Month: January 2020

Today I’m really excited to be taking part in the Book Tour of, Scavenge The Scars
by Tara Sim, which is being hosted by FFBC !

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Disney Hyperion and The Fantastic Flying Book Club for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

“…I’m beginning to learn the only way to move forward is by confronting the mistakes of your past”

Every man carries his sins a different way.”

Because children are the victims of their parents’ crimes.”

“This, though – it wasn’t survival. Not really. It was merely kindness, and friendship, and Amaya had no idea what to do with either.”

Tara Sim’s, Scavenge the Stars is the first installment in the authors epic fantasy duology. A stunning Ya Fantasy Retelling, Packed with high stakes adventure, romance, and dueling identities, this gender-swapped, diverse, retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo

The world building is seamlessly blended with historical European influenced hierarchy along with a subtropical world. Where in the city state of Moray, children shoulder their parent’s debts, just like they did in Europe between the 1300’s to the 1870’s

Tara Sim delivers an atmospheric, adventurous, engaging, and well written read here that is told from different POV,s. Amaya Chandra, nicknamed Silverfish, has been paying off her fathers debt for the last seven years, aboard the debtors ship, the Brackish.

Amaya has survived the grueling unethical treatment and harsh conditions on ship that is commanded by a vile captain, Capt. Zharo.

As her time upon the Brackish is drawing to an end, an event occurs that Amaya doesn’t think twice about. When she ignores the captain’s orders and rescues a mysterious man, who goes by the name Boon, from near fatal drowning, Silverfish is told that her sentence aboard the ship will be extended. The man Boon, offers her a very unique opportunity. One that Amaya, can turn down, more wealth than she can begin to imagine, in exchange for her help exacting revenge upon Kamon Mercado, a merchant in the city of Moray.

A rich diverse charter driven plot line makes this a stunning book. Amaya’s ruthlessness, desire for revenge, along with her desperation in needing to understand what happened to her family seven years ago makes her character completely relatable. Silverfish, aka, Amaya, undergoes a transformation makeover, along with some training under Boon’s tutelage and emerges into a perfect lady that is both cunning and manipulative.

The second protagonist is Cayo, a little spoiled and has a tad bit of a gambling problem, but when he discovers his family legacy is all a treacherous lie. He takes things into his own hands, and does what it takes to save himself and his sister.

Amaya is both unapologetically and determined to right all of the wrongs that had been done to her. Motivated ultimately by her revenge, she wants to burn the entire system down. Cayo and Amaya story becomes intertwined in creative inspired take on a much loved classic.

The strength of this novel handsdown is the author’s fabulous characterizations. Tara Sim writing definitely shines when it comes to how interesting and fleshed out her characters are. Sexual diversity; Cayo is bisexual, and another character is asexual. A great representation of racial diversity in Ya fantasy.

#ScavengetheStars

#DisneyHyperion

#YoungAdult2020

GIVEAWAY

Prize: Win finished copy of SCAVENGE THE STARS by Tara Sim (US Only)

Starts: 1st January 2020

Ends: 15th January 2020

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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January 1st

The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club – Welcome

January 2nd

Kait Plus Books – Interview

L.M. Durand – Review

Books.Bags.Burgers – Review + Favourite Quotes

Library of a Book Witch – Review

Write, Read, Repeat – Review

January 3rd

NovelKnight – Guest Post

Wishful Endings – Review

Gwendalyn’s Books – Review + Favourite Quotes

Fanna Wants The World To Read – Review

Feed Your Fiction Addiction – Review

January 4th

The Reading Corner for All – Review + Favourite Quotes

Here’s to Happy Endings – Review

Book Lover’s Book Reviews – Review

mabookyard – Review + Favourite Quotes

Lauren’s Boookshelf – Review

January 5th

A Book Addict’s Bookshelves – Guest Post

Book briefs – Review

Story-eyed Reviews – Review

Alys in Bookland – Review

biblioxytocin – Review + Playlist + Favourite Quotes

January 6th

Bookathon – Review

Sometimes Leelynn Reads – Review + Dream Cast

Confessions of a YA Reader – Review

Lost in Storyland – Review

Becky’s Book Blog – Review

January 7th

Utopia State of Mind – Interview

Amy’s Booket List – Review

Flipping Through the Pages – Review

Foals, Fiction & Filigree – Review + Favourite Quotes

PopTheButterfly Reads – Review

Tara Sim is the author of SCAVENGE THE STARS (Disney-Hyperion) and the TIMEKEEPER trilogy (Sky Pony Press) and writer of all things magic. She can often be found in the wilds of the Bay Area, California.

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Book Review

Name: Athena’s Choice

Author: Adam Boostrom

Genre: YA Sci-fi/ Dystopian Fiction

Pages:274

Publisher: Indie 2019

Athena Vosh lives just like any other teenager from the year 2099. She watches reality shows with her friends, eats well, and occasionally wonders to herself: what would life be like if men were still alive?

It has been almost 50 years since an experimental virus accidentally killed all the men on earth. However, a controversial project is currently underway to bring men back. There’s just one catch. The project has been sabotaged.

So begins the award-winning novel, Athena’s Choice. When the police of 2099 are tasked with finding the saboteur, they receive a mysterious command to investigate the otherwise innocuous Athena Vosh. After it becomes clear that the young girl might know more than she lets on, Athena is brought in to participate in the official investigation. Simultaneously, the girl begins to experience a series of cryptic dreams featuring a ruined library and an old book containing the saboteur’s true identity. As the police close in on their prize, Athena finds herself on a journey of her own. Her clue-filled dreams and incorruptible spirit bring her face-to-face with a pair of forgotten truths about happiness and gender. The world waits to see if men will return as Athena fights a separate battle, culminating in the choice that will define her and others’ lives forever.

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own. All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication.

“Every act of learning is an act of destruction”

An intriguing storyline that unfolds meticulously with every captivating page you turn. Athena’s Choice by Adam Boostrom, is a YA Sci-fi/ Dystopian Fiction, is a futuristic world. Politically charged with cultural divisional conflict,

A gripping, captivating, thought-provoking, spot on dystopian fiction, that I was immediately drawn into and devoured quickly. The story was so captivating and entertaining and absolutely un-put-down-able!!!! 

The book pitches the year 2099 as a near utopia futuristic world, aside from a rising suicide rate. which could imply that most women are saints but for the evil to which men drive them. However the author has the Third Core say that

“Some women will be more dangerous than the average Man.”

If you are an adept reader you will see that is not a male bashing book at all. This book touches on something on a larger scale.

The question really is what probability of danger should be enough to eradicate a whole group of people. It is so easy to believe that if there is a system that said a group of people are dangerous, get rid of them to create safety for others..

This book will leave you with many questions that really makes you think

As a reader what would you define as “evil”?

What kind of measurements would you use to determine these results?

★•.‿¸.•*´´*•.¸ Happy New Year ¸.•*´´*•.¸‿.•★

#Qotd :: Have You Made Some Bookish Resolutions?

A:: I Am Going To Be More Organized On My Blog And IG

A Stroke of Malice

(Lady Darby Mystery #8)

by Anna Lee Huber

@annaleehuber

Paperback, 384 pages

Expected publication: April 7th 2020 by Berkley

Lady Kiera Darby and her husband Sebastian Gage are looking forward to relaxing with new friends at an exciting yearly soiree, but they soon learn that murder never takes a holiday in the latest riveting installment in this national bestselling series.

Scotland 1832. After enjoying a delightful holiday with her family, Lady Kiera Darby is looking forward to finishing her new friend, the Duchess of Bowmont’s portrait, as well as attending the duchess’ annual Twelfth Night party. Though she normally avoids such fashionable events, Kiera trusts the attention will not be focused on her, but rather her notorious hostess and her family. But upon their arrival at the opulent Scottish estate, Kiera and her husband and fellow investigative partner, Sebastian Gage, swiftly deduce that all is not merry in the duke’s household. The family appears to be under a great strain, and someone seems determined to cause mayhem among the guests with a series of forged notes.

However, matters swiftly turn from irksome to downright deadly when the merrymakers stumble upon a decomposing body in the castle’s crypt. This corpse is certainly no laughing matter, especially when it is identified as the duchess’ son-in-law, the Earl of Helmsdale, who had purportedly traveled to Paris more than a month earlier. It is evident the man met with foul play, and Kiera and Gage step in to investigate, at the duchess’ insistence. Kiera and Gage must swiftly reexamine the facts, for a ruthless murderer walks among them and may well be a member of the duchess’ own family. Kiera soon discovers just how deep the killer is willing to dig to keep their secrets from ever seeing the light of day.

#AStrokeofMalice LadyDarby @berkleypub #mystery #histfic #twelfthnight #partylikeits1832 #romance  #KieraGage

Make Sure You Pre Order This Book

• AmazonStores ▾Libraries

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own

A Stroke of Malice is the latest in the long running Lady Darby series and as such, I would recommend reading the previous books in the series to get the most enjoyment out of this one; the mystery works as a stand alone, but many of the characters have appeared in previous books, along with their backstory.

Following the events of the previous book, Kiera, Lady Darby, and her husband Sebastian Gage have agreed to attend a house party hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Bowmont for 12th Night. Kiera has been busy working on a painting of the Duchess and will continue to work on it while visiting their remote castle in Scotland.

Along with Kiera and Gage, Kiera’s sister Alana, brother-in-law, and brother are also in attendance. The duke and duchess are both to have scandalous reputations.

It’s even common knowledge that the duchess’s younger children are not the duke’s even though he has acknowledged them as such.

During a ball to celebrate the season, Lord Edward takes some of the guests, including Kiera and Gage, on a ghost tour of the castle. While visiting catacombs under the castle where a friar is said to haunt, the group is stunned to come across a recently deceased man. Unable to confirm the deceased’s identity, due to the deterioration of the body, but suspecting it could be someone closely related to the family, Kiera and Gage agree to on the investigation.

The investigation is far from easy when it quickly becomes obvious that the duchess and her family have many secrets that they seeming willing to do anything to keep, but does that include murder?Kiera is six months pregnant, headstrong and determined to not only confirm the identity of the victim but to also figure out who did it.

This captivating novel is lively with its twists and turns, that makes this engaging mystery one will keep you be guessing all the way through to the final reveal.I enjoy character development of both Gage and Kiera as their relationship continued to evolve into a solid marriage.

There are some interesting plot developments, and intriguing sub characters that I’m excited to see playout in the authors future books. This delightful series is one that keeps getting better with the addition of new installments

Have a wonderful day!