ARC TBR Takedown Read-A-Thon Week 6

I started Sam @RiverMoose-Reads ARC TBR Read-A-Thon reading last month, and I’m excited that it’s time for another weekly blog post!

The first week we were to do our list of ARCs we currently had and I also explained the read-a-thon a little bit more fully, you can see my original post here.

On my list of TBR Arcs are:

1. Metaltown by Kristen Simmons
2. Bad Blood by Dimitria Lunetta
3. Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault by Candace Robinson
4. Fallen Flame by J.M. Miller
5. Dragon Redeemer by Amy Bearce
6. House of Ash by Hope Cooke
7. Fall of Thrones and Thorns by Jennifer Ellision
8. Riot of Storm and Smoke by Jennifer Ellision
9. The Ghost King by Jeff Altabef
10. When I Cast Your Shadow by Sarah Porter
11. Immersed  by Jennetta Penner

So far, I still haven’t received any news on whether or not I’ve been approved for any more eARCs from NetGalley.

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Week of July 6th: Explain You Review System/ Review Policy

Everyone has their own way to give star ratings, and I try to be very subjective when giving them out. I think I am very picky when giving out 5 star ratings, and I tend to give more 3 and 4 star ratings than anything else. Below I broke down my star rating system.

5 Stars – LOVED IT!  Would recommend the book to others.

4 Stars – Enjoyable and a great read.

3 Stars – An okay read – did not love it but liked it.

2 Stars – It was okay.

1 Star – Did not like it – was not enjoyable and lost interest in it.

Typically, for eARCs on NetGalley I only request the ones I have an interest in, so I never have a problem with deciding if I want to read the ARC or not. When a publisher or author asks me to review their book, I typically want to know what genre their book is in and the blurb. That way I can also look up what else the author has written and decide if it is something that I am interested in. I also take into account how many ARCs I already have, and if I have any deadlines coming up whether its for reviews or in my personal life. After accepting an ARC, I keep my reviews pretty unbiased and stick to just what I liked and didn’t like about the book. If an author/publisher requests a review, but asks that I contact them first if I am going to give anything less than 4 stars, I typically go ahead and pass on those books. I don’t like being told that in order to read a book and leave a review I have to follow certain guidelines and potentially skew my review just to fit their criteria. I like giving 100% honest reviews, and there are other books out there that I could read that lets me do that.

How do you  review books? What is your star rating breakdown?

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ARC TBR Takedown Read-A-Thon Week 5

I started Sam @RiverMoose-Reads ARC TBR Read-A-Thon reading challenge earlier this month, and I’m excited that it’s time for another weekly blog post!

The first week we were to do our list of ARCs we currently had and I also explained the read-a-thon a little bit more fully, you can see my original post here.

On my list of TBR Arcs are:

1. Metaltown by Kristen Simmons
2. Bad Blood by Dimitria Lunetta
3. Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault by Candace Robinson
4. Fallen Flame by J.M. Miller
5. Dragon Redeemer by Amy Bearce
6. House of Ash by Hope Cooke
7. Fall of Thrones and Thorns by Jennifer Ellision
8. Riot of Storm and Smoke by Jennifer Ellision
9. The Ghost King by Jeff Altabef

So far, I still haven’t received any news on whether or not I’ve been approved for any more eARCs from NetGalley.

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Week of June 29th: When/Why Do You Request Arcs

I normally only request ARCs if the premise intrigues me. To me if it has a good one, then I’ll just go ahead and request it regardless of who the author is or where it’s being published. I would rather read a good book by a new up and coming author, than a book that might just be okay by a well established author.

I typically only request ARCs if I don’t have any pending reviews in my NetGalley account, or if I am just looking for a new book in general. Since NetGalley can sometimes take a few days or longer to approve or deny, I try to anticipate my reading needs and my availability to read them. Although, my physical TBR shelves are overflowing, I like to read at least one ARC in between my other books. Sometimes, I just also read a bunch of eARCS back to back because they are on my Kindle and I tend to do a lot of reading at night before bed.

When do you typically request ARCS?

House of Ash Book Review

House of Ash by Hope Cook

Expected publication: September 26th 2017 by Amulet Books

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

eArc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary:

After hearing voices among an eerie copse of trees in the woods, seventeen-year-old Curtis must confront his worst fear: that he has inherited his father’s mental illness. A desperate search for answers leads him to discover Gravenhearst, a labyrinth mansion that burned down in 1894. When he locks eyes with a steely Victorian girl in a forgotten mirror, he’s sure she’s one of the fire’s victims. If he can unravel the mystery, he can save his sanity . . . and possibly the girl who haunts his dreams.

But more than 100 years in the past, the girl in the mirror is fighting her own battles. When her mother disappears and her sinister stepfather reveals his true intentions, Mila and her sister fight to escape Gravenhearst and unravel the house’s secrets—before it devours them both.

I wasn’t expecting much when I started reading this book, mainly because I have never heard of the author or book but the premise sounded very interesting. It gave me a Dawn Kurtagich kind of vibe, so I figured if anything it would be enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised that the book had me hooked basically at the very beginning.

This book is told in two POV’s Mila back in the 1890’s and Curtis from present day. I wasn’t sure how the two POV’s will be connected or if they will in any way, but I really liked how the author utilized them. I personally liked Milas’ part of the story a whole lot more, mainly because that was the part that most of the supernatural stuff was happening. Curtis’ POV was more him trying not to let people think he was beginning to have a mental illness like his father. The way that the author started to weave their two stories together though was very interesting and made the story more enjoyable.

The authors writing style reminded me a little bit of Dawn Kurtagich’s style, especially when the story centered around Mila and the supernatural. It was a little bit gothic in the sense that the author made the setting seem super dark and creepy when the story was being centered around Gravenhearst. The author also included illustrations at the end of some chapters. They weren’t needed but they helped add a little extra to what you were currently reading. Especially when it dealt with anything about Mila and Gravenhearst.

Character wise the only ones that stood out were Mila and Curtis. The supporting characters, while they played a big role in helping the plot advance, didn’t seem to be as fleshed out as the two main ones. Some of the characters seemed to just be placed in the scene for convenience than an actual purpose. Overall, it didn’t bother me too much because I liked the plot and how quickly it was advancing.

I enjoyed this book overall, but I wish that it had a stronger ending. It seemed as if the big climax happened and then everything was kind of loosely tied up in the end. My biggest question is what is going to happen to Curtis and his sister now? I have some other questions, but I don’t want to say anything because that would spoil some major parts of the book.

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Side note: This little guy is 7 years old today!! I can’t believe he has been in my life for that long and can’t wait to see what the next 7 years brings us!

Arc TBR Takedown Read-A-Thon Week 4

I started Sam @RiverMoose-Reads Arc TBR Read-A-Thon reading challenge last week, and I have finally caught up!

The first week we were to do our list of Arcs we currently had and I explained the read-a-thon a little bit more fully, you can see my original post here. On my list of TBR Arcs are:

1. Metaltown by Kristen Simmons
2. Bad Blood by Dimitria Lunetta
3. Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault by Candace Robinson
4. Fallen Flame by J.M. Miller
5. Dragon Redeemer by Amy Bearce
6. House of Ash by Hope Cooke
7. Fall of Thrones and Thorns by Jennifer Ellision
8. Riot of Storm and Smoke by Jennifer Ellision
9. The Ghost King by Jeff Altabef

So far, I still haven’t received any news on whether or not I’ve been approved for any more eArcs from NetGalley.

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Week 4: Let’s Talk NetGalley

I really love NetGalley and have been using it for almost two years now. For those of you who don’t know what NetGalley is it’s a website that allows you to potentially read, review, and recommend books that are either recently published or about to be published. It’s a great place to try to get eArcs from authors/publishers. It’s broken down by genre, and then that specific genre is broken down into available for request, read now (no waiting required), most requested, and previously on NetGalley. I honestly only look at the available for request section since eventually all the books end up in one of the other subcategories. The best part about this site is that it’s free! I’ve tried doing other sites that are similar, but I was never approved and it was a lot more complicated to request a book than it is with NetGalley. They have this figured out. They only request that you keep your review response to at least 80% or above. Which isn’t hard to do if you remember to review all the books you receive from them, and typically most people leave reviews on their own blog or Goodreads anyway so all you have to do is copy and paste it into the NetGalley review box. Easy Peasy.

Sometimes, I do wish that they had more “popular” authors, or maybe I’m just a little bit disappointed that I never seem to be approved for their books. For an up and coming author, it seems as if I am always approved. I’ve currently been approved for about 50ish books, and been denied about 25ish times. So my ratio is pretty good, and most times it’s because the publishers already had enough reviews of the book.

Do you use NetGalley? What do you think of it? Do you use another website that allows you to read eArcs?

 

 

Arc TBR Takedown Read-A-Thon Week 3

I started Sam @RiverMoose-Reads Arc TBR Read-A-Thon reading challenge this week, so I am still playing catch up on the weekly blogging posts (luckily I was only 3 behind so after this one I am all caught up).

The first week we were to do our list of Arcs we currently had and I explained the read-a-thon a little bit more fully, you can see my original post here. On my list of TBR Arcs are:

1. Metaltown by Kristen Simmons
2. Bad Blood by Dimitria Lunetta
3. Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault by Candace Robinson
4. Fallen Flame by J.M. Miller
5. Dragon Redeemer by Amy Bearce
6. House of Ash by Hope Cooke
7. Fall of Thrones and Thorns by Jennifer Ellision
8. Riot of Storm and Smoke by Jennifer Ellision
9. The Ghost King by Jeff Altabef

So far, I still haven’t received any news on whether or not I’ve been approved for any more eArcs from NetGalley.

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Week 3 (June 15th): Most disappointing Denials

For me, I don’t really get disappointed in being denied. I kind of just shrug it off and say better luck next time. It seems as if I am normally denied on NetGalley from very popular/famous authors, and I am always approved for indie authors. So, if it’s an author  I know that I have very little chance of getting approved of, I don’t put much hope into actually getting it. But who knows, maybe one day I’ll get lucky and get approved for one of those most anticipated books!

I’ve only been using NetGalley for almost 2 years now and I have only been denied 26 times and approved for 52 titles. So, as you can see I am active, but not as much as I would like to be. Maybe that has some impact on whether or not I am approved for certain books.

Some books I was denied that were disappointing to me even though I try not to be were:

• Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
• Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige (I am in the middle of reading this now, and I am really enjoying it)
• Missing by Kelley Armstrong (one of my favorite authors!)
• And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich
• Caraval by Stephanie Garber

How do you handle denials from NetGalley or any other similar eArc website? What books have you been denied that was really disappointing?

Arc TBR Takedown Read-A-Thon Week 2

I started Sam @RiverMoose-Reads Arc TBR Read-A-Thon reading challenge this week, so I am still playing catch up on the weekly blogging posts (luckily I was only 3 behind so I am almost caught up).

The first week we were to do our list of Arcs we currently had, you can see my original post here. On my list of TBR Arcs are:

1. Metaltown by Kristen Simmons
2. Bad Blood by Dimitria Lunetta
3. Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault by Candace Robinson
4. Fallen Flame by J.M. Miller
5. Dragon Redeemer by Amy Bearce
6. House of Ash by Hope Cooke
7. Fall of Thrones and Thorns by Jennifer Ellision
8. Riot of Storm and Smoke by Jennifer Ellision
9. The Ghost King by Jeff Altabef

So far, I still haven’t received any news on whether or not I’ve been approved for any more eArcs from NetGalley.

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Week 2 (June 8th): What do you do when you have to DNF or negatively review an arc?

This is kind of a hard question, I don’t really like to DNF books but if I have to I will. My philosophy is that are plenty of unread books out there waiting for me to read than to suffer through a book that doesn’t have my interest at all. I do try to give books a chance though. I will at least read a couple of chapters or at least 50-100 pages before calling it quits. Thankfully, I haven’t really had to DNF a lot of books, but when I do I find it extremely more difficult to write a review since I didn’t read the entire book.

On the question how I negatively review an arc, I am just totally honest in my opinion. I would rather hear someone’s honest opinion than read all these glowing reviews only to strongly dislike the book. I like reading the mix reviews because then I know what I am getting myself into, and then can base my judgement myself rather than wondering why so many people loved the book and I didn’t. When I write a negative review, I just try to be critical in my analysis but then also say some things that I did enjoy about the book. I don’t like leaving negative reviews, but I will if I have to.

What do you do when you have to DNF or leave a negative review? Let’s start a discussion!

 

TBR Takedown Read-A-Thon

Thanks to a blogger that I recently started following, I saw this read-a-thon in one of her blog posts and just had to check it out. The TBR Takedown Read-A-Thon was created by Sam @RiverMoose-Reads (<— Click here to see the original post).  I thought this was a great idea, mainly because it’s summer and I just started knocking off some of my arcs on my list.

This read-a-thon started June 1st and ends July 31st, so I am already a few weeks behind and I’ll spend the rest of the week to catch up!

Rules (because everything has to have rules to follow in order to feel accomplished in completing something ;)):

• Each book that counts must be an arc or review copy sent to you by an author, publisher, bookstore or review site like Netgalley.
• Can be ebook or physical or audiobook.
• Any genre.
• Must be reviewed within the Read-A-Thon time frame (or, confirm review written and scheduled for release day).
• Everyone welcome to join.
• Non-review copy/arc reads will only count if you are COMPLETELY caught up on your arc/review copy TBR AND they are backlogged books (out a year +) (Also applies for those who want to participate but don’t have any ARCs).
• Leave a comment on the original post and she will add you to her master list.
• NO REQUESTING NEW ARCS DURING THE READ-A-THON,  IT DEFEATS THE PURPOSE.

She also included levels and prizes for each level accomplished, which I thought was a really nice touch. Other than the read-a-thon, she included blogging weekly topics. I thought this was a great idea, and was one of the reasons I really wanted to join.

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Week one (June 1st): What ARCS do you currently have? + Top 10 Most Anticipated to Read Arcs.

I really don’t have exactly 10 arcs waiting to be read right now, mainly because I only request a few at a time so that I don’t feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of TBR books. But, I do have some right now (and I will include the ones I already read when the read-a-thon started).

Some of the titles will have links to my reviews if I have already read it.

Bad Blood by Demitria Lunetta

Published: March 14th 2017 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Source: NetGalley

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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Quincey Wolfe’s Glass Vault (Glass Vault series #1) by Candace Robinson

Published: May 16th 2017 by CreateSpace

Source: NetGalley

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I am on the list to receive the second and last book in the duology, but unfortunately that won’t happen until August after the read-a-thon ends.

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Fallen Flame (Fallen Flame #1) by J.M. Miller

Expected Publication: June 19th 2017

Source: NetGalley

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 

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Dragon Redeemer (World of Aluvia #3) by Amy Bearce

Published: May 23rd 2017 by Curiosity Quills Press

Source: Curiosity Quills Press

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Metaltown by Kristen Simmons

Published: September 20th 2016 by Tor Teen

Source: Wiley Publications

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House of Ash by Hope Cooke

Expected Publication: September 26th 2017 by Amulet Books

Source: NetGalley

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Riot of Storm and Smoke (Threats of Sky and Sea #2) by Jennifer Ellision

Published: August 17th 2015

Source: NetGalley

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Fall of Thrones and Thorns (Threats of Sea and Sky #3) by Jennifer Ellision

Published: September 27th 2016

Source: NetGalley

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Well I have 8 so far, so that isn’t too bad. I do have a couple waiting approval through NetGalley, so hopefully I will be able to add them to this list pretty soon.

Fallen Flame Book Review

Fallen Flame (Fallen Flame #1) by J.M. Miller

Expected Publication: June 19th, 2017

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

An eArc was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary:

Nineteen years ago, on the island kingdom of Garlin, a girl was born. With charred skin as rough as rock, Vala was instantly feared. For how could one be scorched by magic when it had perished ages before?
Recognizing an asset, the royal family welcomed her on their Guard. Her detail: the prince.
To watch. To protect. She has grown with him, lives her life for him.
When the high kingdom’s princess comes to assess the prince, assassins of rival courtiers come to claim his life. One nearly succeeds in his mission. But with shadowy movements and charred skin like her own, Vala knows he is not like the rest.
As threats to the prince continue and questions about Vala’s life begin to rise, she faces a fear worse than fire or water, worse even than losing him.
She fears finding out who she truly is.

The author is currently doing a release blitz closer to the time the book is published. I was going to join, however, it stated if I was going to give less than 3.5 stars to send them my review first before posting. I didn’t like that requirement, and think that if you, as an author, is sending out arcs for review then you should be able to take the bad with the good. Okay, rant over. Now on to the actual review of the book.

This was book one in the Fallen Flame series, and it was a decent start to this new world. It wasn’t very original in concept, but Miller does a good job in making it her own. Miller does an excellent job of world building on the little island that the entire book takes place on. However, it was a little confusing when they talked about other places in relation to where they were located. Eventually, I figured it out when it kept getting repeated (and maybe looking at the map in the beginning of the book helped out a lot as well).

Vala is the main protagonist in this story, and I enjoyed learning more about her throughout the book. I just wish that the pacing was a little bit faster, I didn’t really enjoy the book until about 80% in. We are told that Vala is different from everyone and that she was cursed when she was born. There is a lot of mystery surrounding that time, and Vala never really questions it until she meets an assassin who looks just like her. Ever since this assassin shows up, Vala starts to question everything about her life and who she really is. Which I thought was more interesting than what was going on in her life as a guard to the prince and eventually princess.

Plotwise, it didn’t seem to be much of one until the mystery of Vala’s past comes up near the end. And then it just seemed as if it was only placed there to set up the next book. Majority of the book was Vala and the guards trailing behind the royals and trying to keep assassins from killing the prince. When Vala is accused of murder, is when the plot really picks up and questions sort of start to get answered.

One aspects of the book that I had a major problem with was the relationship between the prince and Vala. It was always mentioned that Vala has gotten too close to the prince, and vice versa. When Vala is accused of murder, it was like that relationship never existed. He tortured her with water knowing how much pain it causes her, and he wouldn’t even listen to her. I’m glad that she finally realized that he was not someone she needed to give up her life for in order for him to live just because he is the prince.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad book. It set up the world building nicely, introduced the characters very well, and left us with a mystery that just started to be solved near the end. I just wish the pace was a little bit faster.

Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault Book Review

Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault (Glass Vault #1) by Candace Robinson

Published: May 16th 2017 by CreateSpace

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This eArc was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Summary:

Some see it… Some don’t…

People in the town of Deer Park, Texas are vanishing. There is a strange museum, known as Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault, that appears overnight. Perrie Madeline’s best friend and ex-boyfriend are among the missing. Perrie, along with her friend August, go on a pursuit to search for them in the mysterious museum. Could the elusive Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault have anything to do with their disappearances?

A book that intertwines horror elements and retellings, with humor and darkness

This is book one out of two in the Glass Vault series, with book 2 expected to be published around October.

Robinson did a fantastic job with weaving in the horror elements with all the classic fairytales that we all know and love. In the beginning I was wondering when that aspect of the book would start, but when it did I could barely put the book down! I didn’t see much humor in the book, but I did see a lot of darkness. I think I was expecting a little bit of a creep factor like in Dawn Kurtagich’s book, but this just had a more gruesome tone than creepy.

Perrie as a main character did not stand out as much to me as the side characters did. I almost wish her cousin Maisie was the main protagonist, but the end of the story made me change my mind. As Perrie and August go through each fairy tale, it seems as if they figure something out and by the next tale they have to figure it out all over again. By the time Perrie figures out how things are connected, I couldn’t help but just say “duh”. I think because once they are in the vault the pace of the book goes by very fast, so the author kind of goes into telling almost every detail rather than just showing how things unfold and let the reader try to figure it out for themselves. If we were on the same pace as Perrie, I wouldn’t have minded so much.

Other than Perrie, I really enjoyed the plot of this story (well after they actually go to the museum, the beginning could use some light editing just to make it go faster to the actual plot). It seems lately that I have been reading a lot of retellings, but none of them have had a horror twist aspect. The little snippets that we get of each one does a very good job of being very “scary-esque”, but I wish we could have stayed a little bit longer in a few of them to really explore the possibilities. Some scenes went by so fast, it was almost like why even put it in the book?

The ending, however, really brought up the book from 3 stars to 4. Sometimes it is really hard to write a very good ending, but Robinson did a very good job with this one. I almost wish I didn’t have to wait until October to read the second book!

Bad Blood Book Review

Bad Blood by Demitria Lunetta

Published: March 14th 2017 by Delacorte Press for Young Readers

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This eArc was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary:

A girl discovers a family secret and a past full of magic that could both save her and put her in mortal danger in this suspenseful novel that’s perfect for fans of Katie Alender and Natasha Preston.

All sixteen-year-old Heather MacNair wants is to feel normal, to shed the intense paranoia she’s worn all year like a scratchy sweater. After her compulsion to self-harm came to light, Heather was kept under her doctor’s watchful eye. Her family thinks she’s better—and there’s nothing she wants more than for that to be true. She still can’t believe she’s allowed to spend her summer vacation as she always does: at her aunt’s home in Scotland, where she has lots of happy memories. Far away from all her problems save one: she can’t stop carving the Celtic knot that haunts her dreams into her skin.

Good friends and boys with Scottish accents can cure almost anything…except nightmares. Heather can’t stop dreaming about two sisters from centuries ago, twins Prudence and Primrose, who somehow seem tied to her own life. Their presence lurks just beneath the surface of her consciousness, sending ripples through what should be a peaceful summer. The twins might hold the key to putting Heather’s soul at rest…or they could slice her future deeper than any knife.

First, I want to say that I really liked the setting in this book. Scotland plus witches? Yes, please.

Unfortunately, that’s really the most praise I can give for this book. The pacing was very slow, and it took a long time to develop why Primrose and Prudence’s chapters were relating to Heather. Rereading the synopsis, I realize that it says they are dreams, but I forgot about that going in and was a little confused about the flashbacks. For most of the book it was about Heather spending her time in Scotland with her aunt and friends, and occasionally having a huge urge to cut herself. Every time she always wonders why she has to and why can’t she be normal, but she never does anything to change the impulses. The idea of witches pops up every now and then during Heather’s normal day to day life, and it wasn’t until about 80% in that it really becomes relevant or start to connect with why Heather.

I felt as if all of the characters were very one dimensional and very cliche. We don’t really get a sense of who they are, and I never felt like I could connect to any of the characters as well while reading. For the most part, I kept thinking why was I still reading this book when I don’t even care about the characters?

By around the 80% mark though I started to become a little bit more invested and wanted to know how the whole story would play out. When the big showdown happened though, I was a little disappointed that what Heather did was all it took for everything to stop. I felt after all that (slow) buildup there should have been a bigger showdown between Heather and the twins.

Overall, it’s a decent book to read in between series or if you just need a book to read while waiting at the doctors office or something. It’s a slow build up, but at least the writing style was very nicely done. I definitely found myself reading in a Scottish accent whenever anyone talked, and Heather had a very distinct American one. Would probably make for a very good audiobook.