First Lines Fridays: 23 September 2016

It’s almost the end of the month and ??? I just don’t know where the month has gone. I’ll try and cram as much reading into this weekend! I miss reading and having time to read, but at the same time I’m glad to be where I am right now, job-wise.

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

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Anna Latham tried to disappear into the passenger seat.
She hadn’t realized how much of her confidence had been tied to having Charles beside her. She’d only known him a day and a half, and he’d changed her world… at least while he was next to her.

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Review | Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (+ book swap footnote)

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (Study #1)
Published October 1, 2005 by MIRA, 431 pp.
Summary:

Murder, mayhem and magic…

Locked in a coffin-like darkness, there is nothing to distract me from my memories of killing Reyad. He deserved to die—but according to the law, so do I. Here in Ixia, the punishment for murder is death. And now I wait for the hangman’s noose.

But the same law that condemns me may also save me. Ixia’s food taster—chosen to ensure that the Commander’s food is not poisoned—has died. And by law, the next prisoner who is scheduled to be executed—me—must be offered the position.

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Ahh I love Yelena’s world! Even if I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes, I definitely want to explore more of Ixia. I thought Maria V. Snyder’s writing was great and her characters were all written pretty well, even if I couldn’t connect to them in this book. So glad I decided to start this on a whim while I was waiting and managed to finish this overnight!

So Far, So…. Good! #1

It’s quite a challenge to keep up a regular reading schedule when half of you just wants to sleep whenever you have a chance to, and it’s that half that kind of wins most of the time. It’s like you want to find out if Rowan finally gets his head out of his ass regarding Aelin but then again oh god I want to sleeeeep.

It’s like I want to read and then I’ll want to keep reading and reading but then I remember – I need my sleep. So I don’t read as much as I want to, but I do get some reading done!! Just not enough to keep up with my former posting schedule. So in lieu of my review posts, at least while I haven’t finished the books yet, I’ll be starting So Far, So…… in which I share my thoughts on the books I’m reading so far! This also has the added perk of allowing me to vent, without the Goodreads character count.

I’m reading three books right now: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas, Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder, and Confess by Colleen Hoover.

First Lines Fridays: 9 September 2016

Ah I think I missed out on a couple of Fridays, but I’m back!! Things have been a bit busy at work, so I can’t quite read as much as I’d like to. I’m trying to balance it out though, by allotting time in the evenings to reading!

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

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The bone drums had been pounding across the jagged slopes of Black Mountains since sundown.

That’s it. Because if I type anything more it’s a dead giveaway.

Review | The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas

The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas (The Elemental Trilogy #3)
Published October 13, 2015 by Balzer + Bray, 432 pp.
Summary:

In a pursuit that has spanned continents, Iolanthe, Titus, and their friends have always managed to remain one step ahead of the forces of Atlantis. But now the Bane, the monstrous tyrant who bestrides the entire mage world, has issued his ultimatum: Titus must hand over Iolanthe, or watch as his entire realm is destroyed in a deadly rampage. Running out of time and options, Iolanthe and Titus must act decisively to deliver a final blow to the Bane, ending his reign of terror for good.

However, getting to the Bane means accomplishing the impossible—finding a way to infiltrate his crypt in the deepest recesses of the most ferociously guarded fortress in Atlantis. And everything is only made more difficult when new prophecies come to light, foretelling a doomed effort…

Iolanthe and Titus will put their love and their lives on the line. But will it be enough?

With The Immortal Heights, Sherry Thomas brings the acclaimed Elemental Trilogy to its breathtaking conclusion.

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If there’s one thing I will say about this series, it’s that this probably has one of my favourite romances ever. I love that Titus is so lovestruck and has zero qualms about expressing his love for Iolanthe.

That being said, The Immortal Heights is a satisfying end to the series: the characters we have come to know all have neatly tied ribbons around their stories, villains get their comeuppance, and I have another series finished under my belt!! Yay!

September TBR✧・ﾟ: *

Yaaas ladies and gentlemen, we’re back with another month chock-full of series! One of these days I’ll have to gather up my (few) standalones and dedicate a whole month to them.

Confess by Colleen Hoover

Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…

Guys I trekked through 2 malls and 4 bookstores to find this book. THIS HAS TO BE GOOD, OKAY. IT HAS TO BE. The staff was as puzzled as I was since there apparently wasn’t any stock. Staff (to other staff on phone): “What do you mean there are no more copies?? Even if there were so many??”

Farewell to August, Random Life Updates™, ETC. (ﾉ^∇^)ﾉﾟ

Well would you look at that! I read more books than I expected, even if most of them aren’t from my TBR…. *looks around shiftily* With the end of August I’ll once again pretend we have fall here, even if all the weather does until the end of the year is alternate between raining cats and dogs to scorching summer heat.

Review | Road-Tripped by Nicole Archer

Road-Tripped by Nicole Archer (Ad-Agency #1)
Published August 1, 2016 by Twist Idea Lab LLC, 344 pp.
Copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:

What’s worse than losing everything? Try driving a phallic-shaped RV across the country with a vile womanizing coworker.

Copywriter Callie Murphy has a bad attitude, a vicious tongue, and a serious aversion to Shimura Advertising’s resident manwhore, Walker Rhodes. Know where he can stick his good looks and Southern charm? She can think of a few creative places. Avoiding him wouldn’t be a problem, except her boss threatens to fire her if she doesn’t go along with him on their RV client’s cross-country tour.

Burnt-out art director, Walker, is sick of his job, tired of women, and in a big old creative rut. The upcoming client road trip is just what he needs to shake things up and rediscover his lost passion. But his plans go south when his partner drops out at the last minute, and Callie, the foul-mouthed tiny terror, takes her place. Unless he can find a way to thaw his icy coworker, he’s looking at two months of pure hell.

On the road, they experience one hilarious misadventure after another and soon find themselves on a life-changing journey. But when their paths veer off in different directions, will they hit a dead end?

Road-Tripped is a stand-alone novel and the first book in the Ad Agency Series.
Adult language and situations.

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I love romantic comedies. I may not watch the movies as much but I love them in books! I think when done well they have just the right amount of angst to help the reader root for the couple and their happily ever after you’ve already invested in them because they fit.

Road-Tripped gave me more angst than I expected, but as a whole I think this was full of heart, and has a healthy dose of comedy as well in the form of Callie and Walker bickering while on the road.

Review | Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch (Snow Like Ashes #2)
Published October 13, 2015 by Balzer + Bray, 479 pp.
Summary:

It’s been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra, disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell.

Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm’s secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves?

Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Januari—leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats?

As the web of power and deception weaves tighter, Theron fights for magic, Mather fights for freedom—and Meira starts to wonder if she should be fighting not just for Winter, but for the world.

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Ice Like Fire is the broody, sulky sibling. The one that internalises everything because they feel that the burden is theirs alone, and they alone can solve the problems of the world.

Actually the latter statement is applicable to all the characters in Ice Like Fire, it’s like everyone is infected with a healthy dose of Noble Idiocy so everyone thinks they can solve Primoria’s problems by themselves. I know this is supposed to be Meira’s journey of self-discovery and reflection as she transitions from being warrior to queen, but I keep on thinking back to Invasion of the Tearling. Kelsea went through the same thing, of going from a place of having no responsibility but suddenly you’re thrust in the middle of it all and everyone expects you to fail but at the same time hopes you succeed. In equal measure. The difference is that I didn’t skim over the pages as I read and I didn’t find it so slow.

The Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

I was tagged by Vivian @ Inked In Pages and Monique @ That Wild Soul. Be sure to check out their posts! I added a few books to my TBR thanks to their answers heh.

This tag was created by Chami @ ReadLikeWildFire and Ely @ Ely Jayne on YouTube. It’s where we look back at (and freak out over) the books we’ve read during the past six months.

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BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2016

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows is probably my favorite book so far this year. My review probably didn’t do enough justice as to how much I loved this book, but I loved the setting, the writing, and most of all the characters. I’m rooting for a happy ending for everyone, although I have a feeling it won’t be that way…

Honestly I’m just happy that the hype was real and well-deserved. This, along with Uprooted by Naomi Novik, is a book I’d enthusiastically recommend to anyone.