*pooled ink favorites*

Gilded Cage

~ Angela ~ 6 Comments

Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic James (2017)
-ARC Review-

Gilded Cage

Fiction | Urban Fantasy | Dystopia
4.5 stars
Blurb:

“For readers of Victoria Aveyard and George RR Martin comes a darkly fantastical debut set in a modern England where magically gifted aristocrats rule and commoners are doomed to serve.

NOT ALL ARE FREE.
NOT ALL ARE EQUAL.
NOT ALL WILL BE SAVED.

Our world belongs to the Equals—aristocrats with magical gifts—and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind the gates of England’s grandest estate lies a power that could break the world.  Continue reading →

Crooked Kingdom

~ Angela ~ 2 Comments

Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo (2016)

crooked kingdom

YA Fiction | Dark Fantasy
5 stars
Blurb:

“Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world.”
–Goodreads  
Continue reading →

A Monster Calls

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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (2011)

A Monster Calls

Everybody Fiction | Contemporary | Paranormal
5 stars
Blurb:

“The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.”
–Goodreads  Continue reading →

Of Beast and Beauty

~ Angela ~ 2 Comments

Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay (2013)

Of Beast and Beauty

YA Fiction | Romance | Fantasy/Sci-Fi4.5 starsBlurb:

“In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret…

In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.  Continue reading →

The Big Con

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The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man by David W. Maurer (1940)

The Big Con

Non-Fiction | Crime | Americana4.5 starsBlurb:

“Of all the grifters, the confidence man is the aristocrat,” wrote David Maurer, a proposition he definitively proved in The Big Con, one of the most colorful, well-researched, and entertaining works of criminology, ever written. A professor of linguistics who specialized in underworld argot. Maurer won the trust of hundreds of swindlers who let him in on not simply their language, but their folkways and the astonishingly complex and elaborate schemes whereby unsuspecting marks, hooked by their own greed and dishonesty, were “taken off” — i.e., cheated — of thousands upon thousands of dollars. The products of amazing ingenuity, crack timing, and attention to every last detail, these “big cons” richly deserve Maurer’s description as “the most effective swindling device which man has ever invented.” Continue reading →

The Walls Around Us

~ Angela ~ 3 Comments

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma (2015)

The Walls Around Us
YA Fiction | Paranormal Mystery | Psychological Thriller
4 Stars
Blurb:

“On the outside, there’s Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement.

On the inside, within the walls of the Aurora Hills juvenile detention center, there’s Amber, locked up for so long she can’t imagine freedom.  Continue reading →

Q2Q Comics, Vol. 1

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Q2Q Comics, Volume 1 by Steven Younkins (2016)

Q2Q Comics
Comics | Theatre: Comedy
5 stars
Blurb:

An amusing collection of comics that portray the lives of theatre crew members including: Stage Manager, Lighting Designer, Sound Designer, Costumer, Director, Props Master, Scenic Director, Technical Director, Prop Cat, and La Ropasucia the Theatre Gremlin.

Volume One: “A collection of the first 220 Q2Q Comics all hardbound together in a book! Includes commentary by the author for most of the comics, a collage of the original sketches, a “How to Draw Morty” tutorial, and other assorted goodies.”
–Goodreads  Continue reading →

A Court of Mist and Fury

~ Angela ~ 2 Comments

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas (2016)

a court of mist and fury

NA Fiction | Fantasy | Romance | (TV-MA)5 starsBlurb:

“Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.  Continue reading →

The Uglies Series

~ Angela ~ 4 Comments

 The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld
pentagon-contact-lenses-uglies

*This post contains 4 separate reviews (Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras) for the series so scroll with caution*

YA Fiction | Sci-Fi | Dystopian

pooled ink Review:

This series is seriously one of my top favorites! I still cannot believe that they haven’t turned them into movies yet. They really should get on that. (P.S. If you’re looking for someone to cast as either Shay or Tally I 1200% volunteer!)  Continue reading →

Dream Factory

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Dream Factory by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler (2007)

dream factory

Teen Fiction | Contemporary | Romance4.5 starsBlurb:

“When the Disney World character actors go on strike, teens are hired as replacements. Ella is assigned the role of Cinderella simply because the shoes fit. And every afternoon at three o’clock she gets married to Prince Charming. A perfect dream come true, except Ella doesn’t believe in dreams anymore. Meanwhile, Luke is one of the fur characters (Dale, the chipmunk), and his girlfriend, Cassie, plays his counterpart, Chip. Cassie is perfect in every way, so why does Luke want to be with Cinderella? Then Luke and Ella are brought together during a scavenger hunt, and as they uncover the Magic Kingdom’s hidden treasures, they discover an undeniable magic between them. Perhaps dreams really can come true after all?”
–Goodreads  Continue reading →