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Friday 24 February 2017

Tropical World (Millie Marotta)

Happy Friday!

I'm back from my two weeks of silence which I honestly don't have a reason for other than not really picking up a book. However, while I sat on my bed staring at my bookshelf, I realized there's one book I've never talked about that consumed a lot of my time during the summer. The unique thing is that it's a colouring book! Yes I know it's the stereotypical bandwagon to hop onto since everyone and there dog has one, but it is incredible. 


I purchased one of Millie's adult colouring books before my summer co-op placement because I knew that I would be stuck in a small town and alone without any of my friends for three months. That idea was a bit daunting to me, especially since I have anxiety. Being someone with anxiety, I often enjoy hobbies that consume your mind and your time; that's one of the reasons I read and it's one of the reasons I picked up this book. I wanted something to consume time and thoughts whenever I felt homesick.

For the first month of living in a slightly isolated town, I coloured almost every night after getting home from work. Each time I sat down with my box full of pencil crayons and a playlist of relaxing music, I was always finding myself smiling at the creation I was making.The act of planning out a colour scheme and seeing it through to completion was so completely satisfying; I recommend it to everyone! I'm not going to give it a formal rating because I believe that some people wouldn't find this as satisfying as I do, but that's because I'm slightly obsessive and have anxiety. It's designed for people like me.

With all that said, I'd like to end off by sharing some of my favourites that I've completed thus far in my colouring book journey.



Happy Colouring!

Friday 3 February 2017

2017 Anticipation: January - June

Welcome Back Bookworms

 Now this is not a review, which is highly unlike me; however, like I mentioned at the start of the year, I want to incorporate some different types of posts into my blog. For this non-review post, I want to talk about some books being released this year that I'm looking for either because of the author, the cover artwork, or the synopsis. I'm going to pick one book for each month of the first half of the year. I'll do a second one of these later on. Hope you like this idea!
 
Reason: Author 
Release: January 17

On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world? Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows. Akos is from the peace-loving nation of Thuvhe, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Though protected by his unusual currentgift, once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost. When Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. They must decide to help each other to survive—or to destroy one another.


Reason: Cover
Release: February 21 

Anthony Peardew is the keeper of lost things. Forty years ago, he carelessly lost a keepsake from his beloved fiancĂ©e, Therese. That very same day, she died unexpectedly. Brokenhearted, Anthony sought consolation in rescuing lost objects—the things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidently left behind—and writing stories about them. Now, in the twilight of his life, Anthony worries that he has not fully discharged his duty to reconcile all the lost things with their owners. As the end nears, he bequeaths his secret life’s mission to his unsuspecting assistant, Laura, leaving her his house and and all its lost treasures, including an irritable ghost. Recovering from a bad divorce, Laura, in some ways, is one of Anthony’s lost things. But when the lonely woman moves into his mansion, her life begins to change. She finds a new friend in the neighbor’s quirky daughter, Sunshine, and a welcome distraction in Freddy, the rugged gardener. As the dark cloud engulfing her lifts, Laura, accompanied by her new companions, sets out to realize Anthony’s last wish: reuniting his cherished lost objects with their owners.


Reason: Synopsis
Release: March 21

What would you do if you realized that your new husband, a man you adore, is keeping secrets from you—secrets with terrifying consequences? Bryn Harper, an accomplished self-help author, already has plenty to deal with. She’s still recovering from a devastating car accident that has left her haunted by recurring, smoke-filled nightmares. Worse still, she can’t shake the ominous feeling her dreams contain a warning. 
In the beginning, Bryn’s husband Guy couldn’t have been more supportive. But after moving into a new house together, disturbing incidents occur and Guy grows evasive, secretive. What the hell is going on, she wonders? Then, a woman hired to cater their dinner party is brutally murdered. As Bryn’s world unravels—and yet another woman in town is slain —she must summon her old strength to find answers and protect her own life. Her nightmares may in fact hold the key to unlocking the truth and unmasking the murderer. 



Reason: Cover
Release: April 4

BEFORE: Bridge and Wil have been entangled in each other’s lives for years. Under the white-hot Florida sun, they went from kids daring each other to swim past the breakers to teenagers stealing kisses between classes. But when Bridge betrayed Wil during their junior year, she shattered his heart and their relationship along with it.

AFTER: When Wil’s family suffers a violent loss, and Bridge rushes back to Wil’s side. As they struggle to heal old wounds and start falling for each other all over again, Bridge and Wil discover just how much has changed in the past year. Though they once knew each other’s every secret, they aren’t the same people they used to be. Bridge can’t imagine life without Wil, but sometimes love isn’t enough. Can they find their way back to each other, or will this be the end of their story?



Reason: Synopsis
Release: May 16

Death, accidental and early, has always been Abby Walters's preoccupation. Now thirty-three and eager to settle down with her commitment-shy boyfriend, a recurring dream from her past returns: a paralyzing nightmare of being buried alive, the taste of dirt in her mouth cloying and real. But this time the dream reveals a name from her family's past. Looking for answers, Abby returns home to small-town Minnesota for the first time in fourteen years, where she reconnects with her high school crush, now a police detective on the trail of a violent criminal. When Abby tries on her grandmother's mesmerizing diamond ring, a ring she always dreamed would be hers, she discovers a cryptic note long hidden beneath the box's velvet lining. What secret was her grandmother hiding? And could this be the key to what's haunting Abby? As she begins to uncover the traces of a love triangle gone shockingly wrong nearly seventy years before, we, too, see that the layers of our lives may echo a past we’ve never known.



Reason: Cover
Release: June 13 

Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time they are total strangers thrust together under unusual circumstances. Each time their presence changes history for the better. And each time they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated. Why does fate keep bringing them together to save the world, and what must they achieve before they can finally be left to love in peace? Maybe the next together will be different. Told in parallel time streams through a mixture of prose, diary entries, letters, “original” historical documents, news reports, and Internet articles, and spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039, The Next Together is a glittering, sweeping story of time travel, fate, and the power of first love.





Let me know in the comments if you're going to read any of these!