Review of The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Hello book lovers!! Happy New Years Eve!

What are your plans for tonight? Partying? Reading? Spending time with family?
Anyways here's my review of The Road by Cormac McCarthy!! I hope you enjoy it!

I feel extremely compelled to write this review of The Road by Cormac McCarthy not just because I enjoyed it immensely but also because there were things about this novel that I wasn't fond of.

Honestly I feel that The Road is meant to be read in a short time span, which I unfortunately didn't get to do. In the end that made me feel at times that the story kept droning on and on. The way some of the words were selected in The Road also felt repetitive at times too.

Although those were my main problems with The Road, I throughly enjoyed the way that Cormac wrote out his storyline. I liked how almost each paragraph was a new day in the story, I want to say it was almost like a diary in that sense. The way that Cormac delivers the tragedy in The Road is utterly chilling especially when it comes to the poetic descriptiveness he gives you tastes of throughout the novel. I'm really addicted to the fact that it's not a complicated fantasy story, it's not a cliché zombie apocalypse novel either. It's a story of a man and his son who fight to no end to survive in the harshest climates where there's almost nothing salvageable, there's people out there who are desperate for flesh and bone, and no hope... Except for each other.

Cormac McCarthy enhanced my insight on how precious life, as well as family can be. And how horrific it is when not just your family crumbles, but your entire life and world is gone.

When I finished The Road, the world basically dropped out from underneath me. I felt that the ending was absolutely a killer and perfect at the same time. In a way it made me feel wanting more. Which crushed all of my nerve endings because I was so completely enthralled with it, I did't know how to act when it finally ended.The way that Cormac wrote The Road, it really made you feel like you were apart of the story, and that resulted to me staring at the wall for a couple of minutes trying to gather myself together, while saying "Oh my gosh" in my head for the millionth time! 

The devastating heartbreak, post apocalyptic novel that Cormac McCarthy created was a complete and truthful masterpiece!

Thank you all! I loved this year of blogging! There's going to be more to come! So excited to be apart of the book world! 

Best wishes and much love,

Jade Crow

Review of Instructions for the End of the World by Jamie Kain

Hello book lovers! How are you this fine day? Today is Christmas!! So Happy Holidays to you all!!! I've been working non-stop for the past month and I thought today was the best day to finally write my review! I enjoyed Instructions for the End of the World quite a lot! What have you been reading for your holiday break? Here is my review!

Since she was old enough to walk her dad immediately gave her a gun and taught her how to survive. He's always been the strong protective type. Basically raised in the military Nichole Reed's dad has a different frame of mind than most people. Maybe slightly paranoid.. or more so.
 Being a survivalist Nichole's dad takes the entire family to the Sierra Foothills, where there are no modern conveniences  of any sort. Not liking where this is going, Nichole goes long with it helping her dad hunt for food,repair the 200 year old house,and unpack. Whereas Nichole's mom and sister despise their living situation and they think that their dad is going overboard with everything.

Nichole's life is falling apart and right when she thought things were cooling down, they start to escalate quicker than she thought. When her mom leaves the family, Nichole's dad goes in search for her mom. Leaving both Nichole and her little sister Isabel to fend for themselves, with no cell service,little money,no car. All they have is each other, food, minimal appliances, and the retreat center down the road from where they live.

All until Wolf comes along, a handsome boy from the "hippie retreat center" offers to help Nichole.
Feeling conflicted Nichole knows she can take care of herself, but theres something that she can't shake when it comes to Wolf.
As days and weeks pass, Nichole and Izzy get to know the kids from the retreat center. As for Wolf and Nichole, they start to become closer to one another. But everything stops her in her tracks when she realizes that her dad can come back any day,and would never ever approve of her dating or being with any boy.
Having all of these questions pulsing through her brain about "why her mom left"? "What's going on with her and dad"? Why was it so sudden? She soon learns very shocking things from a letter her mom sent and Izzy's confession.
Knowing she has to make a decision. Her family is falling apart, but her life with Wolf seems to be thriving. Will she choose to continue preparing for tomorrow's natural disaster? Just like her dad taught her? Or will she take the chance and start living for today?

The entire story of Instructions for the End of the World was quite unique. I went into this novel not expecting much at all! It was thought out well, and the characters were well diverse too!
I love how strong the main female character was. And how you could see her develop throughout the story.
Wolf's perspective in the novel felt pure. I instantly loved his character and how he appreciated everything and took nothing for granted, even though he wasn't raised in the healthiest of situations. When he meets Nichole for the first time, you really feel like he's truly falling in love with someone for the first time because of how descriptive the author is. His loving character was heartwarming to read about. It was mostly Nichole and Wolf who alternated perspectives, Isabel (Nichole's sister)and Laurel (Wolf's best friend) were kind of background characters and fillers. It was interesting reading about their side of the story and thoughts. But to be honest all I cared about the most was Nichole's and Wolf's perspectives. And it seemed like Isabel and Laurel's perspectives were not necessary.
 The way the story was, it actually felt like you were in the world that Nichole lives in. I also loved how the author made her story feel like a real life story.
One thing that I didn't enjoy in this book was that it felt as though you were thrown into the story. I had a problem at the beginning of them novel of actually getting into the story. Also when there were perspective changes in the novel it felt like the author was also changing her style of writing to suit the character better. Maybe she had done it one purpose? But from that I found myself getting stuck at certain points of the novel.
Those were the only issues I had with the story.
I overall liked the idea of it. The story really showed you how quick everything could change not just with your family, but in your life as well. For better or for worse. And it really got me thinking how precious life is. And how we should just take it day by day.

I hope you liked it! Also you can view my review on Goodreads and Amazon! 

Merry Christmas and much love,

Jade Crow 

Review of Shrilugh by Myndi Shafer

Hello book lovers! How are you all this cold December month? What are you reading for the end of the year? I just finished my review of Shrilugh by Myndi Shafer! And I overall throughly enjoyed it! I found myself actually having to spread the novel out, so that it didn't end sooner. It was short enough to read it in a day and also not having an overbearing feeling to it! Here is my review. I hope you like it!

4/5 Stars




Brig Cooper lives his young twenty-one year old life working for the Fulbert's. Brig enjoys working on the farm. But the one things he enjoys much more than working on the farm is hanging out with his best friend Aydan Fulbert. Brig has all of his goals set out and ready for him, but he can't seem to continue them without Aydan.

Aydan can't wait to get out of her hell hole that she's currently living in. Being able to graduate has  been a complete relief for Aydan. All she has to do is hold out for a couple more months, then she is finally free. For most of her life all she could think about was Brig, she immediately dropped her fantasy of being with Brig after coming to terms with herself that Brig was more of a bother than anything else. But when she finally realizes that there's more to hers and Brig's relationship, everything stops her in her tracks.
Everything seems to be falling perfectly in place. All when it comes to both Brig and Aydan's attention that it's not going to be as easy as they thought it would.
Aydan's father is completely against her dating anyone, especially when she's still under his roof. So knowing that her father will try in every way to separate her and Brig.
Brig and her both end up deciding on keeping their relationship a secret.
But we all know secrets don't last.


The writing style this book, has a very fluid motion about it that just keeps you wanting to read until the very end. I found that the perspective changes between Brig and Aydan were done extremely well. Both characters perspectives were evenly done throughout the novel. I ended up reading quickly though this, and finished it within a day. What I found I didn't entirely enjoy, was that I felt that the ending was a tad bit abrupt when it came to a conclusion.It felt as though someone ripped out all of the last pages in the book, and the  words were there was the conclusion. Another thing I found around the end of the novel, was that it was hard to discern the "fantasy" aspect of the novel. There wasn't enough information about what was going on with Aydan and knowing what she was. Which made it confusing and interesting at the same time. And I feel that if the novel would've just held out a little longer it would've made more sense.

Both Brig and Aydan as characters in the novel are great! I absolutely love the relationship between Brig and Aydan. And I'm also super addicted to how mysterious Aydan is. I mean we know how she acts and the way she is.. but we don't know what she quite is. Also the tension between Aydan's dad, Brig, Shannon, and Aydan herself can be super overwhelming, but in a great way because of that fact that we don't know what lengths Aydan's dad will take to crush Aydan and everyone she knows around her. From the tension happening with the characters it gives the novel a huge thriller aspect!

Other than that I really  love the Shrilugh Saga. I think that it's unique, in a way of drawing you into a normal life that has it's limits, to a life that's full of dares and maybe a hint of magic. When reading Shrilugh I had to spread it out for the entire day because of how fast paced and addicting it was.
Super happy to have ran into another amazing author, and to get the chance to see what happens next.

to view my same review on Goodreads please click here!
I hope you all liked the review! Tell me if you've read this book or are interested in reading it! I'll be reading The Darkening (second book in the Shrilugh Saga) next month! So stay tuned for that!

Best wishes and happy holidays book loves,
Love Jade Crow


P.S Thank you so much Myndi for creating such a captivating novel! It's truly addicting!!

Review of Oppression by Jessica Therrien

Hey Bookaholics!
How've you all been? Doing a lot of holiday shopping? I hope your buying a lot of books for yourself.. And maybe a couple for your friends.

Anyways I just finished the amazing Greek God inspired novel by Jessica Therrien called Oppression (first book in the children of the gods series) And man was it good! Have you read it before? Here is my full review of it!

Elyse has known for 80 years that she isn't normal and never will be. Ever since she was 50 she knew that something was wrong. She never got to go into further detail with her parents, since they got in a car accident. Never knowing what "disorder" she believes she has. Elyse lives in a secluded world with her loving adopted family. . Knowing that she will become a science project if anyone knows about her "disorder". She stays out of the open for decades. Aging 5 times slower than the average human.
Once she looks younger than her family and her friends, everything starts to fall into place, fake name, fake identity, and a knew apartment in a new area.
She thinks she has it all figured out. All until she goes downstairs to the cafe and meets the boy that will forever change her life. She meets William. And he is the same as her.

Elyse always has thought that she was the only one that aged slower than the average human. Always thought that something was wrong with her. But when she meets the amazing William. He shows her a world she's never seen or known of. He shows her the world of The Descendants.

A world full of descendants from the Greek Gods. Something that Elyse thought was just a fairy tale, actually is true. And now  she's apart of it.. she soon realizes that she is the center of what The Descendants have been revolving around for years and years.
It can be extremely hard to adjust to the life of the descendant. Especially knowing that The Council is out to kill her. That obviously doesn't make things easier!!

The chemistry that Elyse has when she's around William is truly unbearable. And William has felt the same way, ever since he was a kid and saves her in the car accident. Obviously Elyse doesn't remember that part. Or him. But he's always remembered her. And he will always continue to love and remember her.
Elyse has never been in a  relationship before. She's never has the desire to get involved with a man and have him age and her not. But the chemistry between William and her isn't normal. She feels like theres more to it.. but she's not quite sure what it is.
But maybe William does..


Wow!! This book was so great! I honestly didn't think that I would be the person to like this book but I really did! It's like a combination between the Percy Jackson series but with a spin and a much older vibe to it.
The whole concept of aging 5 times slower than the average human was quite an awesome embellishment to Oppression!
I felt that the story was quite similar to The Descendants series by Melissa Wright. As in both authors used the names "Descendants" and "The Council". I thought that that was pretty great because even though they used the same groups. They were completely different stories.

William and Elyse's relationship is so so so so so so amazing! I felt that the development and pace of it was overall beautiful! Gosh and the bon between them is awesome!! Like I'm super scared and excited to see what will actually unfold in the next book!

Jessica Therrien did a wonderful job creating a world that focuses on the past but also the present. She makes you deliciously wait for the future to unfold.

Also just to mention I am apart of the R&R challenge that Jessica Therrien created herself! 

So I chose this novel to review for the month of November! And I did. But I only did a brief review of it. And since it was such a fantastic novel, it was killing me not to talk more about it. So I edited my review. 

I also posted my review up on Goodreads.

Thank you all so much! There will be more reviews to come! 

Best wishes and much love,

Jade Crow

P.S  I hope your getting a wonderful start to your holidays! 

December TBR

Hey book lovers! Gosh I am so late on my December TBR it's been killing me! Finally I am putting this up! Anyways lets get right to it! I in total want to read 12 books this month. We all know that this probably won't happen. But I'm always a wishful thinker.


*1 of my December TBR  is to read Instructions for the End of the World by Jamie Kain.

Since it's the middle of December already, I'm actually currently reading this. And I'm enjoying it. Although I'm not really liking the abrupt character perspective changes.


                              2* of my December TBR is The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

I've never seen the movie or read the book. So I decided to not watch the movie first and instead read the novel first. I have always had the desire to watch and read The Road. And I thought what better time would it be than to borrow my friends copy of The Road, relax, and have a nice heaping cup of coffee while reading a dark story.

   3* of my December TBR is The Violinist of Venice by Alyssa Palombo.

I honestly have never heard of this book before. But when I was contacted to review it,and read the synopsis. I thought I'd really find it an enthralling read. We shall see what I think about it once I finish it.

4* of my December TBR is Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo.

For the past several months I've been wanting to get to the final book of the Grisha Trilogy! And thankfully I will be drawing it to a conclusion this month! Since it's the ;last month of 2015, might as well try and read the last book in the Trilogy!

                                   

                                        5* of my December TBR is Avalon by Allison Sipe.

Last month, last book in the series. Anyways it's not really the last book in the series. But since it's the second one that comes after Soothsayer, I just thought it could take place as the last one for now. I'm super excited to read this and see more from the amazing perspective of Robert!


                       

                   6* of my December TBR is Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks.

This is also the last and final book in the Night Angel Trilogy.

I really loved and throughly enjoyed the first and second book in the Night Angel Trilogy. And I'm super interested to see what characters are going to take part in the finale. But sadly I'm not entirely sure yet if I will be able to get to this book before the end of the year. It's a very huge.massive,chunky  book.

7* of my December TBR is Truth by Christina Benjamin

I received this book for review. And truth be told I'm super stoked about this novel as well! The entire plot really seems like it's going to be very addicting!!!

8* of my December TBR is The Dreamer by E.J Mellow

I've been wanting to read her books forever! And when I received her novel in the mail.. I was jumping up and down with happiness! Not they I down jump up and down with happiness when I receive other novels! I just wasn't expecting it in the slightest!

                             
                                  *9 of my December TBR is Cress by Marissa Meyer.

The third book in The Lunar Chronicles series! I was hoping to finish the entire series this month. But sadly I don't think I'll get the chance because I have so many other amazing books to review as well!
Although I am super hyped about Cress because I've heard it's one of the best books in the series! Plus I'm just super eager to know what happens next!

*10, 11, 12, 13
Oblivion by Jennifer L Armentrout,Oppression by Jessica Therrien,Shrilugh by Myndi Shafer, and Unfinished Ink by Joanne Marlowe.
Were either apart of by November TBR and got transferred to my December TBR. Or I read them for the beginning of the month of December. Either way I've already read 4 books for the month of December and I'm pretty proud with myself! Some of them were small to medium sized but I'm still pretty proud. From doing homework,moving my house,working my 8 hour job,starting a mini craft business,and from doing all of that I still found time to squeeze some reading in there!

What do you plan to read this month? How many books do you plan to read this month/ Have any new years resolutions?

Thank you all!
Best wishes,
Jade Crow

The Awakened Blog Tour,Interview,and Authors Spotlight

Hello Book Lovers and Z-Team! I'm so happy  that I'm apart of The Awakened Blog Tour hosted by the lovely Sara Elizabeth Santana! Since today is the last day of the blog tour I have a special surprise for you all! I teamed up with the author of The Awakened and I'm going to be hosting my first giveaway here! To enter please click here!
Don't worry if you don't win. I'll be hosting two other giveaways on Twitter and IG as well. I hope you all have fun entering! Giveaway starts today December 8th and ends December 24th. Winner will be chosen on Christmas and the prize will be shipped out after christmas.


Since I've been raving and talking non-stop about The Awakened your probably wondering what it's about. And if I gave you my description I'd most likely talk about it for more than 5 hours or so.


                                                     

The Awakened Synopsis 

Zoey Valentine is concerned with two things: surviving the multitude of self-defense classes her dad makes her take and avoiding Ash Matthews.

That is, until the Z virus hits, wiping out a third of the population in a matter of weeks. If that weren’t frightening enough, the bodies of the victims disappear and suddenly reappear, awakened from their dead state. They’re faster, smarter, and they work together to get the one thing they crave, human flesh.

The United States is in a panic and then the government decides the unthinkable: to bomb every major city overrun with the awakened.

Now Zoey is on the run, with her dad and Ash, desperate to find a place of safety amongst the ruined remains of the country.

Now that you know along the lines about The Awakened. I suggest you pick up a copy.. Just saying.. You won't be disappointed! Anyways here is my review of The Awakened. To be honest I couldn't find enough words to express my feelings for The Awakened in my review. And so many things and emotions happened throughout the book, that The Awakened ended up taking me out of my reading slump and putting me back into a whole other realm of a reading slump.

                   

                                                           Review Of The Awakened
Living in New York, Zoey Valentine is only concerned with two things... Surviving through several intense self- defense classes that her New York chief police dad puts her in, and Ash Matthews.

Plowing her way through senior year of high school,self defense classes/gun classes her life only gets harder when Ash Matthews is around. Trying to stay completely away from him, Zoey spends her time helping her friend Madison decorate for the fall dance that the seniors are having.

All until shit hits the fan and the party goes completely wrong. Knowing something isn't right Zoey soon realizes that most of the kids are sick, with what looks like food poisoning.
With everything that's  completely a disaster Madison and Zoey convince themselves that all of the seniors got sick off of the cupcakes.Several weeks go by and it seems like people are still sick, and getting worse.
Forcing herself to think that everything is fine, Zoey presumes to go to school and of course making it her goal to stay as far away from Ash Matthews as possible.

Realizing that it's not just food poisoning, Frank (Zoey's dad) makes it his job to protect everyone. Especially his daughter and her best friends.
Things are getting scary and weird for Zoey. Most of her friends she went to school with are dying from what people call "The Z virus". Being cooped up in her house hanging out with Ash and Madison isn't bad at all... Maybe hanging out with Ash was. But she had more to worry about because people were dying left and right. Things were wrong. Very very wrong.

They all found out the hard way.. when Zoey's best friend Madison gets the Z virus and dies,all hell breaks loose in Zoey's world.
Both Ash and Zoey don't know what's in store for them when Madison comes back from death. And when she comes back.. She isn't normal. She's hungry,strong,fast,smart,and manipulative.
 That's when it finally dawns on Zoey, Frank, and Ash. There are zombie like humans that are out to kill and there's nowhere safe to go. Not even the mountains and the peaceful forests are safe.



So many feelings had gone through me while I was reading "The Awakened". But for the most part I was so enthralled in this novel I had to buy a physical copy. The way that Sara Elizabeth Santana delivers the story is  truly remarkable. It was at a great fast pace but it also had such great descriptive aspects to it, that it really felt like the story was never ending! Which is great since I never wanted it to end! The development is so outstanding! At the beginning of the novel, we go through learning about the main characters life, but soon after that we're sucked into a world of suspense that makes you feel as scared,adrenalized,and determined in your everyday life.

I'm not sure if I'm an easily scared person. But the way that Sara Elizabeth describes and executes the overall story and "Awakened" literally kept me up the entire night.
The characters were equally amazing!
I love how caring Frank was! He truly is the ultimate dream father!
Zoey was amazing as well! She was fierce,determined,outgoing,and strong. But as we get to know her throughout the novel we learn that she's also scared,caring,sweet,lonely,and even sad.
Ash overall is the character I admire. Just because he and Zoey have always picked on each other throughout elementary school through high school. And I really liked how secretly in love he is with Zoey. I love that both male characters (Frank,and Ash) are both willing to die by protecting Zoey.
The romance between Ash and Zoey was juicy! And I loved every bit of tension that rolled off of the two in "The Awakened".

The writing style that Sara Elizabeth Santana uses in "The Awakened" reminds me a lot of Jennifer L. Armentrout just because Sara has the same talent that Jennifer has in the way of drawing in the reader. Plus the romance was killer. I also feel that Sara has a little bit of Melissa Wright's talent in her too just because they both do an outstanding job of creating a beautiful world to go with their story.

The Awakened isn't your average "Zombie" novel.It's much bigger than that. Sara Elizabeth Santana creates her own world. That breaks you, and builds you up. And it makes you want more.

1 * How long have you been writing?

Since I was about 9 years old. That’s when I realized that writing was an actual job!

2* What inspired you to start writing?

Someone told me I was good at it. I loved to read but I never thought about being on the other side until someone said I was good at it. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else. 

3* How did you get the AWESOME opportunity to work with Ben from Oftomes Publishing Company?

It was honestly just an amazing opportunity at the right time. I had been looking for an agent for the book for over a year and had over a hundred rejections. I had tried indie publishers. I wasn’t ready to give up exactly but I had written a new adult romance and was going to set aside The Awakened to focus on that. I follow Ben and saw about his company and thought “why not?” And it worked out. Ben is amazing and I honestly can’t imagine a better home for my book. 

4* What locations in the world inspired some of the settings in your novel “The Awakened”?

     Have you been to any of the locations?

Well, most of it is based on real world places. I had to do a lot of research since I had never been to most of these places. The biggest one is a setting that we get to see VERY briefly at the end of the book and it is based off a real location that I visited about 7 years ago and one that I LOVED and has obviously stuck with me. 

5* Out of Zoey, Ash,Frank,Madison, and Bandit. which character can you relate to the most?

Zoey for sure. FOR sure. Its crazy. I tend to put little personality traits into my characters, usually without thinking about it. But I definitely try not to make a character just like me. That’s weird. But Zoey is very much me without me realizing it and I definitely relate to her. 

6* What does your writing space look and consist of?

Honestly, I don’t necessarily need to be in a certain spot. I write in my room. I write in the dining room. I write at a coffee shop. I used to write on my breaks at work. I’m not particularly picky. I usually just have to have a bottle of water (stay hydrated!) and some sort of noise, whether its music or Netflix or something. 

7* Who are some authors,friends,family e.c.t.. who’ve inspired you to become a writer?

There are so many people. I couldn’t even begin to name them. My best friends, my family. SO many authors over the years. I think the biggest inspiration honestly came from myself and I’m so lucky to have the insane amount of support that I do. 

8*Do you plan to write a sequel to “The Awakened”?

Yes! The series is planned as two books. 

9*  When writing what’s some of your favorite comfort/thinking food and beverages?

I need noise. I grew up with five younger siblings and a HUGE family that comes over unannounced all the time haha. I’m used to chaos and noise and so now I can’t work without it! So music or a movie or Netflix is usually something I need. And a bottle of water. Snacks sometimes come into play but usually just water. 

10* During the time when your not writing what do you find yourself doing?

Lots of reading. Lots of working lol. Lots of hanging out with my friends, going to book events, eating food and just having a great time together. 

11* How did you get your idea or what inspired you to write “The Awakened”?

Personally, I’m not a zombie fan. I don’t find anything scary about zombies. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I don’t like the idea of undead people trying to eat me…but they’re always so slow! And they have no intelligence. I thought adding intelligence, speaking, speed…that makes them scary. Plus I wrote a short story about a zombie and thought, huh, maybe I can do something with this. And it became a scene in the novel, though it changed a bit. 

12* What are three major things that you are thankful that happened this year?

Getting The Awakened published. Going on a epic road trip to meet some fabulous authors at RT back in May. And I’m thankful for every single person who supports me. Every. Single. One. 

13* What’s one book that you’ve read countless times and still continue to read?

Oh lots of them! I’ve read the Harry Potter series so many times, I’ve lost count. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I like rereading. 

14* Any last words to your fans and readers?

You guys are awesome. Seriously. The fact that even one (and MORE) want to read this book just is so surreal and amazing to me. I adore you all so much. Virtual cupcakes to all!

Now I want a cupcake so bad!! Maybe even the ones that were apart of the fall dance scene in The Awakened?

Anyways I hope you all loved the tour and the interview I did with Sara Elizabeth Santana! 

If you want to know a little more about the author of The Awakened please click here to view her page!!!

November Wrap-Up

Hey Book Lovers! How many books did you read for the month of November? Did you enjoy them all? I read a total of 9 books this month! Which is way better than I thought I would've done.
So I'll start in order from the first to last! I hope you all enjoy!

5/5 stars
*1) The first book that I read for the month of November is Bound by Prophecy by Melissa Wright. 1st book in The Descendants series. I actually had this book on my October TBR as well. But since I finished it the 1st or 2nd day of November I also counted it for my wrap up. I really felt that Bound by Prophecy was a great opening to The Descendants series!

To view my review of Bound by Prophecy please click here.

5/5 stars
*2)  The second book that I read for my November TBR is Shirting Fate by Melissa Wright. Second book in The Descendants series. I found that I enjoyed the second book the most out of the entire series. Just because there were many important climaxes throughout the entire novel. I also really loved that there were perspective changes from the first and second book in the series.
To view my review of Shifting Fate please click here.

5/5 stars

*3) The third book that I read for the month of November was Reign of Shadows by Melissa Wright. Third ( And I believe final book in The Descendants series. I truly felt that Reign of Shadows was a fantastic novel. But it felt a little too rushed to me. I felt like there could've been more included to the story and maybe even a fourth book in the series.

To view my review of Reign of Shadows please click here.






But over all I give this series a 5/5 stars. It was a super suspenseful read, as well as enjoyable. The characters were so diverse and super beautiful and strong. The romance and tension between the main characters like Aren,Emily,Brianna,Morgan,and Logan played a crucial part in the series. And the tension between all of them was so addicting. The character building and magical building was truly awesome! I loved all of the special capabilities that Melissa Wright gives her characters. The embelishments that Melissa Wright gives The Descendants series ties everything in together to where it makes it overall amazing.

5/5 stars
*4) Book four in my November Wrap-Up  is Soothsayer by Allison Sipe. The story,climax, and ending were superb in the way of making you feel like your an actual character in Soothsayer. I can't fathom how much I love that quality when it comes to reading books. Allison Sipe has an extreme talent  for description. And the ending was such a cliffhanger it left me on a book slump for quite sometime.The main character Violet has this wonderful aura and personality that can be so relatable to. I really loved the magical realms behind Soothsayer and I can't wait to learn more about it.

To view my review of Soothsayer please click here!

4/5 stars
*5) The fifth book I read for the month of November is Cinder by Marissa Meyer. First book in The Lunar Chronicles series. I really enjoyed the fact that Marissa Meyer wrote her series inspired by fairytales. The Grimes fairytales to be exact. The entire idea around Cinder was amazing. I loved how Cinder was created to be a futuristic novel. And the fact that Cinder has it's own spin on it and  is nothing like the original Cinderella fairytale. The only problem that I had with it was that for me Cinder was quite confusing for the first 200 pages or so. Just because since I was just entering into a new world, I did't know much of what was going on. Other than that all of the characters especially Iko were amazing. Queen Levanna gets under my skin so bad sometimes. I actually had to put the book down a couple of times because of that!

To view my review of Cinder please click here.

5/5 stars
*6) The sixth book that I read in the month of November is Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. The second book in The Lunar Chronicles series. I thoroughly enjoyed Scarlet. I loved the perspective changes and the fact that Scarlet was inspired by Red Riding Hood. I felt that Scarlet was slightly more along the lines of the actual Red Riding Hood story. Whereas Cinder wasn't as similar to the actual Cinderella story. Since I new more about The Lunar world, I went into Scarlet with more expectations and knowledge from the last book. I'm extremely in love with the relationship that Wolf and Scarlet have! And I'm super excited to read Cress and Winter in December!

To view my review of Scarlet please click here.

5/5 stars
*7) The next book I read for the month of November is The Awakened by Sara Elizabeth Santana. And OMG was that an emotional rollercoaster for me! I'm so in love with Sara Elizabeth's writing! It's like a mash up of Jennifer L Armentrout but with her own flare. The whole idea and inspiration around Zombies was so creative! I've never read this great of a zombie novel before. And all I can say is that she has an amazing talent for making you feel like your in the story but also having an eerie feeling close behind you. The Awakened kept me awake at night. I cannot wait for the sequel!

To view my review of The Awakened please click here.

*8) The eighth book in my November Wrap Up is Oblivion by Jennifer L Armentrout. I thankfully ended up getting an early copy! 5 whole days before it came out. But I'm just so happy that Jennifer decided to write Obsidian but from Daemon's perspective. I was so devastated when The Lux series ended because I couldn't let go of the characters that meant so much to me!  In the end I didn't let them go. But it was still sad that I wouldn't be able to read anymore from The Lux series.
And then Jennifer L Armentrout makes my day and creates this beautiful story! I loved Daemon more than I loved Kat's perspective. The author did a fantastic job by making both Obsidian and Oblivion correspond and mirror to each other. I'm not entirely sure if Jennifer will be creating the rest of the series from Daemon's perspective. Or if she has, then I'm not entirely sure if she will release them.
But I sure hope to god she does!

To view my review of Oblivion please click here.

*9) And last but not least the ninth book I read for my November TBR is Oppression by Jessica Therrien. Sadly I was pressing time by the end of the month for the R& R challenge that Jessica Therrien is hosting. So I basically quickly read/skimmed through Oppression and wrote the quickest review I've ever wrote in the history of me writing reviews. But now that it's month of December. I've decided to take the time to "actually read it". And since I only skimmed/quick read it. All I canny at the moment is that I really loved the whole idea of the main character Elyse aging 5 times slower than the average human. And the fact that Greek Gods are tied into her story.

To view my review of Oppression please click here!


Thank you all! What are you reading for the month of December? My Wrap Up will be up shortly!


Best wishes much love,
Jade Crow

Review of Unfinished Ink by Joanne Marlowe

Hello Book Lovers! How are you doing this fine evening? I have a poetry book to tell you about that I'm absolutely in love with! It's called Unfinished Ink by Joanne Marlowe!

Unfinished Ink is basically a collection of Joanne Marlowe's poetry that features subjects containing love, loneliness, lust, liquor, and letting go. Her talent for words blows my mind. As I was reading her collection I just found myself wanting more. But also relating to it at the same time. Unfinished Ink shows that our world and lives are far from perfect. But if we're willing to love and let go we can continue to live are lives.

Unfinished Ink is quite a small poetry novel. You can read it in a short amount of time, although I constantly slowed myself down and took my time reading Joanne's poetry because I found it so addicting but also very relatable.

Her poetry seems to cover every possible emotion that I've ever felt, but more. And I feel that it's so extremely important that you feel what your reading. Joanne executed her stories so beautifully, she made you step back and fully soak in their meanings. I found that her poetry was so simple but yet so intricate. I understood all of her stories so well that it was truly breath taking! The pieces in Unfinished Ink like "She Devil, Again, Linking Pinkies, and Delicious all were eye opening and will forever be my favorite pieces of poetry. 

Unfinished Ink delivers so many amazing memories and feelings to me that it will continue to always hold a special place in my heart! I've already read it 10 or more times! And I will continue to read it over and over! I 10 out of 10 recommend Unfinished Ink to everyone! I'm not much of a poetry person. But Unfinished Ink really really made me take a liking to it! 

Thank you Joanne for writing such amazing and inspiring, yet tearjerking and heart wrenching poetry! 

To contact and learn more about Joanne Marlowe please click here.

Give Joanne some love and follow her on Instagram! I promise you that you won't be disappointed! She takes some amazing and eye catching photos! 

Please click here to follow her on IG.

Also stay tuned for my upcoming Interview with Joanne! We'll be talking about poetry, love, inspiration,tattoos... and much much more! 

Thanks again Joanne! Without your poetry I don't know if I'd be able to cope with life at times! 

Review of Oblivion by Jennifer L Armentrout

Hello Book Lovers! How are you? I'm doing fantastic since I just finished Oblivion by Jennifer L Armentrout!
Oh my lord was this book amazing! I've always wanted to have a book from Daemons perspective low and behold here it is! So happy that there's still much more to The Lux series than I thought! Whew! I honestly never ever want it to end! So here's my review of Oblivion!

Daemon focuses his life on taking care of his sister Dee. Living in a small town, Daemon's life is surrounded and determined to keep his family's secret. But it soon washes away when neighbors move in next door to Daemon and Dee.

All he wants is for his neighbors to move back where they came from. They don't need anymore distractions.His was hoping for their neighbors to be a retired couple. But since their new neighbors are a mother and daughter it does't pan out the way he had expected.
Especially since it's a girl who's around his and Dee's age. He already knows that theres no stopping Dee in her tracks when it comes to hanging out with the new girl. Also he likes to convince himself that his new girl neighbor is totally average in all of the obvious ways. But we all know that this isn't true.

Being trapped between making his sister happy or keeping his life as well as his sisters life safe. He ends up opting for the latter. Which in the end it causes him to act like a total dick to their new neighbor. Bing a total jerk to Katy (even though he doesn't want to admit that he doesn't want to) he continues to do so.. thinking that it'll save what's left of his family. But all goes wrong, since that just urges Katy to want to spend more time with Daemon's sister Dee. Which causes the problems that Daemon has been trying to avoid this entire time.
He wants nothing to do with humans. Ever since his bother Dawnson and his human girlfriend Bethany went missing and were found dead. It ended up traumatizing Daemon and Dee. But more on Daemon's part. He feels extremely responsible when it comes to looking out for is younger sister.

It all ends up getting beautifully ruined by the amazing and not so average Katy. Or what he likes to call her "kitten". Daemon just loves it when he agitates her and her claws come out all mighty. Just like a kitten!
Soon realizing that Katy isn't just a weak human girl. He ends up falling for her hard.. and just when he thought things were bad, they get worse.
Going against the Elders rules he ends up caving in and telling Katy who, and the rest of his people actually are.
Surprised that she actually accepted them, and him. Daemon slowly starts to gain and respect Kat for who she truly is.
But it's never that easy... Not when there's Arum (evil aliens ) who are out to kill his family. Also the Elders could outcast him from his family since he exposed himself to Kat. But she's worth it, and he's always up for a challenge. He never loses anyways.


I had always wanted to see the perspective of Daemon's in The Lux series. I expected to get a short story of Daemons perspective later on down the road. But I never expected to get a full novel covering and mirroring the first book in The Lux series called Obsidian.
Oblivion was beautifully written. Jennifer L Armentrout is an amazing writer and she tackled rewriting something so complicated.
I originally thought that the perspective of Katy was ultimately great! But now that I've experienced reading from Daemon's thoughts, I have to say that he's my favorite character out of the entire series. The romance between Kat and Daemon was so addicting. He's completely obsessed with her. I also love Katy's character! She really is a kitten with claws and no scratch. I also love that she is addicted to books and has her own blog called Katy's Krazy Book Obsession! How cool is that right?
Anyways I hope that Jennifer L Armentrout writes the whole series but form Daemons perspective! I would be in heaven if that happened!





I so hope that Jennifer will write the whole series from Daemons perspective!
You can view my review also on Goodreads here.

Thank you all for reading my review! It means the world to me! Have any of you read The Lux series? If  not have you read anything by Jennifer L Armentrout?
Best wishes and much love,
Jade Crow

The Awakened by Sara Elizabeth Santana Review

How are my book lovers doing? What are you currently reading?
I just finished The Awakened by Sara Elizabeth Santana! All I can say about it as that The Awakened was so amazing that I bought it the second it came out!!! Anyways... Here's my review of The Awakened.




Living in New York, Zoey Valentine is only concerned with two things... Surviving through several intense self- defense classes that her New York chief police dad puts her in, and Ash Matthews.

Plowing her way through senior year of high school,self defense classes/gun classes her life only gets harder when Ash Matthews is around. Trying to stay completely away from him, Zoey spends her time helping her friend Madison decorate for the fall dance that the seniors are having.

All until shit hits the fan and the party goes completely wrong. Knowing something isn't right Zoey soon realizes that most of the kids are sick, with what looks like food poisoning.
With everything that's  completely a disaster Madison and Zoey convince themselves that all of the seniors got sick off of the cupcakes.Several weeks go by and it seems like people are still sick, and getting worse.
Forcing herself to think that everything is fine, Zoey presumes to go to school and of course making it her goal to stay as far away from Ash Matthews as possible.

Realizing that it's not just food poisoning, Frank (Zoey's dad) makes it his job to protect everyone. Especially his daughter and her best friends.
Things are getting scary and weird for Zoey. Most of her friends she went to school with are dying from what people call "The Z virus". Being cooped up in her house hanging out with Ash and Madison isn't bad at all... Maybe hanging out with Ash was. But she had more to worry about because people were dying left and right. Things were wrong. Very very wrong.

They all found out the hard way.. when Zoey's best friend Madison gets the Z virus and dies,all hell breaks loose in Zoey's world.
Both Ash and Zoey don't know what's in store for them when Madison comes back from death. And when she comes back.. She isn't normal. She's hungry,strong,fast,smart,and manipulative.
 That's when it finally dawns on Zoey, Frank, and Ash. There are zombie like humans that are out to kill and there's nowhere safe to go. Not even the mountains and the peaceful forests are safe.



So many feelings had gone through me while I was reading "The Awakened". But for the most part I was so enthralled in this novel I had to buy a physical copy. The way that Sara Elizabeth Santana delivers the story is  truly remarkable. It was at a great fast pace but it also had such great descriptive aspects to it, that it really felt like the story was never ending! Which is great since I never wanted it to end! The development is so outstanding! At the beginning of the novel, we go through learning about the main characters life, but soon after that we're sucked into a world of suspense that makes you feel as scared,adrenalized,and determined in your everyday life.

I'm not sure if I'm an easily scared person. But the way that Sara Elizabeth describes and executes the overall story and "Awakened" literally kept me up the entire night.
The characters were equally amazing!
I love how caring Frank was! He truly is the ultimate dream father!
Zoey was amazing as well! She was fierce,determined,outgoing,and strong. But as we get to know her throughout the novel we learn that she's also scared,caring,sweet,lonely,and even sad.
Ash overall is the character I admire. Just because he and Zoey have always picked on each other throughout elementary school through high school. And I really liked how secretly in love he is with Zoey. I love that both male characters (Frank,and Ash) are both willing to die by protecting Zoey.
The romance between Ash and Zoey was juicy! And I loved every bit of tension that rolled off of the two in "The Awakened".

The writing style that Sara Elizabeth Santana uses in "The Awakened" reminds me a lot of Jennifer L. Armentrout just because Sara has the same talent that Jennifer has in the way of drawing in the reader. Plus the romance was killer. I also feel that Sara has a little bit of Melissa Wright's talent in her too just because they both do an outstanding job of creating a beautiful world to go with their story.

The Awakened isn't your average "Zombie" novel.It's much bigger than that. Sara Elizabeth Santana creates her own world. That breaks you, and builds you up. And it makes you want more.


Thank you so much for reading my review! I hope you all buy The Awakened because you won't be disappointed in the slightest!
Also sit tight because there will be more to come from The Awakened. I'm scheduled for December 8th for "The Awakened Blog Tour"

Best wishes,
Jade Crow