Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Almost Summer Bookhaul!

Hi guys!

So, the sun is shining over here (mostly...it's been rainy these past few days). And what does the sun make me want to do?

Now, the standard answer would be "buy books to read outside." However, if you've been sticking around with me for these past 2 years, you'll know that I'm an interesting person in the sense I dislike the heat. So when the sun is bright and the temperatures are bringing to soar, for me it's the absolutely perfect weather to be sprawled out comfortably in my room, nose buried in a book. (Please believe me when I say I have good reasons for disliking heat.)

Regardless! Sun = perfect time to read books = books = book haul!

So without further ado (no games this time either, as fun as it was last time), allow me to present my latest beauties :)






Monday, May 29, 2017

Guest Post by Inkitt: Online Platforms - Alternative Publishing Routes

Hi guys!

Do you know of the online publishing platform Inkitt? They're an online reader-powered book publisher. I recently was given the honour of being in contact with them and having them on my blog for a guest post regarding online publishing, specifically towards YA! Given that I know there are a lot of aspiring writers out there, I figured this would be a pretty beneficial post for all of us, perking many people's interest (mine included!). 

Without further ado, here's Inkitt's guest post on "How the Internet Is Opening Up Publishing For Hobby Writers to Distribute Their Work." I definitely enjoyed and learned a lot from this post; I hope you guys do too!


Thursday, May 18, 2017

Review: The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows

Book: The Mirror King
Author: Jodi Meadows
Series: The Orphan Queen #2 (final)
Genre: YA fantasy
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Release: April 5th, 2016
Pages: 531



Wilhelmina has a hundred enemies.

HER FRIENDS HAVE TURNED. After her identity is revealed during the Inundation, Princess Wilhelmina is kept prisoner by the Indigo Kingdom, with the Ospreys lost somewhere in the devastated city. When the Ospreys’ leader emerges at the worst possible moment, leaving Wil’s biggest ally on his deathbed, she must become Black Knife to set things right. 

HER MAGIC IS UNCONTROLLABLE. Wil’s power is to animate, not to give true life, but in the wraithland she commanded a cloud of wraith mist to save herself, and later ordered it solid. Now there is a living boy made of wraith—destructive and deadly, and willing to do anything for her.

HER HEART IS TORN. Though she’s ready for her crown, declaring herself queen means war. Caught between what she wants and what is right, Wilhelmina realizes the throne might not even matter. Everyone thought the wraith was years off, but already it’s destroying Indigo Kingdom villages. If she can’t protect both kingdoms, soon there won’t be a land to rule.

In this stunning conclusion to THE ORPHAN QUEEN, Jodi Meadows follows Wilhelmina’s breathtaking and brave journey from orphaned criminal on the streets to magic-wielding queen.





Monday, May 15, 2017

Review: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Book: Mistborn (The Final Empire)
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Series: Mistborn (Book 1)
Genre: fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Release: July 25th, 2006
Pages: 667



Once, a hero rose to save the world. He failed.

For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist ruled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably.

Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and defeating the Lord Ruler. A new kind of uprising is being planned—one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine: a teenage street urchin named Vin.

Once, a hero rose to save the world and failed. This time, can a young heroine succeed?





Monday, May 8, 2017

Review: Don't Wake Me Up by M.E. Rhines

Book: Don't Wake Me Up
Author: M.E. Rhines
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA paranormal, contemporary
Source: ebook, author (thank you, M.E.!)
Publisher: Clean Reads
Pages: 169
Release: November 3rd 2016



He’s charming, funny, and incredibly hot. The only problem is, he’s a ghost.
When the chaos of school, her over-reactive mother, and her abusive boyfriend gets to be too much, sixteen-year-old Colleen turns to astral projection to escape it all. In the sanctuary of the astral plane, she mingles with the lost souls of the departed. They all need help to move on to the Summerland, and Colleen never turns down a spirit in need. 

Until she meets Daemon.

With just a glance, Daemon makes her forget all the turmoil back home. The calm is welcome and addictive, but Colleen knows the peace he offers will leave with him once he crosses over, forcing her to make a desperate decision: sever her ties to her physical body, or sabotage his salvation.





Saturday, May 6, 2017

Everything, Everything Book Signing and Movie Screening!

Do you all remember the book Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon? The book that is being turned into a movie starring Amandla Stenberg and Nick Robinson? In a rather sudden and unexpected turn of events, I found myself at a Nicola Yoon book signing two days ago. But it wasn't just any normal book signing...the first 50 people in line received tickets to the advanced viewing of the movie adaptation of Nicola Yoon's book Everything, Everything! And who would have known that luck was on my side?

And so, me and three friends woke ourselves up relatively early and chummed our way to the bookstore where we sat and waited for it to open...

Friday, May 5, 2017

Bookish Musing and Ponderings: Book Hangovers

Welcome to another of my Bookish Ponderings instalments! This is the third one, I believe :D






So from this post, I asked everyone to vote on a topic I should discuss. The answer to the poll was book feels (BOOK FEELS HELP), and though that still is partially the topic, my posted ended up morphing into a discussion about coping with book hangover feels. So I'll just go with it and do a separate Musing and Pondering post on coping with spontaneous book feels another time :)



Wednesday, May 3, 2017

May TBR

Is that Erika? Did she finally escape from the evil clutches of reality (again)?

YES, I DID. THANK THE GODS. Which means I can actually do a proper TBR post (since I haven't done one in ages). Hooray!






Tuesday, May 2, 2017

The Rise of the Dawnstar Blog Tour: Review, Interview, and Giveaway!

Hi guys! Welcome to my stop of The Rise of the Dawnstar blog tour. I'm so happy to be a part of it! My stop will feature an interview with the fantastic author Farah Oomerbhoy herself, plus a review. And there's a giveaway at the end! Tons of cool stuff for you all just waiting to be read ;) 







Book: The Rise of the Dawnstar
Author: Farah Oomerbhoy
Series: The Avolonia Chronicles (Book 2)
Genre: YA fantasy
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Release: April 24th, 2017


Aurora Firedrake returns in the spellbinding sequel to The Last of the Firedrakes.

The seven kingdoms of Avalonia are crumbling and evil is spreading across the land like a plague. Queen Morgana is close to finding a way to open The Book of Abraxas and it’s only a matter of time until she uses the power trapped inside its pages to enslave the entire world.

With Avalonia growing more dangerous by the day, Aurora must travel through war-torn lands and deep into the heart of the fae kingdom of Elfi. Her goal is to find a legendary weapon infused with the last of the realm’s ancient magic—the only weapon in the world powerful enough to stop the queen.

Aurora might have survived her first battle against Morgana, but the true fight to save her kingdom and restore her throne has only just begun…