Review - The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

The Rose and the Dagger (The Wrath and the Dawn #2)
By Renee Ahdieh
Published April 24th, 2016 by G.P. Putman's Sons Books for Young Readers
416 pages

5 stars - An emotional and beautifully written story!

Summary from Goodreads.com:

The darker the sky, the brighter the stars.

In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad is forced from the arms of her beloved husband, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once thought Khalid a monster—a merciless killer of wives, responsible for immeasurable heartache and pain—but as she unraveled his secrets, she found instead an extraordinary man and a love she could not deny. Still, a curse threatens to keep Shazi and Khalid apart forever.

Now she’s reunited with her family, who have found refuge in the desert, where a deadly force is gathering against Khalid—a force set on destroying his empire and commanded by Shazi’s spurned childhood sweetheart. Trapped between loyalties to those she loves, the only thing Shazi can do is act. Using the burgeoning magic within her as a guide, she strikes out on her own to end both this terrible curse and the brewing war once and for all. But to do it, she must evade enemies of her own to stay alive.

The saga that began with The Wrath and the Dawn takes its final turn as Shahrzad risks everything to find her way back to her one true love again.


Review:

Words cannot describe the emotion that I was feeling after reading this beautiful book. The Rose and the Dagger was such a wonderful book to read and was everything that I wanted and more. It was thrilling and beautifully written. I applaud Renee Ahdieh on writing some of my favorite characters for this year. :)

The Rose and the Dagger did not suffer from second book syndrome. It held it's own and it gave just as much as the first one, if not more. We are brought back right where we left off and from the beginning there is never a dull moment. There are old friends and new friends as well as enemies brought to light. There are stories told and fights fought valiantly. But best of all is the love that is shown in various forms.

I absolutely enjoyed reading about the genuine relationships that Ahdieh created. Shazi and Khalid are my absolute favorite of course. I just loved the things that Khalid would say. There are so many quotable passages in this book! His character is one that I will definitely love always. There are a few other relationships in here that I loved as well but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Just know that they are amazing and well written as well.

Shazi's stories that I adored in the first book are also present in this one and I couldn't have been more happier. I absolutely love the story telling aspect of this duology and the way it helped to create magical feeling of the book.

I was somewhat nervous that this book wouldn't wrap everything up or that it would end dreadfully. Thankfully I had no need to be nervous because this book was such a great ending to the duology. The ending was so beautiful and the feels were definitely strong. :) 

This book was everything that I needed right now and I love the feelings that I experienced and the wisdom I gained from it. Definitely pick this one up soon! 

Vanessa

BookTube-A-Thon 2016 TBR

Hey everyone! I kinda failed at the Make Me Read It Read-A-Thon so here is a chance to redeem myself. Hopefully I'll be able to read more than two books this coming week. The BookTube-A-Thon runs from July 18th through July 24th. I'll have more of a wrap up for the Make Me Read It Read-A-Thon soon!



Vanessa

Review - P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

P.S. I Like You
By Kasie West
Expected Publication Date is July 26th, 2016 by Point
304 pages

4 stars - Another perfect summer read! 

*I received an e-arc of this book by the publishers and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank You!*

Summary from Goodreads.com:

What if the person you were falling for was a total mystery?

While Lily is spacing out in Chemistry one day, she picks up her pencil and scribbles a line from one of her favorite songs on the desk. The next day, someone else has written back to her on the desk! Soon enough Lily and the mystery student are exchanging notes, and lyrics, and even sharing secrets. When Lily finds out that her anonymous pen pal is a guy, she's flustered -- and kind of feels like she's falling for him. She and her best friend set out to unravel the identity of the letter writer -- but when the truth is revealed, the guy is the LAST person Lily could have ever imagined it to be. Now that Lily knows the truth, can she untangle her feelings and gather the courage to listen to her heart?

From beloved author Kasie West (The Distance Between Us) comes an utterly charming story about mixed messages, missed connections, and the magic of good old-fashioned secret admirer notes. 


Review:

Kasie West has done it again! I honestly feel so blessed to have been able to read two books about music and love in the same month. P.S. I Like You was such an awesome read and one that is perfect for the music lovers and pen pals of the world. :) Or anyone that just enjoys a really good story. 

It feels like all I can say about this book is that it is probably my second favorite book by Kasie West. I absolutely enjoyed the love of music these characters had, the anticipated letters written back and forth, and the unexpected relationships that were formed! This book had it all for me. :) 

Lily and her guitar were awesome. I was easily able to relate to her love of music and her family. I enjoyed the fact that Lily's family was always around and that West included their relationship in the book. Lily wanting to be able to write lyrics and preform them on her guitar was another thing I could relate to because life is about music and books for me. ;) 

The whole pen pal idea was awesome as well. It felt like I was there with Lily anticipating the next letter from a friend that had something in common with her. When Lily finds out that her pen pal is a guy she tries, with no luck, to figure out who it could be. I kinda figured out who it was from the start but that didn't make Lily's surprise any less exciting. 

Then there was Cade. Cade was not all that he seemed and I really enjoyed learning more about him along with Lily. I want to say more about him but I can't and I won't tell you why. ;)

I am honestly a sucker for Love/Hate relationships. I love it when two characters finally start to understand each other. I love watching a dislike between characters grow into something more. 

Overall, this was definitely an enjoyable read. It was cute and fun and I had so many feels near the end! There were parts that were kind of slow or were kind of annoying but I was able to look past it because of the overall feel of the book. The ending was everything and had me wanting more long after I finished. 

I recommend for those looking for a summer read, a cute contemporary, or a book about music and friendship. :) 

Vanessa

Make Me Read It Read-A-Thon 2016 TBR!

Hey everyone! Today is the day before the Make Me Read It Read-A-Thon begins which is hosted by Ely at Tea and Titles and Val at The Innocent Smiley. It runs from July 9th through July 16th! I just closed my poll yesterday and am now going to share my TBR. I don't have an exact number of books that I would like to get through this week. I'm just aiming to read more than one book but I'll put up 6 of them just in case. :) Thank you to everyone who voted! It was so much fun to see what everyone wanted me to read. :D I will definitely be doing something like this again in the future. 

Here are the books that I'll be reading in order of when I'll read them. 

Book 1 - The Rose and the Dagger (The Wrath and the Dawn #2) by Renee Ahdieh

Book 2 - Nevernight by Jay Kristoff (e-arc)

Book 3 - The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Curse #2) by Marie Rutkoski

Book 4 - Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms #1) by Morgan Rhodes

Book 5 - The Forbidden Wish  by Jessica Khoury 

Book 6 - With Malice by Eileen Cook




Vanessa

Review - Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies by Laura Stampler

Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies

By Laura Stampler

Expected publication is July 19th, 2016 by Simon Pulse

320 pages

4 stars - Such a fantastic summer read!

* An e-arc of this book was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!*

Summary from Goodreads.com:

Harper Anderson always believed she belonged somewhere more glamorous than her sleepy Northern California suburb. After all, how many water polo matches and lame parties in Bobby McKittrick's backyard can one girl take? That's why Harper is beyond ecstatic when she lands her dream internship as a dating blogger at the elite teen magazine Shift. Getting to spend the summer in New York City to live her dream of becoming a writer? Harper's totally in.

There's just one teeny, tiny, infinitesimal problem: Apart from some dance floor make-outs, Harper doesn't have a lot of - or, really, any - dating expertise. In fact, she might have sort of stolen her best friend's experiences as her own on her Shiftapplication. But she can learn on the job...right?

From awkward run-ins with the cute neighborhood dog-walker to terrifying encounters with her crazed editor, from Brooklyn gallery openings to weekends in the Hamptons, Harper finds out what it takes to make it in the Big City--and as the writer of her own destiny.

Review:

This book was such a surprise! Want to know why? I'll tell you. This book was literally me (well the character was...most of the time). But really, this book was incredibly relate-able and genuine and downright humorous! 

I'm going to be honest here and say that the first chapter didn't have me too sure, but after that I could not put this book down. Harper had me hooked for just about every chapter. I loved her snarky and talented writing skills and her lack of relationship skills! Her personality and voice were so humorous and real too. Harper is the new dating blogger but she doesn't have any experience with that kind of thing at all! I really enjoyed reading about Harper learning how to go up and talk to guys or date in general. Not all her techniques worked and it was so funny to read about. :) Laura Stampler did such a great job with Harper's character and the whole voice of the story. And while Harper made a few mistakes throughout the book, she definitely learned from them and grew. 

Besides Harper I really enjoyed her support group which included Aunt Vee, her best friend, and her new friend. Aunt Vee was a great mixture of a caring, supportive guardian, as well as, a funny and eccentric friend. Harper's best friend is completely real and such a great friend despite the fact that things get a little rough for them. Ben is Harper's new city friend and Aunt Vee's dog walker. He's just plain awesome and I loved every moment that included him! Oh and Princess the Pug was very huggable. :) 

The whole idea of Harper being granted an internship at a big magazine company was very interesting. I definitely enjoyed reading all the posts that Harper wrote up because they were so snarky and creative. The whole city vibe was awesome as well and really had you feeling as if you were a part of the scene. 

This book just had me smiling for a whole lot of the time, except for a few key parts that were somewhat sad and depressing. :) Overall this was such a great summer read and one of my new favorite contemporaries. Full of snark, real and relate-able girls, thought provoking situations, and heartfelt moments this book was everything I didn't know I wanted. So many funny quotes from Harper as well! I will definitely be watching for more of Laura Stampler's books in the future. Check this one out soon!

Vanessa

The Sunday Post #3 - June 2016 in Review

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 

Welcome to July everyone! Today's post will be a month in review and I can't believe that June has already come and gone. What is even more unbelievable is how well I did at blogging in the month of June! I posted way more than I have in a long time and that makes me extremely pleased with myself. :) 

This month was a month for a good amount of reviews, some new (to me) and awesome memes, and the start of my BookTube channel! I was also approved for various e-arcs over at NetGalley and Edelweiss for the first time which was extremely awesome. I'm excited and somewhat nervous to see how everything plays out in July. I've been trying to keep up with my blog, reviews, and now my booktube videos so we'll see how it all turns out. 

Outside of blogging I have been extremely busy this month with preparing to move. My family is currently in the process of moving houses and it's been a blur of cleaning the house, getting rid of things we no longer need, and looking for a different place to live. It'll all be coming to a close at the end of July so I'm looking forward to finally settling in again and having more time to read. ;)

So I'm most definitely looking forward to July and what it has in store for my blog and reading goals. I'll be participating in two read-a-thons for sure this month so that is definitely exciting! I'm participating in the Make Me Read It Read-A-Thon and the BookTube-A-Thon which you can find out more about below. 

Let's get into a review of June!

Hidden Huntress (The Malediction Trilogy #2) by Danielle L. Jensen (Review)
The Ceruleans Print Party (Giveaway - Finished)
Warrior Witch (The Malediction Trilogy #3) by Danielle L. Jensen (Review)
A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas (Review)

Top Ten Tuesday #1 (Weekly Meme)
The Last Boy and Girl in the World by Siobhan Vivian (Review)
The Sunday Post #1 (Weekly Meme)
Starflight (Starflight #1) by Melissa Landers (Review)
Top Ten Tuesday #2 (Weekly Meme) 
We Own the Night (Radio Hearts #2) by Ashley Poston (Review)
Torn (Wicked #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Cover Reveal)
Gambit (The Prodigy Chronicles #1) by C.L. Denault (Review)
The Sunday Post #2 (Weekly Meme) 
The Story of Our Life by Shari Low (Review)
Make Me Read It Read-A-Thon 2016 (Read-A-Thon with a poll - STILL OPEN)
Top Ten Tuesday #3 (Weekly Meme) 
The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West (Review)

I have 3 favorites this month and all are contemporaries! Each of these books received 4 stars from me!

 

I have two least favorite books of the month and both received 3 stars. Wasn't overly fond of either of them and you can check out my thoughts in the review listed above!

This month I introduced my new BookTube Channel called The Night Owl. I was only able to film 2 videos this month but there are more to come!

The New to Booktube/Booktube Newbie Tag (Video)
The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins (Spoiler Free Video Review)

Coming Up...

June 2016 Wrap Up - Learn more about all the books I read in the month of June!

Just finished reading an e-arc of...




Honestly not sure what to read next... :(

Coming up for the month of July!

Reviews:
Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies by Laura Stampler (Tomorrow)
P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

Memes:
Top Ten Tuesday #4

Other:
Make Me Read It Read-A-Thon Poll Results (Later this week)

Check out some reviews from June 2015!

Magonia (#1) by Maria Dahvana Headley (Review)
The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1) by Jodi Meadows (Review)
The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Adhieh (Review)
The Villian by May Nicole Abbey (Review and Blog Tour Post)


Wow. That was a lot to type up! My hands hurt now, haha. :D
How did your June go? Let me know in the comments below!

Vanessa