Bout of Books 10 Signup

I love Bout of Books and I think this is my 6th one! I will make a reading list and goals closer to time.


The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Hope you can signup! Thanks to Amanda and Kelly for hosting!

Spring Into Horror Read-a-thon Signup

Spring Into Horror Read-a-thon is hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict and Castle Macabre. The signup link is here. You only have to read one "scary" book which Michelle defines as horror, paranormal, thriller, suspense, or mystery. I usually go with a paranormal or mystery. I usually read quite a bit during Michelle's read-a-thons, so hopefully I can break this reading curse I have been on lately! I will make a reading list closer to time. Thanks to Michelle for hosting!

Stacking the Shelves and Showcase Sunday #7

 

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Showcase Sunday is hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits, and Tea and they are memes for sharing books you've purchased, borrowed, or been sent for review. The books can be physical or e-format. It has been a couple of weeks, since I last did a new books post. I have been trying to read what I own, have for review, or already had checked out at the library. I did purchase three books though. Two are Kindle books and one was a book I had been waiting to purchase in hardcover for a long time!

 

My Name is Rapunzel by KC Hilton I purchased after Rachael's A Month of Rapunzel. I had looked at this book for awhile and after reading all of Rachael's posts, I am inspired to read more retellings!

I picked up The Maze Runner by James Dashner since the movie is being made and all the middle school boys have recommended this one. It was also only $1.99.




So this was the one I had to have in hardcover. Actually I am not for sure it is even available in ebook. I thought the recipes were cute and easy and maybe when my niece( maybe nieces :)) and cousins are a bit older we can make some of these. I want to try Jasmine's Hummus recipe and a few of the drink recipes. I think this would also be cute for a Princess Party and it is probably about time we had another one of those at the library. :)

Hope you all had some great books this week!

April Random Read- Fire Horse Girl

This is a meme hosted by Sarah at imlovingbooks.com. You can choose to use Goodreads or create your own list or use your bookshelves.  The idea is to use random.org and type in the number of books on your list. Whatever number you receive is your random read for the month. I have decided  to use the books on my Kindle as my list. I buy or get free far too many books on my Kindle and then never read them. My current number stands at 441. I have yet to finish last month's book Cruel Beauty, but I am still reading on it and liking it so far. This month's book is number 149 which is Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman. This is a YA historical fiction about Chinese immigrants and what it was like to go to Angel Island and how badly the Chinese were treated in the early 1900s. I haven't read any historical fiction yet this year, so this will be a nice change of pace!

Arthur Levine Books

 

 

Jinx's Magic by Sage Blackwood

This is the second book in the series and there will definitely be a third book. This one will have spoilers for the first book, Jinx. I received this as an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Edelweiss and Katherine Tegen Books!

Katherine Tegen Books

Jinx survived the Bonemaster and his Urwald magic seems to have strengthened from the encounter. He has promised the trees he will get the Terror, Reven, out of the woods and back to his kingdom. Reven and Jinx are accompanied by Elfwyn, who still suffers from her curse. Reven enters his former home, and he hopes soon to be kingdom, and turns his back on Jinx and the Urwald. Jinx is furious at Reven's lack of support over stopping the killing of the trees and Elfwyn sides with Reven. Jinx goes back to the Urwald and finds out Simon is intent on stopping the Bonemaster and sends Jinx to Samaria and Sophie, so that Jinx will be safe. Jinx is to become a Scholar, but the Scholars abhor magic, so he must hide his true self from his new friends and from those in Samaria. Jinx finds out both Sophie and Simon are in trouble and he doesn't know how to help them. Jinx realizes he may have to expose the Urwald in order to save the two people who are like his parents. Meanwhile there is a prophecy about him and he is completely unaware of it.

The end is not necessarily a cliffhanger ending, but some parts of the story are unresolved. I enjoyed this one almost as much as the first and I like seeing Jinx become a stronger although not quite adept wizard and to see him finding his own way. I enjoy Blackwood's world building and you can't help rooting for the Urwald. (No pun intended ;) ). I can't wait until the next installment.

Favorite Character: Jinx. He makes huge mistakes, especially when reporting others' emotions, but he gives second chances and he is loyal to his friends.

Favorite Quotes: I like the humor and simple wisdom of Blackwood's writing.
 "People will believe you are who you pretend to be...as long as you don't give them any reason not to believe it."
"Anything that starts with 'if I had' is always a waste of time. The question is, what are you going to do now?"

There are some really funny parts and really dark parts to the story. The characters are flawed and make mistakes, but they are likeable. This is a great junior fiction series. 5 cups of cocoa!

Snow by Tracy Lynn

This is part of the Once Upon a Time series. The books in the series do not have to be read in any order and there are several authors who write in this series. This one is a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Simon Pulse

Despite being a duchess, Jessica's life has been hard. Her mother died shortly after childbirth and her father blames her for his loss. She was raised by the cook and servants, but her happy childhood is cut short by the arrival of her stepmother. Anne is not a completely bad stepmother in the beginning. She is very interested in science and wants to turn Jessica into a proper lady. Anne uses mysterious means to try to conceive a child and only Alan, her minstrel, knows these means. He is forbidden from speaking the truth by an enchanted necklace and one of his job is to hold her magic mirror as she looks at her youthful beauty. Anne finally snaps when she cannot conceive a child and begins to take out her problems on Jessica. At that point Jessica becomes a servant and is renamed Snow. When her stepmother decides to take the most drastic measure of all, Snow flees to the city and meets the Lonely Ones, people who have animal body parts. The Lonely Ones grow to love Snow and try to protect her from her past and from her stepmother, who may not be finished with Snow.

I loved the twists with the Lonely Ones and with the stepmother being a scientist of sorts instead of just a witch. I did not see the romance coming in this book, so that was a nice surprise. This is my first book by Tracy Lynn and I enjoyed her writing!

Favorite Characters: Jessica/Snow. She is loyal and loving and willing to give second chances.

Favorite Quote: "My whole life I've searched for... another world, with adventures, and magic, and now that I have had a taste- I want to see more."

I love this series and this was a great addition. 4 cups of cocoa!

Take Control of Your TBR Pile Wrapup

The Take Control of Your TBR Pile is hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. Well I did finish a few books on my TBR. I read and reviewed Flora & Ulysses by Kate Dicamillo, which was really cute and heartwarming. I also finished and reviewed Dark Frost and am still loving this series! I also read Snow and Attachments and hope to review them soon. I fell one short of my goal, but I did read 5 books last month. The other book was not on my TBR list, but I needed a 5th/6th grade read. I read the Case of Origami Yoda, which was hilarious and perfect for that age group. Thanks again to Kimba for hosting and I hope you all knocked out some TBR books!