The Rogue (Planets Shaken #1) by Lee W. Brainard | The Mishmash of events, people and ideas!

What would you do if you found out that an enormous comet was heading directly towards one of our neighbor-planets, which automatically puts in risk Earth and humankind?

What would you do if you knew that this is not some distant future and you only had a couple more years before the impact that could possibly change everything?  

Combining astronomy discoveries, scientific language and governmental conspiracy, «The Rogue» presents a dystopian world with backdrop of nowadays United States of America, where FBI and Homeland Security are portrayed more like men in black (and I am referring to their attire and not to the famous movie starring Will Smith), and remind a lot KGB in the Soviet Union.

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Mimic (#2 The Prodigy Chronicles) by C.L. Denault | My Guilty pleasure dystopian with the most unlikable main character!

There is a pattern that starts repeating itself over and over – I fall in love with the first book in the series, find the concept so interesting, and then get highly disappointed by the second book. Maybe my reading tastes are slowly changing, or maybe they keep suffering from the “second book syndrome”. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I saw that happening with the 2nd book in the Reckoners series by Brandon Sanderson. Also the 2nd book in the Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and the 2nd book in the Dark Artifices series by Cassandra Clare.

Hiding by Henry Turner | An attempt at a “Plot Twist” Book.

«Hiding» by Henry Turner is a YA mystery novel, told from the perspective of a teenage boy who snuck in his ex-girlfriend’s house. The events of the whole book happen during a very short period of time, however, we get quite a lot of flashbacks, memories, explanations, and feelings.

Extinction of all Children by L. J. Apps | A forgettable plot and cliché tropes!

«Divergent», «The Hunger Games», «The 5th Wave», «Maze Runner» there was this period of time when authors were coming up with surprising dystopian settings. I’m always on the lookout for more interesting books set in the dystopian world, be it current or futuristic.

I was immediately intrigued by the world without children. The world tyrannized by the president that took pregnant women and their new-born babies away. My questions were: What is the reason for such anger? Or is it protectiveness of some sort? What stands behind her reasoning?

Whisperer family were good friends with President Esther a long time ago. Before she became this radical president. And it so happened that Emma, their younger daughter, is the last child in Craigluy. Every baby born after her has been murdered. What makes her special?

Tinfoil Crowns by Erin Jones | The story of a YouTube Star, of betrayal and forgiveness

Considering the current rise of social media influence and YouTube channels, almost every single person in this world has some sort of social account. Many watch YouTube channels every day, and some have tried filming their own videos. It’s only natural that the authors would pick up on this trend and incorporate it in their stories. After all, when we read Contemporary, we want to see the world familiar to ours.

In my early teens, we dreamt about Hogwarts and magic schools. Nowadays, teenagers dream of being YouTube stars.

In «Tinfoil Crowns» we follow Jessica and her early rise of YouTube popularity. But there is so much more to this story than that. This is a story of loss, betrayal, forgiveness, and hope; and most importantly family relationships.

Romanov by Nadine Brandes | A perfect retelling with a touch of magical realism!

Every year more and more books inspired by the history of the Romanov family hit the shelves. The talk about Anastasia’s survival, especially fueled by numerous claims from different women saying that they were Anastasia, marked a great inspiration point for many authors who had to put their own twist on the reality. From the conspiracy of the Romanov family to its prophecy, the Romanov family is by far one of the most talked topics, even after a decade has passed since their execution.

Of course, like many others, I was intrigued by Nadine Brandes new novel «Romanov», a magical retelling of the tragic events that led to the execution of the Romanov family.

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell | Literary Fiction disguised as a Thriller

I always thought of myself as a fan of any mystery/thriller premise. Any story revolving around crime. Characters trying to figure out what really happened. These were the main elements that sucked me in.

After reading «Then She Was Gone» by Lisa Jewell, I realized that I much prefer novels centered around the  “Who did it” question than “Why it happened”. There is just something so addicting about gathering clues, brainstorming and constantly questioning who the villain is!

Lisa Jewell gave us a different type of thriller – a character-driven mystery, showcasing the flawed people and their motives, instead of a fast-paced page-turner with an unpredictable turn of events.

To Best the Boys by Mary Weber | Book you can read in one sitting!

There are some books that I pick up at the right reading mood, and when the book matches my reading cravings, it instantly becomes my new favorite. Has this ever happened to you before?

That is what I experienced with «To Best the Boys» by Mary Weber!

One Sunday afternoon, I decided that it was time to start reading «To Best the Boys» in preparation to OWLs read-a-thon that takes place this month. I’ve chosen it for my Herbology exam and wanted to give it a little glimpse, to get the feeling of the story. To my surprise, once I’ve started reading it, I couldn’t put it down!

Steelheart (The Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson | My first Brandon Sanderson book!

2019 has been the year of firsts.

There was the first book haul of 2019, the first disappointment of 2019 and now the first book by Brandon Sanderson. It’s exciting! What else do I get to try in 2019?

I’m not sure if this series was the best one to start with. I also own the first book in the Mistborn trilogy – «The Final Empire», however comparing these two books, Steelheart is much thinner with a bigger font. Seems like an obvious book choice to me! Besides, I love dystopian settings (I’m very excited to read Scythe which is next on my reading list! Technically it’s a Utopia, but still counts).

A Time of Blood by John Gwynne | Which “Of Blood and Bone” Character are You? QUIZ!

«A Time of Blood» – the second book Of Blood and Bone series by John Gwynne is coming out tomorrow, April 18th!

For everyone who doesn’t know or heard of this book, this is the second installment in Of Blood and Bone Fantasy series by John Gwynne, set in Banished Lands over 100 years after the events of The Faithful and the Fallen.

Do you need to read the first series?

Personally, I haven’t read The Faithful and the Fallen, but I definitely would love to pick it up at some point, even though I’m more attached to the current characters than the world itself.

But there might be some perks to reading the other series first. For example, this series definitely contains some spoilers to the first one, as it references a lot of historical events and past accomplishments. Also, it would be easier to jump into this series if you are already familiar with the world. (Although, I didn’t find it difficult or complicated to get into). And you might pick up more “hidden” references than a new reader.

The Taking of Annie Thorne by C. J. Tudor | Can you tell what is real?

If you thought «The Chalk Man» was dark and creepy, «The Taking of Annie Thorne» will give you jitters. C.J. Tudor took the mystery of her second book to the new level by adding some surprising horror elements. The attention to details, the mystery elements, and deeply engraved traumas provided the perfect scenery for a creepy thriller!

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple | Soo-Lin is the most inconvenient person in the entire world!

Last year I read and LOVED «Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine» by Gail Honeyman. It was by far one of the best books I read in a very long time. And so I went googling. Searching for as many books as possible that would have similar to Eleanor characters. One book that kept coming up in almost every post was «Where’d You Go Bernadette» by Maria Semple.

And based on the fact that (1) it is similar to my other favorite, (2) has an appealing cover and (3) a movie starring Cate Blanchett is coming out in August 2019, I’ve decided to purchase it with high hopes for another favorite.

Imagine all of this excitement that was completely crushed after the first 50 pages of the book!

School for Psychics (School for Psychics #1) by K.C. Archer | A “magic” school for adults

When someone asked me what I was currently reading, the best (and quickest) way to describe the book was – a “Harry Potter” for adults.

Not to say that it is extremely similar to the Harry Potter story, but every book that gives us some sort of magic / supernatural school, be it for children or for adults, will forever remind me of Harry Potter and how much I wished I would have gotten that Hogwarts letter.

Storm Glass by Jeff Wheeler | Magical Dickensian World!

It’s the greatest joy of my life when after reading the first book of the new-to-me author, I discover that he has written many other books and Fantasy series!

Jeff Wheeler’s writing will have anyone hooked after a few sentences, and the Dickensian world of his latest Sci-Fi / Fantasy series Harbinger, instantly made it to one of my favorite story settings of 2018.

March Wrap UP [2018] | Back to reading YA

I hope you all had a great Easter (everyone who celebrated on the 1st of April), and if you are like me and your Easter is only on the 8th, don’t worry! our time to eat chocolate eggs, pastries and cakes are still ahead of us.
Recently, I’ve posted a list of My Goals for the upcoming months, make sure to check it out if you haven’t yet. I wasn’t able to complete all of them fully, but I made some progress and will continue working on them.