Binding of Bindings #49: July 2020 Book Wrap-up

August 15, 2020August 28, 2020 JenAcideByBibliophile1 Comment

I’m not going to lie…

the reading game has been tough AF lately.

It’s been month after month of no desire to read, less than thrilling books when I do read, and the relentless drooping of my eyelids when skimming lines.

But finally, it’s as if something has pulled me from the depths of my cookie over-eating, refusals to workout, and dark hole of The End of the F***ing World reruns, and has chosen to give me a gift…

A new lease on life and a love for books about murder, stalkings and cannibalism.

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~* July 2020 Book Wrap-Up *~

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I know we’re halfway into August.

Just let it happen.

1. Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Retelling/LGBT

Okay so this one obviously isn’t about cannibalism or stalking, but you’ll notice that as this list goes on, it starts to take a dramatic shift from YA Fantasy to literal cannibalism.

What can I say?

The heart wants what the heart wants.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn was pretty mehhhhhh. It’s a mix retelling of Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and some other fairytale called Rappaccini’s Daughter. It’s about a Princess who is cursed with the touch of poison, and is forced into solitude so that the royals can keep her secret hidden…and so she doesn’t, you know…

…kill someone with a poke.

What I had hoped would be an epic tale of sorrow and isolation of a Princess, and a slow-burn love interest where they both know they can’t have one another…was more like eye-rolling insta-love and too many instances where they could get around touching each other.

Meh. Not my jam.

(See my review here)

2. Accidental by Alex Richards

Genre: YA/Contemporary

“𝑩𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.”

Ugh. This book.

Accidental is a tear-inducer and makes your teenage self want to crawl under your blankies and wail like a wounded antelope.

It’s the story of a teenage girl who has been living with her grandparents since she was a young girl, when her mother was killed in a car accident and her father bailed. But the reemergence of her father brings secrets to the surface, and this one being that Johanna’s mother didn’t actually die in a car accident.

She was killed by a gunshot wound, and Johanna was the one that pulled the trigger.

It’s about how Johanna comes to terms with something she did as a very young child. An event that she doesn’t remember, but one that changes her life forever. She is thrust into guilt for killing her mother, for taking away the only daughter her grandparents had, and for being the reason that they had to take her in.

This character goes through some serious pits of self-loathing…and damn if I wasn’t living for every second of it.

Obviously gun control is the big theme here, but don’t worry. BOTH sides of this debate are represented.

(See my review here)

3. Seasons of the Storm (Book 1) by Elle Cosimano

Genre: YA/Fantasy

I read this in early July and I still haven’t reviewed it.

Does that tell you anything?

The plot for this book is SICK, which is the whole reason I requested it.

Seasons of the Storm is about seasons being embodied by people, and each time it becomes a new season, the coming season has to KILL the current season in order for their time to start.

Summer kills Spring.

Autumn kills Summer.

Winter kills Autumn.

Spring kills Winter.

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t W–O–W at all.

It’s a story that has multiple characters that the reader has a chance to connect with and become invested in, but instead of their stories and personalities shining through, all we really get is that annoying trope of every pair coupling off.

The main plot is these “seasons” wanting to escape and live a life outside of this world they were brought into. Where there are constantly killing or being killed.

But their escape is rushed, and everything after their escape from the facility was soooooo BORING.

It was like a bad Maze Runner.

4. The Summer I Drowned by Taylor Hale

Genre: YA/Mystery/Thriller

Another book from early July that I have yet to review.

I haven’t decided on a rating for this book yet, and probably won’t until my review. But I will say this…

The Summer I Drowned was a bit forgettable, but still pretty attention grabbing.

It’s not a bad book by any means though!

It’s about a girl who comes back to her hometown after being away for five years. When she was a kid, she fell off a cliff’s edge and into the ocean where she almost drowned. Once a huge swimmer and lover of the water, now Olivia has a deep fear of going anywhere near it.

After countless years of therapy, she decides that going back to her hometown for the Summer (where it all happened) would be great for her healing process.

But when she arrives back, expecting her old friendships to be exactly the same, she realizes that she isn’t the only one who has changed.

The conclusion is actually quite creative and interesting, and definitely unexpected. It makes you question what you read and the main character, which is really all we want in a mystery/thriller isn’t it? But when it comes to that romance? UGH.

Gag me.

5. The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn

Genre: Adult/Horror/Thriller

A Blizzard and cabin in the woods?

Check.

Group of adults focused entirely too much on themselves?

Check.

Wendigo-like creatures spraying red across the serene snowy landscape, butchering human bodies and expertly planning how they will get their prey?

Check.

The Shuddering is basically a fucked-up version of Until Dawn, but in book form and without Rami Malek.

*sad face*

It was the first pick in my newest book club:

If You Like Cannibalism.

Cute, right?

Five adults go out to a cabin as a last get-together before one of them moves to another country. But while there, in the dead of winter, they all start to get picked off.

One by one.

Your typical horror, right?

How one of these characters gets killed is sooooo beyond fucked. Beyond twisted, BEYOND DEMENTED…but oh so good.

6. I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick

Genre: YA/Mystery/Thriller

I Killed Zoe Spanos was another great YA mystery/thriller that I can add to my list of books that were just done right.

The story centers on the disappearance of a girl named Zoe Spanos, who vanished on New Year’s Eve from the Hamptons without a trace. The following summer, a girl named Anna Cicconi arrives in the Hamptons for a job as a nanny, and as a way to take a break from the partying she was doing in Brooklyn.

But when Anna arrives and begins to learn about the disappearance of this girl Zoe, she also learns how eerily similar the too look. It’s not long before Anna obsessively begins finding out more on this missing girl, and eventually…

…she ends up confessing to murdering her.

The story flips back between the summer when Anna arrives, and to a few months after her confession. But a local refuses to believe Anna is responsible for Zoe’s death, so she takes it upon her self to find answers.

Seriously, what a trip.

I had suspicions about where this would go, and some were correct. But where it actually ended up? I didn’t foresee that. And to be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the ending because it felt a little too forced and unbelievable, and I wanted things between certain characters to be tied up.

But overall, a solid mystery.

(See my review here)

7. Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall

Genre: Adult/Thriller/Mystery

OKAY.

On to the good shit…

Stalkers.

July’s pick for the Psycho Sloth Book Club was Our Kind of Cruelty, and I seem to be one of the only people in the group who actually liked it.

If you don’t know about the Psycho Sloths – we all fell in love with Joe Goldberg from YOU and his stalkery yet totally justifiable means of murdering people who just aren’t good influences on the women he loves.

We love his passion. His dedication. His heart and soul!

And especially that Penn Badgley plays him in the show.

He’s a lover, not a killer.

Anyways, now the book club has turned into a stalker extravaganza!

Enter: Mike Hayes.

Mike is a sexy man with a great bod, a successful job and an unflinching loyalty and love for his girlfriend Verity. He works long hours to provide for her, built their dream home and keeps it the way she likes and always thinks of her first.

The only problem is that Verity is engaged to someone else.

Woe is Mike.

But the reason Mike continues to pursue Verity is because he thinks they are still playing Crave – a game they made up when they were dating where Verity would enter a club alone, and when a guy came up to hit on her, Mike would intervene and then they’d get all hot and heavy.

This isn’t just a tale of loving from afar though. This shit gets WILD.

Even now, I am so unsure of what the truth is. Is Mike crazy? Or is Verity just a bitch? I DON’T KNOW! But I will say this…

…I’m just trying to find my Crave partner.

8. Brother by Ania Ahlborn

Genre: Adult/Horror/Thriller

Hey,

Literally, the best for last.

This book means EVERYTHING to me, okay?

E–V–E–R–Y–T–H–I–N–G!

It was the SECOND book in one month for the If You Like Cannibalism Book Club, and lemme tell you hooooney…

So. Much. Cannibalism.

I feel complete. Almost whole.

As if I have been waiting my entire life for this fucked up, brutal and demented way of thinking that flows through Ania Ahlborn’s beautiful head.

She is the horror goddess.

Brother is about a sweet family of cannibals who live in the outskirts of Appalachia, some time in the 70’s. They lure cute, young strawberry blondes onto their property where they torture and kill them, and then eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

But this story is SO much more than that. It follows main character Michael Morrow, who has never wanted to hurt people the way his mother and brother Reb seem to. He doesn’t get enjoyment out of his tasks of chasing the girls down when they escape, or chopping up their bodies. But when you’re a Morrow, it’s kill or be killed.

Any author who can make me love a character who is mentally unhinged and/or does horrible things has all of my respect. Ania Ahlborn is 100%, without a doubt, my new favorite author. She thrusts so much humanity and unrelenting hopelessness into her stories, and has made my skin crawl while putting the hugest smile on my face.

Read this, and everything else she writes.

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Stay Witchy ❤

Binding of Bindings #41: February 2020 Book Wrap-up

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020 JenAcideByBibliophile4 Comments

Do…do you hear that?

Someone’s knocking…

And its name is MARCH!

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~* February 2020 Book Wrap-Up *~

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1. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Genre: YA/Dystopia/Romance

“I was dying, of course, but then we all are. Every day, in perfect increments.”

“Staying alive was what we did to pass the time.”

This book…Ugh!

I love it.

I had first found out about this book after watching the movie (2013) and for some reason didn’t realize it was a book. I have watched the movie COUNTLESS times, so I knew it was about time I actually sat down and read the original tale.

How I Live Now is a story of how five cousins live after the world falls into war and they are forced to fend for themselves. It is told by our main character, Daisy, a girl from New York that is shipped out to stay with her cousins in the countryside of England. What starts out as days of ultimate freedom and zero adult supervision where the teens are free to do what they want, quickly changes when they are separated and forced into different camps for their protection.

It’s a story about war, about fighting to get back to those you call family, and it’s also about a forbidden love that blooms between Daisy and her cousin Edmond.

Yeah, I know how it sounds. Just trust me, you need to read it.

(See my review here)

2. A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, Book 1) by Brigid Kemmerer

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Retelling

I had heard SO much about A Curse So Dark and Lonely all over bookstagram and through other bloggers, and I had a copy, but I had just never gotten around to reading it!

So in anticipation for the release of book 2, my good friend Shannon at Reads & Reels (Bookstagram: @shanannigans_of_readsandreels) and I did a buddy read! And let me tell you, we DEVOURED it!

It’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in modern times about a prince in a land called Emberfall who has been cursed to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over and OVER until he can get a sweet little lass to fall in love with him. Enter: Harper. Our feisty little heroine is taken to Emberfall, against her will of course, and so ensues a tale of princely wooing and a REALLY smoldery/attractive guard named Grey.

3. A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers, Book 2) by Brigid Kemmerer

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Retelling

So naturally, as soon as we finished ACSDAL, we annihilated A Heart So Fierce and Broken!

In this installment, our poor baby Grey is gone from the palace, his googly eyes with Harper is ceased, and he is basically hiding. Why, you may ask? I’m not telling you! READ ACSDAL!

But anyways, though I wasn’t AS in love with this as I was book 2, it was still a great book. I loved that it followed Grey instead of Harper this time, but I was also upset that Harper’s character was kinda thrown off to the side. Like hello, I liked that broad.

But it’s fine, cause Grey is life and I am all about him!!

4. Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Retelling

This is NOT your typical Little Red Riding Hood retelling.

It’s uncomfortable, gritty and gives a painfully realistic look into how a lot of women are treated, viewed and labeled.

Red Hood is one of the most raw retellings I have come across. It’s unhinging how forceful it pushes your comfort zone into submission and forces you to eradicate those tainted ideas instilled in us of how a female should act at. It’s a story of female empowerment, sisterhood, and loving the body that you call home.

And also about boys/men who turn into wolves when they want to harm a woman.

And periods.

(See my review here)

5. Fortuna Sworn (Book 1) by K.J. Sutton

Genre: Adult/Fantasy/Paranormal

If you guys have been with me for a few years, you know I just love my girl Kelsey Sutton! She’s an indie author who primarily writes YA with SUPER wild and creative topics like Gardenia: a girl who can see “countdown clocks” above everyone’s head that shows when they will die or Smoke and Key: set in a place called “Under” that is neither Heaven nor Hell, and is beneath one’s grave where souls wander and are named after the possession they carry into death, like Smoke or Key.

Well Fortuna Sworn is her FIRST Adult Fantasy series, under the pseudonym K.J. Sutton. I first read this last year after Kelsey sent me a copy (I just about DIED I fangirled so hard) and let me tell you, it was Uh–Mazing.

Check it:

Fortuna Sworn is one of the Fallen – supernatural creatures descended from angels. But she is also one of the last of her kind, Nightmare’s – a creature of intoxicating beauty whose face shifts and transforms to accommodate the onlooker’s tastes. A creature that can reach into your mind with a gentle caress, find the fears that lay delicately in the folds of your thoughts, and turn them into a horrifying reality.

But when Fortuna is captured by two goblins who intend to sell her to the highest bidder, she is freed by a strange faerie that offers her a deal she can’t refuse. He knows where her brother is, who disappeared two years prior, and he can take her to where he is being held if she agrees to just one thing: to be his mate.

It’s loaded with dark faeries, twisted games, manipulation, and guys…it is HOT!

(See my review here)

6. Restless Slumber (Fortuna Sworn, Book 2) by K.J. Sutton

Genre: Adult/Fantasy/Paranormal

OH.MY.SHIT.

This series and this author are going to KILL ME!!!!!!!

If you want your heart ripped out of your chest, read this. If you like having your brain constantly messed with and want to feel completely unsure of who you’re rooting for, read this. If YOU, like staring off into space for 45 minutes after reading a book….READ THIS!

I…I have no words.

Kelsey Sutton is a beautiful monster.

(See my review here)

7. Asking For It by Louise O’Neill

Genre: YA/Contemporary/Feminism

I have wanted this book for SO long guys. SO LONG!

You know I can’t help myself when it comes to books that will make me crumble, but I especially can’t help myself when said books are feminist fiction. It’s like a nicely aged bottle of heroin, I just want it and I want it now.

Asking For It is about a girl named Emma O’Donovan who wakes up on her porch after a party with little memory of the night before, or how she got home. After messaging the boys she recalled being with, and getting no reply in return, Emma soon finds out there explicit pictures and videos of her online from the night before.

Hoping that everything will go away and not wanting it to become an issue, Emma claims that she was in on it all and the boys are innocent. But as time goes on, Emma’s feelings on the night changes, and everyone has an opinion on what happened.

*Sigh*…this one hit the feels.

(My review will be up tomorrow – 2/29)

8. One Foot in the Grave (The Mortician’s Daughter, Book 1) by C.C. Hunter

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Paranormal-Ghosts

I’m sure most of you, like me, had read the Shadow Falls series by C.C. Hunter and loved it. A camp for supernatural teens with murder and romance? Perfection!

So when I saw that she had released another YA Fantasy/Paranormal series about the daughter of a MORTICIAN *happy squeal* I just knew I had to read it! One Foot in the Grave was about how ghosts follow Riley Smith’s father home from the morgue in search of her, asking for help.

And going into it, I totally expected the mushy forbidden romance and the dramatic teenage angst riddled banter between characters. I was ready for a hot ghost boy, a girl with some home issues and a little murder/mystery to spice up my week.

But UGH! I’m surprised my eyes don’t have a permanent twitch to them due to the constant eye-rolls and half-lidded cringes that were racking through my body while reading.

Definitely targeted for the pre-teen rather than the young adult.

9. The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

Genre: YA/Contemporary

So I am currently demolishing The One Memory of Flora Banks and it is SO good, guys!!

Flora Banks developed anterograde amnesia when she was 10 after having a tumor removed from her brain. She can remember everything up to the surgery, but now at 17, she has trouble retaining any information/people/places. She relies on her best friend Riley who she knew before her surgery, and writes messages on her arms and leaves post-it notes everywhere of things she needs to remember.

But one night she kisses Drake, her best friend’s boyfriend, and she can remember it.

I am fully expecting this to end in a really sad and heartbreaking way, because I’m less than 100 pages in and I am already wanting to snatch Flora up and give her a hug! The author completely captures the confusion of Flora’s situation and the struggle to lead a normal life.

But I suspect foul play from everyone! I swear, if someone hurts her, I am tearing the world apart.

(Keep a look out for my review)

10. Bone Crier’s Moon (Bone Grace, Book 1) by Kathryn Purdie

Release Date: March 3, 2020

Genre: YA/Fantasy

I am also currently in the middle of Bone Crier’s Moon which releases March 3rd, and it is amazing so far!

Here’s the scoop if you didn’t see my last Bindings post: There’s this group/family of women called Leurress who are tasked with escorting the dead by ferry to the Heavens or the Underworld. But in order to have the strength and power to do this, they must acquire three “grace bones” that they must take from animals they kill themselves. From these bones the Leurress are given the graces (powers) of the animals, such as their strength, speed, sight, etc.

Once the Leurress has all her grace bones, she THEN has to lure her “amoure” with a bone flute. Once she snags them, she either has to kill them OR she can stay with them for a year, and THEN kill them.

Obsessed.

(Review to come!)

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Stay Witchy ❤

Binding of Bindings · Book Promo · Book Reviews · Book Wrap-up · Books · Netgalley · New Releases · Reviews · Wrap-Up

Binding of Bindings #17: April Book Wrap-up

May 3, 2019 JenAcideByBibliophile6 Comments

Another month, gone.

Deceased.

Extinct.

Dried up.

Blown away into a wind of little, to no, s**ts given.

It was fun while it lasted, but…

We’re

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~* April Book Wrap-Up *~

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1. White Rose by Kip Wilson

I started this month out in typical fashion…

…with a gut-punch to the heart.

White Rose is a YA Historical Fiction based on the inspiring true story of Sophie Scholl, who became part of an anti-Nazi resistance group. The group was formed in June of 1942 by a group of University of Munich students who protested the Nazi regime and Hitler, by drafting and distributing political resistance leaflets across Germany.

It is a story of bravery and conviction.

But one of the most beautiful aspects of this story is that it is written entirely in poetry.

It is heartbreaking and daunting, but it will make your heart soar and make you feel happy to know people like this exist in the world.

A REALIZATION

…

Our deaths
Will mean
Something.

The world will react,
And someday
Someone
Will punish
The people
Who are doing
These terrible things.

The ribbon widens,
Flooding
My mind
With a river of hope.

(See my review here)

2. Stars in the Winter Sky by Michael Duda

Michael Duda is one of my FAVORITE authors, and thank the cauldron, he is FINALLY writing a full-length book.

Michael is known for his dark, eerie and somewhat twisted short stories. They each shine a light on human nature, the good and the bad. But his latest short story, Stars in the Winter Sky, comes with a lighter tone.

It is about two women who venture into the woods in search of the Winter Revelers, a group of people that would come once a year to celebrate the Snowfall. But one year, only two people come back, and the others were lost forever.

Just like every Michael Duda’s story, Stars in the Winter Sky will make you think. This tale is beautiful and breathtaking, and definitely worth a read.

(See my review here)

3. Killing November (Book 1) by Adriana Mather

This…is where my April went from a fast-paced roller coaster…

to an aimless stumble in the dark.

Killing November wasn’t horrible for me, but it definitely let me down. I had VERY high hopes for this story, I even bought the hardcover on release day (even though I received a copy from Netgalley) because I knew it was a book I was SURE to love.

The story follows November as she arrives at Academy Absconditi, a place for students to train to be assassins and spies. Classes range from Knife Throwing, Poisons and the Art of Deception. But November has no idea why she is at this school, why her father would send her to such a place where every move and conversation is calculated and part of a game. So when dead bodies start turning up around the school, November is forced to learn more about her past and who she really is.

My issue with this story was the main character. She acted like a deer in headlights for 80% of the story, but during a class she would suddenly turn arrogant and pompous. It was such a confusing thing to have her go from timid to annoyingly confident, and back and forth. The romance had a strange pacing, and the entire story was sort of dull.

It was SO hard to get through this book, and it’s definitely the cause of why I didn’t get to read as many books this month as I hoped. Though I am in the minority on my opinion for Killing November, I’m sticking to my guns and my rating.

I mean honestly, 3 stars was generous.

(See my review here)

4. Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton

SMOKE AND KEY!!!!!!!!!!

It’s dark.

It’s Gothic.

It’s Romantic.

And it’s about dead people.

What more could you ask for?!?

It starts with a young woman waking up in a place of darkness. She learns that she is dead and has fallen out of her grave to a place called Under, a place that is neither Heaven nor Hell. Each inhabitant of Under is named by the possession they wake up with – Key, Smoke, Ribbon, Doll, Journal. But the problem is that nobody can remember their past lives, who they are, or how they died. Except Key. As she starts to regain the memories from her life, she begins to realize there is a much bigger reason for why she and the people of Under are stuck.

Smoke and Key is mysterious, creepy, sad, uplifting, depressing and just downright EVERYTHING! I am STILL so crushed that I can’t dive into this story to wear the corsets and creep around in Under. I am SO in love with this book.

Kelsey Sutton is life.

(See my review here)

5. Zombie Dog ( Book 3) by Doug Goodman

My last read of April, and it was a brilliant one!

This is the third book in the Zombie Dog series by Doug Goodman, and BY FAR, my favorite one yet.

The Zombie Dog series follows Angie Graves, who trained Cadaver Dogs to work with the police in searches. But when giant wasps are discovered to be attaching themselves to the heads of corpses, creating zombies, Angie transitions her field to train her dog Murder to be a zombie tracker. This installment follows Angie and Murder as they work in Houston, Ground Zero for the Zombies outbreak.

Zombie Dog is dark, gritty and twisted. I was sweating, I was cringing and I most definitely was flopping around in my chair wishing the horrors would JUST END!

But naturally, above all else, I was obsessed.

I am continually blown away by this author. The amount of detail and passion he puts into his writing is unbelievable. His knowledge screams through the pages, and easily immerses the reader in a world that feels all too real.

It was easy throwing five stars at this book.

(See my review here)

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April may not have been my BEST month ever in terms of numbers, but it was filled with almost all winners!

But April is gone, and May is bringing new stories!

I’m stuffed to the broom with exciting reads for May, and my current read is AMAZING!

Until next time my lovelies, stay witchy! ❤

Binding of Bindings · Book Promo · Book Wrap-up · Books · Netgalley · New Releases · Reviews · Simon and Schuster · Wrap-Up

Binding of Bindings #13: March Book Wrap-Up

April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 JenAcideByBibliophile10 Comments

Another Day, another Week, Another MONTH!

WOOOOO! Can you feel it?

Those Spring vibes!!!

Can you feel it in your bones?! Don’t you wanna just DANCE?!

New Books, new themes, new characters, NEW EVERYTHING!

BYE MARCH! It was nice knowin’ ya!

But we’re leaving you behind and dancing into April like…

But first, let’s recap.

**~~~~~~~*~**

**~ * ~ March Book Wrap-Up ~ * ~**

**~~~~~~~*~**

1. We Set the Dark on Fire (Book 1) by Tehlor Kay Mejia

So I’ll admit, March started off a little bit on the s****y side for me.

BUT, Bad Books + Forced Positive Outlooks = No F****s Given!

We Set the Dark on Fire is set in a world where girls are trained at a young age how best to serve men they are eventually purchased as a wife. In this world, each man has two wives, one for giving him children and the other to be his right hand. The story starts as our main character, Daniela, is approaching graduation and the start of her new life as a Primera, helping her husband and serving him in any way she can. But she has a past she is trying to keep hidden, and to keep her secret she is forced into making a deal with a rebel group. Basically the rest of the story is her acting as a spay…blah blah blah.

It’s not a bad book, I just didn’t really care for it. My mind kept wandering while reading, there was an exaggerated use of detail that took away from the story, and I didn’t connect with any of the characters.

Oh well.

(See my review here)

2. Yesterday I Was the Moon by Noor Unnahar

This book of poetry will make your heart sing.

There are countless poems in here that EVERYONE can connect or relate to. It is a book of poetry for every soul, and it is just so damn beautiful.

Some are uplifting, some are heartbreaking, and some just make you want to do a little dance with hearts in your eyes.

These poems just make you feel GOOD.

Here is one of my favorites:

It only takes

a second or two

to look into their eyes

and decide

whether you’re home

or at just another

perfectly decorated house

Okay…one more.

You’re the moon

and the world is

a lonely wolf; it cries

at the sight of you

for you are glorious

and so out of reach

3. Bloodleaf (Book 1) by Crystal Smith

What a lovely beginning of March it was.

Like a roller coaster.

First it went down, then it went up.

And then, it went down again.

Bloodleaf is the retelling of “The Goose Girl” and has royals, magic, murder and…a pacing that is way too fast for a series.

It is about a young girl named Aurelia, who is the princess of Renalt. In Renalt, anyone who is suspected of wielding magic or being a witch is put to death. So when the secret comes out the Aurelia is…UH Oh…a witch, she is forced to leave. The destination? The kingdom of Achleva, where the prince she is betrothed to resides.

Along the way her traveling party turns against her, her “friend” takes her place as the princess, and they leave her for dead. The rest of the story is how she makes her way into Achleva, meets a mysterious guy named Zan, and they both try to save the kingdom.

For me, the story went WAY too fast considering it is supposed to be a series. I wanted the author to drag out scenes more, help me get to know the characters better, have a CONNECTION. But no such luck.

(See my review here)

4. As Directed (A Maggie O’Malley Mystery, Book 3) by Kathleen Valenti

Oh s**t, we’re back in it!

Toss out EVERY one of those other Suspense Thrillers you have collecting dust on your over-stuffed shelves!

Allow Kathleen Valenti to come into your life, fill you with snarky characters, bask you in the sunlight of witty metaphors and countless twists and turns.

Obviously, this is the third book in this series. Did I read books 1 and 2? No, not yet. But was it necessary to read this WoNDERFUL book.

No.

It is the story of Maggie O’Malley as she starts her new career as a pharmacy technician. One day while walking down the aisles, she trips over an unconscious body, who eventually is pronounced dead. But it starts to get strange when two more bodies are found unconscious in an aisle. Soon the media leaks that there may be a series of poisonings affecting customers. The story continues with Maggie searching for clues as to who the culprit is, and finding some seriously scary stuff along the way.

It is FANTASTIC, please read it. Your inner sleuth begs you.

(See my review here)

5. Girls with Sharp Stick (Book 1) by Suzanne Young

My March just kept getting BETTER and BETTER!

My dreams came true, and Simon and Schuster sent me a physical ARC of Girls with Sharp Sticks for review…and let me just say…I almost died.

Of EXCITEMENT!

This book, was

It is set in a future that is basically the present, but…sort of the future.

At Innovations Academy, young women are bred for perfection. They are taught manners, to stay in top physical form, and above all else, to be obedient. The girls at Innovations Academy listen to EVERYTHING the men who run the academy tell them, because naturally, they know best. But when one of the girls starts to act out, it starts a chain reaction and many girls start to realize that what they see and know is only the surface of what is really going on.

I know that’s vague. But this book is anything but.

It touches on BIG issues that women face on a daily basis. It will hurt your soul to watch these characters be belittled and hurt, but you will have an overwhelming sense of empowerment by the end.

(See my review here)

6. Alarum (Walking Shadows, Book 1) by Talis Jones

Allow me to introduce you to the reason for my new obsession with Dystopian Westerns.

The U.S. has fallen, and in its wake is a lawless country. Children have been ripped from their families, pushed into Corrals, trained to be soldiers and slaves, and then sold to the highest bidder. This story follows a girl with many names, as she traverses this new world and tries to make sense of it.

It is EVERYTHING I could hope for in a Dystopian Western. As a lover of Mad Max, this story is just dripping in female badassery that closely embodies the goddess Imperator Furiosa.

I am currently Beta reading for book 2 in the series (YAY) and I cannot wait to finish it. This series is going to be addicting and so enjoyable to read!

(See my review here)

7. The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

I haven’t done my review for this yet, but SOON, I promise.

The Truth About About Alice should be required reading in every high school.

Each chapter switches back and forth between characters, who are all gossiping and talking about Alice. It is a story of rumors, of the cruelty that your peers can bestow on you, and the strength it takes to stand up against it.

I really loved reading this story, and can’t believe I waited this long to get to it!

8. White Rose by Kip Wilson

You might want to cry, but don’t.

White Rose is a book of celebration.

White Rose is based on a true story and follows Sophie Scholl as she joins an anti-Nazi resistance group called, you guessed it, White Rose. It flips back and forth between the “before” and the “end” of her time in the group. With several other German University students, Sophie and the group created leaflets that spoke out against the tyranny and oppression of the Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler.

The group distributed the leaflets all over Germany, in the hopes that it would compel others who craved a Germany that embodied justice, to rise up. Though the story ends with the death of Sophie and Hans School, and Christoph Probst being convicted of treason and sentenced to death; it is a beautiful and inspiring story about young people who stood up when few others would.

But the best aspect of this story, is that the entire book is in poems. It gives each scene and character an incredible voice, and it was SUCH a pleasure and gift to read.

(See my review here)

**~~~~~~~*~**

I hope your March ended as wonderful as mine did!

But that’s in the past!

HELL–O APRIL!!

Stay Witchy!! XoXo

Binding of Bindings · Book Promo · Book Wrap-up · Books · Wrap-Up

Binding of Bindings #8: February Book Wrap-Up

March 1, 2019March 7, 2019 JenAcideByBibliophile16 Comments

binding of bindingsthis

Another month, another list of books devoured and shredded.

We came, we killed, we conquered.

We danced in ball gowns, frolicked in an Asylum, tripped down a rabbit hole, and glided into the Night Court like the Gods and Goddesses we are.

I’d say we did pretty well for our bad selves 😉

**~~~~~~~*~**

February Book Wrap-Up

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Enchantée by Gita Trelease

Enchantee

Enchantée.

*Sigh*…what a DREAM this was!!

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I loved every aspect of getting lost in the world that Gita Trelease created.

A few Sofie Coppola Marie Antoinette vibes, a dash of magic and trickery, a sprinkle of steampunk inspired hot air balloons, and of course the cost on your soul when greed comes seeping in.

This was SUCH a fantastic read about a girl pushing herself to the limits to provide for her family by ways of gambling at Versailles, but was a story of love and not getting swept away in the glitz and glamour.

(See my review here)

A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

a danger to herself and others

If you haven’t seen my review for this book, click here and please enjoy.

THIS. STORY. IS. EVERYTHING.

There seems to be a big theme in 2019 of stories purposefully being described in a vague yet intriguing manner to the reader by way of book synopsis’, but then the book taking a completely different turn and becoming something…truly beautiful and soul-touching.

A Danger to Herself and Others will NOT be what you expect, WILL make you change your opinion of the main character at least 50 times, and WILL make you look at yourself and others in a completely new light full of compassion and love.

Your soul wants you to read this.

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Alice (The Wanderland Chronicles, Book 1) by J.M. Sullivan

Alice

The DUD of the month for me. Tragic as it may be.

I LOVE an “Alice” adaptation/retelling/spin-off. I LIVE for these and make a point to get my hands on all of them.

But book 1 in Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles fell so incredibly flat for me. I found it to be less than inspiring, not attention-grabbing, and a story that needed more muchiness here and even more muchiness there.

The love triangle was silly, and the characters were completely blasé and impossible to connect to.

Truly, it was just a giant pothole in my February reads.

(See my review here)

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

So after that Alice debauchery, I decided that I needed some self-care/self-love.

Naturally…

…I went for my dear love Rhysand.

I think we can all agree that a Fae male that begins as a complete ass dripping in nightmares, but turns out to be a beautiful man made of dreams and sarcasm is just…ALL WE WANT!

This was my third time rereading the A Court of thorns and Roses series, and it won’t be my last. It is my FAVORITE fae/adventure/romance story and one that completely draws me in and keeps me obsessed until the last page.

If you want a series you can binge through, this is it.