Nov 26, 2016
From Our TBR Pile

Review – A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic
By: V. E. Schwab
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Publisher: Tor
Series: Shades of Magic (Book #1)
Award: Goodreads Choice Award for Fantasy (2015)
Rating:


There’s something that just draws me to A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab. And sitting here behind my keyboard trying to explain why, I find myself returning to the oversimplified non-answers I’ve given when asked why I read fantasy novels. Because it’s wonderful. Because I should read it. Because I must read it. Because it’s the sort of thing that makes you believe in magic, or at least want to. Because A Darker Shade of Magic is a fantastic book, and I loved every second of it.

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Nov 24, 2016
From Our TBR Pile Throwback Thursday

Review: Dragonfly in Amber

Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2)
By: Diana Gabaldon
Website: http://www.dianagabaldon.com/
Release Date: July 1st, 1992
Publisher: Bantam
Series: Outlander Series
Rating:


 The obsession continues for me in this sequel to Outlander. A well written sequel that picks up right where we left off I have to say that I nearly missed my train stop a few times when reading this book. 

Diana Gabladon continues to run with the story here, giving us more and more reasons to cheer for her characters, worry about them and turn page after page. Did I mention I almost missed my stop? Gabladon’s characters are on a precarious journey to literally change history but, the question is, do they succeed? Some spoilers/ spoiler hints ahead, you have been warned! 

 

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Nov 23, 2016
Manga & Light Novels New & Upcoming Releases

Review – Overlord, Vol 2: The Dark Warrior by Kugane Maruyama

Overlord, Vol 2: The Dark Warrior
By: Kugane Maruyama
Release Date: (Original) November 8, 2012; (English) September 27, 2016
Publisher: Yen Press
Series: Overlord, Book #2
Rating:


Every time I go into a bookstore it’s the same. I chant “I just bought books; I will not buy more.” I’m not sure why I bother. It never works. This last trip to the bookstore was my best attempt yet. The last set of books I’d ordered had just arrived at my door that morning and I swore I wasn’t buying more. Then I saw Overlord, Vol. 2: The Dark Warrior sitting on a shelf with some recent manga releases, squee’d, and immediately bought it. Because I’m weak.

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Nov 22, 2016
From Our TBR Pile

Review: The Elite

The Elite (The Selection #2)
By: Kiera Cass
Website: http://www.kieracass.com/
Release Date: April 23rd 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: The Selection Series
Rating:


The second book in this series, like the first, didn’t disappoint me. We continue with America Singer and the remaining contestants of the Selection as the women work to win the heart of Prince Maxon. America meanwhile is stuck between a rock and a hard place as her heart still pulls her to her first love, and palace guard, Aspen. Who will she choose? And, when she’s ready, will the one she chooses still be hers to claim?

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Nov 17, 2016
Throwback Thursday

#ThrowbackThursday Review- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
By: J. K. Rowling
Website: https://www.pottermore.com/
Release Date: June 26, 1997
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Series: Harry Potter, Book #1
Award: National Book Award (UK) 1997, British Book Award for Children's Book of the Year (1998), Smarties Prize (1997), and many, many more.
Rating:


I haven’t reread Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone since middle school, probably. My little paperback is beaten up now, passed along to my siblings before being returned significantly more worn than the last I’d seen it. Pages are missing along with the back cover. The spine is split in two. Small, triangular holes line a few of the pages where my parrot sat and gnawed on the book as I read. A giant sticker, one of those large, badge-like ones they give out at doctor’s offices, is tucked between the pages, buried near the end of the book where it was once used as a bookmark.

I can’t help but smile as I look at the book, and I wondered how unbiased of a review I could truly make this. The nostalgia factor is alive and well with this one, after all. I read the first book when I was 11, and the last book was released the summer I graduated high school. Harry Potter bookended my childhood. But, I’ve tried my best to maintain an open, unbiased opinion. Here goes!

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Nov 15, 2016
From Our TBR Pile

Review: The Selection

The Selection
By: Kiera Cass
Website: http://www.kieracass.com/
Release Date: April 24th 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: The Selection Series
Award: Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2015)
Rating:


The Selection is one of the books I looked at with curiosity but hesitation. I’m not one for girls in pretty ballgowns, I prefer heroines battling their own enemies while wearing pants and having swords clash around them. Still, America Singer’s story pulled me in. I am well aware this is not everyone’s cup of tea (reviews on Goodreads will show that) but let me explain why I give this a high rating and why you should at least give it a shot.

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Nov 10, 2016
From Our TBR Pile Throwback Thursday

Review: Outlander (Outlander #1)

Outlander
By: Diana Gabaldon
Website: http://www.dianagabaldon.com/
Release Date: June 1, 1991
Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
Series: Outlander Series
Award: RITA Award by Romance Writers of America for Best Romance of 1991 (1992), Puddly Award for Romance (2001)
Rating:


 Not only is this book series originally published before I could pronounce the word Outlander it was published at perhaps the perfect time to receive the acclaim that it did. Now, with the books adapted to Starz as a regular series the popularity of the books has again been brought back to the forefront which is how I happened upon them. 

Diana Gabladon took a concept and literally ran with it throughout this series and I can safely say that I will be reading all of them. In the first installment we are asked to believe quite a bit but as a fantasy/sci-fi reader at heart I readily believed that the events in this book could happen and were indeed worth reading about. The question to everyone who is considering reading this series is can you believe in Gabladon’s story? 

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Nov 04, 2016
Manga & Light Novels New & Upcoming Releases

Review – Disney Manga Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas

Disney Manga Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
By: Jun Asuka
Release Date: November 22, 2016
Publisher: TokyoPop
Rating:


It took an awfully long time for me to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas. Decades, in fact. I wasn’t quite five when it came out, and my parents banned me from watching it on account of me being too scared. This was probably a smart move in retrospect as I vividly remember being terrified that Halloween by a fellow trick or treater dressed up as a ghost (quite literally a middle schooler under a sheet with two eye holes cut out). I ran down the block, screaming, and refused to believe it wasn’t a real ghost. (Sorry, Dad).

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Oct 31, 2016
From Our TBR Pile

Review – Styx by Bavo Dhooge

Styx
By: Bavo Dhooge
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Shuster/Simon451
Rating:


I won’t lie. I picked up this book solely because the author has one of the most awesome sounding names I’ve ever come across. And I’m happy I gave this book a chance. Styx, written by Flemmish author Bavo Dhooge, is a mystery novel with what is probably the most original twist on a zombie story I’ve ever seen.

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