Thursday 31 May 2018

Review - To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo




Title: To Kill a Kingdom
Author: Alexandra Christo
Pages: 352
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Release Date: 6th March 2018

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all.

With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most - a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian's heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavoury hobby - it's his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she's more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good.

But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind's greatest enemy?











My Review:

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and NetGalley*




Princess Lira is a siren and the daughter of the tyrannical Sea Queen. She keeps the hearts of princes under her bed, earning her the name of the Princes' Bane. A series of events leads to the Sea Queen punishing Lira by transforming her into a human. Lira must deliver the heart of Prince Elian, a siren killer, to the Sea Queen or stay human forever.
The unwilling heir to a golden kingdom, Prince Elian much prefers to spend his days on his ship with his loyal crew, hunting sirens.
Then one day Elian rescues a young woman from the sea. She claims that she can help Elian in his quest to destroy the sirens for good.
Can Elian trust Lira?
Will Lira be able to deliver the Sea Queen his heart?


Luckily for me, this was one hyped book that didn't disappoint.
I really enjoyed having Lira and Elian as protagonists. They were both heirs to a kingdom, struggling to be what their parents wanted them to be. I loved reading the scenes where they were together. Their banter was witty and made me smile often.
The romance was just right for me- I much prefer a slow burn.
The world was very interesting and I would love to find out more about the different kingdoms.
The plot was interesting and held my attention. Towards the end I read very quickly, eager to find out what would happen.
I definitely got Little Mermaid vibes, but this was a lot darker (than the Disney version anyway) and I liked how brutal the sirens were.
I liked the writing style which was easy to follow. I'm looking forward to reading more by the author.


Overall this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.



Sunday 27 May 2018

My YALC TBR



For those that don't know, YALC is a YA book convention which is held at the Showmasters London Film and Comic Con at the end of July.

This is the fifth year of YALC and it will be my fourth year attending.
Seeing as it is now 2 months (!!!!!) until YALC, I thought I would post about the books I want to read before I go to YALC.





































 















Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls - 3/5 stars
The Belles (The Belles, #1) by Dhonielle Clayton - 3.5/5 stars - read my review here
The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven - 3/5 stars - read my review here.
The Hazel Wood (The Hazel Wood, #1) by Melissa Albert - 3.5/5 stars - Read my review here
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) by Becky Chambers - 3/5 stars



Out of these I think I might get The Hazel Wood and The Belles signed at YALC.

I was disappointed that I didn't enjoy The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet more.




 Are you going to YALC?
What books do you want to read before YALC?





Friday 25 May 2018

Blog Tour + Giveaway - Stanley and Hazel by Jo Schaffer


Find the tour schedule here.




 
Stanley and Hazel by Jo Schaffer
Release Date: May 15, 2018
Publisher: Month9Books


A great depression has gripped the city of St. Louis in 1934. Stanley, an orphaned newsy, lives in a poor part of town hit especially hard by the economic downturn. One night, Stanley runs into Hazel, a restless debutante in waiting who has begun to question her posh lifestyle in the midst of the suffering she sees. She’s out and about without an escort and against her father’s wishes.

When they discover the body of a girl with her head bashed in by a baseball bat, the very different and separate realities of the two teens inform their decision. Together they will figure out what happened to her and bring those responsible to justice.

But getting involved with each other and digging into the secrets behind this murder earns them some powerful enemies, including a secret group seeking to rid society of all they deem “undesirable.” They’ve put into motion “The Winnowing,” a plan seeking to take over the city and enforce their will.

As Stanley and Hazel’s forbidden feelings for one another grow, their investigation turns deadly. Now, it is up to Stanley and his gang of street kids to stop Hazel from becoming the next victim.




   


Pre-order Link:

Google Play | BAM | Chapters | Indies |  Amazon  | B&N | 

Kobo | TBD | iBooks 








About the Author




Jo Schaffer was born and raised in the California Bay Area in a huge, creative family. She is a YA novelist, speaker, writer at Patheos.com, works in film production and is a Taekwondo black belt.
She's a founding member of Writers Cubed and co-founder of the Teen Author Boot Camp, one of the largest conferences in the nation for youth ages 13-19. She and a crew of local and international bestselling authors present writing workshops to hundreds of attendees at the Utah-based conference as well as hundreds of others worldwide who view the conference online.
Jo loves being involved in anything that promotes literacy and family. She is passionate about community, travel, books, music, healthy eating, classic films and martial arts. Her brain is always spinning new ideas for books and sometimes she even gets around to blogging.
Jo is a mom of 3 strapping sons living in the beautiful mountains of Utah with a neurotic cat named Hero.













 Tour-wide giveaway

Open INT




http://www.chapter-by-chapter.com/blog-tours/