Saturday, December 30, 2017

Book Review: A Study in Scarlet Women


A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh no, I accidentally read a MYSTERY! What happened? I hate mysteries ... only, this was pretty good. Whoops, I guess I shouldn't just lump everything together into the dislike pile ;)

A Study in Scarlet Women was somehow on my TBR and so I checked it out at the library. I was at least 50 pages in before I realized that it was a mystery and I was already so obsessed with Charlotte's awesomeness that I couldn't just stop reading because it was outside of my genre comfort zone!

This was a delightful retelling of Sherlock Holmes with Charlotte as protagonist and somehow kept me enraptured throughout the story even though I really didn't care about the mystery that was unfolding.

The solving of the mystery was a little icky for my tastes, I can't say why without major SPOILERS, so I'll leave it at that.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Looking back in 2017


Check out everything I read this year on GoodReads

So, this year I missed my goal big time. I mean, 80 was a lofty goal, I get it, most people wouldn't set their sights that high. But, I really thought I could do it. I mean, in 2016 I read 70 books, this goal was only a little higher. However, it wasn't meant to be. As of this moment I've read 53 books.

However, I'm proud of that 53 because a LOT has happened this year that cut into my reading time and I'm looking forward to seeing more reading time that EVER in 2018.

So, did you make your goals? What was your favorite book you read this year? Let me know!

Book Review: The Rose & the Dagger


The Rose & the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So, if we are going to talk about what I love in a story we would need to talk about richness. Richness of description, of the world, of the characters. I love when something is vivid, when you can feel it, touch it, taste it along with the characters.

At one point in the story a mosaic table is described as if the creator had taken something beautiful and smashed it to make something less so. That line, and so many others, made me pause because it was so fantastic. Lines like that are written by gifted authors. (Note: not a direct quote, I can't find the direct quote, but it's awesome).

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Book Review: The Wrath and the Dawn

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was good, it was really good. I'm surprised, but I don't remember why I thought it would be disappointing.

When this book first came out I remember deciding it had an amazing cover, but was going to be terrible. Maybe someone told me they didn't like it. Maybe I had just read that awful Aladdin retelling and couldn't handle picking up anything even remotely similar. Maybe I got it confused with something else.

Honestly, I'm not even sure now why I decided to give it a shot, I don't think I'd ever even read the jacket flap.

Anyway, I love the hinted Arabian Nights theme throughout the story that was lovely without being overt. Why do authors feel like they have to re-write great works? Alluding to them is much more magical.

Friday, December 22, 2017

Book Review: Assasin's Heart


Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book reads like a knock-off of Throne of Glass. I love Throne of Glass, I enjoyed this. But if you compare the two, this one comes up lacking. Lacking world building, lacking character development, suffering from a rushed plot.

I picked this up simply because it was available on Overdrive and I needed something since Playster is down right now. The story was good, at least, it was interesting. I never wanted to stop reading, but between overused phrases and weak characters, there were points I struggled through.

Lea belongs to a family of assassins who kill under the game of their god. This is an interesting plot line. She loves a boy and it is a very Romeo and Juliet story. Which is actually where I thought this story was going ... but it wasn't. That isn't a spoiler, because it happens within the first 30 pages of the story.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Hi, is this thing on?

Hi, hi hello! My last post to the blog was in February. Yes, February of this year, still it feels like an eon ago. Here is an update from my part of the world.

1. I'm desperately behind on my reading list ... there is zero chance of me making my goal. Alas.

2. I quit my job. Yep, Lizz the Librarian is, technically, no longer a librarian. At least, not one who is employed at al library.

3. I started selling LuLaRoe, which is fabulous, and leaves me so much more time to read.

I guess that's the big news from this year. I'm sure many more important things happened since February, but I can't think of one that over shadow those tidbits. So, anyway, my goals are to get back to blogging, and reading, because, wowza I'm behind. Plus, I might be changing the name of the blog, but I'm not 100% decided on that just yet.

Any who, hello to my faithful friends, I'm sure I'll be seeing you more soon <3 nbsp="" p="">

Monday, February 27, 2017

All the Books You Need To Read in 2017: March Edition

29 books coming out in March 2017

Links to go Goodreads. I've marked which ones are on my personal TBR and which I've preordered (I'm trying to keep this under control, lol).

Monday, February 6, 2017

Book Review: Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young

Stay tonight. Stay forever.

When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.

Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn’t have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.

The more Audrey learns about the new people she’s met, the more her curiosity grows. She’s torn in different directions—the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between life in a place that is so much more than it seems…

Welcome to the Ruby.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Book Review: A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

Welcome to a new YA series that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways. Each book asks the question: What if one key moment from a familiar Disney film was changed? This dark and daring version of Aladdin twists the original story with the question: What if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie? 

When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish.To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.


Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Book Review: Glitter by Aprilynne Pike

Outside the palace of Versailles, it’s modern day. Inside, the people dress, eat, and act like it’s the eighteenth century—with the added bonus of technology to make court life lavish, privileged, and frivolous. The palace has every indulgence, but for one pretty young thing, it’s about to become a very beautiful prison.
When Danica witnesses an act of murder by the young king, her mother makes a cruel power play . . . blackmailing the king into making Dani his queen. When she turns eighteen, Dani will marry the most ruthless and dangerous man of the court. She has six months to escape her terrifying destiny. Six months to raise enough money to disappear into the real world beyond the palace gates.
Her ticket out? Glitter. A drug so powerful that a tiny pinch mixed into a pot of rouge or lip gloss can make the wearer hopelessly addicted. Addicted to a drug Dani can sell for more money than she ever dreamed.
But in Versailles, secrets are impossible to keep. And the most dangerous secret—falling for a drug dealer outside the palace walls—is one risk she has to take.

Monday, January 30, 2017

All the YA Books You Need in 2017: February Edition

36 books coming out in February 2017

Links to go Goodreads. I've marked which ones are on my personal TBR and which I've preordered (I'm trying to keep this under control, lol).

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Book Review: The Problem With Forever by Jennifer Armentrout

For some people, silence is a weapon. For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield. Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime.

Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day.

It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with the lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory faces a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard.

Book Review: A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

I am Henrietta Howel. The first female sorcerer. The prophesied one. Or am I?

Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. When she is brought to London to train with Her Majesty's sorcerers, she meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, young men eager to test her powers and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. As Henrietta discovers the secrets hiding behind the glamour of sorcerer life, she begins to doubt that she's the true prophesied one. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city--and the one she loves? ...

Thursday, January 26, 2017

All the Books You Need to Read in 2017: January Edition


35 books coming out in January 2017

Links to go Goodreads. I've marked which ones are on my personal TBR and which I've preordered (I'm trying to keep this under control, lol).

Book Review: The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas

In a pursuit that has spanned continents, Iolanthe, Titus, and their friends have always managed to remain one step ahead of the forces of Atlantis. But now the Bane, the monstrous tyrant who bestrides the entire mage world, has issued his ultimatum: Titus must hand over Iolanthe, or watch as his entire realm is destroyed in a deadly rampage. Running out of time and options, Iolanthe and Titus must act decisively to deliver a final blow to the Bane, ending his reign of terror for good.

However, getting to the Bane means accomplishing the impossible—finding a way to infiltrate his crypt in the deepest recesses of the most ferociously guarded fortress in Atlantis. And everything is only made more difficult when new prophecies come to light, foretelling a doomed effort…

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Book Review: Everland by Windy Spinale

Publisher's Summary: The only way to grow up is to survive.

London has been destroyed in a blitz of bombs and disease. The only ones who have survived the destruction and the outbreak of a deadly virus are children, among them sixteen-year-old Gwen Darling and her younger siblings, Joanna and Mikey. They spend their nights scavenging and their days avoiding the deadly Marauders—the German army led by the cutthroat Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer.

Unsure if the virus has spread past England’s borders but desperate to leave, Captain Hook is on the hunt for a cure, which he thinks can be found in one of the surviving children. He and his Marauders stalk the streets snatching children for experimentation. None ever return ...

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Book Bingo 2017


Okay, I couldn't resist this year! Book Bingo is late, but ready to go! Read along with me on Instagram @lizzthelibrarain. 

I'm reading 80 books this year, you can follow along with my progress on GoodReads

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Reading Goals for 2017


So, have you set your reading goal for 2017? I like to track on GoodReads :) I find that setting a goal encourages me to read throughout the year - instead of doing something boring like watching more television (I used to never watch TV, I don't know what happened).

Anyway, this year I'm setting my reading goal at 80 books. It seems like A LOT, but after pretty easily reading 70 last year, I think that I can push myself with this challenge in 2017. Plus, I hear the 80's will be trending this year, so I'll jump on that bandwagon.