book blog
Not Enough Time?
I never know if it’s more acceptable to write a post like this after vanishing off the internet for a few months, or if it’s better to just start posting again like normal, but here we are again.
Let me explain. Sometimes, usually the same time every year, I feel an overwhelming urge to explore other hobbies. Don’t get me wrong, books are my life and they’ve held me together for so long, but sometimes it feels a little stale. After ten years of posting reviews, I need to see what else I like and give myself a break from the constant reading and reviewing. I love books, but I’ve also learned this year that I love cooking, gardening, painting, and decorating.
But it’s time again to return to my blog and try to balance my life with this, and all my other new hobbies. So here I am again, about to post a review. So I hope you enjoy it, and I apologize for my absence, but I’m sure you all understand. Sometimes you just need a break.
Hope you’re all doing well, I missed you, and thanks for reading.
-Aurora
Review: Mara’s Awakening (The Mara Files #1) by Leo Flynn
A very short novella, the first book in The Mara Files is set in a prison filled with a mismatched crowd of people and humanoids. Told in the third person viewpoint, we meet a very interesting woman with a robotic arm named Mara, who’s in her forties, and has been wrongly imprisoned for six years. And today’s the day that she gets out of solitary confinement. Who would have guessed that was the wrong move.
Published March 31st 2021 by Leo Flynn
A warrior and a war hero, Mara is someone that everyone knows about, at least in the prison. But soon after being put into a group cell, she makes friends with her roommates, and learns that they have an escape plan. All too quickly the plan is put into action, and they’re on their way. With a beautiful cover and a very intriguing synopsis, this book is a whirlwind of action, and I enjoyed reading it. I’m interested in seeing what happens in the next installment, because it was very clear to me that this was just the beginning. I think this book would be perfect for someone looking for a short escape, but with a very interesting story. The only problem I had with it was that I had the feeling like I was missing something, but that wasn’t a big deal, and it was so short that it didn’t stop me from enjoying it. Check it out if you get the chance!
If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here!
And you can follow the author here!
Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well, and staying sane in your solitary confinement!
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.
My Top 5 Books of March 2021
Hey everyone! Hope you’re having a great day so far. It’s the beginning of a new month, so you know what that means? I’m going to go over my favourite books of last month! I can’t wait to tell you all about them. And of course, my individual reviews and links for you to buy the books yourself if you’re interested will be added to them too. So lets get started!
First off we have Down World by Rebecca Phelps!
As the site of a former military base, there have always been rumors that East Township High School was the site of experiments with space and time. For years, students have whispered in the hallways of a doorway created within the school, one that can access multiple timelines and realities, a place known as the Down World.
As the new kid in school and still reeling from the unexplained death of her brother Robbie, Marina O’Connell is only interested in one thing: leaving the past behind. But a chance encounter with handsome Brady Picelli changes everything. He will lead Marina to a startling discovery. The Down World is real and the past, present, and future are falling out of balance.
Brady is determined to help Marina discover what really happened to her brother. However, what is taken from one world, must be repaid by another. And Marina is about to discover that even a realm of infinite possibilities has rules that must be obeyed.
You can check out my full review here, and grab a copy for yourself here!
Second is Creatures Volume 1: The City that Never Sleeps by Stephan Betbeder, & Djief
In a post-apocalyptic New York City obliterated by a Big Night that wiped out most of civilization, bands of children struggle to stay alive in the wreckage, hunting for food under billowing clouds of toxic fog and running from hungry zombies. One child is endowed with the power to keep them at bay, but will it be enough to protect the survivors from the terrifying creature that has just risen out of the Hudson River? Meanwhile, a raving old man with a house full of books says the worst is yet to come…
Here’s my full review, and here’s where you can get your own!
Third is The Famoux by Kassandra Tate
Fame can be deadly.
Out of the wreckage of environmental collapse, the country of Delicatum emerged. Its most popular celebrities are the Famoux, uniquely beautiful stars of a reality TV show called the Fishbowl. In a world still recovering from catastrophe, they provide a 24/7 distraction.
Sixteen-year-old Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux—they provide a refuge from her troubled home life and the bullies at school. When she receives an unimaginable offer to become a member herself, she takes it. Leaving behind everything she’s ever known, Emilee enters a world of high glamour and even higher stakes.
Because behind their perfect image lies an ugly truth—an anonymous stalker has been dictating the Famoux’s every move, and being popular really is a matter of life or death.
You can see my full review here, and here’s where you can get a copy for yourself!
Fourth is Inhuman by Denis Bajram, Valerie Mangin, & Rochebrune!
A small exploratory vessel crashes onto an unknown ocean planet after its crew is seized by a sudden madness. After escaping their sinking ship, the five survivors are helped to the surface by giant squid-like creatures who guide them to what appears to be the planet’s only island. To their surprise, they are greeted on the shore by primitive humans, who prove to be welcoming despite their cannibalistic rituals. But their fixed smiles and total docility suggest that something more sinister is going on. Are the castaways doomed to join them in submitting to the will of the mysterious Great One?
Here’s my full review, and here’s where you can grab a copy!
And last but not least is The Fall Volume 1 by Jared Muralt!
Readers who found themselves gripped by the apocalyptic adventure of Robert Kirkman’s THE WALKING DEAD and who were moved by the emotion in Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD will not want to miss Jared Muralt’s THE FALL.
After just losing his wife, one father will have to face a world in freefall; shaken to its core by an economic, social, political and health crisis without precedent. Facing seemingly unreal and very unexpected dangers, he will do whatever it takes to protect his loved ones in a country on the brink of collapse. In this internationally acclaimed series, Jared Muralt not only tells the story of one family struggling to survive, but also questions the very reasons that brought mankind to this apocalypse.
You can check out my full review here, and here’s where you can get a copy for yourself!
Wow! I can’t believe that three out of five books last month were comics. I mean I can believe it, I read a lot of them, but I’m surprised! And the other two were wattpad published books, which is crazy to me! Mostly because I’ve never really noticed anything from the actual wattpad publisher that has really caught my eye before, but that changed in march! I can’t wait to see what my favourites for this month are.
Have you read any of these books? Are you thinking about getting some of them? What were your favourites last month? I want to talk! Anyways, thanks for reading.
Review: The Mind-Warper Special (Strange Totems #1) by Corey Mariani
Published March 16th 2021 by Widow White Publishing
This book is a real doozy. It’s one that I wasn’t sure I was going to be into at first glance, but I loved the cover, and I thought the description was intriguing so I thought I would give it a chance. And man, I’m glad I did. Not just a pretty cover, this book is one that the beginning and the ending are a little confusing, but the middle and the overall plot are just so interesting that I couldn’t get enough. A journey of finding yourself, and trying to integrate yourself into a secret society at the same time, while also running for your life and trying your best to stay alive, I think that this book would be perfect for anyone looking for a secret magical life hidden in plain sight.
Following a man named Charlie, his life is honestly a little below average as he struggles to keep his touring business from closing, and the bank from taking his bus. Plus, there’s this guy Kayak Brad, who’s just the worst all around. Everyone likes him though for some reason, and he keeps convincing everyone that Charlie is actually the worst, and it’s really tanking things for him. But then when things are finally starting to look up, a man holds Charlie at gunpoint and forces him to eat his biggest fear food, a cheese danish, causing him to throw it back up immediately. Then he’s drugged and kidnapped, and wakes up in a hotel room with a woman he’s never met before. The worst part? He can’t go twelve feet away from her without feeling like he’s been dipped in lava. Turns out that they’re bonded for life, and if they can’t break the bond within two days, they’re stuck like that. This begins an insane adventure, and his strange new life.
This book was one of those where you think you know where things are headed, but then it takes things for an entirely different loop, and you’re just like, what just happened? Did I read that right? Also, there are a lot of terms that are a little difficult to remember, but they get easier as time goes on and you get further into the book. Basically Charlie finds out that he and the woman, and everyone after them, are magic users, but not in the usual sense. There are many kinds of magic users, different species but they still look human. The magic they use, they have to use as a bonded pair, travelling through totem objects that hold memories and certain points in time. There’s also potions that they have made out of blood and emotions that cure certain diseases, and even huge tapeworms that feed from choices.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters, although I couldn’t tell you what they look like, were easy to imagine in my own head. The world they live in is just like our own, except for the magical aspects, but it was just as immersive as any other. And once I started it, I didn’t want to put it down. I finished it in around a day, and I didn’t regret a minute of it. I’m really interested to see what happens in the next book, seeing as this is the beginning to a series. Something interesting though is that it really gave me Refraction vibes for some reason. I can’t even begin to explain why, but I just had that book in the back of my head when I was reading this. Maybe it’s the way it was written, maybe it’s the characters, maybe it’s just the storyline. Either way, I loved that book, and I loved this one too.
If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here!
And if you’d like to keep up with the author, you can here!
Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well, and staying safe, and not getting kidnapped and bonded to a stranger.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.
Adventures and Books
Today I’m posting early because I’m leaving in an hour to go with my aunt to get her new dog! I’m excited, but it’s a long drive; almost three hours one way! So I’m here to talk about the book I’m going to read.
I’m working through Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer!
Out at the beginning of April, Hummingbird Salamander is from the author of Annihilation, a brilliant speculative thriller of dark conspiracy, endangered species, and the possible end of all things.
Security consultant “Jane Smith” receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit that holds a taxidermied hummingbird and clues leading her to a taxidermied salamander. Silvina, the dead woman who left the note, is a reputed ecoterrorist and the daughter of an Argentine industrialist. By taking the hummingbird from the storage unit, Jane sets in motion a series of events that quickly spin beyond her control.
Soon, Jane and her family are in danger, with few allies to help her make sense of the true scope of the peril. Is the only way to safety to follow in Silvina’s footsteps? Is it too late to stop? As she desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, time is running out—for her and possibly for the world.
Hummingbird Salamander is Jeff VanderMeer at his brilliant, cinematic best, wrapping profound questions about climate change, identity, and the world we live in into a tightly plotted thriller full of unexpected twists and elaborate conspiracy.
If you’d like a copy, you can pre-order here!
This book has a very interesting title, a breathtaking cover, and a very intriguing description, and I can’t wait to see what I’m getting myself into. I’m less than twenty percent done which isn’t great considering it comes out in like a week, so I’m hoping to make a pretty big dent on it! I loved Annihilation and that entire series, though I have yet to start the last book yet, I’m hoping I’ll like this just as much as that one, even though it’s very different.
What do you think about it? Would you check it out? Lets talk about it in the comments! Hope you’re doing well, and having a great day. I’m going to post my review after this and then rush eat and get ready to go because now I have about an hour to go before my ride is here!
-Aurora
Good Moods, Questionable Books
Hey everyone! Hope you’re doing well today, I know I woke up in a really good mood and have already gotten a bunch of stuff done and it’s only 11am! Who am I? Anyways, I just was thinking about books, like always, and thought I would come on here and talk about my thoughts to break up the reviews a bit.
You ever just in the mood to read but the book you’re reading just isn’t hitting right? Because sometimes I think, maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m just not into reading right now. But I still want to read, so I try to find something else. And that usually works for me. The problem being, that sometimes it’s a book with a review deadline, and I feel like I’m obligated to finish it before moving onto something else, even though that isn’t the case, and I do this for fun, because I don’t get paid. (Although I would love if that were the case).
Sometimes I just need to take a step back, move away from that book, and start something else. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Yes it’s hard to concentrate on multiple books at once, because sometimes I forget details, but like I’ve said in previous posts I started taking notes for them again, so that really isn’t a problem anymore. Does anyone else do this? I’d love to hear about your review process, if you even have one.
Thanks for reading! I’m so thankful for this blog. It really keeps my head level.
-Aurora
5 Books on my Shelf to Read Next
Hey everyone! Hope you’re having a good, anxiety free day today. And if you’re not, well, then I’m here to hopefully distract you for a little bit, and talk about some paper books I want to read next off my shelf. So here they are! Yes they may have been the first five books I saw, but they’re all very different, and I think that this post will show that! I’m going to add their individual descriptions, and a link for you to find them for yourself, if you’re interested. So here we go! Here’s my book stack.
So first up is Creaking Dawn (The Denounced #3) by S.J. Sherwood!
Pod Fifteen finally navigate their way home, but have they made the biggest mistake of their lives? They are still convicted Denounced. Hunted by a System desperate to hang them. Ned and the rest of the Pod need a place to bide their time and think, finding refuge in a Doubter’s Camp. But is their safe haven really that safe, or just another deadly trap waiting to spring? With the Unification War looming and nobody willing to listen, Ned is torn between saving his Pod and the love of his life, or saving a Secular World that wants him dead.
Creaking Dawn concludes the Denounced Series.
If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here!
Next up is Heart Sister by Michael F. Stewart!
After Emmitt’s twin sister, Minnie, dies in an accident, his world goes sideways. He’s lost his best friend and it feels like his family is falling apart without her. But Minnie was an organ donor and Emmitt soon receives an anonymous thank you letter from one of the transplant recipients. Inspiration strikes, and he decides to try and put his sister back together, in spirit. He’s going to track down each organ recipient and film them to show his parents Minnie’s selfless act and help them move on. But when each recipient falls short of his expectations and the star of his film, the girl who received his sister’s heart, refuses to meet him, Emmitt has to turn to extreme measures to find her. What he doesn’t know is that his “heart sister” is hiding an agonizing secret, one that could push Emmitt to the breaking point.
If you’d like a copy you can get one here!
Third is Percivious Insomnia by J.J. & A.J. Cook!
An insomnia pandemic is sweeping the globe, leaving people unable to function and society on the brink of collapse…
Dr. Cooper Delaney believes he has the answer: Noctural, a new sleep-aid—one with absolutely no side-effects—which in early testing shows 100% effectiveness.
The only problem is, it doesn’t work. With no warning. No explanation.
Unable to accept the drug’s inexplicable failure and unwilling to concede to the competition, lines are crossed, ethical boundaries are pushed to the breaking point, and disturbing realizations come to light that could completely unravel civilization as we know it… and throw into question humanity’s place in the universe.
A jetset medical thriller meets sci-fi adventure with an unforgettable cast of characters, Percivious Insomnia presents an alternate history so compelling that it could possibly be true. The first book in the Percivious Trilogy from husband-wife author duo JJ Cook & AJ Cook, MD, Percivious Insomnia sets a unique and original course for fiction of the future, and paints a timely, prescient portrait of today’s globalized society… and what may exist beyond the realm of our current understanding.
Click here if you’d like to get a copy!
Second last is X-Men Epic Collection Volume 3: The Sentinels Live by Roy Thomas, Gary Freidrich, Arnold Drake, Linda Fite, Don Heck, Werner Roth, George Tuska, and Jim Steranko!
Professor X is dead! The X-Men have gone their separate ways. Searching to find a way to make its poorest-selling super heroes click, Marvel was trying anything and everything. With the title on the verge of cancellation, Roy Thomas and Neal Adams clicked, and the rest is history. Their epic evolution of the X-Men defines the team to this day. Adams’ lavish and dynamic visuals and Thomas’ challenging and contemporary stories combined in a book that throbbed with the pulse of the times. Their iconic stories collected here introduce Havok, the vampiric villain Sauron, the Mutates and X-Man-to-be Sunfire! Not to mention the Living Pharaoh, a classic Savage Land team-up with Ka-Zar, as well as the return of Magneto!
Grab a copy here!
And last but not least, Someday Comes Paradise by Gary Dean Thompson!
A desolate stretch of coastline. Dune grass scattered across miles of sand. Rusty barrels exposed in the retreating tide, and a lone dune buggy streaks along this coastal road, kicking up mud and slicing through waves of mosquitoes. Up ahead, a flashing signal light swings above a lonely intersection. This is the cross-roads to the middle of nowhere.
Sam Starr is a teenager on the run with his con-woman momma, Natalie. He has maybe done bad; she has definitely done worse. They’ve arrived on a barrier island, cast away from the world where they hope to be safe. But here, crime and corruption are thicker than the Costa Rican coffee and the sand flies. A local hero, Bannion, offers his protection and a home to mother and son; yet, all is not what it seems. The vagabond fry-cook, Gash, tries to guide the boy like a prophet in the dunes. The saving grace for young Sam comes in the elegance of a Vietnamese girl, Tu Ly – in whom he glimpses tenderness and salvation. Together, they must come of age amidst the drugs and deception. They elude the Navy bombs and free dive for starfish. They cling together in despair in a hideaway as they fall in love. But most of all, they want to find a little bit of Paradise, in this world or even beyond.
A charged, Southern saga, SOMEDAY COMES PARADISE exposes a world rarely seen, where violence mixes with country music while sharks bleed on the boat docks. Danger overshadows dreams. Nothing is black and white. It’s a desperate world inhabited by compelling characters with nothing to lose.
Set on the coast in South Texas, this graphic novel reveals a journey of troubled souls, with hell-fire-and-damnation all about. Yet for Sam, Tu Ly and Natalie, the flame of hope burns hot within their darkness and stands firm against the hurricane winds.
Here’s a link to grab a copy!
And that’s it! I’m not really sure where to start, but those are the five books I’ve picked off my shelf to read next when I’m not reading arcs! What do you think I should read first? Do any of these titles stick out to you? Would you read them? Lets chat in the comments! Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.
Review: Open-Hearted by Nicolas Keramidas
A beautiful true story of one man’s journey through his second heart surgery, wrapped up in a little ball with a ton of cute art and silly little things along the way. Something I’ve never really known anything about, I was intrigued to find this book, and couldn’t wait to start it. After all, it’s unlike anything I’ve read before. What I should have expected was how emotional it was, and it really taught me how hard it is on not only the person getting the surgery, but also on their friends and family. I’m really glad I got to check it out.
Published January 20th 2021 by Europe Comics
Nicolas Keramidas was just a man working at Disney, living his best life, until one day everything turned on its head. Born with four separate heart defects he had to have surgery as a baby, but he didn’t really think anything of it aside from his every two years check up. Even then, though, he never thought something would happen. And then something happened. He needed another surgery, and it was unlike anything he, or I, could have imagined. This book is a very detailed journal of the journey he took to fix his heart.
If you like true stories about real people with real problems, and you like comics and cute artwork, than this book may be perfect for you. It’s informative, detailed, and exactly what I needed to break up my usual reading. I highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance! It was a pretty quick read, and I finished it in under a couple hours with a break in the middle.
If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here!
Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and staying happy.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.
Does Anyone Else LIKE Taking Notes?
I don’t know if I’m in the minority or the majority here, but I’m a reader that likes to keep a notebook handy when I’m reading so that I can take notes and really keep track of what I’m reading. Not only does it allow me to write a more in depth review with all the things that I might have forgotten while working my way through the books, I feel like it’s just nice to look at too, and it allows me to not have to immediately write a review after I finish a book, in fear that I’ll forget all about it by the time I actually get around to it.
I don’t take notes for the whole book though, because I don’t like to post spoilers in my reviews. I only take notes for the first half of the book, and then leave the rest, and refer to it if I absolutely have to without giving any major details. There’s just something about a notebook full of very nicely written notes, though, that I really enjoy. That’s probably the only part of school I liked, too.
Anyways, I just thought I would post about it, because I’m really curious if any of my followers do the same. I hope you’re doing well and having a great day. I’ll be posting a review here right away, and I hope you enjoy it!
-Aurora
radioactive book reviews 