An Intro to Fantasy

So, it’s plenty reasonable to assume that if you’re going to edit a fantasy novel, you have to have some experience with fantasy books, right?

I thought so too.

Which is why I’m making this post! (Yes mom, I’m looking at you. Yes, everyone else, I’m working on  a fantasy novel and my mom wants to edit for me without any prior YA fantasy experience. SCANDAL!)

So here we are, with *ahem* get ready for it folks…. *drumroll*

Leah’s Guide to (mostly) YA Fantasy!!!

(Imagine if that was read in like a crazy low-pitched announcer voice. Bam. Epic.)

(OKAY SORRY GOTTA FREAK OUT REAL QUICK!!! AS I WRITE THIS, MY MOM IS STARTING HER FIRST YA NOVEL. (It’s Shadow and Bone, if you were wondering! 🙂 ))

 

Let’s begin.

Review: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

 

 

Title: Second Chance Summer

Genres: Young adult, contemporary, realistic fiction

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Publish Date: May 8th, 2012

Page Number:  468

Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.

Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.

As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

The Harry Potter Tag

 

 

 

(This post is a couple days late, but shhhh…)

In honor of our beloved Harry Potter (and J. K. Rowling and, a day previously, Neville Longbottom!)’s birthday (and also the release of the Cursed Child!), I wanted to do the Harry Potter Tag! Harry Potter has been a HUGE part of my life, and I, quite honestly, don’t know where I’d be today without it.

Now I’m not sure who originally created this tag, but let me tell you guys, it sure wasn’t me! So don’t give me any credit haha.

Let’s begin, shall we?

A Thousand Books to Read | Epic Book haul

Hello everyone! Today I’m here with another ginormous book haul. I absolutely have no self control when it comes to buying books—and I’m sure a ton of you can relate to this.  These are the books I’ve accumulated over the past few months and, as you can see from the title of this post, my TBR pile is just never-ending, haha! #bookwormproblems

So without further ado, let’s get started!

• Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry
• Starflight by Melissa Landers
• Half Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

• Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

• Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout

• The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

• The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• Dreamology by Lucy Keating
• The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

• Marrow Island by Alexis M. Smith

Thank you so much HMH Books for sending me a finished copy of this book! 

Thank you so much Andrea @ Book Store Finds for getting me an ARC of The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon from BookCon! I’m so flipping’ excited to read it. Also, that cover.. *heart eyes*

• Homeroom Diaries by James Patterson and Lisa Papademetriou
• Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
• Starflight by Melissa Landers
• Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
• Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Justine Magazine contacted me last month saying that I was the winner of a giveaway they had hosted, but to be completely honest, I wasn’t even sure what I had won. And when I received this package a week later, I was quite surprised to see the books in it. I already own Passenger and Starlight (expect a giveaway on Twitter soon!); Stars Above and Their Fractured Light are the conclusions to two series I haven’t read. But nonetheless, I’m excited to read them. Thank you so much, Justine Magazine Books, for hosting the giveaway!

 

Thank you so much St. Martin’s Griffin for sending me an e-ARC of You Know Me Well by Nina Lacour and David Levithan!

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There you go! Those are the books I’ve recently acquired and plan on reading soon. I was actually hoping to tackle my ARC TBR pile this summer, but let’s see what I end up doing…

Have you read any of these? What are some books you’ve bought this month? Let me know in the comments below!

Review: Zero by Morgan Dark

Title: Zero

Author: Morgan Dark

Genres: Suspense, Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Publisher: Rubinos, 1860

Publication Date: June 28, 2016

A baffling robber.
A mystery hidden for years.
And an elite boarding school where no one is who they say they are.
Kyle Bradford is the envy of Drayton College, but everything takes a turn when a dangerous shadow, hidden in the darkness, starts to stalk him. From then on, his life falls apart. Unjustly accused of being the main suspect behind the robberies terrifying high society, he is forced to prove his innocence. And to do so, he has to find the real culprit: Zero, an infallible criminal who keeps his identity hidden under a silver mask. What Kyle does not know is that his enemy is keeping a secret. A secret he would sacrifice everything for.
A dizzying, heart-stopping thriller you won’t be able to put down.

Books to Movies… (A Critical and Dangerous Transformation)

So, in the book worm realm, there is a very dangerous, fear-filled realm, one that all readers both anticipate and dread…

The transformation from book to film.

We all know the feeling. One of our favorite books/series’ are being turned into either a movie or TV show, and we are torn between total excitement and fear that they will completely botch the story.

So, in this post I will be discussing some book-to-movie adaptations, and how well I believe the transformation occurred.

(Remember everyone, these are opinions, not fact. If you disagree with anything I say, feel free to say so in the comments! But, also, please don’t bash on me or others for their opinions.)

Blog Tour + Giveaway: Invision by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Title: Invision

Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Series: Chronicles of Nick

Publisher/Imprint: St. Martin’s Griffin

Publication Date: May 3rd, 2016

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | BooksaMillion

Think you have a lot of pressure on your shoulders? Nick Gautier was born to bring about the end of the world . . . it’s not easy being the heir of a demon overlord.

But Nick is determined to thwart his destiny and get into a good college. To be more than his genetics and prophecy foretell. No one is ever going to tell this stubborn Cajun who and what he really is. Or how to live his life.

Not even the Fates of the Universe. But now that he and his team of ancient gods and demons have claimed the Eye of Ananke and he sees the missteps of the future, he has to battle the demons within that are far deadlier and more treacherous than any he’s battled before.

All the while his arch nemesis is back and determined to reclaim his place as the harbinger for Armageddon. Even if it means killing Nick and barbecuing everyone he loves to do so.

4 Ways to Gain Loyal Blog Followers

 

Do you ever come across an Instagram account that has thousands of followers but only gets a few hundred likes per post and barely any comments? I know I do. That’s what happens in the case of blogging too. Remember, there’s a difference between raising your follower NUMBER and gaining real, LOYAL followers who love your content and enjoy reading your posts. Most of the times, those are two completely different things. Some people are so focused on gaining followers that they often forget that they should be aiming to gain loyal ones. The ones who really care about their blog and that’s why follow it.

Just persuading someone to click that “follow” button does NOT make them a follower. I’ve often seen people say, “I follow back!” or “Follow me and I’ll follow you.” This is what leads to a blogger gaining followers, but not ones who would read their posts and comment on them. This won’t help you gain more page views or unique visitors every month. This is just people trying to bribe others into following them so that they can raise their followers number and display it to the world. But bribing someone like this does NOT mean that they would return to your blog regularly and interact with you.

You might be wondering, “So what can I do to make my blog even better for people to follow it?” Don’t worry, today I’m here to talk about some ways you can gain loyal followers, the ones who will read your posts and come back for more!  

Review: Rebel by Vanshika Prusty

 

Title: Rebel

Genres: Young adult, science fiction, dystopia

Publisher: FriesenPress

Publication Date: January 14, 2016

Page Number: 234

You could say Arsyn has an attitude problem. Or you could say she sees reality more clearly than most.

Arsyn has grown up under the oppressive, controlling regime that took power in the chaos created by a world disaster—and she hates it. She dreams of overthrowing the Eirene’s iron grip, or at least escaping it. But when she and her sister, Tatiana, are captured and sentenced to be killed in the dreaded Labyrinth, escape suddenly becomes an imperative.

It will take all of Arsyn’s formidable intelligence and courage to fight her way to the forbidden zone known as the Periculum—and even more to survive there. For while the Periculum is free of Eirene control, it is walled off for good reason. For the unprepared, the dangers of the Periculum are deadly. And as Arsyn joins up with an informal coalition of rebels and friends, the volatile dynamics of the group prove at least as challenging as the mutants and gangs she must defend herself against.

But the hardest test still lies before her: Arsyn must somehow return to the Eirene and rescue Tatiana, and soon. Her sister’s life depends on it.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Discussion: All About ARCs

ARCs (Advanced Reader’s Copies) are kind of a big deal in the blogging community. They can be seen as a blogger’s status symbol. Some people think that only the “good” and popular bloggers receive them, which isn’t true at all. Sometimes they even cause jealousy — I know I’ve been a victim of ARC envy before — but that’s not something we can stop ourselves from feeling.

I’ve seen a ton of bloggers talk about ARCs on their blogs and Twitter, so I decided to help out new bloggers, too, by talking about what they are and how can one request them. I’d like to thank Ava @ Bookishness and Tea for inspiring me to write this post. You can check out her post here! 

To be honest, I didn’t even know what an ARC was when I first started blogging. I didn’t know why it was such a big deal in the blogosphere, and why people got so disappointed when their request was rejected (after all, you can still buy the book when it’s published, right?).

But now that I’ve been a part of this community for over a year, I know what it is, and have even received some of my own! But for those of you who have questions about ARCs or don’t know how to receive them, today I’m here to talk about everything I’ve learned about them this past year!