Tag: netgalleyarcs

Tackling My Netgalley TBR – April to Mid May 2018 Update

karenjo469 Comments

netgalleytbrupdate

Hello fellow booknerds! It’s time for another update! I know it’s the middle of the month and I’m way behind posting this, but I still wanted to share my progress. I need to see where I am and hopefully be motivated to pick up more of these ARCs rather than being distracted by all the other books I keep on requesting.  As you can clearly see, I haven’t made that much progress, BUTTTTT my FEEDBACK ratio is finally at 50% and I’ve finally reached 51 reviews submitted which means that I earned another badge — The 50 Reviews! So while I’m still pretty behind, I’m quite proud of myself.

I updated the list on 4.16.2018 cause I was getting a bit confused. I also took this out of the MISC category and moved it to Netgalley ARCs so I can keep track of my progress better and you can check out where I started. So, how about we go see how many more books I was able to check off since 4.16.

  1. Odd and True by Cat Winters
  2. Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne
  3. Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
  4. Love Songs and Other Lies by Jessica Pennington
  5. Booke of Hidden by Jeri Westerson
  6. Gray Wolf Island Tracey Neithercott
  7. The Canary Club by Sherry D. Ficklin
  8. Berseker by Emmy Laybourne
  9. Nemesis by Anna Banks
  10. The Breathless by Tara Goedjen
  11. A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess
  12. 36 Questions that Changed My Mind About You by Vicki Grant
  13. Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
  14. Just Friends by Dyan Sheldon
  15. The Midnight Dance by Nikki Katz
  16. Playing by Heart by Carmela Martino
  17. All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry
  18. A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen
  19. The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
  20. My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff
  21. Plague Land by Alex Scarrow
  22. Stronger by Janey Nissenson
  23. Kiss Me in New York by Catherine Rider
  24. Fraternize by Rachel Van Dylen
  25. Run Away With Me by Mila Gray
  26. Always Red by Isabelle Ronin
  27. Flight Season by Marie Marquardt
  28. The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody
  29. What the Valley Knows by Heather Christie (approved Jan 8)
  30. Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian (approved Jan 8)
  31. That Secret You Keep by Brenda Benny (approved Jan 8)
  32. Cold Hard Truth by Anne Greenwood Brown (approved Jan 8)
  33. How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand (approved Jan 8)
  34. On The Line by Liz Lincoln
  35. Thirsty by Mia Hopkins
  36. Rumor Has It by Jessica Lemmon
  37. Bookish Boyfriends by Tiffany Schmidt
  38. Blood Veil by Megan Erickson
  39. Out of Left Field by Kris Hui Lee
  40. Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
  41. Furyborn (The Empirium Trilogy) by Claire Legrand
  42. Ace of Shades by Amando Foody
  43. The Hook Up by Eric McCarthy – currently reading this
  44. The Art of French Kissing by Brianna Shrum
  45. The Game Can’t Love You Back by Karole Cozzo (Approved for a Blog Tour)
  46. A Prom to Remember by Sandy Hall (Approved for a Blog Tour)
  47. Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young (Invited to read/review by the Publisher)
  48. Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch (Approved for a Blog Tour)
  49. Love Me, Love Me Not by SM Koz (Approved for a Blog Tour)
  50. Love Scene, Take Two by Alex Evansley (Approved for a Blog Tour)
  51. Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga
  52. Mayfly by Jeff Sweat (Approved for a Blog Tour)
  53. Fling Club by Tara Brown
  54. Blood Match by K.A. Linde (Approved for a Blog Tour)
  55. Where the Sea Takes Me by Heidi R. Kling (Invited to read/review by the Publisher)
  56. Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan
  57. I Flipping Love You by Helena Hunting

So, it looks like I added more on the list, but I’ve read more than 50 out of 100 plus books requested since I joined Netgalley. Making progress a little at a time. One of these days, I’ll get to that 85% feedback ratio. Until then, I’ll take it one day at a time and not force myself to read just so I can knock off as many of these ARCs before the end of the year. I obviously have a responsibility to read them since I requested, but I find it more enjoyable to read the books I’m actually in the mood for. And most of the times, I request when I’m really interested, but won’t get approved until a few weeks later so that kind of messes up my schedule when I’m already reading/reviewing something else.

Anyway, that pretty much ends my update. I’ll definitely do another one for the second half of May and hopefully I can check off 3-5 more books.

Oh and here’s my newest badge!!!
50 Book Reviews

Hope you enjoyed reading this update. Are you a Netgalley member? Do you also struggle with requesting and trying to catch up with your reading? Share your thoughts and experience in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!!!

sincerelykarenjoendsign

 

Book Review – Odd and True by Cat Winters

karenjo463 Comments

bookreview

Happy Saturday loves! Are you doing anything special and fun for Mother’s Day Weekend? Who’s catching up on some reading? Well, whatever you have planned, I hope you have a wonderful time! As for me, my boyfriend and I are taking our puppy to the vet for her first check-up. Then, we’re having BBQ dinner for Mother’s Day tonight since my brother is coming over. Don’t know yet what we’re planning for Sunday, but I really want to get some R&R and catch up on my reading.

Anyway, let’s move on to some blogging business. Today, I’ll be sharing my review for Odd and True by Cat Winters. This book wasn’t really for me, but I did think some parts were very enjoyable and interesting.

 

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2halfhearts

Not my Cup of Tea, but Somewhat Enjoyable   

aboutthebook2

PUBLISHER: AMULET BOOKS
RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMEBER 12, 2017
GENRE: YOUNG ADULT, HISTORICAL FICTION, PARANORMAL, FANTASY
HARDCOVER 368 PAGES
addongoodreads
Trudchen grew up hearing Odette’s stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician’s curse. But now that Tru’s older, she’s starting to wonder if her older sister’s tales were just comforting lies, especially because there’s nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio.

In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it’s Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters’ search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that’s wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all.

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Odd and True by Cat Winters was truly an odd, but somewhat enjoyable paranormal story.

So, this book and me… didn’t really get along that much and I had an incredibly difficult time getting into the story. I was fascinated with the premise and the first few chapters were okay and quite interesting… However, I found myself frustrated with the plot, which was dragging, that I just had to stop and put the book on hold for a while. I probably tried 3-4 times before I was actually able to finish.

To be honest, this wasn’t entirely boring or a “bad” book. The concept of the story was intriguing and there were a few parts that I really enjoyed. The paranormal aspects were sprinkled here and there, and while they really didn’t hold my interest, I still liked exploring the world the author created. I thought the family backstory was absolutely great and I really liked the relationship between Od and Tru. Actually, that’s my favorite part of this book. The strong relationship between the sisters was what really kept me reading.

I had a rough start with Odd and Tru, but overall, I did kind of enjoy the story. Some books are truly meant to be while others not so much. Odd and True just wasn’t my cup of tea, but it could be yours. If you’re into creepy, weird, and dark stories, then I think you might have fun with this book.

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

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catwinters

Cat Winters is a critically acclaimed, award-winning author of four novels for teens: In the Shadow of Blackbirds (2014 Morris Award finalist, a School Library Journal Best Book of 2013), The Cure for Dreaming (2014 Amelia Bloomer Project pick), The Steep and Thorny Way (a Kirkus Best Teen Book of 2016, Junior Library Guild selection), and Odd & True (Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth, 2017). Her YA novels have garnered eight starred reviews between them, and they’ve appeared on numerous state and “best of” lists. She is also the author of two novels for adults, The Uninvited and Yesternight, and she contributed to the young adult horror anthology Slasher Girls & Monster Boys. Abrams will publish her next book, The Raven’s Tale, a novel about Edgar Allan Poe’s teen years, in Spring 2019.

Winters was born and raised in Southern California, near Disneyland, which may explain her love of haunted mansions, bygone eras, and fantasylands. She received degrees in drama and English from the University of California, Irvine, and formerly worked in publishing. She currently lives with her husband and kids in a suburb outside of Portland, Oregon, surrounded by forests that offer ample inspiration for her Gothic, atmospheric tales.

(Biography and Photograph taken from Author’s Website) 

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Website – Goodreads – Twitter – Instagram – Facebook – Pinterest

 

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed reading my review. Have you read this book? What did you think? Leave your comments down below. I’d love to hear from you. As always, have a wonderful day lovelies!

sincerelykarenjoendsign