Need To Know book review

Need To Know by Karen Cleveland

*e-ARC kindly provided through NetGalley  in exchange for an honest review!*

SUMMARY
"Vivian Miller is a dedicated CIA counterintelligence analyst assigned to uncover the leaders of Russian sleeper cells in the United States. On track for a much-needed promotion, she’s developed a system for identifying Russian agents, seemingly normal people living in plain sight.

Vivian has vowed to defend her country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But now she’s facing impossible choices. Torn between loyalty and betrayal, allegiance and treason, love and suspicion, who can she trust?"

Goodreads' link to the book!
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Stars: ✦✦✦✦.5

So as usual, I'll tell 4.5 things I liked about the book and 0.5 thing I didn't like.

+1 | The writing and the way that things were told

+1 | The plot and flow of the story

+1 | It keeps you reading, guessing and at the edge of your seat

+1 | The ending! Throughout the book you think you know things, but then suddenly things are flipped

+/-0.5 | All in all, though interesting it wasn't anything too new

Read on lovelies,

S

First Sentences in Books part I

The very first sentences we read in books tells us a lot; about the writing, the feeling, the setting or character. Not all first sentences are made equal though, they don’t always convey anything about the story. There are many memorable ones for me, both in the negative and positive aspect, and here are some great ones!

—
There are ones that are nostalgic,
ones that grab your attention immediately,
ones that throw you right in the middle of the action,
ones that tell you a lot about the book or the style,
ones that make you laugh,
and ones that just purely make you want to know more.
—

We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck.
- Feed by Anderson

My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die. I counted.
- Jellicoe Road byMarchetta

The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say.
- The Knife of Never Letting Go by Ness

It seems like there should be some sort of introduction to this.
- Hyperbole and a Half

I can't remember many specific details of the accident, but the fear I felt that day is still crystal clear in my memory.
- Cinder and Ella

The end of the sword was pointing straight at my heart, and my murderer's eyes were like black holes threatening to swallow up everything that came too close to them.
- Emerald Green

The sound of my knife slitting across a throat feels much too loud in the darkness.
- Daughter of the Siren Queen

The blood underneath her nails bothered her.
- Batman

You may think you know the story.
- My Lady Jane

No one survives beyond the fence.
- The Revolution of Ivy

This time we were in the Great Room enduring another etiquette lesson when bricks came flying through the window.
- The One

In some part of my brain, probably the logical part that seemed to be missing at the moment, I knew I should let go and walk away, maintain some of my dignity.
- The Fill-in Boyfriend

How did they find us so fast?
- A Torch Against the Night

Locked in darkness that surrounded me like a coffin, I had nothing to distract me from my memories.
- Poison Study

This book begins the same way as nearly all my social interactions; with a series of detailed and thorough apologies.
- The Idiot Brain

Read on lovelies.

S

Disney Book Tag

Disney Book Tag

#1. The Little Mermaid – A character that is out of their element, a “Fish out of Water”.

Gwen in the Precious Stone Trilogy.
I think it was smartly done since quite often the story goes that the main character knows nothing of what they actually are and are thrown into the world (Harry Potter, The Mortal Instruments etc.), but in these books she knows about time travel but always thought that it wouldn't be her.

#2. Cinderella – A character that goes through a major transformation.

Tris in Divergent. She embraces what she is, but I'll still go with that answer.

#3. Snow White – A book with an eclectic cast of characters.

The Lovely and the Lost doesn't have that many characters but they're all extremely different from each other. And lots of dogs.

#4. Sleeping Beauty – A book that put you to sleep.

My Life Next Door. I don't remember the plot or characters, and I think that was the problem - it wasn't memorable at all to me.

#5. The Lion King – A character that had something traumatic happen to them in their childhood.

Cinder from The Lunar Chronicles

#6. Beauty and the Beast – A beast of a book (a big book) that you were intimidated by, but found the story to be beautiful.

Winter, one of the longest ones I've read - and loved.

#7. Aladdin – A character that get’s their wish granted, for better or for worse.

I'm going with A Natural History of Dragons. Isabella gets what she wishes, and not at the same time.

#8. Mulan – A character that pretends to be something or someone they are not.

Lia in The Kiss of Deception

#9. Toy Story – A book with characters you wish would come to live.

Harry Potter characters! I don't think I need to explain this one

#10. Disney Descendants – Your favourite villain or morally ambiguous character.

This is a tough one - even Harry Potter has multiple; between Snape, Voldemort and Umbridge. Also Levana from the Lunar Chronicles is quite a character!

Read on lovelies,

S

10 Books and 10 words

The goal is to list 10 books and describe it in 1 word.
The last time I did this tag was four (!) years ago and I ended up bending the rules (link).
We'll see how it goes this time around

1. My Lady Jane --- hilarious, upside down
2. Archenemies --- superhero-esc
3. Ember in the Ashes --- mask
4. Daughter of the Pirate King --- piratess
5. Flame in the Mist --- mulan-esc
6. Naturals --- crime
7. Geekerella ---  geekerella fits perfectly
8. Eliza and Her Monsters --- art
9. A is for Arsenic --- poison
10. The Raft --- survival

Read on lovelies,

S

Read This Month, May & June

Read This Moth:

May & June

1. Fame fate and the first kiss ebook ✦✦✦✦✧
2. Liquid Rules Non-fiction ✦✦✦.5✧
3. Celestial watercolorebook Non-fiction REVIEWED ✦✦✦.5✧
4. Draw 62 magical creatures and make them cute ebook Non-fiction REVIEWED ✦✦✦✦✦

Data:

Male/Female author:
         75 % female,
         25 % male
Genre:
         25 % science,

         25% contemporary romance,
         50% drawing
Pages:
       928 p
Format:
         75% e-books,
         25% physical books
Average:
         4.00
Arcs:
          50% sent to me (for honest reviews)

*For stars and more info check my Goodreads: link*

Read on lovelies,

S

Duologies I've Read

I've noticed somewhat of a pattern and well it turns out, I really like duologies!

You get more than just a story of one book (without being terrified of it being a loooong book),
you can binge it fast and you don't need to wait years and years to complete it!

So I have compiled all the duologies I've read, and what I rated them:


In the order I read them:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 4
Holes 4
Alice in Wonderland 4

Mind Games 3.5

If I Stay 4

Reboot 2
Imposter 4
Assassins Curse 5

The Book of Ivy 5 & 4.5

Anomaly 3.5 & 1

Wrath and the Dawn 4.5

Flame in the Mist 4.5 & 3.75
Spindle Fire 2.5 & 3.5
Daughter of the Pirate King 4.5

I'm surprised by how many I've read! There are definite top ones, and well not so great ones.

Read on lovelies,

S

How Well Do I Know My Books

How Well Do I Know My Books? TAG

I won't be using numbers leading to specific books on my bookshelf,

instead I counted all my books (111) and divided it with the number of questions (28),

and therefore will be picking every fourth book and seeing if I can answer the following questions about the books without looking them up!

THE QUESTIONS: - Without looking at the description, tell us what the book is about!

What If? - Random scenarios with actual scientific answers -Without looking it up, what is the genre of this book?

Reaper at the Gates - YA magical fantasy - Without looking at the book, tell us what is on the cover!

The Naturals Killer Instinct - a young woman in black

- Without looking it up, what is the main character's name?

If I Stay - Mia? (yup!) - Without looking, name a side character!

Snow Like Ashes - no idea, can't even think of the main characters name... - Guess how many pages the book has without looking! (If you guess 25 below or 25 above the number, you can count it as a win!)

Uncommon Criminals - 300? (302! I'm as surprised as you) - Without looking it up, what rating did you give this book? If you land on a book you haven't read, pick a new set of numbers.

United We Spy - 5 (last in one of my favorite series!) - Without looking, where does this book take place?

Through the Zombie Glass - The US? might be too big of a place for the answer, but I'll go with it (I couldn't find the answer!) - Without looking, what are the parent's names?

Poison Study - First of all, what a question! And no I have no idea at all. I'm not even sure if the parents were mentioned, and can't find it - Without looking at the hardback, what color is the book under the dust jacket?

I moved on to the next hardback: All In - Blue? Nope it was black - Without looking, is there anything on the hardback? Like an imprint or an image of some sort?

Again, moved to the next hardback: Bad Blood - Nope nothing there (true!) - Without taking the dust jacket off, what is the color of the font on the hardback?

P.S I Like You - the background is pink with white sides, so maybe pink? or silver? (Well it was pink, but I got the background colors the other way) - Without looking do the chapters have titles or are they just numbered?

Divergent - just numbers (yup) - Without looking at the book cover, does it have an award on it?

Love, Lies and Spies - Nope - Without looking, does this book have any author blurbs on the front cover?

Lola and the Boy Next Door - I'm saying yes, but that's purely a guess (They were all on the back) - Without looking, does the book have a description on the back?

The Kiss Quotient - Yes? (it does) - Without looking, does this book have an author photo?

The Kiss Deception - nope - Without looking it up, is this author using a pen name?

Eliza and Her Monsters - I don't think so - Without peaking, what POV is this book written in? 1st or 3rd?

Daughter of the Pirate King - 1st - Without looking are there any pictures or graphics in this book?

Cinder - nope - Without looking, does it have an epilogue?

The Assassin's Curse - yes (wrong) - Without looking, does this book have a prologue?

River Secrets - yes (correct) - Without looking, is this book signed?

The Rose and the Dagger - nope - Without looking, do the page numbers have a design above or below them or none at all?

Forest Born - no? (well the first letter does have some drawings) - Without looking, do the chapter headers have designs on them?

Harry Potter ja Azkabanin vanki (illustrated edition) - yes, the whole book is pretty much - Without looking, are the acknowledgements in the front or the back of the book?

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - back? (didn't have any!) - Without looking, what year was this book published?

Pride and Prejudice - oh boy, 1850? (1815, wasn't too far at all!) - Without looking, what year did you read this book?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - 2015? (2014)

So I got 18/28 right, so it seems that no I don't really know my books too well.

Or that I know half of them?

Read on lovelies,

S