Wednesday Whimsy | Let’s Play Catch-Up

Hey all.

I know I haven’t really posted much personal stuff in a while, aside from BookCon that is.  It’s been busier than expected.

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Book Review | THERE WILL COME A DARKNESS, by Katy Rose Pool

There Will Come a Darkness (Age of Darkness #1), by Katy Rose Pool

Publish Date: September 3, 2019
Published by: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Pages: 496
Genre: YA 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.**

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Synopsis:

The Age of Darkness approaches.
Five lives stand in its way.
Who will stop it… or unleash it? 

For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations―until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared.

All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As chaos takes hold, five souls are set on a collision course:

A prince exiled from his kingdom.
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart.
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone.
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up.

One of them―or all of them―could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer?

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My Review:

This book has completely stolen my heart. When I first came across it, I discovered it on Edelweiss and the cover is what clearly caught my eye. And seriously, bravo to the designer and publishing team for so encapsulating this story in such a poignant design for the cover. I then read the title, the summary, and just went “yes.” I couldn’t stop thinking about it and when I found out that Katy Rose Pool was going to be at BookCon, I started reading it sooner than anticipated and have zero regrets. (And yes I stalked met her outside of a panel she was doing and she was sweet and wonderful and I couldn’t have been happier). With a cast of characters that steal your heart away and a breathtaking world that is built upon my dreams (or so it seems), this book is just…everything.

Book Review | AGAIN, BUT BETTER, by Christine Riccio

Again, but Better, by Christine Riccio

Publish Date: May 7, 2019
Published by: Wednesday Books
Length: 373 pages
Genre: YA Fiction (with a little bit of fantasy)
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5 out of 5 stars)

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Synopsis:

Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal—but Shane’s made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that? 

Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time’s a ticking, and she needs a change—there’s nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She’s going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure! 

Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart. 

Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic—the possibilities are endless.

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My Review:

This is one of those books that takes my own what-ifs and brings them into a reality I could only fantasize about. Going into this book, I was hopeful but hesitant. I have not followed Christine Riccio on any social media platform, but I knew she was popular from seeing her name a lot. So when I saw that she was getting a book published I was trying not to expect too much. The premise sounded interesting, to be sure, especially since I too have a lot of regrets about college and decisions I made that I wish I could go back and do again, so I was immediately intrigued when I first read the description. And surprisingly, by the end of the book, I could not stop smiling like a drunken idiot.

Book Review | A DAWN MOST WICKED, by Susan Dennard

A Dawn Most Wicked (Something Strange and Deadly #0.5), by Susan Dennard

Publish Date: June 4, 2013
Published by: HarperTeen
Length: 147 pages
Genre: YA Paranormal/Historical Fantasy
My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5 stars)

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Synopsis:

Daniel Sheridan is an engineer’s apprentice on a haunted Mississippi steamer known as the Sadie Queen. His best friend–the apprentice pilot, Cassidy Cochran–also happens to be the girl he’s pining for … and the captain’s daughter. But when it looks like the Sadie Queen might get taken off the river, Daniel and Cassidy have to do whatever they can to stop the ghosts that plague the ship.

Fortunately, there happens to be a Creole gentleman on board by the name of Joseph Boyer–and he just might be able to help them…

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My Review:

Book Review | GEEKERELLA, by Ashley Poston

Geekerella (Once Upon a Con #1), by Ashley Poston

Publish Date: April 4, 2017
Published by: Quirk Books
Length: 320 pages
Genre: YA Romance/Contemporary/Retelling
My Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars)

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Synopsis:

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfieldmovie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

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My Review:

Holy cuteness overload, Batman!! I can’t believe I bought this book when it first came out and didn’t pick it up until now! This was positively one of the cutest/heart warming books I have read and it honestly left me with such a smile on my face and tears in my eyes. It was touching, emotional, gleeful, and full of such delightful little moments that it had me hooked almost from the start.

Book Review | SIGHTWITCH, by Susan Dennard

Sightwitch (The Witchlands #2.5), by Susan Dennard

Publish Date: February 13 2018
Published by: Tor Teen
Length: 240 pages
Genre: YA Fantasy
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars)

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Synopsis:

Before Safi and Iseult battled a Bloodwitch…

Before Merik returned from the dead…

Ryber Fortiza was a Sightwitch Sister at a secluded convent, waiting to be called by her goddess into the depths of the mountain. There she would receive the gift of foretelling. But when that call never comes, Ryber finds herself the only Sister without the Sight.

Years pass and Ryber’s misfit pain becomes a dull ache, until one day, Sisters who already possess the Sight are summoned into the mountain, never to return. Soon enough, Ryber is the only Sister left. Now, it is up to her to save her Sisters, though she does not have the Sight—and though she does not know what might await her inside the mountain.

On her journey underground, she encounters a young captain named Kullen Ikray, who has no memory of who he is or how he got there. Together, the two journey ever deeper in search of answers, their road filled with horrors, and what they find at the end of that road will alter the fate of the Witchlands forever.

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My Review: