bright burning stars – GoodeyReads

Guess what books releases TOMORROW?

That’s right, Bright Burning Stars.Y’all this dark and intense book was so good. It’s full of ballet dancers, hard decisions, and dangerous passions. I truly recommend this for your TBR!

Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for the e-ARC and the opportunity to be apart of the Blog Tour.

Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small

Read my original review here!

BOOK SUMMARY:

Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School since childhood, where they’ve formed an inseparable bond forged by respective family tragedies and a fierce love for dance. When the body of a student is found in the dorms just before the start of their final year, Marine and Kate begin to ask themselves what they would do to win the ultimate prize: to be the one girl selected to join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they die? Cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic would make them shine, too? Neither girl is sure.

But then Kate gets closer to the Demigod, even as Marine has begun to capture his heart. And as selection day draws near, the competition—for the prize, for the Demigod—becomes fiercer, and Marine and Kate realize they have everything to lose, including each other.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

A.K. Small was born in Paris. At five years old, she began studying classical dance with the legendary Max Bozzoni, then later with Daniel Franck and Monique Arabian at the famous Academie Chaptal. At thirteen, she moved to the United States where she danced with the Pacific Northwest Ballet for one summer in Seattle and with the Richmond Ballet Student Company for several years. She’s a graduate of the College of William and Mary and has as MFA in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she’s not writing, she spends time with her husband, her puppy, and her three daughters, and practices yoga. Bright Burning Stars is her first novel.

Instagram || Goodreads

Uncategorized

Book Tag Saturday: 1 Year Anniversary + Get to Know the Blogger Tag

March 30, 2019March 29, 2019 GoodeyReads

It’s my one-year blog anniversary!

I never thought I’d get this far. This all started out as a way to combat postpartum depression. I have come to deeply love this community and still get gleeful every time I see a like/comment on here.

I appreciate and thank you for all your support and hope to continue providing a joyful, bookish blog.

Now the fun part.

I CREATED MY OWN TAG. Hot dang. To help y’all get to know me (and vice versa) I have created this Get to Know the Blogger Tag.

Also, if you have any questions for me, I would LOVE for you to leave them in the comments and I will make another post with the answers.

Rules:

Thank the person who tagged you!
Link back and credit the original creator (myself: GoodeyReads)
Answer book questions about yourself.
Answer the other questions about yourself.
Change the last 5 questions when you tag someone else (if you want! – the more random the better)
Tag at least 3 people.
Have fun! (ooh, that was cliche)

A book about where you’re from (City, State, Country – your choice).

Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West

I’m from the South (USA), and the best I could find (off the top of my head) was this book! It’s by an author in Austin, Texas. I don’t know much about it, but it sounded pretty interesting. A mix of different retellings put together.

A book about your favorite non-bookish hobby.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall

I LOVED READING THIS BOOK. If you enjoy running in any way (walking totally counts), read this. I was fascinated and captivated and found it so informative. One of my favorite non-fiction reads.

A book about a fear of yours.

Skyward (Skyward #1) by Brandon Sanderson

I am so utterly terrified of flying. I mean seriously. It’s bad. Dramamine is my drug of choice to sleep my way there. Not only am I freaked out by the concept of being stuck in a metal tube without any control, I also get sick being that high and I get so miserable.

Spensa flying in those tiny ships all day? Yeah, I’m going to say NOPE for me.

A book about something that brings you joy.

Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small

Okay, up front: this book itself is not joyful. BUT, it’s about dancing. And I attended dance lessons from 3-18. I still turn on the music loud and dance around the house with my toddler. I love it, it’s cathartic. I also feel better about a good dancing session.

A book about your career/what you’re studying in school.

Human Anatomy & Physiology by Elaine N. Marieb, Katja Hoehn

I studied health in school, yet apparently haven’t read many specific health books since. This is a 1,200+ page textbook that I essentially read cover to cover for one of my classes. Hands down one of the hardest courses I ever took (it was one of those where a 70 on a test was considered an 90+).

What job would you be terrible doing?

Motivational speaker. I have such a fear of legit public speaking (not talking small group stuff, I’m okay there, but like hundreds of people kinda groups). I was asked to speak in church last week and had to say no because I literally started shaking as I was asked.

What’s a subject you wish you knew more about?

Anything medical/nutriotional. My degree is in health (and my dad and husband both have medical based careers) so I am always looking for great medical books to read.

In your opinion, what is the best day on the calendar and why?

July 4th. Y’all, my favorite holiday is the fourth of July. I AM OBSESSED with all things patriotic. I dress up in crazy outfits, make (and consume) a bunch of food and soak up all the sun. USA USA USA!

Oh, and I guess my birthday. I may or may not plead with my husband to celebrate a birthday week.

What is the craziest item you spent way too much on?

My treadmill. I dearly love it (and dearly need to get it fixed), but dude. Those things are pricey.

What’s a quirky thing you do?

Whenever I’m concentrating on something I stick my tongue out. This is anything from a test, to a Bookstagram photo shoot. Luckily my husband finds this adorable. I’ve been doing this since at least middle school.

I’m tagging more than 3 people to hopefully get this out there!

The Bibliophagist || Purple Manatees || TheGeekishBrunette || Reading with Jessica || Kristin Kraves Books || Literary Weaponry || The Reading Chemist || Shalini’s Books & Reviews || Becky’s Book Blog || The Secret Library Book Blog

No pressure! And if you weren’t tagged, please feel free to do this too! And tag me, I’d love to see your answers.

Let’s be friends on my other handles: Instagram || Goodreads

Book Review

ARC Book Review: Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small

March 6, 2019March 5, 2019 GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary
Length: 304 pages
Author: A.K. Small
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Expected Release Date: May 21st, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Thank you to Netgalley, and the publisher, Algonquin Young Readers, for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

SURPRISINGLY DARK.

I went into this book blindly reading because the synopsis was intriguing and I haven’t read any dance books before. I was really happy with how much I enjoyed it! I devoured it in hours.

This is one of those very rare instances where insta-love works. Dear independent Kate, really struggled in the boy department. And I was so angry and upset at her and for her. Her mental health is so poor and turning to boys only made things worse and this broke my heart.

Marine is the softer of the two and is completely wrapped up in her own grief. I liked how she overcame her personal struggles and allowed love into her life. Luc was way too precious and I LOVE him. He was the real hero of this story if you ask me.

On the other hand I’m going to personally destroy the snake, Cyrille. While I think the nickname “The Demigod” is a bit lame it made sense from a teen perspective. He was seriously the worst though y’all. Don’t even get me started.

The real danger is when passions rule your life. This ballet school is a deadly mash-up that kept me on my toes. I legitimately was concerned that this book wouldn’t have a happy ending. I’m grateful that the story was wrapped up and everyone went the direction they needed to.

One of the few issues I had with it was the amount of unexplained dance phrases. Anyone without a full knowledge (like myself) would be a tad confused with the dance scenes. I gathered enough, but I did get confused on occasion. The transitions to flashbacks was also a touch perplexing. I often didn’t realize we had gone to the past when the book had already come back to the present.

Overall audience notes:

Second Note: The Trigger Warning section will contain mild spoilers. I generally try to keep it free of those, but I feel it’s important to know what you might stumble across because this book has some difficult themes that shocked me and I would want others to know before reading.

YA Contemporary: difficult themes, please see Trigger Warning section
Language: a little
Romance: lots of kisses/make-outs, a few very little detailed love scenes
Violence: personal (detailed in trigger section)
Trigger warnings: anorexia, general obsession with weight, smoking, drug-use, underage drinking, self-harm, abortion, sexual exploitation, and suicide

Instagram || Goodreads

Book Tag

Book Tag: Beauty and the Beast

March 2, 2019February 27, 2019 GoodeyReads

Book Tag Saturday! I saw this over on Justine’s blog (Bookish Wisps) and since Beauty and the Beast is one of my top Disney movies ever, I couldn’t resist!

Rules:

Thank the person who tagged you.
Mention the creator → Kirsty @ Kirsty and the Cat Read.
Match a book to each of the songs/characters below.
Tag as many people as you like.

“Tale As Old As Time” – A popular theme, trope or setting you’ll never get bored of reading

Enemies to Lovers. I will never not love the hate and angst that turns into crazy passion between characters. I LIVE FOR IT.

Belle – A book you brought for its beautiful cover that’s just as beautiful inside too.

I LOVE watermelons and thought this cover was gorgeous and clever. And the book itself was the same way. It’s about a young girl struggling to understand her Mom with schizophrenia. The portrayal of mental health is poignant.

Find my review here!

Beast – Book you didn’t expect much from but pleasantly surprised you.

I just finished this book a few days ago and it definitely was a pleasant surprise. I was afraid it might be on the shallow side, but the darker portions really brought out the deeper meanings of the story.

Gaston – A book that everyone loves that you don’t

While this isn’t my biggest unpopular opinion, it is one that I know may seem crazy. I didn’t hate this series, but I never felt totally connected to the plot and characters. I think the slower pace kept me from falling in love with them.

Lefou – A loyal sidekick you can’t help but love more than their counterpart

SEVRO! I love Sevro so much. He is one of my favorite sidekicks ever. I do love Darrow, don’t get me wrong, but I love everything Sevro says and does.

Mrs. Pott, Chip & Cogsworth – A book that helped you through a difficult time or that taught you something valuable

I think the reason I love this book so much (and the series) is that it helps me through difficult times every time I pick it up. It’s the first book I go to in a reading slump, when I am feeling really down and a hundred other reasons. Feyre’s emotions remind me often of my own dark places and how she finds her happy ending reminds me that I have one too.

“Something There” – A book or a series that you weren’t into at first but picked up towards the end

I read the first book in the series and liked it, but didn’t think about looking for the second book.

Fast forward a year or two and I saw the second book at the library, thought, “why not?,” and LOVED it. Then I was able to snag book three, The Winter of the Witch, from Netgalley and fell even harder.

This is now one of my all time favorite series. If you’re looking for a fantasy book, seriously, pick these up. They won’t let you down.