Monday, November 30, 2015

november wrap up

welcome to another episode of "what did Caroline read this month?" I can't believe November is almost over, which means CHRISTMAS is right around the corner!! I am one of those people who is ridiculously obsessed with everything about Christmas: everything from music to decorations to movies to gift giving and everything else, so hopefully this next month will be super festive, both in life and on here. November was a pretty good month for me overall, I managed to read nine books and post four reviews, so here we go!

1. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer – Rick Riordan ☆☆☆☆☆

synopsis: Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .

 
2. Bleak House  – Charles Dickens  ☆☆☆
I started this book in SEPTEMBER but I finally made it through

Bleak House opens in the twilight of foggy London, where fog grips the city most densely in the Court of Chancery. The obscure case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, in which an inheritance is gradually devoured by legal costs, the romance of Esther Summerson and the secrets of her origin, the sleuthing of Detective Inspector Bucket and the fate of Jo the crossing-sweeper, these are some of the lives Dickens invokes to portray London society, rich and poor, as no other novelist has done. Bleak House, in its atmosphere, symbolism and magnificent bleak comedy, is often regarded as the best of Dickens. A 'great Victorian novel', it is so inventive in its competing plots and styles that it eludes interpretation.



3. First & Then – Emma Mills ☆☆☆☆1/2

  Devon Tennyson wouldn't change a thing. She's happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon's cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn't want them first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.



 
4. Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) – Marissa Meyer ☆☆☆☆☆

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.



5. Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) – Marissa Meyer ☆☆☆☆☆

Cinder is back and trying to break out of prison―even though she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive if she does―in this second installment from Marissa Meyer.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother, or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana.



6. Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) – Marissa Meyer ☆☆☆☆☆

Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.
Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker; unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.
When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.


7. Lumberjanes – Noelle Stevenson ☆☆☆☆

Five best friends spending the summer at Lumberjane scout camp...defeating yetis, three-eyed wolves, and giant falcons...what’s not to love?!

Friendship to the max! Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five best pals determined to have an awesome summer together...and they’re not gonna let any insane quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! Not only is it the second title launching in our new BOOM! Box imprint but LUMBERJANES is one of those punk rock, love-everything-about-it stories that appeals to fans of basically all excellent things. It’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Gravity Falls and features five butt-kicking, rad teenage girls wailing on monsters and solving a mystery with the whole world at stake. And with the talent of acclaimed cartoonist Noelle Stevenson, talented newcomer Grace Ellis writing, and Brooke Allen on art, this is going to be a spectacular series that you won’t want to miss. Collects Lumberjanes #1-#4.

8. Two on a Tower – Thomas Hardy ☆☆☆☆

Two On A Tower is a tale of star-crossed love in which Hardy sets the emotional lives of his two lovers against the background of the stellar universe. The unhappily married Lady Constantine breaks all the rules of social decorum when she falls in love with Swithin St. Cleeve, an astronomer who is ten years her junior. Her husband's death leaves the lovers free to marry, but the discovery of a legacy forces them apart. This is Hardy's most complete treatment of the theme of love across the class and age divide and the fullest expression of his fascination with science and astronomy.






9. Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5)  – Marissa Meyer ☆☆☆☆

Mirror, mirror, on the wall.
Who is the Fairest of them all?

Pure evil has a name, hides behind a mask of deceit, and uses her "glamour" to gain power. But who is Queen Levana? Long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in The Lunar Chronicles, Levana lived a very different story—a story that has never been told . . . until now.
New York Times –bestselling author Marissa Meyer reveals the story behind her fascinating villain in Fairest, an unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes a special full-color image of Levana's castle and an excerpt from Winter, the exciting conclusion to The Lunar Chronicles.


what did you love this month?

xx
Sunny

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

top ten tuesday: quotable moments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish! This week's theme is: "November 17: Top Ten Quotes I Loved From Books I Read In The Past Year Or So." I absolutely love this theme, though it makes people crazy, I'm constantly marking in my books. I love words and the way they come together to make people feel something, so I go a little bit crazy over quotes!


1. "People think people are in charge, but they're wrong, it's the trees." – Jandy Nelson, I'll Give You the Sun 


2. She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers. She was Aelin Fireheart, and she bowed for no one and nothing, save the crown that was hers by blood and survival and triumph.– Sarah J. Maas, Queen of Shadows 

3. “In friendship we are all debtors. We all owe each other for a thousand small kindnesses, for little moments of grace in the chaos.”– Emery Lord, The Start of Me and You 


4.  "'We women are a sad lot, aren't we?' 
 'What do you mean?' 
'Strong enough to take on the world with our bare hands, yet we permit ridiculous boys to make fools of us.'" – Renee Ahdieh, The Wrath and the Dawn 

5.  “If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meant to stop him, did that make him a villain? He took a long sip of his drink, tipped his head back against the Vicious 
couch, and decided he could live with that.” –V.E. Schwab,

6. "Dear Isabel, A quick note: I don't think a vivid imagination is all it's cracked up to be. I'm quite certain you have one, but if not, thank the gods of born-with-gifts and move on. However, if you're cursed as I am with a love of storytelling and adventures in galaxies far far away, and mythical creatures from fictional lands who are more real to you than actual people with blood and bones – which is to say, people who exist– well, let me be the first to pass on my condolences. Because life is rarely what you imagine it would be." – David Arnold, Mosquitoland 

7. "Mathematics or fate: Whatever that force is that keeps bringing us together in world after world, it's powerful. Undeniable. But I still don't know whether that force means my salvation or my destruction." – Claudia Gray, A Thousand Pieces of You 

8. Later, we lay on the riverbank, learning the lines of each other's bodies anew. This, and this and this. We were like gods at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright, we could see nothing else but the other." – Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles  

9. “People really are like house with vast rooms and tiny windows. And maybe it's a good thing, the way we never stop surprising each other.” – Becky Albertalli, Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda

10. “You are full, Laia. Full of life and dark and strength and spirit. You are in our dreams. You will burn, for you are an ember in the ashes.”– Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes



what are your quotes this week?
xx
Sunny




Wednesday, November 11, 2015

look at her go: reviewin' reviewin': first & then

First & Then by Emma Mills

☆☆☆☆1/2

goodreads/b&n/amazon

synopsis: Devon Tennyson wouldn't change a thing. She's happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon's cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn't want them first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.



full review under the cut! 

waiting on wednesday: not if i see you first

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted over at Breaking the Spine!

This week's pick: Not if I See You First – Eric Lindstrom

release date: December 1

goodreads

synopsis: The Rules:

Don't deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public.

Don't help me unless I ask. Otherwise you're just getting in my way or bothering me.

Don't be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I'm just like you only smarter.

Parker Grant doesn't need 20/20 vision to see right through you. That's why she created the Rules: Don't treat her any differently just because she's blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. Just ask Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart.

When Scott suddenly reappears in her life after being gone for years, Parker knows there's only one way to react-shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough on her mind already, like trying out for the track team (that's right, her eyes don't work but her legs still do), doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn't cried since her dad's death three months ago. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened--both with Scott, and her dad--the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, some Rules are meant to be broken.

~~~

I think this looks like a super interesting book... think about how much of a story is told through the eyes of a protagonist based on what they can see. Now take all of that away, and make them reliant on their other senses. This will definitely be something different, I hope its as good as it seems! 

what are your picks this week? 
xx
Sunny




Friday, November 6, 2015

look at her go: reviewin' reviewin': the sword of summer

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

goodreads/b&n/amazon
(rating)

synopsis: Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .


full review under the cut!

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

waiting on wednesday: winter and da vinci's tiger

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted over at Breaking the Spine! Since there are two books coming out next week that I have been waiting for LITERALLY for forever, I decided to do a double whammy WoW post this week and feature them both!

Pick #1 Winter by Marissa Meyer
release date: November 10

synopsis: (spoilers) Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend–the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

~~~
I have been a huge fan of the Lunar Chronicles since Cinder came out four years ago. I can't believe the series is finally coming to an end! It will be bittersweet for sure, I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to these characters, but at the same time, I want to know what happens so badly! AHHH y'all its finally here and I couldn't be more excited for it. 

 Pick #2: Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliott
release date: November 10 

synopsis: 
Young, beautiful, and witty, Ginevra de’ Benci longs to take part in the artistic ferment of Renaissance Florence. But as the daughter of a wealthy family in a society dictated by men, she is trapped in an arranged marriage, expected to limit her creativity to domestic duties. Her poetry reveals her deepest feelings, and she aches to share her work, to meet painters and sculptors mentored by the famed Lorenzo de Medici, and to find love.

When the charismatic Venetian ambassador, Bernardo Bembo, arrives in Florence, he introduces Ginevra to a dazzling circle of patrons, artists, and philosophers—a world of thought and conversation she has yearned for. She is instantly attracted to the handsome newcomer, who admires her mind as well as her beauty. Yet Ginevra remains conflicted about his attentions. Choosing her as his Platonic muse, Bembo commissions a portrait by a young Leonardo da Vinci. Posing for the brilliant painter inspires an intimate connection between them—one Ginevra can only begin to understand. In a rich and enthralling world of exquisite art, elaborate feasts, and exhilarating jousts, she faces many temptations to discover her voice, artistic companionship, and a love that defies categorization. In the end, she and Leonardo are caught up in a dangerous and deadly battle between powerful families.

~~~~
Despite what I think is a lamentable cover change earlier in the year, (COVERS ARE IMPORTANT TO ME OKAY) this book has sat atop my list of highly anticipated novels for the better part of 2015. I am absolutely enamored with Renaissance Florence, and I can't wait to see what this book does with it. 

What are you looking forward to this week? 
xx
Sunny

top ten tuesday: sophomore releases

 
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish, and every week is a different themed list! This week's theme is: "November 3:  Top Ten Debut Authors Who Have Me Looking Forward To Their Sophomore Novel (because when you love a debut you just are ITCHING to get your hands on the author's second book) or Top Ten Sophomore Novels That I Loved Just As Much If Not More As The Author's Debut (no one hit wonders heeeere!)" So here we go!

Five Sophomore Releases I Can't Wait For 


1. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen #2): I loved Red Queen so much, and I can't wait to see what else this world has in store!

 2. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes #2): An Ember in the Ashes was one of my favorite books that I've read so far this year, and I can only hope that this second installment is as kickass as the first.


3. Map of Fates by Maggie Hall (The Conspiracy of Us #2): What makes the first book so interesting and different for me was the incorporation of unusual settings and mythologies, so I hope the second one does this just as well!

4. Wandering Star by Romina Russell (Zodiac #2): I thought the world of Zodiac was incredibly intricate, and I hope that we can delve into different parts of it in this second novel.





 5. Shiny Broken Pieces by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton (Tiny Pretty Things #2): I got so sucked into the drama of the first one that I read it in like six hours, and I'm just looking for my Gossip Girl-esque sequel!






Four Sophomore Releases I Loved Just as Much as Debuts

1. The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord: I thought this novel was just as good, if not better than her debut, Open Road Summer. This is the only book that I have read through twice in a row!

2. Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall: Sandy Hall excels at the adorable. Her debut might be slightly better in my eyes, but this second one is just as cute as A Little Something Different, and for that I am grateful.


3. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson: Obviously, Morgan Matson has another book out now too, but I just wanted to point out that Amy and Roger's Epic Detour was a hell of a debut and hard to follow, but Second Chance Summer was just as amazing as Amy and Roger's was!

4. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson: If you've been on here for any amount of time you'll know that this is one of my favorites ever, even more amazing than Nelson's debut, The Sky is Everywhere!

What is on your list this week?

xx
Sunny

Monday, November 2, 2015

October Wrap Up

Welcome to November everyone! I hope you all had an amazing October... these are for sure my favorite months of the year. October through December is the time of magic, in my opinion, and I am definitely looking forward to the holidays with more enthusiasm than I probably should at this point, considering they are weeks away. But, let's take a moment before we start looking forward to look back at the month that has just passed (and rather quickly, may I add). I only read five books in October, which is a little disappointing, but! They were all really really good, and I posted reviews for four of five of them! I also got to do a couple of Halloween/Fall themed posts, which were super fun! I'm hoping that, with some time off school over the next two months, I can still hit my year goal of 110 books read, considering I have 92 under my belt right now. Wish me luck!

books read this month: 

1. Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman 
 ☆☆☆☆☆

Revenge is worth its weight in gold.

When her father is murdered for a journal revealing the location of a hidden gold mine, eighteen-year-old Kate Thompson disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers—and justice. What she finds are untrustworthy strangers, endless dust and heat, and a surprising band of allies, among them a young Apache girl and a pair of stubborn brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, a startling truth becomes clear: some men will stop at nothing to get their hands on gold, and Kate’s quest for revenge may prove fatal.



 
2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
 ☆☆☆☆☆

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

 
3. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
☆☆☆☆☆

Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters.
 

4. Walk On Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
☆☆☆☆☆

Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes.

Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.

She also has a secret.

Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.

When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.

The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.

 
5. Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall
☆☆☆1/2

The author of A Little Something Different brings you the most adorkable romance ever.

Jane, a superstitious fangirl, takes an anonymous babysitting jovb to avoid an unpaid internship with her college-obsessed mom. The only problem? She’s babysitting the siblings of her childhood friend and new crush, Teo.

Teo doesn’t dislike Jane, but his best friend Ravi hates her, and is determined to keep them apart. So Teo’s pretty sure his plans for a peaceful summer are shot. His only hope is that his intermittent search for his birth father will finally pan out and he’ll find a new, less awkward home. Meanwhile, at Jane’s house, her sister Margo wants to come out as bisexual, but she’s terrified of how her parents will react.

In a summer filled with secrets and questions, even Jane’s Magic 8 ball can’t give them clear answers, but Signs Point to Yes.


what did y'all love in October?

xx
Sunny 

look at her go: reviewin' reviewin': walk on earth a stranger

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
☆☆☆☆☆

goodreads/b&n/amazon

synopsis: Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes.

Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.

She also has a secret.

Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.

When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.

The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.


full review under the cut! 

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