All My Friends Are Dead Small Book Review

All My Friends Are Dead (All My Friends... #1 of 2) BY Avery Monsen and Jory John

Hardcover, 96 pages
Read: June 29
Rating: 5/5
Genres: Humor, Childrens, Picture Book
Summery: If you're a dinosaur, all of your friends are dead. If you're a pirate, all of your friends have scurvy. If you're a tree, all of your friends are end tables. Each page of this laugh-out-loud illustrated humor book showcases the downside of being everything from a clown to a cassette tape to a zombie. Cute and dark all at once, this hilarious children's book for adults teaches valuable lessons about life while exploring each cartoon character's unique grievance and wide-eyed predicament. From the sock whose only friends have gone missing to the houseplant whose friends are being slowly killed by irresponsible plant owners (like you), All My Friends Are Dead presents a delightful primer for laughing at the inevitable.

Review: This book was a delightful little find/read. It has a slightly dark humor to it, and is a very quick read. It took me about a minute to read and I laughed a few times reading it. Definitely a good buy.

Update + July TBR

I had some life/health issues that came up and was not feeling up to read these last few years. But, I finally feel somewhat better and more inspired to read, let's hope that feeling doesn't fade mid month/year. I have also changed the way I categorize my bookshelves and my TBR books.

Anyway let's get on to the books I want to read in July...

For the Adult category book: In Deep Voodoo (Voodoo in Mojo #1 of 2) BY Stephanie Bond

I read this book  WAY back in '05. I have a pretty good memory of it, and I also remember really enjoying it. So we'll see if I enjoy it second time around.











For the Children's/Middle Grade category: James And The Giant Peach BY Roald Dahl

I watch the movie that based on this book back when I was a kid and have vague memories of it. Hopefully I'll like the book.











For the Classics category: Travels With Charley In Search Of America BY John Steinbeck

I'm most apprehensive about this one because, besides Brave New World and 1985, I don't have the greatest luck with classics. So hopefully I enjoy i well enough.

















For the LGBT+ category: Everything Leads To You BY Nina LaCour

This category, as well as book, I'm most excited about. I have heard great things about both this book and the authors other books, So I'm very optimistic about liking this one.


















And lastly for the Young Adult category: Stranger With My Face BY Lois Duncan

I have not heard much about what this book is about. I found it at Goodwill and knew there was a movie based off it, so I decided to buy it. It sounds like it will be an interesting Mystery/Thriller book, so hopefully I'll like it.
















So I have five books to hopefully read and enjoy for July. As for June, there are 1 or 2 very short books I might read. All My Friends Are Dead and The Time Machine.

Hope everybody has/had a great day!

End Of Days book review + Penryn and the End of Days series review

End Of Days (Penryn and the End of Days book #3 of 3) by Susan Ee

Paperback, 344 pages
Read: May 14 - 16
Rating: 5/5
Genres: Fantasy, Post-apocalyptic, Horror, Supernatural, Romance, Action, Young Adult
Summery: After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.
When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

Review: This book takes place right after the events in the end of World After. I was worried going into this book that it would end up letting me down, thankfully through it did not disappoint me. If you read the first two books than you probably had the same thought as me as to how this book would conclude given all of the stuff that goes on in the first two as well as the stuff they allude to in the first two books. The way that this whole series concluded I think is the only way it could have ended without a big number of people being disappointed. I loved Penryn's mom, I did not think while reading Angelfall or while reading World After that I would love Penryn's mother as much as I do, she had some pretty great moments in this book. I was also really excited to read more about the Watchers, as well as how the fallen become the fallen. I also liked seeing how Beliel became who he is, I also did not think that by the end of the book that I would feel sympathy for Beliel. I did not think I would end up being shocked by anything else Uriel pulled to become Messenger, but I was, I did not think that Uriel would have anymore "apocalyptic signs" to throw at the angels, so that was definitely surprising for me. I was also kind of worried how the story would conclude concerning Penryn's sister, Paige, so what happens with Paige made me very happy. There are a few, I wouldn't call them romantic, they were more lustful then romantic, there are a few lustful scenes, which thankfully aren't overwhelming, annoying, or just plain too much. Over all I loved the book it was a great end to an awesome trilogy.

now onto the series as a whole.

Series Rating: 5/5

Series Review: This series was amazing. When I picked up the first book I did not think I would like the book much less love it as much as I do. It has everything I have ever wanted in a book, action, adventure, a strong female lead, a complex female lead, a romance that does not suck, mystery, and fantasy. Not only does it have all of those things, it also is very well developed, it never felt like Susan Ee just threw plots and ideas at a wall and hoped they would stick, and that development showed, which makes me love the books even more. I love that fact that all of the characters have layers to them, that made my reading experience even more enjoyable. I also really like the pacing of the books they're a fast enough pace for me to be interested from the get go, but they're not so fast that I had any blink and you'll miss it experiences. I loved the relationships that are formed and changed and end up evolving through out the whole series, I also love how all of those relationships have layers to them, they weren't not cut and dry which always made me excited to read more involving those relationships. I also love the humor, You'd think that with a young adult apocalypse book that there would either be no humor or the attempts at humor would be stupid, but the humor here is just my kind, it's sarcastic, dry, and biting, and sadly so far with the other books I've read there hasn't really been any of that type of humor, so reading those moments really made me smile. I loved this whole series, and Susan Ee is now definitely on my must buy author's list. She definitely seems to know how to right a really good and enjoyable book/series.

Now that I have finished this book and the series, which is kind of bittersweet for me because I didn't want it to end, but I'm so happy with how it ended. Anyway now that I've finished it. I can start giving my full attention to the other books I tried to start but couldn't because I was too excited with this coming out that I couldn't concentrate on any other books.

Hope everybody had/has a great day : )

World After book review (SPOILERS)

I have read this book last year, and I also have a spoiler-free review up already so this review is going to have spoilers.

So fair warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!

World After (Penryn and the End of Days book #2 of 3) by Susan Ee

Paperback, 314 pages
Read: Apr. 3 - 30
Rating: 5/5
Genres: Fantasy, Post-apocalyptic, Horror, Supernatural, Romance, Action, Young Adult
Summery: In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.
When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.
Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.
Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

Review: This story starts off right where the first book, Angelfall, left off. Now let's get into the spoilers, shall we... First off I love the way Penryn wakes up after being paralyzed by the scorpion experiments and ends up scaring all the men of the resistance. The fact that not only does Raffe's sword have a personality of sorts, but that Penryn names her Pooky Bear, and the way Raffe reacts after finding that out made me so gleeful. I felt so bad for Paige through out the book, although I did find the way that Penryn and Paige's relationship shifted and changed very interesting. I also really do like Penryn's relationship with her mother, the fact that there are hints of "saneness" in her mother, and that Penryn sees that makes the relationship kind of bittersweet, because she knows they're just moments and the her mom's not going to stay that way. I was really intrigued by the reason behind the experiments, I mean the fact that these angels are stealing children are basically ripping them apart sewing them back together to have them become cannibals, or as they called them Nephilim, just so they could discount Raffe so he wouldn't become the next messenger was so crazy and I'm really hoping to find out more about that in the last book. Finding out that Paige could control the Scorpion experiments was really awesome. I also loved the fact that when Penryn had fallen into the ocean, it was night, and she ended up being spun around so she could tell which way was up, down, left, or right, Penryn realized that bubbles float up to the surface, so she blew out some bubbles and followed them to the surface, I love the fact that that is a thought process she goes through, because that along with the fighting gives a glimpse into why she has survived though everything, it also shows that she does a really good job at keeping a level head through really nerve-wracking, and panic-inducing situations. I also found the fact that Raffe saw Penryn at one of the angel parties/headquarters and wasn't sure it was her until Penryn stared fight, then he was positive it was Penryn hilarious. I liked the fact that through Pooky Bear you get a glimpse of who Raffe was before the first book and why he has such a disdain for humans. I think that's all for the spoilers. The last books',End of Days, release date is set for May 12, I have pre-ordered it from amazon already so next month I will have a spoiler-free review up for the last book in this series.


Hope everybody had/has a great day : )

The Ask and The Answer + The Wide, Wide Sea book review

The Ask and The Answer (Chaos Walking book #2 of 3.5) by Patrick Ness

Hardcover, 536 pages
Read: Apr. 5 - 12
Rating: 5/5
Genres: Dystopia, Action, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Summery: We were in the square, in the square where I'd run, holding her, carrying her, telling her to stay alive, stay alive till we got safe, till we got to Haven so I could save her - But there weren't no safety, no safety at all, there was just him and his men...
Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd has carried a desperately wounded Viola right into the hands of their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss. Immediately separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd is forced to learn the ways of the Mayor's new order. But what secrets are hiding just outside of town? And where is Viola? Is she even still alive? And who are the mysterious Answer? And then, one day, the bombs begin to explode...

Review: This story starts a few days after the ending of The Knife of Never Letting Go. I loved this book. First off, I love the plot, it's very interesting I honestly had no clue what to expect to happen next. I love Todd, he's a very layered character, he makes mistakes he feels guilt he tries his best to figure out the right way to do things, he's a great character to experience both the first and this books happenings through, and with. Also, there are two point's of view to read in this book, first is Todd's and the second is Viola's. I really liked reading Viola's thoughts through out this book, Viola was a great character to experience the book through as well. I did not expect to love this book as much as I did, I also did not expect to feel interested in some of the characters that I did. The Mayor was someone that even though I hated I still had an interest in knowing his character, I did not expect to end up feeling sympathy for Davy but I did. I thought a the beginning of reading the book that I was going to be agreeing with the Answer, and Mistress Coyle, which didn't end up happening for me. I loved the fact that the world in which they live and the events that took place and are taking place never feeling 100% black and white, there were times where I was wondering who was better, not right because honestly it felt like nobody was right, but better equipped to run things in this world. The fact that I felt interest in The Mayor and felt sympathy for Davy and that I was never able to be 100% for The Ask or The Answer made the book that much more, better, interesting, exciting. I am definitely excited to read the rest of the series.

Next up,
The Wide, Wide Sea (Chaos Walking book # 2.5 of 3.5) by Patrick Ness

ebook, 39 pages
Read: Apr. 12-13
Rating: 5/5
Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Action
Summery: The Wide, Wide Sea is set in the past, at a time before the Spackle War, and we get a first look at the fishing village on the sea where some very important things happen at the end of Monsters of Men.
Best read after The Ask and the Answer but before Monsters.

Review: This story takes place 13 years before the beginning of The Knife of Never Letting Go. this story takes place from a boy named Declan's point of view and is about the relationship between a Spackle. I had no clue what to expect, but it was very good, it gave me a new perspective on Mistress Coyle's past, although I'm still cautious regarding her in the third book. I'm now wondering if I'll be encountering Declan, or the Spackle known as Rock Against The Tide, or also known as Ti. The story has me wondering who Declan and Ti are, and also if there's the possibility that both, or either of them might have already appeared in the main books.

Hope everybody has/had a great day : )

White Cat book review

White Cat (The Curse Workers book#1 of 3) by Holly Black

Hardcover, 310 pages

Read: Mar. 30 - 31

Rating: 4/5

Genres: Magic, Mystery, Romance, Young Adult

Summery: Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn't fit in at home or at school, so he's used to feeling like an outsider. He's also used to feeling guilty; he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.

But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas and a plan to con the con-men.

Review: This story starts with Cassel waking up to find that he has sleepwalked up onto the roof of his school building. Well... I liked the story, and the characters, but the way it was written out gave me a disjointed feeling. I felt like there were things missing from the story, which considering the main character's situation, it's understandable, but it still wasn't the most pleasant feeling to have while reading. And while I did enjoy the "twists and turns", I could see them coming from miles away which, of course, gave me no feelings of shock when they were finally revealed. I did like the characters, they had a lot of interesting angles to each of them. The shift in who to trust in terms of the two brothers, Philip and Barron, was probably my second favorite part of the book, my first favorite being the explanation about workers and the blowback, I kept switching between who of the two brothers I like and who I thought could be trusted, I liked that because it made me more involved with the characters and the story itself. I did like the story over all, although I am hesitant to continue on with the second and third book because of the disjointed feeling I got from this book.

Hope everybody had/has a great day : )

Angelfall book review (SPOILERS)

Since I read and reviewed this book and the sequel last year, Spoiler-free, I am going to be reviewing both books with spoilers.
So warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days book #1 of 3) by Susan Ee

Paperback, 284 pages
Read: Mar. 8 - 30
Rating: 5/5
Genres: Fantasy, Post-apocalyptic, Horror, Supernatural, Romance, Action, Young Adult
Summery: It's been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain.
Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night.
When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back...

Review: I love this book and series! If you have not read this you definitely should, this series is very unique and I have yet to read anything remotely similar to it. This story starts off with Penryn, her mother, and her little sister, Paige, exiting their "home" to move up towards the hills of California, where there are less people, and gangs, to be safer. It has been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse have arrived on earth destroying towns, cities, building, and people. Now lets get into some spoilers, shall we... First off one off my favorite parts of the book (page 32) is Penryn explaining that her mother was so scared of what she might end up doing, after the unexplained accident with Paige, that she took Penryn to a martial arts studio and paid for five years worth of training, she learned Tae Kwon Do, Jujitsu, Escrima, her mother also signed her up for many other things as well, shooting lessons, archery lessons, survivalist workshops, Sikh camps, basically anything she could think of so Penryn could defend herself. The reason why I love this part the most is because it give explanation for why Penryn is such a good fighter, instead of us just reading about Penryn beating up three or more guys and having us just assume she's this amazing fighter for no reason. That's the one thing that can annoy me about books with a female "action hero", Blood Red Road by Moira Young was the worst when it came to that, how Blood Red Road got so many great reviews I will never know, it was a terrible and stupidly cliched book in my opinion. Moving on, I also love that fact that Penryn's mother was schizophrenic, the fact that Penryn had a love/hate relationship with her made me like Penryn more and in turn like her mother more. I also like the fact that in this post-apocalyptic world her mother could survive very well. I also like the fact that even though Raffe is a angel he's agnostic. The last third of the book with Penryn finding Paige was kind of heartbreaking for me, the fact that Paige has become a cannibalistic experiment of multiple different body parts sewn together was very sad for me it becomes even me sad in the first two thirds of the second book as well. The fact that politics are a big reason for the experiments and for the three other angel attacking and trying to to kill Raffe made the book even better. I also like the fact that Penryn is not hard barely emotional person she has moments of fear, sadness, pain, and even moment of feeling like a teenage girl, it made Penryn very relatable to me. There's a history with the Watchers (angels) and their human wives having children called Nephilim who fed on humans, drank their blood, and terrorized the earth, and because of that the Watchers were condemned to the Pit until Judgement Day, and there's a hint that what happened to the wives was worse in this book, there's more explanation on the wives in the second book though. I liked the fact that there is a resistance camp as well. I think that's all for the spoilers. This is definitely my #1 book series, the way Susan Ee wrote this book makes me feel like she thought each book out 100% before publishing them. I picked this book up just because the cover was so pretty, I thought it was going to be a cheesy romance filled book, instead I ended up reading this action-packed, dark, intriguing, and unique book. This is one book series I know I will never have regret buying. Just because I love these book so much Susan Ee is on my automatic buy list, these books were that amazing to me.

Anyway at the end of the next month (April) I will have a spoiler-filled review for the sequel (World After), then in May after the third book (End of Days) arrives, I pre-ordered it of course, I will have a spoiler-free book review for that one.

Hope everybody had/has a great day : )

In The Hand Of The Goddess book review

In the Hand of the Goddess (Song of the Lioness book #2 of 4) by Tamora Pierce

Paperback, 264 pages

Read: Feb. 21 - Mar. 16

Rating: 3.5/5

Genres: Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Magic, Young Adult

Summery: "I don't want to fall in love. I just want to be a warrior maiden."

Still disguised as a boy, Alanna becomes a squire to none other than the prince of the realm. Prince Jonathan is not only Alanna's liege lord, he is also her best friend -- and one of the few who knows the secret of her true identity. But when a mysterious sorcerer threatens the prince's life, it will take all of Alanna's skill, strength, and magical power to protect him -- even at the risk of revealing who she really is...

Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna's second adventure continues the saga of a girl who dares to follow her dreams -- and the magical destiny that awaits her.

Review: This story starts of with Alanna, now fifteen, trying to find cover from the rain in a forest. This book was very hard for me to read, it felt very similar to the first book (Alanna), Although I feel like the first book had much better pacing. The beginning took me a long while to get into and the middle and ending had places where the way that the events that were taking place would be written moderately fast pace and it would make me gain interest, then a few pages afterwards the pacing would slow way down and I would lose interest again. I still really like all of the characters that I did from the last book though (although I didn't enjoy the romantic relationship that took place, the chemistry read more as friends so when they became romantic it felt off.), I also really like the plot and story, it's just the actual writing that I can't seem to get into. Also the ending gave me exactly the same feeling as the first book's ending did, It was very anti-climatic for me.

Also, for the release of the third book in the Penryn and The End of Days Series (End Of Days) which comes out May 12th, I'm so excited. I'm in a goodreads group that are re-reading the first two books in the series. For march we're re-reading Angelfall, and for April we're re-reading World After, So I'm going to have another review for those this month and the next.

Hope everybody had/has a great day : )