carefulofbooks: April 2017

Thursday, 27 April 2017

Review #24 - Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Details:

Title: Flame in the Mist

Author: Renee Ahdieh

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton

ISBN 13: 978-1473664425

Synopsis:

Mariko has always known that being a woman means she's not in control of her own fate. But Mariko is the daughter of a prominent samurai and a cunning alchemist in her own right, and she refuses to be ignored. When she is ambushed by a group of bandits known as the Black Clan enroute to a political marriage to Minamoto Raiden - the emperor's son - Mariko realises she has two choices: she can wait to be rescued... or she can take matters into her own hands, hunt down the clan and find the person who wants her dead.

Disguising herself as a peasant boy, Mariko infiltrates the Black Clan's hideout and befriends their leader, the rebel ronin Ranmaru, and his second-in-command, Okami. Ranmaru and Okami warm to Mariko, impressed by her intellect and ingenuity. But as Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she uncovers a dark history of secrets that will force her to question everything she's ever known.

Review:

Details:

Title: The One Memory of Flora Banks

Author: Emily Barr

Publisher: Penguin

ISBN 13: 978-0141368511

Synopsis:

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO TO TRUST WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN TRUST YOURSELF?

I look at my hands. One of them says FLORA BE BRAVE.

Flora has anterograde amnesia. She can't remember anything day-to-day: the joke her friend made, the instructions her parents gave her, how old she is.

Then she kisses someone she shouldn't, and the next day she remembers it. It's the first time she's remembered anything since she was ten.

But the boy is gone. She thinks he's moved to the Arctic.

Will following him be the key to unlocking her memory? Who can she trust?

Review:

Details:

Title: Gemina

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Publisher: Rock the Boat

ISBN 13: 978-1780749815

Synopsis:

Hanna Donnelly is the station captain’s pampered daughter and Nik Malikov is the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. Together they struggle with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, blissfully unaware that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall with news of the Kerenza invasion

Review:

Details:

Title: Strange the Dreamer

Author: Laini Taylor

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

ISBN 13: 978-1444788983

Synopsis:

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around - and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries - including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Review:

Whimsify April 2017 Unboxing

So this post is the unboxing of the April 2017 Whimsify box (What follows will contain spoilers so please do not read if you don't want to know what is in the box)

Whimsify is a monthly subscription box for lovers of young adult fantasy and sci-fi books which contains a new release as well as 4-6 high quality bookish items that go with the theme.

The theme for the month of April was More than Machine (Spoiler filled post under the cut)

April 2017 Unboxing - May the odds be ever in your favour by Bookworm candles & crafts

So this post is going to be an unboxing of the April 2017 Bookworm candles and craft box (What follows will contain spoilers so please do not read if you don't want to know what is in the box)

Bookworm candles and craft box is a monthly subscription box which contains 6-8 bookish related items always including a candle, soap or body product and other surprise items all pertaining to the theme.

The theme for the month of April was May the odds be ever in your favour. (Spoiler filled post under the cut)

Book Box Club Unboxing

In this post I am going to be unboxing the April 2017 Book Box Club box. (What follows will contain spoilers so please do not read if you don't want to know what is in the box)

Book Box Club is a monthly book subscription box. Each month you receive a specially selected YA book release and 2-4 hand picked goodies which fit in with the theme. Book Box Club also hosts a members only online book club where subscribers get a chance to chat to each other as well as the author about the book.

The theme this month was Belles and Beasts. (Spoiler filled post under the cut)

Details:

Title: The Chemist

Author: Stephanie Meyer

Publisher: Sphere

ISBN 13: 978-0751567670

Synopsis:

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realises it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires makes her situation even more dangerous.

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.

Review:

Details:

Title: Bloodline

Author: Claudia Gray

Publisher: Arrow

ISBN 13: 978-0099594284

Synopsis:

WITNESS THE BIRTH OF THE RESISTANCE

When the Rebellion defeated the Empire in the skies above Endor, Leia Organa believed it was the beginning to a lasting peace. But after decades of vicious infighting and partisan gridlock in the New Republic Senate, that hope seems like a distant memory.

Now a respected senator, Leia must grapple with the dangers that threaten to cripple the fledgling democracy―from both within and without. Underworld kingpins, treacherous politicians, and Imperial loyalists are sowing chaos in the galaxy. Desperate to take action, senators are calling for the election of a First Senator. It is their hope that this influential post will bring strong leadership to a divided galaxy.

As the daughter of Darth Vader, Leia faces with distrust the prospect of any one person holding such a powerful position―even when supporters suggest Leia herself for the job. But a new enemy may make this path Leia’s only option. For at the edges of the galaxy, a mysterious threat is growing…

Review:

Details:

Title: Conjuror

Author: John and Carole Barrowman

Publisher: Head of Zeus

ISBN 13: 978-1781856376

Synopsis:

There are three things in this world that seventeen-year-old Rémy would guard with his life: his gold pendant, his blues harmonica and his mother's journal. This is all he has left of his murdered family. And he believes these objects will lead him to their killers.

Rémy can't hunt them down alone. He needs Matt and Em Calder, twins who can bring art to life and travel through paintings. For, like them, Rémy has supernatural powers. He is a Conjuror, descendant of an ancient bloodline that can change reality with music.

Review:

Review #17 - Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Details:

Title: Illuminae

Author: Jay Kristoff and Amie Kauffman

Publisher: Rock the Boat

ISBN 13: 978-1780748375

Synopsis:

The year is 2575 and two mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice covered speck. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them Ezra and Kady have to make their escape on the evacuating fleet. But their troubles are just beginning. A deadly plague has broken out on one of the space ships and it is mutating with terrifying results. Their ships protection is seriously flawed. No one will say what is going on.

As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth its clear only one person can help her. Ezra. And the only problem with that is they split up before all this trouble started and she isn’t supposed to be talking to him.

Review:

March Wrap Up and April TBR

So in March 2017 I managed to read a total of 7 books. I am very pleased with this, it was my aim to read 6 in March so I beat that although I didn't manage my March TBR. I still need to read King's Cage and Wintersong. Oops.

In order of reading I completed A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows and A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab, then I read Vicious by VE Schwab, Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Conjuror by John and Carole Barrowman.

I completely and utterly fell in love with Schwab's writing style and the Darker Shades trilogy has become my favourite. I also really enjoyed Vicious which was very different to the trilogy but also really good. Illuminae was a fun read, the concept was really unique and I actually found it a quick read. I listened to A Monster Calls on audiobook read by Jason Isaacs and it was a really moving story.

So in April I am going to aim for 5 books just because I have a few different events happening so I might not get as many read. I am currently reading Bloodline by Claudia Gray and listening to The Chemist by Stephanie Meyer on audiobook. I plan on reading Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman, Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor and This Savage Song by VE Schwab.