Friday, April 3, 2020

From Blood And Ash




FROM BLOOD AND ASH

BY: JENNIFER L ARMENTROUT

RATING:
4.5 WINE GLASSES


Okay, I am SQUEALING. Even when JLA makes me angry and frustrated, I really just want to grab her hand and jump around with her because I actually LOVE it. This book was such a wonderful surprise; it’s fresh, exciting, and all around the most swoooony read I’ve picked up in a while. There’s so much sexual tension, I would put my iPad down and do one of those weird happy dances, and then proceed to read, and then I would do that same happy dance like ten minutes later. This happened for a very long time. Even after finishing around 3am, I was so pent up on happy energy that it took me another 45 minutes to even get my mind to just not think about this book. Which was so DIFFICULT. How was I supposed to stop thinking about Hawke, Poppy, and THIS AMAZING PLOT? I'm fully aware that this review is basically me sobbing/fangirling online, but just read this book. It’s nothing too heavy, it’s a fun easy, read, the characters have so many layers, and the plot is actually super intriguing. But honestly, we all know JLA is here for the romance, and I was TOTALLY okay with that. 

First, a very accurate image of me every ten pages: 




HERE’S SOME GIFS TO SUM UP THE THEMES OF THIS BOOK AND PUSH YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION OF READING IT:
















Stay Drunk...On Books,
Steph

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

WoW #10



Waiting on Wednesday

Hi Everyone! Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss books we’re eagerly anticipating. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, which is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

My Wow for this week is:


Title: Crave
Author: Tracy Wolff
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: April/07/2020

Summary (from Goodreads):

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait


I am seriously just sitting here waiting for this book. It's been allllll over book twitter and I've heard so many incredible things that I need it to be April now. So so excited, plus, I haven't read a good vampire book in a while! 


What are you waiting on??


Stay Drunk...On Books,
Steph

Monday, March 9, 2020

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood



Crescent City

 (House of Earth and Blood)

By: Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 5 Wine Glasses


There are some moments where I’m at a loss for words after reading a book, and many of those moments have been after reading a Sarah J Maas book. I am a big fan of this lady, and I feel this way because of the books she has created. She has said, “You are enough”, “Love is enough”, “Being broken doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the world” in more ways than these phrases can mean when simply read on paper. She shares a story that gets down into the roots of all things painful and broken with characters you long to follow until the end.  Crescent City is so beautiful, so aw inspiring, so supernatural filled; but it is ultimately human. It reminds you of what being human feels like, how to love, the power of love, and the importance of friendships that will span even through death.

I was sobbing throughout the last hundred pages, and finished this book expecting to go full blown fangirl, but there is an air of maturity that flows throughout this book that I’ve yet to see in her others. So, I finished this book, sobbing, happy/sad, but most importantly contemplating it’s message. The importance of everything I’d just learned through these characters. I sat in silence, grateful that someone has written these words, that they exist.

This book is well written, the plot is so intricate I had to go back to reread things just to make sure I knew exactly what was going on, the romance was beautiful, but secondary. The friendship that Bryce has with Danika is right up there as one of my favorite relationships to ever grace the book world. It’s to the very very end. We can all only hope to find someone like that one day, and I hope we all do.  Bryce is a heroine you don’t fully appreciate until you know her; her faults, the struggles she’d gone through, what she’d given up for those she loves. The surface level of Bryce Quinlan is what she wants you to see, and SJM did a beautiful job of exploring this and digging deeper into what makes a person who they are.

There are so many plot twists you don’t expect- which is something I’ve always loved about Sarah J Maas. The thought might have crossed your mind, but so did the other 40 possibilities. She leaves so many doors open that you can’t pinpoint the answer down until it’s right in front of you and you are REELING. This world she has built is so fantastical and imaginative that I wished to walk the streets of Crescent City with my own feet. The multiple point of view narrative creates this 3-dimensional world that introduces us to more information from many different characters. Sarah has perfected this kind of writing, weaving each character more tightly together with each chapter, and ultimately creates a climax that is far more powerful than a single narrative would have been.

The romance is swoony, raw, and honestly the best kind, (you know): enemies to lovers. Hunt is all kinds of broken and beautiful, but so is Bryce. Together they pick each other off the floor, wipe away the tears, and love each other through the faults. I think you always know who the romantic interest will be (for the current book at least) with Sarah J Maas, but the execution of how this love blossoms is captivating. Watching the enemies, to friends, to lovers relationship take place within Crescent City was refreshing. We’ve seen this trope a million times, but never with these characters, and they gave it a shiny new light that made it enjoyable to read.

No one is truly whole in this book, everyone had problems, and it’s because of this rocky surface that Crescent City is easily one of my favorite books now. Crescent City broke me, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt more seen, and for that I think I’m a little more whole. Read this book, I can’t recommend it more highly.

Stay Drunk...on Books,
Steph 

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

WoW#9

Waiting on Wednesday

Hi Everyone! Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss books we’re eagerly anticipating. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, which is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

My Wow for this week is:



Title: Seasons of the Storm
Author: Elle Cosimano
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: June/23/2020

Summary (from Goodreads):


One cold, crisp night, Jack Sommers was faced with a choice—live forever according to the ancient, magical rules of Gaia, or die.

Jack chose to live, and in exchange, he became a Winter—an immortal physical embodiment of the season on Earth. Every year, he must hunt the Season who comes before him. Summer kills Spring. Autumn kills Summer. Winter kills Autumn. And Spring kills Winter.

Jack and Fleur, a Winter and a Spring, fall for each other against all odds. To be together, they’ll have to escape the cycle that’s been forcing them apart. But their creator won’t let them go without a fight.

I mean, SEASONS AS PEOPLE, AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO KILL EACH OTHER TO BRING ABOUT THE NEXT SEASON. I AM ENTHRALLED. I need it now. 


What are you waiting on??


Stay Drunk...On Books,
Steph

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Wardens of Eternity





Wardens of Eternity
By: Courtney Moulton

Rating: 2 wine glasses




I am upset. I was pumped about this book coming out, and honestly expected it to be quite wonderful because Courtney’s Angelfire trilogy is great. I have been looking for a new release from her for AGES, so when Wardens of Eternity hit my radar I was prepared. What I wasn’t prepared for was disappointment. I couldn’t finish this book. I got halfway through and just knew it wasn’t going to get better.

First off, this book isn’t terrible, it’s just plain. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, all of them fall very flat. Ziva, the main character, seemed cool in the beginning, and gosh, I wanted to like her so so badly. But no. There is no spark to any of these characters which is so sad because Courtney spends mass amounts of time on details that hold no real importance to readers. Like I’m so happy that sword is pointy and very good at cutting things, but I don’t want to read about it forever. More time should have been spent on character development. And because there was a lack of character development the romance was like watching two stick figures fall in love. Also, it was insta love, so nothing shocking to see here folks.

The final straw for me was Ziva’s transformation from a skinny, starving girl to glorious badass all within like four days. I’m sorry, whhaaaat? So unrealistic, in WHAT WORLD does that happen? No one learns how to be a ninja in four days, especially if they were just starving four days prior.

The premise for this was promising, Egyptian Gods are cool, the idea was just poorly executed. I’m not counting Courtney Moulton out because of this book though, it’s one bad book. So I will still be watching out for her in the future. However, if you’re looking for a badass angel book, read Angelfire by her, it’s at least worth your time!


Stay Drunk…on Books,
Steph

Thursday, February 20, 2020

It's Been A Long Long Time....

It's been four years since I wrote my last blog post. School was my excuse, and for the first year of college it truly was impossible to find time, and that reason stood. However, as the years progressed, I kept pushing it off, claiming to be busy, but I now know I was scared. I was scared of coming back to a space I didn't think I belonged to anymore. The blogging world is a circle, you meet great people, you read amazing books, you write fun reviews, it's honestly a pleasure, but as the time went on and I lost touch with people the more I felt isolated and the more the voice in my head changed to, "no one wants to hear from you years later, so don't bother, you've been forgotten anyways."
And I listened to that voice for a long time, but I was never a big shot blogger, and this blog was always about doing it because I wanted to. And the thing is, I do want to, so I'm resurrecting myself. I am passionate about books and about writing. I'm happy to reclaim my blog, and I'm hoping to come back stronger than ever.
Can't wait to reconnect and continue to meet all the amazing bookish people.

Stay Drunk.....on Books,

Steph