Ohana Reads: Joelle Charbonneau

Showing posts with label Joelle Charbonneau. Show all posts

Friday, June 30, 2017

June Wrap Up 2017

Like most of the months, June was all over the place for me. From graduations, to my sisters finally being done school for the summer, and to getting a new job! So it was busy and hectic as usual, and of course all the days blurred together.

Unfortunately for June, I wasn't able to get out of my book slump, which was my fault. I ended up picking two books that I just could not enjoy, resulting in me not wanting to pick anything else up after them. Hopefully the next thing I pick up ends up being really good and fixes my mistake for June.

Some of you may follow me on Instagram, or maybe just noticed that I changed my Bio on most of my social media platforms, but for those of you who haven't noticed or heard, I got another job! Come the last week of June, I got a call for an interview to one of my favourite places, McNally Robinson. Also known as my local Indie bookstore, one which I occupy more frequently than not. Anyways, shortly after the interview they called me back and I was hired! I've already had my first shift, and I couldn't be happier working there. Having already known most of the people in the department that I'm in, from always stopping by, everything has been so easy to adjust too! You'll probably be hearing much more about the store in the next upcoming months!

Like I mentioned at the beginning of the post, June time brings graduations, and one that I went to this Spring was for my good friend Sabrina, who you all know from the book blog Beyond the Book Reviews. So if you guys have a spare moment, definitely head on over to her blog and congratulate her!

That pretty much sums up my month, so now onto the monthly stats!

Books Read:

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau
The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson

That's it for this month! Come back next month to see what shenanigans I partook in during the month of July!

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Book Review: Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau

Release Date: June 6th, 2017
Read: June 8th-16th, 2017
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Dividing Eden, #1
Format: ARC, 336 pages
Source: McNally Robinson/Two Thumbs Up Program

Description from GoodReads:

Twins Carys and Andreus were never destined to rule Eden. With their older brother next in line to inherit the throne, the future of the kingdom was secure.

But appearances—and rivals—can be deceiving. When Eden’s king and crown prince are killed by assassins, Eden desperately needs a monarch, but the line of succession is no longer clear. With a ruling council scheming to gain power, Carys and Andreus are faced with only one option—to take part in a Trial of Succession that will determine which one of them is worthy of ruling the kingdom.

As sister and brother, Carys and Andreus have always kept each other safe—from their secrets, from the court, and from the monsters lurking in the mountains beyond the kingdom’s wall. But the Trial of Succession will test the bonds of trust and family.

With their country and their hearts divided, Carys and Andreus will discover exactly what each will do to win the crown. How long before suspicion takes hold and the thirst for power leads to the ultimate betrayal?

Review:

Do you wish to refuse the task, Princess?

The cover of Dividing Eden was one of the reasons I had originally picked up an ARC at McNally Robinson for their Two Thumbs Up Program. Simplicity in covers is one of my favourite book cover trends, so that was definitely a factor when picking up a copy, but once I read into Dividing Eden a bit more, I was also intrigued with the synopsis and couldn't help but be excited to read the book.

Whenever I look back at Dividing Eden, I will only have happy memories of the cover, because in the end the book did not meet my expectations. Throughout the 336 pages of the book, I was constantly bored and found the plot to be extremely predictable. At times I even wanted to just give up on the book because I just couldn't stand it anymore.

Then there was the vagueness that clung to everything. There were many occasions throughout the book that information was given, but it was so vague that you couldn't help but wonder what the point was. Especially when they brought it up so frequently. One major point would be the Xhelozi, they were continuously mentioned throughout the book and were considered a major threat but in the end they only had a minor role for a few pages and then were done. It was disappointing.

Dividing Eden wasn't what I wanted it to be, at all. I was disappointed and bored throughout the whole book, it is more than likely that I will not be picking up the sequel when it releases.

Rating:

Favourite Quotes:

"I'm worth more than the few coppers you have in your pockets."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Royalty, Princesses, Princes, Monsters, Competitions

Friday, June 2, 2017

June TBR Pile 2017

So I know that the list of books for this month is kind of huge, but it's basically all the current books that I need to review for publishers. I haven't been in the mood for reading lately, so I'm hoping that by making my TBR all my review books then I'll have more chances of getting out of my stump. Anyways, here's hoping to me actually getting through some of these books this month!