I’m behind on everything bloggy lately, friends! I’m hoping to get caught up a little bit this weekend, though, so bear with me, ok? *hugs* You guys are the best.
In the meantime, I want to shout out some books that I’m DYINGGG to read this month!! Prepare yourselves, friends, because the next two months? ALL THE AWESOME BOOKS. THEY ARE COMING.
Soooo, little bit behind with this one. As you can tell. I had a busy end of the month of March because I went on VACATION HUZZAH! And I’ve been a little busy getting back into the swing of things. Vacation hangover, as it were. But as always, a recap is in order, so here we are. YAY!
KINDLE BOOKS
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West | The Lies of Locke Lamora: Gentleman Bastards #1 by Scott Lynch
Rule: Marked Men #1 by Jay Crownover | Jet: Marked Men #2 by Jay Crownover | Rome: Marked Men #3 by Jay Crownover
NETGALLEY
Fool Me Twice by Mandy Hubbard | The Lonesome Young by Lucy Connors | Deep Blue: The Waterfire Saga #1 by Jennifer Donnelly | Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae
The Wizard’s Promise: The Hannah Duology #1 by Cassandra Rose Clarke | Conversion by Katherine Howe | The Nethergrim: The Nethergrim Trilogy #1 by Matthew Jobin
Listen, I will love Percy Jackson for all time. THE HOUSE OF HADES, like every book in these two series, make me love him even more.
Legit, SORROW’S KNOT is one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year.
CRUEL BEAUTY was lovely. OH HAI IGNIFEX.
On the Same Page this month was all about the excellent LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA. Thief love, right this way!
For shame! I’ve never read a book by these ten authors.
There are a crap-ton of great books coming out this spring, but these are the ten I’m most dying to read.
THE WIZARD’S PROMISE just sounds amazing, and THAT COVER. *dies*
I’m always down for a fairy tale retelling, and STITCHING SNOW sounds super.
Sacrifice: The Elementals Series #4 by Brigid Kemmerer
One misstep and they lose it all. For the last time.
Michael Merrick is used to pressure.
He’s the only parent his three brothers have had for years. His power to control Earth could kill someone if he miscalculates. Now an Elemental Guide has it out for his family, and he’s all that stands in the way.
His girlfriend, Hannah, gets that. She’s got a kid of her own, and a job as a firefighter that could end her life without a moment’s notice.
But there are people who have had enough of Michael’s defiance, his family’s “bad luck.” Before he knows it, Michael’s enemies have turned into the Merricks’ enemies, and they’re armed for war.
They’re not interested in surrender. But Michael isn’t the white flag type anyway. There will be blood on the ground tonight…
OMG of COURSE I am DYINGGGGG for Michael’s book in Brigid Kemmerer’s Elementals series. He has been my favorite brother ever since I first read the prequel novella about him. The model on the cover of that book and this one look NOTHING alike, but I’m not complaining because OH HAI.
But what I’m really looking forward to the most is reading about Michael. He’s been in every book and is always my favorite presence in each of his brothers’ stories. I find his responsibility and loyalty and strong-but-silent attitude really admirable and special and touching. The main arc of this series has been growing in danger as well, so I’m eager to see how everything plays out. I just can barely wait for SACRIFICE. BARELY.
Check out my reviews of the first three books in The Elementals Series!
SACRIFICE comes out on September 30, 2014 from Kensington Teen
I can’t believe it’s already time to dish about On the Same Page’s THIRD BOOK!!! Time is flying because we’re having so much fun. And let me tell you, reading THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA, the first book in Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series, was TREMENDOUS fun. When Alyssa, Brittany, and I scheduled out our books for the year, all of our choices were mutual, except the ones in March, September, and December: Our birthday months! We each got to pick the books we read as a birthday present of sorts, and Miss Brittany made an excellent choice. THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA was 100% good times.
I’ve been meaning to read this series for ages, so I was excited to finally have a reason to dive in. It has so many things that I always love, most notably the fact that it’s a fantasy. Scott Lynch’s world-building is top-notch. There are different kingdoms and realms, all with their own clearly defined cultures and histories; there’s a new and interesting calendar that these worlds follow; a fleshed-out religion; and Camorr, where Locke and his other Gentleman Bastards live and operate, is so lively and described in such great detail that it’s difficult to struggle picturing it in your mind. I could talk about a number of things this month relating to THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA, but I’m going to focus on one element in particular that I always love in any book, and that defines a large part of the action and characters here: THIEVES. OMG. LOVE THEM.
Princess Snow is missing.
Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.
Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.
When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.
So my first thought when I read the synopsis of STITCHING SNOW was, “sounds a little like The Lunar Chronicles.” But listen, that’s actually kind of awesome, because The Lunar Chronicles are AMAZING. Thankfully, though, R.C. Lewis’ debut sounds like it’s going to be fantastic in its own right.
I love the sci-fi fairy tale retellings because there couldn’t be two things more different in my mind. Also, let’s be serious, there’s a war and a king that seems evil and a queen that is evil and a crash-landed pilot. So many elements in this book are making me antsy with anticipation. What is this “fiery right for survival”?!?!? AHHHH!
STITCHING SNOW comes out on October 14, 2014 from Disney-Hyperion
Top Ten Books on My Spring TBRThese Top Ten Tuesday’s are always some of my favorites, friends. Looking forward to new books is one of the very best things about blogging because it means I get to become endlessly excited about all of the excellent reads coming my way! There are almost literally A TON of great books coming out this spring. I could’ve made this list twice as long, so I’m pretty proud that I was able to restrain myself! There are so many great books on my spring TBR, but these are the ten I’m most DYING to read! [Read more…]
Title: Cruel Beauty
Author: Rosamund Hodge (web | twitter)
Series: Cruel Beauty Universe #1
Genre: Fantasy YA, Fairy Tale Retelling
Amazon | Goodreads | B&N
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release date: January 28, 2014
Source: Borrowed ARC from Alyssa
Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.
Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.
As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex’s secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.
Title: Sorrow’s Knot
Author: Erin Bow (web | twitter)
Genre: Fantasy YA, Native American, Horror YA
Amazon | Goodreads | B&N
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Release date: October 29, 2013
Source: ARC from the publisher via NetGalley
From the acclaimed author of PLAIN KATE, a new novel about what lurks in the shadows, and how to put it to rest…
In the world of SORROW’S KNOT, the dead do not rest easy. Every patch of shadow might be home to something hungry, something deadly. Most of the people of this world live on the sunlit, treeless prairies. But a few carve out an uneasy living in the forest towns, keeping the dead at bay with wards made from magically knotted cords. The women who tie these knots are called binders. And Otter’s mother, Willow, is one of the greatest binders her people have ever known.
But Willow does not wish for her daughter to lead the lonely, heavy life of a binder, so she chooses another as her apprentice. Otter is devastated by this choice, and what’s more, it leaves her untrained when the village falls under attack. In a moment of desperation, Otter casts her first ward, and the results are disastrous. But now Otter may be her people’s only hope against the shadows that threaten them. Will the challenge be too great for her? Or will she find a way to put the dead to rest once and for all?
Title: The House of Hades
Author: Rick Riordan (web | twitter)
Series: The Heroes of Olympus
Genre: Fantasy MG/YA, Mythology
Amazon | Goodreads | B&N
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Release date: October 8, 2013
Source: Own it
At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?
They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.
