Welcome to Litsy!

Welp, it was bound to happen eventually. Started this one evening and, 76 pages in, just wasn't invested and decided to move on. Slightly confused world building and awkwardness to it - I think I had the self-published version so I'm not sure if later traditional publishing worked out some of the kinks.

Day 7: a book by an author I look forward to reading for the first time. #Blackliteracyisrevolutionary

Just ordered from my local bookshop. Violet pet the kitty cat while we were there and I picked up a couple of used cozy mysteries too.

Unexpectedly enjoyable. While some parts were a bit too perfect, I liked the following:
-the world building
-the magic system
-Oola‘s story
-Jack and Jasminda
-Benn and Ella
-the conflict, distrust, and racism between the Elsirans and Lagrimari
-Osar

Even though the pacing felt uneven in a couple of places, it was a captivating tale and held my interest enough to overlook the bits that felt too convenient. Overall, a good fantasy read.

The audio book was okay, I just couldn't get all the way into it.

I thought this book was pretty good. The beginning just grabbed my attention immediately and it held me for most of the book. The writing is gorgeous and the world building is fantastic.

However, this was more romance heavy than what I wanted it to be and the love story was too Taylor Swift song perfect and the plot felt like it didn't go anywhere after awhile.

Final #24b42019 stats: it took all the days of the readathon, but I made it to 24 hours! 3 books finished, 2 more over halfway, and one started. I am totally okay with that! @Andrew65 @TheReadingMermaid

The pacing of this book was a little off at times, but that was probably bc the author was developing such a complex world and magic system. Jasminda was a badass heroine - my only problem was that she sometimes got whiny where Jack was concerned. But I grew to love the romance between them too. I loved that Penelope didn't shy away from tackling racism and the plight of immigrants. Read during #24b42019. I'm up to 20 and a half hours!

This was so good! Finished it in a day. It is definitely in the category of YA fantasy that I've been missing in my life and send harder and harder to find. (Though I still would like to find some absent of the following things- rapey stuff, torture porn, and actual porn).

And this one also caught my eye.

I can't say anything better than what's already been said on the back of the book so I'll just say, So good!

#ARC #Review: Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope with St. Martin's Press. I really tried to like this one, but the world-building, character and relationship development were almost non-existent.⠀
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https://buff.ly/2KuNkh6⠀
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#bookbloggers #reading #fantasy #bookreview

14 books total
9 books by women
6 audiobooks
6 library books
#julystats #bestofjuly

Amazing high fantasy! This reminds me a little of Graceling, but more powerful and complex. It deals with themes of profound loss, love and how to address a refugee crisis in a complex that world of magic and mythology! I could not put this book down! Plus, the cover is 😍. #romantsy

With the breeze, it‘s a perfect reading outside type of day.

started this one today after checking out an outdoor pool near me - its been super warm in Toronto & wanted to find another way to cool off besides siting by the AC (which is great but I'm inside for work so like to get outside when I can) & so far am quite enjoying it 📖
And Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians out there as well 🇨🇦

In short, this book was not for me. I never felt a connection with the characters and found the plot predictable. Loved the cover though!

You guys: I have been getting so many new releases from the library, and now I'm stressed that I'll never finish them! I now have 42 - isn't that insane? I have a problem. Anyway, here's a messy pile of books in the backseat of my car! Out of work early and don't work until late tomorrow? To the library, of course!

I really really enjoyed this book and wish I had read it earlier but at least I got to read this #ARC!
Read my 4-star review of Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2174521962

I really enjoyed the world, the characters & the story. I understand it is the beginning of a series. It it felt very satisfying on its own.

So sad and true 😓😓

There‘s nothing like the feeling of hearing about a new book on a podcast and you‘re so interested in it that you head to the bookstore immediately to buy it - AND start reading it as soon as you get home. I only got about ten pages in last night before I zonked out, but I‘m going to devote 45 minutes to it this morning before I have to start getting ready for a meeting.

Fantasy! Romance! Can‘t wait for the next book in the series!

I own so many books but I keep getting more from the library instead of reading my own... send help 🌝

First off, I love this cover! It‘s what initially drew me to this novel.

Song of Blood & Stone has a lot going for it: fantasy elements, romance, political unrest. While the backbone of this story has to do with stopping an evil leader (the True Father), it also takes a look at societies and the treatment of certain people. I liked that Penelope was able to seamlessly blend the two together.

#netgalley #arc #fantasy

I‘m taking place in the blog tour for Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope! Check out my post with our Q&A! My full review is linked at the end of the post!

http://thenextbookonmylist.blogspot.com/2018/04/blog-tour-song-of-blood-and-ston...

Can‘t wait to read this! #tbr

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I LOVED THE MC! Jasminda was awesome and I rooted for her from the beginning. The world itself was intriguing but at times, the world building was a bit rushed. I look forward to the rest of the series!

Can't wait to dive into this gorgeous ARC! Premise sounds intriguing!

I wasn‘t sure what to expect from this book. I hadn‘t heard a lot about it until seeing on Netgalley. This is good! I really enjoyed this. I thought it had great world building and I was sucked into the story. I loved that the history of the mantle and the separation between the Elsiran and Lagrimari was told through memories. And I loved the way magic was interpreted in Earthsong...
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Starting this now! I just recently heard about this book and I am diving right in. I just started and so far it seems really interesting. Some nice world building to start the story off!

#bookmail #ARC

The beginning had me a little confused. The world building wasn‘t strong and I felt like I was swimming. However about 150 pages in the story it took a turn for the better.
Interesting story with magic, discrimination, a little predictable mystery and love.
Set up to have a second in the series. I feel like the writing was strong enough that I will be picking up the next one.
Was excited to win this in the Goodreads giveaway!

Throwback to Murchie's, "How dare you photograph me so often, you PEASANT!" look. This was an outtake because it's blurry, but I kept it because it's cute. #murchieplusbooks

Super excited to get started on this historical fantasy. Won it in a GoodReads Giveaway.

I always loved doing outdoor photo shoots with Murchie. He was quite the outdoorsdog and looooooved to simply stand in the yard, sniffing the world. When that got old, he retired to his dedicated outdoor bed, where he napped while I read. #murchieplusbooks

Mixed feelings about this one, but I'm interested to see where this series leads. I read the ARC in one sitting. I liked the world and its politics--exploring racism and warmongering in Fantasyland, yes please!--and I loved the folklore tales that lead each chapter. I was put off by how much emotional labor the protagonist did for her partner though, and feel conflicted about the ending. Reserving judgement until the second book comes along.