(ARC) REVIEW • Taking Back From The Universe (Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes) » The Novel Hermit

(ARC) REVIEW • Taking Back From The Universe (Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes)

May 12, 2016 Comments : 3

Girl Against the Universe1

From the author of The Art of Lainey and Liars, Inc. comes a fresh, contemporary story about one girl’s tragic past and a boy who convinces her that maybe her luck is about to change. Perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen or Jenny Han.

Maguire knows she’s bad luck. No matter how many charms she buys off the internet or good luck rituals she performs each morning, horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time her brother, father, and uncle were all killed in a car crash—and Maguire walked away with barely a scratch. But then on her way out of her therapist’s office, she meets Jordy, an aspiring tennis star, who wants to help Maguire break her unlucky streak. Maguire knows that the best thing she can do for Jordy is to stay away, but staying away may be harder than she thought.[/note]

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from HarperCollins for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “There’s a thing that sometimes happen in your brain when you’re the only survivor of a horrific accident.”

Maguire Kelly has been plagued with bad luck. It’s hard for her to believe that all the bad things that happen around her are mere coincidences when it’s all stacked up against each other.

At 11 years old, her father, brother, and uncle were killed in a car crash, but Maguire came out unscathed.
At 12 years old, a rollercoaster she was on veered off track, and everybody except Maguire had serious injuries.
At 16 years old (before moving to Pacific Point), she accidentally left a candle burning, and the neighbors house was engulfed in flames.

Wouldn’t you start to think that you’re nothing but bad luck?

Letters

SINCERELY, CEE | A letter from yours truly to Katrina Leno and The Lost & Found

May 11, 2016 Comments : 2

**Dear Katrina Leno and The Lost & Found,**

You have me at found families!

[quote cite=”Goodreads” url=”https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27213084-the-lost-found”]LOST:
Frannie and Louis met in an online support group when they were both younger. They have never met face-to-face. They don’t even know each other’s real names. All they know is that they both have a mysterious tendency to lose things. Well, not lose them, exactly. Things just seem to…disappear.

FOUND: They each receive news in the mail that sets them off on a road trip to Austin, Texas, looking for answers—and each other. Along the way, each one begins to find, as if by magic, important things the other has lost. And by the time they finally meet in person, they realize that the things you lose might be things you weren’t meant to have at all, and that you never know what you might find if you just take a chance.

The Lost & Found is a bighearted novel about connections (missed and found), family (the kind you’re born with and the kind you make for yourself), and unexpected journeys (on the road, and of the heart).[/quote]

Reviews

(ARC) REVIEW • Who I Really Am (Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart)

May 9, 2016 Leave a Comment

Lily Jo McGrother, born Timothy McGrother, is a girl. But being a girl is not so easy when you look like a boy. Especially when you’re in the eighth grade.

Dunkin Dorfman, birth name Norbert Dorfman, is dealing with bipolar disorder and has just moved from the New Jersey town he’s called home for the past thirteen years. This would be hard enough, but the fact that he is also hiding from a painful secret makes it even worse.

One summer morning, Lily Jo McGrother meets Dunkin Dorfman, and their lives forever change.[/note]

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from Random House for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “Lily Jo is not my name. Yet.”

Reviews

(ARC) REVIEW • At the Mercy of Fates and the Stars (The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi)

May 5, 2016 Comments : 5

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…

But Akaran has its own secrets — thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most. . .including herself.

A lush and vivid story that is steeped in Indian folklore and mythology. The Star-Touched Queen is a novel that no reader will soon forget.[/note]

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from St. Martin’s Griffin for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “Staring at the sky in Bharata was like exchanging a secret.”

The Star-Touched Queen has put a spell on me. Seduced me with its promise of stars, fates, and mythology. Nobody could save me as soon as I stepped into this gorgeous world. I was a complete goner.

What The Star-Touched Queen brings readers are: a gorgeous story that weaves in Indian folklores and mythology, a girl who’s destined to marry death and destruction, stars and fates that shine down on the characters, magical settings that instantly transport you onto another plane, fantastic lush writing that’ll have you floating on cloud ten, and so much more that I can’t do a justice describing. It’ll completely ensnare you into its web, so you better hold on.

Discussion

TOO MUCH TBR • May 2016

May 4, 2016 Comments : 7

may tbr

I can safely say that April knocked March off its pedestal. I got through majority of the books I needed to read (and also read non-review books in the process). Book Gods, you are too good to me. Please continue this reading and reviewing streak. (Although, I’ve been feeling a bit burnt out so I think a break may be in the works for me.)

For those who do not know, Too Much TBR is a way to help me see which books I really need to read and tackle them. Is it effective? Perhaps. It helps a lot seeing a visual of the books on my TBR pile.

Let’s discuss what I read last month, and what I’m reading this month!

Discussion

ARC APRIL • How did I do?

May 2, 2016 Comments : 11

[note note_color=”#85C0C5″ text_color=”#ffffff”]After the big success of ARC August in 2015, Octavia and Shelly of Read. Sleep. Repeat. are back with a Spring edition—ARC April.

For those who do not know what ARC April/August is, it is an event that helps readers/bloggers get their ARC pile down. The rules are simply:

You read how many ARCS you want. YOU get to decide.
The book must be an ARC—physical or electronic. The ARC can be old or new ones. As long as it’s an arc, it’s okay.
Have fun!

You have until April 15th to sign up! I urge you to, especially if you have ARCs you need to read! Also, there’s a lot of wonderful readers joining in. [/note]

Where did the month go? April is now over, which means I gotta reflect back on whether I kicked ass during ARC April. You might remember I pledged to read these arcs in April (+ Tell the Wind and Fire, which isn’t pictured).

And did I?

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