Monthly Wrap-up | July 2017

 

Weekly Wrap-ups

Weekly Wrap-up | July.02.2017

Weekly Wrap-up | July.09.2017

Weekly Wrap-up | July.16.2017

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 Monthly Overview

This month I finished reading 4 books

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I read 1 books that were 2017 new releases

 

 

 

Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab

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I completed 1 series

 

Monsters of Verity series by Victoria Schwab

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I re-read 1 book

 

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

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I read 0 ARC

 

 

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My favorite read this month was …

 

 

Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab

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Monthly Book Haul

This month I purchased 16 new e-books

 

Hunted by Meagan Spooner

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Half a King (Shattered Sea #1) by Joe Abercrombie

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Foxhole Court (All for the Game #1) by Nora Sakavic

The Raven King (All for the Game #2) by Nora Sakavic

The King’s Men (All for the Game #3) by Nora Sakavic

The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight #1) by Melissa Grey

The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight #2) by Melissa Grey

The Invasion of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling #2) by Erika Johansen

Cage of Deceit (Reign of Secrets #1) by Jennifer Anne Davis

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1) by Victoria Rossi

A Song of Ice and Fire (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin

The Bear and the Nightingale (The Bear and the Nightingale #1) by Katherine Arden

Heartstone by Elle Katharine White

For Darkness Shows the Stars (For Darkness Shows the Stars #1) by Diana Peterfreund

 

This month I purchased 21 new hardcover books

This month I purchased 3 new paperback books

 

 

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August Outlook

July will be a Kindle Unlimited month for me so expect a lot of KU reads.

I will also be participating in a Throne of Glass series buddy read (continuing with Heir of Fire) with two of my favorite people and bloggers in the world Chelsea @ The Suspense is Thrilling Me (Check out her blog and most recent post!) and Solomon @ The Bookish King (check out his blog and most recent post!).

The Falling Kingdoms Fantasy League will be kicking off again with Gathering Darkness the first week of July.

I’ll be in Florida visiting family and enjoying the beach for the first week of this month, so I may be a little sporadic with my posting and with my reading but I will try to stay on track!

As always, I wish everyone a happy and enjoyable month!

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How many books did you read this month? What was your favorite read? What are you looking forward to in the upcoming month?

I would love to hear about your month as well! Comment below!

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Audiobook Monday | July.10.2017

Monday is the day I get my life together … cleaning the house, grocery shopping, you know … all the boring adulting type things. So needless to say … I don’t get a lot of reading time in. Luckily I have a bit of an obsession with audiobooks which happen to be the perfect way to read and adult at the same time! This is where I post about my audio-reads on Mondays when I can.

This Monday however, I will actually be heading back home from a week-long vacation in Florida (sigh … goodbye beautiful beaches … I will miss you!). So I will be spending at least 8 hours in the car and what better way to pass the time than audiobooks!

So, what am I listening to this Monday?

Weekly Wrap-up | July.02.2017

Weekly posts

Audiobook Monday | June.26.2017

Top 10 Tuesday | Top 10 Favorite Reads of 2017 So Far

I’ve Been Nominated | The Entertainer Blogger Award

WIP Wednesday | #Piratenovel

Top 5 Wednesday| Top 5 Ships I hate to love

Top 5 Wednesday | Top 5 Favorite Hate to Love Romances

Book Review | Warm Bodies

First Lines Friday | I squatted quietly on the sloped, tile roof of a bordello …

Monthly Wrap-up | June 2017

Saturday Morning Cartoons | Vol. 2

Most Anticipated Book Releases of July 2017

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Currently reading

The Copper Promise (The Copper Cat #1) by Jen Williams

I continued reading The Copper Promise. It got pushed to the backburner for a while but now I am focusing on it more. I just reached the 30% mark and it is a very interesting and enjoyable read. I love Wydrin and her snark. I love the brutal stuff … AND DRAGONS! So basically ALL GREAT THINGS! I am very much looking forward to reading more of this story over the following week.

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Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab

I listened up to about 60% of this exciting and heartfelt audiobook while stuck in traffic for 15 hours on my way to go on vacation. This book definitely has me HOOKED! Schwab is masterful in her writing and storytelling and this series has been no exception ❤

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Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J Maas

I started this book a while ago when I finished Crown of Midnight. Unfortunately, I was not feeling it at the time so this book was moved to the backburner … and then into the currently reading list of forgetfulness.

But this week I re-started this book with a buddy read group and I am looking forward to getting back into this world.

 

 

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Water’s Wrath (Air Awakens #4) by Elise Kova

I really enjoyed the first 3 books of this series but then I had to give up my Kindle Unlimited for a few months. Well I’m back and I’m looking forward to diving back into this world and seeing what my favorite characters are going to be up to this time!

I know a lot of people who put this book down after it “pissed them off” a little ways in … so I’m a bit worried.

 

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Finished Reading

Hearts Are Like Balloons by Candace Robinson

This book was provided to me by the author Candace Robinson in exchange for review. This book was emotional and had some really great moments. The relationship was enjoyable. Although I had some issues with this book in the end, I thought it was a decent contemporary debut for this author. I ended up rating this 3/5 stars.

 

 

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 Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

This book was everything I wanted it to be when I picked up this super hyped contemporary! Let’s be honest … I haven’t had the best of luck with contemporaries as of late. I also have not had super good luck with hyped books in general. So … I was a little worried.

NO NEED TO WORRY THOUGH BECAUSE THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING! It was so beautiful and intricate and heartfelt and heartbreaking and heartwarming. A great read and a solid 5/5 stars.

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Weekly Outlook

This next week I will be finishing up a few things on my Currently Reading list and adding a whole lot of new reads to the list! I am buddy-reading Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J Maas (FINALLY!) with the lovely Chelsea @ The Suspense is Thrilling Me (Check out her blog and most recent post!) and Solomon @ The Bookish King (check out his blog and most recent post!).

The Falling Kingdoms Fantasy League will be starting with Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3) this week.

I will be adding my bookish bestie to the blog as a guest reviewer soon which should be great! She reads more contemporary books while I tend to sway more toward the fantasy genre. I think this will be an awesome new partnership and allow me to get more reviews up on the blog in both genres. We also have a new idea for a fun conversation style buddy read review feature.

I’ll be Florida this week so I might be a little more sporadic in my posting through next week. But I will try to stay on track 🙂

As always, I wish everyone a happy and enjoyable week!

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What books are you currently reading? What books did you recently finish reading? What do you have planned for the upcoming week?

I would love to hear about your week as well! Comment below!

Saturday Morning Cartoons | Vol. 2

 

Saturday Morning Cartoons is a new feature created here at A Thousand Lives of Frankie Lovely. In this post I will be featuring the new Comics, Manga, Graphic Novels etc. that I recently read, am currently reading and/or am looking forward to.

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Newly Discovered!

Ava’s Demon by Michelle Czajkowski

Copyright Michelle Czajkowski | author, illustrator and creator of the web comic Ava’s Demon

Copyright Michelle Czajkowski | author, illustrator and creator of the web comic Ava’s Demon

Ok so I just recently read Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia and NEEDED Monstrous Sea to be a thing … for real!

Lo and behold … I stumbled upon a blog post mentioning this amazing web comic called Ava’s Demon which might just satisfy my need!

Seriously, check it out! The art is amazing and creator Michelle Czajkowski says the story HAS AN ENDING … which is always good to know lol.

New pages are posted every Thursday and it is shaping up to be a really fun adventure. I am loving it!

CHECK IT OUT!

 

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Currently Reading

Wires and Nerve Vol. 1 (Wires and Nerve #1) by Marissa Meyer (author), Douglas Holgate (illustrations)

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published January 31st 2017

This is repetitive because I put this one on the backburner when I had a million books to get though over the past few weeks.

Going to try and curl up with this one all the way through tonight I think (seeing as how my library loan is over tomorrow … oops)

LUNAR CHRONICLES IS LIFE omg! So when I heard that Meyer was working on a graphic novel featuring one of my all time favorite book casts … I FREAKED! In a good way!

Unfortunately the waiting list for this GN was outrageous at my library so I had to wait! BUT NO LONGER BECAUSE I AM HERE! And it is glorious my friends ❤

I only just started this one but I am already giggling like a child because I LOVE THEM SO SO SO MUCH!

(Goodreads synopsis):

“In her first graphic novel, bestselling author Marissa Meyer extends the world of the Lunar Chronicles with a brand-new, action-packed story about Iko, the android with a heart of (mechanized) gold. When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers’ leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the bestselling series.”

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On The TBR

Jyu-Oh-Sei Vol. 1 (Jyu_Oh-Sei #1) by Natsumi Itsuki

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this is going to be my first venture into the world of Manga. After reaching out to Dani @ Perspective of a Writer because of her Top 10 Tuesday: Manga Series To Start post, she listed this series as one she would recommend I try. So I bought all 3 volumes (because I have no chill) and can’t wait to get started! The story sounds fantastic so I am expecting great things here. I am hoping to get to these when I get back from vacation around the end of this upcoming week.

(Goodreads synopsis):

“Inspired by the anime. In the year 2436 A.D., twins Thor and Rai are living on the Space Colony Juno space station. Their entire lives turn upside-down after their parents are murdered and they are kidnapped and sent to a forsaken planet by masked men. Young adult.“

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What are your favorite graphic novels, manga series, ect? Also I am always open to suggestions and recommendations if anyone has any? I would love to hear from you! Comment below!

Monthly Wrap-up | June 2017

 

Weekly Wrap-ups

Weekly Wrap-up | June.25.2017

Weekly Wrap-up | June.17.2017

Weekly Wrap-up | June.10.2017

Weekly Wrap-up | June.02.2017

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 Monthly Overview

This month I finished reading 12 books

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I read 6 books that were 2017 new releases

 

Roar (Stormhearts #1) by Cora Carmack

A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J. Maas

The Black Witch (Black Witch Chronicles #1) by Laurie Forest

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Nenon

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas

 

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I completed 1 series

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

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I re-read 1 book

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab

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I read 1 ARC

Hearts are Like Balloons by Candace Robinson

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My favorite read this month was …

 

Roar (Stormheart #1) by Cora Carmack

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Monthly Book Haul

This month I purchased 4 new e-books

A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

Furies of Cauldron (Codex Alera #1) by Jim Butcher

The Last Kingdom (The Savon Stories #1) by Bernard Cornwell

Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault (Glass Vault #1) by Candace Robinson

This month I purchased two new hardcover books

Roar (Stormheart #1) by Cora Carmack

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

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July Outlook

July will be a Kindle Unlimited month for me so expect a lot of KU reads.

I will also be participating in a Throne of Glass series buddy read (continuing with Heir of Fire) with two of my favorite people and bloggers in the world Chelsea @ The Suspense is Thrilling Me (Check out her blog and most recent post!) and Solomon @ The Bookish King (check out his blog and most recent post!).

The Falling Kingdoms Fantasy League will be kicking off again with Gathering Darkness the first week of July.

I’ll be in Florida visiting family and enjoying the beach for the first week of this month, so I may be a little sporadic with my posting and with my reading but I will try to stay on track!

As always, I wish everyone a happy and enjoyable month!

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How many books did you read this month? What was your favorite read? What are you looking forward to in the upcoming month?

I would love to hear about your month as well! Comment below!

Weekly Wrap-up | June.25.2017

Weekly posts

Audiobook Monday | June.19.2017

Book Review | Roar

Book Review | Wuthering Heights

Top 10 Tuesday | Top 10 Series I’ve Been Meaning To Start But Haven’t

Book Review | Hush, Hush

Roar | Why I Loved the Romance

Book Review | Fangirl

I’ve Been Nominated | Blogger Recognition Award

Book Review | Nerve

First Lines Friday | I wait for the police in the study …

Book Review | Storm Siren

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Currently reading

The Copper Promise (The Copper Cat #1) by Jen Williams

I continued reading The Copper Promise. It got pushed to the backburner for a while but now I am focusing on it more. I just reached the 30% mark and it is a very interesting and enjoyable read. I love Wydrin and her snark. I love the brutal stuff … AND DRAGONS! So basically ALL GREAT THINGS! I am very much looking forward to reading more of this story over the following week.

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Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab

I literally JUST started this book! I finished a re-read of This Savage Song a few days ago and I am so ready for this book to tear me apart in all the best ways! Schwab is masterful in her writing and storytelling and this series has been no exception ❤

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Hearts Are Like Balloons by Candace Robinson

I was provided a copy of this book by author Candace Robinson and so far so good. This book starts out with a very personal and heart wrenching story of loss that had me literally tearing up. I am just at the half-way mark on this story now. I am really looking forward to reading the rest of this story over the next couple of days. AND LOOK AT THAT ADORIBLE COVER ❤

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Wires and Nerve Vol. 1 (Wires and Nerve #1) by Marissa Meyer

I haven’t had the time to really commit to this one yet, but I have read through a few pages and flipped through the artwork. I MISS THESE KIDS SO MUCH! I have a feeling this graphic novel is going to have me re-reading The Lunar Chronicles in no time!

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Finished Reading

This Savage Song (Mosters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab

The was a re-read in anticipation for Our Dark Duet! The first time I read this book I didn’t love it. I felt like it was lacking in that indescribable something. However, this time around had me questioning myself pretty hard because I LOVED IT! I was able to feel and experience moments I didn’t even remember from my first read through! After my first read I rated this a 3/5 stars. After my second and most recent read, I rated this 5/5 stars! I also have to mention that this series has now been entered into my BEST AUDIOBOOKS list for recommendations.

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 The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

This was my second attempt at a Kasie West book and … well … meh. I still havn’t found that perfect KW book that pulls me in and has me feeling the feels … so maybe it’s just not for me. Her books are sweet but they read a little too young for me? I don’t know. Anyway this one ended up being a 3/5 stars rating from me. It was enjoyable but sort of bland and I had an issue with the overabundance of the word “rich” and the prejudice the MC related to the term. If there had been a bit less of this, I feel like I would have enjoyed this book a lot more.

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Weekly Outlook

This next week I will be finishing up a few things on my Currently Reading list and adding a whole lot of new reads to the list! I will be starting a buddy-read of Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J Maas (FINALLY!) with the lovely Chelsea @ The Suspense is Thrilling Me (Check out her blog and most recent post!) and Solomon @ The Bookish King (check out his blog and most recent post!).

I also look forward to posting a lot of new reviews! I will be adding my bookish bestie to the blog as a guest reviewer soon which should be great! She reads more contemporary books while I tend to sway more toward the fantasy genre. I think this will be an awesome new partnership and allow me to get more reviews up on the blog in both genres. We also have a new idea for a fun conversation style buddy read review feature.

I’ll be Florida bound this Friday so I might be a little more sporadic in my posting starting then through the following week. But I will try to stay on track 🙂

As always, I wish everyone a happy and enjoyable week!

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What books are you currently reading? What books did you recently finish reading? What do you have planned for the upcoming week?

I would love to hear about your week as well! Comment below!

Saturday Morning Cartoons | Vol. 1

Saturday Morning Cartoons is a new feature created here at A Thousand Lives of Frankie Lovely. In this post I will be featuring the new Comics, Manga, Graphic Novels etc. that I recently read, am currently reading and/or am looking forward to.

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Recently Read

Sons of Ares (Sons of Ares #1) by Pierce brown (other credits in synopsis)

It’s no secret … I am RED RISING TRASH and everybody knows it! Pierce Brown is brilliant truly, so I was crazy excited when I saw that he was releasing a prequel to his Red Rising series and in graphic novel form no less!

The art is this is absolutely stunning! And the story was BRUTAL which I love ❤ … but this GN was SHORT! In fact I am going to hold off on even rating this until I have read all the volumes because IT WAS SOOOO SHORT! I also really hope eventually Brown decides to release a physical edition of all three volumes because I like to own the art on my bookshelf please. I am not a fan of the Kindle only thing.

Note! This prequel should be read only after the Red Rising trilogy to avoid major spoilers!

(Goodreads synopsis *possible Red Rising series spoilers*)

“In the future, when mankind has spread across the stars, the hierarchy of man is dictated by the color of one’s caste. The Golds rule all, but what will happen when one falls for a lowly Red? See how a forbidden love will set the course of events for the future and lead to the formation of the formidable Sons of Ares!

Written by author Pierce Brown (The Red Rising Trilogy) and Rik Hoskin (Heroes of Skyrealm, Brandon Sanderson’s White Sand), with art by Eli Powell (Yakuza Demon Killers, The 13th Artifact), comes the in-continuity story of revolution and Red Rising!”

Seven Deadly Sins | Book Tag

Woohoo! Ok so I am such a book tag lover it’s not even funny! So I was excited to be tagged for this one by Destiny @ Howling Libraries (check her out!). I was able to track this one down to a video that is no longer live so unfortunately … I will not be able to link to the creator of this tag. Sorry!

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GREED: What are your most expensive and inexpensive books?

Expensive

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1) by Laini Taylor

This book is probably one of the most expensive book splurges on my shelf … mainly because I insisted on preordering the signed UK cover version and paid quite a bit more for overseas shipping. BUT LOOK AT IT!!! IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

Inexpensive

My least expensive would be one of the many free Kindle books I own or ARCs provided my publishers or authors. I’m just choosing one at random here to highlight … how about …

The Midnight Sea (The Fourth Element #1) by Kat Ross

Which was a free Kindle book at the time (actually as far as I know it still is) and I plan to read this one soon! I have actually seen some really good reviews.

This is My Truth Now | Book Tag

I have been tagged by James @ This is My Truth – blogger and creator of this super fun tag – to participate is his awesome Truth-or-Dare themed book tag!

Rules

• Create your own new post and call it “Tag: This-Is-My-Truth-Now” and be sure to include in your tags the words — without quotes — “ThisIsMyTruthNow Tag”
• Be sure to mention the person who tagged you and maybe tell everyone something interesting about the person who tagged you.
• Include a link to the original post (https://thisismytruthnow.com/2017/05/31/tag-this-is-my-truth-now/) mentioning the creator of this tag (James @ This is My Truth) so we can see how many people choose to play along.
• Choose 12 bloggers to tag and include a link to their latest post, so others can check them out and meet new people.
• Answer all 12 questions in The Challenge Questions section, but replace the 12th question with your own new one around telling the truth or revealing something interesting about yourself — you can leave the existing if you can’t think of something. (comment your answers to my question below before you change and post)
• Make sure to add your own DARE to your tagged guests at the bottom of the post!
• If you haven’t been tagged, but you want to play along, you can totally jump on in and post responses to the tag on your blog.
• Include these rules when you copy/paste to your own post.

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TRUTH: Answer the challenge questions as truthful as possible!

OR

DARE: If you choose not to accept the tag, you have to follow through on whatever dare the person who tags you chooses

The DARE given to me is to re-read [within the next 30 days] the book that has the lowest rating of all the books you’ve read in the last five (5) years.

Nope! No way I’m suffering through that!

So here is my TRUTH: