Month: August 2017

July 2017 Wrap Up

*everything in red print is a clickable link that will open in a new window*

July was an awesome reading month for me! With the help of handy dandy Goodreads, I managed to devour eleven awesome books! Here’s a list of everything that I read:

I rated The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson 4 stars. I got this book with the exclusive cover in my June OwlCrate box, and this was a group read with my Facebook group, OwlCrate Book Club. Come join us!

 

Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer got a solid 5 stars! This is a graphic novel that takes place after the events of the Lunar Chronicles series and our main character is our beloved Iko!

5 geeky stars for the gem Geekerella by Ashley Poston. I adored this book and the cover and dust jacket art is gorgeous!

New World: Rising by Jennifer Wilson got 4 stars! This is the first in her New World trilogy, and I adore all the covers. I really enjoyed this book and I definitely recommend it!

5 stars for A Court of Wings and Ruins by Sarah J. Maas. It’s the third installment in this series, with three more novels and multiple novellas to come. This is one of my favourite series, and I really loved how it was tied up.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon got 5 stars. It was made into a movie that was released this year, as most of you probably know, so I decided I needed to finally read it. Oh man, it was so good! Can’t believe it took me so long to pick it up!

I gave Sinful Cinderella by Anita Valle 3 stars. I got it as a free ebook from BookBub, and I was quite looking forward to it. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I’d recommend it if you like twisted fairy tale retellings!

I gave 10 Things I Can See from Here by Carrie Mac 5 stars, but I would’ve given it 10 if Goodreads allowed that! It’s set in my hometown of Vancouver, BC, Canada and it’s about a queer teenage girl trying to deal with her anxiety. I really related to the main character and I will definitely reread it!

Lumberjanes Volumes 1, 2, and 3 by Noelle Stevenson gets 5 stars each!! I freaking adore this series and I just want to read more and more! The girls are fantastic and the dialogue is hilarious, and I love wacky, mystical creatures. When you get a chance, read this series.

Total books read: 11

Page count: 3,220

Stars: 51/55

I read so many awesome books in July, and I can’t wait to see what I’ll read in August! What did you read in July?

Beast by Megan Crewe

Beast by Megan Crewe review

Published: May 23rd, 2017

Format: e-ARC

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35052659-beast

 

**SPOILER ALERT**

Thank you to the author, Megan Crewe, for supplying me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Beast is a YA Urban Fantasy/Paranormal/Horror novel. When I first requested an ARC of this book, I didn’t read the description, and so I thought it was a Beauty and The Beast retelling. I was very wrong.

I don’t normally read ‘scary’ books, but Beast was scary – and I loved it.
For the first 30% of the book, I was bored. I didn’t like Max or any of the side characters, and I didn’t like the choices that were being made by the characters (such as not going to the hospital. Like come on!!) I was considering DNFing it, but I decided to push on.

I’m glad I did. By 45%, I was sucked in and I needed to know what was going to happen. This book kept me up at night because I was scared and intrigued.

Max was an unlikeable character. I never liked him, not even in the end. His decisions were questionable, and his morals were way out of whack. I also hated his constant rambling inner monologue about how he loved Jena, he needed to protect Ash (more like being a controlling jerk), and how he knew the real Davey was still stuck inside. I quite disliked Max, although I didn’t really like any of the characters – except for Vicky; I liked her. I felt they were very fake and two dimensional, and didn’t really speak like how teenagers speak (I should know, I’m a teenager myself).

I also had issues with Davey’s feelings for Ash. That felt very cliché. Max’s feelings for Jena were pretty cliché too. I felt the book could have been better without any romance at all, in my opinion.
While I wouldn’t have normally read Beast, I’m glad I did. Overall, I enjoyed it, especially the parts with Davey and him killing everyone. The descriptions of the deaths were awesome.

My BIGGEST problem with this book is when the gerbils are eaten by Davey. I thought that, while it may have been important to the plot, the extreme detail was unnecessary. I wish there had been a warning, at least, because although I did skim the part as much as possible, I felt quite upset by it.
All in all, Beast was a good book and I would recommend it for people who have a strong stomach and don’t mind being creeped out.

Overall rating: 3/5 stars!