Motion (Laws of Physics, #1) by Penny Reid [Blog Tour: Revew + Excerpt + Giveaway]

Hello! Welcome to the next stop on the Motion blog tour hosted by Social Butterfly PR. I'm really happy to share my thoughts on this book with you! Motion, the first in the all-new Laws of Physics Trilogy from Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author Penny Reid, is available now!

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, AppleBooks, Amazon Worldwide, Nook, Kobo, Google Play, Amazon Paperback

One week.
Home alone.
Girl genius.
Unrepentant slacker.
What’s the worst that could happen?

Mona is a smart girl and had everything figured out a long time ago. She had to. She didn’t have a choice. When your parents are uber-celebrities and you graduate from high school at thirteen, finish college at seventeen, and start your PhD program at eighteen, you don’t have time for distractions outside of your foci. Even fun is scheduled. 

Which is why Abram, her brother’s best friend, is such an irritant.

Abram is a talented guy, a supremely gifted musician, and has absolutely nothing figured out, nor does he seem to care. He does what he feels, when he feels, and—in Mona’s opinion—he makes her feel entirely too much.

Laws of Physics is the second trilogy in the Hypothesis series; Laws of Physics parts 1 (MOTION) & 2 (SPACE) end with a cliffhanger.

"The only thing I truly envied men was their ability to grow wizard beards."

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I want to start this review by saying how much I appreciate the synopsis including information about a cliffhanger. I don't typically like to read books with major cliffhangers, and it was nice to know in advance. It gave me more perspective while I was reading this one.

“Yeah. Gravity can be such a downer.”

Secondly, I adored Mona and her physics jokes! They came so naturally to her, and they were hilarious! I cracked a smile more than once, and was even more amused when Abram seemed to appreciate her sense of humor. Although, his random knowledge of whale sperm and vomit is cause for concern (hah!). Mona is a genius, socially awkward, and still learning what "normal" feels like. I hate that she was so willing to save her sister without first understanding the gravity (see what I did there?) of what she was doing. Lisa and Gabby should have been more honest with her from the start, especially since they wanted her to drop everything and come to Lisa's rescue.

"Funny how the very weaknesses that cripple us in some situations are often the foundation for our greatest achievements."

Also, the letters that kept being brought up... why wouldn't anyone listen to Mona? If Leo had similar problems with his tutor (or whatever they were), why wasn't Lisa more understanding? She seemed unwilling to listen to anything Mona had to say, but was quick to ask her for help. It annoyed me how Lisa used her twin, and offered her no explanations.

Abram was a fascinating individual. I enjoyed his contributions to the story, and thought he was a very complex character. I liked learning more about his past, and was curious whether or not he knew about Mona from the beginning. I always questions his motives, but most of his actions could have been taken either way (playing along with the ruse, or genuinely confused yet convinced). It was an interesting dynamic. Like Mona said, he was in a position of power (think glorified babysitter), and Mona was pretending to be her twin, which made most of their encounters awkward at best. I couldn't help cheering for these two, despite knowing that everything had to come out eventually.

Motion was my first book by Penny Reid, although I've been meaning to read her books for years. I think I have two of them on my iPad! I'm a little confused how this series is set up, because other reviewers seem to already be familiar with some of the characters. Were they in another series? Regardless, I did enjoy Motion even though I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Pretending to be someone your not, even for the right reasons, never ends well.

My Weekly Pull [58] & Can't Wait Wednesday [28]

My Weekly Pull is something I do every Wednesday to show which comics I had pulled for me that week! If you're into comics, or you're looking to start, please join me! If you decide to do your own post, there's a link-up at the bottom. I would love to stop by and check it out!

 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3 by Tom Taylor, Juan Cabal, Andrew Robinson

Miles Morales Spider-Man #3 by Saladin Ahmed, Javi Garron, Marco D'Alfonso

Jacob's comics for the week!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Urban Legends by Gary Carlson, Frank Fosco, Kevin Eastman

Guardians of the Galaxy #2 by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, David Marquez

Hulkverines #1 (of 3) by Greg Pak, Ario Anindito, Greg Land

Venom #11 by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman

I'm really enjoying both of these Spider-Man comics! It's clear Tom Taylor has a knack for Peter Parker, and Saladin Ahmed is perfect for Miles Morales. He's constantly surprising a laugh out of me, and having Miles say things that are both relevant and hilarious. He's just a kid in this comic, and it's nice to see him acting like one. Curfews, school , fighting crime at night -- all normal teenage behaviors. 

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, that highlights upcoming releases that we're anticipating and excited to read. It's a spinoff of the feature Waiting on Wednesday that was hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Repeat by Kylie Scott

Expected publication: April 7th 2019

Synopsis (via Goodreads): From New York Times bestselling author Kylie Scott comes an irresistible new romance.

When a vicious attack leaves 25-year-old Clementine Johns with no memory, she's forced to start over. Now she has to figure out who she was and why she made the choices she did - which includes leaving the supposed love of her life, tattoo artist Ed Larsen, only a month before.

Ed can hardly believe it when his ex shows up at his tattoo parlor with no memory of their past, asking about the breakup that nearly destroyed him. The last thing he needs is more heartache, but he can't seem to let her go again. Should they walk away for good, or does their love deserve a repeat performance?

I l-o-v-e-d Kylie Scott's Stage Dive series, and Repeat sounds like it's going to be just as amazing (and potentially heartbreaking)!

*Share your My Weekly Pull post! Please leave the direct link to your My Weekly Pull post and not just your blog's URL. Thank you for participating and happy reading!

Q [7] Does the age of a character's love interest matter to you?

Personally, the age of a character's love interest does not matter to me, as long as they're both consenting adults. Some books really toe the line of what an adult actually is, so I'm going to go with 18 for the purposes of this post. How do you feel when a character's love interest is significantly younger or older than they are? Does the character's gender matter? 

Last year I read Here So Far Away by Hadley Dyer, which I really enjoyed. The main character, George, was emotionally and somewhat physically involved with an older guy. In his defense, she mislead him at the start of the book, and made him think she was older than she was. They both struggled with their feelings, but couldn't deny that they were attracted to one another. I thought the relationship between the two felt very authentic and believable. George was just shy of 18, and I believe she was old enough to make her own decisions. However, if anyone had discovered them together, there would have been severe consequences for them both (more so for him, I think). 

I thought Hadley Dyer did a wonderful job managing the minefield of their relationship, and shedding light on their emotional turmoil. There was an honesty between the two characters that was beautiful to see, and George finally found someone that she could be herself with. They spent a lot of time together trying to figure out their feelings (was it a fleeting attracting, did it have the potential to be long-lasting, was it better to ignore each other, etc.), while also keeping everything a secret. It felt realistic, and I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that have dated someone much older than themselves. George is a character they can relate to, myself included. When I was in high school, I dated a guy that was six years older than me. Looking back on it now, I regret the relationship, but not because of the age difference. The guy was a douche canoe, and I stayed with him for all the wrong reasons. 

After reading and reviewing this book, I noticed a lot of people saying they liked concept for the overall story, but they were turned off by the age difference between the two characters. There were comments that said it set a bad example for teenagers today, and that the gap made them uncomfortable. There are so many people that will refuse to read books simply because they dislike how much older one person is than the other. 

Another book I read last year was The Idea of You by Robinne Lee. It was actually recommended to me by two of my friends, so I didn't hesitate to pick it up. Unfortunately, I didn't love it as much as they did, but the story did have some merit. Solène was intimately involved with someone much younger than herself, and his career made it hard for them to keep their relationship a secret. They try to sneak around for awhile, because she has daughter and he doesn't like to comment on his personal life, but a slip up was inevitable. 

Once their relationship was made public, people criticized her for her age and said she was too old to be with him. First of all, thirty isn't old. Secondly, it wasn't anyone's business. They were both adults, and not just barely, but fully into adulthood, so their decisions should have been personal and private. I hated how they were scrutinized, and that people made comments about her being old enough to be his mother. 

After reading and reviewing this book, I noticed fewer comments about their age, but people still seemed uninterested in a book that had such a large age difference between two of the characters. It's like the topic is taboo, even though it's something we see every day.

Why does age matter if they're both adults that agree on the relationship? Do you think it sets a bad example? Why? Is it okay for one gender to date an older person and not the other? Let me know what you think!

Courting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology, #1) by Robin LaFevers [Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway]

Hello! Welcome to the next stop on the Courting Darkness blog tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. I'm really happy to share my thoughts on this book with you!

Title: COURTING DARKNESS (Courting Darkness Duology #1)
Author: Robin LaFevers
Pub. Date: February 5, 2019
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 512

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, TBD

Death wasn’t the end, it was only the beginning…

Sybella has always been the darkest of Death’s daughters, trained at the convent of Saint Mortain to serve as his justice. But she has a new mission now. In a desperate bid to keep her two youngest sisters safe from the family that nearly destroyed them all, she agrees to accompany the duchess to France, where they quickly find themselves surrounded by enemies. Their one ray of hope is Sybella’s fellow novitiates, disguised and hidden deep in the French court years ago by the convent—provided Sybella can find them.

Genevieve has been undercover for so many years, she struggles to remember who she is or what she’s supposed to be fighting for. Her only solace is a hidden prisoner who appears all but forgotten by his guards. When tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands—even if it means ignoring the long awaited orders from the convent.

As Sybella and Gen’s paths draw ever closer, the fate of everything they hold sacred rests on a knife’s edge. Will they find each other in time, or will their worlds collide, destroying everything they care about?

See where it all began! Grab the His Fair Assassin Trilogy now! You don’t need to read these to read Courting Darkness but they’re amazing! [Grave Mercy - Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, TBD | Dark Triumph - Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, TBD | Mortal Heart - Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, TBD]

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I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I read Grave Mercy a few years ago, but forgot to finish the series! However, after reading Courting Darkness I really want to restart and complete the His Fair Assassin trilogy. LaFevers is insanely imaginative, and I love the world she has created. I'm thrilled that the Courting Darkness duology has the same setting! Some of the characters were familiar, like Ismae and Duval, but they were only present at the start of the book and didn't play a huge role in the rest of the story. I'm not sure if any of the other characters were from previous books, since I still need to finish the first series.

Even though I read Grave Mercy ages ago, I had no trouble understanding the unique terms and phrases used throughout the book. LaFevers expertly sprinkled the information here and there (dropped in a conversation or an observation), so it wasn't overwhelming or wordy. I was so immersed in the story, I hardly noticed!

Beast was easily my favorite character. I liked that he wasn't your typical macho man with muscles for days and hair like spun sugar. He's scarred, broken, and his appearance reflects his hardships and the many battles he's fought (not all of them on a battlefield). He's a fierce opponent, loyal and loving. I enjoyed his interactions with Sybella, and how unbelievably sweet he could be. He wasn't overprotective, but trusted in her abilities. He knew she could protect herself, and fought by her side. I loved the two of them together, and how easy their relationship was. They didn't play games, but appreciated what they had. It was honest and sincere.

There are a lot of horrible characters in this book, and I found myself wanting to strangle a few of them. Awful people make me want to do awful things, especially when they hurt children. LaFevers shows a darker side of humanity, and how Sybella and Genevieve have to fight their own impulses to smack some people around. They fought for what they believed in and what they loved, and didn't go looking for a fight. However, they weren't afraid of going up against anyone that challenged them or threatened what they protected.

I really loved the concept for this book, and I'm happy LaFevers decided to expand on the world from Grave Mercy. Sybella and Genevieve are amazing characters, and I appreciate what the author put them through. She didn't pull her punches, and I think really benefited them in the end. They were smart and skilled, but they struggled with some of their decisions and the choices presented to them. It felt authentic!

I highly recommend this book, even if you haven't read Grave Mercy and the others. Courting Darkness was a hard book to put down, and something I always looked forward to picking back up again.

My Weekly Pull [57] & Can't Wait Wednesday [27]

My Weekly Pull is something I do every Wednesday to show which comics I had pulled for me that week! If you're into comics, or you're looking to start, please join me! If you decide to do your own post, there's a link-up at the bottom. I would love to stop by and check it out!

Magic Order #6 (of 6) by Mark Millar, Olivier Coipel, Karl Kerschl

Runaways #18 by Rainbow Rowell, Kris Anka

Jacob's comics for the week!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #91 by Tom Waltz, Michael Dialynas, Kevin Eastman

Hit-Girl Season Two #1 by Kevin Smith, Pernille Orum, Amanda Conner

Kick-Ass #12 by Steve Niles, Marcelo Frusin, Andre Araujo

Amazing Spider-Man #15 by Nick Spencer, Chris Bachalo, Paolo Rivera

Punisher #8 by Matthew Rosenberg, Szymon Kudranski, Greg Smallwood

Spider-Man Deadpool #46 by Robbie Thompson, Matt Horak, Dave Johnson

I have been anxiously awaiting the final issue of Magic Order, and now it's here! If you don't like cliffhangers, this might not be a series for you. Every issue leaves you wanting more (and they're really, really dark). There's always a big surprise or twist at the end, and then you have to wait another month to find out what happens. Thankfully, this is the last one! Everything should be resolved by the end.

This issue of Runaways should conclude the current arc, and I'm curious what Rowell will do next! The characters in this series have grown so much over the last year, and I've enjoyed watching them come together to fight their past and present issues. It's always a fun comic to pick up!

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, that highlights upcoming releases that we're anticipating and excited to read. It's a spinoff of the feature Waiting on Wednesday that was hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

TheLastMagicianmeetsAGentleman’sGuidetoViceandVirtueinthisthrillingtalefilledwithmagicandsetinthemysteriousCarpathianMountainswhereagirlmusthuntdownVladtheImpaler’scursedringinordertosaveherfather.

Somelegendsneverdie…

Travelingwithhertreasure-huntingfatherhasalwaysbeenadreamforTheodora.She’sreadeverybookinhislibrary,hasanimpressiveknowledgeoftheworld’smostsought-afterrelics,andhasalltheambitionintheworld.Whatshedoesn’thaveisherfather’spermission.Thathonorgoestoherfather’snineteen-year-oldprotégé—andonce-upon-a-timeloveofTheodora’slife—HuckGallagher,whileTheodoraislefttositaloneinherhotelinIstanbul.

UntilHuckarrivesfromanexpeditionwithoutherfatherandenlistsTheodora’shelpinrescuinghim.Armedwithherfather’straveljournal,thereluctantduolearnsthatherfatherhadbeendiggingupinformationonalegendaryandmagicalringthatoncebelongedtoVladtheImpaler—morewidelyknownasDracula—andthatitjustmightbethekeytofindinghim.

JourneyingintoRomania,TheodoraandHuckembarkonacaptivatingadventurethroughGothicvillagesanddarkcastlesinthemistyCarpathianMountainstorecoverthenotoriousring.Buttheyaren’ttheonlyoneswhoaresearchingforit.AsecretiveanddangerousoccultsocietywithapowerfullinktoVladtheImpalerhimselfishuntingforit,too.Andtheywillgotoanylengths—includingmurder—topossessit.Synopsis (via Goodreads): The Last Magician meets A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue in

The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

Expected publication: September 10th 2019

this thrilling tale filled with magic and set in the mysterious Carpathian Mountains where a girl must hunt down Vlad the Impaler’s cursed ring in order to save her father.

Some legends never die…

Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.

Until Huck arrives from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.

Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.

Jenn Bennett is my jam! I cannot wait to get my hands on this book! ♡

*Share your My Weekly Pull post! Please leave the direct link to your My Weekly Pull post and not just your blog's URL. Thank you for participating and happy reading!

The Sunday Post [11]

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly at the Caffeinated Reviewer! It's an opportunity to share news, post a recap for the previous week, showcase books, and highlight what's planned for the week ahead.

News:

I know this is a day late, but life has been hectic! One of the twins has been sick, and the other is cutting teeth. Both of them are fussy and irritable, which tends to make me fussy and irritable. My son has an insane amount of energy, and he's going a little crazy being stuck inside (and occasionally the backyard). The kid wants to explore!

Despite his inhuman energy, he loves LEGO. He will sit for hours with a new box and patiently piece everything together. He'll only ask for help occasionally, and is eerily good at following the instructions on his own. The bags are numbered, and the instructions are thorough, so he goes from page to page until he's completely finished. However, when he wants to build something old that we've stashed in his LEGO container, there are more pieces to sort through. Sometimes they're hard to find, which is why I've ordered a new organizational system! I spent hours the other day looking for a single wizard's beard, and nearly lost my mind. I've found a rolling cart with colored containers, so we can organize by color, and I'm probably more excited about this than I should be. 😉

My husband finished my bookshelf the other day, and I absolutely love it! I helped a little in the final stages (sanding and applying finish), and I really love how everything turned out. The cedar on the sides is beautiful! *sighs with happiness* My husband is amazing! Next, he's going to build us a new dining room table, since we broke ours when we moved. Obviously a new bookshelf was more important, and therefore took priority.

 

Previous week on the blog:

Sunday: Nothing!

Monday: Mini Reviews [24]

Tuesday: The Deceivers (Vale Hall, #1) by Kristen Simmons ⋆⋆⋆⋆

Wednesday: My Weekly Pull [56] & Can't Wait Wednesday [26]

Thursday: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (#1-2) by Tom Taylor ⋆⋆⋆⋆

Friday: Cover Reveal for Lisa Renee Jones' The Truth About Cowboys [giveaway]

Saturday: Flower Talk: How Plants Use Color to Communicate by Sara Levine, Masha D'yans (Illustrator) ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆

What I'm currently reading:

 Potency (Glow, #1) by Aubrey Hadley

Courting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology, #1) by Robin LaFevers

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Potency was Glow a few weeks ago, so I assume they changed the name. I think I prefer Glow, and I'm not sure how Potency fits as a title. I'm not very far into this one, but it's been okay so far. I'm not itching to pick it back up again, and it has over 600 pages. If a book is that long, I need to be really invested in it.

Courting Darkness and One Day in December are new acquisitions, and I'll be starting them both later today! 

What I plan on reading next: 

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #7) by Ilona Andrews

Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels, #5.5) by Ilona Andrews

Motion (Laws of Physics, #1) by Penny Reid

I now know that I should have read Gunmetal Magic before Magic Rises (which was amazing!). There were a few details about Andrea and Raphael that didn't make sense, and I'm sure they're explained in Gunmetal Magic. I'm going to listen to the audio for it before starting Magic Breaks. 

I've been wanting to read one of Penny Reid's books for awhile now, so I'm thrilled to be on a blog tour for Motion -- eep!

What I'm watching:

Nothing right now! I haven't had time. There are a few shows that I need to finish watching, but I've been catching up on my reading (and loving it!). Apparently, my library card is about to expire (where we used to live), and I've been using that card for all of my audiobooks. They have a very extensive selection since it's a big city, and the options at my local library are very limited. 

Challenge updates:

Audiobook Challenge: 7 / 30+
Beat the Backlist Challenge: 9 / 100
Discussion Challenge: 1 / 11-20
Goodreads Challenge: 50 / 500

Flower Talk: How Plants Use Color to Communicate by Sara Levine, Masha D'yans (Illustrator)

Synopsis (via Goodreads): This new book from Sara Levine features a cantankerous talking cactus as a narrator, revealing to readers the significance of different colors of flowers in terms of which pollinators (bees, bats, birds, etc.) different colors "talk" to. A fun nonfiction presentation of science info that may be new to many kids--and adults!

"We sit here growing, minding our own business while you guys go on about how red roses stand for love and white ones are good for weddings and all kinds of mushy, ridiculous stuff. What a load of fertilizer!"

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I loved this! We loved this! You'll love this (at least I hope you will)! Flower Talk was funny, witty, and educational. The narrator is the purple cactus you see on the cover, and the kiddos and I enjoyed its grumpy, straightforward attitude. I laughed! We laughed! You'll laugh (at least I hope you will)! 

Flower Talk is a story about plants and how they survive. It talks about pollination, how a flower's coloring attracts certain insects, and what those insects do to ensure their survival. Butterflies are more likely to land on this color, while bees prefer that one, and flies are (unsurprisingly) attracted to the flowers that smell terrible.

"The flower gets pollen, but the fly gets nothing. The only rotten thing around here is the deal."

This may be a children's book, but I immediately wanted a copy for myself our shelves! We've read it many, many times now, and it's quickly becoming a bedtime favorite -- especially with the amazing illustrations! The pictures grab your attention and make it really hard to turn the page.

Flower Talk is the whole package: a fantastic story with wonderful illustrations and a little education on the side (there's additional information at the end that's pretty great, too).

Side note: I decided to Google the illustrator, Masha D'yans, to see if any other books popped up (yes, the illustrations are that good), and stumbled across a calendar! You can buy D'yans 2019 calendar on Amazon (no affiliate links here), and it's stunning! I've already ordered one for myself. 

Here's an example from Amazon: