1000 pages and two weeks of my life and I have finally finished this book. I could say series because let's be honest The Winds of Winter is just a title to a non existent book that will never hit shelves. I felt the same as when I finished the other 4 at the end, just wanting to pick up the next one and read about my favorite characters. There were some characters that could have been axed in my opinion like the Dornish Prince and others and Jaime could have had more than one chapter and the few chapters about Cersei just made me angry. Tyrion chapters were still my favorite and his adventures from Westeros to the Free Lands.
The one thing that I noticed more of and was a little annoyed with was all of the italicized thoughts that each character had. Now I need to watch the show. I still haven't gotten to the second season yet. I hopefully will be picking up the prequel Fire and Blood all about House Targaryen soon or sometime during the summer.
Happy Tuesday everyone. Who else is ready for Spring. I know I am. I am excited for Easter and my oldest daughter's birthday and my hubby's birthday and mother's day. I am extremely looking forward to all the books that I have planned to read in April and May. Thanks Jana for hosting Top Ten Tuesday.
1. Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi
2. The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker
3. Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee
4. Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley
5. The Purple Shroud by Stella Duffy
6. New World Rising by Jennifer Wilson
7. The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
8. Hum if You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais
9. Aru Shah and the City of Gold by Roshani Chokshi
Years ago, I won the fourth book in this series in a Goodreads giveaway. During these years, I never realized that it was part of a series until I was making my Buzzword reading challenge TBR and put the title into Goodreads just to make sure it was a stand alone. IT WAS NOT. But I didn't want to take it off my TBR because I then realized that if I didn't read it this year, I would never do it. So I got this book from the library which is the first in the series. I figured I would like it because I like the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva and I like James Bond.
Reading the first few chapters, I then realized that I would have a tough time getting through this. I thought about DNFing it but I was interested in all the super secret spy stuff. I just hate the main character. His name is Will Cochran and he is the Spartan in MI6. The Spartan program is just a one man show. He is the best of the best and that has inflated his ego big time. He thinks he is tough shit and is untouchable when in truth, he gets shot or grazed so many damn times and it is either his way or the highway. He goes over his superiors rules and he promises things to people that are not in his country. He promises a American passport to a war criminal.
The author is supposedly ex MI6 and knowledgeable in this field and I just don't think it qualifies him as a writer. I will be giving the sequel a read in May and I hope that the author has toned down the arrogance of the main character and actually make him a little tolerable.
I
am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the GOLDEN GATE by James Ponti Blog Tour
hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
In
this second installment in the New York Times bestselling series from
Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies returns for another
international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs.
Smith’s Spy School for Girls.
After
thwarting a notorious villain at an eco-summit in Paris, the City Spies are
gearing up for their next mission. Operating out of a base in Scotland, this
secret team of young agents working for the British Secret Intelligence
Service’s MI6 division have honed their unique skills, such as sleight of hand,
breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to
go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t.
Fourteen-year-old
Sydney is a surfer and a rebel from Bondi Beach, Australia. She’s also a field
ops specialist for the City Spies. Sydney is excited to learn that she’ll be
going undercover on the marine research vessel the Sylvia Earle. But things
don’t go exactly as planned, and while Sydney does find herself in the spotlight,
it’s not in the way she was hoping.
Meanwhile,
there’s been some new intel regarding a potential mole within the organization,
offering the spies a lead that takes them to San Francisco, California. But as
they investigate a spy who died at the Botanical Gardens, they discover that
they are also being investigated. And soon, they’re caught up in an adventure
filled with rogue missions and double agents!
PRAISE
FOR CITY SPIES:
A New
York Times bestseller! A GMA3 Summer Reading Squad Selection!
“Ingeniously plotted, and a grin-inducing delight.” —People
"A
page-turner suited to even the most reluctant readers." -
Publisher's Weekly
"A well-paced story laced with suspense, wit and entertaining
dialogue." - Booklist
"Cinematic and well-crafted." School Library Journal
“Will keep young readers glued to the page…So when do I get the sequel?” —Beth
McMullen, author of Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls
In
this new series James Ponti brings together five kids from all over the world
and transforms them into real-life spies.
Sara
Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care
system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead
of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile
detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of
time. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but
also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency.
Operating
out of a base in Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from various parts of
the world. When they’re not attending the local boarding school, they’re honing
their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering,
observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world
of espionage where adults can’t.
Before
she knows what she’s doing, Sarah is heading to Paris for an international
youth summit, hacking into a rival school’s computer to prevent them from
winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and
trying to stop a villain…all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team.
No
one said saving the world was easy…
GOLDEN
GATE BOOK TRAILER:
About James:
James Ponti
was born in Italy, raised in Florida, and went to college in California. After
receiving a degree in screenwriting from the USC Film School, he began a career
writing and producing television shows for the likes of Nickelodeon, Disney
Channel, PBS, Spike TV, History Channel, and Golf Channel. James loves writing,
travel, and the Boston Red Sox. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida.
This is a CinderFella story and I have this book ever since it showed up on my doorstep unsolicited. The cover is beautiful and underneath the dust jacket is the brightest neon pink I have ever seen and purple foil title on the spine. Going into this book, The only thing I knew was that this was a male male romance and they meet at a club.
Nate and Cameron are polar opposites. Just like Cinderella and Prince Charming. Nate is this edgy and fashion faux pau songwriter. He is grieving over his dad who committed suicide. He has a grudge against this rich family who owns the record company who his dad was signed with. Cameron is the son of the owner of Paradise Entertainment, the record label that Nate's dad was contracted with. Cameron is there to sign a band and Nate is out with his best friend Victor. Right away, Cameron spots Nate on the dance floor and instant attraction. They go outside and immediately sparks fly until Cameron's bodyguard blurts out his last name and Nate goes a complete 180 and is filled with hate and anger. As Nate is walking away from Cameron, Cameron takes a picture of Nate and the only thing that is visible are Nate's chuck taylors that have sharpie drawings.
This book had a lot of pop culture references. The whole time I was reading I was expecting Cameron to be the stereotypical douche bag rich boy that would backstab Nate and I was screaming at Nate when he signed a contract and didn't have a lawyer look it over. The stepmom wasn't the villain, but she was still a loser type.
I
am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the BETRAYER by Nicole Conway Blog Tour
hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the
giveaway!
The darkest secrets of Murdoc’s violent past may be
their last hope.
As pressure mounts to find the Tibran witch, Devana, Thatcher and his
companions struggle to regroup after discovering Phillip’s bitter betrayal.
Forced into hiding while they await a new plan of attack from Prince Judan's
network of spies, tensions rise and threaten to tear their company apart.
Murdoc knows every second they linger risks another attack from the vicious
Ulfrangar Assassins or Phillip, but Reigh is determined to stay and await new
instructions.
With two of his closest friends now locked in a battle of wills, Thatcher is
caught in the middle—until a surprise assault by the Ulfrangar drags him into
the darkest depths of their brutal order. Faced with a life-and-death race
against time, Murdoc is the only one who might be able to save him now. But for
Murdoc, taking up an assassin’s blade again to fight the same order that
trained him will also mean facing the worst demons of his past.
Can Murdoc finally rise above his bloody past and save his only friend? Or does
destiny have a new path in store for an assassin-turned-hero?
One boy must earn the trust of a blind dragon and
hunt down an elusive sorceress before she can rekindle the war that nearly
destroyed their world.
As the Kingdom of Maldobar emerges victorious from
the brutal invasion of the Tibran Empire, much of the land is left in utter
ruin. With his home destroyed and family gone, 16-year-old Thatcher Renley has
no one left to turn to. And when he’s mistaken for a Tibran soldier and
banished to a wartime prison camp, Thatcher knows his only hope for freedom
lies in appealing to Queen Jenna directly.
But getting out of the prison camp might be the
least of his worries— especially after he stumbles across a feral dragon locked
in an iron cell.
As far as dragons go, Fornax is a lost cause. The
battle that killed his rider also left him blind and too aggressive for any
knight to control. But Thatcher can’t deny feeling drawn to the beast. Does he
have what it takes to calm Fornax and join the proud ranks of Maldobar’s
dragonriders? Only time will tell. And with a bloodthirsty Tibran witch
threatening to rekindle the chaos of war, everyone’s time may be running out.
Review: Coming soon.
About
Nicole:
Nicole is an award-winning, #1 international
bestselling author from North Alabama. With a passion for relatable, authentic
characters and exciting, fast-paced plots, Nicole is best known for her series,
THE DRAGONRIDER CHRONICLES. Other published works include THE DRAGONRIDER
LEGACY SERIES, SPIRITS OF CHAOS SERIES, MAD MAGIC SAGA, and THE DRAGONRIDER
HERITAGE SERIES (Coming Winter 2020).
