netgalleyarcs – Page 9 – Sincerely Karen Jo

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Wicked Saints_Cover FINAL

aboutbook

Published: April 2nd 2019

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Format: Hardover 385 pages

https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/wicked-saints/

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A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings.

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy.

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mythoughts

Enchantingly Dark, Viciously Captivating, Dangerously Thrilling

and Bloody Romantic

5hearts2

I feel like my review will be all over the place cause that’s how my emotions are right now after reading this STUNNINGLY BEWITCHING story.

This book played with my emotions and left my heart bleeding… but it was all worth it! Aside from some parts that were a bit slow, I found myself undeniably and utterly enthralled with this bone-chilling fairy tale and deliciously bloody world. The writing was dangerously enticing, and incredibly engrossing that once I was sucked in, I never wanted this magical adventure to end. I loved the delicious, lush, and immersive world-building! Even if there were a few parts that was kind of confusing, I was absolutely enchanted by everything. The plot was just AMAZING and I loved all the wicked twists and turns and never really knowing what would happen next. The battle between dark and light, good and evil, and right and wrong have all been done before, but this book threw in so much more than I ever expected.

The story had two POVs and I thought they were really well-written and intriguing. However, for most of the time, I enjoyed Nadya’s a bit more. I was just so fascinated by her, Malachiasz, and their budding romance that I couldn’t wait to get to her chapters. I did like Serefin’s sections and they were enjoyable to some extent, but there was just more FEELS for me and excitement when it came to Nadya’s journey and her relationship with Malachiasz.

Speaking of Nadya and Malachiasz… those two just emotionally messed me up. I have always been drawn to the “bad boy” type (or in this case the monster) and I just think there’s something so satisfying when the villain isn’t really who he seems to be. I loved that they both saw something in each other that changed them for the better. I loved how sweet Malachiasz can be towards Nadya. I loved seeing him so gentle and really vulnerable. He was everything but a monster to me and that twist just made me fall head over heels for him. Nadya was likable and I enjoyed her character development a lot. I loved that she was willing to see someone other than the monster and how she struggled to reconcile her feelings for Malachiasz. I absolutely adored them and really loved their forbidden romance with all the angst and tension. Their interactions were thrilling, sometimes humorous, swoony even, and just so darn addictive. The slow-burn was totally titillating and will not disappoint if you love this kind of trope.

Honestly, I wasn’t too fond of Serefin at first. I just wasn’t charmed by him the way I was with Malaciasz, so I didn’t really care so much for him in the beginning. BUT, somewhere past the middle of the book I started to warm up to him and I eventually saw that he can be caring, sweet, and funny too. There were also things that happened to him that just broke my heart and that’s when I knew I was done for. I no longer saw him as the drunk, selfish, arrogant High Prince. He was this wounded and misunderstood boy that was trying to do whatever he thinks was good for his Kingdom.

I truly had fun reading this book and there’s just too many things I loved about this story and absolutely cannot wait to see what happens next.

Enchantingly dark, viciously captivating, and bloody romantic, Wicked Saints by Emily Duncan was one magically awesome and fantastically thrilling tale. Duncan masterfully created a bloody dangerous world filled with wicked mysteries, twists and turns, characters who surprised me like no other, a storyline that had me on edge and holding my breath, and a hauntingly beautiful enemies to lovers forbidden romance that had me feeling so many emotions. I LOVEDDDD this book. It was utterly mesmerizing and exciting, but also such wonderfully written story about faith, redemption, forgiveness, hope, and love and I really loved this book and I don’t think I can rave enough about it.

Just do yourself a favor. Pick this book up right now. I’m positive it will completely blow your mind away!

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

WickedSaints_PronunciationGuide

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authorinterview

Short Author Q and A

What is your favorite part about being a writer?

I just really like making things weird. The end of Wicked Saints is… weird. I like pushing at the line between fantasy and horror. I like creating worlds and constructing wild plots. But I most especially love creating characters and then tossing them into these worlds and seeing how they respond and react; what happens when you take everything away from them, who do they become? Things like that. I like the process, even though it can be so incredibly difficult most days.

Describe your book in 3 words.

Weird. Fun. Bloody.

If there was a zombie apocalypse and you can choose 3 of your books to take with you which would you choose?

If there was a zombie apocalypse I’m not entirely sure I would be grabbing books, but probably The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien, Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, and Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.

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praiseforwickedsaints

“Prepare for a snow frosted, blood drenched fairy tale where the monsters steal your heart and love ends up being the nightmare. Utterly absorbing.” – Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen

“Full of blood and monsters and magic—this book destroyed me and I adored it. Emily is a wicked storyteller, she’s not afraid to hurt her characters or her readers. If you’ve ever fallen in love with a villain you will fall hard for this book.” – Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval

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abouttheauthor

Emily A. Duncan.jpeg

EMILY A. DUNCAN works as a youth services librarian. She received a Master’s degree in library science from Kent State University, which mostly taught her how to find obscure Slavic folklore texts through interlibrary loan systems. When not reading or writing, she enjoys playing copious amounts of video games and dungeons and dragons. Wicked Saints is her first book. She lives in Ohio.

authorlinks

Website: https://eaduncan.com/
Twitter: @glitzandshadows
Instagram: @glitzandshadows
Tumblr: http://glitzandshadows.tumblr.com/

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sincerelykjologo

arcreview

Happy Friday my lovelies! I hope you all had a wonderful week. Today, I have my review for You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn. This beautiful book absolutely touched my heart and made me feel so much swoons and warm fuzzies and I can’t wait to share Annie and Clay’s story with you.

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youdbemine

aboutbook

Expected Publication: April 2, 2019

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages

purchaselinks

AMAZON – BARNES AND NOBLE – GOOGLE PLAY – BOOK DEPOSITORY

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Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things.

But unfortunately for Clay, if he can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death, except on her skyrocketing YouTube channel. Clay’s label wants to land Annie, and Clay has to make it happen.

Swayed by Clay’s undeniable charm and good looks, Annie and her band agree to join the tour. From the start fans want them to be more than just tour mates, and Annie and Clay can’t help but wonder if the fans are right. But if there’s one part of fame Annie wants nothing to do with, it’s a high-profile relationship. She had a front row seat to her parents’ volatile marriage and isn’t interested in repeating history. If only she could convince her heart that Clay, with his painful past and head over heels inducing tenor, isn’t worth the risk.

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mythoughts

Stunning and an unforgettable love story that will tug at your heartstrings

5hearts2

Totally crying ugly, but happy tears here. Oh and also smiling like a dork cause this book was absolutely amazing! You’d Be Mine by Erin Hanh unexpectedly captured my heart and I am forever going to be in love with Annie and Clay! I loved their story, their personalities, their struggles, their success, their romance, and just… I LOVED EVERYTHING about this wonderful book and I just can’t stop gushing about it.

Filled with irresistible charm, intriguing drama and tension, deliciously adorable swoons, and so much HEART, I found myself enamored and glued to the pages. It was intoxicating, moving, and consuming and I enjoyed every moment. The prose was absolutely gorgeous and made me FEEL so much more than I expected. My heart ached painfully and I honestly could not stop my tears from falling. The storyline was well-developed, captivating, and wonderfully emotional. The alternating POVs were fantastic and reading Annie and Clay’s thoughts, feelings, fears, and insecurities was utterly heartbreaking at times, but also so real, raw and beautiful.

I adored all the characters and had so much fun getting to know them. Annie and Clay were fantastic leads and I rooted for them the entire time. They were both carrying so much pain, anger, and grief and it was so heartwarming to see that their passion for music brought them together. I liked the supporting cast too and thought they were charming and likable. I loved the friendship, loyalty, and support they gave each other. I also really liked that they weren’t always put together and showed their vulnerabilities. They all just seemed so relatable and real and I really loved all their interactions, bantering, and sweet moments.

An unforgettable debut that will tug at your heartstrings, You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn was truly a pleasure to read. It was beautifully written, absolutely magnetic, incredibly touching, and adorably sweet. It’s such a lovely story about family, forgiveness, passion, music, and love. Clay and Annie sang their way into my heart and I could not have pictured a better ending for them. This stellar book is destined to be a favorite and a must-read this summer and I cannot recommend it enough.

If you love books that can make you laugh, cry, swoon, and have so much love and hope in your hearts, then you need this book on your TBR!!!!

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

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favoritequotes

(These were taken from the ARC. Final publication may be different. Please don’t read if you don’t want spoilers).

I’m shaken and thunderstuck and electrified to the point of jittery. He’s a fiery summer storm and I’m in the middle of an open field.

No, what we have is somehting more; we have magnetism. Chemistry is give-and-take; magnetism sucks you in like a black hole. Annie sucked me into her universe back at the fair-grounds last summer, and her hold has yet to release me.

“Oh, I want you. Never doubt that. But now isn’t the right time. So I’m going to turn around, walk through that door” — his mouth twitches in the corner — ” and pretend to sleep while replaying that kiss until I give up and drown myself in a cold shower.

This song is a confession and a condemnation in one; regretting something that was over before it even began. But I know, I know, it would have been big. It would have been real and true and sappy as hell. We would have been a love story for the ages.

That settles it. I can’t let him walk away from me now. Or ever, probably. Everything about him and me and this moment and his lips and that smile and the way his words are like balm to my soul — all of it — means I can’t let him go. He’s mine now. In a way, it feels like we’ve belonged to each other all along. even back when he was just a voice over the loudspeakers at Youngstars, my heart knew it was done for. We just had to grow up some. Stilld do, I’m sure. Only now, I’m ready to grow alongside him if he’ll let me.

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(Mini bio and photo taken from author’s website)

erinhahn

Erin Hahn spent the first half of her life daydreaming in a small town in northern Illinois. She fell in love with words in college when she wrote for the campus paper, covering everything from drag shows to ice fishing and took way too much liberty with a history essay on the bubonic plague.

She started writing her own books when her little sister gave her shade about a country music-themed Twilight fanfic. By day, Erin gets to share her favorite stories with her elementary students. By night, she writes swoons. She married her own YA love interest whom she met on her first day of college and has two kids who are much, much cooler than she ever was at their age. She lives in Michigan, aka the greenest place on earth and has a cat, Gus, who plays fetch.

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