Coblogger Announcement, Take Two

Hi everyone! Recently I realized (yet again) that I haven't been able to keep up with blogging as much, so I needed more backup. Fortunately, I was finally able to convince someone who's been popping over on the blog a bit to officially join me. I've known her for many, many years now, and I'm extremely lucky to call her my friend, and now my coblogger! So with that being said, I'd like to officially welcome Izzy to the blog!

Introducing Izzy

Hi friends!!!! :D

My name is Izzy, and I’m so glad Alexandra asked me to coblog with her on this great blog!!!  I’ve known this wonderful human since the 5th grade, and we’ve fangirled about almost everything to each other.  Throughout the years we’ve known each other, there are moments where I’m like “OMG ALEXANDRA KRYSTEN RITTER IS COMING TO BOOKCON I CAN’T HANDLE THIS” and she’s been like “what” and then there are moments when she’s like “KERRI MANISCALCO IS COMING TO BOOKCON THIS IS NOT A DRILL” and I’m like “what”

I don’t have a blog, but I’m an avid fan of movies, TV, and most importantly reading.  So this will definitely be an adventure for me :)

Waiting on Wednesday (77)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
Series: The Belles #1
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 512 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: February 20, 2018

About The Belles (via Goodreads):

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie—that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision.

With the future of Orléans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide—save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles—or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.

Warcross (ARC Review)

Warcross by Marie Lu
Series: Warcross #1
Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction
Format: ARC (won at BookCon)
Page Length: 416 pages
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 12, 2017

About Warcross (via Goodreads):

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu—when a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths.

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

In this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest gamble of all.

Warcross was an action-packed and exhilarating start for a new series from Marie Lu. As one of my favorite authors, I had high expectations for Marie's writing and this book, and overall, it did not disappoint. While it took a chapter or two for me to get into the story, Marie Lu quickly had me hooked from there on out, and I devoured it in a single afternoon/evening.

Marie Lu is a master character craftswoman. Her characters, per usual, were superb. They were all extremely fleshed out and real, with deep (and often traumatic) backstories that really helped me understand the characters' personalities, actions, and thoughts. Lu definitely knows how to make a reader sympathize with her characters, especially the morally gray ones. (She is THE BEST at writing morally gray characters, I swear.) Marie Lu's astounding ability with her characters is definitely my favorite of her skills, across all her books. It all seems so effortless.

While the story did have its unique elements and as a whole was fresh, exciting, and addicting, it also had it's trope-y moments. Which is fine. It worked. But Warcross definitely felt a bit like a weird mesh of Super Smash Brothers, Big Hero 6, and Wreck-It Ralph, with a touch of Sword Art Online thrown in. As I said before, Marie Lu still made the story work though, and it was super fun to read. I know it sounds weird. How can it be trope-y while also being unique? I DON'T KNOW, OKAY? IT JUST WORKS.

To be fair, I didn't really compare Warcross to those movies, anime, and game the whole time, except for when I was trying to visualize the world of Warcross. Oh and except for the minor similarities that helped me to figure out what I think were supposed to be twists and major reveals before they were revealed. Either that, or the twists just weren't as polished as I had hoped. I think it may be a combination of both, because there were definitely bits of foreshadowing that were just a bit too obvious for me *shrugs* I still greatly enjoyed the novel, but it was definitely on the predictable side. So the somewhat thriller-like components DID NOT work for me.

The story was definitely fast-paced and had the perfect balance between world-building, action, romance, character development, and all the elements crucial to a good book. Although there was that flaw for me, I definitely enjoyed reading it overall, and highly recommend it for all fans of Marie Lu.

My rating: 3.8 stars

July Wrap-Up

Hi guys! I can't believe summer's almost over. Fortunately though, I've read some AMAZING books in the past month, and have plans to read many more in the next few weeks.

BOOKS READ:
- When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon - 4 stars
- Warcross by Marie Lu - 3.5/4 stars
- Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu - rating pending
- Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley - 4.5 stars
- Cinder by Marissa Meyer - 4 stars
- A Reaper of Stone by Mark Gelineau and Joe King - 3 stars
- The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson - 3.5 stars

CURRENTLY READING:
- Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
- Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

UP NEXT:
- A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
- Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

Waiting on Wednesday (76)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi
Page Length: 480 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: February 13, 2018

About Heart of Iron (via Goodreads):

An action-packed tale full of romance, royalty, and adventure, inspired by the story of Anastasia. Perfect for fans of Six of Crows, Cinder, and the cult classic television show Firefly.

Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him.

Ana’s desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But at the last moment, a spoiled Ironblood boy beats Ana to her prize. He has his own reasons for taking the coordinates, and he doesn’t care what he’ll sacrifice to keep them.

When everything goes wrong, she and the Ironblood end up as fugitives on the run. Now their entire kingdom is after them—and the coordinates—and not everyone wants them captured alive.

What they find in a lost corner of the universe will change all their lives—and unearth dangerous secrets. But when a darkness from Ana’s past returns, she must face an impossible choice: does she protect a kingdom that wants her dead or save the Metal boy she loves?

Dear Martin (ARC Review)

Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Page Length: 224 pages
Format: ARC (received at BookCon)
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 17, 2017

About Dear Martin (via Goodreads):

Justyce McAllister is top of his class, captain of the debate team, and set for the Ivy League next year—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. He is eventually released without charges (or an apology), but the incident has Justyce spooked. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood, he can’t seem to escape the scorn of his former peers or the attitude of his prep school classmates. The only exception: Sarah Jane, Justyce’s gorgeous—and white—debate partner he wishes he didn’t have a thing for.

Struggling to cope with it all, Justyce starts a journal to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But do Dr. King’s teachings hold up in the modern world? Justyce isn’t so sure.

Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up. Way up. Much to the fury of the white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. And Justyce and Manny get caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it’s Justyce who is under attack. The truth of what happened that night—some would kill to know. Justyce is dying to forget.

Nic Stone's debut novel left me speechless and an emotional mess in the best of ways. Dear Martin was such a poignant yet hopeful debut and it told such an important story that is an absolute must-read for anyone and everyone.

Unapologetically real and raw, Dear Martin made me feel all the feels. LITERALLY ALL OF THEM. I was sobbing, screaming, shaking, and gasping in shock all in the span of 200ish pages (plus the bonus instances when I nearly threw my book across the room in anger or wanted to smack my head against all surfaces in annoyance).

The screaming, sobbing, and book-flinging emotions definitely were not a detriment though. Nic Stone delivered an emotional rollercoaster of a book, and the pure emotions I felt while reading about Justyce's experiences were incomparable to any novel I've ever read before. The emotional whirlwind only added to my experience and helped me recognize so much about the real world. Justyce's story was so authentic and relevant, and Nic Stone truly opened my eyes and broke my heart with her remarkable debut.

Although I was overcome by a lot of tears and anger, Nic Stone also authentically captured the teen experience as a whole. Whether it was school and the struggle of college acceptances, or covering extracurriculars like debate, Stone made sure that academics and other activities didn't fall to the wayside, making the contemporary even more realistic and relatable. The friendships were also so wonderful and real in the story. I found myself laughing and grinning so hard when I didn't feel the need to pummel the racist jerks throughout the book. The characters were so enjoyable to read about (except for aforementioned racist jerks) and were so masterfully written, with several lesser characters also going through dramatic transformations.

basically me unapologetically cheering on Justyce throughout Dear Martin

My favorite character was definitely Justyce though. He is by far one of my favorite characters of all time, and he was a character I couldn't help but love right from the start. His voice is so true and honest, and he is an absolute sweetheart. His story was a heartbreaking one, and he had a long and difficult journey, but he was able to persevere, and I loved watching him grow while still staying true to himself.


All in all, Dear Martin was an incredible, heart-wrenching, and mind-blowing read. Nic Stone truly packs a punch in her debut, and everyone NEEDS to read it when they have the chance. I can only hope that my review gave this book justyce.

My Rating: 5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday (75)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra
Series: Asiana #1
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: January 23, 2018

About Markswoman (via Goodreads):

An order of magical-knife wielding female assassins brings both peace and chaos to their post-apocalyptic world in this bewitching blend of science fiction and epic fantasy—the first entry in a debut duology that displays the inventiveness of the works of Sarah Beth Durst, Marie Lu, and S. J. Kincaid.

Kyra is the youngest Markswoman in the Order of Kali, a highly trained sisterhood of elite warriors armed with telepathic blades. Guided by a strict code of conduct, Kyra and the other Orders are sworn to protect the people of Asiana. But to be a Markswoman, an acolyte must repudiate her former life completely. Kyra has pledged to do so, yet she secretly harbors a fierce desire to avenge her dead family.

When Kyra’s beloved mentor dies in mysterious circumstances, and Tamsyn, the powerful, dangerous Mistress of Mental Arts, assumes control of the Order, Kyra is forced on the run. Using one of the strange Transport Hubs that are remnants of Asiana’s long-lost past, she finds herself in the unforgiving wilderness of desert that is home to the Order of Khur, the only Order composed of men. Among them is Rustan, a young, disillusioned Marksman whom she soon befriends.

Kyra is certain that Tamsyn committed murder in a twisted bid for power, but she has no proof. And if she fails to find it, fails in her quest to keep her beloved Order from following Tamsyn down a dark path, it could spell the beginning of the end for Kyra--and for Asiana.

But what she doesn’t realize is that the line between justice and vengeance is razor thin . . . thin as the blade of a knife.

A SISTERHOOD OF FEMALE ASSASSINS WITH TELEPATHIC BLADES??? YES PLEASE!