*NEW* December TBR

I’ve done some recent re-designing on my blog, and thought it the perfect time to make some changes around here! My reading goal for 2017 is 25 books. I thought I’d set it low since I will be working & attending school full-time. Who doesn’t love to exceed a goal anyway, right?! So, partially to keep tabs on myself & partially to interact with you guys a bit more, each month I’ll be posting my TBR list here! ***see below for a question***

Most of my TBR pile consists of ARC’s and review requests, but come January it will be more of my own purchases and choices, I’ll be cutting back on marketed reviews because of a heavy semester. Below you’ll find my TBR list for the month of December along with each book’s details & synopsis. Skip to the bottom to comment and be so kind as to answer this question for me:

*** I’d love for this to be a much more interactive blog, so I was thinking about starting read-alongs on my FB page that will follow my TBR list posted at the beginning of each month. Would you participate? What would I need to do to in order to garner your interest? I’d absolutely love & appreciate any feedback from you guys! ***


The Books

eth-cover  acotar-cover  rotc-cover  tc-over


eth-coverTitleEver the Hunted 
Author – Erin Summerill
Genre – YA/high fantasy
Length/Pub – 400 pages, ARC (pub. 12/27/16)
Synopsis – Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer.

However, it’s not so simple.

The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force.


acotar-coverTitle – A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author – Sarah J. Maas
Genre – YA/fantasy
Length/Pub – 416 pages, 2015
Synopsis – When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.


rotc-coverTitle – Return of the Continuums (13th Continuum #2)
Author – Jennifer Brody
Genre – YA/sci-fi/dystopia
Length/Pub – 432 pages, 2016
Synopsis – As Myra and her friends set out to find the First Continuum, Captain Aero Wright and two companions from the outer space Second Continuum find themselves banished for treason and stranded on Earth. Wright has vowed to complete his late father’s mission to recolonize their ancestral planet, but his true mission is to find the mysterious girl who haunts his dreams. Meanwhile, Myra and the young refugees of the underwater Thirteenth Continuum must make an unlikely ally if they are going to survive the hostile surface world and reach their destination, the nexus of humanity’s hope for survival. As their paths begin to converge, the Beacons that guide and connect Myra and Aero begin to prove their power, and a shadowy force with a centuries-old grudge reveals itself.


tc-overTitle – The Cottage (Secret of the Shetlands #2)
Author – Michael Phillips
Genre – Christian Fiction
Length/Pub – 416 pages, 2016
Synopsis – When Loni Ford is informed that she has inherited property in the Shetland Islands, she laughs. She wants nothing more than to sell it and be done with it. But when she arrives in the North Sea enclave, she is stunned to find that “the Cottage” is not at all what she expected, nor is David Tulloch, the man most of the islanders believe to be the rightful heir.

The locals could hardly be more surprised that the heir is a woman–and an American. Loni, in turn, finds the islanders quaint and a bit behind the times. Expecting David to be as provincial as the rest of his clan, she discovers that there is far more to the man than meets the eye. And there is something about the peaceful atmosphere of the place–and the character of its most prominent citizen–that soon gets under her skin.

Beneath the peaceful surface, however, change is threatening the island of Whale’s Reef. David’s cousin Hardy Tulloch, whose claim to the inheritance now in Loni’s hands was backed by oil investors, has not been deterred in his aim to control the island. But his co-conspirators have plans of their own, plans that put Loni’s very life in danger.


If you’ve made it this far, or you’ve skipped to the bottom as instructed above (hehe), please leave a comment below and tell me what you think about the following:

*** I’d love for this to be a much more interactive blog, so I was thinking about starting read-alongs on my FB page that will follow my TBR list posted at the beginning of each month. Would you participate? What would I need to do to in order to garner your interest? I’d absolutely love & appreciate any feedback from you guys! ***

Thank you SO much for your love and support!

Savana

Book Review: Weregirl by C.D. Bell

weregirl-ciSynopsis: C. D. Bell’s WEREGIRL is a fast-paced teen thriller set in Tether, Michigan, a town on the brink of shutdown since it was stripped of its resources by corporate polluter Dutch Chemical. High school junior Nessa Kurland is a cross-country runner with her eyes set on one thing: a college scholarship as her one-way ticket out of Tether. 

Talented teammate Cynthia Sinise invites Nessa on a nighttime run through Tether’s overgrown forest trails. But she speeds ahead, leaving Nessa alone to discover a trapped wolf. Nessa tries to free the animal but is badly bitten, seemingly ruining her hopes for a strong fall season with the cross-country team. 

Instead, Nessa’s freakishly quick recovery is followed by improved running times. All her senses are heightened. Nessa has transformed. 

She has become a werewolf. 


TRB Review – 3.5/5

Weregirl is a feminist twist on a classic usually male-driven werewolf transformation story. It was dramatic, witty, and detailed – just not exactly my cup of tea.

A little bird told me that this was going to be better than the Twilight series, which I can happily say is true. It’s a much more feminist story with a very strong and determined female lead character. Unlike the gloomy and uninteresting Bella Swan, Nessa fights hard for what she believes in and although she is struggling through the story with her changes and adjusting to the new life that she’s be chosen for, she remains feisty and curious.

I unfortunately was not a fan of this author’s writing style. There were countless sentences where unnecessary information was added in parenthesis, I find this to be an overused and frankly loose form of writing that I have difficulty appreciating. This book is not necessarily dramatically high school level, but I would say that it is geared more so towards readers who appreciate or can relate to said age group’s maturity level and way of behaving. One thing that I did enjoy was the occasional pop of very expressive scenery and senses.

“She could hear the running of water, the music of wind in the trees. She could smell the heaviness of leaves turning to soil, the acidity given off the broken branch of a pine tree.” Weregirl, pg. 150

I was pleased that the author included more than just the expected teenage wolf drama. The side story of the town’s chemical exposure kept me intrigued, it was a buffer that was very welcome and moved the story farther along that just a normal “girl gets turned into a wolf and has to find her place in the world again” story. Overall, the story is well rounded and the characters are nicely developed. This was an uncorrected ARC, so it’s very possible that the grammatical issues I had were entirely based off this fact. Regardless, I was impressed with the multi-faceted story weaving that was done, and the fact that this wasn’t your average teenage angst werewolf tale. I’d suggest this to anyone that doesn’t mind a little high school drama and enjoys a good feminist lead character.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author’s publicist in exchange for an honest review.


About the author:

weregirl-author-picWhen she’s not biking the streets of Brooklyn, NY, you can find C. D. Bell writing in a decrepit RV clinging to the side of a hill in upstate New York, trying to teach herself to watercolor, or inventing her own recipes. She is a voracious reader of anything and everything fantasy, supernatural, or romance. And she swears that the monsters she often writes about are not real— at least she hopes not.

The second installment of the WEREGIRL trilogy is already in the works.

You can follow the Weregirl team via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or visit the official website for updates & info!

Order this book via one of your favorite retailers today!
Amazon, Book DepositoryBarnes & Noble, or purchase an autographed copy here!