Queen of Books

Saturday, 5 May 2018

MARCH '18 WRAP-UP

So, it's the end of the month and that means another wrap-up!

We're already in May. 2018 is moving so fast and I am not particularly happy about it.

March was busy with homework but it also contained Spring Break which gave me a little bit of time to get some reading and writing done which was great. But I did watch a lot more TV than read more books and I watched two movies.

Join my book club: here.

Anyways...

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first physical book I read was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I read this in preparation for the movie adaptation which unfortunately I didn't have time to see. I really enjoyed it even though it is written for a younger audience than me. I thought it was a meaningful story and I liked all the characters. I rated it 4 Crowns.

The second physical book I read was Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings. I have heard terrible things about this book but I knew I had to read it because I love Sasha's youtube channel and I had already bought it the day it came out back in January. I ended up really enjoying it despite all the negative reviews. I loved the characters and the plot was very fastpaced. The writing style wasn't perfect but it reminds me a lot of how I write. I rated it 4 Crowns.

The third physical book I read was Everless by Sara Holland. I had heard mixed things about this book but I ended up really enjoying it because it had such an interesting concept. I liked the characters. The plot was a little generic but then again it's hard to write something very original these days. I rated it 4 Crowns.

The fourth physical book I read was Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I read this one for the adaptation as well which didn't stay in theaters that long. I didn't end up seeing the movie and the book was a little slow. I didn't like how long it took to get into the action but I liked the characters and the character development a lot. Also, the references! I rated this one 3 Crowns.

The fifth physical book I read was Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk. I really enjoyed this one. It was so original. I mean, a female Sparticus retelling? I needed it. I loved this book because it had so much female empowerment and it showed her struggles as she went from a princess to a slave and then gained strength. I also thought the romance was great. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The sixth physical book I read was King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard. I have put off reading this book for a year but I finally read it and I'm so glad I did. I loved diving back into the world and the characters and seeing where they are. Mare has grown so much and I love her character. She takes nothing from anyone and she has so much more strength. Maven is also such a complex character and I still love him. Cal has also grown and I'm not sure about it. I rated this one 5 Crowns and I will probably do a review.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

I read an audiobook this month and I am so proud of myself. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi is a re-read for me and I loved the audiobook version. Kate Simses is an amazing audiobook reader and I love how she brings the characters to life. I loved all the characters so much more and I felt Warner's complexity and Juliette's a lot more. I rated this 5 Crowns (of course!).

ARC'S READ

The first ARC I read was Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody. I enjoyed this book a lot. I knew I wanted an ARC in any format when I first heard about this and I am so grateful that I got an eArc of this one which I read everyday on the metro. I enjoyed the premise and the storyline as well as the complex characters. I did write a full review on this one and rated it 5 Crowns.

The second ARC I read was Lost Boy, Found Boy by Jenn Polish and I did not like this one at all. I was just so confused throughout the whole book and I didn't really understand the story. I am very upset that I had to rate this one 1 Crown.

REVIEWS IN MARCH:

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody ARC: 5 Crown Rating

Emily Windsnap and the Falls of Forgotten Island ARC: 4 Crown Rating

MUSIC MONDAY:

NONE

TOP TEN TUESDAY:

NONE

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY:

NONE

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

2/26 - 3/4

3/5 - 3/18

3/19 -3/25

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

Winter Bookish Bingo Wrap-Up

February '18 Wrap-Up

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S:

Levi from Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Dex from Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

Warner from Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Xanthus from Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk

NEW FAVORITE FEMALES:

Enne from Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Andromeda from Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

Juliette from Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Attia from Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk

NEW FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIPS:

Enne and Levi from Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Dex and Andromeda Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

Juliette and Warner from Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Attia and Xanthus from Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk

TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH:

MOVIES I WATCHED THIS MONTH:

WHAT BOOKS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

NEW BLOG FINDS

NONE

SONGS ON REPEAT

The Greatest Showman Soundtrack - Musical

Bloodstream - Transviolet

That Man - Caro Emerald

Heaven - Julia Michaels

Curious - Hayley Kiyoko

High Heels - JoJo

Capital Letters - Hailee Steinfeld and Bloodpop

Why So Sad - Halocene

No Excuses - Meghan Trainor

Monster - Frozen Broadway Musical

BOOKS I WANT TO READ NEXT MONTH

The graphics at the top belong to me. The background pictures for them, however do not.

Saturday, 31 March 2018

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody ARC Review

I received an eARC from Harlequin Teen in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so so much! This is a spoiler free review.

Ace of Shades

Written by Amanda Foody

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: April 10, 2018

Pages: 416

Source: ebook ARC provided by Harlequin Teen

Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository

Recommended Age: 13 and up!

Summary:

Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…
and secrets hide in every shadow.

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play.

Review:

A mix between Caraval by Stephanie Garber and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Ace of Shades takes place in a town split in two where the events take place on the North Side which is a den of crime. This book focuses a lot on crime and crime lords/mafia families. Ace of Shades was so much fun, I loved the characters, plot and intrigue which filled the pages. I am excited to see where this plot line leads.

COVER

I adore the cover. I love how it perfectly represents the book as it has a tower of playing cards representing the casinos and games played in the book.

WORLD-BUILDING

Ace of Shades takes place in New Reynes where it combines modern elements (cars, showers, and electricity) with traditional clothing and history. Our story takes place on the North Side where crime is very common and mafia/crime families reign supreme. The town is unstable as there has been a revolution recently where the monarchy was overturned, the royal family killed and a Republic took its place. After the fall of the monarchy, there were still many supporters that had to conceal their true identity and live in secrecy. The North Side is divided into three gangs called the Irons, the Scarhands and the Doves but there are also two casino/mafia families: the Augustines and the Torrens.

There is also a magic system where everyone is born with talents that can either be split or 'pure'. Your last name(s) are an indication of which one you have. For example, if your last name is Salta, one of your talents is dancing. Some families talents are stronger than others or could be magical.

Then there are the characters.

CAMELLIA

ENNE SALTA

The main character, Enne Abacus Salta, is introduced to us when she comes to New Reynes in order to find her adoptive mother, Lourdes, who has been missing for several months. She only has a handful of volts (currency) and a name to look for: Levi Glaisyer. Lourdes informed her to find him as he will help her but instead of the kind man she pictures, she finds he's the Iron lord and a criminal. Enne's character was very likeable and goes through great character development. She arrives in New Reynes as a snobbish, naive, proper lady and completely changes to who she needs to be in order to survive.

LEVI

Our other main character, Levi, is the Iron Lord and has an alternating POV with Enne. He is compared often to Kaz Brekker by others in the book community and he is very similar. He cares for the kids in his gang and wants to pay them and treat them the best he can. He is a very ambitious character and knows he can do better than he is but he isn't sure how. He is also a diverse character seeing as he's black and bisexual (it's not cannonly stated but he clearly has an attraction to boys and girls).

FRIENDSHIP/FAMILY

Family is very important to Enne as she came all the way to New Reynes in order to find her mother. Her mother is very important to Enne as she feels that she is the only person she has left and the only person who understands her.

PLOT

The whole plot of Ace of Shades revolves around Enne's search for her mother. Enne and Levi meet early in the book and don't want to stick together but realize they have to for different reasons. Levi insists that Enne gets a job and he helps her but unknowingly puts her in a lot of danger. Levi is also in a ton of trouble as he needs to get ten thousand volts within ten days. The whole book takes place during these ten days and creates a lot more suspense.

ROMANCE

There is romance in this book but it is not instalove and is very believable and well written. The chemistry is a slow burn and we get time to see the deep connection that the two develop for each other. Despite the whole book taking place over the course of ten days, it seems to be a lot longer than that.

WRITING

The writing was really pretty and easy to read and understand. I liked how Amanda Foody separated the book into days so we could keep track.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Although there are books that have some of these aspects in them already, I felt like Ace of Shades had an originality to it. It has an intriguing plot line, the world-building is fantastic and the characters are developed and believable. The story did not completely wrap up and left there plenty to tell in the form of a sequel. If you like any of this, then pick Ace of Shades up.

Quotes from the Book:

NONE AT THIS TIME

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns

Sunday, 25 March 2018

Weekly Recap: 3/19 - 3/25

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do.

This past week was busy with quizzes and lots of homework, despite us getting a snow day in the middle of the week. Spring break just started which means I'll have more reading and writing time which I plan to utilize.

This Saturday, I went to the March for Our Lives which was an experience and though I doubt it will bring much change, it was great to see so many people come together.

Now, let's get into recapping.

New Books

Purchased:

Library:

Received for Review:

Sunday, 18 March 2018

Weekly Recap: 3/5 - 3/18

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do.

I did not do a recap last week because I didn't have time but I read a lot these past two weeks. I also started listening to audiobooks again which is exciting.

Now, let's get into recapping.

New Books

Purchased: