Shadowhunters TV Trailer

ABC Family dropped the Shadowhunters TV show trailer last week.

I’m pretty excited about it. Especially Matthew Daddario.

Here’s the trailer, in case you missed it:

What are your thoughts?

Bye, Bye, Bye... Bye, Bye.

Hey, peeps. I just wanted to let you know that I will not be dropping off of the face of the earth after today. My posts will be a little sporadic, simply because of the amount of schoolwork I’m having to get done in the next week and a half-ish.

I may end up posting some stuff, and I’ve got some pre-scheduled stuff ready to go already, but for the most part, October is going to be a little slow here on the blog.

Thanks for understanding and I’ll see you more in November! ;)

Which Team Are You? : The A Court of Thorns and Roses Edition

I basically just post a book series every week and have people vote on what team they are. I know the YA Sisterhood does the YA Crush Tournament, but I just want to find out how much you guys like one love interest over another, in one series.

The last poll was over Team Jase, Beck, or West from Gena Showalter's The Original Heartbreakers series. Team Jase won! 

So for this edition of “Which Team Are You?” I’m going to ask you who your pick of hunky man-flesh is from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas. 

You can choose from:

1) Tamlin

or 2) Rhys

I’m Team Tamlin. Tamlin is the good guy. –Ish. Rhys is just too much of a party-boy, all-for-himself type.

If you had to choose one, who would it be, and why? If you haven’t read the book (How is that even possible!?), who do you think sounds more appealing from the A Court of Thorns and Roses summary below:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Which Team Are You?

	Team Tamlin
	Team Rhys

abcpoll.com free polls

***Please note that I stop checking the poll the Friday before the new poll comes out (on Sunday). Also, please only vote once so everyone’s vote counts, unless you need to vote for both guys. I give you permission to do that because sometimes choosing is tough.***

**Also note that these are not my images. I found them online.

Stacking the Shelves: The Mostly Free, But Also Bought Edition

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme that is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

So many books. And four of them are copies of each other.

Wild Iris Ridge by RaeAnne Thayne
Wyoming Strong by Diana Palmer
A Mad Zombie Party by Gena Showalter
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I got Wild Iris Ridge and Wyoming Strong from Harlequin as a free promotion thing. You know those forms you fill out that are in the middle of the romance novels to get books? That's what I did. Not sure if I'll do it again, though. Wild Iris Ridge is the seventh book in a series I don't really have any interest in reading.

And, because I went to Leigh Bardugo's signing, (The recap for this is here!) I had to buy Six of Crows. And I had pre-ordered A Mad Zombie Party a month or so ago because I wanted the free swag that is still not here.

 I may have received a lot of books this week, but my book ban is still in place. I bought these books before I decided to go on one and the other books were free. Technicalities are good excuses, right?

What books have you bought/received lately?

Dean Winchester Friday

Dean Winchester (or sometimes Jensen Ackles) Fridays make me a very happy fangirl. You'll see why when you look at the pic.

Haha. Exercise isn’t exactly fun, but I’m kind of addicted to running, so… Don’t make fun of me, Dean! I’m your one true love! ;)

Waiting on Wednesday: Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

Sword and Verse

Kathy MacMillan

Publication Date: January 19, 2016

Hardcover, 400 pages, HarperTeen

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Raisa was only a child when she was kidnapped and enslaved in Qilara. Forced to serve in the palace of the king, she’s endured hunger, abuse, and the harrowing fear of discovery: everyone knows she is Arnath, but not that Raisa is a Learned One, a part of an Arnath group educated in higher order symbols. In Qilara, this language is so fiercely protected that only the King, the Prince, and Tutors are allowed to know it. So when the current Tutor-in-training is executed for sharing the guarded language with slaves, and Raisa is chosen to replace her, Raisa knows that—although she may have a privileged position among slaves—any slip-up could mean death.

That would be challenging enough, but training alongside Prince Mati could be her real undoing. And when a romance blossoms between them, she’s suddenly filled with a dangerous hope for something she never before thought possible: more. Then she’s propositioned by the Resistance—an underground army of slaves—to help liberate the Arnath people. Joining the rebellion could mean freeing her people…but she’d also be aiding in the war against her beloved—an honorable man that she knows wants to help the slaves.

Working against the one she loves—and a palace full of deadly political renegades—has some heady consequences. As Raisa struggles with what’s right, she unwittingly uncovers a secret that the Qilarites have long since buried…one that, unlocked, could bring the current world order to its knees.

And Raisa is the one holding the key.

My Thoughts

Another cool-sounding YA fantasy book. Count me in!

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Leigh Bardugo's Mayhem and Magic Tour: My St. Louis Event Recap

As some of you may know, and as the rest of you are going to find out, I went to Leigh Bardugo’s St. Louis signing last week. I had only found out about it about two weeks before time, so I wasn’t that prepared. I had to pre-order Six of Crows and see if my parents could take me halfway because St. Louis is a three-hour one-way trip from where I live and my car is a piece of crap. Thankfully, my dad was able to drive me part of the way. Thanks, Pops! ;)

I first have to say that I meant to write all of my thoughts and a recap about the signing right after it happened, but life got away with me, so I’m sorry that this will probably not get into a lot of detail.

When I walked into the library’s signing area, the first thing I noticed were the birds. And not just any birds. There were crows. I took (blurry) pictures.

This one is I believe the American crow.

This one is the white-necked raven from Africa.

And finally, this crow has a name sort of like pine-something (far-left). I was trying to text the names of all of them and I missed the last one. Oops.

They were pretty hilarious during Leigh’s reading and Q&A. Every time they cawed, she’d respond to them. One time when one of them cawed, she even joked that it was giving her a one star on Goodreads!

The wait for the Q&A was pretty nice. They had cookies and even some crafts. I tried to do the origami crow thing they had steps and materials for, but the directions were awful, so I gave up. It was a cool idea, though.

Now, I should get onto the good stuff. When Leigh actually came out of wherever it was they were stashing her, she immediately rushed to take pictures of the crows. If I was an author, I think this would be a very cool perk of the job. You get to have live birds at your author signing, how cool!

After the birds, Leigh came over and read an excerpt of Six of Crows to us, obviously. And she did it with accents! It was awesome! She said that she had caught a cold somewhere on tour, but I don’t think it affected her voice that much. She just had a few sniffles. Oh! And she also read a poem she wrote when she was 11. It was called “Transition #2” and was about chaos and innocence. Leigh didn’t know what drama she had going on in her life at the time to be able to write so seriously about innocence at the age of 11. 

Leigh then discussed her influences for Six of Crows, which were 1) that she wanted to step away from “the Chosen One” storyline, 2) her biological dad—the radical Jerusalem criminal, 3) her brawler grandpa (she also discussed a hilarious story about how her grandpa taught her to punch her bus bully), and 4) her stepdad who wanted her to write the American novel, but probably wouldn’t have understand YA literature. She said she probably wouldn’t have written The Grisha Trilogy if he was still alive, just because he wouldn’t have approved.

During the Q&A portion of the night, a question was asked about which Hogwarts House her characters would be in. Here’s a quick rundown:

Kaz = Slytherin

Matthias & Nina = Gryffindor

Jesper = Gryffindor or Ravenclaw

And I totally missed one character but she said s/he would be in Hufflepuff. (I’m assuming this one is Wylan?)

She was also asked a question about relating to her fandom that she replied to as politely as possible. She basically said it’s hard and sometimes there are mean things directed at you, but authors were on Twitter/Facebook/whatever before they actually became authors.

Another question was about theme songs for the characters. She said that that would be too hard to name a song for them all, but she said Kaz’s would be “Sinister Kid.”

Oh, and small tidbit, she said she cried when she met George R.R. Martin for the first time. Yes, somehow she’s been lucky enough to meet him more than once.

After the Q&A, we lined up to sign. Of course I didn’t realize there was a line forming, so I ended up being close to the end. *sigh*

But I met some cool people, one of which (I believe her name is Becca) told me that "crowbar" was the keyword to get more swag. It totally worked! Thanks, Becca!

 

Then I took a picture with Leigh. She was holding up the books for the pics and I totally didn’t bring the dustjackets for mine because I was going on a long trip and I didn’t want them to get injured, so she took a picture with a naked book. Oh, and I also managed to drop one of the free buttons she was giving out and I was too embarrassed to go back and get it. Plus I really had to go to the restroom. ;)

OH! And Leigh asked me who my favorite character was and I said Mal, so she wrote a Mal quote in Ruin and Rising. Apparently, people in Texas really like Mal, too. But in Brazil, it's all about the Darkling. 

 

All in all, it was a fun signing and I think I definitely stood outside my comfort zone a little with this one. At the Sarah J. Maas signing I was an awkward wreck and at the HarperTeen signing I was just nervous as all get-out. Maybe by the time I meet Rainbow Rowell I’ll actually be able to string more than two sentences together?

Have you met any authors before? If so, you should let me know who so I can be a jealous fangirl. 

I Am a Book-Buying Addict and This is My Solution.

Okay, guys. It’s that time of year. I just need to slow it down. Slow it waaaay down. I just can’t help myself lately, but it has to stop. This addiction has to stop. For the moment.

I just need to say it loud and say it proud. I AM A BOOK-BUYING ADDICT AND I HAVE A PROBLEM.

Okay, so it’s not necessarily a “problem.” It’s more of a minor inconvenience that could turn into a problem at this point. Why? Because lately I’ve been spending a lot of money on books (I say a lot of money, but I’m still doing better than average—minus being a college kid who’s in thousands of dollars’ worth of debt). And I don’t really have a lot of space for these books. And I don’t want to get rid of any books right now. So I’m doing the thing every book lover hates to do.

I am going on a BOOK-BUYING BAN. *GASP!*

You heard me (read me?). I just need to slow my roll. During the summer I wasn’t reading a lot because of Netflix, but now I’m not watching Netflix and I’m reading. This results in a lot of money spent on books I see floating around the Booktube or book blog community. It needs to stop. I need to read the books I buy, before I buy any new ones.

So my book-buying ban goal is as follows: I will only buy one book AFTER I have read five of the books I already own. However, there are three exceptions. Exception #1) If there is a book I really want on Book Outlet and there are less than 10 copies left, I can buy that book. Exception #2) If a book that I really want comes out and I haven’t pre-ordered it (i.e. Winter), I can buy it only on Amazon. (Amazon is cheap. Sorry, but I’m a college kid. Plus I have Prime.) Exception #3) My local library sale is coming up. I have determine I can spend less than $50 there. Hopefully, I won't even need that amount.

That right there is my book-buying ban goal. What kind of book-buying bans have you guys put yourselves on? Or have you never felt the need to do so? Let me know in the comments.

Stacking the Shelves: The Too Many Books and Too Much Money Edition

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme that is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

Too many books. I need to stop and save my money. Eat or buy more books? Ugh, life choices.

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

The 5thWave by Rick Yancey

Beauty Awakened by Gena Showalter (not pictured)

Fangirl (Collector’s Edition) and Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I bought another Book Outlet order because I plan on going to Rainbow Rowell’s St. Louis signing in October and David Levithan is going to be there signing his new book, too. Since the only book I own by him is already signed, I thought I should get something else to take to the event. Thankfully, Book Outlet had some of his books, so I was able to get Invisibility and some others that I really wanted (*cough* Trial by Fire *cough*), all for the price of one hardback book.

And, because I’m going to the signing, I wanted to pick up Attachments and the special edition of Fangirl. The special edition is so pretty, guys. There are no words.

Oh, and I also traded some books in at my local used bookstore for Beauty Awakened.

Ugh. There’s just way too much money that went into all of these and I have more books that are on their way. (Or already here, since they’re supposed to be here by the 30^th of September. This post is going up pretty early.) I’ve got to slow waaaaaay down.

What books have you bought/received lately?

Dean Winchester Friday

Dean Winchester (or sometimes Jensen Ackles) Fridays make me a very happy fangirl. You'll see why when you look at the pic.

How does he still look attractive when he’s doing that?

Review: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

The Kiss of Deception

Mary E. Pearson

(The Remnant Chronicles #1)

Publication Date: July 8, 2014

Hardcover, 489 pages, Henry Holt & Co.

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

My Review

Another princess. Another love triangle. Another war. Another fantastic book!!!

This book starts off with a familiar phenomenon in fantasy. It has the princess who runs away because she doesn’t want to be in the arranged marriage that will unite her country with a neighboring one. At first I was a little hesitant with just how familiar this plotline was, but I quickly learned that Princess Lia is not someone I should underestimate. Nothing is familiar when it comes to her.

However, Lia wasn’t immediately the spunky, kind-hearted heroine I enjoyed reading about. Her plotline was so unoriginal that, while I thought it was a good fantasy, it wasn’t anything special until about three-fourths of the way in. That burial scene just slaughtered my heart and made me love Lia so much. The whole scene resonated with me and it sent a strong message about war: that war is pointless and it’s destructive.

Other than Lia, there are three other primary characters, two of which are the love interests, Rafe and Kaden. What can I say about them? They’re both completely surprising and I don’t know which one I’m leaning towards more. That plot twist threw me, even though I knew to be on the lookout for one. Anywho, I think I’m leaning towards Rafe, but Kaden isn’t too terribly far behind.

The other character is Lia’s handmaiden/friend Pauline. Her character was a tad predictable and her storyline is the same one that often appears within most YA fantasy best friend plotlines. It irked me, but it was interesting to read about, so I’m not too terribly torn up about it.

All in all, this book is a fantasy book you’ll need to read. Not only is it a good romance story with an entertaining plotline, but it also has important messages about the other side of war, something I believe every person needs to think about.

*Note: I purchased this book for myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.