The Romance Bookie

Message from Mandy @The Romance Bookie So it's that time again!! 2015 is officially almost over! I just can't believe it! It seems like just last month we were celebrating the beginning of 2015! It's time to wrap-up this year, and to begin 2015! Before I go into how I failed all of my reading goals this year, I would like to share some of the life events that happened to me in 2015... -I went to my first early screening of a movie back in January, for The DUFF , and met some of the cast members. -At the beginning of February I went on my second trip to Florida with the most amazing man in my life, my boyfriend, Vincent.  We spent a little over a week at Disney World (one of our favorite places), and for a second time to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, where we went to both Diagon Alley and Hogsmead.  Drank tons of Butterbeer, Pumpkin juice, pear cider, ate at the Leaky Cauldron, and did the new Gringott's Bank Ride!  It was incredible! ...

Soundless  has been on my watch list since I met Richelle Mead at the beginning of the year and she told us about her book.  It was such a unique premise in such an interesting world that I really wanted to read it!  So thank you so much to Miss Print   for giving me an ARC copy of Soundless ! From Goodreads : In a village without sound... For as long as Fei can remember, no one in her village has been able to hear.  Rocky terrain and frequent avalanches make it impossible to leave the village, so Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom. When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink.  Many go hungry.  Dei and all the people she loves are plunged into crisis, with nothing to look forward to but darkness and starvation. One girl hears a call to action... Until one night, Fei is awoken by a searing no...

HAPPY FIVE YEAR TO THE ROMANCE BOOKIE!!!! I can't believe it has been FIVE YEARS!!  I'm so sorry I missed it, but dang the holiday have been crazy!  Plus it was during my last week of school!! But the stress, the inability to concentrate on any reading, and missing my blog anniversary has paid off...because... I GOT ALL A's MY SEMESTER AT UNIVERSITY!!!!!! Here's the proof... Pretty cool right? I'm pretty darn proud! So yes it's a been a busy semester, of studying and running around, but it paid off! So anyway, I just want to say thank you so much for these past five years of amazingness.  Once again, I have to mention how the opportunity of meeting so many fabulous writers, bloggers, and readers would have never been a possibility before starting The Romance Bookie, and I really can't thank anyone other than all the people involved!!   While there are so many people I would like to thank, there is one person that I ...

Hey Everyone! I know I know it's been a while.  The hiatus I put the Romance Bookie on has done me a lot of good; that being said though I have definitely missed reading!! We are less than a few weeks away from The Romance Bookie's FIVE YEAR Blogaversary!!!  I can't believe it's been 5 years! Wow, what a ride it's been!  Not only was my world turned upside down by books and meeting such incredible authors and people in the book world, but also my overall life has changed so much! Next month, I will be letting go of one of my jobs, because life is crazy with two jobs, five classes, and spending time with my loved ones.  I will have some much needed time off, during the winter break.  First time in three years, where I will have weekends off! Oh goodness, am I excited about that!! In those five years, I met the most amazing man ever!  We have been together now two and a half years (December 6th), and moved in together this past summer.  To say th...

Hello Everyone! Another review for you! Storm Siren  is a YA Fantasy Novel that I had been keeping my eye on for a little bit.  I had heard good things about it and finally decided to read it while I was on vacation. From Goodreads : "I raise my chin as the buyers stare. Yes. Look. You don't want me.  Because, eventually, accidentally, I will destroy you." In a world at war, a slave girl's lethal curse could become one kingdom's weapon of salvation.  If the curse-- and the girl-- can be controlled. As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen year-old Nym isn't merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth - meaning, she shouldn't even exist. Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell.  But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the...

Hi There! Today I've got a review of Rebel Heart  by Moira Young, the second in the Dustlands Trilogy! As you might remember, I read Blood Read Road  about a year and a half ago! I initially started reading Rebel Heart  right after finishing Blood Red Road , but I got distracted with some other books and didn't really get back to it until I got this sudden urge to read it again! From Goodreads : Saba thought her world would return to normal after they defeated the Tonton and rescued her kidnapped brother Lugh. The family head west for a better life and a longed-for reunion with Jack. But a formidable enemy is on the rise. What is the truth about Jack? And how far will Saba go to get what she wants? Erin's Thoughts: Wow! I had completely forgotten how good these books were! They're so immersive! Every time, I get drawn into the world and the characters and the language!  After reading a ton of fantasy and not too much else, Rebel Heart  was just perfec...

Hey Everyone! While my life was pretty crazy last year, it is nothing compared to this year.  Taking five classes in a university, while working two jobs is no joke!! And while yes, I'm still technically on hiatus, that doesn't mean I can't post a review here and there, when I actually do find the chance to read, right?? Well, last week I had been so fed up with homework, and work, that I literally just went into the office in our house, where my single book shelf is (the majority of my books are in storage, until my boyfriend and I can get a bigger place to live), and picked up a book I've been meaning to read for years now.  In fact, since high school!  I've seen this book many many time, both in libraries and book stores, but just never have gotten around to picking it up...why? I don't know!  But it's finally happened, and I have joined the Georgia Nicolson band wagon! A little late? you may be thinking? ;), the book did get released in the year ...

Hi!  Beauty is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast !  It's a classic tale and I think this is one of the best retellings ever! It's such a good solid one that really follows the original tale.  Anyways, this is a book I read as a child and recently decided to reread! From Goodreads : A strange imprisonment... Beauty has never liked her nickname.  She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones.  But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage. When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will.  Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?" Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple, Beauty and the Beast. Erin's Thoughts: Like I said...

Hello Everyone, It really saddens me to do this, but I have made the extremely tough decision on putting The Romance Bookie on Hiatus for a bit. There is too much going on in my life, and I've putting this on hold for way too long at this point.  I have been very busy, and with school, work, and family I just can't handle everything anymore. Yesterday, my family was told some very sad news.  One of our German Shepherds, named BJ, died while he was getting surgery to remove tumors in his spleen.  It turned out the cancer was far more advanced than they had thought, and he passed away while they were operating.  I, along with my family, is absolutely devastated.  Our dogs (we have three German Shepherds) mean the world to us.  They are part of the family, and losing one is like losing a piece of ourselves. He was only eight years old, which even for a big dog like a German Shepherd is not old.  It is by no means, young, but also not old.  So...

Hey Everyone! Finished another book, and just in time for the end of the summer!! Before I continue though, I just wanted to share some super exciting news that I just found out...I have been awarded a Grant for this school year and a $1000 scholarship!! Not only will this semester be COMPLETELY covered but also NEXT SEMESTER, so that means MY ENTIRE SCHOOL year is taken care of!!!!!!!!!! :) I cannot even tell you how much of a relief that is!!!!!!  I am so excited!!  This will be my first year at a university (I am transferring from a community college), so it's a bit nerve wracking, but also exciting to be one step closer to my bachelors! Anyway, time for the review! :) I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING BOOK FOR REVIEW FROM THE PUBLISHER!  So thank you Poppy for the opportunity! And thank you Pasadena YA Fest for hosting the event where Poppy had donated these copies to! :) From Goodreads : On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only ha...

Hi Everyone!! I've got a review today of a book I'm super excited about!! The Bone Season  by Samantha Shannon! As you may know, I met Samantha Shannon earlier this year when she was on tour for her new book, The Mime Order , the sequel to The Bone Season.   This was definitely a book I was really looking forward to and I am happy to report I was not disappointed!! Here's my full review below!! :D From Goodreads : The year is 2059.  Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man name Jaxon Hall.  Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people's minds.  For Paige is a dream walker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. It is raining the day her life changes forever.  Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford - a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly ...

Hey Everyone!!! Finally finished another book this summer! It's been a bit of a crazy summer, been working extra hours, and just not getting the free time I've needed to recuperate before school and my other jobs starts in less than two weeks.  I'm freaking out a bit, but I just told myself today, "You are going to lie in bed, and finish reading this book you've been reading for over a month now!" Anyway, I did it!! I FINALLY finished Katie McGarry's latest novel, in a new series, Nowhere But Here ! This is the first book in the Thunder Road Series, and I received an ARC at the Pasadena Loves YA Festival back in June, thanks to the amazing HARLEQUIN!!! So THANK YOU Harlequin for giving out those amazing ARCs at the festival!!! From Goodreads : An unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart and ending up in a place you never imagined possible. Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life t...

Hi, Everyone!! Here's a review of Gathering Darkness , the third book in the awesome Falling Kingdoms Series!!! From Goodreads: In Gathering Darkness, book three of the New York Times bestselling Falling Kingdoms series, the stakes have never been higher as three teams push forward on a race to find the Kindred, the four elemental crystals possessing ancient all-powerful magic, first: Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces.  Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica.  All Gaius needs now are the Kindred - the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner.  But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, stories magic... -The KRAESHIANS join the hunt.  Asher and Amara, the royal siblings from the wealthy kingdom across the Silver Sea, charm and manipulate th...

Hey Everyone!! I'm back for another review!!! I'm so excited to share this one with you, because it is of a book that I received only last Friday and devoured over this past weekend! Miranda Kenneally's Jesse's Girl ! From Goodreads: Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke.  So when Maya Henry said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she's get to shadow *the* Jesse Scott, Nashville's teen idol.. But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true.  He's as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he's accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya's lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves.  Not to mention that Jesse's pushy and opinionated.  He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya's playing back up to other people's dreams.  Does she have what it takes to follow her heart --- and go solo? My Thoughts: I abs...

Hey Everyone! I've got a review of Mortal Heart  by Robin LaFevers, the third book in the His Fair Assassin Series ! From Goodreads: Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death.  But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seecress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent.  Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own. She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin.  Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has... Erin's Thoughts: I'll be honest, when I first read Grave Mercy  and heard "assassin nuns", I was like, What? The idea didn't really appeal to me and it actually sounded pretty funny to me.  Even as I read it, I didn't like it that  much.  The writing and everything w...

The Notorious Pagan Jones  by Nina Berry was a really good read.  As soon as I heard it was coming out I knew it was going to be amazing and I had  to read it, because frankly, Nina Berry is a talented author.  I will read anything Nina Berry writes. From Goodreads: Pagan Jones went from America's sweetheart to fallen angel in one fateful night in 1960: the night a car accident killed her whole family.  Pagan was behind the wheel and driving drunk.  Nine months later, she's stuck in the Lighthouse Reformatory for Wayward Girls and tortured by her guilt -- not to mention the sadistic Miss Edwards, who takes special delight in humiliating the once-great Pagan Jones. But all of that is about to change.  Pagan's old agent shows up with a mysterious studio executive, Devin Black, and an offer.  Pagan will be released from juvenile detention if she accepts is a juicy in a comedy directed by award-winning director Bennie Wexler.  The sho...