Untitled #1

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publication Date: January 31st, 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: ARC Trade

Pages: 416

Add it on Goodreads!!

Summary (from Goodreads):

Before you enter the world of Caraval, you must remember that it’s all a game . . .

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

Then, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation to Caraval finally arrives. So, Tella enlists a mysterious sailor’s help to whisk Scarlett away to this year’s show. But as soon as the trio arrives, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nonetheless soon becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with her sister, with Legend, and with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

Scarlett and Donatella Dragna are sisters living under their cruel father's rule on the Conquered Isle of Trisda. Over the years, Scarlett has written seven letters to the Caraval Master Legend, asking him and his performers to bring their magical performance to Trisda. After the seventh letter, he finally sends a response, along with three tickets to this year's game.

But it can never work out because it comes right before Scarlett is arranged to be married to a man she has never met. She is ready to be married if only because it means that she and her sister will be safe and out of their father's evil clutches.

But things don't work out quite in Scarlett's favor when she ends up being taken to the island where Caraval is being held, against her will and better judgment. When her sister is kidnapped, it forces Scarlett to play the game and find her sister before it's too late.

Scarlett is the main character in this story. She is most definitely the more sensible sister. In everything she does, her main driving force is her fierce love for her sister. She would do anything for her to keep Tella safe. She has even gone so far as to make sure that Tella can come with her when she's married so that Governor Dragna can never hurt her again.

I liked Scarlett. I thought she was down to earth. She's willing to do what needs to be done. She frustratingly doesn't pay enough attention during the game and it causes her to make some mistakes.  But she's also really smart and seems to do really well with the clues given during the scavenger hunt. But she also has the ultimate motivation as her sister is the one who was kidnapped and needs to be found to win the game. And Scarlett isn't convinced that she's in the best hands.

Tella is considerably more adventurous and outgoing than Scarlett. She doesn't seem to care so much about her general safety, she just wants to be free of her father's cruelty. During this book, I went back and forth on what I thought about Tella. I think I decided that I just didn't like her. She's really selfish. She uses Scarlett's love for her to get what she wants, no matter who it hurts in the process and doesn't seem to think anything of it. I literally think that at one point, Scarlett tells her she loves her and Tella just says something along the lines of, "I know." Seriously? Get out of here.

I really liked the sister relationship featured in the book, even if I didn't like one of the sisters. I liked that the sisterly love was the motivation for everything that happens in this book. I would totally do the same thing for my sister, but I think she'd be more appreciative of me, to be honest.

Julian is also someone that it took me a little while to decide what my feelings were about him. He just comes off as a shady sailor in the beginning, but he really grew on me! So much so that he made his way onto my book boyfriend list! He is really secretive and doesn't really tell Scarlett much, even when they start to develop a closeness. But he is just so sweet and is really invaluable to Scarlett in her search for her missing sister. He gives up something really big in order to help Scarlett in the games. I loved it.

I absolutely loved the romance in this book. Julian and Scarlett work really well together and the relationship they develop is really awesome. They start off not really caring for each other, but when they're forced to work together in the game they get close. It's complicated for Scarlett because she's arranged to be married and has every intention of trying to make it back to Trisda for it if only for Tella's sake. I really want the second book in this duology just so that I can get more Julian and Scarlett!

This book had a really magical feeling to it overall. Parts of it reminded me of the same magical feeling as Alice in Wonderland. There's so much mystery because you don't know what's real and what's a trick meant to confuse you. This book has a swoon worthy romance, heartbreak, and terrifying villains.

The only thing that I didn't really like about this book was the ending. I can't really say a lot about what specifically I didn't like, but I felt like something happened to just conveniently explain why everything in the book happened and just kinda magically fixes everything. Everything in this book wrapped up nicely, except for the little cliffhanger right at the end that let's you know what's coming in the other book of this duology.

Overall, this was an EXCELLENT book. The magical quality and the mystery of it all was amazing and the romance was sweet. The sister relationship in the book was nice to read about and I'm super excited for the conclusion to this novel! I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for it! :'(

Have you read this book yet? What did you think of it?

Down the TBR Hole (#4)

Down the TBR Hole is a meme type thing started by Imaginary Places on Paper to help cut down your Goodreads TBR.

This is how it works:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

Repeat this every week until your TBR is cleaned off!

Here is the next set of books that will be battling for a place on my TBR Shelf...

Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Fire and Thorns #1

Goodreads

I definitely still want to read this book. This whole series is sitting on my shelf, just waiting for me to pick it up. I should really focus on more of my backlist books because they are taking over.

Verdict: Keep

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Something Strange and Deadly #1

Goodreads

I just realized that last week on this list I had Strange and Ever After. One of my thoughts going through this was that I didn't need sequels on my TBR if I haven't even read the first/previous ones. So I'm going to keep this one and remove Strange and Ever After from my list til I've gotten that far in the series.

Verdict: Keep

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Goodreads

I am all about Mindy McGinnis lately and this book sounds so good. And that cover is so nice. And it's sitting in my pile of books that I am going to reach for SOON.

Verdict: Keep

Armada by Ernest Cline

Goodreads

This book still sounds interesting, but I don't think it's one that I'm going to actively try to read. I'm not very pumped about it anymore.

Verdict: Remove

Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Article 5 #2

Goodreads

Seeing as I haven't even read the first one in this series, I probably don't need this one on my list!

Verdict: Remove

Altered by Gennifer Albin

Crewel World #2

Goodreads

I haven't even read the first book in this series yet. And I'm really not that interested in it anymore. So I'll definitely be removing this series from my TBR.

Verdict: Remove

Unraveled by Gennifer Albin

Crewel World #3

Goodreads

Gotta unravel this one from my TBR.

Verdict: Remove

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Goodreads

I just read a review of this book that said it was a good retelling of Beauty and the Beast and I think it's gonna get picked up REAL soon now.

Verdict: Keep

The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows

The Orphan Queen #2

Goodreads

I absolutely loved The Orphan Queen. I don't know why I haven't gotten around to picking this one up yet.

Verdict: Keep

Through the Dark by Alexandra Bracken

The Darkest Minds #1.5, 2.5, 3.5

Goodreads

Seeing as The Darkest Minds is my all time favorite series, you wouldn't think that there would be a book that's actually that's still on my TBR, would you? I have read the first two novellas in this series, but I have yet to read the last one! I really need to do that!

Verdict: Keep

Total after last post: 428

Total at start of this post: 434

Total after removals: 429

It would probably feel like I was getting somewhere with this meme if I stopped adding new books to my TBR, huh?

Multicultural Children's Book Day Review: The Truth Against the World by Sarah Jamila Stevenson

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/17) is its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness on the ongoing need to include kid’s books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.  

Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team are on a mission to change all of that. 

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2017 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board. Platinum Sponsors include Scholastic, Barefoot Books and Broccoli. Other Medallion Level Sponsors include heavy-hitters like Author Carole P. Roman, Audrey Press, Candlewick Press,  Fathers Incorporated, KidLitTV, Capstone Young Readers, ChildsPlayUsa, Author Gayle Swift, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee& Low Books, The Pack-n-Go Girls, Live Oak Media, Author Charlotte Riggle, Chronicle Books and Pomelo Books.

Author Sponsor include: Karen Leggett Abouraya, Veronica Appleton, Susan Bernardo, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Delores Connors, Maria Dismondy, D.G. Driver, Geoff Griffin,  Savannah Hendricks, Stephen Hodges, Carmen Bernier-Grand,Vahid Imani, Gwen Jackson, Hena Kahn, David Kelly, Mariana Llanos, Natasha Moulton-Levy, Teddy O'Malley, Stacy McAnulty,  Cerece Murphy, Miranda Paul, Annette Pimentel, Greg Ransom, Sandra Richards, Elsa Takaoka, Graciela Tiscareño-Sato,  Sarah Stevenson, Monica Mathis-Stowe SmartChoiceNation, Andrea Y. Wang.

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also work tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

MCBD Links to remember:

MCBD site: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Kindness Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teachers-classroom-kindness-kit/

Free Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents: http://bit.ly/1sZ5s8i

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with is on social media and be sure and look for/use their official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

The Truth Against the World by Sarah Jamila Stevenson

Publisher: Flux

Publication Date: June 8th, 2014

Rating: 3 Stars

Source: Author

Format: Paperback

Pages: 350

Add it on Goodreads!!

Summary (from Goodreads):

When Olwen Nia Evans learns that her family is moving from San Francisco to Wales to fulfill her great-grandmother's dying wish, she starts having strange and vivid dreams about her family's past. But nothing she sees in her dreams of the old country--the people, the places--makes any sense. Could it all be the result of an overactive imagination . . . or could everything she's been told about her ancestors be a lie?

Once in Wales, she meets Gareth Lewis, a boy plagued by dreams of his own--visions he can't shake after meeting a ghost among the misty cairns along the Welsh seaside.

A ghost named Olwen Nia Evans.

***I was provided with a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review for Mutlicultural Children's Book Day.***

The Truth Against the World is a ghost story and a mystery. Gareth Lewis is on a family outing when he stumbles across a cromlech with a grave marker for a little girl named Olwen Nia Evans. While searching for his phone that he dropped, he meets the ghost of the little girl, who gives him back his phone. This encounter prompts Gareth to research this Olwen and his search turns up a blog run by a girl in the United States with the same name.

Wyn and her family are preparing to visit Wales for awhile, as her great-grandmother (or her Gee Gee), wants to spend her final days in her home country. An email from Gareth prompts Wyn to try to get more information from her Gee Gee about her life before moving to the States, but for some reason she's not talking. Wyn also starts having vivid dreams about her Gee Gee when she was young and still in Wales.

With Wyn's dreams and Gareth being pretty much haunted by the ghost of a sad and lonely little girl, they make plans to meet in Wales and try to figure out this mystery for themselves since no one wants to talk about those days when young Olwen was alive.

What I liked:

I liked the mystery in this book. Wyn and Gareth are trying desperately to figure out who the little girl was before Wyn has to go back to California. With Wyn's grandmother constantly skirting around the subject while she is still able to talk at all, they turn to the museum and the townsfolk that knew Wyn's Gee Gee.

I also quite liked the characters in this book. They weren't the most excited characters to read about, to be honest. But they were very likable to make up for it. Gareth is trying super hard to help Wyn figure this all out. He's a really great friend to Wyn during these hard times with her Gee Gee's health slipping away. He's a little sweetie.

Wyn is dealing with a lot. Watching her Gee Gee dying and trying to figure out this mystery and dealing with her strange dreams. It seems like she was needing a friend too because her friend from school seemed to always be too busy to hang out with her. So it's good that she found Gareth. Or rather Gareth found her.

I liked the relationship between Wyn and Gareth. There isn't any romance in this book, but there is definitely a potential for it. I liked their friendship and how they were there for each other despite not knowing each other for very long.

What I did not like:

While I did somewhat enjoy this book, I felt like I waited way too long for something to actually happen. I think it was like 200 pages before I felt myself getting at all invested in this book. I didn't hate the beginning of this book, there wasn't anything bad about it, but it was kind of boring. I'm glad that I ended up taking this book with me on my flight to Indiana earlier this month because I don't really know if I would have been able to make myself keep reading if I had other options.

I found the mystery to be kind of predictable. For the most part, I don't think it's meant to be set up to where you can't kinda figure out what's going on, but I had the end twist figured out really early on in the book.

The other thing I didn't like about this book was how time passed in this book. It felt like it just passed really oddly. Like when you're reading about Wyn and Gareth's interactions, it feels like they got together were like, "Oh hi, I have to go, bye!" But I think I was supposed to believe that they had been hanging out for a more significant amount of time than like 3 seconds. I don't know if that's a good way to describe how I felt about this, all I know is it threw me off more than once when I was reading.

Overall, this was an okay book. The characters were likable. The mystery was interesting, if a little bit predictable. I think this book would probably be good for readers who are perhaps a bit on the younger side.

About the Author

Sarah Jamila Stevenson is a writer, artist, graphic designer, introvert, closet geek, enthusiastic eater, struggling blogger, lapsed piano player, household-chore-ignorer and occasional world traveler. Her previous lives include spelling bee nerd, suburban Southern California teenager, Berkeley art student, underappreciated temp, and humor columnist for a video game website. Throughout said lives, she has acquired numerous skills of questionable usefulness, like intaglio printmaking and Welsh language. She lives in Northern California with her husband, who is also an artist, and two cats with astounding sleep-inducing powers.

Activity:

In The Truth Against the World, while Wyn is in Wales, she goes out to have fish and chips at a local shop, I think twice. I am really not that much of a fish person, but it just really sounded tasty. If you happen to read this book and agree that it sounds tasty AND happen to be some kind of talented in the kitchen, here is a recipe for fish and chips you can make at home!

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, for deep frying

4 large russet potatoes

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 (12-ounce) can soda water

1/2 cup rice flour, for dredging

2 (8-ounce) cod or haddock fillets, cut in 1/2 on an angle

Malt vinegar, for serving

Tartar Sauce, recipe follows

Directions:

Heat 3-inches of the oil in a deep fryer to 325 degrees F. Alternately, heat 3-inches of oil in a deep pot.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chips, about the size of your index finger. Put the potatoes in the oil. Fry the chips for 2 to 3 minutes; they should not be crisp or fully cooked at this point. Remove the chips with a spider strainer or slotted spoon, to a paper towel-lined platter to drain.

Crank the oil temperature up to 375 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and egg. Pour in the soda water and whisk to a smooth batter. Spread the rice flour on a plate. Dredge the fish pieces in the rice flour and then dip them into the batter, letting the excess drip off.

Put the chips in the bottom of the fryer basket and carefully submerge in the hot oil. Carefully wave the battered fish into the bubbling oil before dropping them in on top of the chips. Fry the fish and chips for 4 to 5 minutes until crispy and brown. Remove the basket and drain the fish and chips on paper towels; season lightly with salt. Serve wrapped in a newspaper cone with malt vinegar and/or tartar sauce.

Tartar Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped capers

1 tablespoon chopped cornichons

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/2 lemon, juiced

Dash hot sauce

In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Chill before serving to let the flavors marry.

Yield: about 1 1/4 cups

Recipe From: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/english-style-fish-and-chips-recipe.html?oc=linkback

How are YOU celebrating Multicultural Children's Book Day?

Discussion: 17 Most Anticipated Books of 2017

2017 is jam packed with some seriously amazing sounding books. It was hard to pick just 17 of them! I tried to pick some that I haven't talked about before because this is probably a Top Ten Tuesday topic that I've done or will do. Oh well. I want to talk more about books that I'm looking forward to so here we are.

1. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

Goodreads

I loved Stalking Jack the Ripper so much, I can't wait to see what kinds of shenanigans Audrey Rose and Thomas find themselves in next! And this one features Vlad the Impaler?! Awesome! I wish I wouldn't have don't a post on Vlad the Impaler for A Glimpse Back in Time already!

2. Roar by Cora Carmack

Stealing Storms #1

Goodreads

I have yet to read a Cora Carmack book and this one already sounded awesome, but ever since I saw someone say that it looks like Daenerys Targaryen on the cover of this book, I can't unsee it. And it makes me want it more!

3. The Rattled Bones by S.M. Parker

Goodreads

That cover fascinates me. And that title. I really enjoyed The Girl Who Fell, so I can't wait to read this book!

4. Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh

Flame in the Mist #1

Goodreads

I need more Renée Ahdieh books in my life and on my shelf. I can't wait for this one.

5. The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

The Girl with the Red Balloon #1

Goodreads

Time travel and Cold War history sounds like it something I need to read.

6. Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz

Goodreads

WWII historical fiction is one of my favorite things to read! And this book sounds amazing! If you don't know who the Night Witches were, you should probably go look that up and then just TRY to tell me that this book isn't gonna be fantastic!

7. A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

The Star-Touched Queen #2

Goodreads

The Star-Touched Queen was probably the most beautifully written book I have ever read and I'm super excited to see how this companion goes! Gauri is such an interesting character, I can't wait to read her story!

8. The Dragon's Price by Bethany Wiggins

Transference #1

Goodreads

Death by dragon? Heck, dragons in general? Sign me the heck up.

9. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

Forest #1

Goodreads

A retelling about the evil queen from Snow White? Based on Asian mythology? Yes please.

10. Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed

Goodreads

Contemporary novels about rape culture are about the only kinds of contemporary novels that I like. This one sounds pretty awesome.

11. Daughter of Passion and Stone by Rebecca Ross

Untitled #1

Goodreads

This book contains the trope of restoring a rightful queen to her throne, which is my favorite, and I am all about this book.

12. Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau

Dividing Eden #1

Goodreads

Siblings pitted against each other to win the crown of their kingdom after the king and crown prince are killed by assassins? Gimme.

13. Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows

Fallen Isles Trilogy #1

Goodreads

Illegal dragon trafficking? I'm listening.

14. The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King

Goodreads

I don't even know what to say, but I want it.

15. An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Goodreads

I am all about artists in books. I am interested to see how this particular artist will impress some pissed off fair folk with her art in order to not die or lose her talent forever.

16. Garden of Blood and Dust by K.K. Pérez

Goodreads

This one is inspired by the world's first female serial killer! I definitely smell an A Glimpse Back in Time post for this one.

17. Blue Tide by Jenna-Lynne Duncan

Goodreads

After reading Daughter of the Pirate King, I almost want to exclusively read pirate books for the rest of my life. This one sounds lovely!

What books are some of your most anticipated of 2017? Discuss below! :)

Waiting on Wednesday: Vigilante by Kady Cross

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on...

Vigilante by Kady Cross

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: March 28th, 2017

Pages: 352

Add it on Goodreads!

A brutally honest, uncompromising story about a teen girl who decides to take matters into her own hands. 

It's senior year, and Hadley and her best friend, Magda, should be starting the year together. Instead, Magda is dead and Hadley is alone. Raped at a party the year before and humiliated, Magda was driven to take her own life and Hadley is forced to see her friend's attackers in the classroom every day. Devastated, enraged and needing an outlet for her grief, Hadley decides to get a little justice of her own. 

Donning a pink ski mask and fueled by anger, Hadley goes after each of the guys one by one, planning to strip them of their dignity and social status the way they did to Magda. As the legend of the pink-masked Vigilante begins to take on a life of its own, Hadley's revenge takes a turn for the dangerous. Could her need for vengeance lead her down a path she can't turn back from?

I have not yet read Female of the Species (as of the time I am writing this post), but this book reminds me of what I think that book will be about. And if that's true and this is anywhere near as good as people say Female of the Species is, I will be a happy camper.

What book are you looking forward to this week?

Review: Freeks by Amanda Hocking

Freeks by Amanda Hocking

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: January 3rd, 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Publisher

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 400

Add it on Goodreads!!

Summary (from Goodreads!):

Welcome to Gideon Davorin’s Traveling Sideshow, where necromancy, magical visions, and pyrokinesis are more than just part of the act…

Mara has always longed for a normal life in a normal town where no one has the ability to levitate or predict the future. Instead, she roams from place to place, cleaning the tiger cage while her friends perform supernatural feats every night.

When the struggling sideshow is miraculously offered the money they need if they set up camp in Caudry, Louisiana, Mara meets local-boy Gabe…and a normal life has never been more appealing.

But before long, performers begin disappearing and bodies are found mauled by an invisible beast. Mara realizes that there’s a sinister presence lurking in the town with its sights set on getting rid of the sideshow freeks. In order to unravel the truth before the attacker kills everyone Mara holds dear, she has seven days to take control of a power she didn’t know she was capable of—one that could change her future forever.

Bestselling author Amanda Hocking draws readers inside the dark and mysterious world of Freeks.

Going into this book, I didn't really know what I was expecting. I have never read anything by Amanda Hocking before, but have definitely heard good things. So I didn't really have high or low expectations for this book, but for some reason I was not expecting to like this one as much as I did. I never actually read the whole synopsis when I requested it, it had me at 'necromancy'.

Also, that cover is so neat.

So this book takes place in March of 1987 when the traveling sideshow rolls in to Caudry, Louisiana for a ten day show that is supposed to really bring in a lot of money for everyone. This is a nice change because before this show, no one in the carnival seemed to have two pennies to rub together.

Mara has lived with this traveling sideshow for basically her whole life. Her mother is a necromancer and serves as the carnival's fortune-teller. Mara doesn't seem to have been gifted with any supernatural abilities so her jobs usually consist of set up and tear down, errands, and cleaning up tiger poop.

I really liked Mara. She loves the sideshow and everyone in it, but it seems like she would love nothing more than a real house and a permanent address. In fact, after arriving in Caudry, after helping set up, she takes a walk by herself to check out the town and ends up at a house party and most of her thought process revolves around the house and whats in it.

This is the party where she meets Gabe and his sister, Selena. They come from money. They dress nicely and live in a house that is basically a mansion. They have nice cars. The party Mara wound up at was Selena's 21st birthday party. I really liked Selena. She's always so nice whenever she shows up in the book.

Gabe is also a great character. He seems really chill and sweet. He and Mara end up making out in his bedroom the night they meet and I was all about that. It's not really supposed to go any further than that because Mara will only be in Caudry for 10 days, but over that short period of time, Gabe and Mara really get close. They have a lot of ups and downs and secrets that they don't want to share with each other, but they make it work and I loved it.

I really loved most of the other characters in this book too. Gideon is the one that started the sideshow as a way to help people with abilities feel like they belong somewhere. He's so protective of everyone in the carnival and he's like a father figure to Mara.

Okay, so when the carnival arrives in Caudry, all of the people with extra senses can feel that there is something really off about this town. Even Mara can feel something is off. Shortly after arriving in the town, their camp begins to be stalked by some kind of creature and some of the performers are attacked. So this book has kind of a mystery/thriller feel to it while they are trying to figure out what it is that is hunting them.

I love how brave Mara is when it comes to this creature that's stalking people. It seems like when someone is hurt or being attacked she is usually one of the first people to run out to try to help. She doesn't really have too much of a care for herself in these situations, she just wants to help the people she loves. I appreciated that about her.

If I had to say that anything bothered me about this book, it would just be the fact that it wasn't really as brutal as I was expecting it to be. The last paragraph of the synopsis made me feel like the bodies were gonna start piling up in this book, but really there's not a lot of death. There are some brutal maulings, but not as bad as I was expecting.

And another thing is just that no one really seemed as broken up over the deaths that do happen as I felt like they should have. It's just kind of like, "Oh, this person died, boo hoo, let's move on." I feel like people should have been sadder than they were.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! If you like yourself a good mystery or books about carnivals and their 'freeks', you will probably enjoy this book. I'm not usually one who actually loves supernatural/paranormal twists to books, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Down the TBR Hole (#3)

Down the TBR Hole is a meme type thing started by Imaginary Places on Paper to help cut down your Goodreads TBR.

This is how it works:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

Repeat this every week until your TBR is cleaned off!

Here is the next set of books I have to decide on!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander #1

Goodreads

This is one that I am definitely looking forward to reading. I have a copy of this one, but it's mass market and I don't really like mass market paperbacks. But I really want to watch this tv show and my mom keeps telling me I have to read this series.

Verdict: Keep

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Goodreads

I feel like I'm not as excited about this book as I was when I first heard about it. I still think it sounds interesting, but I'm probably not going to go out of my way to read it. I have a friend who has it so if I really get the urge, maybe I'll borrow it from them. But also maybe not.

Verdict: Remove

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen #2

Goodreads

I don't know why I haven't read this one yet. I have so many 2016 books sitting on my shelf that I ordered and never read yet. I also have been kind of spoiled for this book and that's probably part of why I haven't read it yet. But I loved Red Queen and am excited to read this sequel.

Verdict: Keep

Confess by Colleen Hoover

Goodreads

I have read one Colleen Hoover book before and I quite liked it, but after the recent stuff on Twitter about her books, I'm not as excited about them anymore. I got a few of her books because I wanted to read some more NA stuff, but I also prefer healthier relationships in my books. I'll still probably read the ones that I have, but depending on what I see when I read them, I might not go out of my way to read anything else by her.

Verdict: Remove

Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Never Never #1

Goodreads

Never Never Part Two by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Never Never #2

Goodreads

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless #1

Goodreads

Probably won't go out of my way to read these, but they do sound good. If I get a wild hair I might, but like I said, I'm just not as excited about them as I was before.

Verdict: Remove

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Shades of Magic #1

Goodreads

I have heard nothing but good things about Schwab's writing so I really need to get around to reading this. I have a few of her books and I haven't read any of them. As I write these posts out, it really makes me feel like a book hoarder when I say, "Yeah, I have this book, but I haven't read it."

Verdict: Keep

Remembrance by Meg Cabot

The Mediator #7

Goodreads

I LOVED the Mediator series. I am so sad that I donated all of my books to a used bookstore because now that this book is out I want to reread them. I am so excited about this one!!

Verdict: Keep

Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard

Something Strange and Deadly #3

Goodreads

I have signed copies of this whole trilogy from a signing I went to last year that I need to get to! Everyone seems to love this series and it doesn't feel as hyped as Truthwitch so maybe I should read these ASAP to get myself more psyched to read Windwitch.

Verdict: Keep

Total after last post: 430

Total at start of this post: 433

Total after removals: 428

What are your thoughts on the books that I decided to keep or remove this week? Have you read any of these?