Today on the blog, I have a spotlight for our 14th place finisher in last year’s Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA)! Mercury’s Shadow by P.J. Garcin is a science fiction that fought its way through tough competition to make it to the finals. I didn’t get a chance to read it, myself, but it certainly sounds like an adventure! But, before I tell you more about this novel, let me tell you about BBNYA.
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter @bbnya_official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.
Now, let’s get to today’s spotlight!
Title: Mercury’s Shadow
Author: P.J. Garcin
Publication date: July 5th, 2020
Publisher: Rawktron Productions
Length: 308 pages
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Action Adventure
I have another wonderful tour post for you today hosted by The Write Reads. Today, I’ll be sharing my review for a young adult fantasy that features five boys with super senses: The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses by K.N. Smith!
Before I get further into my review, though, I have people to thank. First, thank you to Dave @ The Write Reads and all of the crew for giving me a spot on this tour! Second, thank you to the author for providing me with a free copy of the book so that I could participate. It is, as always, appreciated 😊
And, one last thing, the author is running a giveaway in conjunction with this tour! If you would like to enter to win an e-gift card, just click here.
Now, let’s get to my post!
Title: The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses
Author: K.N. Smith
Publication date: September 29th, 2015
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Thriller
Age group: Young Adult
Content/Trigger Warnings: Violence, blood, attempted kidnapping, loss of a parent, mentions of alcoholism
“A captivating and poetic tale of mystery, fantasy, and reality tied together by action!” 5-stars, Lars Jackson, Amazon Customer
A suspenseful incident in a forbidden preserve heightens the senses of five friends. Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell become super-gifts that forever change the world. But furious battles confront the boys as they try to understand their sensory super powers in a race to save mankind. With light beings and mysterious strangers complicating their plight, can the boys defeat the evil Druth before it’s too late? Get prepared for the twisting and grinding of this award-winning, action-adventure story — an edge-of-your-seat narrative for young and mature readers alike.
It’s time for a new round of Down the TBR Hole! This is where I go through my Goodreads ‘Want to Read’ shelf and do a bit of cleaning up. If you want to see the full description of what this post is all about, check out my first round HERE.
Hello, reader!
It’s been a moment since I’ve done another round of Down the TBR Hole. And, surprise of all surprises, my Goodreads Want to Read shelf has actually reduced in number since the last time I did this post! I was at 721 books at the end of last round and I’ll be starting this one with 719 books on the TBR. This almost never happens because I have no self control, haha. I would like to contribute that to the fact I read quite a few books off my backlist last month. Of course, with the amount of books off my backlist I read, that number should have gone down way more… but remember how I said I have no self control? Haha… yeah 😅
Anyways! Let’s see if I can trim this list down a little bit more.
Extropia by Robin Bootle
I have no recollection of adding this book whatsoever, haha. The cover is cool, though, so that’s probably how it ended up on my TBR. Reading the synopsis, it’s about a boy that must save his father who has become stuck in a virtual reality realm named Extropia. And that sounds right up my alley! It’s also a standalone, which means I won’t be committing series.
Verdict: Keep
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Yup, I have yet to give this very popular YA series a try. I dunno… I’ve never been particularly drawn to fae stories. I’ve only read one Holly Black book and it was alright, nothing that made me eager to read her other work. I think the only reason this stays on my TBR is because of the hype. Honestly, though… I’m not feeling it anymore.
Verdict: Remove
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
This is one of those books I remember adding to my TBR but kind of forgot about in the shuffle of newer, shinier books. That being said, I’m still very interested in this series. I think the concept of three magical sisters having to fight over one crown is fascinating. Perhaps they’ll turn on whoever made up that stupid rule and kill them, instead 😂
It’s my pleasure to bring you another spotlight for a blog tour sponsored by The Write Reads! The book I’m featuring today is a compelling contemporary that is partially based on the author’s own life experiences. These Walls Were Never Really There by Bryan Blears sounds riveting and I can’t wait to tell you more about it.
First, I want to thank Dave @ The Write Reads and all the folks behind the scenes for allowing me to participate in this tour. It’s always fun discovering new reads, even if I’m too busy to read them right this second. And I do love promoting books and authors ❤
It’s time for another WWW Wednesday! This is a bookish meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words where bloggers answer the 3 Ws:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
If you’d like to learn more about any of these books, click on the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page.
Current Reads
Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke: I’ve been doing quite a bit of blog tours lately and I’m reading this book for yet another one! This will be with TBR & Beyond Toursand I’m excited to get to read it. It’s a young adult fantasy with intrigue and hints at a possibly sapphic relationship. It sounds like it’ll be a great time, but I’ve barely just started it. I’ll let you know all my thoughts and feelings soon!
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie: I am now firmly in an Agatha Christie kick, thanks solely to my wonderful buddy group within The Write Reads gang! We’ve planned a fairly chill readalong of all the Poirot books in order, though the first book has already been read by quite a few of them. This is me catching up! So far, I’m enjoying this book quite a bit. Poirot is a such a singular and dynamic character that I can’t help getting caught up in his investigations.
The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!
Hello, reader!
It’s been a minute since I’ve done a Book Blogger Hop. As in, I haven’t done one since October 😅 But, when I read the question for this week, I knew I wanted to join in! You’ll see why in a moment.
This Week’s Question
Do you have any bookish ornaments on your Christmas tree?
I’ve probably mentioned this before, but Hamlet is my all-time favorite Shakespeare play. I’ve read it multiple times. I’ve seen several of the adaptations. I even had a couple of monologues memorized for awhile in college for absolutely no reason. I just liked them 🤷🏾♀️ Years ago, my best friend told me she had to give me part of my Christmas present early. She knows I tend to be a “open presents on Christmas ONLY” kind of person, so I wondered why she was so insistent that it had to be before Christmas.
Well, this was the present:
Look at him! It’s a little tiny Hamlet ornament with a tiny skull!! I love him so much and he’s always the first ornament I hang on the tree every year 💖 I’m also the only one allowed to hang him up because he has to go in the perfect spot, lol. This BBH makes me realize that Tiny Hamlet is the only bookish ornament I own, however. I think it’s time to start rectifying this situation *nod*
If you celebrate Christmas, do you have any bookish ornaments that you put on your Christmas tree? Let me know in the comments!
The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!
I used to go to my local library at least once a week! I miss it so much!
Well… I suppose I should say I miss my old library. We’ve moved to a new town which means a new local library! Which is usually one of my first stops after moving. Honestly, when we moved to Boston, I was at our local library the first week we were there getting a library card.
Now, with all the precautions due to Covid, I haven’t even seen our new library, let alone been able to get a library card! I did sign up for an e-card so I can access their electronic collection, but I really miss the experience of browsing the stacks. I can do without eating in a restaurant again for the rest of my life. I don’t think I’ll do as well if the libraries stay closed 😩
Still, I would much rather everyone stay safe. I am thankfully that things like Overdrive and Libby are available so I can still borrow books, even if I don’t get the browsing experience to go with it.
Are you (or were you) a frequent visitor to your local library? How have you been faring with libraries being closed down? Let me know in the comments!
The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!
I currently use one that seems to be a mainstay for a lot of bloggers: WordPress. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t really shop around the various different platforms before setting up my blog. I had heard of WordPress frequently, most of the blogs I already read were on WordPress, and I was constantly seeing ads for it everywhere! Once I finally got off my butt and decided to Do The Thing, WordPress was the first place I went.
Currently, I’m making do with the free version and I’m enjoying the experience, so far! But, again, I have absolutely nothing with which to compare it 😅 I enjoy the ease of setting up blog posts and, if I have questions, I can typically find an answer pretty quickly from fellow bloggers. Because, again, just a TON of bloggers use WordPress and have been using it for a lot longer than I have.
Will I one day expand beyond this platform? Perhaps get a paid subscription? Or leave WordPress entirely? Who knows 🤷🏾♀️ But, for now, it works for me just fine!
The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!
This Week’s Question
Image by Coffee Addicted Writer
Sooooo… I have three bookshelves and a box filled with books that should have gone on my fourth bookshelf. That got broken during our cross-country move and I still haven’t replaced it. I have to get ready for work, so I don’t have time to get a picture of all of the bookshelves, so I had to pick one. Seeming as I’m trying to focus on reading my owned books this year, I decided to go with my TBR shelf.
There it is in all it’s over-burdened glory! I will say that the stack on top to the far right have been read. There just isn’t any room on my other bookshelves to move them, atm 😅 And I’ve read The Merciful Crow, but I wanted to keep that pretty edition in my bedroom so I could just gaze at whenever I felt the urge, lol. Other than that, every book on that shelf is a book I haven’t read.
Yikes.
And let’s not talk about the books I have downloaded to my Kindle app and the audiobooks waiting for me on my Audible account. I’m pretty well-stocked for this whole COVID-19 situation, at least when it comes to books!
How many bookshelves to you have? Have you read all the books on your shelves? Let me know in the comments!
Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by Lauren’s Page Turnersand I stumbled across on The Pine-Scented Chronicles. It’s a simple task to start your week: simply pick a random book from your Goodreads TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy!
This Week’s Book
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
Goodreads Synopsis:
Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own.
Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death… because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.
Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?
In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.
Why I Want To Read It:
I’m gonna be honest, the reason I wanted to read this originally was because the first Booktuber I ever started watching, Sassenach the Book Wizard, would not stop talking about this book! She raved about it and declared more people needed to read it so that the author would write a sequel. When someone loves a book so much that they are begging for a sequel, it definitely piques my interest.
That’s not to say that I didn’t find the premise interesting, of course! Political intrigue in fantasy settings is one of my favorite things! The fact that it was Chinese-inspired had me even more intrigued. And there is a strong female lead coming into her own as a young woman (and new empress)? Yes, please!
I’ve also been wanting to fit more Asian influenced stories and Asian authors on my TBR. I know I read a LOT of white authors and that’s not saying that I should stop, but I definitely need to be more conscientious of reading diverse books. I’ve already discovered a few amazing reads by diverse authors that I would’ve missed out on if I hadn’t been consciously trying to pick up books by POCs.
Now I just need to get off my butt and actually read this book!
Kerri McBookNerd 