The Witches of the Glass Castle by Gabriella Lepore (ARC)

This was such a delight! Witches, mystery and darkness, what more can you ask for? And it was easily devoured, which is a very attractive quality that shouldn’t be undervalued. I love the satisfaction of it, to get so carried away with a story… It’s happiness.

The story follows Mia and her brother Dino who discovers that they are witches. Their whole family are witches (well, at least on their mother’s side) and all it takes is one small incantation, even said by mistake, to awaken the magic within. Because of their awakening powers, they are sent away to a place that can help the siblings learn control and nurture whatever power they may have. At the Glass Castle, they meet frightening but handsome warrior witches with feral instincts called Hunters and witches called Arcana that can read peoples thoughts and have visions of the future. It’s a strange but colorful new world where Mia and Dino must both come to terms with who they are and as events begins spiraling out of control they must choose what they think is right and where their allegiances lie in the end.

There’s some really good twists and turns in this book. It kept the story and my interest peaked through the whole thing. I’m also very fond of how the author portrayed her characters (and their dynamic). It was just the right amount of goof, cuteness and realness to make the relationships work.

I really recommend this book to anyone who love YA fantasy, and witch lore. A fascination with witches should be existent when picking this up. Just saying… 😉

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars! Witches of the Glass Castle is the first book in a duology, where the Witches of the Dark Power is the second book and they both releases today the 18th. So, Happy Book Birthday to Gabriella Lepore!

The Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I had my doubts about this series. I’ve read part of a trilogy by Jennifer L. Armentrout a couple of years ago where I LOVED the first book, was a bit put off by the second and couldn’t stomach the third. Then, at this year’s book sale in February I found the first book in the Lux series in the bargain section. I’m glad I did decide to pick up something by this author again.

The Lux series is delightfully well-balanced with action, romance and moral conundrums. The big plus being the consistency in writing and story through book 1-4 and they’re a solid 4 stars so far. I find that sometimes the first couple of books in a series is usually the best and the rest just kind of…degrades. Rarely to the extent that the books are unreadable, but they’re often not as interesting as the first one(s). For example, the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, the Anita Blake series by Laurell K Hamilton and the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. I freaking love these three, but the first books in either series is just genius compared to the ones that came later.

The first book introduces Kat who’s just moved to West Virginia with her mother. Kat’s life so far revolves around books and blogging about them (bonus points, right there). Having lost her father to cancer and with a mother that’s trying to stay afloat, she’s learned to take care of herself in her everyday life. She’s basically do an infusion of tumult, of the infuriating but hot neighbor variety. It’s just her luck the disturbed neighbor and his friendly sister are aliens. With baggage. Suspicious, two-faced government baggage.

There are five books in total and I have the Kindle version of Opposition waiting for me to read. 🙂

April Wrap Up

It’s unbelievable how fast time flies, it’s already the end of April. Or rather the beginning of May. And I’m not sure if I’ve come to terms with that just yet… Oh well, this month I actually manage to (mostly) stick to my TBR. I haven’t read Winter yet, but I think I’ll save that special nugget until my vacation week this summer. Plus, it’s a little on the heavy side (which makes me one extremely happy camper), so the more time I have the better I’ll be able to savor it.

I’ve read 5 and a half books this month. I still haven’t figured out how to count the one that I started reading one month and finish the next. How do you, my fellow bookworms, count that one? Is it one half in either month or does it counts as one in the month that I finish it? Take for example this month, have I read 5,5 or 6 books? I know, I know, it’s a problem that’s not really a problem, but I can’t decide and it annoys me. 😉

1. Opal (Lux #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout – 4/5 stars
2. Origin (Lux #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout – 4/5 stars
3. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab – 5/5 stars
4. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken – 4/5 stars
5. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell – 5/5 stars
6. Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill – 4/5 stars

Monthly summary: it’s been a good month. Reviews will be up soon. 🙂