That Time of the Month! (OwlCrate #1)

*Text that is in bold is a little extra snark from Rachel.

Guess what, chicken butts? Our OwlCrates arrived (obvi)! We’ve been counting down the days until they shipped and were eagerly waiting for them the moment we got our tracking numbers. We live on opposite sides of the country, but they were somehow delivered at basically the same time. You done good, postal service. Nice hustle. *makes it rain*

Rachel then proceeded to kill me with the wait so we could open our boxes together (like nerds.) BUT FINALLY we were able to sit down (I was standing) and open them. Here be what we seen:

Don’t judge me but I really like that grassy stuff. Forget tissue paper.

The theme of this month was Fantasy and what says “fantasy” better than Game of Thrones? And unicorns! (I got Joffrey and Rachel was a pile of poo and got a cool dragon thing) Neither of us watch Game of Thrones incase you can’t tell. Cool dragon thing? I mean, I’mma love it for eternity ‘cause it’s kinda cute but I wouldn’t hate knowing the actual name of it, ya feel? I, however, will burn Joffrey. Oh.

The couple behind OwlCrate had custom bookmarks made by CraftedVan. MAGNETS. They also included a bookmark with a discount code for GeekyCon, which has authors like Marie Lu and Veronica Roth. (I'm reading Marie Lu's Legend series right now if anyone cares.)

I was distracted by the swaggy bandages for a while before eventually getting to the heart of the box, which is of course the book. In this month’s box is a cool hardcover of A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab, which is the first in the series. I don’t know anything about this author but it doesn’t matter; I’m still gonna call them Cotton Schwab from this moment forward. Let’s see what it’s about.

STEP INTO A UNIVERSE OF DARING ADVENTURE, THRILLING POWER, AND MULTIPLE LONDONS.

Kell is one of the last travelers - magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magical city.
There's Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, and with one mad king - George III. Red London, where life and magic are revered - and where Kell was raised alongside Rhy Maresh, the roguish heir to a flourishing empire. White London - a place where people fight to control magic and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now. Officially, Kell is the Red traveler, ambassador of the Maresh empire, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs into Delilah Bard, a cutpurse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

Packaged with the book was also a poster.

So, what’s our overall opinion? For the debut box of OwlCrate, it’s off to a good start. We most definitely got our money’s (or galleons if you’re a Harry Potter fan) worth. It’s too soon to say if the book was a good choice or not, but other reviews are glowing. Hopefully we can post one ourselves soon. Either way, we’re both excited to sit down (or stand. You don’t know my reading preferences) and read it.

We can’t wait for April’s “All The Feels” box!

& 

Waiting on Wednesday (3/18/15): Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas

Expected publication: September 1, 2015

From Goodreads:

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .
She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.
Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

C H A O L. CHAOLENA 4EVR. ROWAN AND CELAENA BROTP. VERY EXCITE.

Waiting on Wednesday (3/11/15): Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Expected publication: May 5, 2015

From Goodreads:

Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?
Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

I've always loved me some Sarah Dessen. She may choose some heavy subject matter sometimes, but her quirky settings and characters make for an easy, enjoyable read. It feels like it's been forever since her last one! 

(Shout out to my North Carolina authors)

Waiting on Wednesday (3/4/15): The Heir (The Selection #4)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The Heir by Kiera Cass

Expected publication: May 5, 2015

The following summary (from Goodreads) may contain spoilers for previous books in the series: 

Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won Prince Maxon’s heart. Now the time has come for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own. Eadlyn doesn’t expect her Selection to be anything like her parents’ fairy-tale love story. But as the competition begins, she may discover that finding her own happily ever after isn’t as impossible as she always thought.

After the disappointing ending of The One, I'm hoping the continuation of The Selection series goes a lot better.

~Yajaira

Waiting on Wednesday (2/25/15): Confess by Colleen Hoover

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Confess by Colleen Hoover 

Expected publication date: March 10, 2015 

From Goodreads: 

Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.
For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.
The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin… 

We (especially me) really love Colleen Hoover up in here, so this choice shouldn't be a surprise. BONUS: there's full-color art in the books. Ugh, I'm so excited.

*quiet screaming*

- Rachel

Series Review: Throne of Glass

So two or three months ago, Rachel and I were talking, and I was telling her how I need to read more fantasy since most of the time in my own writing, I write fantasy. She remembered this series she started so many years ago on FictionPress that is now known as Throne of Glass. I was immediately intrigued by the summary, and little did I know this would quickly become probably one of my top five series (and have two of my favorite characters).

I’ll admit that initially reading Throne of Glass that I found it interesting but I wasn’t too sure I was loving it. I was definitely intrigued by the plot and Celaena was proving to be the start of an interesting character (although her arrogance got my nerves a little bit at first) and Chaol Westfall, ugh, do not talk to me about him. I just love him so much, okay.

After reading Throne of Glass, it was all downhill from there. I eagerly devoured Crown of Midnight and Heir of Fire, and this series has left me remembering why I like finding series that are already complete because I’M GOING TO DIE WAITING FOR QUEEN OF SHADOWS. The Assassin’s Blade, which contains the five accompanying novellas to the series, provide such an interesting look into what brought Celaena to the point where she was in Throne of Glass.

All of the characters are proving to be so complex, the plot is rich, and it’s written so beautifully. I highly recommend this series to anyone into fantasy or searching for a wonderfully written female protagonist. The first book may be a little hard to get through, but I really, really do think you’ll get hooked in Crown of Midnight.

- Yajaira

Waiting on Wednesday (2/18/15): A Court of Thorns and Roses

Breaking the Spine is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Expected publication date: May 5, 2015

From Goodreads:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

I've been devouring all of Sarah's Throne of Glass series lately and when I heard she was releasing a new series, I thought I'd give it a read to expand my fantasy boundaries (and have something to kill the time until the next Throne of Glass book comes out).

~Yajaira