Gabbie's bookish thoughts

  I was lucky enough to be part of the blog tour for the first book in the series , Dangerous Remedy , last year and it's fair to say these characters have been, as is their way, living rentfree in my mind ever since. Not only was the first book such a fantastic read, it ended on a cliffhanger promising many more adventures to come, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second installment in this series. Thus, I shall share with you all things Monstrous Design  so that you can join in my excitement! Synopsis:  Following the thrills and spills of Dangerous Remedy, the Battalion of the Dead return in a dazzling new adventure, set amid the opulence and squalour of 18th-century London and Paris. 1794, London: Camille and Al are desperately hunting Olympe's kidnapper. From the glamorous excesses of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens to the city's seedy underbelly, they are caught in a dangerous game of lies and deceit. And a terrible new enemy lies in wait with designs more m...

Synopsis: Camille, a revolutionary's daughter, leads a band of outcasts – a runaway girl, a deserter, an aristocrat in hiding. As the Battalion des Mortes they cheat death, saving those about to meet a bloody end at the blade of Madame La Guillotine. But their latest rescue is not what she seems. The girl's no aristocrat, but her dark and disturbing powers means both the Royalists and the Revolutionaries want her. But who and what is she? Review: I'd been looking forward to this novel ever since I heard about its upcoming release. On paper, Dangerous Remedy The historical fiction elements seemed well researched without ever feeling as though the author was trying to dump all her notes on you, which is always a fine line to tread when it comes to historical fiction if you ask me. The ... From revolutionary Paris' atmosphere, to complicated romantic bonds, to found family, to scientific experiments and savants with a god complex, to a girl that doesn't seem quite huma...

YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN BY LEAH JOHNSON ★★★★★ CW: anxiety, panic attacks, mentions of death of a loved one, illness of loved one, homophobia (challenged) & outing    Synopsis:      Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.       But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen. There's nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she's willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.   ...

WILDER GIRLS by Rory Power ★★★★ Synopsis:      It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her.       It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.       But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true. Review:      I went into this...

Goodreads page:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7664334-amy-and-roger-s-epic-detour?ac=1&from_search=1 My rating:   5/5 Plot:   Amy Curry has recently suffered a great loss in her life that completely changed things for her and it doesn't seem for the better.In need to take her mother's car from California all the way to Connecticut,yet unable to drive herself because of recent events,Roger comes in the picture to help.The son of Amy's mother's best friend,Roger ends up as the designated driver that'll take Amy and the car to mrs. Curry.To both of their surprise,the two decide against the settled course of their trip and end up going for an  (you guessed it)  epic detour,having what might just be the adventure of their lives. Thoughts on the book: I LOVED THIS BOOK! First of all,the story itself got me hooked.Give me a lovely,slightly sad contemporary or a roadtrip book and I am happy.The writing was amazing and the book it...

Goodreads page:   https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418488164l/22914373.jpg Overall rating:   4.291(6) Contents:  twelve winter romances 1."Midnights" by Rainbow Rowell In typical Rainbow Rowell style,this was incredibly adorable.The characters themselves seemed really great,although you obviously can't take much from such a short piece,but they did.The romance didn't feel rushed despite the short lenght of the story and the relations with the other characters seemed natural and well built. I liked this one a lot. 5/5 2."The lady and the fox"  by Kelly Link I'm not exactly sure how I felt about this story.It was pretty enjoyable,but there where things that bugged me a little.I'm not sure how I felt about the main character and although I found the story had potential after the beginning and looked forward to the entire supernatural element the clearer it became,I just sort of found the story going worse and worse as it progre...

Goodreads page:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16099393-soulmates My rating:  3/5 Plot: Poppy.17 year-old college girl with a cynical attitude and a strong love for banana milkshakes. Noah.Teenage rock star.Known as a "man whore".Greatest catch in the city of Middletown. Although these two might not seem like it at first,they happen to be soulmates.However,there's quite a bit of drama brough by that simple fact and it may or may not involve the possibility of the world ending because of them.No pressure.This brings them in the eyes of a secret organisation trying to prevent the end of the world (because who wouldn't),which leads to the two having to choose between ending the world or living their lives without each other. My thoughts on it: This is a well known fact about me,but I'll just say it again: romance,especially when in excess,makes me want to roll my eyes.A lot.Which is obviously why I had really really  low expectations from thi...

Goodreads page:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23507628-i-was-here My rating:   5/5  What it's about: The story follows our heroine Cody after her best friend Meg's suicide.Cody and Meg have been best friends since early childhood,yet after Meg commits suicide,Cody comes to the conclusion that maybe she's never known Meg at all. Cody doesn't only try to get to know the side of Meg that she's never seen and look for some answers about the dead girl's secret life,but she also finds out things about herself along the way that maybe she's never even known where there. Thoughts on the book: I don't think I have enough words to describe how brilliant this was. I've been highly anticipating this book ever since it was firrst announced,I think.I've been expecting to adore it and have been waiting for it to arrive for what feels like forever,but in the time it took for it to be delivered,I've seen some rev...

Goodreads page:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22168240-grace-s-guide My rating:   5/5 What this is about: Grace Helbig -one of my personal favourite Youtubers/comedians/persons/some sort of being that appear human,yet I tend to question whether they are or not- sprinkles some of her life lessons upon the masses. Filled with trade-mark Grace-esque comments and jokes,the book comes with tips for being the best possible adult you can possibly be in this particular era (or any,I don't know what is to come/what was before I was here).This comes with tips for things like getting over a hangover and break-up to doing a shameless walk of shame and making a carb-full dinner.It's got all the tips you need (and if it doesn't,you can just add more,probably). Thoughts: Although I might be a little biased because of my love for everything that Grace Helbig does,I do have to say that this book was a bit of a masterpiece.It wasn't just great content wise,b...

Goodreads page:    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18166936-the-strange-and-beautiful-sorrows-of-ava-lavender?ac=1 My rating:  5/5 Plot: The story mainly follows the life of the Roux/Lavender family.We start off with the story of Emilienne Roux,Ava's grandmother.We learn about how the Roux family moved from France to the US and how their lives have been affected by that,the sorrows that followed and that would stay with Emilienne forever.Then,as the story progresses,the focus shifts from Emilienne's story to Viviane's,her daughter's,and the challenges that she has to face,simply to end up reaching the point where we finally learn about the narrator,Ava Lavender (and her twin brother Henry).Ava,like everyone in her family,was rather peculiar.She,however,was a lot stranger than even the others in her family and much more different from everyone else,as she had been born with wings.We learn the story of how she lived with them and what challanges life b...

Goodreads page:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17455585-white-hot-kiss?ac=1 My rating:   3.5/5 Plot: Layla is a not so usual teenage girl.She is half demon,half gargoyle (living in a world where gargoyles,Wardens, were basically created to kill demons,so you can see her problem).She tries to keep as close as possible to her Warden heritage,yet the demon pulls are strong.Her life gets even more complicated after she meets Roth,one of the strongest demons,then I suppose it's quite obvious that everything becomes a bit of a roller-coaster. Thoughts on the book: Let's just say that all books should have as great of a first line as "There was a demon in Mc Donald's."Really,if that sentence doesn't get you hooked from the very beginning,I don't know what would. On a (sort of) more serious note,the book was really surprisingly good.I thought that the world was a bit odd to get into at first,I found it weird that Wardens were called Wardens...

Goodreads page:    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11808950-sweet-evil My rating:  4.5/5 Plot: Paranormal romance story focused on angels/demons. Sixteen year old Anna Whitt has lived her life with only her stepmother to look after her knowing that she has powers quite out of the ordinary,yet has never really known how it came to happen.For example,she can see people's auras,figure out their emotions,has better senses than usual human beings and a surprisingly great memory (aka can remember things like her birth and even before that).Obviously,things get a bit more complicated after the boy meets girl,girl meets boy,there's a weird attraction there and things are about to get cray cray.In this case,the charming Kaidan Rowe is the one to sort of mess things up for Anna.Point it,they are both fathered by demons,which can make life not as bright,ya' know?Her heritage makes Anna have an odd pull towards drugs and alcohol,but obviously,that's still too simple...

Goodreads page:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15990969-ten-tiny-breaths?ac=1 My rating:   3.5/5 Summary/plot: The story follows 20 years old Kacey who runs away with her sister to Miami so that the two can start a new life and burry their past.This past is full of sadness,four years earlier,the two lost their parents in a tragic accident caused by a drunk driver,accident which also lead to the death of Kacey's besti friend and boyfriend that were in the same car as her and her family.Adter 4 years spent with their aunt and uncle,they finally manage to escape,but the new life they hope for might just take a turn neither was actually expecting. Thoughts: The first thing the book made me realise is that I am not a New Adult kinda gal'.Although this is just genre appropriate and that the book is still quite mild for the genre (according to my New Adult loving friend Julia),I was still pretty uncomfortable quite a few times while reading the book.Yes,I shall k...

Goodreads link:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13047090-onyx?ac=1 My rating:   3/5 Still not exactly sure how I feel about this book series. Whereas this one is pretty different from Twilight and didn't give me those feels at all,unlike the first one,I must admit I still enjoyed it quite a bit,so the Twilight element being why I enjoyed the first one is out of the way. There were,however,quite a few things that I found a bit off.The first half or so of the book was a bit slow and (and I am sorry to admit that and use that word) dull,boring.The romance was still a bit off for me and I just found the entire transformation of the male character a bit rushed.I honestly didn't appreciate that love triangle forming early on and was close to wanting to give up on hope for this simply because of that,but,happily,JLA gave up on that pretty soon,so my hopes were back on.I also disliked the way some of the characters were ignored.I really wanted to see more Dee in ...