Mini Panda's Book Reviews

Review: Crown of Midnight  by Sarah J. Maas Format (That I Read It): Book Summary: From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil. Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart. Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up ...

Stranger Things Book Tag!   ( Source:  Sarah Sunbeemz ) I watched Stranger Things and like most shows I watch I like to do the book tags so when I saw that this was a tag I just had to do it. 1:  EPIC INTRO – The opening of Stranger Things is amazing and really grabs your attention. Name a book that grabbed you attention from the first page.  A book that grabbed my attention from the first page (at least recently) has to be November 9 by Colleen Hoover. The first sentence wasn't anything special or something that immediately made me want to watch them all. The thing is, though, I read the first page. Then the next, and the next. Before I knew it I was finishing the book.  2:  Dungeons & Dragons – Name a fantasy world you would like to experience yourself. One of the many, many fantasy worlds I'd like to live in is the world of The Lunar Chronicles . I've only read the first one but the world just seems amazing! I loved ...

Review: Morning Star  by Pierce Brown Format (That I Read It): Book Summary: Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within. Finally, the time has come. But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied—and too glo...

Review: Throne of Glass  by Sarah J. Maas Format (That I Read It): Book/Audiobook Summary: In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world. Initial Thoughts: Everybody and their cousins are reading or have read this series. I bought it quite a while ago and finally decided to pick it up. I just needed something kickass after my Lady Mi...

Review: All The Missing Girls  by Megan Miranda Format (That I Read It): Ebook, ARC (Advance Reader Copy) Summary: Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive, Megan Miranda’s novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women—a decade apart—told in reverse. It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched. The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter...

Review: The Passenger by Lisa Lutz Format (That I Read): Ebook, ARC (Advance Reader Copy) Release Date: March 1st, 2016 Summary: From the author of the New York Times bestselling Spellman Files series, Lisa Lutz’s latest blistering thriller is about a woman who creates and sheds new identities as she crisscrosses the country to escape her past: you’ll want to buckle up for the ride! In case you were wondering, I didn’t do it. I didn’t have anything to do with Frank’s death. I don’t have an alibi, so you’ll have to take my word for it... Forty-eight hours after leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya Dubois cashes in her credit cards, dyes her hair brown, demands a new name from a shadowy voice over the phone and flees town. It’s not the first time. She meets Blue, a female bartender who recognizes the hunted look in a fugitive’s eyes and offers her a place to stay. With dwindling choices, Tanya-now-Amelia accepts. An uneasy―and dangerous...

Review: Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes Format (That I Read It): Ebook/Arc Summary: Charmingly murderous anti-hero Joe Goldberg continues his twisted quest for the perfect love in this thrilling follow-up to the “deeply dark yet mesmerizing” You. When Joe follows the woman he wants to marry to the West Coast, he never imagines that his obsession will lead him to such tragedy. Initial Thoughts: I wanted to read this novel as soon as I finished You. Ever since I read it back in September I kept thinking back to the story. The characters haven't been forgotten. I would even randomly pick up the book and flip around the pages wondering what would happen next to Joe. Then one day I was updating my Goodreads page when someone I follow mentioned NetGalley. NetGalley is the website for professional readers that allowing reviewers, booksellers, blogger, etc. to request and read brand new titles then provide feedback for publishers and other readers. I signed up and ...

Review: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Format (That I Read It): Book/Audiobook Summary: This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person...

Review: The Walking Dead, Vol. 05: The Best Defense ( The Walking Dead #25-30) by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard (Illustrator), Cliff Rathburn (Illustrator) Format (That I Read It): Comics Summary: As the survivors settle into their prison home something has drawn them out into the open... out of the prison... out of their sanctuary. This is a major turning point for the overall story of The Walking Dead, setting the stage for years to come. Initial Thoughts: The reason I read this is still the same as it has been but I choose to read it now was because I wasn't feeling the books I was reading. I could feel a reading slump coming on so I decided what better way to prevent that than reading something quick and easy like a comic book. ↓ Spoilers ↓ Review: ★★★★ The last volume wasn’t the best. It was a slow read. This volume, on the other hand, was a fantastic installment. I gave this book four stars. The series picked up the pace really quickly with the i...

Review: The Walking Dead Vol. 04: The Heart's Desire (The Walking Dead #19-24) by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard (Illustrator), Cliff Rathburn (Illustrator) Format (That I Read It):  Comics Summary: Life in the prison starts to get interesting for Rick Grimes and the rest of our survivors. Relationships heat up, fizzle out, and change entirely almost overnight. By the end of this volume, relationships between key characters are radically changed, setting the stage for future events in The Walking Dead. Initial Thoughts: With the Mid-Season Finale just around the corner I knew I needed to hurry and catch up to the where the series is in the comics. At the end of this season (Season 6), a major evil villain from the comics is being added to the cast and before that happens I want to know this man is that everyone is talking about.  !!SPOILERS BELOW!! Review:  ★ ★ ★ I gave this volume an overall rating of 3 stars. At the start o...

Spooky Challenge Success: Collection of short stories and poems I read from.  My challenge was a success. I read almost every day I missed two days where I didn't read anything. I read two poems and four short stories.  !!SPOILERS BELOW!! Poems:  The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe  ( ★ ★ ★)   The Raven is one of Edgar Allen Poe's most known works. The poem is a raven appearing to a grieving . He has lost his love, Lenore. Throughout the poem, the Raven repeats the word "Nevermore" after the narrator asks the bird questions driving him to go mad. This poem is not one of my favorite's, but I remember having to do analysis on it in school. That might be why I don't like it as much as his other works. Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe  ( ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ) Annabel Lee has been one of my favorite poems of all time. Poe finds a way with words that encapsulates both this love for a beautiful woman and the sadness of death. It is heartw...

Review: The Walking Dead Vol. 03: Safety Behind Bars (The Walking Dead #13-18) by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard (Illustrator) Format (That I Read It):  Comics Summary: An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled: there is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living. This volume follows our band of survivors as they set up a permanent camp inside a prison. Relationships change, characters die, and our team of survivors learn there's something far more deadly than zombies out there: each other. Initial Thoughts: I love the Tv Show of The Walking Dead. I always here people talk about the comics and how good they are so back in July I read the first 12 issues and enjoyed them well enough to continue on. As the show gets more intense I feel the need to know w...

Review: You by Caroline Kepnes Format (That I Read It): Physical Book, Audiobook Summary: When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card. There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting. As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder. Initial Thoughts: I heard about this book on Booktube. The whole...