#IMWAYR ~ 1/20/20

Ali here ~

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date. Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels or anything in those genres – join them.

Quips & Quotes 1/19/20

I LOVE keeping track of quotes that speak to me. Some turn me to mush. Some are profound and make me think. Some are just funny or entertaining. I often include a quote or two in my reviews, but I thought it would be fun to start a weekly post sharing my favorites from the previous week. So, without further ado, here’s my Quips & Quotes ~

Stacking the Shelves ~ 1/18/20

Ali here ~

Stacking The Shelves is hosted at Tynga’s Reviews/Reading Reality and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

A Heart So Fierce And Broken ~ Review

Ali here ~

Title: A Heart So Fierce And Broken
Series: Cursebreakers #2
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Release Date: Jan. 7, 2020
Genres: YA Fantasy/Romance/Retellings
Blurb:

Find the heir, win the crown.

The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Win the crown, save the kingdom.

Rumored to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen–until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

In the sequel to New York Times bestselling A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Brigid Kemmerer returns to the world of Emberfall in a lush fantasy where friends become foes and love blooms in the darkest of places.

Friday Finds ~ 1/17/20

Here are my TBR adds this week. The title links will take you to Goodreads, and I’m also linking up to other bloggers whose reviews, comments, or posts encouraged me to give these a try! Sharing some blogger love!!

 

Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict pub. Jan. 7, 2020

Blogger: The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog

Jan. 2020 Challenges Update ~ Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my January challenge updates! Yesterday I shared Part 1, which you can check out HERE.

Wizarding World Tour 2020 Reading Challenge

Beauxbatons
Read a book where a character breaks the law – Pretty Reckless by L.J. Shen
Castelobruxo
Read a book that contains a magical creature – A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
Durmstrang
Read a book related to the cold – Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw
Ilvermorny
Read a book featuring diversity/inclusivity – The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Uagadou
Read a book that includes an animal – Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge

I have currently read 24 of the 339 books on the list. My goal is to ultimately read them all, but I certainly don’t expect to get that done this year. I just hope to make some progress.

~ None yet

Library Love

 Library Love Challenge is hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart. 

Here are the Levels:

• Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books
• Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
• Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
• Library Addict: Read 48 books
• Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

I’ll start with the Dewey Decimal level and just see how I progress from there. I will for sure progress beyond the lowest level, but I really don’t have a clue how many library books I read in a year. I want to track that, though, and this’ll help motivate me to keep up with that.

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

2020 Newbery Reading Challenge

I’m participating in this challenge more to motivate my kids to pick up some of these books this year. If I’m reading them, then they’ll be a lot more likely to want to read them, too. And there are still a lot of them that I haven’t read yet myself.

These are the levels you can choose from ~

• L’Engle: 15 – 29 points
• Spinelli: 30 – 44 points
• Avi: 45 – 59 points
• Lowry: 60 – 74 points
• Konigsburg: 75+ points

Once again, I’ll be going for the lowest level, and I’ll just progress from there as possible.

~ None yet

 

Beat the Backlist 2020

Any genre, any format, any length.
Any book published in 2019 or earlier is fair game.
Re-reads count. And you don’t have to own the book!

The Air He Breathes by Brittainy C. Cherry
Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
Pretty Reckless by L.J. Shen

That wraps up my first update on my 2020 Reading Challenges.

Are you making any progress on yours? Or do you avoid challenges like the plague?? LOL!

Happy Reading,

Ali

Winterwood ~ Review

Ali here ~

Title: Winterwood
Series: N/A
Author: Shea Ernshaw
Release Date: Nov. 5, 2019
Genres: YA Fantasy/Romance
Blurb:

From New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance perfect for fans of Practical Magic, where dark fairy tales and enchanted folklore collide after a boy, believed to be missing, emerges from the magical woods—and falls in love with the witch determined to unravel his secrets.

Be careful of the dark, dark wood…

Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.

Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing.