June Wrap Up- PTA Sydney edition

Hey everyone!

I have had a busy month with uni exams going on and heading back home for my two week mid-semester break and now heading back to uni. I also went to Sydney for PTA Live once again! Last year there was only 50 or so of us in Kino but this year we almost filled a movie theatre, yep a movie theatre. 

It was great to catch up with all my blogging friends who live in Sydney and who I only see when I'm in Sydney for bookish events. Penguin Teen also did another fantastic event telling us about all the new and upcoming books that they are releasing later this year and early next. We also got to choose from three books to keep, I got my hands on The Cinderella Moment which I have already read.

I finally saw The Fault in Our Stars the other day, 2 and half weeks after being released in Australia because where I go to uni weren't showing it & then I was too busy until last weekend to see it. I loved it, a great adaptation of a brilliant book and I didn't cry as much as I thought I would!

Now onto all the lovely books I got this month!

Review Copies (ARC):

• Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

Thanks Bloomsbury Australia!

Gifted/Given:

• What I thought was true by Huntly Fitzpatrick- Thanks to Jaz for this! Her copy was slightly damaged and they are sending her another copy, all I wanted to do was borrow the book & buy it when it was in paperback!
• The Cinderella Moment by Jennifer Kloester- Thanks Penguin Teen
• Undone by Shannon Richard- Kim had a copy of this ARC at work & didn't want it & saw that I wanted to read it on goodreads, gave me the copy at PTA Live.

Thanks awesome blogging friends & Penguin Teen Australia!

Bought- Physical:

• Take Me On by Katie McGarry!

Bought- E-books:

• Taken by Love by Melissa Foster
• Breathe With Me by Kristen Proby
• Rusty Nailed by Alice Clayton
• Hold On Tight by Abbi Glines
• Fall From India Place by Samantha Young
• Unconditional Love by Kelly Elliot

So that is it for this months wrap up! Leave a comment below on what books you got this month!

Keely xx

What you might like if you enjoyed... #2

Hey everyone, I am back with another recommendation post and this time I am focusing on Australian YA! Now on twitter many of you might have seen #OzYaChat hosted by Shaheen @Speculatef and Mands @BookManicurist have been holding fortnightly chats about Aussie books & authors. Seeing as I have great timing of missing these chats because of uni going ons, I thought I'd share some of my favourite Australian YA authors & books!

If you liked The Fault in Our Stars by John Green you might like:

Everything Left Unsaid by Jessica Davidson. I read this before I even knew what TFiOS so I choose to read TFiOS after loving this story. Juliet and Tai are in year 12 and taking on their HSC when Tai is diagnosed with cancer and their story just goes on from there. I cried a lot during this story and I read this in 2012 when I was in the midst of doing my HSC, planning the same things that they were planning so it hit me at a time when I was going through the same things (expect my best friend didn't have cancer). It is a brilliant Aussie YA Contemporary that I do recommend for everyone!

If you liked The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak you might like:

Once trilogy by Morris Gleitzmann and Hitler's Daugher by Jackie French. Both of these I read before The Book Thief and me loving history especially WWII loved both of these middle grade/YA books. I actually read both of these for English class in year 8 and I just absolutely adored them. Both are by fantastic Aussie authors whose other books I also have enjoyed.

Now some straight up recs:

Steal my Sunshine by Emily Gale- read about how much I loved in my review here.

Wildfire by Fiona Wood- also read about how much I loved it in my review here.

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley- a lot of people have read and loved this book, I am no different. However, this wasn't my first book by Cath Crowley I loved her Gracie Faltrain series before Graffiti Moon. All her books are just fantastic Aussie YA books.

Losing It by Julia Lawrinson- is another book that I read during my HSC and also has the main characters doing her HSC and going on schoolies (see the trend here?) If you couldn't guess by the title it is about 4 friends trying to lose their virginity before they go on schoolies and it was a light & kind of hilarious read. Lawrinson has loads of other books out that I haven't read yet by this one I just loved!

I'll Tell You Mine by Pip Harry- Once again another book I read HSC year but the main character is in year 10. There is a big secret, girl at boarding school & other mysteries at part here and in general just a great Aussie YA Contemporary story.

So that is all the Aussie rec's that I have found going through my goodreads shelves and I am sure that there is many more but this procrastination from my studying for my anatomy exam and assignment that are taking place next week should stop.

So comment down below if you have read any of these books and what other Aussie book that you have to recommend!

Keely xx

Review Time #60

Getting By by Claudia Burgoa

When Emma Anderson arrived at San Francisco International Airport, she regretted accepting the distinction of being the maid of honour to Gaby’s—her childhood friend—wedding. It had been years since the last time she set foot in Menlo Park, where her parents had been killed. The rug where she had been shoving her feelings since that day looked bumpier than a camel’s hump. Who could blame her; if she hadn’t been selfish they’d still be around. Ever since that fateful day, Emma has been perfecting the knack of Getting By.

Cade’s wedding in Menlo Park—a city close to San Francisco—might be the perfect place for Jake Knight to shake the memories of his ex, Emma Anderson for good. Single, available women galore for an entire week was the perfect medication, one he intended to take three times a day for an entire week to return to his player days. It was a plan the former spy thought flawless until he came face to face with the maid of honour. Jake’s perfect retreat turns into a flight, fight or hide week of celebrations.

Wasn't too sure what I was going to get when I started this book, knowing nothing expect it was an NA contemporary but I ended up loving it.

Emma has dealt with a lot of crazy in her life since her parents died when she was eighteen and now facing the past with her best friend's wedding and Jake, the guy who until three months ago was dating her until Emma ended it. Emma ends up spending the week with Jake and his family thanks to her childhood best friend Gaby, finally facing some of the past that she has avoided and learning more about Jake and what he is hiding from her.

When reading this book you can see how much they care about each other but are too afraid to commit because each of them have issues that they need to deal with. The way that Jake treats Emma during the week makes it obvious to everyone and especially his family who adore Emma.

Jake is ex-special forces and  doesn't want Emma to know about what happened on his final mission, even though she knows something bad has happened because of his nightmares. Jake doesn't know how to react when he finds out that Emma has seen him at his worst with these nightmares and what he does isn't the greatest thing in the world.

A great read for those who love some romance and it is an NA book, not YA! Cannot wait for the next Knight brother story!

Rating: 4.5/5

Keely xx

May Wrap Up

Hey everyone! I really shouldn't be doing my wrap up right now since I am supposed to be writing a 3000 word essay due tomorrow, but I can't find the sources I want so I am taking a break! This month I didn't get too many books, I've borrowed a lot which won't be below but some new review copies are! Next month's wrap up will be exciting with PTA Live Sydney in the middle of the month which I will be attending again!

Review Copies (ARC & E-ARC)

• Flirty Dancing by Jenny McLachlan
• Searching for Sky by Jillian Cantor
• Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (OMFG THIS BOOK KILLED ME)

Thanks 100x Bloomsbury Australia for all three of these books!

Bought- Physical:

• The Selection Stories by Kiera Cass
• The One by Kiera Cass (which has only just been sent -.-)
• Breakable by Tammara Webber

Bought- E-books:

• All Lined Up by Cora Cormack
• Read, Write, Love by Melissa Foster
• Slope of Love by Melissa Foster
• Crazy Love by Melanie Shawn
• It Happened One Wedding by Julie James
• Chasing Olivia & Tempting Rowan by Micalea Smeltzer
• Camp Payback by J.K Rock

So that is pretty much it for the books that I have bought, I have read more but I borrowed them & you can see those books in my Goodreads challenge which I have had to change to 300 because I am sitting of 250 books already this year! So soon it will be up to 350 books... I don't know how this has happened.

Keely xx

Review Time #59

The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead

Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion.

Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity.

Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.

Firstly before I get into this review I have some news! At the start of The Immortal Crown a bit of my review of Gameboard of the Gods appears at the start! Now I don't know how this happened but I can't believe it and I never thought something I wrote would ever end up in a book, especially a Richelle Mead book!

Now the review! What a fantastic squeal to Gameboard of the Gods! As soon as I was approved for this book I was reading it and being amazed, shocked and jumping up and down all in one from Mead's writing. The Immortal Crown just added to everything that we have already learnt from Gameboard of the Gods and just turned everything upside down and inside out. 

Last book we were taken into the provinces of RUNA, this time around we get the world building of Arcadia, a place where women are treated horribly and pretty much only used for cleaning, cooking, sex and providing children. Just to even get Mae into this country she has to pretend that she is Justin's "concubine" which is what they call these women. I just loved how much their relationship has changed since the start of the first book to now the end of the second book.

Mae: Mae's mission in Arcadia has a dual purpose since she found out that her niece is more than likely where she is going and Mae being Mae wants her back. You get to see a lot of Mae's interaction with her new god as she tries to find out where her niece is. The interactions between them is showing us that Mae is now slightly accepting that her god can help her in ways that she needs the god to do.

Justin: We learnt of his predicament in Gameboard of the Gods and now it is even more than before because it's Mae. His god is on his back to finally accept him & for him to give in to the agreement that they have for him to be bonded. Justin's powers develop a lot which is great because he is slowly accepting his fate & the fact that also like Mae he can help others with these powers. 

Tessa: After changing into a new school Tessa is trying to find her calling, and she thinks that it could be journalism. The journalist that Tessa is with will do anything for a story and I am not a fan of her. After recent events Tessa has a bodyguard whilst Mae and Justin are out of town and I really liked him because he was helping Tessa understand not everyone has good intentions like she believes them to have. 

Overall The Immortal Crown is just the beginning of what is to come in this world of Gods & Goddess playing chess with the Elect with Mead's writing anything can happen between the characters and the world that they are apart of. The cliffhanging ending is a sure way to be desperate for the next instalment of the Age of X series because what happens will make your head spin.

Thanks Penguin Australia for the E-ARC on Netgalley!

Rating: 4.5/5

Keely xxx

Review Time #58

Covert Cover Cracked by Missy Marciassa

When 23-year-old Elle can’t explain why her job as an Information Scientist at the Library of Congress keeps her so busy (because she’s actually a CIA operative who just became field rated), her boyfriend dumps her, so she decides to focus on her career and enjoy a fling.

Navy SEAL Reese Beckwith seems like the perfect fling material except the more he sees Elle, the more he wants to know about her, and she can’t resist him. Things get complicated when Reese spots her with her CIA partner, a known womanizer. His questions for Elle get more pointed: he sees the potential for more than a fling, and once he sets an objective, failure is not an option.

Yet Elle tries to keep Reese in the “fling” category as her first major assignment heats up, becoming more personal with each development. When her personal and professional lives collide, Elle is put to the test. Does she have what it takes to be a covert operative? Will she have to choose between love and her career?

This is the third book in the Covert series and it would have to be my favourite beating the first one. It has been a year since Elle went into basic training to become field rated and her first assignment after being field rated has put her in dangerous situations again. 

Preston is back and he is partners with Elle on this mission and well as to be expected Elle isn't too happy to partnered up with him. Lyle well I was never a fan of him and well I'm glad he was out of the picture after chapter 2. Elle decided that she needed a fling to get over Lyle and put what Preston told her about a fling to use. After what should have been a one night stand with Reese, a Navy SEAL who is set to be deployed in a weeks on a 6 month assignment, she never expected to run into him again.

I really liked how her relationship with Reese progressed during the book, while she was lying a lot about what she does and how she knows what she does they still managed to get along. However, Preston making appearances when she is at "work" didn't help her case that they weren't sleeping together. The mission once again hits home with Elle with someone she knows being taken hostage to keep hacking into the NSA, CIA, FBI etc. for these terrorists.

The fast past action really showed you how much Elle has changed from the first book when she didn't even know she was working for the CIA. The final few chapters when the rescue mission took place showed us that they she can do anything and that she is no longer just an analyst for the CIA but an agent. The epilogue really set it up for the next two books and the danger that Elle is going to be facing from now on and I'm excited to read more!

Rating: 5/5

Keely xx

April Wrap Up

Hey everyone! I know that I have been very MIA this month but uni has decided to drown me in assignments & I have exams to prepare for so I haven't been writing many reviews. Hopefully that is about to change but sport has also kicked up with Hockey starting and Waterpolo getting ready for the finals coming up (fairly sure my team is 1st because we have won every game by a good 10 goals). Plus with my college sport duties taking up a lot of my spare time as well, but it won't be as bad this term.

Review Books (E-ARC & ARC):

• Getting By by Claudia Y. Burgoa

Thanks to the publisher for this copy!

Bought- Physical:

• Easy by Tammara Webber
• Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler

Bought- E-books:

• Tempting love by Melanie Shawn
• The Pride series #4-6 by Jill Sanders
• Taming Alex by Jill Sanders
• Out of the Shallows by Samantha Young
• Lengths #1-5 by Steph Campbell
• FBI/US Attorney #1-4 by Julie James
• Play by Play #1-7 by Jaci Burton
• The distance between us by Kasie West
• This Girl by Colleen Hoover
• Painless by Devon Hartford
• Recklessly Royal by Nichole Chase
• Infinity by Layne Harper
• Love and sports #1-2 by Meghan Quinn
• Covert Cover Cracked by Missy Marciassa
• How We Lived by Erin Butler

So that is it for my April wrap up! Let me know below what you got this month/week!

Keely xx