OWLCRATE: SEPTEMBER 2018, OCTOBER 2018, & NOVEMBER 2018

I have slacked off on these posts but I do unbox them over on my YouTube channel Kelly Lyn. These boxes have been so much fun to unbox and I don't see my self stopping my subscription any time soon. The girls look forward to these boxes every month.

SEPTEMBER 2018: Ghosts & Ghoulies

When this box was announced, Owlcrate mentioned that the book for the month was from one of their favorite authors and right away, I knew what book would be included and also the theme gave the book away. I was looking forward to this box more than Addy.

As I am writing this post, the cover was revealed for the 2nd book in this series and I am in love. I guessed that it would take place in the Paris Catacombs and the cover does not disappoint. 

OCTOBER 2018: Mail Call

To be honest, I was not a big fan of this theme, but Ariana loved it. She got a bigger coin purse that she desperately needed. I was going to get her a bigger one from an online shop that I found, but then she got this stamp one and loved it. The one thing I liked that was included in this box were the special delivery stationary and Owlcrate also included their address for their subscribers to send letters. I thought that was really heartwarming. We are also reading this book and it is about impossible places and trolls and delivering packages.  This box was free because Samantha won the coloring contest on Instagram and she gifted this box to Ariana for her birthday.

NOVEMBER 2018: Intergalactic Adventure

When this theme was announced, Ariana had a fit because she is obsessed with space and wants to be an astronaut. This box went to Sammy and Sammy was in love with this box because Owlcrate included their very first graphic novel and when we got done with our video, she crawled into her bed and started reading it and was finished with it in two days. Since they included a graphic novel, they also included another book. It was a paperback and a backlist title. I was excited because this second book was written by Wendy Mass, and we read our first Wendy Mass book earlier in the school year, which is one of Ariana's favorite books, A Mango Shaped Space.

Review: Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

I have had my eye on this book ever since I heard about it on Booktube. I have the opportunity to read an ARC of the sequel Lady Smoke this month thanks to a blog tour company. The review for the second book will be posted next Friday, January 18th.

I flew through this book. It is a fascinating and gripping fantasy that reminded me a lot of Children of Blood and Bone. We follow a girl named "Thora". Her true name is Theodosia (if you start singing along to Hamilton in your head, you are not alone.) Her country was overpowered by a kingdom who enslave the natives and use up all natural resources before moving on to another country.

The country that this book is settled in is called Astrea and it was taken over by the Kalovaxians. Thora's mother was the Fire Queen of Astrea and she had her throat slit in front of Thora when she was six years old. For ten years, she has been under the Kaiser rules. Whenever there is a riot by the enslaved Astreans, she gets whipped for it. When there are banquet and balls or public functions, she is made to wear an ash crown to be humiliated even further.

I read this book in two days, it was a quick read but I did feel a bit bored in some of the chapter and I was dreading one chapter because of how many pages, when in actuality, it read super quick. Some of the chapters could have been shortened and some of the repetitiveness could have been left out after 2-3 mentions in every subsequent chapter.

But overall, I give this a 5 out of 5 at the moment.

January TBR

Starting my year off with the TBR choices for the month of January. I have already read two and I highly enjoyed them. Two of them are blog tour spots coming later this month. I did want to read 1 non fiction and 1 classic a month, but I am going with 2 non fiction this month, so I will balance it out with two classics next month. I am also taking part in the Buzzword read a thon round 2 that is taking place on January 14th through January 20th. The buzzword for this round is "lie", so I will be reading One Of Us Is Lying that week. 

Review: Walking The Americas by Levison Wood

My first read of 2019. A couple years ago, I watched this man in a documentary on Animal Planet. That documentary was called Walking the Nile. I was fascinated by how many miles he walked, the dangerous countries he bravely walked across and just seeing him make it to the Mediterranean Ocean was amazing. I have kept up with his adventures over the years and finally decided to pick up this third book written by him. He is a fascinating and well thought story teller. He puts his emotions into his writing and he can make it feel like you are actually walking along right beside him.

When it came to the parts where he was stopped by the police, or border security officers or drug cartel members, my heart almost stopped. I know that he made it through alive or the book probably would have never seen the light of day. It was fun reading about his journey with Alberto who was freaking hilarious.

I am watching the documentary of this journey now and the humor and sarcasm that Alberto brought to this walk was the best part besides learning about the regions that they walked through.

2019 Anticipated Books TBR

I did a video on my most anticipated releases of 2019 and I am still super excited about these books, plus the covers are beautiful so I can't not do a blog post on these books.

DECEMBER 2018 WRAP UP

I read 10 books to end the year and I did great. I read 107 books last year. Some of these books I really enjoyed and then one of them ended up on my worst books of 2018 list as a least favorite and not a full on hated it.

G.I. Brides by Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi

2. Last Star Burning by Caitlin Sangster

3. Shatter the Suns by Caitlin Sangster

4. Willow Bloom and the Dream Keepers by E.V. Farrell

5. Deadfall by Stephen Wallenfels

6. Love a la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm

7. Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton

8. Slayer by Kiersten White

9. Grump by Liesl Shurtliff

10. Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus

BLOG TOUR: Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus

I am super excited to help Rockstar Book Tours kick off a month long tour for Karen M. McManus' 2nd novel. It hits stores in one week!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Title: TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET 

Author: Karen McManus

Pub. Date: January 8, 2019

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 336

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Audible,  B&N, iBooks, TBD

Summary: Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.

The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone's declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.

Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous--and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself.

Review: Prom Night meets Mean Girls! We follow twins Ellery and Ezra moving across the country to stay with their grandmother after their mother heads to rehab for driving into a store while under the influence. She herself was also a twin and her sister went missing right after homecoming their senior year of high school. A few years before Ellery and Ezra move to town, another popular town beauty is found murdered at the town local attraction formerly known as Murderland renamed Fright Farm.

It has the classic prom night killer and the mean girl attitude of a very look forward high school tradition. 

About Karen:

As a kid I used to write books when I was supposed to be playing outside, and not much has changed. I'm a marketing and communications professional who also writes Young Adult contemporary and fantasy fiction in Cambridge, MA.

When not writing or working I love to travel, and along with my nine-year old son I've ridden horses in Colombia and bicycles through Paris. A member of SCBWI, I hold a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of the Holy Cross and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northeastern University. Which I have never, ever used professionally.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET, US Only.

Rafflecopter link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba2873/?

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/1/2019- Lifestyle of Me- Review

1/2/2019- Paper Reader- Review

1/3/2019- Adventures Thru Wonderland- Review

1/4/2019- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

Week Two:

1/7/2019- Pink Polka Dot Books- Review

1/8/2019- Do You Dog-ear?- Review

1/9/2019- Adventures and Reading- Review

1/10/2019- The Phantom Paragrapher- Review

1/11/2019- Book Dragon Lair- Review

Week Three:

1/14/2019- A Gingerly Review- Review

1/15/2019- Confessions of a YA Reader- Review

1/16/2019- Sweet Southern Home- Review

1/17/2019- Simply Daniel Radcliffe- Review

1/18/2019- The Hermit Librarian- Review

Week Four:

1/21/2019- Smada's Book Smack- Review

1/22/2019- Owl always Be Reading- Review

1/23/2019- BookHounds YA- Review

1/24/2019- Popthebutterfly Reads- Review

1/25/2019- Eli to the nth- Review

Week Five:

1/28/2019- The Clever Reader- Review

1/29/2019- All the Ups and Downs- Review

1/30/2019- Two Points of Interest- Review

1/31/2019- EatingbetweenthelinesINC- Review