April | 2017 | Dusk Angel Reads

Dewey’s 24 Hour ReadAThon Wrap Up

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Eliza Eames

So the Dewey’s 24 Hour ReadAThon has finished and I honestly didn’t do that great in this ReadAThon! I knew that I wouldn’t get TONNES read as I knew I would have to sleep and work. When I first decided I was going to do this ReadAThon I didn’t know that I was going to be working, so I planned on read all day today but that didn’t happen.

I started reading last night at 10:00pm, which was when the ReadAThon started in Aus. I went to sleep at about 1am and listened to an audiobook until I fell asleep.. I couldn’t get to sleep straightaway so I actually got an hour and a half of listening done. I woke up at 8 and worked from 9 till 1:30 and then had to come home and have something to eat and do some jobs. I then read for about 2 hours and then had to do some more jobs and cook dinner and then I watched My Kitchen Rules as it is the Grand Finale and I had forgotten it was on tonight till about half an hour before it started. I thought it was tomorrow night for some reason. So I watched it instead of reading as I’m not missing the grand finale after watching every damn episode of the season haha. So this wasn’t the best ReadAThon for me.

I read 223 pages of Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

I listened to about an hour and a half of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

I don’t know the exact time as when listening to audiobooks before bed I put it on a sleep timer of 15 minutes and then reset it if I’m still awake. That way if I fall asleep then it will be easy to go back a couple minute to what I remember.. So I listened to somewhere between 1hr 15min to 1hr 30min.

Well that is all for this wrap up. Hopefully I will have a better time with the AYearAThon which starts at midnight tonight! Atleast it goes for a week, so I can get more read in that time haha.

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May 2017 TBR

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Eliza Eames

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I do have 1 eGalley to read this month and I’m participating in a ReadAThon from the 1st till the 7th which is for books that are 400+ pages. I have already done a possible reads post for this ReadAThon, which you can find HERE, so I will just put a collage of the book covers below as what I read for that ReadAThon will quite simply go by what I feel like and whether a couple books arrive on time with the ReadAThon.

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This is the book that I have an eGalley of and I will be starting next once I finish Three Dark Crowns

These are the 2 books that I have ordered online and don’t know if they will arrive on time for the ReadAThon, but if they don’t I still really want to read them this month!

I have only recently read A Court of Thorns and Roses and have ordered a copy of a Court of Mist and Fury and have pre-ordered A Court of Wings and Ruin. So they will both be arriving some time this month and I want to read them this month before I start forgetting what happened in ACOTAR.

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I haven’t set a massive TBR for myself even though it looks that way because of the pics of the possible reads for the ReadAThon. But I did read a lot more in April than I have in ages! So I have set a bigger TBR for myself than I have in the last couple months.

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Tag Sunday – The Book Cake Tag

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Eliza Eames

Well I am back for another tag sunday! I’m writing this on Saturday as I am participating in Dewey’s 24 Hour ReadAThon which doesn’t finish till 10pm Sunday night for me and then I’m participating in the AYearAThon which starts at midnight Sunday night!

I saw this tag done by Maxxesbooktopia! Do checkout their post! This was originally created by SuddenlyLorna on BookTube!

Ingredients:

This book started off a little slow and confusing but I ended up really enjoying it.

This series is definitely rich and is one of my favourite series! It’s an amazing book!

I’m not a massive contemporary reader but i ended up really enjoying this book.

This book was really sweet and a cute easy contemporary read.

I can’t choose just one book for this, so I’m choosing these three series. I don’t look for just one thing in a book, but there cover the things that I love!

Any Harry Potter book of course!!

This book is just perfect! I have nothing to fault!

Because I’ll be doing them every Sunday, I am only going to tag 1 person in each so I’m not tagging the same people all the time! So each week I will tag my latest follower! Hopefully there will be a new ones each week to tag.

I will actually be tagging my two latest followers today as my latest follower is more of a blog about writing than reading and I can’t see any other tags on their blog. I’ll tag them anyway, but I’ll also tag another account as well.

Blissful Scribbles Blog

Momos Blog

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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – Spoiler Free Review

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Eliza Eames

Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series Name: The Grisha
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: June 5th, 2012
Pages: 308 (Paperback)
Publishers: Indigo
Rating:

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite – the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance. Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and Laini Taylor.

So I have finally started this series! Hopefully I will be able to get a copy of the next two books in a couple weeks. I have The Hate U Give, Caraval, ACOMAF and ACOWAR coming from book depository and I don’t want to purchase any more books until I read a few more of my physical TBR. Trying to keep on top of my TBR pile.

Also, I went into this book knowing nothing about it except that there were people called Grisha. That is all.

I like the purple cover of this book which is the one I own. The Original is the same but the background is a grey colour instead of purple. I like that the name and the lighter purple vines on the edges are raised on my paperback edition. I believe that the purple edition is the only one with the bonus content, but I may be wrong.

I enjoyed Leigh Bardugo’s writing style. I like how it’s simple and easy to read and also engaging. I wish there was a bit more world building though, there is still things about the world and magic system and different things that I still don’t understand. Hopefully there will be more explained in the next 2 books. I do wish that there was a page that showed how to pronounce some of the words in the series as 90% of them I have no idea how to pronounce still. I like the bonus content too, I didn’t read the interview with Leigh Bardugo, but I did read the letter from Mal that never made it to Alina.

Oh and also there is a map!!! I don’t think I need to say again how much I like maps.

I enjoyed the plot of this book. The whole idea of The Unsea and the Sun Summoner and the Darkling is really interesting. And I also like the name of The Unsea, Unsee, complete darkness??!! This makes me laugh! It’s so good haha. Anyway, I also thought some parts were a little bit predictable. Most things I didn’t know what to expect but knew that something either good or bad was coming to or from a certain person. So not all of it was predictable completely, but a little bit. Which wasn’t bad, but not my favourite as I love unpredictable books. The twist that involved Baghra & the Darkling I did not see coming! I knew there was something there, as is obvious in the book but I did not see that coming!

I enjoyed most of the characters in this book. I liked Alina’s character, she was interesting and strong and I liked learning about her and seeing her develop. The Darkling, I was always a bit iffy and curious about and never fully liked him. At the start Mal was just kind of eh but towards the end I really liked his character and thought he was interesting and I liked seeing the development with him as well. Genya was a character I’m still not 100% sure about. At the start I enjoyed her and thought she was just being nice but towards the end I just don’t know what think and don’t know what side she is on. Baghra isn’t a character you either like or dislike and in the end I was happy with what she did but still don’t particularly like her. Botkin I enjoyed and always imagined him with a heavy Russian accent. Which also kinda put me off to imagine a Russian accent in a fantasy world… But that was just how it read to me.

I enjoyed this book but did have a couple issues with it, mainly in the world building and understanding of the book. Hopefully everything is cleared up in the next book though! Definitely want to continue on with this series.

Let me know if you have read this book and what you thought in the comments! Please warn about spoilers and no spoilers for the rest of the series, please!

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May A YearAThon TBR & Dewey’s 24 Hour ReadAThon Info

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Eliza Eames

So I have 2 ReadAThons coming up very soon. The Dewey’s 24 Hour ReadAThon & the A Year A Thon. I won’t be making a specific TBR for the Dewey’s 24 Hour ReadAThon as there is no challenges, so I will just read whatever I’m up to when it starts and read as much as I can.

I’m posting this TBR now rather than just before the ReadAThon starts because the Dewey’s 24 Hour ReadAThon ends at 10pm on the 30th and the A YearAThon starts 2 hours later at midnight. I will also be writing my blog post for the 30th today which will be a Tag Sunday so that way I won’t have to worry about it on that day. In the 2 hours between Dewey’s 24 Hour ReadAThon and the A YearAThon I will post my wrap up for Dewey’s 24 Hour ReadAThon.

So the May A Year A Thon starts on the 1st and ends on the 7th. The monthly theme is Rereads and the challenge is to read books over 400 pages. I won’t be rereading any books as I want to concentrate on new books more than rereading books.

So onto the books on my TBR. This isn’t a specific TBR, it will more be options of books with 400+ pages that I own or have on eBook.

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

Pages: 468

I have just received an email saying that I was approved to get a copy of Carve the Mark through NetGalley. So I will be starting this book next, I don’t know whether that will be before or during the A YearAThon.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Pages: 456

I have a copy of this book on Scribd.

A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

Pages: 416

I received this book in a The YA Chronicles Subscription box last year and have been meaning to read it ever since. It sounds really interesting and this ReadAThon might be the reason I finally get to it.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Pages: 429

I bought this ages ago and have been meaning to get to it but just haven’t got around to it yet! I also really want to read something that is written by only Jay Kristoff to see if I like her writing as in Illuminae & Gemina it is hard to tell.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Pages: 407

I have this and the next book coming in the mail from Book Depository so it will partly depend on whether they arrive in time. But this book just sounds so interesting and there is so much hype, I’m so excited to get to it!

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Pages: 444

This sounds like such an important book to read at the moment. Granted being Australian this isn’t something that is directly affecting me, but I still really want to read it.

Well that are some of the books that are options for books over 400 pages that I could read from the ReadAThon. I will definitely be reading Carve The Mark after I finish Shadow and Bone. But it will depend on how long it takes me to read Shadow and Bone whether I will be reading it before or during the ReadAThon. If Caraval & The Hate U Give arrive in time they will most likely be the ones I’m most likely to pick up. If they don’t arrive in time then The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer & Nevernight will be highest on my list.

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Top 5 Wednesday – Authors You Want to Read More From

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Eliza Eames

This Meme is hosted by Thoughts On Tomes and the prompts can be found on Goodreads.

This week’s prompt is: Authors You Want to Read More From

1. Agatha Christie

I have read And Then There Were None & Murder on the Orient Express and really enjoyed both of them! Her writing and writing style is just amazing and I plan to read a lot more of her books!

2. Laini Taylor

I have read Strange the Dreamer and absolutely loved it! I wanted to read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series for a while but since reading Strange the Dreamer I want to read it even more now!

3. Sarah J. Maas

I have only read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas. I’m currently waiting for A Court of Mist & Fury to arrive from Book Depository and have also Pre-ordered A Court of Wings and Ruin and plan to read them together. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses, it wasn’t absolutely amazing but everyone claims that A Court of Mist & Fury is even better, so I’m yet to see. I also own Throne of Glass and plan to read it. There is still 2 more books to come out in this series, so I will most likely leave it for a while yet so that way there isn’t a tonne of time between reading the ones that are out and waiting for the next books to come out.

4. Marissa Meyer

The only book by Marissa Meyer I have read is Heartless and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t my favourite. But that wasn’t because of Marissa Meyer’s writing, it was more because of the fact that it was a prequel of sorts to Alice in Wonderland and that meant that nothing was unexpected or unpredictable and I dislike predictable books.. So that I think just wasn’t the book for me. But I really want to try her The Lunar Chronicles series!

5. Jay Kristoff

I have read the first two books in The Illuminae Files and I can’t wait for the next book Obsidio. I haven’t read any book solely by him as The Illuminae Files is Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff and also The Illuminae Files is not a good book to judge someone’s writing skills on because it’s so different from a normal novel. I own Nevernight and I really need to get to reading this book. If I enjoy Nevernight then I will consider reading his The Lotus War series.

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Top Ten Tuesday – Book Turn Offs

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Eliza Eames

Top Ten Tuesday is a monthly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and you can find all the info and upcoming prompts Here.

This week’s prompts is: Top Ten Things That Will Make Me Instantly NOT Want To Read A Book (topic originally done back in 2013) — tell us all your book turn offs!

Well I’m not sure I will get 10 for this but I’ll try.

1. Romance

I’m fine with romance being in a book as long as it isn’t the sole purpose of the story. And especially I will not read adult romance books. I can’t think of anything worse.

2. Love triangles

If I know there is a love triangle in a book then I will more than likely not read it. When it comes to love triangles its not as bad when a character has had something with one character and doesn’t really have their heart in it when the meet the next character that they do have genuine feelings for. That’s not a love triangle as long as when the character realises the genuine feelings they leave the original one. But when a character has two interests going at them same time, I hate it. I hate this in real life too, not just reading. Do not lead someone on! It’s cruel and pathetic.

3. Diverse books that have reviews claiming bad representation of the diverse characters

This only counts if the people claiming that there is bad representation are apart of the diverse group being represented in that book. If you’re straight female and saying that a book badly represents a gay male character then I’m not going to listen to you. How do you know its a bad representation when you aren’t from the type of person being represented?! I hope that makes sense.

Okay so this annoys me. I am a Bisexual White Female with full physical mobility and I would never pretend to understand what it feels like to live, for example, as a paraplegic. Me personally, if I was to ever write a book involving a diverse character that I was not apart of that same diverse group, I would do all the research I could, speak to people that are in that position and lastly when I have written the book try and get people that are in that diverse group to read it. If you are trying to get an accurate representation then the best thing to do is get people that are in that diverse group to say whether it is a good or bad representation…

I hope all that made sense, it was hard to write and word all those thoughts haha.

4. Chick Lits

Not my cup of tea.. Similar to the dislike or romance and that I don’t enjoy contemporaries as much.. So just not something for me.

5. Books with Multi POV that isn’t labelled at the top of the chapter

So I love Multi POV, but I hate books that don’t have that characters name displayed so you know which POV this part of the book is from. There is nothing worse than spending a page or so trying to figure out whose POV we are reading from.

6. Third Person POV

so this one isn’t an absolute Turn Off.. But I enjoy reading from first person POV so much more. There is so much more connection with characters from first person POV. I’m reading a book atm that is written from third person and I’m just not enjoying the actual writing as much and I just can’t connect with the character. I’m enjoying the story but just wished it was first person instead.

7. Bad Relationships

I don’t want to read about someone being treated like shit in a relationship. Or in real life for that matter. Grow a set of balls and dump their sorry ass! Never accept anything less than what you deserve and no one deserves to be mentally, emotionally or physically abused by someone they claim to love. That’s not love hunny..

8. Characters that think they know everything

This drives me insane! It is okay not to know things and it’s okay to take peoples advice or ask for advice! Nothing annoys me more when a character tells another character ,that is wiser or knows the situation or the people better, of their crappy plan and when the other character says that’s its a crappy plan and they shouldn’t do it and then they do it anyone and someone gets killed because they were too stubborn to accept that they might not have had the best idea or view of the situation… Like what did you expect to happen?!

Well I only got to 8 and that was a bit of a struggle getting together haha. There is probably other things but I just can’t think of them ATM.