January – April Book Haul

Hey bookends,

I haven’t hauled in a long long long time, so I though I would show y’all the books I’ve gotten over the past 4 months.

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January:

I received Roseblood by A.G. Howard from my January Owl Crate (I had a post but the pictures got messed up after I posted it for some reason). I then received a gift card from my family for my birthday so I bought The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz.

 


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February:

This month I got a lot of books. I bought The Merciless by Danielle Vega, Dangerous Deception by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stool, The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, Liar of Dreams by Libba Bray, and The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm,  both by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling). Then in I received Caraval by Stephanie Garber in my February Owl Crate.


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March:

I bought Drama by Raina Telgemeier, It’s Not Like I Planned It This Way by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Uglies: Shay’s Story by Scott Westerfeld, Legend by Marie Luand Gerald’s Game by Stephen King. There is also my March Owl Crate book in this picture but I don’t want to spoil the box before I post it.

 


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April:

I bought Broken Hearts by R.L. Stine, The Bone Labyrinth by James Rollins, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Claire, and  The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey. I also reviewed my April Owl Crate book but, again, I haven’t posted that unboxing.


So that is all the books I have gotten over the past four months. I would love to know if you have read any of these books and if so what you thought of them.

April Wrap Up

Hey Bookends,

So in the past month I have read a total of two books. I did truly enjoy both books and will be posting reviews for them soon. Anyway here they are.


The first book I finished was The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling). I had put this down for awhile but was swept back into the world as soon as I opened it back up. This was an amazing mystery novel which I gave 5/5 stars. 

cuckoosA brilliant mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel’s suicide.

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.


After that I finished Heartless by Marissa Meyer. This novel is a retelling of how the Queen of Hearts came to be. Oh this book, I don’t want to talk too much about it before my review but it had me a every page. I did not see all of the twist and turns it took until I got there. I also gave this 5/5 stars. 

heartlessCatherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.

Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.


So these are the two books I read in the month of April. I truly enjoyed both books and can not wait to continue on with the Corman Strike series. I would love to know what you read over the last month and,  if you read these novels, what you thought about them.

Book Traveling Thursdays

Hey Bookends,

It is time for another Book Traveling Thursday. This is a meme in which you pick a book based off of a theme. After that you pick that you look through all of the different editions and show the original cover, the cover from your home country, your favorite cover, and your least favorite cover. You can go to the goodreads group to find out the weekly themes.

This weeks theme is: a book you loved from a genera you don’t read often. 

For this prompt I picked The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams because I don’t usually read straight humor. Sure, I read some funny books, but never straight humor. Anyway I decided to just show you guys my favorite and lease favorite covers. Here we go.


hitchiker bad

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my least favorite cover. In fact, I absolutely hate this cover. The collage of colors and pictures hurts my eyes and the text gets lost into the background.

 


hitchiker good

 

 

 

 

 

This is my all time favorite cover. Maybe I’m bias because this is the edition I read but I love this. I like that there are only two colors and one graphic on the whole book. Sometimes I think simpler is better when it comes to book covers. This is one of those times.

 


So that is all I have for this post. I would love to know your thoughts on either of these covers for this book and what book you would choose for this topic.

February Owl Crate

I know this is super late but I though that I would show y’all what I got in January’s Owl Crate. The theme for this box was Circus, items inspired by, you guessed it, the circus.  If you would like to know more about the Owl Create subscription service then click the link here.


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First thing I pulled out of the box was this beautiful tote bag inspired by The Night Circus, created by Evie Bookish

 

 

 

 

 


 

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Next came this amazing smelling, candle called Le Cirque des Rêves by Frostbeard Studios. It came with a little book mark, something I always need, has a mix of “Carmel Popcorn, Roasted Chestnuts, and Bonfire fragrances”, and was made especially for Owl Crate. 

 

 

 


Chapstick

 

 

 

Then I grabbed a lip balm by Geek Fire Labs in the flavor, Midway Mini Doughnuts which is delicious. 

 

 

 

 

 


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After that I got this awesome notepad made from recycled casino cards by Attic Journals. 

 

 

 

 

 


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Next I pulled out this adorable page flags bGirl of All Work. There are 5 different designs that I absolutely love. 

 

 

 

 

 


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There was also this little card to download samples of the Carival and Star-Touched audio books. 

 

 

 

 


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Finally I pulled out the book, Caraval by Stephanie Garber!! I don’t know exactly what this is about (I’m trying to avoid spoilers), but I did place it on my top five debuts of 2017. The book came with a letter from the author, a signed bookplate, and an exclusive quote card. 

 

 

 


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And here is the design on the spoiler card and the matching pin .

 

 

 

 

 


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Last but not least we have the spoiler for March’s box. The theme was Sailors and Ships, and Seas. The sneak peak reveals that there will be an item from BoyGirlParty in that box. 

 

 

 


So here is everything in the February box. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you received an owl crate, which item do you think is the best? whole box

May TBR

Hey Bookends,

Today I wanted to share the books I am planning on reading in the month of May. I know I haven’t been very active but I have my last exams at the end of this week so I am almost done with high school! Anyway let’s get straight into the TBR.


Paris wifeThe Paris Wife by Paula McLain:

A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

Summery from Goodreads.


BrothersTwo Brothers by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá: 

Twin brothers Omar and Yaqub may share the same features, but they could not be more different from one another. And the possessive love of their mother, Zana, stirs the troubled waters between them even more. After a brutally violent exchange between the young boys, Yaqub, “the good son,” is sent from his home in Brazil to live with relatives in Lebanon, only to return five years later as a virtual stranger to the parents who bore him, his tensions with Omar unchanged. Family secrets engage the reader in this profoundly resonant story about identity, love, loss, deception, and the dissolution of blood ties.
 
Set in the port city of Manaus on the riverbanks of the Amazon, Two Brothers celebrates the vibrant life and diversity of Brazil. Based on a work by acclaimed novelist Milton Hatoum, Two Brothers is stunningly reimagined by the award-winning graphic novelists Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá.

Summery from Goodreads.


HarryHarry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling: 

The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

Summery from Goodreads.


HusbandsThe Husband’s Secret by Laine Moriarty:

At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read

My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died…

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.

Summery from Goodreads.


glassGlass by Ellen Hopkins: 

Crank. Glass. Ice. Crystal. Whatever you call it, it’s all the same: a monster. And once it’s got hold of you, this monster will never let you go.

Kristina thinks she can control it. Now with a baby to care for, she’s determined to be the one deciding when and how much, the one calling the shots. But the monster is too strong, and before she knows it, Kristina is back in its grips. She needs the monster to keep going, to face the pressures of day-to-day life. She needs it to feel alive.

Once again the monster takes over Kristina’s life and she will do anything for it, including giving up the one person who gives her the unconditional love she craves — her baby.

The sequel to Crank, this is the continuing story of Kristina and her descent back to hell. Told in verse, it’s a harrowing and disturbing look at addiction and the damage that it inflicts.

Summery from Goodreads.


So those are the books I am planning on reading this month. There are a couple of read-a-thons going on that I may participate in and am really excited about. I would love to know what you guys are reading this month and if you have read any of these books I would love your opinion on them.

Book Traveling Thursdays

Hey Bookends,

It is time for another Book Traveling Thursday. This is a meme in which you pick a book based off of a theme. After that you pick that you look through all of the different editions and show the original cover, the cover from your home country, your favorite cover, and your least favorite cover. You can go to the goodreads group to find out the weekly themes.

This weeks theme is: A book with the original cover as blue 

For this I picked Rumble by Ellen Hopkins. I really enjoyed this novel and it’s characters. This was the first Ellen Hopkins novel that I have read but now that I have read some more, I can truly say I love her writing style. Ellen talks about serious topic but writes in verse so it isn’t as dense. I know that her books seem large but you can get through one in a couple hours. I would strongly recommend her books. Anyway onto the covers; so there are only two covers posted on goodreads for this novel so I will just show you my favorite and lest favorite.


Rumble nice

 

This is my favorite cover. I love all the colors, like a stain glass window, and find it appealing to the eye.

 

 

 

 


rumble

 

 

This was my least favorite cover. Don’t get me wrong, I think it looks nice; however, the bright colored cover grabs my attention more than this.

 

 

 

 

 

 


So that is all I have for this post. I would love to know your thoughts on either of these covers for this book and what book you would choose for this topic.

Book Traveling Thursday

Hey Bookends,

It is time for another Book Traveling Thursday. This is a meme in which you pick a book based off of a theme. After that you pick that you look through all of the different editions and show the original cover, the cover from your home country, your favorite cover, and your least favorite cover. You can go to the goodreads group to find out the weekly themes.

This weeks theme is: A book with a strong female main character. 

For this I picked Anne of Green Gables (goodreads) by L.M. Montgomery. This book is about an orphaned girl who was adopted and moved across the country to join her new family. The book follows her shenanigans as she grows up and experiences things she had never before.


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This is the oldest cover I could find, however it is not the original.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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This is my favorite cover that I found. I like that it only has the one color but many important things from the book surrounding the title.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


ugly

 

 

 

This is my least favorite cover. I don’t like the way that Anne is portrayed, which is kind of weird because I usually like Puffin Classics.

 

 

 

 

 


So that is all I have for this post. I would love to know your thoughts on either of these covers for this book and what book you would choose for this topic. You can follow me on goodreads to see what I am reading. Thanks for reading.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

3/5 stars

Normally, I refuse to read any novel with a dog as a protagonist (blame that on Old Yeller); however, this book was not what I expected it to be. The book follows the life of racecar driver Denny, through the eyes of his beloved dog Enzo, in some of the hardest years of his life. The way it is written in Enzo’s eyes brings some much needed comedy to the book. Enzo is a dog who ungoodreadsderstands the way humans work, seemingly more than the humans around him do, and shares the perspective with the reader. It was also interesting to read an adult novel (due to content and language) written from a dog’s point of view, something I have never seen before. Now I will admit that it was hard for me to get through this book. Since the book focuses on a racecar driver, Enzo talks a lot about racing but he went into too much detail for my tastes. When he would start talking about the specifics of how to drive a race car, my mind would wonder which made it harder for me to get through the book. Other than that, the story line of this novel is amazing. I was gripped at the last 100 pages and couldn’t put the book down. I think this novel is great for all adults to read, especially at hard times in their lives.

You can find a summery of this book on goodreads.

You can also purchase this book on amazon or book depository. 

Book Traveling Thursday

Hey Bookends,

It is time for another Book Traveling Thursday. This is a meme in which you pick a book based off of a theme. After that you pick that you look through all of the different editions and show the original cover, the cover from your home country, your favorite cover, and your least favorite cover. You can go to the goodreads group to find out the weekly themes.

This weeks theme is: A Book that was a Surprise for you.

For this topic I picked The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I picked this book up for my summer reading so I was already dreading it because of that. However when I started reading I was infatuated with the story and character development. I would seriously recommend this to anyone in high school and above, it does contain some mature content.

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This is the original hardback cover and from what I can tell it is also the edition for my home country, the USA.

437129This is my favorite cover. This is a really significant scene in the book and I love the way it was represented.

65438This is my least favorite cover. I don’t like the colors and I think it is just plain ugly.

So that is all I have for this post. I would love to know your thoughts on either of these covers for this book and what book you would choose for this topic. You can follow me on goodreads to see what I am reading. Thanks for reading.

A Tyranny of Petticoats edited by Jessica Spotswood

4/5 stars

This is going to be a shorter post because it is hard for me to review a collection of stories without going by each story one by one and spoiling everything but I will try my hardest. Overall I thought that most of these stories were wonderful. They focuses on “badass girls” through out history. I absolutely loved this concept and thought that most of the authors captured this aspect through different types of women in different eras. Many of the stories I found myself looking for a whole book to continue the story. There were a couple that I did not like; however, you’re bond to get one of those out of 15 stories. I would recommend this book to anyone interested reading about badass women.

You can find a summery of this book on goodreads.

You can also purchase this book on amazon or book depository. 

Once again, sorry this post was so short!