Review: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, #1)

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, #1)
By: Leigh Bardugo
Website: http://www.leighbardugo.com/index1.html
Release Date: June 5th, 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Series: The Grisha Series
Award: Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee for Young Adults (2014), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2014), Lincoln Award Nominee (2014), Prix Elbakin.net for Meilleur roman fantasy traduit Jeunesse (2013)
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When you hear an author’s name enough you become interested. I had heard of Leigh Bardugo a lot lately and decided to give it a try. Six of Crows has had such rave reviews I was afraid to not like her style for something so widely loved. So, I chickened out of starting there and picked up her previously published trilogy, the Grisha trilogy, instead. (Plus, I had a gift card and got the box set.) So, let me tell you about the first book in the trilogy, Shadow and Bone.

Review Special: Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why
By: Jay Asher
Website: http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/
Release Date: October 18th, 2007
Publisher: Razorbill
Award: Georgia Peach Book Award Nominee for Honor book (2009), South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult Book (2010), Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis Nominee for Preis der Jugendjury (2010), California Book Award Silver Medal, Lincoln Award (2013) Missouri Gateway Readers Award (2010), Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for High School (2010)
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Maybe you’ve seen this title mentioned a lot lately. Thirteen Reasons Why. It’s a new series on Netflix. Recently a 10th Anniversary edition of the book was published. What you should really know is that this book is gripping, haunting and one of the books in my library that I purposely have two copies of (my original copy and the 10th Anniversary edition) and that I won’t be departing with either copy, ever. 

Throwback Thursday: Summer Knight (The Dresden Files #4)

Summer Knight (The Dresden Files #4)
By: Jim Butcher
Website: http://www.jim-butcher.com/
Release Date: September 3rd, 2002
Publisher: Roc Books
Series: The Dresden Files
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When your girlfriend has left town (and is trying not to kill you) and your Faerie Godmother sells your debt to the Winter Queen what can you do? If you’re Harry Dresden, you find a way to get in more trouble, apparently.

Review – Gauntlet by Holly Jennings

Gauntlet
By: Holly Jennings
Release Date: April 4, 2016
Publisher: Ace
Series: Arena #2
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
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Never have I seen a second novel in a series so completely outdo the first in nearly every way. I’ll be honest here. I probably wouldn’t have picked up Gauntlet by Holly Jennings if the publisher hadn’t sent me a digital copy. I found Arena, the first book in the series, disappointing. I could see the potential within the novel and desperately wanted to love it, but found it fell short of the mark. I was hesitant to start reading Gauntlet.

It is immediately obvious that author has grown as a writer. Gauntlet is an exciting, suspenseful, near future sci-fi that will have you rooting for Kali and Team Defiance all the way. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. Because dear lord, people, that cliffhanger!

Review – Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

Waking Gods
By: Sylvain Neuvel
Website: http://www.neuvel.net/
Release Date: April 4, 2017
Publisher: Del Rey
Series: Themis Files #1
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
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The second novel in the Themis Files series by Sylvain Nuevel, Waking Gods, is released today, April 4, 2017. This is a high octane, heart pounding, gut wrenching novel that has to be read immediately. I mean it. Go out there and find a copy. This isn’t just a good next installment in a series. This is a magnificent second book to a series that deserves to be read. Though it’s still early in 2017, I know this is one of, if not the, best book of 2017.

If you haven’t caught up with this series, or are interested in seeing what we thought about the first book in this series, check out what we thought of Sleeping Giants.

Review – No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular, Vol. 3 by Nico Tanigawa

Review: No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular, Vol. 3
By: Nico Tanigawa
Release Date: (Original Japanese) December 22, 2012; (English) April 22, 2014
Publisher: Yen Press
Series: No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular #3
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Here we are again, another volume of No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, Vol. 3 down. This series by Nico Tanigawa, pen name for the two creators of the series, is about Tomoko, high school student determined turn things around from her middle school days, make friends, and talk to boys. Unfortunately, this is harder than it originally sounded. Already at the start of second term, none of Tomoko’s plans have come to fruition.

#ThrowbackThursday Review – Slayers: The Sorcerer of Atlas by Hajime Kanzaka

The Sorcerer of Atlas
By: Hajime Kanzaka
Release Date: (Original Japanese) 1990; (English) December 7, 2004
Publisher: TokyoPop
Series: Slayers #2
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Happy Throwback Thursday, everyone. A while back we reviewed the first book in the Slayers series Slayers – The Ruby Eye by Hajime Kanzaka. Today we are taking a look at the second novel in the series, The Sorcerer of Atlas.

Review – Lock In by John Scalzi

Lock In
By: John Scalzi
Website: http://whatever.scalzi.com/
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Publisher: Tor Books
Series: Lock In #1
Award: Locus Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2015); John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Novel (2015); ALA Alex Award (2015); Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Science Fiction (2014)
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There is nothing better than a stay up till three am binge read. Lock In by John Scalzi was exactly that book. I picked it up late one evening and then read the entire thing. Because who needs sleep, really? This is a science fiction novel with strong mystery/thriller themes that is easy to read and perfect for people who want to delve into the sci-fi genre for the first time.

How good is this book? Well, I immediately went out and bought his newest novel, The Collapsing Empire, two days later. So, yeah. That good.

Review – Riverkeep by Martin Stewart

Riverkeep
By: Martin Stewart
Release Date: July 14, 2016
Publisher: Viking
Rating:


I had my eye on this book for a long time. As in way before it was published. I only recently got my hand on a copy courtesy of the library, and delved in immediately upon getting home. Riverkeep by Martin Stewart is a coming of age story set in a fiction world where magic and monstrous creatures lurk just on the edges of civilization.