Minuscule, Adorable Reviews for Good and Awful and Amazing Books (LOL, What a Title)

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Hello, friends, readers, perusers! As you know, bloggers have lives, too. Sometimes, they don’t feel like writing a review for a book, so they just tweet something about it instead. I usually try my best to write complete reviews, but sometimes I just don’t feel like it. BUT, I still want to share some of the books I’ve read this year, even though I have not reviewed them properly. Here they are, them (mostly) tweet-sized reviews!

Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaug ❤ The only thing remotely good about this book is the cover. Am I the only one who felt deeply uncomfortable being spoken to by the main character as if I were his lover?	Uprooted by Naomi Novik ❤❤❤❤❤ I think this book was uprooted from Heaven’s grounds and magically brought to Earth.

Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaug

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

❤❤❤❤❤

I think this book was uprooted from Heaven’s grounds and magically brought to Earth.

Continue reading →

Ultra Negative Review: Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: May 10th 2016
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Humor, Romance

BLURB:

When zodiac-obsessed teen Wilamena Carlisle discovers a planetary alignment that won’t repeat for a decade, she’s forced to tackle her greatest astrological fear: The Fifth House—relationships and love.

But when Wil falls for a sensitive guitar player hailing from the wrong side of the astrology chart, she must decide whether a cosmically doomed love is worth rejecting her dead mother’s legacy and the very system she’s faithfully followed through a lifetime of unfailing belief. Continue reading →

Series I Will Never Finish

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

I was thinking about books I read when I was younger and then decided to come up with this list to let all of my frustration out! 😉

birds Continue reading →

Ultra Negative Review: The Crown’s Game (The Crown’s Game, #1) by Evelyn Skye

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: May 17th, 2016
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Competition, Magic, Romance

BLURB:

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.

And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.
Continue reading →

DNF Review: Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publicatio Date: April 5th, 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Point of View: 1st Person Feminine
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, High School, Death, Humor

BLURB:

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss, pain and elation, in her debut YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends. Continue reading →

DNF Short Review: Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1) by Susan Dennard

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: January 5th 2016
Publisher: Tor Teen
Point of View: 3rd Person, Feminine & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Witches, Magic

BLURB:

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch. Continue reading →

Mini-Review: Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel (Tyme #1) by Megan Morrison

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: April 28th 2015
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Point of View: 3rd Person
Recommended Age: 9+
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, FairyTales, Fairies, Rapunzel

BLURB:

“Think you know Rapunzel’s story? Think again, because the tower was only the beginning…” — Jennifer Nielsen, New York Times bestselling author of THE FALSE PRINCE

In all of Tyme, from the Redlands to the Grey, no one is as lucky as Rapunzel. She lives in a magic tower that obeys her every wish; she reads wonderful books starring herself as the heroine; her hair is the longest, most glorious thing in the world. And she knows this because Witch tells her so—her beloved Witch, who protects her from evil princes, the dangerous ground under the tower, even unhappy thoughts. Rapunzel can’t imagine any other life.

Then a thief named Jack climbs into her room to steal one of her enchanted roses. He’s the first person Rapunzel’s ever met who isn’t completely charmed by her (well, the first person she’s met at all, really), and he is infuriating– especially when he hints that Witch isn’t telling her the whole truth. Driven by anger at Jack and her own nameless fears, Rapunzel descends to the ground for the first time, and finds a world filled with more peril than Witch promised … and more beauty, wonder, and adventure than she could have dreamed.

REVIEW:

To think that I was convinced this would be THE fairytale of the year. I should have trusted the saying regarding pretty covers… because this is DNF for me. The dialogs are childish, Rapunzel is extremely whiny, Jack is damn boring and lacks the sparkle he should have had and weird random fairies accompany the story when they don’t even need to be there (or so I find, because they’re deeply annoying)! This is not worth it… I recommend watching the Disney movie again, instead.

… That moment when a blurb is longer than your own review. Damn.

Review: Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: June 2nd 2015
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Point of View: 1st Person, Female & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Friendship, Romance

BLURB:

In Paris, family and friends gather to mourn the tragic passing of Charlie Price—young, handsome, charming, a world-traveler—who is presumed dead after an explosion. Authorities find only a bloodied jacket, ID’d as Charlie’s. At the funeral, two teens who are perfect strangers, Lena Whitney and Aubrey Boroughs, make another shocking discovery: they have both been dating Charlie, both think Charlie loved them and them alone, and there is a lot they didn’t know about their boyfriend. Over the next week, a mind-bending trip unfolds: first in London—then in Mumbai, Kerala, and Bangkok, the girls go in search of Charlie. Is he still alive? What did their love for him even mean? The truth is out there, but soon it becomes clear that the girls are harboring secrets of their own.

No one knows whom to trust in this thrilling tale of suspense and deception.
Continue reading →

Review: Silver in the Blood (Silver in the Blood, #1) by Jessica Day George

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: NetGalley
Publication Date: July 7th 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Point of View: 3rd Person, Feminine & Alternative
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Historical, Paranormal, Werewolves, Cultural, Royalty

BLURB:

A New York Times bestselling author brings dark secrets to life in a lush new YA perfect for fans of Libba Bray or Cassandra Clare.

Society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about the mysterious Romanian family that they barely knew. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their relatives, find proper husbands, and—most terrifyingly—learn the deep family secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke. The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, and it is time for Dacia and Lou to fulfill the prophecy that demands their acceptance of this fate . . . or fight against this cruel inheritance with all their might.

With a gorgeous Romanian setting, stunning Parisian gowns, and dark brooding young men, readers will be swept up by this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives. Continue reading →

Review: A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: NetGalley
Publication Date: August 4th 2015
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, War-Setting, Romance, Fairies

BLURB:

Sixteen-year-old Beckan and her friends are the only fairies brave enough to stay in Ferrum when war breaks out. Now there is tension between the immortal fairies, the subterranean gnomes, and the mysterious tightropers who arrived to liberate the fairies.

But when Beckan’s clan is forced to venture into the gnome underworld to survive, they find themselves tentatively forming unlikely friendships and making sacrifices they couldn’t have imagined. As danger mounts, Beckan finds herself caught between her loyalty to her friends, her desire for peace, and a love she never expected.

This stunning, lyrical fantasy is a powerful exploration of what makes a family, what justifies a war, and what it means to truly love. Continue reading →