Booked with Abby

 I have such mixed feelings about summer being over. On one hand, I'm so glad it won't be so hot anymore. I hate the heat! On the other hand, there's school... August was a pretty good month for me. I went on vacation to Rhode Island a few weeks ago, but now I'm back in school. For the most part, August was a good reading month. Unfortunately though, for the past week, I have been in a huge reading slump. I'm finding I don't have as much time to read during the day and when I get home from school, I'm too exhausted to pick up a book. Currently, I'm reading My Contrary Mary  so I'm hoping that'll take me out of this reading slump! Book reviews: The Cleaners  by Ken Liu My rating: 3 stars Series: Faraway Genre: fantasy Synopsis:  Is it better to remember or forget? Gui is a professional cleaner who scrubs away the unwanted memories of the past. Unlike other cleaners, Gui can't feel the memories from the objects. However, Clara can. She doesn...

 Oh my gosh, I'm becoming one of those people with a TBR that's over 100 books... But buying books is fun so here's another book haul! We Can Be Heros  by Kyrie McCauley The best book I read this month was definitely We Can Be Heros . It was heartbreaking and tragic. I was so lucky to receive an ARC of this book. We Can Be Heros comes out on September 7. Synopsis: Beck and Vivian could never stand each other, but they tried for their mutal best friend, Cassie. When it seems like everyone in Bell has forgotten about Cassie's murder, Beck and Vivian finally find something in common: vengeance. When Cassie comes back as a ghost, Beck and Vivian agree to help her pass onto the afterlife. They secretly paint memorials for Cassie around town protesting again gun violence in Bell. All of Us Villains  by Amanda Foody & Christine Lynn Herman I'm currently reading All of Us Villains . I'm almost done with this amazing novel perfect for fans of The Hunger Games. This b...

Shortly after Mary Lennox moves to Misselthwaite, she finds a walled-in garden. With the help of Dickon, a boy who has the strange ability to charm animals, Mary is able to restore the garden to its former glory. The garden helps Mary get better and its secret powers help her sick cousin, Colin. So I didn't know anything going into the book. I had no idea what the plot would be like or anything. Big mistake. I'm not sure why but, I thought that this was going to be a fantasy book. I was wrong.  The Secret Garden was really good at first. Then it got a little boring, but the ending was pretty good. My attention level for this book was up and down. Frances's writing could get really dry at some points.  Mary and Colin were such brats! It was so annoying how rude they were and even other characters commented on this.  I am really excited to watch the new movie though! That was probably my main reason for picking up this book. Page Count: 291 pages Published: 1910 Genre: clas...

 In honor of the third book in the System Divine  trilogy coming out, I'd thought I'd make a little playlist for fans of the first two books!  Sky Without Stars  is a  Les Miserables  retelling perfect for sci-fi fans! I loved how futuristic this book was! This series seems to keep getting better with each book so I can't wait to read Suns Wil Rise ! Atmosphere- Bebe Rexha all the good girls go to hell- Billie Eilish I Hope- Gabby Barrett Boyfriend- Arianna Grande Carousel- Melanie Martinez Shameless- Camila Cabello Shining Star- Bebe Rexha About Sky Without Stars Chatine is a street rate who steals to survive. She was raised by corrupt crooks. Marcellus is an officer, raised by the general of Laterre. His father was a traitor who was part of the rebellion of 488. Alouette is one of the last people of Laterre who can read the Forgotten Word (aka English). She lives in an underground refuge but an unexpected murder will bring her to the surface for the first...

Lady Jane Grey didn't plan to get married. But she does anyway. Edward knows he's dying so he arranges to marry Jane off to Gifford (but he likes to be called G) so he can have an heir. Jane and G aren't thrilled at first. And Janes is even less thrilled when she finds out that G is an Eðian. G turns into a horse every morning at sunrise. It isn't long before Edward, Jane, and G find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that will change England forever. This is by far the best historical fiction series there is. Though it's not historically accurate, this is definitely my favorite version of the Tudors. My Lady Jane  is a silly retelling of Lady Jane Grey's brief reign. It was surprising that the authors were able to turn such a tragic moment in history into one of the best comedies I've ever read. Considering the time period, I loved how stubborn and feisty the female characters were. The characters were so well developed. Each had their own distinct vo...

Cress has spent her whole life locked in a spaceship, orbiting Earth. After being rescued by Captin Carswell Thorne, their ship crashes in Africa. Meanwhile, Cinder and her crew are preparing to face their next challenge: stopping the royal wedding. I feel like each book in this series just keeps getting better and better. Each couple becomes my new favorite. Marissa Myers crafted this dystopian world beautifully. Each one has me hooked. I can't wait to read  Winter . I got to see a little bit of Winter in  Cress  and she seemed so sweet.  I love Cress. She was such a cute character. She and Thorne had an adorable relationship which I want to see more of in the next book. There was so much going on in Cress . All of the main characters were in different places and Marissa Myers did this really well. Everything was easy to keep track of and the way all these different storylines come together was beautiful. The Lunar Chronicles  is a perfect series for anyone jus...

My favorite retelling is definitely Sky Without Stars  which was a stunning book based off of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. As I was reading the book, I noticed so many similarities between the two and this got me wondering, how alike are these two books? Well here is some stuff I noticed while reading Sky Without Stars. Right off the bat, I noticed that the Renards reminded me of the Thenardiers. Heck, Madame Renard was even called "the master of the house"(bottom of page 22). I would also like to point out that Chatine went under the alias, Theo Renard. That name and the name Thenardier consist of mostly the same letters.  Marcellus was undoubtedly based off of Marius. Not only do their names sound alike but both boys are extremely wealthy in a time when most are poor and living on the streets. Both also have a military background, Marculles being the grandson of the general, preparing to follow in his footsteps while Marius fought with the Students of the ABC. Alouette...

I love Les Miserables and since I recently reviewed Sky Without Stars , I think it's the perfect time for some Les Mis  book recs! If you don't know what the story is about you can check out my book recommendations for act 1 . Do You Hear The People Sing? Unbirthday  by Liz Braswell In Unbirthday,  Alice rallies up all the Wonderland natives to rebel against the Queen of Heats. She could have been singing "Do You Hear the People Sing" the whole time and it would have made perfect sense. Synopsis: What if Wonderland was in peril and Alice was very, very late? Alice may not be like every other girl in Kenxford, and she's perfectly fine with that. While her sister may concern herself with boys and rallies, Alice has much more important matters on her hands. Such as Wonderland. Eleven years after visiting the curious land, Alice gets an urgent message from some of its inhabitants. Wonderland is in peril, and Alice is very very late. Javert At The Barricade Sophia...

The Hunger Games is a tradition in the country of Panem. To the Capitol, it's fun and entertaining. To Katniss, it's a nightmare. Each of the twelve districts pulls one boy and one girl to fight to the death on live TV. When Katniss is chosen, it seems like her life is ending. She goes in the games with Peeta by her side as they become the star-crossed lovers of District Twelve. But only can be the victor.  I loved The Hunger Games ! It was such an entertaining book. I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was suspenseful. Despite being a little sad, The Hunger Games  was really disturbing. It was very dark and there were a lot of deaths, Some of the descriptions made me cringe, they were so gruesome and scary. On a happier note, the romance between Peeta and Katniss was great! The characters were so well done. Katniss was so well devolped. I fell in love with her instantly. I love Peeta so, so much! Prim is adorable. Within the first few pages, I adored all the c...

 For the past year or so I've been pretty into astrology. My zodiac sign is Aquarius and I thought it would be fun to put together some book recommendations based off of the zodiac signs.  Books mentioned: Romanov My Plain Jane The Evil Queen Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children Dorothy Must Die Charming as a Verb The Cruel Prince A Dress for the Wicked The Land of Stories The Glass Queen The Mall Miss You Love You Hate You Bye

Chatine is a street rate who steals to survive. She was raised by corrupt crooks. Marcellus is an officer, raised by the general of Laterre. His father was a traitor who was part of the rebellion of 488. Alouette is one of the last people of Laterre who can read the Forgotten Word (aka English). She lives in an underground refuge but an unexpected murder will bring her to the surface for the first time in years. When Marcellus unknowingly recruits Chatine to track down his old governess, they get roped into things they would have never dreamed of. Sky Without Stars  is based on Victor Hugo's Les Miserables . It was crazy how alike the two are. I love it! I could match up Les Mis  with all the characters in   Sky Without Stars . I've been watching  Les Mis  since I was a little girl and it has always been one of my favorite movies. I love Chatine. I love Marcellus. But I couldn't care less for Alouette. Each character had their own chapters which were great ...

 Marigold is running from the ghosts of her past. Moving to Cedarville is the fresh start she needs. Her mom got a job with the Sterling Foundation that came with a new house. The renovated home on Maple Street is surrounded by run-down and burned houses. The only problem is strange things start happing in Mari's new home is that glasses are disappearing, doors are opening on their own, and theirs a foul order in the house only Mari seems to notice. To make everything worse, Mari's stepsister, Piper, says she's been talking to an old woman named Ms. Suga. And it seems Mrs. Suga wants Mari gone. White Smoke  is officially the best horror book I've ever read. Sure, I haven't read many, but this is still an amazing book.  White Smoke  is definitely the scariest YA book I've ever read.  I can't even begin to tell you how many times I caught myself holding my breath. This book gave me the chills. Y'all might want to sleep with the lights on after reading this...

 Like the song says, if Curella De Vil doesn't scare you, no evil thing will. From the time she was a little girl, Curella had always been eager to please her mother. To earn love. From her only childhood, Curella changed. After possibly getting cursed, Curella was no longer a sweet little girl. A mixture of heart-break and longing made her into the fashionable villain the world knows her as.  Curella's tale was so sad! She was such a sweet little girl that it would be impossible to think she would become a ruthless monster. Her mother was so awful to her and from the moment I started reading, I pitied Curella. Ever since I started reading Evil Thing , I've had the Curella De Vil song stuck in my head! I definitely want to watch 101 Dalmations  again now! One thing that I loved about Evil Thing  was that it was told in first person. The other six books in the series were told in third person. It was still good, but I liked reading from Curella's perspective. Speaking...

 Kaz and his crew of deadly criminals just pulled off a dangerous heist they didn't think they'd survive. Instead of collecting their rewards, their fighting for their lives. After being double-crossed, the crew is low on allies and hope. It'll take every weapon in Kaz's arsenal to defeat the threat facing them. I'm so sad that this series is over. Crooked Kingdom was a great book even though it was a little more boring than Six of Crows . I love the representation in this series! Not only are their badass female leads, people of color, and LGBT+ characters, but there's disability rep too! Kaz's limp affects his life in a practical way. Wylan has dyslexia and Jesper has ADHD. I love these characters so much. The only two characters in this series I hate with a burning passion are Van Eck and Kiwei. The ending of this book was so sad! This has been the most depressing book I've read in a while. Page count: 561 pages Published: September 27, 2018 Genre: fa...

 Ketterdam is a busy city full of trade and business. In Ketterdam, anything can be done for the right price. When Kaz Brekker is offered a chance at a deadly heist that'll make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, he knows he can't pull it off alone. Kaz recruits the help of a heartrender, a runaway, a sharpshooter, a spy, and a convict. Before I read this book, I thought it was way overhyped. I saw it everywhere on bookstagram and it seemed like everyone was obsessing over it. Now that I've read the book, I can say with confidence that this book deserves all the hype it gets.  Six of Crows  had been my first five-star read in a while. This series was just sheer perfection. The characters were phenomenal. There was so much character development with each of the characters. Also, I need to point out how amazing Leigh Bardugo is at creating backstories. Kaz's past is so sad! The relationships were also adorable. I don't think I've ever seen a couple as cute as Jes...