Cova Reviews | Famous by Default - MK Harkins

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for review via NetGalley. This does not in any away affect the truthfulness of the following statement, which reflects my honest opinion on the novel

Hello, guys! Hope everything's going well :) This week's post will be a review of Famous by Default, by M.K. Harkins. It is a light young adult, contemporary novel about love, loss and finding oneself.

"Jax

Buried,By my family's fame.Dying to escape the limelight,And finally, I do.

Being raised as a Jayne, I'm under constant scrutiny. The rock band my brothers formed makes it impossible to stay under the radar. Paparazzi, tabloids, rabid fans--you name it and I've got it. It all makes me sick. But getting shipped off to crazy Aunt Betty's house in my senior year of high school isn't any better. After all, there isn't a stray kid or pet in the world that my aunt wouldn't take in.

Then I meet her. She's cautious, suspicious, and not interested in me at all. But that's fine by me. Sivan Holt may be beautiful and intelligent, but she's nothing I'm looking for.

Sivan

Drowning,In my past.Struggling to feel settled.And finally, I do.

Growing up in the foster care system, I longed for a sense of belonging. All I wanted was a place to call home.At the age of seventeen, I'm finally starting to feel it here. Home.

When he comes along, it unsettles me. I don't want him to ruin everything we've built--everything that matters. Jax Jayne is arrogant, privileged, and I want nothing to do with him. But those green eyes of his keep drawing me in. If I let down my walls, will it be my final undoing?" (Goodreads)

Cova Reviews | The Hereafter, by Jessica Bucher

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for review via NetGalley. This does not in any away affect the truthfulness of the following statement, which reflects my honest opinion on the novel

Hello, everyone! Today I bring to you a review of the book The Hereafter, by Jessica Bucher. It is a great new adult, paranormal novel, a stand-alone (at least, so far) about death, love, faith and consequences.  I was lucky enough to be granted this book for review, and I am so happy I was! It was published independently by the author, and it honestly changed my mind about self-published works. It came out last month, March 16th.

"Nin has no recollection of her death. The things she does remember, like her cruel boyfriend, troubled father, and absent mother, she’d like to forget. Dylan doesn’t need to remember his death to know that he deserved it. Who needs memories when you have the scars? Sparks ignite when the two, very different, strangers meet. Together they spend one endless summer exploring their new world. Suddenly, their after-lives hold more possibility and promise than their tragic teenage lives ever did.But no dream lasts forever, and all too soon, harmful memories from their pasts emerge and threaten to tear them apart. Given the chance to change their fates, Nin and Dylan must decide-- life or love.Weaving through past and present and alternating perspectives, The Hereafter is an emotional journey about young love and second chances." (Goodreads)

Mystery Blogger Award

Hello, guys! I've been away for some weeks now because I had so many things to do - and my exams are coming up, so I'll be away some more in a couple of week's time :( I'm sorry!

Anyway, I was nominated by Shouni @ Through the Book Portal for the Mystery Blogger Award, which was created by Okoto Enigma. Thanks so much! :D Here are the rules:

THE RULES:

• Put the award logo/image on your blog
• List the rules
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
• Mention the creator of the award and provide a link to their blog as well
• Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
• You have to nominate 10-20 people
• Notify each of your nominees by commenting on their blog
• Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
• Share your link to your best post(s)

Cova Reviews | The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater

Hello again! Today I bring to you a review of amazing YA, paranormal novel The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater. I'd heard some about it, and I found an awesome deal, so I just decided to buy it and only then asked if it was any good :P Luckily for me, I ended up really loving it! It is the first book to a series that has 4 books in it so far - The Raven Cycle. As I read it in audiobook format, it adds to the list of books I've listened to for my 2017 Audiobook Challenge! :D (surprisingly, I am 50% done with it and were're only half-way through March!). 

"“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is 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 has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, 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 never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore." (Goodreads)

Cova Reviews | Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng | 2017 Diverse Reads Challenge

Hi there! This post is a review for the 2017 Diverse Reads Challenge for the month of February. I know it's probably a bit late, but honestly I haven't had much time to sit and write blog posts for a while now - exams and family visits take up too much of my time! (yes, my scheduled post came in handy 😏) So sorry this one's coming slightly off time 😀 

So anyway. February's topic was POC main character / Biracial / Multiracial. I went for biracial with Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste NG. I was really excited to read this book because I'd read about it in so many different places and, although I didn't really know what it was about, it caught my attention. Sadly, it didn't quite lift up to my expectations :(

Lydia is a half-Chinese/half-American teenager who lives in the 70s. She lives with her family - Chinese dad, American mum, and an older brother and a younger sister. The book starts off telling you Lydia is dead. That we know. What we don't know is how, when or why. We will find out as we dive into Lydia's past and her family's, and we will see how difficult it is to be raised in a country that's just starting to accept people of other races. 

Cova Reviews | P.S. I Still Love You, by Jenny Han

Hi there! So here we are again. Hope you all had a great start of the year wherever you are in the world :) Back at reviewing you will see me, as should be. And for the first review of 2017, I shall write about the second novel to the YA, contemporary To All the Boys I've Loved Before trilogy by Jenny Han, P.S. I Still Love You. This review will be spoiler-free for both the second and first novels of the series, so don't worry if you haven't read To All the Boys I've Loved Before yet, although I'd advise you to go read the review for that one first? 😛 

I was literally dying to read this novel right after I finished the first part to the trilogy, but I had finals (why?! 😓), and I had to be good - so I left it to read at the end of the month. And, oh boy, was it worth the wait! 

Famous Books I HAVE NOT read

Hello there! I thought this week's post will be about books that everyone is constantly talking about but that I -forever behind-, have not yet read. For some reason or another, I always find myself years behind in the book community! Just so you can have an idea, I just read All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr last month - and it was super hyped in 2015! I keep hoping I will catch up someday, but until that moment comes, here's a short recollection of those books :)

Beware - there are some shocking ones!

1. The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)

Why have I not read this book? Honestly, no idea. I guess it is because I never actually owned it and I am waiting to get my hands on a pretty copy. I really do want to read it, though I have to admit I have the faintest idea of what it is about. I didn't go see the movie because I wanted to read it first, but I guess I never got the chance... :/ I will definitely read it as soon as I get myself a copy :D

Cova Reviews | All The Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr

All right, so I am here, utterly confused, with my heart ripped in pieces, sitting at my desk, trying to figure out what I am going to say about this book. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr was the bomb of 2015. Absolutely EVERYONE was talking about it - or at least listening to what other people had to say about it (yup, that was me!). So obviously, I had to see for myself what all the fuss was about. I had heard so many YouTubers, so many Book Bloggers talk so highly of this novel. It wan the Pulitzer Award for Fiction, so it had to be FANTASTIC. As I said, I have mixed feelings about this book, and I will try and put them all in words here. Beware, however, this might be a long review!

All the Light We Cannot See is a stand-alone, historical fiction novel set in different parts of Europe (Germany and France, mainly) during the Second World War. It is told from the viewpoint of two different people: French, blind girl, Marie-Laure; and German, bright soldier, Werner. The book tells us the story of how they lived the war from the perspectives of the attacked France and the attacking Germany, respectively, in a setting in which none of them is the typical representative of their society. 

Cova Reviews | The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renée Ahdieh | Diverse Reads Challenge

Hello, people! So here is the first post of the series of posts I am planning to make for the 2017 Diverse Reads Challenge I signed up for this year :) January was the month for Folktale/Mythology, and I decided to go for the first option. 

The Wrath and The Dawn, by Renée Ahdieh is a YA, re-telling of the One Thousand and One Nights tale. In some part of Arabia, a whole kingdom is terrified and outraged by their young boy-king Khalid. No one knows why, he takes a girl from the city every so often, marries her and kills her the next morning. Families are destroyed, and no explanation is given to them. One day, Shahrzad volunteers to be the next girl, but she has no intention of dying.

Participating in the Winter 2017 Comment Challenge!

Hello there! I am writing this quick post to tell you guys that I am participating in the Winter 2017 Comment Challenge for the month of February, hosted by Alicia from A Kernel of Nonsense and Lonna from FLYLēF. 

So what they do is they pair you up with another participant, and you sign up to comment on either 5+ or 10+ blog posts from the blogger you've been paired. I thought it was a nice idea to try an make book bloggers from around the world connect! Let's grow our circles in this great community! :D 

My pair for this month's challenge is Cec, from Yellow Eccentricity. We've chosen to comment on 5+ blog posts from the other. I haven't participated before, but I'm sure this will be fun! :D

Happy reading!

Most exciting releases of 2017!

Hello, hello! Even though it's not the start of the year anymore, I thought I'd still write a post about the books I'm most excited for which will come out this year. I don't usually search for books that are not yet published -I'm used to waiting for other people to read them and see what the bookish community thinks. But for some reason, this year I've found myself searching for books that I could read for my reading challenges, and some of the ones I found had not been published yet but still I really wanted to read them! Also, as most people do, I always wait for book sequels to come out, and there are two I am very excited about this year!

So summing up, here are the 2017 releases I am most excited for! If you click on the images, it should take you to the Goodreads page for the book :)

Cova Reviews | The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #3) - Michelle Hodkin

Hey there! Today I am going to review for you book number three in the Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin - The Retribution of Mara Dyer. If you haven't read the first two books, I recommend you read their reviews first, even though this will be a non-spoiler review regarding all three books in the series. You can find the review of the first book here, and the second here.

This book I listened to on audiobook, therefore it added up to the list of books I listened to for my 2016 Audiobook Challenge, in which I ended up doing pretty good! :D I think once again Christy Romano did a very good job narrating this book -her interpretation of Mara is pretty good. However, once more, I didn't at all like the accent with which she tries to sound like British Noah - as I said in the review for The Evolution of Mara Dyer, that makes him sound really fake and not at all like I imagined when I read the first book of the series (which I didn't listen to on audiobook). Other than that, her way of reading is perfect for the different scenes and I really enjoyed listening to the book over all :D

2017 Diverse Reads Book Challenge

As I wrote a couple of posts back, this year I've decided to join an extra challenge which I found really interesting - the 2017 Diverse Reads Challenge. In a previous post, I announced I was participating in it, and today I get to share with you my TBR for each step of the challenge.

Without further ado, here's my list! :D

My surprising 2016 Challenges

Hello, hello! It's 2017 now, and it's time to have a look back at the past year and see how I did with the challenges I signed up for, which were mainly two -  2016 Finishing the Series Challenge (hosted by Bea's Nook Book) and 2016 Audiobook Challenge (hosted by Hot Listens). I'd never done challenges before, so I thought these ones were a nice opportunity to test the waters and see how I'd do!

I was really impressed to see I'd actually met my goals for both challenges! 

Challenges I will smash in 2017

Hello again! First post of the year! :D Isn't it so exciting? 

I've decided to write a blog post this random day of the week to share with you the challenges I am joining this year. Last year I joined the 2016 Audiobook Challenge, and the 2016 Finishing the Series Challenge. This year, there will be some changes :)