Spring Break Books on my Shelf

Spring Break Books on my Shelf!

I got this idea to call it Books on my Shelf from http://cornucopiaofreviews.blogspot.com/

Today I will be doing a different kind of TBR. Instead of having the normal monthly TBR, I am doing a Spring Break one. Spring Break starts on Wednesday for me and I have loads of books I want to read and review so here they are. Some of them come from my March Books on my Shelf and some don’t.

The first book I have is The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa. This is the second book in The Iron Fey series. I loved the first book (and no I did not write a review on it which was dumb of me and I plan to write one soon) so I will hopefully love this book. *Fingers crossed*

The second book I have is The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa. This is the third book in The Iron Fey series. I am planning on reading two in this series because I checked out the third book without reading the second one. I really liked the first book so I am sure I will like this one as well. :)

The third book I have is Open Road Summer by Emery Lord. This is a Black Eyed Susan book and it looks so good. I’m dying to read it which is weird because it is a Contemporary book but I have been reading a ton of these this month.

The fourth book I have is Shatter Me by Taheri Mafi. People have said great things about this book and I am dying to get into it. It is about a girl whose touch is fatal. I think it is dystopian because in the description it says that the world is crumbling to pieces. I don’t really know much about this book but I really want to read it.

The fifth book I have is Fallen by Lauren Kate. This book is going to be a movie this year. It has already been casted and it is finished and I am excited. I love YA book to movie adaptations even if some of them don’t turn out all too great.

The sixth book I have is Da Vinci’s tiger by L.M. Elliot. Ugh this book sounds so good and I haven’t heard anything about it and I kind of want to go in blind.

The seventh book I have is The Heir by Kiera Cass. I’ve heard mixed things about this book. Some people hated it and some people loved it. I’ve decided to see for myself. I love the other books in this series so we’ll see.

The eighth book I have is Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. Most people love this book and I really don’t know much about it but I’m down.

The ninth book I have is Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman. I have heard great things about this book and I really want to read it. Plus it was on my Top Books to Read in 2016.

The tenth book I have is Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I have heard nothing but good things about this book. Yes, it is another Contemporary so I don’t know if I will like it but I hope so.

The eleventh book I have is To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han. I have a book club on Goodreads and we are reading this book this month.

The twelfth book I have is Between the Spark and the Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke. This is the second book in a series and I really want to read it.

That is all I have on this list. I will probably not get through all of these but I’d like to get through at least five.

A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund Book Review

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is also spoiler free!

A Daring Sacrifice

Written by Jody Hedlund

Genre: Young Adult/Historical Fiction/Romance

Publisher: Zondervan

Release Date: March 1, 2016

Pages: 224

Source: NetGalley

Places to Get this Book:

http://www.amazon.com/Daring-Sacrifice-Jody-Hedlund/dp/0310749379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458506094&sr=8-1&keywords=A+Daring+Sacrifice

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-daring-sacrifice-jody-hedlund/1122293352?ean=9780310749370

http://www.bookdepository.com/A-Daring-Sacrifice/9780310749370

Recommended Age: 12 and up!

Summary:

In a reverse twist on the Robin Hood story, a young medieval maiden stands up for the rights of the mistreated, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. All the while, she fights against her cruel uncle who has taken over the land that is rightfully hers. Forced to live in the woods and hide with the poor people she's grown to love, she works to save and protect them, but she never anticipates falling in love with the wealthy knight who represents all she's come to despise.

Review:

So many people enjoyed this book so I requested the book from NetGalley. Plus, the description just pulled me in. A girl Robin Hood? I’m down. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with this book. I expected a strong, brave heroine who wouldn’t need a man’s help at any situation. I did get most of that but it seemed to me that she relied on Lord Collin way too much.

Anyways…

The historical fiction aspect of this book was amazing. I loved how there was a lot about the time period and the people in this book because naturally she’s ‘Robin Hood’ stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

JULIANA

We first meet Juliana when she is disguised as an old man and is about to have ‘his’ fingers cut off because of crimes ‘he’ committed. Juliana is a strong character: both strong-minded and actual strength. Juliana is determined to help the poor and the peasants who suffer. I feel like she was a pretty well developed character. The only thing I didn’t like about her was how she was so strong in the beginning and that strength slowly began to dwindle and disappear as she spent more time with Lord Collin.

COLLIN

You first meet Collin when it is his point of view and he is being robbed by Juliana. Perfect first meeting am I right? Collin falls in love way too fast which bothered me but I liked how he was willing to do anything for her.

Those are the two main characters but there are also a lot of other characters who appear in this book like Bulldog and Thatch who travel with Juliana.

PLOT

I really liked the plot especially how the book starts. It pulled me right in. I liked Juliana having to live with Collin for a week and be in the one place she hates because of how they treat the people. The plot was wonderful.

ACTION

There was plenty of action in this book to satisfy my needs. Juliana was wonderful with a bow and arrow and she could hold her own. There were times when I was frightened for her life but I figured it would all turn out fine.

WRITING

Ms. Hedlund’s writing lacks nothing. It’s beautiful and flows perfectly. This is quite short which doesn’t allow for too many descriptions but she still managed to tell a wonderful story.

ROMANCE

The romance was not insta-lovey but it was on Collin’s side. He seemed to fall for her the minute he found out who she was and it almost seemed as if he liked her because of her looks which drove me insane. But their romance was adorable and especially in the epilogue. The feels.

Final Thoughts:

The reason why I didn’t give this book 5 Crowns is simple. I loved it but I feel as if Juliana became weaker throughout and that bothered me. I like the main character to be strong in all meanings of the word and that wasn’t quite the case. Beside from that fact, it was a good short read and I recommend it.

Quotes from the Book:

Coming Soon!

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Crowns

Mid Month Check In

Hello all.

I decided to do a mid-month check in as I finished a lot of books this month and would like to show them all to you along with their ratings. Some of these books have reviews and some don't.

The first book I read so far was Lions in the Garden by Chelsea Luna. I rated this book 4.5 out of 5 Crowns. I have a full review of this book which you can find here.

I also read Stars Above by Marissa Meyer. This was amazing and I obviously rated it 5 out of 5 Crowns because it is a bunch of novellas in my favorite series. I did not do a review but I may. 

I also read Dangerous Deceptions by Sarah Zettel. This was the second book in The Palace of Spies series and I enjoyed it though it could have been better. I rated it 4 out of 5 Crowns. I have to write a review. 

I also read One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank. This was a book I received from NetGalley and I enjoyed it but not as much as I had hoped. I rated it 4 out of 5 Crowns and you can find the review here. 

I also read A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris and I rated this book 5 out of 5 Crowns because I absolutely loved it. I have been reading a lot of Contemporary books this month and I have started to really enjoy them! 

I also read A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund and I rated it 4 out of 5 Crowns. I unfortunately didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped and I will go into more detail in my review and spoiler review which will be coming soon. 

I also read A Reaper of Stone by Mark Gelineau and I rated it 5 out of 5 Crowns. A review will be coming soon. 

The last book I have read so far this month was City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I rated this 5 out of 5 Crowns because it was amazing. I loved the characters, the world and the dialogue. Plus there was a twist that I never saw coming. More coming in my review! :) 

That is all for this month's mid-month check in and I will be doing some more reviews ASAP!