Tag: Elly Blake
Weekly Cover Reveal Recap | August 28 – September 3
Hey Bookworms!
Here are the covers that were revealed during the week of August 28 – September 3. Click the author to hop on over to their GoodReads page to add it to you’re TBR!
This was a big week for reveals. Hope ya’ll enjoy.
Continue reading Weekly Cover Reveal Recap | August 28 – September 3
September 2017 Releases
Hey Bookworms!
Every month I post the books that I’m most excited about that are going to be released. For September I’m bringing you seven exciting releases. Let’s check them out:
Top Summer 2017 Reads!
Hey Bookworms!
Summer is fast approaching it’s end. The days of endless sun and beach going will be replaced with cooler days and leaves changing colors! I hold an unpopular opinion when I say that summer is my least favorite season of the year. I just can’t stand the heat… sorry not sorry.
But ushering in a new season doesn’t mean that I don’t have books to recommend! Over the last 3 months I have read some amazing books. So I wanted to take this opportunity to showcase them for you all to possibly add to your TBR’s!
Happy Canada Day: #CanadianReads
Hey Bookworms!
Today is July 1st, which means it is Canada Day! This year marks Canada’s 150 birthday since becoming a country back in 1867. Canada in my opinion is the best country in the world! I am proud to be Canadian, and so are these amazing Canadian YA authors.
I thought it would be a fun post to make with all my favourite Canadian recommendations. It’s a bit of a long list, but I hope you can stick around until the end!
Morgan Rhodes
Morgan Rhodes lives in Ontario, Canada. As a child, she always wanted to be a princess — the kind that knows how to wield a sharp sword to help save both kingdoms and princes from fire-breathing dragons and dark wizards. Instead, she became a writer, which is just as good and much less dangerous. Along with writing, Morgan enjoys photography, travel, reality TV, and is an extremely picky, yet voracious reader of all kinds of books. Under another pen name, she’s a national bestselling author of many paranormal novels. Falling Kingdoms is her first high fantasy.
Notable Novels/Series:
Falling Kingdoms Series
Spirits and Thieves Series
E.K. Johnston
E.K. Johnston had several jobs and one vocation before she became a published writer. If she’s learned anything, it’s that things turn out weird sometimes, and there’s not a lot you can do about it. Well, that and how to muscle through awkward fanfic because it’s about a pairing she likes.
Her books range from contemporary fantasy (The Story of Owen, Prairie Fire), to fairy-tale reimaginings (A Thousand Nights, Spindle), and from small town Ontario (Exit, Pursued By A Bear), to a galaxy far, far away (Star Wars: Ahsoka). She has no plans to rein anything in.
Notable Novels/Series:
A Thousand Nights Duology
EXIT, Pursued by a Bear
That Inevitable Victorian Thing
Star Wars Ahsoka
Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers” young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
Notable Novels/Series:
Darkest Powers Series
Age of Legends Series
Kevin Sands
Since escaping from university with a pair of degrees in theoretical physics, Kevin Sands has worked as a researcher, a business consultant, a teacher, and a professional poker player. He lives in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of the bestselling The Blackthorn Key series.
Notable Novels/Series:
The Blackthorn Key Series
Erin Bow
Hi! My name is Erin Bow — physicist turned poet turned author of young adult novels that will make you cry on the bus. I’m a white girl, forty-something, feminist, geeky enough to do the Vulcan salute with both hands — in public. I live in Canada. I love to cook, hate to clean, and yes, I do own a cat.
Notable Novels/Series:
Prisoners of Peace Duology
S.K. Ali
S. K. Ali is the author of Saints and Misfits. She lives in Toronto with her family, which includes a very vocal cat named Yeti. She is currently working on her second YA novel, featuring an ensemble cast of diverse souls, as well as LOVE.
Notable Novels/Series:
Saints & Misfits
Sarah Raughley
Sarah Raughley grew up in Southern Ontario writing stories about freakish little girls with powers because she secretly wanted to be one. She is a huge fangirl of anything from manga to SF/F TV to Japanese Role Playing Games, but she will swear up and down that she was inspired by ~Jane Austin~ at book signings. On top of being a YA Writer, she is currently completing a PhD in English, because the sight of blood makes her queasy (which crossed Medical School off the list).
Notable Novels/Series:
Effigies Series
Alwyn Hamilton
Alwyn Hamilton was born in Toronto and spent her childhood bouncing between Europe and Canada until her parents settled in France. She grew up in a small town there, which might have compelled her to burst randomly into the opening song from Beauty and the Beast were it not for her total tone-deafness. She instead attempted to read and write her way to new places and developed a weakness for fantasy and cross-dressing heroines. She left France for Cambridge University to study History of Art at King’s College, and then to London where she became indentured to an auction house. She has a bad habit of acquiring more hardcovers than is smart for someone who moves house quite so often.
Notable Novels/Series:
Rebel of the Sands Series
Kenneth Oppel
I was born in 1967 in Port Alberni, a mill town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia but spent the bulk of my childhood in Victoria, B.C. and on the opposite coast, in Halifax, Nova Scotia…At around twelve I decided I wanted to be a writer (this came after deciding I wanted to be a scientist, and then an architect). I started out writing sci-fi epics (my Star Wars phase) then went on to swords and sorcery tales (my Dungeons and Dragons phase) and then, during the summer holiday when I was fourteen, started on a humorous story about a boy addicted to video games (written, of course, during my video game phase). It turned out to be quite a long story, really a short novel, and I rewrote it the next summer. We had a family friend who knew Roald Dahl – one of my favourite authors – and this friend offered to show Dahl my story. I was paralysed with excitement. I never heard back from Roald Dahl directly, but he read my story, and liked it enough to pass on to his own literary agent. I got a letter from them, saying they wanted to take me on, and try to sell my story. And they did.
Notable Novels/Series:
Silverwing Series
Every Hidden Thing
Lesley Livingston
LESLEY LIVINGSTON is a writer living in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of twelve books to date. Her first novel, WONDROUS STRANGE, was winner of the CLA Young Adult Book of the Year 2010, a White Pine Honour Book, shortlisted for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Speculative Fiction, and in 2015 was named one of CBC’s “100 YA Books That Make You Proud To Be Canadian”. DARKLIGHT, the second book in this series was a finalist for the Indigo Teen Read Awards. The concluding volume in the trilogy, TEMPESTUOUS, was a finalist for the Monica Hughes Award. These books have sold to more than ten countries to date, and WONDROUS STRANGE has been optioned for film/TV by Shaftesbury Films. Her other trilogies have both won the Copper Cylinder award for Young Adult fiction.
Notable Novels/Series:
Wondrous Strange Series
Starling Series
The Valiant Series
Amy Alward
Amy Alward is a 30-something Chinese-White author, born in the UK and raised in Canada, currently based in Toronto. In 2013, she was listed as one of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars. Her debut fantasy adventure novel, The Oathbreaker’s Shadow, was published in 2013 under the name Amy McCulloch and was longlisted for the 2014 Branford Boase Award for best UK debut children’s book. Her first book written as Amy Alward, The Potion Diaries, was an international success and the second novel in the series, The Potion Diaries: Royal Tour will be published in August 2016. She loves travelling the world, researching extraordinary settings and intriguing stories for future books.
Notable Novels/Series:
Potion Series
Elly Blake
Elly Blake loves fairy tales, old houses, and owls. After earning a BA in English literature, she held a series of seemingly random jobs, including project manager, customs clerk, graphic designer, reporter for a local business magazine, and library assistant. She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and a Siberian Husky mix who definitely shows Frostblood tendencies.
Notable Novels/Series:
Frostblood Saga
Danielle L. Jensen
Danielle L. Jensen is the USA Today bestselling author of the acclaimed Malediction Trilogy: Stolen Songbird, Hidden Huntress, and Warrior Witch (Angry Robot Books). A prequel, The Broken Ones, will hit shelves in June 2017.
Danielle was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. At the insistence of the left side of her brain, she graduated in 2003 from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in finance. But the right side of her brain has ever been mutinous; and in 2010, it sent her back to school to complete an entirely impractical English literature degree at Mount Royal University and to pursue publication. Much to her satisfaction, the right side shows no sign of relinquishing its domination.
Notable Novels/Series:
Malediction Trilogy
Eve Silver
National bestselling author Eve Silver has been praised for her “edgy, steamy, action-packed” books, darkly sexy heroes and take-charge heroines. Her work has garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Quill and Quire, two RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards, Library Journal’s Best Genre Fiction Award, and she was nominated for the Romance Writers of America® RITA® Award. The first book in Eve’s new teen series, THE GAME: RUSH, is available now. Watch for PUSH, coming from Katherine Tegen Books, June 2014.
Eve lives with her husband, two sons, an energetic Airedale terrier and an exuberant border collie/shepherd.
Notable Novels/Series:
The Game Series
Otherkin Series
Rachel Hartman
Rachel Hartman’s first YA fantasy novel, SERAPHINA, will be published by Random House on July 10th, 2012.
Rachel was born in Kentucky, but has lived a variety of places including Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, England, and Japan. She has a BA in Comparative Literature, although she insists it should have been a BS because her undergraduate thesis was called “Paradox and Parody in Don Quixote and the satires of Lucian.” She eschewed graduate school in favour of drawing comic books. She now lives in Vancouver, BC, with her family, their whippet, and a talking frog and salamander (who fight zombies)(really. There are a lot of zombies in the Pacific Northwest).
Notable Novels/Series:
Seraphina Duology
M-E Girard
M-E GIRARD is a Canadian writer of contemporary fiction—mostly young adult fiction, sometimes new adult fiction, usually queer fiction, and always about girls. Her debut novel GIRL MANS UP will be published in September 2016 by HarperTeen/HarperCollins and HarperCollins Canada. M-E was a fellow of the 2013 and 2015 Lambda Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices. Her writing has appeared in Plenitude Magazine. M-E is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Writers’ Community of Durham Region.
Notable Novels/Series:
Girl Mans Up
Amy McCulloch
Amy McCulloch is a Canadian living in London, who fits writing around work as a Editorial Director at one of the UK’s leading children’s publishers.
She was bitten by the travel bug at an early age while accompanying her parents on buying trips around the world for their oriental carpet business. It was this love of travel that inspired her to set a novel in a hot, desert location (moving to freezing Ottawa, Canada, where her first winter hit -40°C, might have had something to do with that too). She studied Medieval and Old English literature at the University of Toronto.
Notable Novels/Series:
The Knots Sequence
Heather Fawcett
I was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, where I enjoy wandering around in the wilderness and only occasionally getting lost. I’ve also spent extended periods of time in Italy, where I learned very little Italian but ate quite a lot of pizza, and Ireland, where I searched half-successfully for puffins and selkies.
Before becoming a writer I worked, among other things, as an archaeologist, a technical writer, and a backstage assistant for a Shakespearean theatre company (which I could write several novels about). I have a Master’s degree in English Literature and briefly considered becoming a professor, before I realized it involved more than reading books, drinking excessive amounts of tea, and wearing colourful elbow patches.
Notable Novels/Series:
Even the Darkest Stars Duology
Kristen Ciccarelli
Kristen Ciccarelli hails from Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula where she grew up on her grandfather’s grape farm. She spent her childhood running wild with her cousins, adventuring in the woods, building forts in the barn, and obsessing over books, dragons, and girls wielding really cool weapons.
Notable Novels/Series:
Iskari Series
Gabrielle Prendergast
I’m a writer, teacher and designer living in Vancouver, Canada.
In 2014 I was the Writer in Residence at Vancouver Public Library. In 2015 I was nominated for the BC Book Prizes and chosen to tour the province to promote BC Books. I have also been nominated for the White Pine Award and the CLA Award. I won the Westchester Award for Audacious. Audacious was included in CBC’s list of 100 YA Books That Make You Proud to be Canadian. A poem from Capricious was chosen for the 2014 Poetry in Transit Program. Pandas on the East Side was chosen as an Ontario Library Association Best Bet for Junior Fiction in 2016.
Notable Novels/Series:
The Nahx Invasions Series
There you have it! Some of my favourite Canadian authors and their amazing books. Have you read any of these? If so which ones are your favourite?
Until next time,
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Top Winter 2017 Reads!
Hey guys!
We can all come out of our caves soon as winter will be ending in a few short weeks. I’ll pause here and let you all cheer! I don’t know about you guys, but I quite like winter to be honest. It might be the Canadian blood running through my veins, but I don’t find it harsh or oppressive in any way. The snow is romantic and beautiful to watch fall, skating is a fun activity, and not to forgot skiing! Who else likes to curl up with a book on the couch with some hot cocoa or tea?
But let’s make way for my favorite season and new arrivals! Spring is coming~ To end this winter I wanted to show you guys the best books I read over those cold months!
Crystal Storm by Morgan Rhodes
The ruthless Empress Amara of Kraeshia has taken the Mytican throne, and now uncertainty looms over the three kingdoms. Since Lucia unleashed the fire Kindred, wreaking havoc throughout the land, Myticans have been looking for someone—anyone—they can trust. They believe in Amara, not knowing her grand promises are built on lies.
In Paelsia, Magnus and Cleo reluctantly follow King Gaius to the home of his exiled mother, Selia. Selia is a powerful witch and claims she can help unlock the magic of the Kindred—if the visitors agree to her terms. When Jonas arrives from Kraeshia, he is shocked to find that his rebel army now includes his sworn enemies. Along with Nic, Felix, and the mysteriously resurrected Ashur, the contentious group agrees to cast aside old grudges—for now—and united against their common enemy: Amara.
Meanwhile, bearing the child of a Watcher and feared by all, Princess Lucia travels across Mytica to find her family. But time is running out. The impending storm signals the dark prophecy Timotheus warned her about. Her fate is written, and it includes none other than the rebel Jonas. When their paths collied, Jonas and Lucia must decide between blindly following their destiny or fighting for their own free will.
The battle for power culminates at the Paelsian palace, where Amara resides. Rain pours. Blood spills. And soon all will discover that the darkest magic comes at an even darker price.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
5 Stars
Why You Should Pick This Up:
- Best series for: love, betrayal, breaking alliances, war, and magic.
- One step closer to the final battle/conclusion.
- Oh the poor characters are always getting themselves into trouble!
The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine
Ansa has always been a fighter.
As a child, she fought the invaders who murdered her parents and snatched her as a raid prize. She fought for her place next to Thyra, the daughter of the Krigere Chieftain. She fought for her status as a warrior in her tribe: blood and victory are her way of life. But the day her Krigere cross the great lake and threaten the witch queen of the Kupari, everything changes.
Cursed by the queen with fire and ice, Ansa is forced to fight against an invisible enemy—the dark magic that has embedded itself deep in her bones. The more she seeks to hide it, the more dangerous it becomes. And with the Krigere numbers decimated and the tribe under threat from the traitorous brother of the dead Chieftain, Ansa is torn between her loyalty to the Krigere, her love for Thyra, and her own survival instincts.
With her world in chaos and each side wanting to claim her for their own, only one thing is certain: unless Ansa can control the terrible magic inside her, everything she’s fought for will be destroyed.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
5 Stars
Why You Should Pick This Up:
- LGBTQ+ characters.
- Beautiful writing and storytelling.
- Strong willed heroine.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
5 Stars
Why You Should Pick This Up:
- #OwnVoices
- Tackles current issues that are occurring in present day.
- Amazing story, beautiful writing, real characters.
Frostblood by Elly Blake
The frost king will burn.
Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has concealed her powers of heat and flame from the cruel Frostblood ruling class her entire life. But when her mother is killed trying to protect her, and rebel Frostbloods demand her help to overthrow their bloodthirsty king, she agrees to come out of hiding, desperate to have her revenge.
Despite her unpredictable abilities, Ruby trains with the rebels and the infuriating—yet irresistible—Arcus, who seems to think of her as nothing more than a weapon. But before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to compete in the king’s tournaments that pit Fireblood prisoners against Frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her—and from the icy young man she has come to love.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
4 Stars
Why You Should Pick This Up:
- Amazing and cool mythology!
- Brooding prince-type character.
- Fantastic world building.
The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine
The world has turned upside down for Thad and Ari Glavan, the bastard twins of Súndraille’s king. Their mother was murdered. The royal family died mysteriously. And now Thad sits on the throne of a kingdom whose streets are suddenly overrun with violence he can’t stop.
Growing up ignored by the nobility, Ari never wanted to be a proper princess. And when Thad suddenly starts training Ari to take his place, she realizes that her brother’s ascension to the throne wasn’t fate. It was the work of a Wish Granter named Alistair Teague who tricked Thad into wishing away both the safety of his people and his soul in exchange for the crown.
So Ari recruits the help of Thad’s enigmatic new weapons master, Sebastian Vaughn, to teach her how to fight Teague. With secret ties to Teague’s criminal empire, Sebastian might just hold the key to discovering Alistair’s weaknesses, saving Ari’s brother—and herself.
But Teague is ruthless and more than ready to destroy anyone who dares stand in his way—and now he has his sights set on the princess. And if Ari can’t outwit him, she’ll lose Sebastian, her brother…and her soul.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
4 Stars
Why You Should Pick This Up:
- Sinister villain.
- Amazing visual storytelling.
- Connectable characters.
Well there you have it, my Top Winter Reads of 2017! Let me know what books you really enjoyed this Winter or if you read any of the ones I’ve listed here.
Until next time,
February 2017 Book Haul
Hey guys!
Here are all the books I got in February and then some! There is quite a few to get through. I’m super excited about this month’s haul.
So let’s get started shall we?
INDIGO
History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Windwitch by Susan Dennard
What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan
The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Frostblood by Elly Blake
The Fire by Night by Teresa Messineo
Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson
Book Outlet
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Asunder by Jodi Meadows
Infinite by Jodi Meadows
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Endlessly by Kiersten White
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Mind Games by Kiersten White
Perfect Lies by Kiersten White
Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger
The Liar’s Key by Mark Lawrence
The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski
The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Game by Barry Lyga
Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga
The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson
Wandering Star by Romina Russell
Jughead Vol. 1 by Chip Zdarsky
ARCs
Windwitch by Susan Dennard (Indigo)
The Beast is An Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale (Simon & Schuster Canada)
Bang by Barry Lyga (Hachette Book Group Canada)
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (Hachette Book Group Canada)
Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller (Sourcebooks Fire)
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda (Simon & Schuster Canada)
That was definitely a big month for me! Did you guys pick up any of these books too? See you next month!
Until next time,
Weekly Cover Reveal Recap | January 16 – January 22
Hey guys!
Here are the covers that were revealed during the week of January 16 – January 22. Click the author to hop on over to their GoodReads page to add it to you’re TBR!
This was a big week for reveals. Hope ya’ll enjoy.
FANTASY / SCI-FI
Fireblood by Elly Blake (Frostblood Saga #2)
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
September 12th 2017
In this action-packed sequel to Frostblood, the future of Ruby’s world and a court ruled by the love of her life depends on the uncovered secrets of her past..
Against all odds, Ruby has defeated the villainous Frost King and melted his throne of ice. But the bloodthirsty Minax that was trapped inside is now haunting her kingdom and everyone she loves. The answers to its demise may lie to the south in Sudesia, the land of the Firebloods, and a country that holds the secrets to Ruby’s powers and past….
Despite warnings from her beloved Arcus, Ruby accompanies a roguish Fireblood named Kai to Sudesia, where she must master her control of fire in a series of trials to gain the trust of the suspicious Fireblood queen. Only then can she hope to access the knowledge that could defeat the rampaging Minax–which grows closer every moment. But as sparks fly in her moments alone with Kai, how can Ruby decide whom to trust? The fate of both kingdoms is now in her hands.
Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray (Untitled #1)
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
April 4th 2017
Noemi Vidal is a teen soldier from the planet Genesis, once a colony of Earth that’s now at war for its independence. The humans of Genesis have fought Earth’s robotic “mech” armies for decades with no end in sight.
After a surprise attack, Noemi finds herself stranded in space on an abandoned ship where she meets Abel, the most sophisticated mech prototype ever made. One who should be her enemy. But Abel’s programming forces him to obey Noemi as his commander, which means he has to help her save Genesis–even though her plan to win the war will kill him.
Together they embark on a daring voyage through the galaxy. Before long, Noemi begins to realize Abel may be more than a machine, and, for his part, Abel’s devotion to Noemi is no longer just a matter of programming.
Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel
Published by Entangled TEEN
September 5th 2017
A simple but forgotten truth: Where harbingers of death appear, the morgues will soon be full. Harbingers settle in places where tragedy is about to strike, then feed on the energy of the dying. Then, they leave. Off to the next doomed place. No one wants a family of harbingers of death as neighbors, but that’s exactly what seventeen-year-old Angie Dovage gets when Reece Fernandez moves in next door.
Angie knows the mysterious boy is more than he appears, but can’t imagine that his presence heralds a tragedy that will devastate her small community. But her fears run deeper than Reece’s inevitable departure, because where harbingers of death go, grotesque, ruined creatures called Beekeepers follow. And where Beekeepers go, fear and chaos and death follows.
Angie wants to protect everyone she cares about, but stopping the Beekeepers involves a choice that will claim her life or Reece’s soul. She will learn the price of both.
Redux by A.L. Davroe (Tricksters #2)
Published by Entangled: Teen
March 21st 2017
The domed city of Evanescence is in ruins. With nowhere to go, prodigy hacker Ellani “Ella” Drexel and a small band of survivors flee to the Undertunnel below their city.
To escape the wasteland she unknowingly created.
But sanctuary is hard to find. With malfunctioning androids and angry rebels at their backs, the group hopes to press on for the neighboring city of Cadence. But Ella’s chosen path is challenging…life-threatening, even. Worse, the boy she loves is acting distant, and not at all like the person she first met in Nexis.
But then Ella learns a secret…and it changes everything.
Ella knows she needs to turn back and make a stand to reclaim her home. She’s determined to bring a new—and better—life to all who’ve suffered.
Or die trying.
Ally by Anna Banks (Nemesis #2)
Published by Feiwel & Friends
October 3rd 2017
Princess Sepora of Serubel and King Tarik of Theoria have formed an uneasy truce between their kingdoms since the deadly plague began to rip through Theoria. Since their feelings for each other are entangled in politics and power, they must use their own trusted resources to find common ground.
But when traitors with powerful allies arise from unexpected places, Tarik and Sepora face challenges that will change both of their kingdoms forever. Will they learn whom to trust—including each other—in time to save their kingdoms, their relationship and even their lives?
Alone by Scott Sigler (The Generations Trilogy #3)
Published by Del Rey
March 7th 2017
Pawns in a millennia-old struggle, the young people known only as the Birthday Children were genetically engineered to survive on the planet Omeyocan—but they were never meant to live there. They were made to be “overwritten,” their minds wiped and replaced by the consciousness of the monsters who created them.
Em changed all of that.
She unified her people and led a revolt against their creators. Em and her friends escaped an ancient ghost ship and fled to Omeyocan. They thought they would find an uninhabited paradise. Instead, they found the ruins of a massive city long since swallowed by the jungle. And they weren’t alone. The Birthday Children fought for survival against the elements, jungle wildlife, the “Grownups” who created them . . . and, as evil corrupted their numbers, even against themselves.
With these opponents finally defeated, Em and her people realized that more threats were coming, traveling from across the universe to lay claim to their planet. The Birthday Children have prepared as best they can against this alien armada. Now, as the first ships reach orbit around Omeyocan, the final battle for the planet begins.
Seriously Hexed by Tina Connolly (Seriously Wicked #3)
Published by Tor Teen
November 14th 2017
Teen witch Cam has resigned herself to being a witch. Sort of. She s willing to do small things, like magically help her boyfriend Devon get over his ongoing stage fright. But tangling with other witches is not on her wishlist. Joining her mother s wicked witch coven is right out.
New acquaintance Poppy Jones is a Type A, A+ Student of True Witchery. She s got all the answers, and she s delighted to tangle with a bunch of wicked witches. She doesn t need any reluctant witch getting in her way, especially one who knows less than a dozen spells, and has zero plans for witch college.
Then a coven meeting goes drastically awry. A hex is taking down all thirteen members of the coven, one by one putting both girls mothers in jeopardy. Now the two teens are going to have to learn to work together, while simultaneously juggling werewolf puppies, celebrity demons, thirteen nasty hexes, and even nastier witches. They may have to go through hell and high water to save their mothers but they also might find a new friendship along the way.
Seize Today by Pintip Dunn (Forget Tomorrow #3)
Published by Entangled: Teen
October 3rd 2017
Seventeen-year-old precognitive Olivia Dresden is an optimist. Since different versions of people’s futures flicker before her eyes, she doesn’t have to believe in human decency. She can literally see the path to goodness in each person—if only he or she would make the right decision. No one is more conflicted than her mother, Chairwoman Dresden, and Olivia is fiercely loyal to the woman her mother could be.
But when the Chairwoman captures Ryder Russell, a boy from the rebel Underground, Olivia is forced to reevaluate her notions of love and faith. With Ryder’s help, Olivia must come to terms with who her mother is in the present—and stop her before she destroys the world.
CONTEMPORARY
At First Blush by Beth Ellyn Summer
Published by Bloomsbury Spark
April 4th 2017
Who would have thought that a teenager could have a successful career creating makeup tutorial videos on YouTube? For Lacey Robbins, this dream has been her reality. An up-and-coming YouTuber, she has thousands of fans and can’t wait for the day when her subscriber count reaches the one million mark. And when she is offered a high school internship at On Trend Magazine, she figures that this could be the make it or break it moment.
But sometimes your dream job isn’t all that it seems. Her editor is only interested in promoting junk products, and her boss in the Hair and Makeup department introduces her to the larger world of makeup artistry, making her wonder if making tutorials online is all she is meant to do. To top it all off, when the magazine’s feature subject , musician Tyler Lance, turns his broodingly handsome smile her way, falling for him could mean losing her fans, forcing her to make a decision: her YouTube life or her real life?
Wishbones by Virginia Macgregor
Published by HQ
March 9th 2017
Feather Tucker has two wishes:
1)To get her mum healthy again
2) To win the Junior UK swimming championships
When Feather comes home on New Year’s Eve to find her mother – one of Britain’s most obese women- in a diabetic coma, she realises something has to be done to save her mum’s life. But when her Mum refuses to co-operate Feather realises that the problem run deeper than just her mum’s unhealthy appetite.
Over time, Feather’s mission to help her Mum becomes an investigation. With the help of friends old and new, and the hindrance of runaway pet goat Houdini, Feather’s starting to uncover when her mum’s life began to spiral out of control and why. But can Feather fix it in time for her mum to watch her swim to victory? And can she save her family for good?
MYSTERY / HORROR / THRILLER
Gray Wolf Island by Tracey Neithercott
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers
October 10th 2017
Right before Sadie died, she begged her sister, Ruby, to do the one thing she could never do herself: Find the treasure on Gray Wolf Island.
With just a mysterious treasure map as a guide, Ruby reluctantly allows some friends to join her on the hunt, each of whom is touched by magic: a boy allegedly born to a virgin, a girl who never sleeps, a boy who can foresee his own death, and a boy with deep ties to the island. Each of them is also keeping a secret—something they’ll have to reveal in order to reach the treasure.
As the secrets come to light, Ruby will have to decide: Can she make peace with her friends’ troubled pasts and continue to trust them? Can she forgive herself for doing the unspeakable? Deep in the wilderness of Gray Wolf Island, Ruby’s choices will determine if they make it out with the treasure—or merely with their lives.
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
Published by Delacorte Press
September 5th 2017
From the author of the unforgettable New York Times bestseller We Were Liars comes a masterful new psychological suspense novel—the story of a young woman whose diabolical smarts are her ticket into a charmed life. But how many times can someone reinvent themselves? You be the judge.
Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat.
Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete.
An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two.
A bad romance, or maybe three.
Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains.
A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her.
A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.
COVER REVEALS WITHOUT SYNOPSIS
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Iron Gold by Pierce Brown (Iron Gold #1)
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Devil in Ohio by Daria Polatin
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Contagion by Teri Terry (Dark Matter #1)
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Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson
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Freefall by Joshua David Bellin
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The Hollow Girl by Hillary Monohan
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Truth or Dare by Non Pratt
Are you looking forward to any of these books? Let me know in the comments below! Stay tuned for next weeks cover reveals!
Until next time,
Frostblood by Elly Blake | REVIEW
Frostblood by Elly Blake
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on January 10th 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Action & Adventure
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
LINKS: Good Reads | Amazon | Indigo | Book Depository
All she wants is revenge, but before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to take part in the king’s tournaments that pit fireblood prisoners against frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her and from the icy young man she has come to love.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
4 Stars
** Received an ARC from Little, Brown and Company for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion at all. Thank you!! **
First Line:
I offered my hand to the fire.
Review
COVER 🌟🌟🌟🌟 PLOT 🌟🌟🌟🌟
CHARACTERS 🌟🌟🌟🌟 ROMANCE 🌟🌟🌟🌟
WRITING 🌟🌟🌟🌟 WORLD 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Frostblood by Elly Blake is a debut fantasy read about a girl who has to hide her fire abilities in fear of being hunted by the Frostbloods that rule the land. But in order to save herself and her people, she has to do whatever it takes to destroy the ruthless King of Frost. With a little help of course!
The Good
Action Around Every Corner
What is important for me in a fantasy novel such as one like Frostblood, is action and adventure. I love reading fight scenes, imagining cool powers and abilities, and of course the feeling you get when the main protagonists grows and fails on his/her journey. Frostblood does not disappoint in this aspect.
Ruby is feisty, a bit dark, but ultimately strong willed. She is not afraid to get down and dirty to survive. My most loved part of Ruby is that she never gives up. When life and her enemies (the Frostbloods) knock her down, she keeps getting up and fighting for herself and for all the Firebloods that have come before her and those that will come after.
The action scenes were on point, the fire and frost abilities were magically written and there were many moments where I rooted for Ruby to come out on top!
Brooding Bad Boy
If you guys know me at all, then you know this is one of my favorite YA tropes to have in a fantasy. Brooding bad boys just suck me in to their dark and mysterious life and don’t let go until my heart aches for them!
Arcus is no different. He wears a freaking mask to hide his face, like jeez. Doesn’t get anymore dark and brooding than that. His past, present and future are shrouded in mystery. I just couldn’t get enough of him!
Beautiful Writing / World Building
As a debut author, Blake blew me away with her writing and world building. She managed to create a world in which I was fully immersed. There was folklore, history, magic systems, and key landscape visuals throughout the whole book!
I definitely enjoyed learning about the gods that eventually created the Frostbloods, and the Firebloods. Their rivalries, conniving schemes, and passion for power. It added a great element to the story. Not to mention the palace of ice we get introduced to in the second half of Frostblood. It was visually appealing and mesmerizing to read about.
The Bad
Predictability
The story is original, but the plot points are similar to other YA fantasy reads I’ve read before. I’m not a person who is bothered by things like that though. But one aspect that bothered me the most about Frostblood was the predictability in some areas. One being who Arcus really is (I figured it out pretty early on), another being that sneaky Marella. She was such a flighty character.
Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed Frostblood!
I highly recommend this one if you like elemental abilities, arena fighting, and the cutest of romances. Let me know what you guys thought of Frostblood by Elly Blake! I would love to hear your opinions as well!
Until next time,
TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’
#FireAndIceAreEnemies
Most Anticipated 2017 New Series (Jan-June)
Hey guys!
Welcome back to part 2 of my 5 part anticipated releases of 2017 series. I thought it would be fun to put together a couple of most anticipated lists for some amazing 2017 young adult books that I am thoroughly looking forward to. This is only part 2 of a 5 part list.
Part 1: Debuts
Part 2: New Series
Part 3: Sequels
Part 4: Finales
Part 5: Standalones
So stay tuned over the next couple weeks for many new books for you to add to your TBR’s if they aren’t on there already. Let’s move on to the Most Anticipated 2017 New Series from January to June!
Frostblood by Elly Blake
Release Date: January 10th, 2017
Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a fireblood who must hide her powers of heat and flame from the cruel frostblood ruling class that wants to destroy all that are left of her kind. So when her mother is killed for protecting her and rebel frostbloods demand her help to kill their rampaging king, she agrees. But Ruby’s powers are unpredictable, and she’s not sure she’s willing to let the rebels and an infuriating (yet irresistible) young man called Arcus use her as their weapon…
Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau
Release Date: June 6th, 2017
Twins Carys and Andreus were never destined to rule Eden. With their older brother next in line to inherit the throne, the future of the kingdom was secure.
But appearances—and rivals—can be deceiving. When Eden’s king and crown prince are killed by assassins, Eden desperately needs a monarch, but the line of succession is no longer clear. With a ruling council scheming to gain power, Carys and Andreus are faced with only one option—to take part in a Trial of Succession that will determine which one of them is worthy of ruling the kingdom…
Roar by Cora Carmack
Release Date: June 13th, 2017
In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.
Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people…
Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh
Release Date: May 16th, 2017
The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place—she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor’s favorite consort—a political marriage that will elevate her family’s standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace…
The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
Release Date: March 7th, 2017
When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training…
The Evaporation of Sofi Snow by Mary Weber
Release Date: June 6th, 2017
Ever since the Delonese ice-planet arrived eleven years ago, Sofi’s dreams have been vivid. Alien. In a system where Earth s corporations rule in place of governments and the humanoid race orbiting the moon are allies, her only constant has been her younger brother, Shilo. As an online gamer, Sofi battles behind the scenes of Earth s Fantasy Fighting arena where Shilo is forced to compete in a mix of real and virtual blood sport. But when a bomb takes out a quarter of the arena, Sofi’s the only one who believes Shilo survived. She has dreams of him. And she’s convinced he s been taken to the ice-planet…
The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom
Release Date: February 7th, 2017
When her diplomat father is kidnapped and the U.S. Government is unable to help, 17 year-old Gwendolyn Bloom sets off across the sordid underbelly of Europe to rescue him. Following the only lead she has—the name of a Palestinian informer living in France—she plunges into a brutal world of arms smuggling and human trafficking. As she journeys from the slums of Paris, to the nightclubs of Berlin, to the heart of the most feared crime family in Prague, Gwendolyn discovers that to survive in this new world she must become every bit as cruel as the men she’s hunting…
100 Hours by Rachel Vincent
Release Date: March 28th, 2017
A decadent spring break getaway on an exotic beach becomes a terrifying survival story when six Miami teens are kidnapped and ransomed.
Maddie is beyond done with her cousin Genesis’s entitled and shallow entourage. Genesis is so over Miami’s predictable social scene with its velvet ropes, petty power plays, and backstabbing boyfriends…
The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova
Release Date: January 10th, 2017
Her vengeance. His vision.
Ari lost everything she once loved when the Five Guilds’ resistance fell to the Dragon King. Now, she uses her unparalleled gift for clockwork machinery in tandem with notoriously unscrupulous morals to contribute to a thriving underground organ market. There isn’t a place on Loom that is secure from the engineer turned thief, and her magical talents are sold to the highest bidder as long as the job defies their Dragon oppressors…
Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
Release Date: April 4th, 2017
Noemi Vidal is a teen soldier from the planet Genesis, once a colony of Earth that’s now at war for its independence. The humans of Genesis have fought Earth’s robotic “mech” armies for decades with no end in sight.
After a surprise attack, Noemi finds herself stranded in space on an abandoned ship where she meets Abel, the most sophisticated mech prototype ever made. One who should be her enemy. But Abel’s programming forces him to obey Noemi as his commander, which means he has to help her save Genesis–even though her plan to win the war will kill him…
Shadow Run by Adrianne Strickland & Michael Miller
Release Date: March 21st, 2017
Nev has just joined the crew of the starship Kaitan Heritage as the cargo loader. His captain, Qole, is the youngest-ever person to command her own ship, but she brooks no argument from her crew of orphans, fugitives, and con men. Nev can’t resist her, even if her ship is an antique.
As for Nev, he’s a prince, in hiding on the ship. He believes Qole holds the key to changing galactic civilization, and when her cooperation proves difficult to obtain, Nev resolves to get her to his home planet by any means necessary…
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Release Date: March 28th, 2017
Strange the Dreamer is the story of:
the aftermath of a war between gods and men
a mysterious city stripped of its name
a mythic hero with blood on his hands
a young librarian with a singular dream
a girl every bit as perilous as she is imperiled
alchemy and blood candy, nightmares and godspawn, moths and monsters, friendship and treachery, love and carnage.Welcome to Weep…
Gilded Cage by Vic James
Release Date: February 14th, 2017
Not all are free. Not all are equal. Not all will be saved.
Our world belongs to the Equals — aristocrats with magical gifts — and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind the gates of England’s grandest estate lies a power that could break the world.
A girl thirsts for love and knowledge…
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
Release Date: January 31st, 2017
Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over…
Well there you have it! My most anticipated new series for the first half of the year. Are you guys looking forward to any of these ones too? Stay tuned for Part 3: Sequels coming soon!
Until next time,
Books at Dawn 