Book Review: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Title: The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) Author: Mary E. Pearson Publication Date: July 8, 2014 Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.Pages: 486Add to Goodreads Review for book 2 Tracy's Review A princess must find her place in a reborn world. She flees on her wedding day. She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection. She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father. She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan. The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never...

Book Review: A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

Title: A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) Author: Sabaa Tahir Publication Date: June 12, 2018Publisher: RazorbillPages: 464Add to Goodreads Reviews for book 1 and book 2 Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger. The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable, while the Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power. As Helene searches for a way to hold back the approaching darkness, her sister's life and the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance. Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate...

ALAAC 2018 Recap

Hi everyone! I'm back from the 2018 ALA Annual Conference and here to share a recap with you! This year my husband accompanied me for the first time. We don't always get to spend a ton of time together, so he wanted to join me in New Orleans! (Don't worry, I'm not one of THOSE bloggers - he grabbed a grand total of four books, and one was for someone who was working the convention and couldn't be there for a signing!) We drove from Central Florida to New Orleans on Friday, arriving around 6pm and checking into our hotel. Since we had exhibit only passes and couldn't attend on Friday evening, we promptly headed out to meet up with Christina...

Top Ten Tuesday #193: Series I gave up on

Today's Topic:  Top Ten Series I’ve Given Up On This is something I'm really guilty of, but honestly I can't feel too bad about it! I can't force myself to continue a series I'm not enjoying. Here are ten that I gave up on before they ended (or maybe before they really got going)! The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin (The Shaw Confessions) The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye (The Crown's Game Series) Flame in the Mist by Renee Adhieh (The Flame in the Mist Series) Gilded Cage by Vic James (Dark Gifts Series) The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert (The Hazel Wood Series) Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah...

Weekly Recap: 6/17 - 6/23

TRACY'S HAPPENINGS OFF THE BLOG Hi everyone! I don't have much to report this week because I'M AT ALA! I've spent the day with Christina from Books & Prejudice and Amber from Du Livre (both are in my sidebar), wandering the exhibit halls, eating lots of food, and doing a Killers & Thrillers Ghost Tour of the French Quarter. I do have lots of new books, but I'm saving them for my ALA haul later this week! NEW BOOKS THIS WEEK Stay tuned! THIS WEEK I READ   CHELCIE'S HAPPENINGS OFF THE BLOG Hello everyone!  I hope y’all had a great week!  Mine was okay. I worked a ton, but didn’t...

How often do I actually read the books on my TBR list?

Multiple times a year, usually at the start of each season, I make a TBR list. In fact, I posted one just this Tuesday! That post got me thinking: how often do I actually follow through and read the books I add to these lists? I went back through old posts and randomly selected one from each of the years I've been blogging. The covers with an X are the ones I did NOT get around to reading! 2014 TBR BOOKS READ: 7/10 Not to shabby! I actually have read most of the books on this list! To be fair, my reading world was much smaller back in my first year of blogging, so there weren't a ton to choose from (as far as I knew). Still, I'm...

Book Review: The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead

Title: The Glittering Court (The Glittering Court #1) Author: Richelle Mead Publication Date: April 5, 2016Publisher: RazorbillPages: 400Add to Goodreads Big and sweeping, spanning from the refined palaces of Osfrid to the gold dust and untamed forests of Adoria, The Glittering Court tells the story of Adelaide, an Osfridian countess who poses as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria, the New World. But to do that, she must join the Glittering Court. Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies who appear destined for powerful...

Bookish things that make me mad

Because I’m in a little bit of a grumpy mood I figured I would discuss some of the things about books that make me mad! Without further ado... NON-MATCHING COVERS I absolutely hate when publishers do this!  I don’t care if the series has taken years to come out or if they want to do a cover change after the last book, it is never a good idea. I love when all of my books match and look pretty on my shelf, and they can’t be that way if publishers keep changing the covers on us. WAY TOO MANY EDITIONS Now don’t get me wrong, I love having a couple editions of my favorite book on my shelves, but when they make 4+ different editions...

Audiobook Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Title: Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy #1)Author: Kiersten White Narrator: Emily Eiden Publication Date: August 31, 2010Publisher: HarperTeen Length: 8 hours 40 minutesAdd to Goodreads Discover the first book in a sparkling paranormal romance trilogy from Kiersten White, #1 New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken. Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through supernatural glamours. She’s also about to find out that she may be at the center...

Top Ten Tuesday #192: Summer TBR

Today's Topic:  Top Ten Books I Hope To Read This Summer Since I'm super lame and never, ever go swimming at the beach or at a pool, I decided to make this week's post my Summer TBR! These are the top ten summer publications I'm hoping to read soon! A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson The Glass Butterfly by A.G. Howards Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer Scream All Night by Derek Milman Seafire by Natalie C. Parker Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Star-Touched Stories by Roshani...

Weekly Recap: 6/10 - 6/16

TRACY'S HAPPENINGS OFF THE BLOG ALA IS COMING!! You guys, I am so excited to be heading back to ALA for the 2018 annual conference! I know I'll be meeting some of you there and I can't wait! I'm already dreading the traveling part of the trip, but I know it'll all be worth it. Outside of preparing for ALA, I've spent this week doing a whole lot of nothing, to be honest. I've become obsessed with a couple new podcasts, specifically S Town and Serial. I've started reading my first Nordic Noir, which is taking forever because it's an audiobook and I'm dividing my time between that and the aforementioned podcasts... Whoops! My puppy went...