I Need a Change in my Reading Habits

It took me 3 months to read Priory.  And I know it was a big book and that it’s a reasonable amount of time to get through that thing, especially considering that I had a major show in the middle of it that took up a large chunk of my life.  But still.  You know what it made me realize?  How little I want to continue this work of reading ARCs and egalleys before they are published.  It’s starting to feel more stressful and a lot less fun.  I want to go back to reading for me.  What I’m in the mood for, when I’m in the mood for it.

When I get these egalleys or request them, at the time I think “yes!  I want to read that!”  But by the time I get to that book or he deadline comes up, I’m usually not in the mood for it at the time.  I end up skipping half the egalleys I have for a month.  Either because I just don’t have the time, or I lose interest in them.  Like, part of me still wants to read it.  Just not….at that time.

So yeah, I think I will still keep them in the back of my head as “possibly next on my TBR” but if something else is calling my attention more, I’m going to go with that.  Those will be good for when I just have no clue what I’m in the mood for.  And I think I am going to put a major pause on getting egalleys from Edelweiss and NetGalley.  I need to clear out my future reading schedule badly.

I mean, right now the next book I’m itching to read is There Will Come a Darkness which is an egalley, just one that doesn’t come out until September…

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Book Review | THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE, by Samantha Shannon

The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon

Publish Date: February 26, 2019
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Pages: 830
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars)

**I received this as an egalley from the publisher through Edelweiss in return for an honest review. Please note, though, that because I did not finish it before the publishing date, I ended up reading from the finished novel as well. There weren’t extremely large changes between the two as far as I could tell, save for one or two name changes, age differences, and line changes here and there.**

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Synopsis:

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction–but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

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My Review:

This book was enthralling. That is honestly the best word I could use to describe it. From the start my attention was captured, and as the world was slowly and steadily built up, my interest intensified at the same pace. Before I had even finished the first section of this monstrosity (it’s a chunky bastard and I love it), I already knew that I was in love and going to be praising this story for quite some time (possibly a thousand years or so.)

The cover for the final Diviners book has been revealed…and no, I’m not happy.

Well, the final cover for the last book in The Diviners series by Libba Bray was revealed today!  (I only just discovered it though oops).  I haven’t read the synopsis yet because I still haven’t um read book three yet (I’ll get there…just need to reread the other two first…after I read everything else on TBR apparently…) and I don’t want to get spoiled (and of course I saw part of the first sentence and am already WTFing out of my mind and trying to erase what I saw from my memory).

But anyway here are all four covers that I will be owning when the last one comes out apparently!

So on the one hand – yay!  They finally stopped doing cover redesigns!

On the other hand – why the hell didn’t they continue the cover redesigns??  At this point I might as well keep the non-matching cover aesthetic of this series cause why the hell not? 

Book Review | THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI, by Helene Wecker

The Golem and the Jinni (The Golem and the Jinni #1), by Helene Wecker

Publish Date: April 1, 2013 (audiobook published April 23, 2013)
Published by: HarperCollins
Narrated by: George Guidall
Length: 19 hrs 42 min (484 pages)
Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars)

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Synopsis:

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free

Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker’s debut novel The Golem and the Jinniweaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

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My Review:

Book Review | WHITE HOT KISS, by Jennifer L. Armentrout

White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1), by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publish Date: February 25, 2014 (audiobook published April 22, 2014)
Published by: Harlequin Teen/Tantor Audio
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
Length: 12 hrs 25 min (392 pages)
Genre: YA Paranormal/Romance
My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 out of 5 stars)

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Synopsis:

One kiss could be the last 

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she’s anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses. 

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she’s crushed on since forever. 

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she’s not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn’t an issue, considering Roth has no soul. 

But when Layla discovers she’s the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

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My Review:

Book Review | ONCE & FUTURE, by Amy Rose Capetta & Cori McCarthy

Once & Future (Once & Future #1), by Amy Rose Capetta & Cori McCarthy

Publish Date: March 26, 2019
Published by: Jimmy Patterson Books/Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 336
Genre: YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Retelling
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars)

**I received this as an egalley from the publisher through Edelweiss in return for an honest review.**

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Synopsis:

I’ve been chased my whole life. As a fugitive refugee in the territory controlled by the tyrannical Mercer corporation, I’ve always had to hide who I am. Until I found Excalibur.

Now I’m done hiding.

My name is Ari Helix. I have a magic sword, a cranky wizard, and a revolution to start.

When Ari crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls a magic sword from its ancient resting place, she is revealed to be the newest reincarnation of King Arthur. Then she meets Merlin, who has aged backward over the centuries into a teenager, and together they must break the curse that keeps Arthur coming back. Their quest? Defeat the cruel, oppressive government and bring peace and equality to all humankind.

No pressure.

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My Review:

So this book has been on my TBR since the moment I first heard about it. King Arthur retelling, space setting, and LGBTQ+ representation out the wazoo? It sounded perfect. And it almost was. While this book started off in a bit of a not-so-great spot and had me feeling iffy about going forward with it, by the time I finished it I had a million smiles on my face and a new gay puppy magician to love. Told in alternate point-of-views of Ari (King Arthur reincarnation #42) and Merlin (same one, younger body), this book is full of action, mildly steamy romance, diverse characters and a plot that takes you near and far in an adventure to mirror one of the many quests of King Arthur himself.