December 2020 ~ Book Notes by Athina

Wednesday, 30 December 2020

December 2020 - Wrap up

Hello everyone!

2020 is finally over! Can you believe it? With everything that happed it felt endless.

Before moving on to a better 2021 let's see the books that I managed to read in December. I read 7 books in total (5 ebooks & 2 physical books).

A Heart So Fierce And Broken (Cursebreakers #2) - Brigid Kemmerer

I liked this one more than the first. It was more fast-paced, there was more action and that ending was everything...

In a few words: I loved it!

Rating: 5 Stars

Review to come pretty soon

Crown of Bones (Crown of Bones #1) - A. K. Wilder

It's synopsis doesn't reveal much but had me intrigued and after finishing it I can certainly say that it very very good. Check it out when it comes out on January 5th.

Rating: 4 Stars

I received an eARC from the publisher through Netgalley.

Review to come pretty soon

Good Wives (Little Women Part 2) - Louisa May Alcott

In this part of Little Women we follow the four March sisters as they grow older and try to find where they belong in the world. It was nice to see how the girls transformed to young women and lived their lives and their characters developed.

I really enjoyed reading it but I prefer the first part when the sisters where still little girls.

Rating : 4 Stars

Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked #1) - Kerri Maniscalco

Well, this was a highly anticipated book and thankfully it didn't disappoint. I loved the writing style, the story, the pacing and I really liked the characters.

Rating: 4 Stars

Review to come pretty soon

Rebel Girls Lead : 25 Tales of Powerful Women - Rebel Girls

I have previously read books by Rebel Girls like the Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls and had loved everyone of them. This one focuses more on leadership and it was no exception. It releases on January 26th.

Rating: 5 Stars

I received an eARC from the publisher through Netgalley.

Review to come pretty soon

The Maiden Ship (The Maiden Ship #1) - Micheline Ryckman

I finally read The Maiden Ship and I am in love with it. The story, the characters, the world-building everything. I cannot wait to read the next book. Thank fully I have an eARC so I can read it asap.

Rating: 5 Stars

Review to come pretty soon.

Nightshade Forest (Eleanor Mason's Literary Adventures #1) by Nikki Mitchell

This is a small middle grade book about Eleanor Mason's adventures. I really enjoyed it as it has a beautiful story and it is beautifully written.

Rating:4 Stars

Review to come pretty soon.

That's it for this year.

Let's see what 2021 will bring us reading-wise at least.

See you in the next post and don't forget to keep reading!!!

Athina

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman - A Review

By Athina 08:00 // No comments

Hello everyone!!

Today we are reviewing Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman which is a fantasy book first published in 1990. I have read the Greek translation by Selini (Thanos Karagiannopoulos is the translator).

I have heard so many things about this book and thankfully it didn't disappoint. It follows an angel and demon who have been friends for centuries and recounts their experiences in the days leading up to the apocalypse. I loved the story of the end of the world and how it was executed by the authors. It is well-written, clever and funny. The characters are lovely and funny.

I am curious to see how the TV adaptation has interpreted the story.

Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

‘Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don’t let you go around again until you get it right.’

People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. But what if, for once, the predictions are right, and the apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea?

You could spend the time left drowning your sorrows, giving away all your possessions in preparation for the rapture, or laughing it off as (hopefully) just another hoax. Or you could just try to do something about it.

It’s a predicament that Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon now finds themselves in. They’ve been living amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and, truth be told, have grown rather fond of the lifestyle and, in all honesty, are not actually looking forward to the coming Apocalypse.

And then there’s the small matter that someone appears to have misplaced the Antichrist…

See you in the next post and don't forget to keep reading!!!

Athina

The Road by Cormac McCarthy - A Review

By Athina 08:00 // No comments

Hello everyone!!

Today we are reviewing The Road by Cormac McCarthy which was originally published in 2006.

I don't know what to say about this book. One thing that is certain is that I liked it.

It's a post apocalyptic novel where we follow a father and his son as they walk down the road towards the south. We don't know what caused the apocalypse or where exactly they are. We only know that they need to survive and go to the coast.

We get to observe their relationship developing through time and through the problems they face. It is well written and in a different kind of way.

Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The searing, post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son’s fight to survive.

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,” are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation

See you in the next post and don't forget to keep reading!!!

Athina

Vengeful (Villains #2) by V. E. Schwab - A Review

By Athina 08:00 // No comments

Hello everyone!!

Today we are reviewing Vengeful by V. E. Schwab which is the second book in the Villains duology.

I have previously reviewed the first book, Vicious and you can find my review here.

I found Vengeful to be more fascinating than Vicious. I loved the plot and how everything unraveled. By now it is not a secret that I love Victoria's writing. She tells us the story using time as a way to increase our suspense about the plot and the "heroes". I really liked the new characters that were introduced in this book, especially Marcela, but I was still rooting for Victor and his friends.

The ending didn't disappoint me and I would like to see more in this world of EOs. My wish is getting granted as V. E. Schwab writes a comic based on this world called Extraordinary (coming out in 2021 by Titan Comics).

Rating : 5 Stars

Synopsis form Goodreads

Eli Ever and Victor Vale were only medical students when their mutual discovery that near-death experiences can, under the right conditions, manifest extraordinary abilities.

They were best friends, and rivals, and then enemies. They were dead, then alive, and then---Eli killed Victor, once and for all.

Or so he thought---but Sydney Clarke felt otherwise, and used her own superpower to tip the scales. Now, a trio hides in the shadows, while another takes advantages of post-death life to take over the city of Merit.

If there can be life after death—will there be calm after vengeance, or will chaos rule?

See you in the next post and don't forget to keep reading!!!

Athina

Finale (Caraval #3) by Stephanie Garber - A Review

By Athina 07:52 // No comments

Hello everyone!!

Today we are reviewing Finale by Stephanie Garber which is the third book in her Caraval series. It is a YA fantasy book with romance, published by Hodder & Stoughton (Flatiron Books in the US) in May 2019.

Well, this is one of my favourite series and I loved this book and of course I need more!

It was nice to get back to this magical world and see again my favourite characters. You do not need any words here. I love Stephanie's writing and her world building.

Finale had all the elements I wanted from a story, it was full of twists and turns and unexpected surprises.

Tella and Legend continue to be my favourites and I want to read more stories about them.

Rating: 5 Stars

You can read my reviews on Caraval here and on Legendary here.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Welcome, welcome to Caraval...all games must come to an end.

It’s been two months since the last Caraval concluded, two months since the Fates have been freed from an enchanted deck of cards, two months since Tella has seen Legend, and two months since Legend claimed the empire’s throne as his own. Now, Legend is preparing for his official coronation and Tella is determined to stop it. She believes her own mother, who still remains in an enchanted sleep, is the rightful heir to the throne.

Meanwhile, Scarlett has started a game of her own. She’s challenged Julian and her former fiancé, Count Nicolas d’Arcy, to a competition where the winner will receive her hand in marriage. Finally, Scarlett feels as if she is in complete control over her life and future. She is unaware that her mother’s past has put her in the greatest danger of all.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun―with lives, empires, and hearts all at stake. There are no spectators this time: only those who will win...and those who will lose everything.

See you in the next post and don't forget to keep reading!!!

Athina

New Releases - December 2020

By Athina 08:00 // No comments

Well, it's time for the December new releases post. This month there are a lot of books that are in my most anticipated list.

As I said before this list is of course incomplete as it includes only books that I am interested in and the majority of them are in the Fantasy genre. This month though we have more diverse genres.

Don't forget that the titles of the books link to Goodreads if you want to check the synopsis.