Nocturna by Maya Motayne: Epic Reads' Official Book Trailer

Here's Epic Reads' official book trailer for Nocturna (Book #1 in the Forgery of Magic trilogy) by Maya Motayne, which comes out on May 7th. I absolutely love this trailer, and this book sounds very interesting to me! I'm so excited to read this book! 😀

Book Haul: End of March Book Purchase

Here's a book that I bought at the end of March when it was released in stores on March 27th.

I meant to post a picture on Tuesday, but I was really busy that day, and I forgot. My copy of @tessa.gratton’s new book, The Queens of Innis Lear came in the mail this Tuesday. I’m only on chapter seven, but I’m absolutely loving this book so far. 😀 I originally heard about this book when I watched video that @thoughtsontomes posted on her BookTube (YouTube) channel where she mentions this book. I’ve been a huge fan of Shakespeare’s work ever since I read Romeo and Juliet in my ninth grade English class, and I’m also big fan of Game of Thrones, so as soon as I heard that this book was somewhat of a retelling of Shakespeare’s play King Lear, while also being compared to Game of Thrones, I knew that I definitely had to buy this book. My favorite character so far is definitely The Fox A.K.A. Ban. 😀 Given the fact that I’m really enjoying this book so far, I’m very excited to see how everything ultimately plays out. 😀 #bookstagram #bookhaul #bookaholic #bookaddict #bookblogger #bookblog #booktube #thequeensofinnislear #tessagratton #kinglear #williamshakespeare #gameofthrones

A post shared by Taylor Madison Street (@tmswriter6) on Mar 29, 2018 at 7:52am PDT

Book Featured in this Post:


The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

OwlCrate Unboxing: February 2017 (Run away with the Circus)

Here's what I got in my February 2017 OwlCrate box, which came in the mail today. The theme for February's box is "Run away with the Circus".

My February @owlcrate box came in the mail today, and I absolutely love it! While I really like red version of the Night Circus themed tote bag that some people received, I definitely like the black version of the tote bag more, so I'm thrilled that I got a black tote bag. I absolutely love the note pad that's made out of recycled playing cards. I think the candle smells great. 😀 As someone who mostly listens to audiobooks, I love that they included a free download code for the audiobook of Caraval. I really hope that OwlCrate does that again in the future. While I'm always excited to get my OwlCrate box, the wait for this month's box was especially brutal since I had originally planned on getting a copy of @stephanie_garber's Caraval the day it was released (1/31) so I could read and review it right away, but when OwlCrate announced the theme for the February box, I knew that I was going to have to change my plans. I'll definitely start reading it very soon now that I finally own a copy of Caraval. 😀 This is definitely another fantastic OwlCrate box. 😀 #owlcrate #bookstagram #bookhaul #bookworm #bookaddict #bookaholic #caraval #stephaniegarber #thenightcircus

A post shared by Taylor Glissman (@tmswriter6) on Feb 18, 2017 at 1:26pm PST

Plans start at $29.99, plus shipping. The people who run OwlCrate are all very nice, and they’re really great at answering any questions that people may have about OwlCrate on Twitter, or via email. I highly recommend subscribing to OwlCrate, especially if you’re a fan of YA books. If you’re interested in learning more about OwlCrate, or subscribing to it, you can check out their website here. For the record, I wasn’t asked by the people who run OwlCrate to promote their business on my blog; I’m only mentioning OwlCrate here because I really love OwlCrate a lot, especially now that I’m mostly reviewing books for my blog instead of TV shows. 

Finally, in case you’re unaware, I've reviewed Jeff Zentner’s debut novel, The Serpent King, which was OwlCrate’s book of the month for March of last year when the theme was "Writer’s Block". I've also reviewed P.S. I Like You by Kasie West, which was the book of the month for August of last year when the theme was "Fast Times at Y.A. High".

OwlCrate Unboxing: January 2017 (Classic Remix)

Here's what I got in my January 2017 OwlCrate box, which came in the mail today. The theme for January's box is "Classic Remix".

My January @owlcrate box came in the mail today, and I love it! 😊 Out of all the items that came in this month's box, my favorite thing is definitely the tea from First Edition Tea Co. 😀 I've never been much of a tea drinker in the past, but the tea from the November Wonderland themed OwlCrate box is definitely turning me into a tea fan (I still have some bags of that tea left). I can't wait to try this tea. 😀 I also love the soap, and the watercolor bookmark. OwlCrate definitely includes really cool bookmarks in their boxes. I'm beyond excited about the book: RoseBlood by A.G. Howard. I'm huge fan of retellings of fairy tales and classic stories, so I'm really excited to read Howard's take on The Phantom of the Opera. OwlCrate has once again put together a fantastic box. I love OwlCrate so much. 😘 #owlcrate #bookstagram #bookhaul #bookworm #bookaddict #bookaholic #thephantomoftheopera #roseblood #aghoward @firsteditiontea

A photo posted by Taylor Glissman (@tmswriter6) on Jan 20, 2017 at 3:31pm PST

Plans start at $29.99, plus shipping. The people who run OwlCrate are all very nice, and they’re really great at answering any questions that people may have about OwlCrate on Twitter, or via email. I highly recommend subscribing to OwlCrate, especially if you’re a fan of YA books. If you’re interested in learning more about OwlCrate, or subscribing to it, you can check out their website here. For the record, I wasn’t asked by the people who run OwlCrate to promote their business on my blog; I’m only mentioning OwlCrate here because I really love OwlCrate a lot, especially now that I’m mostly reviewing books for my blog instead of TV shows. 

Finally, in case you’re unaware, I've reviewed Jeff Zentner’s debut novel, The Serpent King, which was OwlCrate’s book of the month for March of last year when the theme was "Writer’s Block". I've also reviewed P.S. I Like Youby Kasie West, which was the book of the month for August of last year when the theme was "Fast Times at Y.A. High".

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book #1 in the A Court of Thorns and Roses Saga) by Sarah J. Maas

Right off the bat, I’d like to start off this review by mentioning that A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book by Sarah J. Maas that I’ve ever read, and Maas definitely made a phenomenal first impression with this book. It has been a goal of mine to read at least one of Sarah J. Maas’ books for about a year now, since I’ve heard a lot of great things about her books from people on BookTube. The reason I chose to start with A Court of Thorns and Roses, instead of her book, Throne of Glass, is due the fact that A Court of Thorns and Roses is very loosely based on the story of Beauty and the Beast, and I’m a HUGE fan of fairytale retellings. Once Upon a Time and Grimm are two of my favorite TV shows, I love the movie Into the Woods, and I’m also a huge fan of Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series. As for A Court of Thorns and Roses being somewhat of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I thought that this book was a very clever take on the story.

The overall pacing of the plot of the book was definitely handled very well, in my opinion. The book starts on a very interesting note, and I thought that Maas did a great job of not taking forever for the plot of the book to really get moving after Feyre kills what she thought was a wolf, but was actually a faerie in disguise, and unwittingly breaking the treaty that exists between the humans and the faeries by doing so. When a wolf faerie shows up at her family’s home, demanding retribution for Feyre killing the wolf faerie, she chooses to willingly go live with Tamlin, who’s the High Lord of the Spring Court, at his manor for the rest of her life, as payment for breaking the treaty.

Now that I’m an adult, when it comes to the story of Beauty and the Beast, there’s always been a part of me that has felt compelled to make jokes about the relationship between Belle and the Beast, and her falling in love with him being a case of Stockholm syndrome. That being said, I honestly can’t say the same thing about Maas’ writing for the relationship between Feyre and Tamlin. There’s definitely quite a bit of tension between the two of them when Feyre first comes to live with Tamlin, but I still feel like he acted fairly civil and accommodating towards her. I really like the fact that at the beginning of the book, when Feyre is first getting to know Tamlin, it’s clear that she has come to believe a lot of lies and misconceptions about faeries that she was probably raised to believe. I found that initial tension between the two of them rather interesting, and I felt like Maas handled the progression and evolution of their relationship throughout the book very well. Feyre and Tamlin’s relationship definitely isn’t a case of insta-love. Personally, I think that’s great to see, because a lot of YA and New Adult books seem to be plagued with cases of insta-love, which is pretty much always beyond frustrating. In my opinion, the relationship between Bella and Edward from the Twilight series is one of the worst cases of insta-love that I’ve ever encountered, but I digress.

Empire of Storms: Sarah J. Maas book signing Q & A @ Fenton, MO Barnes & Noble

Here's a Q & A panel that Sarah J. Maas did at an Empire of Storms book signing at a Barnes & Noble in Fenton, Missouri. The panel was moderated by YouTube personality, Jesse the Reader. I actually haven't read any of Maas' books yet, but I'm hoping to read the first two books in her A Court of Thorns and Roses series fairly soon. I'm also planning to check out her Throne of Glass series at some point as well. This video is the first time I've ever watched Sarah J. Maas do an interview, and I have to say that she sounds like a really fun and interesting person. Watching this Q & A definitely got me even more excited to read Maas' books than I already was. :)