdom teeth removed and was able to stay at home for a good amount of days. My friends were fabulous, a few of my close friends came and visited me on multiple days bringing ice cream, popsicles, and season 4 and 5 of Game of Thrones. It was a good couple of days, if you didn't count the constant pain in my jaw, and not being able to eat solid foods. 
   For camping, my family and I went to a somewhat close campground with family friends of ours. We were gone a week, and I pretty much got all my reading done within that week.  When I wasn't reading, we watched horror movies, and went fishing. Then there was the couple times we walked through a clay path and became walking grey beings, and jumped off a cliff into the lake. 
   Then finally, the last week of the month was jam packed with trying to kick my sister out of the house so that we could plan her Harry Potter Surprise Party. Which took place yesterday, we had her party in the morning then headed out to the official Harry Potter Party that was being hosted by McNally Robinson in honour of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child's release! We had Mandrake Cupcakes, a Wanted Wizard Photo Booth, and we tie dyed a Hogwarts House Crest Shirt with our house colours! It was great, and boy was my sister surprised. 
   Overall, it was phenomenal day and I think my sister was over the moon happy. And that was my month! August will be almost as packed, but either way I'm super excited!

Harry Potter Party

   Now for this months stats!  

Books Read:

Book Haul:

The Hunt by Megan Shepherd (ARC)
Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge (ARC)
As I Descended by Robin Talley (ARC)
In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken (Paperback)
United As One by Pittacus Lore (Hardcover)
Ice Kised by Amanda Hocking (Paperback)

A huge thank you to McNally Robinson and their Two Thumbs Up program, and Vivien from @deadtossedwaves for trading me The Hunt on #BooksForTrade!

Books Reviewed:


August Books I'm Excited For:





   That's it for July! I got a quite a bit of reading done if I say so myself! Hopefully August will be the same way!

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