July Wrap-Up

*Contains spoilers for this month's Book Hooked Box *

Here are the books I planned to read this month . . .

WHAT I READ

    

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown - library paperback - 2/5 stars.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - eARC - 4/5 stars - read my review here.

The Devouring Gray (The Devouring Gray, #1) by Christine Lynn Herman - paperback - 3.5/5 stars.

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Colour, edited by Nisi Shawl - eARC - 2/5 stars - read my review here.

Enchantée (Enchantée, #1) by Gita Trelease - eARC - 3/5 stars - read my review here.

Planetfall (Planetfall, #1) by Emma Newman - library paperback - 2.5/5 stars.

The Tesla Legacy by K.K. Pérez - hardback - DNF (1/5 stars).

The Year After You by Nina de Pass - eARC - 3.5/5 stars - read my review here.

 The Paper and Hearts Society (The Paper and Hearts Society, #1) by Lucy Powrie - paperback - 3/5 stars.

HAULED BOOKS


 July is my birthday month and it's also YALC so I got lots of books this month!

I only received the July FairyLoot box today (31st July) so I haven't included it here.

For my birthday, I got Planets by Andrew Cohen and Professor Brian Cox, The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf, Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff and The Girl in Red by Christina Henry.

I bought Ms. Marvel, Volume 10 and Under a Dancing Star by Laura Wood for myself. 

The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James was a signed pre-order.

All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle was sent to me by Penguin as I'm part of the blog tour.

The Storm Crow was in the July Book Hooked Box subscription box.

 

From YALC, I got:

Lost Boy by Christina Henry,
an ARC of The Loop by Ben Oliver,
An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass,
an ARC of I'm Not Dying Here With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal,
This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura,
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand,
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear,
and Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan





WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO

It was my birthday this month!


It was also YALC (the Young Adult Literary Convention that is held at Olympia with the London Film and Comic-Con).
This was my fifth time going and I had a great time.






CURRENTLY READING

I'm Not Dying Here With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal





What did you read and haul in July?

Blog Tour + Playlist + Giveaway - Sabrina: Season of the Witch (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Find the tour schedule here.

Sabrina: Season of the Witch (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Release Date: July 9th 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Paranormal

Synopsis:

It's the summer before her sixteenth birthday, and Sabrina Spellman knows her world is about to change. She's always studied magic and spells with her aunts, Hilda and Zelda. But she's also lived a normal mortal life -- attending Baxter High, hanging out with her friends Susie and Roz, and going to the movies with her boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle.

Now time is running out on her every day, normal world, and leaving behind Roz and Susie and Harvey is a lot harder than she thought it would be. Especially because Sabrina isn't sure how Harvey feels about her. Her cousin Ambrose suggests performing a spell to discover Harvey's true feelings. But when a mysterious wood spirit interferes, the spell backfires... in a big way.

Sabrina has always been attracted to the power of being a witch. But now she can't help wondering if that power is leading her down the wrong path. Will she choose to forsake the path of light and follow the path of night?

Our exclusive prequel novel will reveal a side of Sabrina not seen on the new NETFLIX show. What choice will Sabrina make... and will it be the right one?

 Book links: 

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository 

Kobo | iBooks | IndieBound

Playlist

Here is a playlist I've made for the book!

About the Author

SARAH REES BRENNAN is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels have been long-listed for the Carnegie Medal and short-listed for both a Nebula Award and a Hugo Award, as well as received multiple starred reviews. Her most recent novels include In Other Lands, Tell the Wind and Fire and the Lynburn Legacy trilogy. 

 Author links:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter

Tour-wide giveaway

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Review - The Year After You by Nina de Pass

Title: The Year After You

Author: Nina de Pass

Pages: 352

Publisher: Ink Road

Release Date: 14th February 2019

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Up in the Alps, Cara's old life feels a million miles away. Nobody at Hope Hall knows her past. With secrets to keep, can Cara allow herself this chance to live again?

New Year's Eve, San Francisco. The most promising party of the year ends in tragedy. Georgina is gone and nothing will bring her back.

Nine months later, Cara's mother decides a Swiss boarding school will be the fresh start Cara needs. Up in the Alps, Cara's old life feels a million miles away. Nobody at Hope Hall knows her past—and she intends to keep it that way.

Yet, as much as she keeps her distance, her new friends break down the walls she has so carefully built up—especially the offbeat, straight-talking Hector, who understands how she feels better than anyone. But the closer Cara grows to Hector, the more her old life slips away.

Embracing life at Hope Hall means letting go of the past. With Georgina gone, how can Cara allow herself this second chance?

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Black & White Publishing and NetGalley*

Cara's life was changed forever nine months ago when her best friend Georgina (G) died in an accident. The sole survivor, Cara struggles with her grief and guilt.

Then Cara's mother sends her to Hope Hall, a boarding school in the Swiss Alps.

Will Cara be able to let down her defences and make new friends?

Can she make peace with what happened and forgive herself?

First off, I love the cover for The Year After You. The colours are beautiful.

I thought Cara was a good protagonist, unreliable at times but that added to the mystery of what happened. She wasn't a perfect person and struggled to deal with what happened to her and her role in it. I felt sorry for Cara and I can't even begin to imagine how hard it would be to go through what she went through.

Ren was probably my favourite character, but I liked Hector too. He was quite a complex character and I just wanted to give him a hug.

The plot was interesting and held my attention, but nothing that happened particularly surprised or shocked me.

The themes were handled well and I did tear up a few times at some scenes that I found particularly heart-wrenching.

The setting was interesting. I quite like the idea of going to a boarding school in the Swiss Alps.

I liked the writing style - it was easy to follow - but I wasn't gripped. I would, however, be interested in reading more from the author.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book that I would recommend.

 

Five Books I Have to Read Before the End of 2019

With all the new books that come out each year it's easy for the books you already own to get pushed to the side, so I decided to pick five books that I absolutely, positively, MUST read before the end of 2019. On pain of death. Not really. But I'll be super annoyed with myself if I don't read the following books by the end of the year.

Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1) by Susan Dennard

The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy, #2) by S.A. Chakraborty

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman




Are there any books you want to read before the end of the year?

Book Blitz + Giveaway - Fate of Dragons (Dragons Rising #1) by Alisha Klapheke

 

Fate of Dragons (Dragons Rising #1) by Alisha Klapheke
Publication date: March 27th 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

An Earth Queen desperate to wake her magic.

An elven prince fighting a ruthless betrayal.

A flood is coming. The Sea Queen has a mad plan to drown the world.

Only the magic of the Earth Queen can stop her. Vahly, the last human, was born to fill that role and wield the power necessary to battle the rising oceans and save the dragons and elves.

But Vahly is the world’s biggest disappointment. She possesses no magic whatsoever.

When she finds an ancient scroll that mentions a human power ritual conducted deep in the homeland of the elves, she gathers her dragon allies and journeys to see the king of that great forest-dwelling race.

Welcomed by a handsome royal cloaked in dark magic, will Vahly find answers or will a twisted and powerful elven lord destroy her chance at saving the world?

Goodreads / Amazon

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Only 99¢ for a limited time!

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Author Bio

When USA Today Bestselling author Alisha Klapheke isn't busy creating new fantasy worlds, she teaches martial arts (specifically Muay Thai kickboxing, Krav Maga, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), loves on her two amazing kids, and travels the world with her ninja husband. *Alisha made the list November 2, 2017

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Blitz-wide giveaway

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Review - Enchantée (Enchantée, #1) by Gita Trelease

Title: Enchantée (Enchantée, #1)

Author: Gita Trelease

Pages: 464

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Release Date: 26th February 2019

Blurb from Goodreads: 

 

Paris in 1789 is a labyrinth of twisted streets, filled with beggars, thieves, revolutionaries – and magicians . . . 

 

When smallpox kills her parents, seventeen-year-old Camille is left to provide for her frail sister and her volatile brother. In desperation, she survives by using the petty magic she learnt from her mother. But when her brother disappears Camille decides to pursue a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

Using dark magic Camille transforms herself into the ‘Baroness de la Fontaine‘ and presents herself at the court of Versaille, where she soon finds herself swept up in a dizzying life of riches, finery and suitors. But Camille’s resentment of the rich is at odds with the allure of their glamour and excess, and she soon discovers that she’s not the only one leading a double life . . .

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley*

Seventeen-year-old Camille lives in a Paris that is on the brink of revolution.

After the deaths of her mother and father, Camille tries to care for her little sister the only way she knows how - magic.

But their brother is in debt to a dangerous man, and Camille finds herself struggling to pay the rent and to put food on the table. So Camille turns to a different kind of magic - a dark magic that allows her to change her appearance and become the Baroness de la Fontaine and gamble at the court of Versailles.

Camille vows to only use this magic until she has enough money for her and her sister to live in comfort, but will she be able to stop? Or will Camille become swept up in the finery of court life?

For me, the best part of Enchantée was the setting - 1789 Paris was certainly an interesting time with Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and the whisper of revolution in the air.

I thought the author did a very good job of capturing the allure of court life and the hardship that the non-royals went through.

Camille was a good protagonist. She was relatable and I felt sorry for her. I could understand why she enjoyed being at court so much.

Sophie, Camille's sister, was another character that I liked, as well as some of the friends Camille made at court.

I quite liked the romance, which I thought was rather sweet.

The plot was interesting and held my attention, but I wasn't gripped and nothing that happened shocked me.

The magic was intriguing. I liked the idea of being able to change items like buttons into coins.

The writing style was easy to follow and was atmospheric at times.

If you enjoy reading about this time period and like magic/magical elements then I would recommend this.

Overall this was an enjoyable read.