bookreviewer – Page 66 – Sincerely Karen Jo

netgalleytbrpic1

Time for another update! I know I’m behind posting this, but I still wanted to see where I am so I know how much more I have to do… And by the looks of it, I’m still pretty behind haha. So, let’s see which books I’ve read and those I couldn’t help but add.

I’ve crossed out the books I’ve read.

~~The Book of Whispers by Kimberley Starr~~ DNF 3.4.2018
Odd and True by Cat Winters
Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
Love Songs and Other Lies by Jessica Pennington
Booke of Hidden by Jeri Westerson
~~All the Wrong Chords by Christine Hurley Deriso~~ – Finished 3.12.2018
Gray Wolf Island Tracey Neithercott
The Canary Club by Sherry D. Ficklin
Berseker by Emmy Laybourne
Nemesis by Anna Banks
The Breathless by Tara Goedjen
A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess
36 Questions that Changed My Mind About You by Vicki Grant
Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Just Friends by Dyan Sheldon
The Midnight Dance by Nikki Katz
Playing by Heart by Carmela Martino
All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry
A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff
Plague Land by Alex Scarrow
Stronger by Janey Nissenson
~~Pumpkin Spice Secrets by Hillary Homzie~~
Kiss Me in New York by Catherine Rider
Fraternize by Rachel Van Dylen
Run Away With Me by Mila Gray
Always Red by Isabelle Ronin
Flight Season by Marie Marquardt
The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody
~~Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross~~
What the Valley Knows by Heather Christie (approved Jan 8)
Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian (approved Jan 8)
That Secret You Keep by Brenda Benny (approved Jan 8)
Cold Hard Truth by Anne Greenwood Brown (approved Jan 8)
How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand (approved Jan 8)
~~Love Between Enemies by Molly E. Lee (blog tour)~~
~~Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy (blog tour)~~
~~The Dating Debate by Chris Cannon (blog tour)~~
~~A Kiss in the Dark by Gina Ciocca (approved Jan 30)~~ Finished early this morning
~~Bad Business by Nicole Edwards~~ Finished 3.29.2018
~~This Heart of Mine by C.C. Hunter~~ Finished 3.18.2018
On The Line by Liz Lincoln
Thirsty by Mia Hopkins
~~Blood Type by K.A. Linde~~
Rumor Has It by Jessica Lemmon
Bookish Boyfriends by Tiffany Schmidt
Blood Veil by Megan Erickson
Out of Left Field by Kris Hui Lee
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
~~Phoenix Fire by S.D. Grimm~~ (Somehow I forgot to download this from Netgalley and now it’s been Archived so I can’t DL. Crossing this out because of that)
~~Our Dark Stars by Audrey Grey and Krystal Wade~~ Finished 3.15.2018
Furyborn (The Empirium Trilogy) by Claire Legrand – YAAAASSS
Ace of Shades by Amando Foody
The Hook Up by Eric McCarthy
The Art of French Kissing by Brianna Shrum

So, my feedback is still under 50%… I did get there at one point, but then one or two of the Blog Tours I signed up for had the ARCs through Netgalley. I was also really busy in March with all the party preparations for my mom’s 60th birthday party which was actually yesterday night, so my mind was all over the place. I even forgot to download an ARC and now it’s archived and I can’t DL it anymore… However, I did read 4 books from the list and DNF 1, so that’s some progress right?

Here is the updated list as of 4.16.2018. I decided to take out all the books I’ve read cause I’m getting a confused haha.

Odd and True by Cat Winters
Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
Love Songs and Other Lies by Jessica Pennington
Booke of Hidden by Jeri Westerson
Gray Wolf Island Tracey Neithercott
The Canary Club by Sherry D. Ficklin
Berseker by Emmy Laybourne
Nemesis by Anna Banks
The Breathless by Tara Goedjen
A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess
36 Questions that Changed My Mind About You by Vicki Grant
Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Just Friends by Dyan Sheldon
The Midnight Dance by Nikki Katz
Playing by Heart by Carmela Martino
All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry
A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff
Plague Land by Alex Scarrow
Stronger by Janey Nissenson
Kiss Me in New York by Catherine Rider
Fraternize by Rachel Van Dylen
Run Away With Me by Mila Gray
Always Red by Isabelle Ronin
Flight Season by Marie Marquardt
The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody
What the Valley Knows by Heather Christie (approved Jan 8)
Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian (approved Jan 8)
That Secret You Keep by Brenda Benny (approved Jan 8)
Cold Hard Truth by Anne Greenwood Brown (approved Jan 8)
How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand (approved Jan 8)
On The Line by Liz Lincoln
Thirsty by Mia Hopkins
Rumor Has It by Jessica Lemmon
Bookish Boyfriends by Tiffany Schmidt
Blood Veil by Megan Erickson
Out of Left Field by Kris Hui Lee
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
Furyborn (The Empirium Trilogy) by Claire Legrand
Ace of Shades by Amando Foody
The Hook Up by Eric McCarthy
The Art of French Kissing by Brianna Shrum

So, when I decided to keep track of my Netgalley TBR in an effort to try to bring my feedback ratio over 50% and eventually get to 85%, I was at 32 ARCs. Now I’m at 44 and I really don’t know what to do with my requesting obsession… All I can do is keep pushing through and hopefully one day, I’ll get to where I want to be…

sincerelykarenjo2

Hello lovely bookish friends! Welcome to my Blog Tour Stop for Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. Don’t forget to stay until the end for the giveaway!

aceofshades

4 ★ – SINFULLY EXCITING AND FUN

PUBLISHED BY HARLEQUIN TEEN APRIL 10, 2018

GENRE(S): YOUNG ADULT, FANTASY

PAGES: HARDCOVER 416

ADD ON GOODREADS

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON – BARNES AND NOBLE – KOBO – BOOKDEPOSITORY

iBOOKS – INDIEBOUND

synopsispic

Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…and secrets hide in every shadow.

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn’t have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne’s offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi’s enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play.

review

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody was a fascinating and entertaining read. It’s sinfully exciting, quite unique, and wonderfully magical.

I had such a great time reading this book. The world building intrigued me from the very beginning. It was creative, mesmerizing, and whimsical! Although there were a few confusing parts here and there, I really enjoyed reading about the different kingdoms, gangs, talents and basically just everything that existed in the City of Sin. The writing style was descriptive and easy to read which made it so much easier to get lost in the story and I loved that about this book. The plot was interesting, fast-paced, and thrilling. There were a few unexpected twists here and there that caught me off guard so that was definitely fun. I loved the romance — it was one of those slow-burn types and the pining on both sides were so heartfelt, believable, and well-developed. I really rooted for the Enne and Levi and cannot wait to see where their relationship will be in the next installment.

I have to be honest and admit that I had quite a difficult time with one of lead characters. Enne Salta just got under my skin and annoyed me throughout most of the story. She was naive, stubborn, arrogant, and just not someone I would want as a heroine. I thought there was no way I would like her, BUT — towards the end of the story, I did go through of big change of heart. Her character development was not an easy one, but in the end, I definitely thought Enne was one badass heroine. Levi Glaisyer was an interesting character and I liked him a lot from the very beginning. He’s complex and broken, but also very caring, protective and sweet. He’s definitely my favorite and I loved his POV. The other characters and villains were pretty awesome and I enjoyed getting to know them all so I’m really excited to see where everyone will be in the sequel.

All in all, this was an amazing beginning to a thrilling new fantasy series. There were a few things that weren’t explained as clearly as I would want, but that didn’t really affect my reading experience. I still had a great time spending a few hours in the City of Sin and I definitely will be coming back for more.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

abouttheauthor

Amanda Foody has always considered imagination to be our best attempt at magic. After spending her childhood longing to attend Hogwarts, she now loves to write about immersive settings and characters grappling with insurmountable destinies. She holds a Masters in Accountancy from Villanova University, and a Bachelors of Arts in English Literature from the College of William and Mary. Currently, she works as a tax accountant in Philadelphia, PA, surrounded by her many siblings and many books.