These Books Among Us

Hello All!! Long time, no update! I have decided that I am going to do an update at the end of each month instead of a weekly one, as you can see. Some changes are coming to the blog soon! I will be starting to make video reviews more instead of only doing text reviews. I will be starting making them this weekend and doing about one per week. I will mainly be doing reviews, but I may throw in some other book or Disney related videos into the vlog! I will post them on my Youtube channel: dsbookie as well as a link on here in a post of its own. Okay, so onto what has been happening this month! I have been reading quite a bit, I got a total of eight books done!! A great start to the year, if you ask me! I am trying to read about six or seven books next month as well, which I will post a list of the books I am planning on reading at the end of this update! Movie wise, I have been watching a lot of documentaries, so if you know of any that were interesting or you think I should watc...

Annihilation Book Two by Keith Giffen (320 pages) Date Read: 27 December 2016 My Rating: 4.5 Stars Synopsis: The epic collection of the cosmic event continues, as the the Annihilation Wave targets Galactus' ex-heralds! Hunted by beings every bit as powerful as himself, the Silver Surfer must find a way to unite the one-time heralds against a common foe. But can even the united cosmic might of those who served Galactus stand against these powerful beings!? Meanwhile, no longer recognized as "Accuser," Ronan himself has been accused, tried and stripped of his rank. Now, he's out to clear his name! And finally, from one of the writers of ABC's smash hit Lost comes a new vision of a venerable villain as Super-Skrull brings his devious cunning to bear on an unstoppable enemy! Super-Skrull bursts into the frontline of the war against the Annihilation Wave, taking the fight to the enemy in his own ruthless way! Collecting: Silver Surfer 1-4, Super Skrull 1-4,...

Annihilation Book One by Dan Abnett (256 pages) Date Read: 27 December 2016 My Rating: 4.5 Stars Synopsis: The Annihilation Wave has come! Annihilus, lord of the Negative Zone, has declared war! Hordes of loyal soldiers swarm from the center of the universe, and only a handful of heroes can resist destruction! As the Xandarian Nova Corps meets its doom, only Richard Rider - the man called Nova - survives. Drax the Destroyer returns from exile on Earth to mentor Nova - but wait until you see his dangerous new persona! Guest-starring Quasar, Ronan the Accuser, the Super-Skrull and Thanos! Collecting: Annihilation Prologue, Annihilation: Nova 1-4 My Review: So this was my first time being introduced to some of these characters, others, such as Drax, Ronan, Thanos and Gamora I was a bit more familiar with, but only their basic story lines from Guardians of the Galaxy. My dad gave me these three books to borrow and read because I had told him I wanted to read more graphic ...

Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan (297 pages) My Rating: 3 Stars Date Read: 23 December 2016 Synopsis: Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead. But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized. With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet. My Review: Okay, so in this review, there will be some pretty general spoilers in the charact...

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver (357 pages) My Rating: 5 Stars Date Read: 22 December 2016 Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping story about two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident. Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late. In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other. My Review: I am not sure why I keep being surprised at how good books are, especially since I have read some of these authors before! This book is no dif...

A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas (337 pages) My Rating: 3.5 Stars Date Read: 19 December 2016 Synopsis: Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and what happens after happily ever after. One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale. Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept. As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her ki...

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye (408 pages) My Rating: 4 Stars Date Read: 18 December 2016 Synopsis: Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side. And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death. Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has? For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with...

Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett (346 pages) My Rating: 3.5 Stars Date Read: 17 December 2016 Synopsis: Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn in this one-of-a-kind romantic horror. “When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.” These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time. Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own. As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—...

Shakespeare by Another Name by Mark Anderson (640 pages) My Rating: 1.5 Stars Date Read: 14 December 2016 Synopsis: The debate over the true author of Shakespeare’s body of work (some of which was published under the name “Shake-speare”) began not long after the death of William Shakespeare, the obscure actor and entrepreneur from Stratford-upon-Avon who was conventionally assumed to be the author. There were natural doubts that an uneducated son of a glover who never left England and apparently owned no books could have produced some of the greatest works of Western literature. Early investigators into the mystery argued for such eminent figures as Christopher Marlowe or Francis Bacon as possible authors, but recent scholarship has turned to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, as the true Shakespeare. “Shakespeare” by Another Name is the first complete literary biography of Edward de Vere that tells the story of his action-packed life—as student, soldier, courtier, lawyer,...

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (362 pages) My Rating: 3.5 Stars Date Read 13 December 2016 Synopsis: Terry Pratchett's fantasy classic Wyrd Sisters, a novel in the Discworld series, is the story of Granny Weatherwax, the most highly regarded non-leader a coven of non-social witches could ever have. Generally, these loners don't get involved in anything, mush less royal intrigue. but then there are those times they can't help it. As Granny Weatherwax is about to discover, though, it's a lot harder to stir up trouble in the castle than some theatrical types would have you think. Even when you've got a few unexpected spells up your sleeve. Granny Weatherwax teams with two other witches -- Nanny Ogg and Margat Garlick - as an unlikely alliance to save a prince and restore him to the throne of Lancre, in a tale that borrows -- or is it parodies -- some of William Shakespeare's best-loved works. My Review: I am giving this book a 3.5 stars, so I wil...

Shards and Ashes by Marissa Meyer (369 pages) Date Read: 11 December 2016 My Rating: 1.5 Stars Synopsis: Gripping original stories of dystopian worlds from nine New York Times bestselling authors, edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong. The world is gone, destroyed by human, ecological, or supernatural causes. Survivors dodge chemical warfare and cruel gods; they travel the reaches of space and inhabit underground caverns. Their enemies are disease, corrupt corporations, and one another; their resources are few, and their courage is tested. Powerful original dystopian tales from nine bestselling authors offer bleak insight, prophetic visions, and precious glimmers of light among the shards and ashes of a ruined world. My Review: I am keeping this review short because I was not a fan of the book, so I don't want to spend a lot of time on it. I did not really like this book, but I have read most of these authors and I have loved their books before, so I think...

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (400 pages) Date Read: 10 December 2016 My Rating 4.5 Stars Synopsis: The enchantment continues.... The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies? With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles. -- The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles. Glitches: In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that ...

Winter by Marissa Meyer (832 pages) Date Read: 9 December 2016 My Rating: 5 Stars Synopsis: Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana. Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend--the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long. Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters? Fans will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to Marissa Meyer's national bestselling Lunar Chronicles series. My Review: There will be spoile...

Fairest by Marissa Meyer (220 pages) My Rating: 3 Stars Date Read: 5 December 2016 Synopsis In this stunning bridge book between  Cress  and  Winter  in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told. Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is the fairest of them all? Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.  Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from  Winter , the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series. My Review: As always, there are going to be spoilers in this review, so be warned. As much as I love the Lunar Chronicles series, I did not enjoy reading this book. Yes, we got backstory into Levana...