Book Blitz: Vial Things

Leah Clifford is back with a BLOODY good young adult novel that you don’t want to miss. And at $2.99 – there’s no reason to!  

Vial Things Synopsis

As an eighteen-year-old resurrectionist, Allie knows staying vigilant means staying alive. The blood of the resurrectionists is heavily regulated, only used with the express permission of the group’s leaders for fear of being discovered. She’s taken every precaution--self-defense classes since childhood, extensive weapons training with knives, and even going so far as to befriend a homeless boy named Ploy, who unknowingly trades a few nights a week on her couch in exchange for being a human tripwire to those after her blood.
But as Allie and Ploy’s feelings for each other grow, and a hunter starts taking out the resurrectionists of Fissure’s Whipp, Allie begins to realize even her best laid plans won’t be enough to keep both Ploy and herself safe.
Protecting a girl he shouldn’t love, from a threat he understands too well, Ploy must face his past to save his future in Allie’s world--a world where bringing back the dead can cost you your life.

Add To Goodreads

BUY NOW FOR $2.99!

About The Author

Leah Clifford was born and raised outside of Cleveland Ohio. She has an affinity for all things weird and creepy as made evident by her oddity shop Petite Grotesque and her previous young adult novels, A Touch Mortal, A Touch Morbid and A Touch Menacing.
You can find her on Twitter

ARC Review: Moo

Moo | Sharon Creech

Published by: HarperCollins, August 30th 2016

Genre: Children's, Verse

Pages: 304

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperCollins, via Edelweiss

Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech’s Love That Dogand Hate That Cat will love her newest tween novel, Moo. This uplifting tale reminds us that if we’re open to new experiences, life is full of surprises. Following one family’s momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.

When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora.

This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.

A memorable story with a big heart and unforgettable characters of many species.

I loved this story. I loved Zora. I loved the children discovering themselves in a new town, and transitioning from inside kids to outside kids (although rather them than me...) Many things are wonderful about this book - every animal has its own distinctive personality, the setting itself seems another character, even minor characters are charming and interesting. And I LOVED the preparation for showing Zora and the actual fair. This was just all lovely, and quite emotional toward the end.

Kids will love this big, heartfelt book of stubborn animals and delicate friendships.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

Follow all my reviews on Bloglovin!

Mini Review: The Flame Never Dies

Wells of Souls: The Flame Never Dies | Rachel Vincent

Published by: Mira Ink, August 16th 2016

Genre: YA, Urban Fantasy, Demons

Pages: 368

Format: Ebook

Source: Purchased (before release at YALC, heck yes!)

ONE SPARK WILL RISE

Nina Kane was born to be an exorcist. And since uncovering the horrifying truth―that the war against demons is far from over―seventeen-year-old Nina and her pregnant sister, Mellie, have been on the run, incinerating the remains of the demon horde as they go.

In the badlands, Nina, Mellie, and Finn, the fugitive and rogue exorcist who saved her life, find allies in a group of freedom fighters. They also face a new threat: Pandemonia, a city full of demons. But this fresh new hell is the least of Nina’s worries. The well of souls ran dry more than a century ago, drained by the demons secretly living among humans, and without a donor soul, Mellie’s child will die within hours of its birth.

Nina isn’t about to let that happen . . . even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Everything I've come to expect from a Rachel Vincent book - emotional, angsty and romantic, and dangerous. I just didn't enjoy it as much as The Stars Never Rise.

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

ARC Review: This Savage Song

Monsters of Verity: This Savage Song | Victoria Schwab

Published by: Greenwillow, July 5th 2016

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Demons/Monsters

Pages: 464

Format: Ebook

Source: Greenwillow, via Edelweiss

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings, but I'll try to say them in an orderly fashion.

- I either want to BE Kate or be WITH her. I love her so, so, so much.

- August is precious, but with the addition of being shivery-scary. I've never read a character like him before and I want to keep him.

- I REALLY like the world. I don't usually like post-America fantasy worlds, in fact they really grate on me, but this was done well - not overdone, mostly detached from the present. Thought I don't typically enjoy fantasy-as-future, I did really like the split city of Verity.

- One of my favourite things was the different types of monsters, and how different they are from each other, and how they have their own brutality and way of being.

- It's a magical, dark, glittering story with an atmosphere I fell in love with. It's rich and dense and full of secrets I'm dying to know. I just love the world and story so much.

- Schwab has firmly put herself in my top 5 authors - I know now I'll love everything she writes.


- If you've yet to read This Savage Song, get yourself a copy - you'll fall in love with its shadows, its dangerous friendships, its monsters - most human - and its bright world of dark crime. 

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★★
Writing ★★★★★

Monthly Round Up (7)

Monthly round up is a journal where I record my reading progress, reviews, and my favourite books/biggest disappointments of the month.

Yeah, I'm super late with this update but in my defense, LONDON and LFCC and YALC HAPPENED.

Reviews:

City of Fae, City of Shadows
One Wilde Night, Dead Town Angel
Descended From Dragons
Stolen Empire
Maggie For Hire
Darkness Brutal

ALSO:

Guest Post: Calista Lynne
Cover Reveal: Lost Girls

What I've read this month:

Still loving fantasy and urban fantasy this month! Next month I need to shift towards post apoc for Lux Guardians research but we'll see. I'm loving this too much to quit, I think.

Favourite book:

Sexy and dark and dangerous and wholly new. Loved it!

Biggest Disappointment:

None! Huzzah!

What did you read this month? Leave a comment!

~Saruuh

ARC Review: Ruined

Ruined: Ruined | Amy Tintera

Published by: HarperTeen, May 3rd 2016

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Royals, Magic

Pages: 368

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss

A revenge that will consume her. A love that will ruin her.

Emelina Flores has nothing. Her home in Ruina has been ravaged by war. She lacks the powers of her fellow Ruined. Worst of all, she witnessed her parents’ brutal murders and watched helplessly as her sister, Olivia, was kidnapped.

But because Em has nothing, she has nothing to lose. Driven by a blind desire for revenge, Em sets off on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Lera. Somewhere within Lera’s borders, Em hopes to find Olivia. But in order to find her, Em must infiltrate the royal family.

In a brilliant, elaborate plan of deception and murder, Em marries Prince Casimir, next in line to take Lera’s throne. If anyone in Lera discovers Em is not Casimir’s true betrothed, Em will be executed on the spot. But it’s the only way to salvage Em’s kingdom and what is left of her family.

Em is determined to succeed, but the closer she gets to the prince, the more she questions her mission. Em’s rage-filled heart begins to soften. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake.

Loved everything about this! I didn't expect to like the romance, but it was perfect. It didn't take over the plot at all and only added to the tension. I love Em and Cas together, but their secrets almost killed me.

The spy/infiltration plot in fantasy is one of my FAVOURITES. I don't care if it's overdone or nothing new; I'll love it every single time. I think Em did a surprisingly good job pretending to be Mary, though that was doomed from the start with them being so different. Even when a close friend of hers was killed, she still kept her cover, which was super admirable.

This book has tense court drama and urgent danger, especially in the Ruined being hunted and killed, and I loved how different stories were woven together. I also liked how Em's motivation the whole way through was to save her sister (who, quite frankly, is terrifying and probably should have stayed locked up...)

Great world and characters (with a bonus gay side character) and all the good fantasy elements I wanted. I thought it would be watery fantasy with mostly romance, but it was tense and raw and brutal. I loved it!

Characters ★★★★☆
Setting/world ★★★★☆
Writing ★★★★☆