RBD Review #34 | Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2) by Libba Bray

Book info:
Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2) by Libba Bray | 576 pages | Published December 2006 by Ember | YA, fantasy, historical fiction, supernatural

Summary:
Ah, Christmas! Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academy, spending time with her friends in the city, attending ritzy balls, and on a somber note, tending to her ailing father. As she prepares to ring in the New Year, 1896, a handsome young man, Lord Denby, has set his sights on Gemma, or so it seems. Yet amidst the distractions of London, Gemma’s visions intensify–visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened, something only the realms can explain...
The lure is strong, and before long, Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world of the realms that Gemma alone can bring them to. To the girls’ great joy, their beloved Pippa is there as well, eager to complete their circle of friendship.

But all is not well in the realms–or out. The mysterious Kartik has reappeared, telling Gemma she must find the Temple and bind the magic, else great disaster will befall her. Gemma’s willing to do his intrusive bidding, despite the dangers it brings, for it means she will meet up with her mother’s greatest friend–and now her foe, Circe. Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task.

My thoughts: 
Read October 4-December 14, 2016 | 5/5 stars

RBD Review #13 | The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Book info:
The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater | 408 pages. Published 2012 | Teen Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal

Summary:

• First and foremost I DO NOT AGREE WITH THE BOOK JACKET SUMMARY. Read the review if you’re interested in knowing why. 

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore (courtesy of Goodreads).

My thoughts:
Read April 07-24, 2016 | 4/5 stars

RBD Review #16 | Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3) by Maggie Stiefvater

Book info:
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3) by Maggie Stiefvater | Published 2014 | 391 pages | Teen fantasy

Summary:
There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.
The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.
Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel (courtesy of Goodreads).

My thoughts:
Read April 29-May 07, 2016 | 4/5 stars

RBD Review #14 | The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

Book info:
The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater | 439 pages | Published 2013 | Teen fantasy (external image)

Summary:
If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take?
Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.
One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.
And sometimes he's not the only one who wants those things.
Ronan is one of the raven boys—a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface—changing everything in its wake.
Of The Raven Boys, Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Maggie Stiefvater's can't-put-it-down paranormal adventure will leave you clamoring for book two." Now the second book is here, with the same wild imagination, dark romance, and heart-stopping twists that only Maggie Stiefvater can conjure (courtesy of Goodreads).

My thoughts:
Read April 25-28, 2016 | 5/5

First Official Blog: HOW DO I DO THIS?!

Hi, everyone! This is my first ever legit blog post. I mainly use tumblr and I finally decided I needed to buckle down and start to review in a "real" blog. For the first few weeks, I'm going to be transferring all of my book reviews to here. Not just links, but whole posts, along with updating the reviews in the process. 

I have no clue what I'm supposed to blog about, so I'm just going to wing it.I guess we should start with some introductions.  I'm Allie. I'm 26, a Hufflepuff, library employee, and fiercely (but somewhat quietly) feminist. I love YA fiction, Urban Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Memoirs and Biographies, and most of all, Horror.

I started low-key book-blogging on tumblr in February this year as a way to keep up on critical writing and thinking until I go back to school, but it turns out I kinda like it. I've been working on keeping my tumblr busy, but I'm very bad at posting original content, mostly because I don't know where to start. I thought it was high time I gave real blogging a chance. 

I'll mostly be posting book reviews, but I'm going to work on some recommendation posts and updating the progress on the teen displays I do at my library. I do them monthly but work on them for a long time before it's time to put them up.

Since I started in the booklr community, I stumbled upon a Discord server that's focused on books and reading. I lurked for a few days, and finally introduced myself. Now I've got a whole host of book-loving friends! If you're interested in joining or would like to learn more, please check out my friend Lauren's post over at Booksandtea about our chat, and come say hi! Someone is always around and we have tons of read-a-longs and read-a-thons, and even traveling book projects going on all the time. Honestly, this server is one of the best things to happen to me this year. 

I think I'm going to schedule to post twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays starting today, with the first book review I ever wrote. Keep in mind, I'll be updating them a little while I make the transition from tumblr to here, so don't be upset with my if they're late or off schedule in the beginning. While I'm moving all the old reviews here, I'll also be writing and scheduling new reviews and posts (moving all the old posts here is just to give me time to come up with content XD). 

If you have any suggestions for things you'd like to see, please let me know, I'm very very open to suggestions!

Feel free to check me out at the usual places!!
Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter 
Thanks for reading,
-A