Review #107 – Caraval

Caraval by Stephanie Garber
Rating: 3 Stars
Series: Caraval, #1
Length: 407 Pages
Purchase: [Amazon] | [Barnes & Noble]

Synopsis:
Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

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Amazon’s 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime Tag

It appears that on Amazon, they have a list of 100 Books that you should read in a life time. I discovered this through a post on Travel in Retrospect, and I figured to give the tag a try. I was curious to see how many of the books I read and haven’t read yet.

How to Play:
1. Include a link back to Amazon’s official 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime 
2. Tag Perfectly Tolerable, the creator of this meme
3. Tag the person who nominated you.
4. Copy the list of books and indicate which titles you have read.
5. Tally up your total.
6. Comment on the post you were tagged in and share your total count.
7. Tag five new people and comment on one of their posts to let them know.

The Sunday Post – April 21st

Welcome to The Sunday Post, which is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This is a chance to recap the previous week and announce anything for the upcoming week. You can talk about whatever you want in this post as well.

Review #106 – Been Here All Along

Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall
Rating: 3 Stars
Series: Standalone
Length: 242 Pages
Purchase: [Amazon] | [Barnes & Noble]

Synopsis:
Gideon always has a plan. His plans include running for class president, becoming head of the yearbook committee and having his choice of colleges. They do not include falling head over heels for his best friend and next-door neighbour, Kyle. It’s a distraction. It’s pointless, as Kyle is already dating the gorgeous and popular head cheerleader, Ruby. And Gideon doesn’t know what to do . . .

Kyle finally feels like he has a handle on life. He has a wonderful girlfriend, a best friend willing to debate the finer points of Lord of the Rings, and social acceptance as captain of the basketball team. Then, both Ruby and Gideon start acting really weird, just as his spot on the team is threatened, and Kyle can’t quite figure out what he did wrong . . .

The Sunshine Blogger Award #2!

The Day’s Even Brighter Today!

I would like to thank Amy over at Amiiie’s Books for nominating me for my second Sunshine Blogger Award! Check out her blog!

What is The Sunshine Blogger Award?
The Sunshine Blogger Award is given to those who are creative, positive and inspiring, while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

Shelf Shakeup Pt. 1

Have you ever had that time where you look at your shelves and determine it’s time to go through them on what to keep and what to remove? Those shelves can get big and interests can change over time on specific books. The other day, I decided that it has been way to long without going through my GoodReads shelf. I decided it was time to do some Shelf Shakeup! As I went through, I made notes on each book I pulled up that I wasn’t sure and what decision I made for the said book.

Five Kingdoms by Brandon Mull
Five Kingdoms, #5

Shelf: Want to Read
Decision: Moved to Uninterested Sequels Shelf

 

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy
Stand-alone

Shelf: Want to Read
Decision: Moved to Loss of Interest Shelf

Can’t Wait Wednesday – April 18th

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings. The aim of the post is to select a book, usually upcoming, that you can’t wait to read and discuss it.

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

Synopsis:
Dexter meets This Savage Song in this dark fantasy about a girl sells magical body parts on the black market — until she’s betrayed.Nita doesn’t murder supernatural beings and sell their body parts on the internet—her mother does that. Nita just dissects the bodies after they’ve been “acquired.” But when her mom brings home a live specimen, Nita decides she wants out — dissecting living people is a step too far.

But when she tries to save her mother’s victim, she ends up sold on the black market in his place — because Nita herself is a supernatural being. Now Nita is on the other side of the bars, and there is no line she won’t cross to escape and make sure no one can ever capture her again.

Nita did a good deed, and it cost her everything. Now she’s going to do a lot of bad deeds to get it all back.

The Sunday Post – April 15th

Welcome to The Sunday Post, which is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This is a chance to recap the previous week and announce anything for the upcoming week. You can talk about whatever you want in this post as well.

Review #105 – The Magicians

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Rating: 3 Stars
Series: The Magicians, #1
Length: 428 Pages
Purchase: [Amazon] | [Barnes & Noble]

Synopsis:
Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.

He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin’s fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart.

At once psychologically piercing and magnificently absorbing, The Magicians boldly moves into uncharted literary territory, imagining magic as practiced by real people, with their capricious desires and volatile emotions. Lev Grossman creates an utterly original world in which good and evil aren’t black and white, love and sex aren’t simple or innocent, and power comes at a terrible price.

Awesome Blogger Award!

I’ve been tagged in a lot of awards/book tags posts and I have fallen behind of completing  them. Each week from now on, I’ll be completing one of these posts until I am all done.

This award was created by Maggie @ Dreaming of Guatemala for bloggers who “have beautiful blogs, are kind and lovely, and always find a way to add happiness and laughter to the lives of their readers.”

Here are the rules:

• Thanks the person that nominated you. Thank you Reader in the Attic
• Include the reason behind the award
• Answer the question
• Nominate some bloggers
• Give you nominees 10 question to answer.