It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #327: More Murders, More Mysteries

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #360: Reading and Gaming

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

Write On Review-a-thon #6: Maybe This Time...

This monthly review-a-thon is hosted by Reading the Paranormal and it is usually held on the last Friday-Sunday of each month. The event is meant to encourage you to write those reviews, and because I am awful at keeping up with mine, I decided to participate in this in hopes that it will help keep me on top of things.

Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Title: Heartless

Author: Marissa Meyer

Genre: YA, fantasy, retelling

Publication date: November 2016

Published by: Feiwel & Friends

Source: Purchased paperback

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Buy it: Amazon | B&N | Thrift Books

Synopsis: Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

My rating: ★★★★★

Heartless? More like heartbroken because I was a mess by the end of this book.

Review: War of Flesh and Metal (Flesh and Metal #3) by Alicia Ellis

Title: War of Flesh and Metal

Series: Flesh and Metal #3

Previous books in this series: Dreams of Flesh and Metal (#0.5) | Girl of Flesh and Metal (#1) | Clash of Flesh and Metal (#2)

Author: Alicia Ellis

Genre: YA, sci-fi, mystery thriller

Publication date: July 25th 2023

Published by: Figmented Ink

Source: eARC from author

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Buy it: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis: With no way out, she’ll face a pissed-off artificial intelligence and two killers…

Lena’s ready to put it all behind her. She helped catch two killers who used CyberCorp to commit murder, and starting right now, she vows never to set foot inside the company’s headquarters again. But when those killers show up at CyberCorp Tower to confess everything they’ve hidden, Lena can’t resist seeing justice done.

As she steels herself to confront them again, decommissioned androids go berserk inside the headquarters, forcing a lockdown. Lena is trapped inside not only with the killers she brought down—but also with the dangerous technologies she fears.

Can Lena escape, or will she die inside CyberCorp Tower?

War of Flesh and Metal is the thrilling conclusion to the YA science fiction Flesh and Metal trilogy.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

I have been really looking forward to the finale of this series, so I was very excited when I got an ARC of the book! And overall, I liked it!

Review: Being Jamie Baker (Jamie Baker #1) by Kelly Oram

Title: Being Jamie Baker

Series: Jamie Baker #1

Author: Kelly Oram

Genre: YA, paranormal romance

Publication date: June 2010

Published by: Bluefields

Source: Amazon freebie

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Buy it: Amazon

Synopsis: An accident that should end in tragedy instead gives seventeen-year-old Jamie Baker a slew of uncontrollable superhuman abilities. To keep her secret safe Jamie socially exiles herself, earning the title of Rocklin High's resident ice queen. But during a supercharged encounter with star quarterback Ryan Miller she literally kisses anonymity goodbye. Now the annoyingly irresistible Ryan will stop at nothing to melt the heart of the ice queen and find out what makes her so special. Unfortunately, Ryan is not the only person on to her secret. Will Jamie learn to contain her unstable powers before being discovered by the media or turned into a government lab rat? More importantly, can she throw Ryan Miller off her trail before falling in love with him?

My rating: ★★★★★

Reading the beginning of this book, I could not get this song out of my head because it literally started off with a kiss, and then Ryan and Jamie were like, “How did it end up like this? It was only a kiss...” 🤣 I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself 😆 But it was amazing 😍 It was all pretty much a bet, but what I wasn’t expecting was for Ryan to be upfront about it with Jamie. I liked him immediately! This entire scene was just amazing! This whole book was amazing! I’m kinda surprised at how much I liked it.

Review: The Funtime Show (Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #19) by J.L. Bryan

Title: The Funtime Show

Series: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #19

Previous books in this series: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper (#1) | Cold Shadows (#2) | The Crawling Darkness (#3) | Terminal (#4) | House of Whispers #5 | Maze of Souls #6 | Lullaby (#7) | The Keeper (#8) | The Tower (#9) | The Monster Museum (#10) | Fire Devil (#11) | The Necromancer's Library (#12) | The Trailwalker (#13) | Midnight Movie (#14) | The Lodge (#15) | Cabinet Jack (#16) | Fallen Wishes (#17) | Sunset House (#18)

Author: J.L. Bryan

Genre: Adult, paranormal, horror

Publication date: July 25th 2023

Published by: J.L. Bryan

Source: eARC from author

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Synopsis: Come here, children, play with me,
I'm the friend in your TV...

The Calvert family's new home used to belong to the recently deceased creator of a forgotten children's program from the early days of television. The family's younger kids are fascinated by the basement rooms, a chaotic wonderland of discarded stage sets, props, costumes, and puppets.

At first, the parents are glad to see the kids put down their screens and play creatively with the old theatrical elements, but their performances and their experiences grow more disturbing over time.

In this house, the reruns of a dark past never stop playing, and paranormal investigator Ellie Jordan must protect the family from a malevolent presence trying to draw them into the infernal show.

My rating: ★★★★☆

In this latest case, Ellie and Stacey head to a family’s home to investigate a creepy lurking shadow. What they find is a place filled with puppets... creepy puppets.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #326: Murders and Mysteries

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #359: A Break From the Chaos

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

Dewey's Reverse Readathon: July 2023

I am so excited for another readathon! And I am especially excited for this one because instead of starting in the morning, it starts in the evening! You can go HERE for more info on the readathon!

Review: Clash of Flesh and Metal (Flesh and Metal #2) by Alicia Ellis

Title: Clash of Flesh and Metal

Series: Flesh and Metal #2

Previous books in this series: Dreams of Flesh and Metal (#0.5) | Girl of Flesh and Metal (#1)

Author: Alicia Ellis

Genre: YA, sci-fi, mystery thriller

Publication date: April 2021

Published by: Figmented Ink

Source: Purchased ebook with giftcard

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Synopsis: She must obey a stranger’s orders, or the androids will attack again...

Despite Lena’s fears about the dangers of the Model One androids, CyberCorp has shipped them to customers. They work perfectly—except around Lena. When an android attacks one of her best friends, she insists the robots are fatally flawed.

Desperate to keep this situation from spiraling out of control, like it did last time, Lena casts suspicion on everyone she knows. This time, she won’t trust anyone. When she gets a threatening note from someone claiming to be controlling the androids, she’ll obey—but only to stall for time.

Can she find whoever’s responsible, before someone else she loves dies?

My rating: ★★★★☆

Her parents might own one of the biggest tech companies in the world, but maybe Lena's right to distrust technology as much as she does. Especially when one of her best friends was attacked by one of the robots created by her parents' company. Even worse, these robots are set to ship out to everyone pretty soon. And on top of that, she's getting threatening notes. Girl can't catch a break. She's gonna have to figure out what's happening soon before more people are killed and we get a repeat of the events in book one.

Review: The Bad Girl (New Fear Street #4) by R.L. Stine

Title: The Bad Girl

Series: New Fear Street #4 (can be read as a standalone)

Previous books in this series: The Stepbrother (#1) | Camp Out (#2) | Scream, Jennifer, Scream! (#3)

Author: R.L. Stine

Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller

Publication date: December 1999

Published by: Parachute Press

Source: Purchased paperback

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Buy it: Amazon | Thrift Books

Synopsis: Dawn and Jan never liked science class. But when they stumble across a formula that brings the dead back to life, it becomes their favorite subject. Jan came up with the formula. She was just fooling around—she didn't expect anything to happen. But now the formula is bringing things back to life. A frog. A dog. A human being. And they're coming back evil.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

As soon as we were introduced to our two main characters I knew I wasn’t going to like them. One was sneaking around behind her boyfriend’s back, and both of them were just terrible humans who found bullying entertaining. But the point was to dislike them, which made the classic R.L. Stine ending that much better!

Review: SuperNova (Heroes of Arcania #1) by Liz Long

Title: SuperNova

Series: Heroes of Arcania #1

Author: Liz Long

Genre: YA, urban fantasy, superheroes

Publication date: June 2016

Published by: Liz Long

Source: Amazon freebie

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Synopsis: The streets of Arcania are overrun with crime, deteriorating as a madman named Fortune makes himself at home. He shows no mercy, striking down anyone in his path – including Nova Benson’s little sister. Devastated, Nova vows to seek justice for her family, but aside from her freak strength and impenetrable skin, how is she supposed to stop a monster like Fortune?

Cole Warner wants to help people. Entrusted to keep his family’s secret, he’s also frustrated at having to hide his gift. He knows he could do more to help in the fight against Fortune. If he could convince his sister Penelope to join him, they might even have a chance at beating him. When Cole meets Nova, he realizes his whole world is about to change. And he’s going to welcome it with open arms.

Falling for each other wasn’t part of the plan.

Then again, neither was becoming a superhero.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

I really liked the premise of the book. A girl going after a Big Bad that’s been terrorizing the city AND killed her little sister. It was so sad 😭 But idk, it was kinda underwhelming overall.

Review: Girl of Flesh and Metal (Flesh and Metal #1) by Alicia Ellis

Title: Girl of Flesh and Metal

Series: Flesh and Metal #1

Previous novella in this series: Dreams of Flesh and Metal (#0.5)

Author: Alicia Ellis

Genre: YA, sci-fi, mystery thriller

Publication date: April 2020

Published by: Figmented Ink

Source: Amazon freebie

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Buy it: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis: A devastating accident. An artificially intelligent prosthetic that makes her sleepwalk... A series of murders.

Lena hates her parents’ tech company. The world worships each cutting-edge CyberCorp release, but Lena has her doubts. Machines that think for themselves? She doesn’t trust them... So when a car accident lands her with the company’s first cybernetic arm, she’s pissed.

A glitch in the arm’s artificial intelligence makes her sleepwalk. Meanwhile, children of CyberCorp employees start dying in their beds, and thanks to her unwanted nighttime strolls, Lena has no alibi.

Is she a target? A suspect? Lena literally can’t sleep at night until she proves her innocence—or her guilt.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I got this book as a freebie from Amazon and it's always nice when I find a gem among all the freebies I’ve acquired. As was the case with this book! I really enjoyed it!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #325: Reading ALL the Books at Once

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #358: So Many Books...

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

Have My Reading Preferences Changed?

I love YA. They are my favorite type of books and I have always gravitated toward them. Or so I thought. Lately, I've noticed that I've been reading a lot more adult books, which is interesting because just a few years ago I didn't read any. But to figure out whether I'm really reading more adult books than YA these days, I decided to gather some data and look at my reading stats from previous years. What I found was very interesting...

Review: Dreams of Flesh and Metal (Flesh and Metal #0.5) by Alicia Ellis

Title: Dreams of Flesh and Metal

Series: Flesh and Metal #0.5

First book in the series: Girl of Flesh and Metal

Author: Alicia Ellis

Genre: YA, sci-fi, mystery thriller

Publication date: January 2020

Published by: Alicia Ellis

Source: Newsletter freebie

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Get it for free HERE

Synopsis: It's just a game. Right?

Virtual reality isn't reality. So even though Lena didn't expect to have fun, she went along with the VR game anyway. But its artificial intelligence knows everything about her—who she is, how much money her parents have, her greatest fears.

My rating: ★★★★☆

Lena hates technology. When her friends drag her to a new virtual reality game, she’s not really looking forward to it, but she goes along. Unfortunately for Lena, her dislike of technology is reinforced when the line between virtual and real danger is blurred.

Review: Scream, Jennifer, Scream! (New Fear Street #3) by R.L. Stine

Title: Scream, Jennifer, Scream!

Series: New Fear Street #3 (can be read as a standalone)

Previous books in this series: The Stepbrother (#1) | Camp Out (#2)

Author: R.L. Stine

Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller

Publication date: December 1999

Published by: Parachute Press

Source: Purchased paperback

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | Thrift Books

Synopsis: They knew cheating would be risky. But they never thought it could be deadly. When Shelli and her friends cheat on their college placement test, they think they have just secured their future. Until Shelli's best friend, Jennifer, threatens to turn them all in. Now they must prevent the truth from being revealed. And they will stop at nothing, even murder... But their plan backfires. And they suddenly realize that they are the ones in danger!

My rating: ★★★★☆

The premise of this book was not my favorite. I mean, these guys are cheaters, so it was gonna be really hard for me to feel sympathetic when bad things started happening. And I was right.

Review: The Supervillain and Me by Danielle Banas

Title: The Supervillain and Me

Author: Danielle Banas

Genre: YA, urban fantasy, superheroes

Publication date: July 2018

Published by: Swoon Reads

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: Never trust a guy in spandex.

In Abby Hamilton’s world, superheroes do more than just stop crime and save cats stuck in trees—they also drink milk straight from the carton and hog the television remote. Abby’s older brother moonlights as the famous Red Comet, but without powers of her own, following in his footsteps has never crossed her mind.

That is, until the city’s newest vigilante comes bursting into her life.

After saving Abby from an attempted mugging, Morriston’s fledgling supervillain Iron Phantom convinces her that he’s not as evil as everyone says, and that their city is under a vicious new threat. As Abby follows him deeper into their city’s darkest secrets, she comes to learn that heroes can’t always be trusted, and sometimes it’s the good guys who wear black.

My rating: ★★★★★

I loved this book more than I thought I would! I don't know why I was thinking I wasn’t going to enjoy it this much... It might be because in the beginning it was sort of reminding me of Jinx, which I didn’t like as much as I thought I would 😬 But no, I loved this!

Summer TBR

I'm feeling like a summer TBR this year, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to follow through since it's quite ambitious. Lol.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #324: I Need A Break From Nonfiction

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #357: Mini Vacation

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

2023 Mid-Year Check In: Reading Stats

I love numbers, so I'm always excited to look at my reading stats to see how my reading changes throughout the year. Checking in on my stats in the middle of the year is still pretty new to me, but I'm still excited to see how it's going!

2023 Mid-Year Check In: Reading Challenges

It's that time of year to check in on my progress for the reading challenges I decided to join. And I'm nervous. I'm hoping to be at the halfway mark on these, but I honestly don't think I'm doing well at all 😅

Top 10 Most Anticipated Books of the Last Half of 2023

Today I'm taking a look at some of the books I'm looking forward to that will be released in the last half of 2023. I'm excited!

Top 10 Favorite Books of 2023 (So Far)

We're halfway into the year and I have read 35 books so far. And overall, it has been a pretty good reading year. I have not read any books that have been 2- or 1-star reads, but I did DNF one book. Anyway, here are my top 10 favorite books of the year so far!

2023 Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

It's that time again for one of my favorite tags! The Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag was originally created back in 2016 by Ely and Chami on YouTube. This year Jesse the Reader did a revamped version of the tag so I've added some of those questions at the end (after the original 15 questions) as well. (I didn't include all of the questions because they were either already covered in the OG questions or because I will cover them later in a separate post, so if you want to see all the revamped questions make sure you check out Jesse's video!)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #323: From Fear Street to Olympus

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.