Sunday Post #264: Getting Professional With My Nails

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!

Monthly Wrap-Up: February 2021

It was quite an uneventful month, which is totally fine with me. Lol. Our trip to Mexico for this month was cancelled (good), oh but I am now fully vaccinated against covid! I got my second vaccine early in the month and the side effects were pretty minimal compared to the first one (you can read about my mild symptoms here, if you're interested). I am very, very happy about that. My parents just got their second vaccine yesterday and they seem to be doing okay, side effects-wise. It just makes me feel better to know that they have their vaccines all done. Of course, we are still taking all the precautions regardless, because you just never know.

Review: MARY: Unleashed (Bloody Mary #2) by Hillary Monahan

Title: MARY: Unleashed

Series: Bloody Mary #2

Previous book in this series: MARY: The Summoning

Author: Hillary Monahan

Genre: YA, horror

Publication date: September 2015

Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Source: Purchased paperback

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Buy it: Amazon | Thrift Books

Synopsis:

Mary in the mirror.
Mary in the glass.
Mary in the water.

Mary lurks in the emptiness, in the darkness... in the reflection. That is, until Jess unleashes her into the world. Now Mary Worth is out and her haunting is deadlier than ever.

No one is safe.

Shauna, Kitty, and Jess must band together to unearth the truth about Mary's death to put her soul to rest for good. Their search leads them back to where it all began-to Solomon's Folly, a place as dangerous as the ghost who died there a century and a half ago. Quick sand, hidden traps and a phantom fog are the least of their worries. To stop Mary, they need to follow a dark string of clues and piece together a gruesome mystery that spans generations.

But time is running out.

As chilling facts come to light, Mary inches ever closer to her prey. Can Jess, Shauna, and Kitty break Mary's curse before it's too late? Or will history repeat itself until there is no one left to call her name...?

My rating: ★★★★☆

“If you don't want to get attacked by a ghost, don’t summon one.”

I really liked the first book in this duology—I remember it being pretty scary. And this one was not bad either! Although throughout most of this book, I couldn't really remember what happened in the last one. I mean, I had a vague understanding, but I just didn’t want to re-read book one beforehand. There was a super quick recap, which I appreciated, but I honestly don’t think my mind was jogged sufficiently 😂 We really need a “previously on” in books 😂

Review: Last Strand (Elemental Assassin #19) by Jennifer Estep

Title: Last Strand

Series: Elemental Assassin #19

Previous books in this series: Spider's Bite (#1) | Web of Lies (#2) | Venom (#3) | Tangled Threads (#4) | Spider's Revenge (#5) | By A Thread (#6) | Widow's Web (#7) | Deadly Sting (#8) | Heart of Venom (#9) | The Spider (#10) | Poison Promise (#11) | Black Widow (#12) | Spider's Trap (#13) | Bitter Bite (#14) | Unraveled (#15) | Snared (#16) | Venom in the Veins (#17)
| Sharpest Sting (#18)

Short stories in this series: Poison (#0.1) | Web of Deceit (#0.2) | Spider's Bargain (#0.5) | Web of Death (#1.5) | Wasted (#2.7) | Tangled Dreams (#3.5) | Tangled Schemes (#3.7) | Spider’s Nemesis (#4.5) | Thread of Death (#5.5) | Carniepunk: Parlor Tricks (#8.1) | Kiss of Venom (#8.5) | Unwanted (#14.5) | Nice Guys Bite (#15.5) | Winter's Web (#17.5)

Author: Jennifer Estep

Genre: Adult, urban fantasy

Publication date: March 16, 2021

Published by: Jennifer Estep

Source: eARC from author

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Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | B&N | Kobo

Synopsis: Every bloody thread has been leading to this...

I’ve battled a lot of bad guys in my time, both as Gin Blanco and as the notorious assassin the Spider. But I’ve never faced off against anyone quite as powerful and deadly as the dastardly leader of the Circle secret society.

Just when I finally have a lead on how I can defeat the evil group once and for all, new information comes to light that throws me for a loop. Suddenly, everyone and everything I love is in imminent peril of being destroyed, and I’m racing against the clock to figure out a way to save my friends.

The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the danger has never been greater. Somehow, I need to weave one last strand in my web of death—and kill my enemies before they kill me...

My rating: ★★★★★

This is it. The final showdown between Gin and her dear old Uncle Mason, the leader of the Circle, and the cause of most of the crime in Ashland. And just the cause of all the terrible things that have happened in Gin's personal life.  I cannot tell you how excited I was to read this book! And it was incredible! Well worth the wait! It had actually been about a year or so since I last read an Elemental Assassin book, so I was really starting to miss the characters. And starting off the book with some banter between the characters... so good. It was like coming home 😌 That’s one of the things I love about this series: the characters.

Review: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2

Previous book in this series: Cinder

Previous novellas in this series: Glitches (#0.5) | The Little Android (#0.6) | The Queen's Army (#1.5)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Genre: YA, sci-fi, fairy tale retelling

Publication date: February 2013

Published by: Feiwel & Friends

Source: Purchased paperback

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Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Thrift Books

Synopsis: Even in the future, beware of the big, bad wolf...

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestsrlling Lunar Chronicles. She is trying to break out of prison-even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information about her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

My rating: ★★★★★

Not much time has passed since Cinder. In fact, we pick up pretty much where we left off, except we drop in on a new character: Scarlet. We’re going from Cinderella and moving right into Little Red Riding Hood, so Scarlet’s story is also going to be a familiar one. Basically, her grandmother has gone missing so she goes off to look for her, with the help of a guy she met, Wolf.