Taylor Fenner's Blog, page 134

#BookTag Saturday: The Bookish Royalty Tag

As you may have noticed I get a lot of my tags from my lovely Bookstagram friends and this week's book tag is one of my latest...

Queen Elizabeth (An old book you still treasure): 
Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Cruise

King George (A Popular Book You Don’t Want to Read): 
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Prince Charles (A Book Everyone Loves But You): 
Caraval by Stephanie Garber - I mean it was okay and I’ll most likely read the sequel but it wasn’t earth-shattering like everyone keeps saying.

Princess Diana (A Book You Bought Because of Bookstagram): 
Most of my recent buys… lol. Slasher Girls and Monster Boys but I haven’t read it yet.

Prince William (A Book You Bought Because of the Cover): 
The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo and I’m so happy I did!
Prince Harry (A Book That Took You On A Wild Ride): 
Crash Into Me by Albert Borris
Duchess Kate (Latest Book Purchase): 
Slasher Girls and Monster Boys

October Wrap-Up

Goodbye October, Welcome November - one of my least favorite and most stressful months of the year. It's time for a month of pushing myself to write more words in a month than I usually write in 2-3 months and cooking more for one day than I do for three or four days. Meanwhile, October was a surreal yet busy month. Here's what I got up to last month...


READINGBooks I Reviewed In October:
- The Evolution of Us by D. Kelly

- The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

- Maybe This Time by Jennifer Cruise (Reread)

- Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Reread)

- Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

- Haven by Mary Lindsey

Books I Read In October: 
- The Evolution of Us by D. Kelly
- The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
- Begin Again by Mona Kasten
- Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie
- Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
- Six Little Secrets by Katlyn Duncan
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

- Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
- Haven by Mary Lindsey

Books to-be-read in November:November is going to be a strange reading month for me with NaNoWriMo going on, but I have the following library books due that I have to get through:

- Glitter by Aprilynne Pike (Reread)
- Legacy by Cayla Kluver

- Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff

- The Last Harvest by Kim Liggett
- Recreated by Colleen Houck

- The Ravenous by Amy Lukavics

eBooks I Want To Squeeze In:
- Unearthed After Sunset by Lauryn April
- Legacy by Jesikah Sundin

WRITINGIn October, I finished writing Night of Terror and began posting it one chapter at a time weekly on Wattpad. I also compiled it with five other stories into a paperback novel which can be found here. 

I also did major plotting for Monsters and Mist which is my NaNoWriMo 2017 project. I did leave a few things up in the air so we'll see where this story goes! 

BLOGGINGIn October, I participated in the Fall 2017 YASH which was amazing! I loved interacting with new readers and being able to share some exclusive material for CurseBreaker with a huge new audience! I also participated in my usual cover reveals and release day blitzes and read one book for a blog tour for November.

PUBLISHINGIn October, I was able to send out two paperback ARCs to lucky winners from the YASH. I also published my collection of stories, NIGHT OF TERROR on October 31st! Find it in paperback on Amazon and other book retailers!
MISC.NEWS:October was a difficult month personally but I'm happy to report that things appear to be getting back to normal and I'll be able to seamlessly transition into my next novel and continue with my blogging without missing a beat. So far this month I'm just over 5100 into my new WIP... only 44900 to successfully finish NaNoWriMo!
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? If not, do you have anything special planned for November?

Book Review: Haven by Mary Lindsey

Haven by Mary Lindsey Blurb:"We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes when freed."

Rain Ryland has never belonged anywhere, He’s used to people judging him for his rough background, his intimidating size, and now, his orphan status. He’s always been on the outside, looking in, and he’s fine with that. Until he moves to New Wurzburg and meets Friederike Burkhart.
Freddie isn’t like normal teen girls, though. And someone wants her dead for it. Freddie warns he’d better stay far away if he wants to stay alive, but Rain’s never been good at running from trouble. For the first time, Rain has something worth fighting for, worth living for. Worth dying for. 
My Review:After a lifetime of living on the streets and in shelters, Rain Ryland is being sent to live with an aunt he never knew existed in the small town of New Wurzburg after his mother's fatal drug overdose.
Moving away from Houston, Rain thinks he's leaving danger and gangs behind for a boring life in the country but there is nothing boring about New Wurzburg. New Wurzburg is the home of creatures Rain could have never believed really existed. And the girl he's interested in, Friederike Burkhart? She's one of them. 
As Rain gets wrapped up in life in New Wurzburg and Freddie's unusual life and tries to help her figure out if Freddie's father's death was truly an accident (or murder), Rain begins to understand that his ending up in New Wurzburg was no accident. His destiny has been entwined with Freddie's and New Wurzburg since before he was born. 
Will Rain survive the changes that are to come? Will Freddie accept a relationship with him? Or will they both perish at the hands of a power hungry enemy?
I dove into Haven semi-blind. I had an idea what the book was about but I didn't read the book flap before diving in and I found that I really enjoyed this book. I don't read many books told solely in the male perspective and usually you see the girl falling for the supernatural guy instead of the other way around so this book was really refreshing. It reminded me in a way of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl where we see the world through Ethan's eyes. 
As a main character I really liked Rain. He was very well developed for a teenage boy character. So often I read (and want to gag over) sappy male characters that are all gaga for love but this book showed Rain as desiring Freddie in physical ways as well as emotional ones which is more realistic to me. My only complaint about Rain at the beginning of this book is he says "Whatever" way too many times. It got a little annoying after a while.
I also really liked Freddie. She was strong, tough-as-nails, and completely bada$$. She has some trust issues, but who wouldn't with everything going on in her life and the secrets she keeps and it was fun watching her relationship with Rain blossom. The secondary characters also rounded out the story really well and I loved the world building. 
Overall, I was really craving a good werewolf book after I finished reading/binge watching Bitten (by Kelley Armstrong) and Haven was exactly what I was hoping for. It was unique, it stuck to the theme, and perfectly fit this time of year.

My Rating:★★★★★5 of 5 Stars!

Cover Reveal: the UNKNOWN Trilogy by Wendy Higgins

Today I'm thrilled to share with you the gorgeous new covers of Wendy Higgins's New Adult Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic/Sci-Fi/Romance UNKNOWN Trilogy! I love this trilogy and can't wait to read the final book! Ready to see the covers? Scroll down!******   
From New York Times and USA Today bestseller Wendy Higgins comes a frighteningly realistic apocalyptic America brought to life, entwined with searing romantic tension that will leave you eager for more. UNDONE, the final book in the Unknown Trilogy, is coming December 5th, 2017! Don’t miss the stunning new covers for the Unknown Trilogy, and order your copies today!   About UNKNOWN (Unknown Trilogy #1):Amber Tate believes the worst thing she’ll suffer in life is dealing with the unrequited love she feels for her brother’s best friend, Rylen Fite. She also believes war is something unfortunate that happens places far, far away from her rural Nevada town. She’s wrong on both counts.When an unknown organization meticulously bombs major cities in the United States and across the globe, a trickle-down effect spreads to remaining towns at an alarming speed—everything from food and water sources to technology and communications are compromised. Without leadership, the nation is split between paralysis and panic, but Amber isn’t one to hide or watch helplessly. She’s determined to put her nursing skills to use, despite the danger, even if it means working alongside the man she can never have. 
 In this first installment of NY Times bestselling author, Wendy Higgins’s debut New Adult series, a frighteningly realistic apocalyptic America is brought to life, entwined with searing romantic tension that will leave you eager for more. ✦ Amazon ✦ Amazon Paperback ✦ Barnes & Noble ✦  iBooks  ✦ Kobo    
About UNREST (Unknown Trilogy #2):Being on the run in the desert means food and sanctuary are hard to come by, but Amber Tate and her crew are not about to give up. Not after having so many of the things they love brutally ripped from them by an unknown enemy who sent their world into the apocalypse.Survival takes precedence, but once safe shelter is found, their guards fall and the emotions they’ve been holding in are finally released. Anger, insecurities...lust. In their tight quarters, Amber, Rylen, Tater, and Remy can't escape it. The past must be faced, and passions run even stronger in the darkest of times. In the midst of unrest, their worlds are rocked again when they discover the truth about the war that’s ruined their lives. They thought finding out the enemy's identity would give them the edge; instead it’s revealed terrifying dangers they never thought possible. ✦ Amazon ✦ Amazon Paperback ✦ Barnes & Noble ✦ iBooks ✦ Kobo      About UNDONE (Unknown Trilogy #3, Coming 12/5/17):Amber Tate never dreamed their heart-wrenching escape from the enemy’s attack would lead them to the most beautiful place she’s ever seen. Like everywhere else in the world, Elmendorf military base in Alaska has been taken over, but it’s time to take it back—all of it—one base, one city at a time. After losing so much, Amber clings to the one precious person she has left, and vows to sacrifice everything to help save the Earth.Remy Haines is a lover, not a fighter, so when she finds herself in enemy territory, expected to feign allegiance while gathering intel for the rebel cause, she’s never been more out of her element. Tensions only increase when her feelings for Jacob “Tater” Tate won’t go away, and the enemy’s leader takes an interest in her. She’s torn between what her heart wants, and what she knows she should do. As for what her body needs…well, it’s always had a mind of its own.✦ Amazon ✦ Kobo ✦Stay Tuned for More Retailers Coming Soon!       About Wendy Higgins: 
 Wendy Higgins is a soccer mom and backstage drama mama. Most people in her tiny bayside town don’t know she’s a USA Today and NYT bestselling author of paranormal, fantasy, and science-fiction romances. Wendy is a former high school English teacher who now writes full time in her pajamas, and lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her veterinarian husband, daughter, son, and little doggie Rue. Wendy earned a bachelor’s in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford University.       Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | UNKNOWN Goodreads | UNREST Goodreads | UNDONE Goodreads |  Wendy Higgins Goodreads  

Cover Reveal: The Life and Death Parade by Eliza Wass

Today I’m helping Eliza Wass and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover for THE LIFE AND DEATH PARADE, which releases June 26, 2018! Check out the gorgeous cover and enter to win an ARC!
On to the reveal! 


Title: THE LIFE AND DEATH PARADEAuthor: Eliza WassPub. Date: June 26, 2018Publisher: Disney-HyperionFormats: Hardcover, eBookPages: 256Find it: Amazon, B&N, TBD, Goodreads
One year ago, Kitty's boyfriend Nikki Bramley visited a psychic who told him he had no future. Now, he's dead.
With the Bramley family grieving in separate corners of their home, Kitty sets out to find the psychic who read Nikki his fate. Instead she finds Roan, an enigmatic boy posing as a medium who belongs to the Life and Death Parade--a group of supposed charlatans that explore, and exploit, the thin veil between this world and the next. A group whose members include the psychic... and Kitty's late mother.
Desperate to learn more about the group and their connection to Nikki, Kitty convinces Roan to return to the Bramley house with her and secures a position for him within the household. Roan quickly ingratiates himself with the Bramleys, and soon enough it seems like everyone is ready to move on. Kitty, however, increasingly suspects Roan knows more about Nikki than he's letting on. And when they finally locate the Life and Death Parade, and the psychic who made that fateful prophecy to Nikki, Kitty uncovers a secret about Roan that changes everything.
From rising star Eliza Wass comes a sophisticated, mesmerizing meditation on the depths of grief and the magic of faith. After all, it only works if you believe it.

About Eliza:
Eliza Wass is an author, journalist and the wife of the late musician Alan Wass. Her debut novel, The Cresswell Plot, was published in 2016 to critical acclaim by Disney-Hyperion. She has contributed articles to The Guardian, Grazia, NME, Shortlist and THE FALL.​Her second book with Disney-Hyperion, The Life and Death Parade, will be published in June 2018. Website| Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads









Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a finished copy of THE LIFE AND DEATH PARADE (when they become available), US Only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Supernatural Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.
Top Ten Tuesday - Halloween Freebie!
This week's TTT was a freebie prompt for whatever we wanted to do for Halloween and I picked Supernatural Characters. That's right, I'm counting down my top ten favorite non-human characters!
Rhysand
Elena Michaels
Myrnin (My favorite mad scientist vampire who wears vampire bunny slippers)
The Darkling
The Goblin King
 Lorcan Salvaterre
Daemon Black
Gallowglass de Clermont
Amy Goodnight (while not technically supernatural, Amy does come from a family of witches and knows how to handle ghosts)
Manon Blackbeak

To be honest, there are so many different supernatural character I could have picked - from vampires and werewolves to high fae and aliens and more, this just scratches the surface of some of my favorite characters - what are some of yours? Drop me a link to yours!As always, happy reading bookdragons and have a bewitching Halloween!-

Man Crush Monday: Book Boyfriend Edition #1

This week I'm doing something a little different, once a week on Mondays unless I have another post planned, I'll be sharing with you my book boyfriend of the week. This book boyfriends will most likely come from whatever book I've been reading in the previous week.


Man Crush Monday: Book Boyfriend Edition #1:NIKOLAI LANTSOV
Books Nikolai Appears in:- Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo- Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo- King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (Coming in 2019)
Why I'm Crushing:Nikolai is charming, confident, and humorous, yet he makes a great leader. True, Alina never quite gives into his charm and claims she doesn't feel anything for him when he kisses her in Ruin and Rising, but I think he would make a great love interest for some character and I really hope he gets partnered up with someone in King of Scars. I'm eager to see how what the Darkling did to him has affected his personality and the way he sees himself in his own book. Will the affable character become a little more brooding and self-reflective? I could definitely see that. 

Book Review: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising (Grisha Trilogy #3) by Leigh Bardugo Blurb:The capital has fallen.
The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.
Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.
Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.
Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.
My Review:Alina wakes up powerless after her last failed attempt at ending the Darkling, in a set of underground tunnels called The White Chapel. There she and her band of survivors are under the rule of the Apparat who preaches to Alina's followers that she's a living saint who will one day be queen. But that's hard to believe when Alina can't summon anything but shadows after dipping into merzost. 
Mal and her friends devise a plan to get her sun summoner power back and escape from the White Chapel and soon they are back above ground to search for Morozova's 3rd amplifier and their ally Nikolai. But the Darkling isn't going to make it easy for Alina and her allies. 
As Alina, Mal and the others hunt for the firebird more of their friends will die at the hands of the Darkling, others will be changed forever, and Alina will wonder if its' even possible to win against the Darkling. And when a startling discovery about the third amplifier's true identity comes to light it might be too much for Alina to bear.
Can Alina kill the Darkling and destroy the fold without sacrificing the thing she loves most in the world? Or will ending the Darkling steal Alina's life as well?
I liked this book, even though I couldn't read Siege and Storm in between Shadow and Bone and Ruin and Rising. (in my defense, the library's only copy was checked out.) There were things I obviously missed out on in book two, like when Mal and Alina meet Nikolai, which I would definitely like to go back and read as well as Alina's second attempt to kill the Darkling, but I felt that bits and pieces were rehashed at the beginning of the book, enough so that I could get some idea of what had happened. 
My favorite character in this book was Nikolai, his personality was a breath of fresh air among the grim happenings of the rest of the book. I can't wait for him to get his own book! I still don't understand why Alina chose Mal, but they didn't bother me as a couple so much by the end. 
I actually love the way the ending of the trilogy was plotted. If everything had been easy and Mal had no trouble finding the firebird and Alina could claim it so easily as the third amplifier it would have been a dull book. This gave the characters struggles to deal with along the way, sacrifices to potentially make, and tragedies to overcome. After all, this is war and not everyone could make it out alive.
I both liked and disliked the ending. I liked the resolution and how things were wrapped up, even if I disagree with how Alina chose to make herself disappear at the end, but I really liked the "After." It fit well with the story even if it wasn't the choice I would have made. After all, the ending was all Alina had wanted from the beginning. 
Overall, I think this is definitely a book worth reading and a good end to Alina's story. I can't wait to read Nikolai's story in 2019 and see if any of the other characters in this book pop up and how, if they do.
My Rating:★★★★1/24.5 of 5 Stars!

#BookTag Saturday: The Star Wars Book Tag

For this week's #BookTag Saturday I'm tackling a tag a friend of mine tagged me with on Instagram...

#BookMail 36

This week I got an amazing surprise package from Entangled Teen! Let's open my mailbox and see this week's book mail...

Haven by Mary Lindsey Surprise Box from Entangled Teen!
Inside the box: (note) (list of contents) (letter) (Book Nerd Poster) (Two Pieces of Godiva Chocolate) (A USB adapter car charger)
(A Hardcover Finished Copy of Haven by Mary Lindsey) (A Coffee Mug!) (A Reusable Cloth Grocery/Tote Bag) (A Sachet of Lavender, 2 Stickers, and a Handmade Metal Bookmark) (All together now!)
Haven Synopsis:"We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes when freed."
Rain Ryland has never belonged anywhere. He's used to people judging him for his rough background, his intimidating size, and now, his orphan status. He's always been on the outside, looking in, and he's fine with that. Until he moves to New Wurzburg and meets Friederike Burkhart. 
Freddie isn't like normal teen girls, though. And someone wants her dead for it. Freddie warns he'd better stay far away if he wants to stay alive, but Rain's never been good at running from trouble. For the first time, Rain has something worth fighting for, worth living for. Worth dying for.
End of October - November Anticipated Book Mail:
- Black Flame Candle from The Melting Library- The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It Cookbook by Ree Drummond (B&N Exclusive Edition)- Bookish Candle & Tea Order from A Court of Candles- Signed Copy of:Renegades by Marissa Meyer- The Grishaverse November Box from Wick and Fable