Showing posts with label To Best the Boys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label To Best the Boys. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Lisa's Looking Foward To #8 - March 19th, 2019
This is going to be the first week I do this on a Wednesday, and hopefully join in with the Waiting on Wednesday Posts, and the Can't Wait Wednesday posts hosted by Wishful Endings. There are quite a few books coming out next week that I've got listed in my planner. So here we go!
I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this one, so keep your eyes open for my review later this week!
Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardians, the all-girl boarding school offers an array of studies and activities, from “Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden” to “Art Appreciation” and “Interior Design.” The girls learn to be the best society has to offer. Absent is the difficult math coursework, or the unnecessary sciences or current events. They are obedient young ladies, free from arrogance or defiance. Until Mena starts to realize that their carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears.
As Mena and her friends begin to uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations will find out what they are truly capable of. Because some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.
This one is getting a lot of good reviews I hear. I also really enjoyed the other book I read by this author, Love, Hate, and Other Filters.
Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Rebellions are built on hope.
Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.
With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp's Director and his guards.
Heart-racing and emotional, Internment challenges readers to fight complicit silence that exists in our society today.
I've already read this one and really enjoyed it. You can check out my review HERE.
Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.
In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.
Cool cover, synopsis sounds good. Maybe I'll get to read it some day!
Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Seductive. Cruel. Bored
Be wary of…
Prince and his fairy courtiers are staggeringly beautiful, unrelentingly cruel, and exhausted by the tedium of the centuries―until they meet foster-siblings Josh and Ksenia. Drawn in by their vivid emotions, undying love for each other, and passion for life, Prince will stop at nothing to possess them.
First seduced and then entrapped by the fairies, Josh and Ksenia learn that the fairies' otherworldly gifts come at a terrible price―and they must risk everything in order to reclaim their freedom.
Sounds like a unique type of story. Again, maybe I'll get the chance some day!
Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Told through the lens of a guy in love with the cosmos (and maybe two girls), The Universal Laws of Marco explores the complicated histories that bring us together and tear us apart.
In the summer before eighth grade, Marco Suarez kissed his best friend Sally Blake. This was his first spark.
And since then, whenever he’s thought about that moment, he’s traveled through a wormhole—of sorts—to relive those brief seconds when time sped up (or, rather, his view of time distorted) and he kissed her.
And then, at the end of that year, she disappeared, leaving in that way that people sometimes leave—alive and well and somewhere out there but gone, nonetheless. She never even said why.
And now in their senior year, Sally unexpectedly returns and Marco is shaken. Still, he holds tightly to his carefully choreographed life. A life that is full of reasons why first sparks don’t matter:
Reason 1: He has a girlfriend. Her name is Erika Richards.
Reason 2: He’s leaving on a full scholarship to college.
Reason 3: He’s busy with his friends and making money to help support his family.
But as Marco navigates the final days of high school, he learns that leaving home is never easy and a first spark is hard to ignore.
I wish I'd had time to join in to a blog tour I think I saw for this one. I just don't have time to add it into my TBR in time. But it does sound like a good science fiction story.
Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
In an all-too-plausible future where corporate conglomerates have left the world’s governments in shambles, anyone with means has left the polluted Earth for the promise of a better life on a SpaceTech owned colony among the stars.
Maité Martinez is the daughter of an Earther Latina and a powerful Aunare man, an alien race that SpaceTech sees as a threat to their dominion. When tensions turn violent, Maité finds herself trapped on Earth and forced into hiding.
For over ten years, Maité has stayed hidden, but every minute Maité stays on Earth is one closer to getting caught.
She’s lived on the streets. Gone hungry. And found a way to fight through it all. But one night, while waitressing in a greasy diner, a customer gets handsy with her. She reacts without thinking.
Covered in blood, Maité runs, but it’s not long before SpaceTech finds her…
Arrested and forced into dangerous work detail on a volcano planet, Maité waits for SpaceTech to make their move against the Aunare. She knows that if she can’t somehow find a way to stop them, there will be an interstellar war big enough to end all life in the universe.
There’s only one question: Can Maité prevent the total annihilation of humanity without getting herself killed in the process?
Final Thoughts:
Quite a few books come out next week. A couple I liked, a few I wish I could read soon! How about you? Have you read any of these yet? Are they on your TBR? And hey, while you're here, you should go try to win some of my ARCs from Clearing My Shelf HERE.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: To Best the Boys by Mary Weber
Book info:
Title: To Best the Boys
Author: Mary Weber
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: March 5th, 2019
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Source: ARC received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating: 5 stars
Synopsis:
Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.
In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.
Goodreads
Purchase Links:
Amazon Barnes and Noble The Book Depository iBooks - Apple
My Review:
This book was amazing! There was so much about it that was original, and yet so much of it that reminded me of other stories. Some things, like the clothing and also the interactions between the rich and poor, reminded me of Little House on the Prairie for some reason. And then there were parts with the competition that made me think of The Maze Runner. The romance was great, and the science was great, and all of the characters were interesting. So much of this fits into the type of climate of society and the world right now. There was even one scene where Rhen and her cousin Seleni, disguised as boys, hear the other boys discuss them, not knowing they're there since they think they are boys. And that bit reminded me somewhat of a scene in Twilight, from Rose's back story. There was also the one male character that as a reader I was unsure how much to trust them or if they would turn out to be good in the end. So I was surprised by one that turned out to not be good, to have double-crossed everyone, including his own partners in crime. And then the part at the end about they don't want a girl taking a test at the same place as the boys taking the test, because she would distract them? Wow, I totally rolled my eyes along with the girl character in that scene.
A great book, I'll look forward to reading more by this author in the future, or going back to pick up the ones I missed.
About the Author:
Tour Schedule:
Giveaway:
Title: To Best the Boys
Author: Mary Weber
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: March 5th, 2019
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Source: ARC received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating: 5 stars
Synopsis:
Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.
In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.
Goodreads
Purchase Links:
Amazon Barnes and Noble The Book Depository iBooks - Apple
My Review:
This book was amazing! There was so much about it that was original, and yet so much of it that reminded me of other stories. Some things, like the clothing and also the interactions between the rich and poor, reminded me of Little House on the Prairie for some reason. And then there were parts with the competition that made me think of The Maze Runner. The romance was great, and the science was great, and all of the characters were interesting. So much of this fits into the type of climate of society and the world right now. There was even one scene where Rhen and her cousin Seleni, disguised as boys, hear the other boys discuss them, not knowing they're there since they think they are boys. And that bit reminded me somewhat of a scene in Twilight, from Rose's back story. There was also the one male character that as a reader I was unsure how much to trust them or if they would turn out to be good in the end. So I was surprised by one that turned out to not be good, to have double-crossed everyone, including his own partners in crime. And then the part at the end about they don't want a girl taking a test at the same place as the boys taking the test, because she would distract them? Wow, I totally rolled my eyes along with the girl character in that scene.
A great book, I'll look forward to reading more by this author in the future, or going back to pick up the ones I missed.
About the Author:
I'm also the author of the Storm Siren Trilogy, The Evaporation of Sofi Snow series, and the March 2019 release, To Best the Boys. When not working, I sing 80’s hairband songs to my three muggle children, and ogle my husband who looks strikingly like Wolverine. We live in California, which is perfect for stalking aging movie stars while wearing fanny packs and sweatpants.
For those who like to know such things (mainly my mom), Storm Siren was featured in the Scholastic Book Fair and my novels have been endorsed by such nice humans as Marissa Meyer, CJ Redwine, Shannon Messenger, and Jonathan Maberry (in fact, Marissa Meyer and I have a fun interview in the paperback of her book, CRESS). Also, Boba tea and sweatpants are life. {We can chat about life (in sweatpants over tea, obviously) in my Newsletter.
Author Links:
Tour Schedule:
Giveaway:
- Prize: Win 1 of 2 finished copies of TO BEST THE BOYS by Mary Weber (1 INTERNATIONAL winner and 1 US ONLY winner)
- Start Date: 25th February 2019
- End Date: 11th March 2019
Labels:
ARC,
FFBC Tours,
giveaway,
Mary Weber,
Review,
Thomas Nelson,
To Best the Boys,
YA fantasy
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