Teaser Tuesday #111: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My current read is Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo and my two lines are from page 83 of 462

She'd seen it from afar before, when she'd paid a fisherman to take her out to the island. But when she had asked him to bring her closer, he'd refused. "sharks get mean there," he's claimed. "Bellies full of convict blood." Nina shuddered at the memory.

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first. .

 

Purchase: Booktopia  | Book Depository | Amazon

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Review: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3)

Author: Leigh Bardugo
Published: 17 June 2014 by Henry Holt & Co.
Source:  Book Depository
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: *****

My Review:

What an awesome conclusion to a series! I loved this book and was glued to the pages from beginning to end.

It had been about 6 months and a load of books since I had read book 2, Siege and Storm so I was worried I may not remember nenough to be able to enjoy it properly but I needn't have worried. Right from page 1, I was back in the story and invested in the characters and hanging on every word right through to the satisfying conclusion.

Ms Bardugo is a master story teller. This tale has everything you need for a complete story. Characters you can become invested in, a interesting and different story line with enough surprises along the way that the ending is not necessarily be seen until the author wants you to see it. Lastly the conclusion itself makes reading the entire three books well worth the effort.

I loved the main character Alina. I loved how strong she was and how we got to see her struggle with trying to work out the right path to take. We got to see her strengths as well as her weakness as Ms Bardugo did not give a clear straight path nor easily definable right and wrong choices so we got to see how Alina coped with the both making her decisions and then dealing with the consequences.

I also loved her relationships with the other characters, with The Darkling, with Nicolai and with Mal. Again, I loved that there were never clear choices and she had to deal with her hearty fighting her head fighting her soul whilst also wrestling how these decisions might also affect the rest of her world.

Over all, this is one of the best conclusions to a series I have read in a long time and whilst I am sad to be leaving these characters behind, I also leave satisfied with a conclusion that left these characters where they were meant to be.

I give this novel 5 stars.

Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Tuesday Teaser #69 Ruin & Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too muchaway! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My current read is Ruin and Rising(The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo and my two lines are from Page 155:

I ignored the twist my heart gave. This was what I wanted.

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Purchase: Book Depository | Amazon

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link  to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Stacking the Shelves #15

Welcome to  Stacking The Shelves!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga Reviews and is a meme to share those books, both print and e-book, that have been added to your shelves in the last week/s.

I got some awesome titles this week.  Can't wait to read them.  So excited for Ruin & Rising.  Keep you eyes out for a review of this later this week!

Ebooks (Harper Collins via Edelweiss)

The Fall by Bethany Griffin
Goodreads | Book Depository
Madeline Usher is doomed.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down? The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

Look for it- Fall 2014!

The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard
Goodreads | Book Depository
rom the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series Pretty Little Liars comes a thrilling new novel about five perfect girls who are framed for a murder they didn’t commit.

In Beacon Heights, Washington, five girls—Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker—know that you don’t have to be good to be perfect. At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they realize that they all hate Nolan Hotchkiss, who’s done terrible things to each of them. They come up with the perfect way to kill him—a hypothetical murder, of course. It’s just a joke...until Nolan turns up dead, in exactly the way they planned. Only, they didn’t do it. And unless they find the real killer, their perfect lives will come crashing down around them.

From Sara Shepard, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series, comes another story of dark secrets, shocking twists, and what happens when five beautiful girls will do anything to hide the ugly truth.

Illusions of Fate  by Kiersten White
Goodreads | Book Depository
Downton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.

“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray

Purchased :

So excited that this finally arrived.  As you can see, I have already dived in :-P

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo
Goodreads  | Book Depository

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

So what did you add to your shelves this week?

Waiting on Wednesday #5: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Welcome to Waiting on Wednesday!  Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly featured hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight the not yet released books that I wish were in my hot little hands right now.

This week I am waiting on the third book in The Grisha series.  It is due out in a couple of days and I have literally been waiting on this book since I read the last page on book 2.  I already have this on pre-order and cannot wait to receive it :-)

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Publication Date: 19 June 2014
Pre-Order:Book Depository

What book are you 'waiting on' this week?

Stacking the Shelves #5

Welcome to  Stacking The Shelves!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga Reviews and is a meme to share those books, both print and e-book, that have been added to your shelves in the last week/s.

Got some awesome books this week and also got a lot of reading done.  Now just need to start writing some of the reviews that are due.  Also very excited this week as I will be hosting Claudia Gray on my blog as part of the Authors ARE Rockstars tour later in the week.  So don't forget to check back on Wednesday and catch the interview, it will be well worth it! :-).

For Review (via Netgalley):

Witchstruck (The Tudor Witch Trilogy #1) by Victoria Lamb

Goodreads | Book Depository 

If she sink, she be no witch and shall be drowned.

If she float, she be a witch and must be hanged.

Meg Lytton has always known she is different—that she bears a dark and powerful gift. But in 1554 England, in service at Woodstock Palace to the banished Tudor princess Elizabeth, it has never been more dangerous to practise witchcraft. Meg knows she must guard her secret carefully from the many suspicious eyes watching over the princess and her companions. One wrong move could mean her life, and the life of Elizabeth, rightful heir to the English throne.

With witchfinder Marcus Dent determined to have Meg's hand in marriage, and Meg's own family conspiring against the English queen, there isn't a single person Meg can trust. Certainly not the enigmatic young Spanish priest Alejandro de Castillo, despite her undeniable feelings. But when all the world turns against her, Meg must open her heart to a dangerous choice.

The Secret Circle meets The Other Boleyn Girl in Witchstruck, the first book of the magical Tudor Witch trilogy

Purchased:(Print Books):

Been dying to read this pretty much since I finished reading Shadow and bone and when I saw this gorgeous edition while browsing in a bookshop this week, I couldn't resist.  Nearly finished and and so far it is as good as i expected :-)

Siege and Storm (The Grisha  #2) by Amy Plum

Goodreads  | Book Depository 

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Also made my monthly visit to my favourite discount book store and got some awesome bargains.

Captivate (Need #2) by Carrie Jones

Goodreads | Book Depository

Spells
Spells (Wings #2) by Aprilynne Pike

Goodreads | Book Depository

Illusions (Wings #3) by Aprilynne Pike

Goodreads | Book Depository

Everneath (Everneath #1) by Brodi Ashton

Goodreads | Book Depository

This was one of my favourite reads of 2012 so now I finally have a copy of my own.

White Tiger (Dark Heavens #1) by Kylie Chan

Goodreads | Book Depository

This is one of my favourite series and while i already have this book as a paperback, this is the Voyager 15th anniversary edition and in hardback! Yes Please.

So what did you add to your shelves this week?

On My Wishlist #14

Welcome to On My Wishlist!


On My Wishlist is a meme that was originally created by Book Chick City and is now hosted by Cosy Books where we can showcase (and squee about) books that are on our individual wish lists whether already released or still awaiting publication.


For more information or to get involved yourself, head over to Cosy Books and check it out!


Lastly, don't forget to comment and let me know what books are on your Wishlist this week.

Siege & Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Publication Date: 4 June 2013

Pre-Order:Book Depository

Comment: I read book 1, Shadow & Bone (or The gathering Dark as it was known in Australia) earlier this year and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  So its not really a surprise that I can't wait to read book 2 :-)

What has gone on your Wishlist this week?

Best Book Covers of 2012

Wow! Can you believe we are about to head into the last week of 2012! This year has been huge for me! Having my daughter Elizabeth who is turned 9 months on Saturday and learning to adjust to what seems like less hours in the day for things like reading, blogging...sleeping :P 

The year has just flown, and because I don't want to forget all that I read in the blur that was 2012, I am participating in Top Ten of 2012 Week: A week of Looking back...And looking forward hosted by Fiktshun, A Life Bound by Books, Confessions of a Bookaholic, Two Chicks on Books and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads 

Each day features a different Top 10 and today's Top 10 is the Best Books Covers of 2012. This is just  for books written in 2012.  I at first thought to keep it to what I had read but turns out I didn't have enough covers I loved in this selection so went looking on my physical TBR shelf to find the pretty books i have bought this year that I haven't had a chance to read yet and that is the list below:

10. Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.

Purchase: Book Depository

9. Diviners by Libba Bray

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

Purchase: Book Depository

8. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.

Purchase: Book Depository

7. The Light Field  by Traci Harding

In the battle to get the Being of the Field back to the Universe Parallel, the greatest weapon and risk lay in its own light-field.

Ten years in Maladaan′s past, Taren Lennox seizes the opportunity to secure personal financing for the AMIE Project and base the building on Frujia -- away from Maladaan and its Secret Service.

But when the MSS develop a weapon, from a patent of one of Taren′s inventions, that counts light -- photon by photon -- she begins to doubt her ability to keep her ever-growing psychic army a secret. For this new photon-camera can identify a psychic from the more inept by the unmistakable brilliance of their light-field.

Purchase: Book Depository

6. The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

Purchase: Book Depository

5. Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

Purchase: Book Depository

4. Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.

"Everneath" is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

Purchase: Book Depository

3. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

In this compelling sequel to "Unearthly," Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are.

Purchase: Book Depository

2. The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

Purchase: Book Depository

1. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

Purchase: Book Depository

WWW Wednesday #11

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you will read next?

What are you currently reading?

The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo

Known in the US as Shadow & Bone, this is another awesome read that I am nearly finished.  Review to be posted before the end of the year.

What did you recently finish reading?

Been a busy week so only read the one this week.

Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep

Best of the series so far.  Review should be posted by the end of this week.

What do you think you will read next??

Been looking forward to reading this one for a while now :)

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

Purchase: Book Depository

So what are you reading this week?

Teaser Tuesday #42

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too muchaway! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My current read is The Gathering Dark (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo and my two lines are from page 17:

"He's not natural," said Eva, another assistant: she had pretty green eyes that did little to distract from her pig-like nose. "None of them are."

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

Purchase: Book Depository

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