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A Guide to: The Books by Angie Thomas (Including Concrete Rose)

haleylynnthomas22

Feb 27, 2021
3 min

A Guide to: The Books by Angie Thomas (Including Concrete Rose)

THE HATE U GIVE This novel follows Starr Carter who witnesses the death of her childhood best friend, Khalil, when he is wrongfully shot by the police. As rumors run rampant Starr is forced to choose between staying safe and silent or speaking up for justice. MY REVIEW This novel was emotional, powerful, and eye opening for someone like me (a privileged white reader who's never had to suffer from racism or police brutality). Starr and her father Maverick were my favorite cha

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Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston (book review)

haleylynnthomas22

Feb 20, 2021
3 min

Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston (book review)

GENRE: YA fantasy LENGTH: 338 pages PLOT Cerys lives in the kingdom of Aloryia which is surrounded by a cursed wildwood. When the curse escapes the woods and takes her people she must travel into the wildwoods along with her fox companion. They seek the mystical city of Voryn in the hopes of finding help. CHARACTERS Cerys is a loyal friend and dedicated daughter who carries with her a lot of survivor's guilt. A part of her longs for something more, but she also has a lot of f

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5 Things I LOVE in Books Ft. Recommendations for Each 💖 (Inspired by BooksandLala)

haleylynnthomas22

Feb 13, 2021
3 min

5 Things I LOVE in Books Ft. Recommendations for Each 💖 (Inspired by BooksandLala)

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I debated if I should do a related blog or not. I considered doing a tag or talking about my favorite book romances or simply romance novels. None of those ideas really appealed to me, though. I ended up finally settling on doing a blog about things (tropes, writing styles, character types, etc.) that I love to read in books. I figured it fits the Valentine's theme since it's things I love and Valentine's Day is all about love. It also allows m

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I Read a Book Written by a K-pop Idol: Shine by Jessica Jung book review

haleylynnthomas22

Jan 16, 2021
3 min

I Read a Book Written by a K-pop Idol: Shine by Jessica Jung book review

GETTING INTO K-POP AND ABOUT THE BOOK This past fall I started casually listening to K-pop (Korean pop music). I know a lot of people who listen to K-pop are hardcore fans. I am definitely not that. There are so many groups I am unfamiliar with as so far I've only explored the more popular groups. I mostly listen to Blackpink and Twice, though I am a fan of a handful of other songs by various other girl groups as well. I doubt I'll ever be a 'stan' as some super fans call the

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Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett (book review)

haleylynnthomas22

Jan 9, 2021
3 min

Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett (book review)

GENRE: YA Contemporary LENGTH: 404 pages PLOT Josie returns to her New England hometown of Beauty after having fled in the night with her mother five years prior. After an incident where she breaks the window of a prominent store in town owned by a wealthy family, her estranged childhood friend Lucky takes the fall. As Josie attempts to pay Lucky back for the cost of the window the two find themselves falling for each other. CHARACTERS Josie has a passion and a drive for phot

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haleylynnthomas22

Dec 26, 2020
5 min

I Ranked Every YA Fantasy I Read in 2020 (Part II - #12-1)

12. Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova (rated 4.25 ⭐️) Renata is a memory thief of the fallen kingdom of Memoria. She was kidnapped as a child and used by her enemies to aid in her people's downfall. Now, years later, she's returning to the enemy's castle as a spy. This novel had meticulous world building, effective atmosphere, and lots of juicy political intrigue. The pacing, however, left the story feeling like it was stumbling around bumping into things. Read if: You've ever fe

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Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (a review) (A.K.A. The Best YA Fantasy of 2020)

haleylynnthomas22

Nov 21, 2020
3 min

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (a review) (A.K.A. The Best YA Fantasy of 2020)

GENRE: YA Fantasy LENGTH: 343 pages PLOT Tarisai has grown up with a distant mother known only as The Lady and a revolving door of servants and tutors. All she longs for is a family and she just might get it when her mother commands her to travel to the empire's capital. She is to win the love of the crown prince and gain a place on his council. The only catch? Then she has to kill him. CHARACTERS There are quite a few characters in this novel but I'm mainly going to focus on

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I Gave Goodreads' Recommendations a Second Chance (Forest of Souls vs. The Kinder Poison)

haleylynnthomas22

Sep 12, 2020
5 min

I Gave Goodreads' Recommendations a Second Chance (Forest of Souls vs. The Kinder Poison)

ABOUT THE RECOMMENDATION Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee is my favorite YA fantasy of 2020 to date. Not too long ago I did a blog reading 3 Goodreads' recommendations, but none were in my favorite genre (YA fantasy). That experiment had...mixed to negative results. However, I wanted to give Goodreads one more chance. So, I picked up one of the books they recommended me based on my enjoyment of Forest of Souls. That book was The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae. This blog will exam

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Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim (a review) (Spin the Dawn sequel)

haleylynnthomas22

Aug 22, 2020
3 min

Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim (a review) (Spin the Dawn sequel)

Genre: YA Fantasy (Sequel) Length: 351 pages Rating: 4.25 ⭐️ Plot: In this high stakes sequel to Spin the Dawn, tailor Maia Tamarin is suffering the consequences of her arduous journey during the first novel. She's cursed to slowly become a demon while also desperately trying to keep peace in a kingdom on the brink of war. STOP! Haven't Read Spin the Dawn yet? Check out my review for the first book in the duology here: https://www.haleysbookhaven.com/home/a-review-of-spin-the

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House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess (a review)

haleylynnthomas22

Jul 25, 2020
2 min

House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess (a review)

Genre: YA Fantasy Length: 431 pages Rating: 4.5 ⭐️ Plot: The emperor has died and noble dragon riders are called to compete in four trials to determine who will be his replacement. There is Emilia (the liar), Lucian (the solider), Hyperia (the murderer), Vesper (the servant), and Ajax (the thief). Five will enter the trials, but only one can win. Characters: Emilia is a bookworm who, due to her outlawed, chaotic magic has been isolated for the past four years. Lucian comes fr

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How Accurate are Goodreads' Recommendations? (Sadie by Courtney Summers and More)

haleylynnthomas22

Jul 18, 2020
4 min

How Accurate are Goodreads' Recommendations? (Sadie by Courtney Summers and More)

When you mark a book as read on Goodreads they will recommend you another book based on that book (provided you enjoyed it). I chose three of my all time favorite books (all of which I rated 5 stars) and then read whatever book Goodreads recommended to me. I discussed similarities and, ultimately, deemed whether or not the recommendation was accurate/successful. I got this video idea from a comment left by Youtuber ahugebooknerd on another Youtuber's (BooksandLala) video. I l

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haleylynnthomas22

Jun 13, 2020
2 min

2020 (a joke review)

Genre: Dystopian Length: 366 pages (days) Rating: 0 stars Plot: A young woman tries to navigate a world under the rule of a questionable leader in which a deadly pandemic has swept the country. People are gathering in mass to protest police brutality only to be met with...police brutality. Characters: Haley is a twenty seven year old who loves reading and writing. She is doing her best to survive this quarantine with her sanity intact. Other notable characters include unnamed

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haleylynnthomas22

Apr 24, 2020
4 min

March Reading Wrap-Up

Monthly Stats (YTD) Books Read (completed): 13 (28) Total Pages Read: 4,379 (10,140) Average Rating: 4.48 (4.34) Average # of Pages per Book: 336.85 (362.14) New Reads: 1. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (442 pages) (5 stars) The sequel to The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue. It follows Felicity and two new characters; her estranged childhood friend Johanna Hoffman and new acquaintance Sim, a pirate. This novel is perfect for someone who loves books with a sens

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A Review of: With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

haleylynnthomas22

Mar 28, 2020
2 min

A Review of: With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Genre: YA Contemporary Length: 388 pages Rating: 5 stars Plot: Emoni is a senior in high school with a real talent and passion (or as her grandmother calls it magic) for cooking. Her life is complicated by the fact that at the age of fifteen she became a mother to a little girl with her ex, Tyrone. The novel follows Emoni through her senior year as she is faced with decisions about her future. Characters: The main character of this novel, Emoni is creative, and loving mother,

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A Review of: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings #2)

haleylynnthomas22

Mar 14, 2020
2 min

A Review of: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings #2)

Genre: YA Historical Fiction Length: 442 pages Rating: 5 stars Plot: This novel is a sequel to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and follows one of the main trio from the first novel, Felicity Montague. The novel is about Felicity’s attempts to find work as a female in the medical field, reuniting with an estranged friend from childhood, and discovering an unknown species of sea dragon. Characters: The novel has a huge focus on sisterhood/female friendships. The three

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A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy (a review)

haleylynnthomas22

Feb 29, 2020
1 min

A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy (a review)

Genre: YA fantasy Length: 351 pages Plot: In the queendom of Myre there live two sister princesses. Eva and Isa must, upon their seventeenth nameday, fight to the death. Whichever princess remains will be the next queen. In order to survive, Eva must learn to use her rare magick of blood and marrow. Characters: I loved the main protagonist, Eva, who was very compassionate and committed to social justice. She wanted the throne not for her own vanity but for the good she could

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We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal (a review)

haleylynnthomas22

Feb 7, 2020
2 min

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal (a review)

Genre: YA fantasy Length: 369 pages Plot: The novel follows the story of a continent that once was rich in magic but has since lost it and now is in danger of being devoured by a dark, encroaching forest. Two people, Zafira the huntress and Nasir the crown prince/assassin, set out on an adventure to the cursed island of Sharr to restore magic to the land. Characters: There are quite a few characters and for the most parts my thoughts on them ranged from indifferent to liking

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A Review of: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

haleylynnthomas22

Jan 25, 2019
2 min

A Review of: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Summary: The Hazel Wood is a young adult urban fantasy novel following Alice, whose grandmother is an infamous, reclusive fairytale writer. Her book, Tales from the Hinterland, is a cult classic. Alice has never met her grandmother, who lives in the mysterious Hazel Wood. When her mother is kidnapped by characters from the Hinterland, Alice and her classmate, Ellery Finch, set out on a mission to rescue her. Narrative Style: The novel is told from the first person perspective

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