Ohana Reads: Virginia Boecker

Showing posts with label Virginia Boecker. Show all posts

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Ohana Talks: Top 10 Favourite Reads of 2016

I had many favourite reads of 2016, and even though we're already 22 days into 2017, I still want to share them with you! So these are the books that I continue to find myself thinking of, every now and then, even when I had read some of them last January. Some were published in 2016, some in 2017, and some in 2015! So without further ado!

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:

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes

Heir to the Sky by Amanda Sun

Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Day Zero by Kresley Cole

Arcana Rising by Kresley Cole
A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

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:

Wax by Gina Damico

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather

The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore

The Witch Hunter Series by Virginia Boecker

Heir to the Sky by Amanda Sun

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge

Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Day Zero by Kresley Cole

September Releases I'm Excited For:

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (6th)

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova (6th)

The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron (13th)

A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess (20th)

The Swan Riders by Erin Bow (20th)

Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige (20th)

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake (20th)

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco (20th)

Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (20th)

Like A River Glorious by Rae Carson (27th)

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!

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Book Review: The Witch Hunter Series by Virginia Boecker

The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

Release Date: June 2nd, 2015

Read: July 20th, 2016

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Series: The Witch Hunter, #1

Format: ARC, 363 pages

Source: Gift from Joyousreads

Description from GoodReads:

Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.

Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.

But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.

The King Slayer by Virginia Boecker

Release Date: June 14th, 2016

Read: July 21st, 2016

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Series: The Witch Hunter, #2

Format: ARC, 368 pages

Source: BEA 2016

Description from GoodReads:

Former witch hunter Elizabeth Grey is hiding within the magically protected village of Harrow, evading the price put on her head by Lord Blackwell, the usurper king of Anglia. Their last encounter left Blackwell ruined, but his thirst for power grows stronger every day. He’s readying for a war against those who would resist his rule—namely Elizabeth and the witches and wizards she now calls her allies.

Having lost her stigma, a magical source of protection and healing, Elizabeth’s strength is tested both physically and emotionally. War always means sacrifice, and as the lines between good and evil blur once more, Elizabeth must decide just how far she’ll go to save those she loves.

Review:

Contains Minor Spoilers:

Damnation.
I heard about The Witch Hunter way back in 2014 when the ARCs were just beginning to be distributed. I had originally planned on picking up a hardcover when it released, having not received an ARC, but time past and I just never got around to doing it. It wasn't until BEA 2016 that I really got the push to find myself a copy, and that's because I had received a ARC of it's sequel The King Slayer. Returning home, picking up a copy was one of the first things I wanted to do. But as luck would have it, my friend Joy from Joyousreads had an ARC that she was giving away, so I grabbed it! Then in one whole shot, I binged both books.
The Witch Hunter was fabulous, I couldn't put it down for even a minute once I started. The writing was fast paced, the characters had so much going on with them, and the action was non stop, I couldn't get enough. I only had one problem when it came to it, and that was that I wish that Virginia Boecker had thrown in some more Witch hunting action rather than just the one case they had to deal with. I would have loved to see more of Elizabeth doing her job.
There wasn't a huge cliffhanger when finishing The Witch Hunter, but I was still anxious to start The King Slayer right away.
I knew the series was to be a duology, but throughout The King Slayer, I couldn't help but feel like it should have been a build up for a third novel. To be honest, because I continuously felt this way throughout the book, I felt like the ending of the novel was sort of weak. The build up was there throughout the whole thing, then within a snap of the fingers the battle had ended. I was disappointed.
Finally, I adored John and Elizabeth together in the second book, until the stigma turned him into a dick. I understood it's importance, but I really wish it didn't happen, I would have loved to see more romantic scenes between the two.
The Witch Hunter duology was a beautifully written series, that has definitely become a favourite of mine. I can't wait to see what Boecker has in store for us next!

P.S I gave my sister the two books to binge after me, and she wouldn't stop screaming at me, that she hated me. That means they were great right? HA!

Overall Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"Your greatest enemy isn't what you fight, but what you fear."- The Witch Hunter

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Witches, Hunters, Magic, Rebellions, A bit of Historical Fiction

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!