“Slayer” by Kiersten White

DF57BC13-4647-4A27-ADF8-9721CDEDD1C8It’s no secret to many who know me — I absolutely *adore* Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’ve watched it several times (PSA: It’s on Hulu!) and it never ceases to make me laugh, cry, laugh again, and cry some more. (I’m looking at you, “The Body”.)

So when I heard there was a Slayer book coming out, I knew there was no options. I was going to buy it, and I was going to buy it immediately. The stakes were high (pun intended) — would it hold up? Would it make me furious, another adaptation of my faves gone wrong?

Turns out, I LOVED IT.

Slayer starts out after the last season of the show ends, where Buffy rids the world of magic. Or something. But here’s where it’s different from the show, and a wholly awesome new perspective into the Slayer world. The story is told from the

 perspective of Nina, a teen girl who has grown up in the Watcher’s Academy and has spent her life learning how to become a healer. Her twin sister, Artemis, is also there, and she is more of the violent Watcher “type”, always feeling Nina like she is a bit of an outsider.

But then everything changes. Because (and the synopsis says it better than I can) “Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.”

Talk about pressure.

So you’ve got a Slayer, Watchers, teens and adults, demons, romantic interests, the works! And most importantly, the “who is the bad guy” trope. Is it him? Is it her? It’s her! No wait, is it him? I love this type of storyline so much — it keeps you guessing from beginning to end.

Anyway — If you loved Buffy Summers, you’ll love Nina and Artemis and all of their friends (and foes). There is supposedly more of this story to come, and I can’t wait for them to SLAY me like this one did. 😉

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Buy your copy here!

[Bonus: I listened to the audiobook of this book, and it’s killer!]

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April Wrap-Up!

It’s time for the April wrap-up! I read 23 books in April! That makes 87 towards my goal of 200 for this year!

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  1. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
  2. The Sellout by Paul Beatty
  3. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
  4. Leave Me by Gayle Forman
  5. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan*
  6. Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer
  7. Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
  8. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher (reread)
  9. Saga Vol. 7 by Brian K. Vaughan
  10. This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
  11. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
  12. Sisters One, Two, Three by Nancy Star*
  13. Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig
  14. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
  15. Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust*
  16. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (reread)
  17. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (reread)
  18. Good-bye, Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson
  19. Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge
  20. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
  21. Pop Goes the Weasel by M.J. Arlidge

*Indicates a book not pictured because I read it via library book, ebook, or audiobook.
Does not include 2 books read for work that do not fall in the scope of this blog.

What did you read this month? What are you looking forward to reading in May?

March 2017 Wrap-Up

March was a little bit better for reading, but I made it through some BIG books. So, March was made of 20 books for me. As of the end of March, I am at 64 of my goal of 200 — 33% of the way there!

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Here’s what I read:

  1. My Secret: A PostSecret Book by Frank Warren*
  2. A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
  3. Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
  4. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
  5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
  6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
  7. Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones*
  8. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
  10. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
  11. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
  12. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
  13. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
  14. Legend by Marie Lu
  15. A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
  16. Prodigy by Marie Lu
  17. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
  18. Champion by Marie Lu

*Indicates a book not pictured because I read it via library book, ebook, or audiobook.
Does not include 2 books read for work that do not fall in the scope of this blog.

What did you read in March? What are you looking forward to in April?

2016 in Review

Goodbye 2016! Good riddance! ¡Adiós! It was a rough year to be alive. But I read some awesome books! I wanted to do a year-long wrap-up! I originally set a goal of 80 books, but I met that in about half a year. I upped my goal to 200 then, which would be the most books I’ve read in a year, ever. Here’s the stats of my year!

Total books read: 214

ARCs read: 54
Listened to over 39 days worth of audiobooks!

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(I didn’t rate any books at 1 star this year, but I abandoned quite a few.)

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I keep a shelf every year that has every book I’ve read that year in the order I’ve read them. This of course doesn’t include books that I don’t own a physical copy (ebooks, audiobooks, library books). It always looks so pretty and I love it!

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How did your 2016 reading goals go? I will be posting a top 20 of 2016 and a 2017 goals post soon, so keep an eye out for that! Thanks for a great year!

Bookstagram

I have started getting into the “bookstagram” trend lately, which is basically taking artistic photos of books and posting them on Instagram and other social media. It’s really fun and allows me to be a little creative with the usually beautiful covers being put out recently! I’ve always loved photography (whether I’ve been halfway decent at it is a real question), so this is just another really neat outlet for my love of books!

Follow along with me this month as I participate in #redwhiteandbookedjuly! In case you’re new to these challenges, here’s a rundown: basically one or more users create a challenge, usually a month-long one, where they give you a “theme” for every day. This is the challenge I’m doing:

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Here’s my first few photos! Feel free to share yours too!

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My TBR (to be read) pile for July!
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Summer-themed books!
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Books that take place where you live — Rainbow Rowell not only lives here, but has found a way to weave Omaha into all of her books. Eleanor & Park actually takes place here, which is awesome!
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Fourth of July post: Red, white and blue books! I had a lot of fun with this one and had lots of different options to choose from.

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