The Last One

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva (2016)
-eARC Review-

27245997
Fiction | Psychological Thriller
4.5 stars
Blurb:

“She wanted an adventure. She never imagined it would go this far.

It begins with a reality TV show. Twelve contestants are sent into the woods to face challenges that will test the limits of their endurance. While they are out there, something terrible happens—but how widespread is the destruction, and has it occurred naturally or is it man-made? Cut off from society, the contestants know nothing of it. When one of them—a young woman the show’s producers call Zoo—stumbles across the devastation, she can imagine only that it is part of the game. Continue reading

The Last Relicuin

The Last Relicuin by Hargus Montgomery (2013)
-NetGalley Review-

The last relicuin
Fiction | Sci-Fi | History | FBI
3.5 Stars
Blurb:

“In the 22nd century, twelve percent of the world’s population chooses history. Safe inside the guarded borders of living museums, museum dwellers resist attempts by Metro leaders to seize their lands and force them back to the cities. When Alexander Kane, (son of a powerful Metro Senator) leaves the protection of the City to enter the Federal Museum Academy, he becomes the target of a growing political struggle. Crossing borders into the 12, 18th, and 20th centuries, The Last Relicuin follows three generations of a family torn between the past and the future.”
Goodreads  Continue reading

And I Darken

And I Darken (The Conquerors Saga #1) by Kiersten White (2016)
-eARC Review-

and i darken
YA Fiction | Adult Fiction | Historical
4.5 stars
Blurb:

“NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.  Continue reading

Visions of Zarua

Visions of Zarua by Suzanne Rogerson (2015)
-Review Request-

Visions of Zarua

Fiction | Fantasy3.5 StarsBlurb:

“Two wizards, 350 years apart. Together they must save the realm of Paltria from Zarua’s dark past.  Continue reading

The Orphan Fleet

The Orphan Fleet by Brendan Detzner (2016)
-eARC Review-

The Orphan Fleet

Middle Grade Fiction | Fantasy2.5 StarsBlurb:

“The Orphan Fleet” is terrific adventure fantasy — a non-stop tale of action and strange magic on a wind-swept mountain top where abandoned children have forged a free community, servicing far-traveling airships on sturdy wooden platforms. Here masked heroes with names like Golden Sam and The Sparrow are the ultimate celebrities — and the mysterious Count leaves shivers of terror wherever he treads. When that community is threatened by an admiral who demands the return of his prized daughter, it triggers a terrible war fought in the air, on the ground, and in the old abandoned scaffolding circling the mountain … a war where Golden Sam may prove himself a true hero after all, and the Count has a terrible role to play.”
Goodreads

Expected Publication Date: April 15, 2016  Continue reading

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (2009)

Mr. Penumbra

Fiction | Mystery | Modern Day Quest4.5 starsBlurb:

“The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The bookstore’s secrets extend far beyond its walls.”
Goodreads  Continue reading

The Queen of the Tearling

The Queen of the Tearling (Queen of the Tearling #1) by Erika Johansen (2014)

Queen of the Tearling
(NA) Fiction | Fantasy
3.5 StarsBlurb:

“An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy.

Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom’s haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands.

Long ago, Kelsea’s forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Continue reading

Classic Children’s Literature Checklist

wind in the willows

Once more I find myself snatching one of Jess’ creative lists to share on my own blog! Check out Jess’ Reading Nook and read her answers here: Jess’ Checklist 🙂

Go ahead and highlight the titles of the books you’ve read in a different color and tally them up. Let me know how many you have read by writing me in the comments below or by linking to this post.

Total Read: 45/ 50  Continue reading

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954)

lord of the flies

Fiction | Classic4 StarsBlurb:

“William Golding’s classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, “the boy with fair hair,” and Piggy, Ralph’s chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island’s wild pig population. Soon Ralph’s rules are being ignored or challenged outright. Continue reading

The Host

The Host by Stephenie Meyer (2008)

The Host

(NA) Fiction | Science Fiction: Aliens4.5 starsBlurb:

“Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.”
Goodreads  Continue reading