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Thursday, March 31, 2022

March Wrap-Up




WHAT I READ
 


 
The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A. Harwood - eARC - 2.5/5 stars - read my review here.

Rogue: Untouched (Marvel Aconyte Novels) by Alisa Kwitney - eARC - read my review here.



 
The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab - hardback - 3/5 stars.

The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5) by Rick Riordan - audiobook - 4/5 stars.




Medusa by Jessie Burton - hardback - 3.5/5 stars.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - paperback - 2.5/5 stars.

 

 

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - ebook - 3/5 stars.





HAULED BOOKS


Physical books:




NetGalley ARCs:




BLOG POSTS

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday - One For All

March TBR

 Review - The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

Review - The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A. Harwood

FairyLoot Unboxing - To The Moon and Back (February Box)

Can't-Wait Wednesday - Wild and Wicked Things 

Review - Rogue: Untouched (Marvel Aconyte Novels) by Alisa Kwitney




CURRENTLY READING

 


 In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland

 

 

What did you read in March?

 

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Can't-Wait Wednesday - Portrait of a Thief

  

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a feature hosted at Wishful Endings where people showcase an upcoming book they are looking forward to.

 

This week I'm anticipating . . . 






Title: Portrait of a Thief
 
Author: Grace D. Li
 
Pages: 384
 
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
 
Release Date: 14th April 2022
 
 
Blurb from Goodreads:
 
Ocean’s Eleven meets The Farewell in Portrait of a Thief, a lush, lyrical heist novel inspired by the true story of Chinese art vanishing from Western museums, about diaspora, the colonization of art, and the complexity of the Chinese American identity.

History is told by the conquerors. Across the Western world, museums display the spoils of war, of conquest, of colonialism: priceless pieces of art looted from other countries, kept even now.

Will Chen plans to steal them back.

A senior at Harvard, Will fits comfortably in his carefully curated roles: a perfect student, an art history major and sometimes artist, the eldest son that has always been his parents’ American Dream. But when a shadowy Chinese corporation reaches out with an impossible—and illegal—job offer, Will finds himself something else as well: the leader of a heist to steal back five priceless Chinese sculptures, looted from Beijing centuries ago.

His crew is every heist archetype one can imagine—or at least, the closest he can get. A conman: Irene Chen, Will’s sister and a public policy major at Duke, who can talk her way out of anything. A thief: Daniel Liang, a premed student with steady hands just as capable of lockpicking as suturing. A getaway driver: Lily Wu, an engineering student who races cars in her free time. A hacker: Alex Huang, an MIT dropout turned Silicon Valley software engineer. Each member of his crew has their own complicated relationship with China and the identity they’ve cultivated as Chinese Americans, but when Will asks, none of them can turn him down.

Because if they succeed? They earn fifty million dollars—and a chance to make history. But if they fail, it will mean not just the loss of everything they’ve dreamed for themselves but yet another thwarted attempt to take back what colonialism has stolen.

With poetic language, a fun, commercial hook, and a plot that spans the Western world, Portrait of a Thief is both a cultural heist and an examination of the Chinese American identity, as well as a necessary critique of the lingering effects of colonialism that readers won’t want to miss.
 
 


Why I'm Anticipating This Book:
 
This sounds like a fun, but important read that I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!




Saturday, March 26, 2022

Review - Rogue: Untouched (Marvel Aconyte Novels) by Alisa Kwitney

 

 

 


Title: Rogue: Untouched (Marvel Aconyte Novels)

Author: Alisa Kwitney

Pages: 336

Publisher: Aconyte Books

Release Date: 4th May 2021

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

Mutant powers are a curse for Rogue, but two strangers will change her life forever, in this explosive superhero novel, the first title in the Marvel Heroines series.

Rogue’s life sucks: she lives alone in an abandoned cabin, works a terrible diner job and hides from everyone. When your first kiss almost kills a guy, it’s hard to trust anyone – even yourself. Then two people arrive in town who could change her life, and she finally gets a choice: follow a mysterious billionaire who says she’s scouting for gifted interns, or the handsome card shark with eerie red eyes. Except they’re not the only ones watching her… Rogue will have to trust in herself and accept the powers she’s suppressed, to decide her own fate – before someone else does.

 

 Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

 




My Review:

 *I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Aconyte Books and NetGalley*

 


 

Anna Marie is a waitress in a diner in a small town where she is known for putting a star football player in a coma.

Then Anna Marie encounters two strangers who change her life - one, a handsome young man with strange red eyes, and the other a woman searching for interns for an institute.

Through the two strangers, Anna Marie discovers a side of herself she never knew about and gains a new name - Rogue.

 

Apart from the X-Men films, I didn't know anything about Rogue as a character and was intrigued to see how she would be portrayed in this novel.

Anna Marie/Rogue was a likeable and relatable protagonist. I certainly found her a lot less annoying than I did in the films. It was interesting to see how she reacted in different situations and to read about her using her powers. I liked that she wanted to help people.

The plot was interesting and kept me guessing, but nothing happened that particularly shocked me. My attention did start to wane at one point, but then I got back into the story line. There was one plot point that wasn't resolved that I thought would come back into the story, but I don't know if that was intentional or not.

The writing style was easy to follow, and I would consider reading another book by the author.

While I wasn't gripped, I thought this was worth a read and was an interesting, modern day take on Rogue.

 

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.


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