The Cover Switch Tag

I saw this on Freadom Library, and thought it looked very clever and just had to give it a go.

As I understand it, you pick two books of similar themes that you would swap covers if you could, (just the art not the title or author). Well I am going to do it in a way, that makes the most sense to me, one of the covers will be beautiful and the other not to so much and wishing it’s cover could be swapped to live up to the book.

I love Eternal Eden , but covers just get worse and worse as the series goes on. The Twilight covers are very pretty, even if you don’t like the Twilight series you cannot deny how pretty the covers are. If you are a Twilight fan I really suggest reading Eternal Eden, I am pretty sure the first in the series is free for kindle. The themes are very similar, although Eternal Eden is not about vampires but it is about immortals, forbidden love and family and discovering powers.

Both books are historical fiction, both kept my interest but I almost didn’t pick up Cinderella’s dress because of the cover, it could be so much better.

This tag was a lot harder than I thought it would be, so unfortunately I only managed these too, but feel free to do this. Hopefully you will come up with more books than I did.

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Rainbow Book Tag

I saw this post on Rattle the Stars, and although I wasn’t tagged it looked like a fun post to do and sharing pretty covers is always good. I have lots of books that would fit some of these but unfortunately I can only put one. Covers will link to goodreads.

Rules:

1. I must be the dominant colour of the COVER not the spine!
2. If you do not own a book of a certain colour, just choose one that has the colour on it somewhere.
3. It has to be a book you own and/or has to be the exact edition you read (e.g. there are two different overs for Me Before You, you would choose the one you read).
4. TAG some people to do it! Whether they be Bloggers, Bookstagrammers or BookTubers.

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Blue

Indigo/ Turquoise

Purple

Pink

Brown

White

Black

Tags: Anyone who wants to do it.

ARC: Deep-Water Drama

Like most 12-year-old girls, Shyanna, Rachel, and Cora deal with the daily dramas of growing up. But unlike most 12-year-old girls, they deal with it underwater as mermaids. Living in Mermaid Kingdom doesn’t make life any easier for these young girls, and friendships continue to be tested with secrets, worries, and other challenges.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was sweet but written in a very childish manner even for middle-grade fiction. Shyanna was nice but a little spoiled and selfish. I know she was 13 but her character annoyed me a little. I liked how there was three different stories in this book.

It’s a book about friendship, growing up and testing the your own limits. All the stories fitted together well and the illustrations were great.

Over all a sweet book perfect young girls.

3 out of 5 stars

Arcane Blaster Casters

I don’t normally talk about much but books on this blog, but I have a couple of friends who made this great looking and very fun game and I just had to share about it. They are getting close to putting it on kickstarter so hoping to get a little more following before they do. If you fancy checking out their facebook page click here.

They made a fun little game so I thought I would have a go. Let me know what your ABC name is. Mine is Remington of the Rift the pale barbarian.

Do you play board games? Which ones are your favourite?

ARC Review: A Lady at Willowgrove Hall

Tags

historical fiction

Willowgrove Hall is full of secrets, but soon everything hidden is brought to light.

Cecily Faire has a secret—and she intends to keep it. But when she arrives at Willowgrove Hall to serve as a lady’s companion, she comes face-to-face with the only person who knows the truth about her past.

As the steward of Willowgrove Hall, Nathaniel Stanton is dedicated to serving those around him. Nothing escapes his notice—including the beautiful new lady’s companion. He is certain the lovely Miss Faire is hiding something, and he determines to uncover it. But Nathaniel has a secret of his own: he is the illegitimate son of Willowgrove’s former master. Falling in love was not part of his plans . . . until he meets Cecily Faire.

When Willowgrove’s mistress dies, everything changes. Fear of exposure forces Cecily to leave under the cover of darkness, embarking on a journey to finally find her long-lost sister. When the will is read, Nathaniel’s inheritance makes him question his future plans. Cecily and Nathaniel are forced to make decisions that will change the course of their lives. Is their love strong enough to survive?

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although this book is the third in a series, it can be read perfectly well as a stand alone. It is listed as historical fiction and although it is set at least 100 years ago, there wasn’t much history in it. It was much more about the romance, usually I am not a fan, but this was quite enjoyable.

The story was sweet and full of secrets, although some were pretty predictable. I liked getting to the characters, it was done in a very clever way, we got to see all sides of the characters by getting to know them through how other characters saw them. It’s a very clever way of knowing characters in all ways possible.

Cecily was a good main character, she had her regrets but she grew and eventually let herself have fun and fall in love. Nathanial, had a great life, he worked hard, had his problems but he had his family who supported him in everything. I loved how his character grew and gave into the prospect that there was more to life than work.

I wish there was a little more history in it. I wasn’t even sure of when it was set, just more references to historical events, who was on the throne etc.

Overall I enjoyed this book and I would read more by this author.

4 out of 5 stars

Three Dark Crowns: Clever Covers

I requested this interesting looking book on netgalley but was denied. I saw it in tesco with a a 2 different covers and realised there was a different cover for each of the crowns.

Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache.

Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers.

All very pretty covers, there is a fourth one with all the crowns on.

It’s still a good cover but not as nice as the first three. It’s a very clever marketing strategy, giving the readers to choose a side before they read the book. When I bought the book I only had the choice of the red and yellow covers, I chose the fire one, I love fire magic.

Which one would you choose? Here’s the full synopsis of this intriguing book.

Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.

If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.

Have you read this book? Did you enjoy it? Do you want to read this book? Which side did you choose?

ARC Review: Pretty Wicked

The daughter of a local police detective, fifteen-year-old Ryann has spent most of her life studying how to pull off the most gruesome murders her small Colorado town has ever seen.

But killing is only part of it. Ryann enjoys being the reason the cops are frenzied. The one who makes the neighbors lock their doors and windows on a hot summer’s day. The one everyone fears but no one suspects.

Carving out her own murderous legacy proves harder than she predicted. Mistakes start adding up. And with the police getting closer, and her own father becoming suspicious, Ryann has to prove once and for all that she’s smarter than anyone else—or she’ll pay the ultimate price.

Written in a mature YA voice. Some graphic content.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was unlike anything I had read before. The book was told mainly from Ryann’s POV, who was trying to make herself into one the most infamous names in history. The story follows her escapades and her trying not to get caught. She tries to juggle her school work, keep her family and friends from finding out what she was doing and trying to work out who she was going to kill next and putting it into action.

It was interesting because in most crime and thriller novels the killer is not revealed until the end, in this one it’s on the very first page where we become acquainted with the murderer. You got to know her and her relationships.

I enjoyed the story and seeing if she was going to get caught or not and by who. It was interesting to see all the lies she came up with to cover her tracks, sometimes I do think her family and friends believed them too easily though.

This book is YA and deals with serious issues, the main one being murder. For such a book I think Ryann was portrayed too young and immature at times. Her character was very blase about the situation.

All in all it was a good book but the character would have been a little better more mature and acting smarter.

4 out of 5 stars

Where was the Boy Who Lived?

I am doing a marathon of the Harry Potter movies whilst I catch up on reviews and housework. And I put the first one on and realised something.

Dumbledore says “There won’t be a child in our world who doesn’t know his name”. So where does everyone in the magical world think he is? They all seem to know what happened in the Potter’s house and what possible theories about Voldemort. So do they all think Harry has gone to live with his grandparents? I assume since he went to his aunt, that Lily’s mum and dad are dead, but what abut James’s parents?

Did the ministry of magic know where he is? Or did Dumbledore not tell them because he believed Voldemort would come back?

When Harry and Hagrid get to the pub and someone recognises Harry, it goes silent and he is welcomed back. So maybe they did know he was in hiding, not just where. I wonder if any death eaters tried to find him, wouldn’t they want to kill the person they believed to have caused the demise of their leader.

Where do you think  everyone thought he was?

ARC Review: The Escape of Princess Madeline

The Kingdom of Soron is known for many things: its rolling landscape, haunting history, fiery sunsets, and beautiful princess. Princess Madeline woke on her sixteenth birthday to realize that her future had been planned out, a life full of privilege, royalty, and boredom… a life with a husband and knight champion that she did not choose. Using her charm, strength, and stubbornness, she defies the King at every turn, determined to keep her freedom on her terms.

But freedom quickly turns to disaster as she finds herself seized by a group of wandering bandits. The kingdom is in turmoil over her capture—her Knight Champion eager to prove himself, a group of dedicated suitors determined to win her hand, and a group of exiled wizards joining forces in the hunt to rescue her. Follow Princess Madeline in this adventure to find freedom and love.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was sweet and a good coming of age story. The characters were fun and very well thought out. I like the champion, he never gave up on her. It took a lot of courage and worked well with his character. Madeline was a little selfish to begin with but then she grew well through the book and turned into a decent young woman.

The setting was exciting and seemed like a very beautiful place, minus the bandits of course. It was a short book but well worth the read.

4 out of 5 stars