Owlcrate Unboxing May 2018

Hello again!
I'm back with an unboxing this time of my May 2018 OwlCrate. The theme this month was: Fight Like a Girl. Which I am very excited for. So without further ado this is May's OwlCrate.

So first up I did a little digging and pulled out the spoiler card and the pin included in every box that is based on the spoiler card art. This month's card is pretty cool, there's been cooler ones but I like the warrior woman vibe on it and I do like the pin so it'll go in my jar and it'll go into my rotation to pin to things.

Okay so the first real thing I pulled out was the bath bomb right on top. It's really pretty in black, red and glittery gold. It has a sort of bakery scent, the ingredients list has sweet almond and witch hazel listed so I think the scent is mostly the almond. It's by Whipped Up Wonderful and it's called Zelie's Magic. This was the featured item in this box and I do like how it smells. Consulting the spoiler card, this is from the book Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. I've heard a lot about this book but haven't picked up a copy of it. I'm planning a bookstore trip in the next couple weeks so I might have to pick this one up and give it a try.

Okay the next item is the one in the tube you can see in the open box picture. It is a hanging poster/small wall tapestry thing designed by Evie Bookish. It's based off of A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas and says: "Remember that you are a wolf and you cannot be caged". I think its something that Rhysand says to Feyre in the book but regardless I love this so much. It is immediately going on my wall with the rest of my art.

Next in the box was something that Owlcrate has teased on both it's instagram and facebook pages from Out of Print. It's a little enamel pin that looks like a book and says "When in doubt go to the library" which is a quote by Hermione from Harry Potter. I love this pin so much. I mean, I already love pins like this and then to have a bookish quote from Hermione, perfect!

After the pin I pulled out a very pretty floral bookmark with a tassel. The vertical side reads: "You are strong, fierce, capable beyond measure" which google tells me is from The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh,which I have not even heard of but I like the quote and the bookmark is very pretty. The other side (the horizontal side) reads "If I am marching to my death, then I will march to it as a girl. Without fear". Once again google tells me that this quote is from Flame in the Mist which is also by Renee Ahdieh. I don't remember anything about this book but the title sounds familiar. Regardless I do love this bookmark and it'll go into my bookmark mug for future reading.

After the bookmark I found an art print, which are always things I love. This one especially so because I've been saying that I need things on my wall from my newly discovered favorite authors/series. I got the wall hanging for ACOTAR and now I have a beautiful art print of Inej from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I love it, love it, love it! It'll go on my wall as soon as I get a frame for it.

Finally, May has two books in it: a previous release soft cover and the normal exclusive hardcover signed new release. The soft cover book is called Catching Stars by Cayla Keenan. I've never heard of it but it seems like a YA fantasy novel. It's about a witch named Jayin and a guy named Maddix who is betrayed by the witch hunters he's enlisted to get revenge for the two years he spent in prison for a crime he didn't commit and the two end up thrown together in an uneasy alliance for survival. It sounds interesting and I'm looking forward to reading it.

 Finally we have the new release exclusive hardcover for this month: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young. This is a YA fantasy that revolves around a girl named Eelyn in a viking type setting. It sounds really good and I'm looking forward to reading it. As always it comes with an exclusive cover: in this case the image on the cover, especially the axe and lettering is in silver/blue instead of gold. I like both versions of the covers and it looks mysterious and interesting. 

 Then we have the naked hardcover which is just black with the words "breathe fire" on it in gold lettering. It's a very nice naked book.

 And then as Owlcrate has been doing the last several months this is an exclusive signed copy of the book. I always like having signed books, it makes everything a little bit more exciting.

 Also included with the book is a letter from the author, Adrienne Young, and a little pin (yay! more pins!). I love the pin and I'm very excited to dive into this book.

 In the very bottom of the box is the preview card for June's box. The theme will be: Summer Lovin' and it will have a modern YA book instead of the fantasy books they've had recently. This box will feature an item from Riddle's Tea Shoppe and I do love tea so I'm pretty excited about that.

So that's' the May 2018 Owlcrate, Fight Like a Girl. I think my favorite item was definitely the wall hanging from A Court of Wings and Ruin but there isn't a single item in this box that I don't love. I'm pretty excited by the books and I'm looking forward to next month already!

Happy Reading!
Richelle and Emma

A Court of Frost and Starlight Review

Hello Again!
Two posts in two days, sometimes I can get my act together and get things done. So here's another book review! This time it's A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas (ACOFAS). This is the latest installment in the A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series by Maas in the form of a novella that takes place immediately after A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOWAR). This is one of my very favorite young adult series (in fact, it's probably my very favorite series) and I preordered this book a while back so it would arrive as soon as it was released. It is by far the shortest book in the series at 229 pages (like I said, definitely a novella) and is narrated by Rhysand and Feyre surrounding their first winter solstice in the Night Court following the conclusion of the war with Hybern. I read it in just 24 hours and started it immediately after I finished Caraval. I finished it on May 3rd and gave it (like all the ACOTAR books) a 5/5 stars on goodreads. Without further ado here's my review of ACOFAS.

Caution! Spoilers are past this point!

So ACOFAS starts with Feyre leading up to the solstice, talking about her duties as High Lady of the Night Court: of the rebuilding of Velaris and healing of herself and her friends/family and her lands, caring for her sisters, and other mundane duties that keep her and Rhys apart more than either would like. She stresses about Nesta's drinking and her isolation from the others, Elain's healing, and buying gifts for everyone. She is also trying to find a way to live with what happened during the war and the brokenness inside herself. Rhys is dealing with the dissent in the ranks of the Illyrians, of the impending forced visits from Mor's family and the court of Nightmares in Velaris, and trying to keep the peace with his family and friends. You get private moments between Rhys and his 'brothers': Cassian and Azriel. You find out that Azriel goes to visit someone the day after the solstice, probably his mother from the context. You also learn that Cassian is pretending not to be concerned with Nesta following the war and everything that happened between them while trying to keep the peace with the Illyrian war bands. Feyre meets new friends in the rainbow (the art district in Velaris) and goes back to painting again in a deserted shop that belonged to an artist who died in the attack in Velaris by Hybern. When the solstice finally comes everyone is there and you find out that the three greatest Illyrian warriors in history (Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel) have a snowball fight in the morning. They all dress in their finery and have dinner and exchange presents, including birthday presents for Feyre. Rhys's gift to Feyre is property on the river where they will build a huge house of her design that has room for all their friends and family. After the solstice Feyre buys the studio space in the rainbow where she'd been painting an enlists her new friend to open a studio to teach art classes for children in Velaris for free, to teach them to express their feelings, to give them an outlet for everything that's happened. It ends on a hopeful and peaceful note and I was very satisfied by it.

I loved this book, it still had some tension and foreboding but it was mostly a lighter story of healing in the aftermath of war and a nice holiday tale about family and friends. Maas has said that ACOFAS is the conclusion of Rhys and Feyre's story but the series will continue around them in the same universe and setting. The exert from the next book (untitled still) in the back reveals that at least part of it will revolve around Nesta and Cassian and will be told from their perspectives. I love Cassian and Nesta's budding relationship (despite the fact that they're barely speaking in ACOFAS) and I'm looking forward to seeing how their story continues to develop and evolve in the future. Definitely a 5/5 and I continue to love this series and can't wait for the next book in the series.

Happy Reading!
Richelle and Emma

Caraval Review

Hello again!
So I'm a little behind on blog posts once again (surprise, surprise) but I'm still here, probably sleeping or working but I'm still here and I'm still reading. First book finished in May was Caraval by Stephanie Garber. I finished it on May 2nd and gave it a 4 star review. It started out pretty slow but picked up towards the middle and had me hooked by the end. I have preordered the second book in the series: Legendary which comes out on May 29th. I decided to read Caraval now because my April 2018 OwlCrate contained an exclusive sneak peak sampler for Legendary and I had had the book sitting on my shelf since my Christmas book haul in January. So without further ado here's my review of Caraval.

As always everything after the picture could contain spoilers!!!

So Caraval is about a pair of sisters named Scarlett and Donatella (Tella) Dragna who have never left the tiny island where they live. Scarlett (the main character and narrator) has been writing letters to the leader of Caraval, Master Legend, asking for either Caraval to come to their island or for tickets to the show for her sister's birthday. Finally 17 year old Scarlett receives a letter back with the tickets, the same year she's to be married to a faraway Count she's never met. When she goes to show the tickets to Tella, she finds him with a boy, a sailor named Julian. Their father catches them and punishes Tella physically giving a slight insight into the cruelty of their father. Scarlett tries to get Julian to leave her sister alone but then is knocked out by him and Tella and smuggled aboard a ship to take them to the isle where Caraval will be held, despite her wedding taking place in just a week's time. Julian takes Tella in the rowboat to the island first, followed by Scarlett but when he and Scarlett arrive to join Tella on the shore she's gone. They decide to find her at the opening night's show and that's when they discover that finding Tella is the task of the year's show. In exchange you get a wish from Master Legend. Julian and Scarlett team up to win the game and get Tella back. There are twists and turns as Julian and Scarlett get closer to each other and then Scarlett's father and fiance get involved. In the end, Julian is killed leaving Scarlett heartbroken and after finding Tella, Scarlett discovers she's fallen in love with Master Legend who is in disguise. Upon being confronted by their father and Scarlett's fiance, Tella leaps from her window killing herself. Despite her losses, Scarlett manages to send her father and fiance away in her heartbreak before using her wish as winner to revive Tella. At that point Tella reveals to Scarlett that it really is all a game: nothing permanent can happen during the games: the Master Legend they met was an actor, Julian is the real Master Legend's brother and is also alive, Tella was never in danger of remaining dead but they all did so to get the sisters away from their abusive father. At the cast party to wrap things up, Julian tells Scarlett the truth that he was acting and plotting along with Tella to save the sisters but he also reveals that he was supposed to leave Scarlett after the beach but everything that happened between them was genuine. The book ends with a happy moment for Scarlett but the epilogue reveals that their dead mother may very well be alive and a hint that Tella made a deal with the devil (Master Legend as it is) in order to orchestrate the whole thing leading to the sequel Legendary.

All in all I really did like Caraval. It had a fun intriguing setting in this part carnival, part show fantasy where nothing is what it seems and the lines between fact and fiction and reality and fantasy are blurred. It's a place built on stories and lies but it's a game you can get swept away on very easily. The characters were a little superficial but it kind of worked with the type of story where everything is part of this game/show. I wasn't the biggest fan of Scarlett to be honest, she's too prim and proper, always too straight-laced and serious, even as she falls in love with Julian. I would have enjoyed his point of view more, but knowing the twist in the ending where he's part of the show would have changed the line of the story too much to make it the same thing. That all being said I did really enjoy the story and am looking forward to the sequel. It was a fun, quick read set in a fun, carnival universe. So all in all, a solid four star read that I would recommend to any fan of young adult fantasy, especially circus themed reads.

Happy Reading!
Richelle and Emma

April Wrap Up

Hello Everyone,
Another month is over and here's the monthly wrap-up. I went a little crazy this month and added nine books to my collection while only finishing three books. It was a little bit of a crazy month. The first week of April my brother and new sister were on their honeymoon so I was helping watch my nephew. Then I took a weekend trip so I worked the seven days preceding that and only took one of my normal days off the week after. So I've worked a lot and haven't had much time for reading (or anything else) for that matter. But I do have this blog up to date as of today (May 1, 2018) which is a first for me.

First up, books I acquired. Here's the total stack of them, all nine of them.

It's a nice little stack if I do say so myself (and I do). So seven of those books I bought and two came in boxes this month. First up the list of those I bought.

1. My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Komoie 
2. The Upside of Unrequited  by Becky Albertalli
3. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
4. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
5. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
6. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
7. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro 

So once again these books tend to skew a little towards the fantasy side of things but there's a couple exceptions. First up, My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Komoie. This was an impulse buy when I was killing time at Fred Meyers one day. It's an adult historical fiction about Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, wife of Alexander Hamilton. I am totally obsessed with the musical Hamilton and everything to do with it so anytime I find a book pertaining to Hamilton in any way chances are I end up with it. it's a pretty book with deckled edges and it sounds from the synopsis and information on goodreads that these two ladies write well-researched historical fiction so I'm looking forward to giving this a try. 

Next up, The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli. This is a book I'd heard a lot about, especially with the movie Love, Simon coming out based on her book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I got it in a past OwlCrate box that I purchased from their online store. It's about a girl and her many unrequited loves and sounds pretty great. It's a contemporary young adult fiction, which is something I want to read more of since I read so much fantasy/sci-fi.

Next we have Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake. I got this one at the Amazon Books store at the mall. It's a brick and mortar store that sells the most popular books on Amazon and you can get them for the prime price in store when you use your email. It's seriously the greatest (and most dangerous) thing ever. It's a fantasy story about a kingdom where each generation triplets are born, equal heirs to the throne, and with an unique form of magical ability. They have to fight to the death for the right to inherit the throne and rule their kingdom. It sounds really cool and like most of these it's a book I've heard a lot about on booktube. 

Then there's A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. (Victoria) Schwab. Victoria Schwab is also the author of This Savage Song which is one of the books I got last month. The shades of magic series which is what this book is the first of, has rave reviews and I hear about it everywhere so I picked up the first one also at Amazon Books. It's a fantasy about Kell who is a magician who can travel between the parallel Londons: red, white, grey, and black. Mostly he smuggles people who pay for a glimpse at the other versions on London until he meets Delilah and gets thrust into an adventure. 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is also the first in a trilogy. I got this book because it is a series that you frequently receive bookish goodies relating to it in YA book boxes and I hate not getting references so if I like an item that relates to a book I haven't read I like to pick up the book and give it a try. It's a fantasy story that involves an art student in Prague and an otherworldly war. Plus I think this book cover is amazing. 

Then The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. The Raven Cycle is another series that frequently pops up in bookish boxes and on booktube. It's one that people rave about and it sounds interesting. Like several of these books, there's a more real world fantasy going on. It's about a girl, Blue, who stands next to her mother, a clairvoyant, who watches the soon to be dead walk by even though Blue can't see them until she sees Gansey walk by. He's a student at a local notorious private school whose students are nicknamed 'the raven boys', and is on a quest with three other boys from the school and ends up drawing Blue into his quest as well. 

Finally, there's A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro which is the first story in a series retelling the Sherlock Holmes books as the adventures of the descendants of Sherlock Homes and John Watson: Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson. It's a modern retelling of Sherlock Holmes and I adore everything Sherlock Holmes and like the idea of Sherlock being a girl. I'm happy with any version of Sherlock Holmes as long as it still feels like Sherlock Holmes (I hate what they did to Watson in Elementary so I've never watched much of it). I received an ad for it in my March PageHabit box so I was excited when Amazon books had this there. 

 Okay so next up are the two books that I received in my subscription boxes this month:

1. Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
2. Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

First is Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett which came in my April Uppercase box. It's a contemporary young adult novel about a former high school couple: Zorie and Lennon whose families are a modern day Californian Montagues and Capulets. They go on a camping trip and end up stranded in the woods together and have to work together to get out of the situation. I love backpacking and I think this sounds like a really interesting idea for a book, almost the perfect summertime read. 

The other book I got in a box is Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody that arrived in my April OwlCrate (Shadows and Secrets themed). It's about a proper young lady named Enne who goes to the city of New Reynes (the City of Sin) in search of her missing mother. She teams up with a conman/street lord who offers to help her for a price. It sounds intriguing plus the tagline is AMAZING: "Take a card and stake your soul". I'm very much looking forward to reading this. 

So those are all the new books I got in the month of April. I also finished three books. 

• A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
• Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston
• The Poet X  by Elizabeth Acevedo

So I loved all three of these books. A Court of Wings and Ruin is the third book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas and might just be my favorite book series I've read. I've already preordered the fourth book which comes out today and should arrive at my doorstep from Amazon sometime today. I finished this book on April 11th and gave it a 5/5 stars on goodreads. 

Second book I finished was Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston which was the March OwlCrate book. It's a sci-fi retelling of the Anastasia story with some elements of Firefly thrown in. I really enjoyed it and I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series (which has no release date). I finished this book on April 20th and gave it a 4/5 stars on goodreads. 

The last book I finished was The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. It is a contemporary YA novel written in free verse about a girl named Xiomara who finds her voice in a life where she feels voiceless and ignored in the world of slam poetry. I found it a really relateable story even though I am roughly twice Xiomara's age. I read this book in two sittings and finished it on April 21st and gave it a 5/5 stars on goodreads. Honestly this is probably my favorite book I've read in a very long time and I highly recommend it. It was the March book in my PageHabit box. 

Then there's the May to be read pile. I have seven books on my pile for the month of May. I have no travel plans and hopefully work will now settle down (and my coworkers will hopefully be healthy) so I have time to read. So here's the list:

• A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
• Ink, Iron, and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare
• Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
• Alex & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
• Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody
• Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

 

So first up, is A Court of Frost and Starlight, which I don't have in the picture since I don't actually have the book yet. It is a pre-order of the next book (a novella actually) in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas. It should be here sometime later today, delivered by Amazon. I'm very excited about another story about Feyre and Rhysand. I mean what could be better?

Then I have Ink, Iron, and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare which is a fantasy/steampunk novel I received in my February Uppercase box that I haven't read yet. It's about a girl who has the ability to shape reality with her pen but then she gets drawn into a caper in renaissance Italy with a boy who is an inventor as she tries to save her world. It's a very interesting concept and I've been looking forward to reading it since it arrived. 

Next is Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo. I think I should get props for reading things not by Leigh Bardugo for two whole months, especially when I have five of her books on my shelf ready to read. I read the Six of Crows duology in January/February and have since gotten two more people to read it and I convinced my dad to read both this book and the second one in the series (Batman: Nightstalker by Marie Lu). I love Wonder Woman, she and Batman are my favorite DC superheroes and she was hands down the best thing to happen in the DC Cinematic Universe (and most of those movies are mediocre at best). I adore Wonder Woman, I have t-shirts and sweatshirts and PJs and all kinds of Wonder Woman things and I am looking forward to one of my favorite authors' takes on one of my favorite fictional characters. 

Then there's Cinder. It's the first book in the Lunar Chronicles which is futuristic sci-fi retellings of fairy tales. Cinder is obviously a retelling of Cinderella but Cinderella is a cyborg. They sound kind of awesome to be honest and like some of the others I get a lot of Lunar Chronicles things in my boxes (like my favorite purple mug from March's OwlCrate) so I have been looking forward to giving these a go. 

Next is Alex & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz because like I said, I have an obsession with all things Hamilton. This is a young adult retelling of the meeting and courtship between Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler. It's the first in a series and the second book recently came out so I really need to read this book. Plus the cover is an adorable play on the poster for the Hamilton musical. 

Finally the last two books are both by the same author. The first one is Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody. I got this book with some Christmas money back in January but haven't read it. Now that I've gotten another book by this her in an OwlCrate I really want to read this one before I dive into that one as well. This is a circus themed book about a girl who creates lifelike illusions who become a kind of surrogate family until her illusions start dying for real and she has to figure out how that's happening and who's doing it before she loses the only family she's ever had forever. It's a really interesting concept and I love all things circus and carnival themed so I'm not sure why I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. 

The last book of course is April's OwlCrate book, Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody, which I've talked about multiple times elsewhere so once again here's the book. 

Anyway so one last thing I got this month and want to share in the wrap up. I finally purchased a book sleeve to protect my books when I throw them in my purse. I got one that's Six of Crows themed and it fits a standard hardback book pretty snugly. I got it off etsy and I love it. It has the "No Mourners, No Funerals" saying printed on the front and an allover crow print on the back. It's  from the etsy shop In Lumos Libertas and they have a whole bunch of different sleeves so check them out.

Currently inside said book sleeve is Caraval by Stephanie Garber. I'm about a third of the way through the book so far so it will feature in May's finished books. I decided to read this one now because the sequel, Legendary, comes out on May 29th and an exclusive sneak peak at it was included in April's OwlCrate, getting my interest up. I am also still knitting on the wedding blanket for my brother and new sister and it's probably going to be a first Christmas/first anniversary present to be honest. Plus I've started a pair of socks for my new sister, they will probably be a present for her birthday in December. They're in a dark burgundy which is her favorite color. 

In the month of April I read 3 books which brings my total up to 11. I've read 11/50 books for my 2018 goodreads challenge and I'm starting to make my peace with the fact that I will not be finishing this challenge by a long shot but I am very much enjoying the process. 

So that's it for the April Wrap Up. On to May and more reading adventures (hopefully more knitting too but I've misplaced the sock so we'll see about that). 

Happy Reading!

Richelle and Emma