April 2016 in Review

Item: Daughters of Ruin
Rating: 4
Author: Amanda Marie

Posted April 30, 2016 in Life, Reading / 6 Comments

Things that Happened in April

My birthday on April 1st. I don’t exactly like my birthday, in fact, I have nine whole reasons I hate the day of my birthday! I shared them on Twitter.
9 Reasons I Hate the Day of My Birthday!

Reason #101 I Hate April Fools Day: No one believes me that it is, in fact, my birthday.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) March 31, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #102: No one takes me seriously ON MY OWN BIRTHDAY!

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #103: People expect to be able to act mean and rude without any consequences. This is not okay.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #104: It turns into a time for bullies to pick on EVERYONE. Again, this is NOT okay.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #105: I work in a school. Enough said.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #106: My birth was not some joke. I am not a joke. I am ME and it IS my BIRTHDAY!

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #107: Let me just have my birthday and stop turning everything into a joke.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #108: For once, I’d like to be able to go somewhere and do something on my birthday without it being a joke.

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016

I Hate April Fools Day – Reason #109: I have NEVER had a birthday without at least a few derogatory comments about my birthday being April 1

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 1, 2016
I GOT ACCEPTED TO GRADUATE SCHOOL!! It is for a Masters in Catechetics and Evangelization. I am SUPER excited about this. It is an online program that I will begin in August.

Favorites of the Month

My favorite book of the month was The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. I was basically in tears (meaning I would have been crying if I were one to cry about books) by the end of the novel. Such a fitting ending to an amazing series!
My favorite reread of the month was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling. I love this book so much!

My Favorite Tweets of April

Knowing how much I don’t exactly love my birthday, my mum got me some great flowers. ❤️ Sometimes moms are the best! pic.twitter.com/bHZBdEz5x9

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 2, 2016

380 miles round trip? Ain’t nothing like a day drive to the city when you live in Montana. 😄 And now I’m home. #lifeinMT

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 3, 2016

I GOT ACCEPTED TO GRAD SCHOOL!! 🎉😃🎉😃🎉

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 8, 2016

🎉 I’ve done it! I’ve caught up on reviews! 🎉 For the 1st time ever my Feedback Ratio on @NetGalley is 100%! #books #bookreview #netgalley 🏻🎉

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) April 15, 2016

Books I Read in April

Tagged as Monthly Wrap-Up

It is Better Not to Keep Secrets as Secrets Change All Their Lives – Daughters of Ruin {Review}

Posted April 4, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Daughters of Ruin by K D Castner
Series: Daughters of Ruin #1
Publisher: McElderry Books (2016 - April 5)
Paperback ARC (316 pages)
Via: Publisher
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

Game of Thrones meets Graceling in a thrilling debut that follows the four fierce princesses of enemy kingdoms as their worlds collide in the throes of war.
Rhea, Cadis, Suki, and Iren have lived together since they were children. They are called sisters. They are not. They are called equals. They are not. They are princesses…and they are enemies.
Not long ago, a brutal war ravaged their kingdoms, and Rhea’s father was the victor. As a gesture of peace, King Declan brought the daughters of his rivals to live under his protection—and his ever-watchful eye. For ten years the girls have trained together as diplomats and warriors, raised to accept their thrones and unite their kingdoms in peace.
But there is rarely peace among sisters. Sheltered Rhea was raised to rule everyone—including her “sisters”—but she’s cracking under pressure. The charismatic Cadis is desperately trying to redeem her people from their actions during the war. Suki guards deep family secrets that isolate her, and quiet Iren’s meekness is not what it seems.
All plans for peace are shattered when the palace is attacked. As their intended futures lie in ashes, Rhea, Cadis, Suki, and Iren must decide where their loyalties lie: to their nations, or to each other.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Find the author: Website, Goodreads

Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016

January 2016 in Review

Posted January 31, 2016 in Life, Reading / 12 Comments

Things that Happened in January

It has been a stressful month. Apparently my brain needed books to manage the stress because I read quite a few books this month. And by “quite a few,” I mean “a lot.”
On the topic of the above, please pray for my sister. I can’t say more since I don’t want to share her story here, but she does need prayers.
I was able to attend my friend’s wedding in Washington, DC and it was beautiful. It was great to see so many friends that I haven’t seen in two years.
I read 17 books this month which is A LOT! I blame quite a bit of it on the traveling I did to and from Washington, DC. There isn’t much to do on a plane besides read and so I read.
My favorite book of the month (non-reread) was Illuminae and my favorite reread was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.