The One Where April 2014 is Wrapped-Up and Summer Vacation Begins

With the end of April brings the beginning of May and guess what that means?

SUMMER VACAY BABY!!!!!!!!!

Exams are DONE. School is DONE. And let me tell you, it is a glorious feeling. Do you hear that?

That's the sound of FREEDOM! 

Yes. Yes I just put that picture on this post. Revel in it.

And freedom from school means the freedom to read! Let's face it, at college you read (or don't read) textbooks. When I get back, I study (ha!) and waste gross amounts of time watching Netflix (Doctor Who! Why have I not watched you before this year! What was my life like without you?!). Who needs a social life? So, summer vacation = reading time (and Netflix. Seriously, I waste way to much time on this). 

Okay, so since this is a wrap-up post I suppose I should, you know, wrap up. So what happened in April? 

NEW BLOG DESIGN! YESSSSSSSS! 

I decided to dedicate April to ARCs. Not sure how well I did. 

Reviews: 

CRESS! THORNE AND CRESS! YESSSSSSSS!!!!! So much love, in case you couldn't tell. 

Lady Thief - The feelingssssss. 

The Queen's Choice - Just...no. DNF. 

Camelot Burning - Expecations: Awesomeness. Reality: confusion. 

Challenges: 

Well, 3 of the 4 books I read were ARCs so I count that as a success. 

Camelot Burning - 2 Stars

Camelot Burning - 2 Stars

Queen's Thief - DNF

Lady Thief - 4.5 Stars

8. Chunky Brick: Read a book more than 500 pages long - Cress: 505 Pages. A true chunker.

Also Cress. 

Plans for May:

Read, read, and read some more. I'm also moving. Woohoo!  

And for those of you not quite finished with school, here are some words of encouragement:

YOU GOT THIS!

You're freedom is so close! Just a bit longer and you can breathe in the freedom (and put that awesome picture on your post/phone/wall)

And, it's not a true encouragement post without a bit of Ryan Gosling for you ladies.

Thank you Ryan. I do have this. 

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Books I'm Looking forward to: 2013 edition

With each new year comes some awesome new books. There are tons of books I'm looking forward to and this is in no way a complete list, but here are some books that I'm incredibly excited for (especially the sequels!!). 

Books I'm Looking Forward To: 2013

Prophecy by Ellen Oh

The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms... is a girl with yellow eyes.

I love a girl who can kick some butt. Plus there are Demons, prophecies, and a Demon Lord? Yeah, I'm down for that. She's the country's last hope. Should be fun! 

Mind Games by Kiersten White 

Kiersten White. 'Nuff said.

City of A Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forester

First off, love the cover. Second off, she lives in an isolated community where orphaned girls can become healers, musicians, courtesans, and maybe even assassins. Honestly, any book that even hints at assassins is the book for me. This sounds like an amazing fantasy world that I can't wait to delve into.  

Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

*Happy Dance*

I'm so freakin excited for this book that it's not even funny! Ughhhhh I want this so bad that I'm willing to give up my future child for it! Okay, just joking....maybe. Cinder was fantastic and I can't wait to see how Meyers connects Cinder and Scarlet's stories. And Wolf definitely sounds intriguing ;)

Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu

My review of Legend 

Another sequel I can't wait to get my greedy little hands on. *laughs greedily* 

June, the child prodigy, coupled with the bold and brash Day made this book great. Add in non-stop action in this dystopian world and you've got a winner! 

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

A library of dead bodies that tell history? 

Sounds creepily fantastic! Also, the MC shares my name and we "Mackenzies" gotta stay together! 

Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) by Robin LaFevers

While this is more of a companion novel rather than a sequel, I'm jumping for joy. Grave Mercy was absolutely fantastic (Oh, Duval!) so I have very high hopes for this one. And the cover is absolutely amazing. I'm a little nervous as to who I think the love interest is, but I think that will actually make it interesting. And....she's an assassin that is considered one of the convents most dangerous weapons. Heck yeah! 

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

This series is so much better than the original. And I'm literally dying since I haven't gotten my hands on this yet. Well, more metaphorically, but "literally" got my point across better :P Let's just say that I'm incredibly psyched to read this. I'm Team Jem....I think. Ugh....yes, I'm totally Team Jem. But in a weird, weird way I kind of feel sorry for Will and surprisingly kind of like him. Ugh....my emotions are so mixed, so you know it's a good book! 

(TEAM JEM!)

Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson

The Bluebeard fairytale never came to my attention until I read Kill Me Softly, but ever since then I've been incredibly intrigued. It sounds deliciously deceptive. March can't come quick enough!

The Runaway King (The Ascendance Trilogy #2) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The False Prince was amazing and there is no doubt in my mind I'll love this sequel. As long as Seth remains the snarky, sarcastic, clever son-of-a-gun he is, I'll love it. 

Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo

The most epic of high fantasies! I absolutely fell in love with Shadow and Bone (my review has lots of gifs so you know its good!) with it's fantastic characters, breathtaking world and mysterious Darkling. This one is bound to be just as good! June is waaaay to far away. I would give anything an ARC (*hint hint*) 

The Pirate's Wish (The Assassins Curse) by Cassandra Rose Clarke 

Pirates, Assassins and Questing, OH MY!!

Inhunman (Fetch #1) by Kat Falls

First of, the cover is awesome. Lane has to travel to the ravaged East Coast where people show animalistic traits in order to find an artifact to save her dad? Sounds like a kick-butt, action packed adventure to me! But what really sold me was "Lane strikes a deal with handsome, roguish Rafe." I have a feeling I'm gonna love Rafe. Sounds like it might even be a hate-turned-love relationship. I'm all game for that!

So what books are y'all looking forward to this coming year? Be sure to let me know in the comments below!

All the best ♥

Mackenzie 

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