Review: These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas

These Vicious Masks (#1) by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas
320 pages
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction/Supernatural
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Source: I bought this one! It's only $8 at Target!
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: Jane Austen meets X-­Men in this gripping and adventure-­filled paranormal romance set in Victorian London.

England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.

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My Review

Swoon Reads has published yet another fun and cute novel! I had an absolute blast reading These Vicious Masks.

Evelyn is snarky, brave, and sometimes foolish. When her sister goes missing she does everything in her power to find her and bring her home. It's hard to do this as a woman in 1882 who is supposed to care about her reputation in society and who has very few rights. She gets the help from Mr. Kent and Mr. Braddock, two handsome and sometimes devilish men who on occasion try to hold her back, yet she always refuses to do so. Evelyn may need help, but she doesn't need some gentleman hero. All three characters charmed me. I only wish there were more kisses and swoony moments, but there was some good sexual tension going on.

These Vicious Masks is a very entertaining read that managed to win my high praises. It would be hard not to enjoy a novel full of adventure, intrigue, and laughs. I actually felt like I was transported back in time while reading. This book may be these two author's first one, but it didn't feel like it. The ending was rather frustrating though, but mostly just because I have to wait for the next book!

I recommend that you give These Vicious Masks a try. It won't take up a lot of your time and it is such a delightful book, with some darker elements to it as well. 

The Bookish Report

Here are all of the top bookish stories, blog posts, pictures, and videos I found this past week. I put this post up every Sunday so come back again next week for more bookish awesomeness. Click away and enjoy your Sunday!

The last time I had one of these posts on the blog was last November! Can you believe it? I have been so crazy busy this year I haven't been blogging nearly as much as I usually do, but that is all going to change. I am finally getting a nice routine down with my two jobs and new puppy. I have been brainstorming and will be working on some new posts and such for the blog in the near future. Until then, enjoy some of my old features that I am bringing back.

Bookish News

I can't help but swoon over Book Riot's Book Fetish posts. I NEED all the bookish things! I also can never get enough pictures of cute animals reading. 

Harper Lee passed away a little over a week ago. She will always be remembered. In honor of her here is a list of 12 times Harper Lee's words stopped us in our tracks.

I am obsessed with everything Swoon Reads lately! You should take their quiz to see which Jane Austen inspired super power you would have! I got Matchmaker. No regrets.

For all the HP fans out there, a roundup of the latest news and tweets from J.K. Rowling. 

Ummmm..... Heck yes! Literary Mashups: When 'Dexter' meets 'Jane Eyre'

Who doesn't love looking at some of the most amazing bookstores from around the world?

Did any of you reading this participate in the Traveling ARC Tour of After the Woods? How cool is this?!

Here is some new Ready Player One movie news.

Guess what?! The cover of Crooked Kingdom has been revealed!!!!!

Notable Book Blogger Posts

Caffeinated Book Reviewer | Waiting for the next book... Nonlinear time?

Writer of Wrongs | These are a Few of My Favorite Tropes

My Novel Opinion | Do I need a blogging niche?

Alexa Loves Books | Tunes & Tales: Grease Live!

Book's Buzz | Make a Harry Potter Sorting Hat

Bookmark Lit | Taking the Guesswork out of My Ratings

The Novel Hermit | The Beauty of Endpapers: Yay or Nay? (Obvious Yay!)

Comic of the Week

Source: Sarah's Scribbles

Graphic Novels are the Best!

Five Stars

Giant Days by John Allison & Lissa Treiman (Vol. 1) (2015)
Goodreads

The Cover: I am liking it. I hope each cover features one of the main women!
The Illustrations: It had the perfect vibe and a great use of colors.
The Story: I couldn't have written a better story about college if I tried. It really did capture the essensce of what it means to be a freshman. I do wish it focused a little more on taking classes and not just the social stuff, although that is a huge part of college. With that ending... I am going to need the next volume ASAP.

Thor Vol. 1 (The Goddess of Thunder) by Jason Aaron (2015)
Goodreads

I love everything about this. EVERYTHING! Read it!

The Rise of Aurora West (Battling Boy) by Paul Pope (2014)
Goodreads

The Cover: Kicks butt.
The Illustrations: Also kicks butt. It may be in black and white, but it works perfectly. I loved all the detail too.
The Story: I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see Aurora learn the trade of her monster fighting father.

Y: The Last Man - The Deluxe Edition Book Two by Brian K. Vaughan (2009)
Goodreads

The Cover: It's not my favorite. It is just so plain to me.
The Illustrations: Just as good as they were the first time around.
The Story: I thought the sequel was just as good as the first volume. I can't wait for more! I really am loving everything about this series.

Lady Killer by Joëlle Jones (2015)
Goodreads

The Cover: I don't even have enough words to describe how amazing and gross this cover is.
The Illustrations: Do you see the cover? Enough said.
The Story: This one blew me away! A 1960's housewife who is also a trained assassin? Heck yes! This one is gory, hilarious, and brilliant.

Four Stars

Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova (July 2015)
Goodreads

The Cover: Is awkward, making it perfect.
The Illustrations: They are charming with the perfect amount of detail. The facial expression on these characters are the BEST.
The Story: It is cute and fun (and wonderfully awkward). It reminds me of my awkward younger years in school. I think middle graders are going to love this book! I also enjoyed it since it had me reminiscing.

Study Hall of Justice by Derek Fridolfs, Dustin Nguyen (Jan. 2016)
Goodreads

The Cover: It's adorable and so much fun!
The Illustrations: I was a little disappointed by the lack of color, but other than that the illustrations were cute and fun.
The Story: This graphic novel features a young Bruce Wane, Clark Kent, and Diana Prince. Whats not to love? These kids are funny and full of spirit. If you are a fan of any of these characters, then you will enjoy this book. I had so much fun reading their story!

Three Stars

Spider Gwen by Jason Latour (2015)
Goodreads

The Cover: The crazy colors are eye-catching!
The Illustrations: They were good. There was nothing wrong with them, but they didn't really stand out to me like they usually do, which is important in a graphic novel.
The Story: Eh. Like with the illustrations, I liked the story just fine, but I wasn't a huge fan.

Oddly Normal by Otis Frampton (2015)
Goodreads

The illustrations were just average (although the use of color was pretty well done, gave off the paranormal vibe), but the story was pretty darn good. It handles bullying in an interesting (not a bad thing) way. I look forward to seeing where the next installment takes us. I think kids will like this one even more than I did.

The Infinite Loop by Pierrick Colinet (2015)
Goodreads

I am all about time travel, but for whatever reason I was really struggling with this one. I honestly can't even tell you exactly why. I did enjoy reading it, but it wasn't as epic as I was hoping it would be.

Love-A-Thon Challenge: B-I-N-G-O

Mel of The Daily Prophecy, will be leading this challenge. We’re playing BINGO! The goal is to see how many bingo squares you can cross off of the official Love-a-Thon bingo card! There will be various tasks to tackle during the Love-a-Thon, and the challenge is to make them all happen before the event is over.

I would have completed more squares on the BINGO card, but I had to work all weekend. :/ I still did have a lot of fun though! I loved getting to meet some new bloggers. 

Visit 5 New Blogs

Andrea @ The Overstuffed Bookcase

Tiffany @ The Bookish Thought

Kayla @ Sunday Morning Coffee

Stacy @ Lazy Day Literature

Genevieve @ The Reading Shelf

Join One of the Love-A-Thon Twitter Chats

I participated in the 9PM-10PM EST: Twitter Chat #2! I had so much fun! Thanks again to Cee for being a lovely host.

Participate in One Other Challenge

Here is my Book Spine Poetry Challenge post!

2016 Love-A-Thon Challenge: Book Spine Poetry

This challenge is hosted by Alexa! Get excited, folks, as an old favorite is back! It's Book Spine Poetry time! If you don't know what that is, it's basically taking a few of your favorite book titles and arranging them to form a poem. You can simply type out the titles, take a photo of the book spines or design a collage. 

I am not the best at these kind of challenges, but I love to do them all the same. I think I did a pretty good job this time around! Share your book spine poetry in the comments!

Every Breath, 

Torn Away, 

Taken, 

The Cost of All Things

stars above the burning sky 

linger forever

2016 Love-a-Thon Questionnaire

Hosted by Alexa, Cee, Hazel, & Mel

Let Me Introduce Myself

1. What’s your name? I go by Kay (my middle name) on the blog. It's a long story.
2. Where in the world are you blogging from? Illinois, USA
3. How did you get into blogging in the first place? My love of books, and I used to have a lot of free time.
4. How did you come up with your blog name? Lots of brainstorming.
5. What genre do you read and review the most on your blog? YA Fantasy
6. What other types of posts do you do on your blog, apart from reviews? A few memes, some random discussion posts about reading and such, some if you like this try this posts, and I also enjoy sharing other bloggers' posts with my Sunday Bookish News feature.
7. Best blogging experience so far? Meeting some of my blogger friends in real life last year at ALA Midwinter, including my bestie, Nicole, over at The Quiet Concert. 
8. Favorite thing about the blogging community? Everyone's passion for books and reading, and getting to make new friends!
9. Name the 5 books (that aren't sequels) you’re most excited for this 2016!

10. Name the 5 books you want to read this 2016 that you didn’t get to in previous years!

11. What’s an underrated book or series that you think everyone should read? Guards of the Shadowlands series by Sarah Fine
12. Which book boy or girl would be your book BFF? Hermione from Harry Potter
13. Which book boy or girl would be your book boyfriend/girlfriend? Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles
14. Who would you recruit for your apocalypse squad (5 characters max)? Percy Jackson, Kestrel (The Winner's Curse), Lynn (Not a Drop to Drink), The Darkling (Shadow and Bone), & Celaena (Throne of Glass)
15. Apart from reading, what are your other hobbies or interests? Taking care of my puppy. Watching movies with my husband. Writing.
16. Apart from book shopping, what else do you like shopping for? I don't really prefer to go shopping, but I do enjoy shopping for boots, scarves, and sweaters, and for other people!
17. At a party, the DJ suddenly changes the song – and it’s your song. What song would be playing? Bye Bye Bye by Nsync (This has been my song for years and still is.)
18. Pick out either a book you want turned into a film/TV show, or a film/TV show you want turned into a book. Ohhhh.... The Y: The Last Man graphic novels would make an awesome television show!
19. What would your dream library look like? A LOT of built in shelves with a ladder, a reading nook, and a snack bar with nothing too messy.
20. Author you want to meet and sit down to tea with? This is a hard question! I guess I am going to have to go with Marissa Meyer.

ARC Review: Reign of Shadows

Reign of Shadows (#1) by Sophie Jordan (Feb. 9 2016)
304 pages
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher. This did not affect my honest review. Thanks Harper!
Purchase: Barnes and Noble | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: 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.

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My Review

I really had no idea what to expect when I started reading Reign of Shadows. I barely even glanced at the synopsis before reading because that beautiful cover was what initially grabbed my attention. With that being said, Reign of Shadows was a darkly delightful read. I refuse to have any spoilers in my review so I apologize if some of my opinions don't seem very detailed.

From the terrifying creatures that only come out in the dark (that just so happens to be most of the hours of the day) to the bats that should never be eaten, Reign of Shadows is filled to the brim with striking details of the dangerous world that Luna and Fowler live in. A world I would never want to live in, but one I can't help but be captivated by. 

Luna is a wonderful character that you should meet. She is strong, surprising, and real. When she is forced to leave her tower she is both distraught and brave. There was nothing about her that I disliked. I can also guarantee that you will want to meet the troubled young man that goes by the name of Fowler. He keeps to himself and stays disconnected from others, until he meets Luna of course. These two have their ups and downs and I enjoyed every minute of their togetherness. There is also an abundance of other minor characters Luna and Fowler encounter on their journey, and none are too pleasing, yet all are extremely intriguing. 

Grab a copy of this book and sink into its pages. Once I started I couldn't stop. When I finally found the time I ended up sitting down and reading this book in one sitting. I loved every aspect that Reign of Shadows had to offer. From the first page I wanted to get to know the world and the characters that Sophie Jordan created. There are twists and turns and swoony moments. What more could you want?

Reign of Shadows ends with a bang, and I can't help but wish the next book was out already. I really can't wait to see where the next book takes us. I think this is going to be a bumpy and interesting ride.