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ARC Review: The Existence of Bea Pearl by Candice Marley Conner

June 9, 2021May 10, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables3 Comments

“no, she faded away; it took all summer for her to disappear. she stopped talking because no one would talk to her. she faded ’til she didn’t exist anymore.”
candice marley conner

Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 15th 2021

Publisher: Owl Hollow Press

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | Contemporary | Mystery | Thriller | Romance

Page Count: 237

Source: I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Goodreads Summary: Sixteen-year-old Bea Pearl knows her brother isn’t dead. Even if her parents don’t agree. Even if the entire town doesn’t believe her. She knows it’s true. When orders came to evacuate Lake George due to rising floodwaters, Bea Pearl saw Jim head toward the river. She followed him. Only she returned.

When her parents have Jim declared legally dead, Bea Pearl decides it’s up to her to figure out where her brother could be if he is alive, and so begins to unravel the mystery of his disappearance. But it seems like someone else wants to know what he was hiding when his bedroom is ransacked. More clues come together: a scrap of paper, mysterious numbers that may lead to swamp monkeys, Jim’s shoes turning up in unexpected places. Bea Pearl can’t figure out what connects them all until she’s stolen from her bed in the dead of night.

Bea Pearl’s insistence that Jim’s alive and her quest to figure out why he went down to a flooding river in the first place takes a toll on her shattering family. But she must unearth the truth surrounding her presumed dead brother. Otherwise, the rumors are true and she has killed him. Because if Jim can stop existing, could she too?

Rating:

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Memes, Top 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Tuesday: Books I Want to Re-Read

June 8, 2021June 4, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables13 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan Reads. This week’s topic is Top 5 Books I Want to Re-Read.

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Even though ACOTAR is one of my favorite series, I’ve actually never reread any of them. I’ve started to reread A Court of Thorns and Roses a few times but I’ve only ever gotten about a chapter in before I decided to move to a new book I haven’t read before. The first book is high up on my priority reread list because I’m really curious to see if I will like it more than the first time I read it when I gave it only 3 stars and a kind of brutal review on Goodreads.

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Reviews, Tours

Book Tour & Review: Gold Spun by Brandie June (+ my favorite quotes!)

June 7, 2021May 19, 2026by wren @ wingsandfables1 Comment

“all magic has a cost.”
brandie june

Series: Gold Spun #1

Release Date: June 8th 2021

Publisher: CamCat Books

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | Fantasy | Retellings | Romance

Page Count: 320

Source: I received an advance reader’s copy of this book for free from the publisher via Edelweiss in collaboration with TBR and Beyond Tours. Thank you!

Summary: If Nor can’t spin gold, she can always spin lies.

When seventeen-year-old Nor rescues a captured faerie in the woods, he gifts her with a magical golden thread she can use to summon him for a favor. Instead, Nor uses it for a con—to convince villagers to buy straw that can be transformed into gold. Her trick works a little too well, attracting the suspicion of Prince Casper, who hates nobody more than a liar. Intent on punishing Nor, he demands that she spin a room of straw into gold and as her reward, he will marry her. Should she refuse or fail, the consequences will be dire.

Content Warnings: One mild scene of cutting for blood magic.

Rating:

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Lying About Reading Books

June 4, 2021May 30, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables11 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly and is Why Do People Lie About Reading Books?

Some people will say they have read books when they really haven’t; why do you think that is?

To be honest, I think it’s more likely for people to lie about not reading a book than to lie about reading one. By this I mean that I think some readers feel the need to hide what they read such as darker genres or “problematic” authors. The book community is a great place most of the time but many won’t hesitate to shun readers who like to read authors or genres they think are problematic or choose not to personally support, a consequence of “cancel culture.” Regardless, I think that those who do lie about reading a book that they actually haven’t is probably born out of insecurity. They want to fit in, they want to appear well-read or intelligent, they want to join a new fandom but haven’t caught up to stan level yet. Maybe they’re someone who has seen the film and therefore think that compares to reading the book so they say they have. Maybe they’re afraid of cancel culture coming for them so they say they’ve read something just to avoid conflict. I’ve definitely seen some NetGalley reviews that sound as if the person didn’t even read the book which I think can be chalked up to people wanting to either maintain their ratio on the site or want to maintain their auto-approval status with a publisher. I think there could be many reasons for someone to lie about reading a book.

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Memes, Top 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Tuesday: Books That Would Make Good Montage Scenes

June 1, 2021May 30, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables8 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan Reads. This week’s topic is Top 5 Books That Would Make a Good Montage Scene.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a strong enough memory to completely accurately fulfill the prompt this week which is to pick book scenes that would make a good montage for a movie/television show. So instead I’ve picked 5 books that have general material in them that I think could be made into a good montage scene rather than a strict scene to montage vibe. Please keep in mind that some of these will have spoilers since they’re later books in the series!

1. The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

I think the beginning scenes that describe what Jude’s life has been like since returning to the human world would make a good montage scene. I would love to see flashes of the jobs she’s taken to earn money and to keep her skills sharp while she fumes about what Cardan did at the ending of The Wicked King. The montage could end with Jude’s fight with Grima Mog and jump into the present storyline.

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New Releases

My Most Anticipated Young Adult Releases of June 2021

May 29, 2021May 24, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables6 Comments

Hey, everyone! It’s that time of the month for me to share the books I’m looking forward to releasing in the coming month. I have 10 books to share with you so I hope you find something new to add to your TBR list. Click on the covers of the books to add them to your Goodreads account and let’s jump right in!

1. Curse of the Specter Queen by Jenny Elder Moke

Publication: June 1st 2021 by Disney-Hyperion | Historical Fantasy

MAY THE HAZEL BRING YOU WISDOM AND THE ASPEN GUIDE AND PROTECT YOU…

Samantha Knox put away her childish fantasies of archaeological adventure the day her father didn’t return home from the Great War, retreating to the safety of the antique bookshop where she works. But when a mysterious package arrives with a damaged diary inside, Sam’s peaceful life is obliterated. Ruthless men intent on reclaiming the diary are after Sam, setting her and her best friend, along with her childhood crush, on a high-stakes adventure that lands them in the green hills outside Dublin, Ireland. Here they discover an ancient order with a dark purpose – to perform an occult ritual that will raise the Specter Queen, the Celtic goddess of vengeance and death, to bring about a war unlike any the world has ever seen. To stop them, Sam must solve a deviously complex cipher – one that will lead her on a treasure hunt to discover the ancient relic at the heart of the ritual: a bowl carved from the tree of life. Will she find the bowl and stop the curse of the Specter Queen, or will the ancient order bring about the end of the world?

Indiana Jones gets a refresh with this female-driven mystery adventure, set in the 1920s, full of ciphers, ancient relics, and heart-stopping action – the first in a brand-new series!

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Memes, Top 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Tuesday: Books I Liked Better Than the Adaptation

May 25, 2021April 10, 2026by wren @ wingsandfables8 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan Reads. This week’s topic is Top 5 Books You Liked Better Than the Adaptation.

This topic. This topic was SO HARD for me because I generally like both the book and the adaptation equally in their own ways. So think of this moreso as a I-love-them-both-equally-but-if-I-absolutely-had-to-pick-I’d-pick-the-book-but-that-causes-me-a-LOT-of-pain-to-think-about-and-also-I’m-a-Gemini-so-I-can’t-make-decisions-to-save-my-life-sometimes-so-I-did-my-best list.

1. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Okay this is a legitimate the book was better than the movie because what even was the movie? The second film was better but the first one was so messy and I remember being supremely upset that they didn’t make Annabeth blonde in the film (although they did in the second??). I think Logan Lerman did a great job in the movie but I’m eager to see what comes of the television show and have high hopes for it.

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