The Book Blogger Test | Tags & Misc.

Hey Bookworms!

Today I thought it would be fun to do a tag, but not tag anyone. Basically I just wanted to do something fun without the hassle of going through my follows and tagging others to do it as well. So if this interested you, then by all means and give it a try!

It all started at Laura from Laura’s Book Reviews!

---

The rules:

You must answer all of these questions truthfully and once you’ve completed this tag, tag 5 other book bloggers to answer the questions next.

---

What are your top three book pet hates?

• Cover changes after I bought the first book!
• Bending page corners to mark place in book.
• Being talked to while I’m trying to read. Can’t y’all see the book in my face?

Describe your perfect reading spot.

Man I wish I had a cool reading corner/room/nook because that would be the most ideal reading spot. Sadly, I have either my bed or the rocking chair in the living room.

Tell us three book confessions.

• I only just got a library card for the first time last month. (I’m 25 years old)
• I go into book stores just to smell and flip through the books.
• I reorganize my book shelves every month.

When was the last time you cried at a book?

Hmm… I don’t think I’ve cried while reading a book. I have come super close though.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

The 5 Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson

How many books are on your bedside table?

Five… yeah. I’m a book polygamist.

What is your favorite snack whist you’re reading?

I can’t eat and read at the same time. I find it too distracting and I don’t want to dirty the pages. So I will just brew some tea or have water/juice with me.

Name three books you’d recommend to everyone.

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

Show us a picture of your favorite shelf on your bookcase.

I am way too lazy to snap a picture of my shelf, and they are overcrowded and messy at the moment. But here is a picture of someone else’s beautiful shelf!

Write how much books mean to you in 3 words.

Couldn’t live without.

What’s your biggest reading secret?

I secretly love audio books. Why is this a secret? Because I used to trash them and say how horrible they are and how hard it is to focus while listening to them.

I was wrong.

---

Well there you have it, The Book Blogger Test! Like I said above if you guys want to do this too, by all means. I tag EVERYBODY!

Until next time,

TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’

March 2017 Releases

Hey guys!

Every month I post the books that I’m most excited about that are going to be released. For March I’m bringing you seven exciting releases. Let’s check them out:

---

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

Release Date: March 7th, 2017

Can a text message destroy your life?

Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, there could be a criminal investigation into the deaths.

Then Blake’s grandmother asks Carver to remember her grandson with a ‘goodbye day’ together. Carver has his misgivings, but he starts to help the families of his lost friends grieve with their own memorial days, along with Eli’s bereaved girlfriend Jesmyn. But not everyone is willing to forgive. Carver’s own despair and guilt threatens to pull him under into panic and anxiety as he faces punishment for his terrible mistake. Can the goodbye days really help?

The Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale

Release Date: March 7th, 2017

Alys was seven when the soul eaters came to her village.

These soul eaters, twin sisters who were abandoned by their father and slowly morphed into something not quite human, devour human souls. Alys, and all the other children, were spared—and they were sent to live in a neighboring village. There the devout people created a strict world where good and evil are as fundamental as the nursery rhymes children sing. Fear of the soul eaters—and of the Beast they believe guides them—rule village life. But the Beast is not what they think it is. And neither is Alys.

Inside, Alys feels connected to the soul eaters, and maybe even to the Beast itself. As she grows from a child to a teenager, she longs for the freedom of the forest. And she has a gift she can tell no one, for fear they will call her a witch. When disaster strikes, Alys finds herself on a journey to heal herself and her world. A journey that will take her through the darkest parts of the forest, where danger threatens her from the outside—and from within her own heart and soul.

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.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha — one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.

Memoirs of a Geisha meets The Name of the Wind in this brilliant new fantasy series by Rin Chupeco!

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.

But before they know it, a rival royal family is after Qole too, and they’re more interested in stealing her abilities than in keeping her alive.

Nev’s mission to manipulate Qole becomes one to save her, and to survive, she’ll have to trust her would-be kidnapper. He may be royalty, but Qole is discovering a deep reservoir of power—and stars have mercy on whoever tries to hurt her ship or her crew.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Release Date: March 28th, 2017

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around— and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? and if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

Release Date: March 28th, 2017

Gauri, the princess of Bharata, has been taken as a prisoner of war by her kingdom’s enemies. Faced with a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. Hope unexpectedly comes in the form of Vikram, the cunning prince of a neighboring land and her sworn enemy kingdom. Unsatisfied with becoming a mere puppet king, Vikram offers Gauri a chance to win back her kingdom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together, they’ll have to set aside their differences and team up to win the Tournament of Wishes—a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor.

Reaching the tournament is just the beginning. Once they arrive, danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans and mischievous story birds, a feast of fears and twisted fairy revels.

Every which way they turn new trials will test their wit and strength. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire.

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.

While Maddie craves family time for spring break, Genesis seeks novelty—like a last-minute getaway to an untouched beach in Colombia. And when Genesis wants something, it happens.

But paradise has its price. Dragged from their tents under the cover of dark, Genesis, Maddie, and their friends are kidnapped and held for ransom deep inside the jungle—with no diva left behind. It all feels so random to everyone except Genesis. She knows they were targeted for a reason. And that reason is her.

Now, as the hours count down, only one thing’s for certain: If the Miami hostages can’t set aside their personal problems, no one will make it out alive.

---

Let me know if you guys are looking forward to any of these books this month! I really can’t wait to get my hands on them.

Until next time,

TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’

I Loved Them More Than Expected | Top 10 Tuesday

Hey guys!

Welcome back to another Top 10 Tuesday weekly fun on my blog! Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. If you want to join in the fun, hop on over to their blog to see what it’s all about!

This week’s topic is Top 10 Books I Loved More Than I Thought I Would.

There is always a book that gets iffy reviews and you are reluctant to read because of it. But me being me, I like to form my own opinions about things. So I do give them a try, with an open mind of course. These ten books that I am about to list are books I loved more than I expected I would. Gosh I sure do love surprises!

---

Seven Ways We Lie

Seven students. Seven (deadly) sins. One secret.

Paloma High School is ordinary by anyone’s standards. It’s got the same cliques, the same prejudices, the same suspect cafeteria food. And like every high school, every student has something to hide—from Kat, the thespian who conceals her trust issues onstage, to Valentine, the neurotic genius who’s planted the seed of a school scandal.

When that scandal bubbles over, and rumors of a teacher-student affair surface, everyone starts hunting for someone to blame. For the seven unlikely allies at the heart of it all, the collision of their seven ordinary-seeming lives results in extraordinary change.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Serpent King

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia. But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. Dill’s only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia, neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending- one that will rock his life to the core.

My Rating: 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Unrivaled

Everyone wants to be someone.

Layla Harrison wants to leave her beach-bum days for digs behind a reporter’s desk. Aster Amirpour wants to scream at the next casting director who tells her “we need ethnic but not your kind of ethnic.” Tommy Phillips dreams of buying a twelve-string guitar and using it to shred his way back into his famous absentee dad’s life.

But Madison Brooks took destiny and made it her bitch a long time ago.

She’s Hollywood’s hottest starlet, and the things she did to become the name on everyone’s lips are merely a stain on the pavement, ground beneath her Louboutin heel.

That is, until Layla, Aster, and Tommy find themselves with a VIP invite to the glamorous and gritty world of Los Angeles’s nightlife and lured into a high-stakes competition where Madison Brooks is the target. Just as their hopes begin to gleam like stars through the California smog, Madison Brooks goes missing. . . . And all of their hopes are blacked out in the haze of their lies.

My Rating: 

🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

The Scorpion Rules

Greta is a Duchess and a Crown Princess. She is also a Child of Peace, a hostage held by the de facto ruler of the world, the great Artificial Intelligence, Talis. This is how the game is played: if you want to rule, you must give one of your children as a hostage. Start a war and your hostage dies.

The system has worked for centuries. Parents don’t want to see their children murdered.

Greta will be free if she can make it to her eighteenth birthday. Until then she is prepared to die with dignity, if necessary. But everything changes when Elian arrives at the Precepture. He’s a hostage from a new American alliance, and he defies the machines that control every part of their lives—and is severely punished for it. His rebellion opens Greta’s eyes to the brutality of the rules they live under, and to the subtle resistance of her companions. And Greta discovers her own quiet power.

Then Elian’s country declares war on Greta’s and invades the prefecture, taking the hostages hostage. Now the great Talis is furious, and coming himself to deliver punishment. Which surely means that Greta and Elian will be killed…unless Greta can think of a way to break all the rules.

My Rating: 

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Impossible Fortress

Billy Marvin’s first love was a computer. Then he met Mary Zelinsky.

Do you remember your first love?

The Impossible Fortress begins with a magazine…The year is 1987 and Playboy has just published scandalous photographs of Vanna White, from the popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune. For three teenage boys—Billy, Alf, and Clark—who are desperately uneducated in the ways of women, the magazine is somewhat of a Holy Grail: priceless beyond measure and impossible to attain. So, they hatch a plan to steal it.

The heist will be fraught with peril: a locked building, intrepid police officers, rusty fire escapes, leaps across rooftops, electronic alarm systems, and a hyperactive Shih Tzu named Arnold Schwarzenegger. Failed attempt after failed attempt leads them to a genius master plan—they’ll swipe the security code to Zelinsky’s convenience store by seducing the owner’s daughter, Mary Zelinsky. It becomes Billy’s mission to befriend her and get the information by any means necessary. But Mary isn’t your average teenage girl. She’s a computer loving, expert coder, already strides ahead of Billy in ability, with a wry sense of humor and a hidden, big heart. But what starts as a game to win Mary’s affection leaves Billy with a gut-wrenching choice: deceive the girl who may well be his first love or break a promise to his best friends.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Legend

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Sun is Also a Star

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Tell Me Three Things

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Paper Princess

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone.

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Cruelty

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.

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

---

Well there you have it! Top 10 Books I Loved More Than I Thought I Would. What are some of your favorite books you weren’t expecting to like as much?

Until next time,

TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’

Goodbye Days | Waiting on Wednesday [#42]

Hey guys!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights highly anticipated upcoming releases.

So here’s what I’m waiting on this week!

---

Goodbye Days

Author: Jeff Zentner
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 7th 2017

Can a text message destroy your life?

Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, there could be a criminal investigation into the deaths.

Then Blake’s grandmother asks Carver to remember her grandson with a ‘goodbye day’ together. Carver has his misgivings, but he starts to help the families of his lost friends grieve with their own memorial days, along with Eli’s bereaved girlfriend Jesmyn. But not everyone is willing to forgive. Carver’s own despair and guilt threatens to pull him under into panic and anxiety as he faces punishment for his terrible mistake. Can the goodbye days really help?

Why I’m Waiting

As many of you know, The Serpent King, Zentner’s debut book is one of my favorite reads of 2016. Because of this, I am anticipating his sophomore release even more!

P.S. Jeff Zentner is the author of The Serpent King.

---

What has you guys waiting this week? Let me know down below!

Until next time,

TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’

Most Anticipated 2017 Stand Alones (Jan-June)

Hey guys!

Welcome back to part 5 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.

Part 1: Debuts

Part 2: New Series

Part 3: Sequels

Part 4: Finales

Part 5: Standalones

I hope you stayed tuned over the last couple weeks. You can look back at all the other lists above! Let’s move on to the Most Anticipated 2017 Stand Alones from January to June!

---

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

Release Date: January 17th, 2017

When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course…

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson

Release Date: February 7th, 2017

Tommy and Ozzie have been best friends since second grade, and boyfriends since eighth. They spent countless days dreaming of escaping their small town—and then Tommy vanished.

More accurately, he ceased to exist, erased from the minds and memories of everyone who knew him. Everyone except Ozzie…

The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Release Date: June 27th, 2017

An unforgettable tale of two friends on their Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe who stumble upon a magical artifact that leads them from Paris to Venice in a dangerous manhunt, fighting pirates, highwaymen, and their feelings for each other along the way…

Roseblood by A.G. Howard

Release Date: January 10th, 2017

In this modern day spin on Leroux’s gothic tale of unrequited love turned to madness, seventeen-year-old Rune Germain has a mysterious affliction linked to her operatic talent, and a horrifying mistake she’s trying to hide. Hoping creative direction will help her, Rune’s mother sends her to a French arts conservatory for her senior year, located in an opera house rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the Opera…

Beautiful Broken Girls by Kim Savage

Release Date: February 21st, 2017

Mira and Francesca Cillo—beautiful, overprotected, odd—seemed untouchable. But Ben touched seven parts of Mira: her palm, hair, chest, cheek, lips, throat, and heart. After the sisters drown themselves in the quarry lake, a post-mortem letter from Mira sends Ben on a quest to find notes in the seven places where they touched. Note by note, Ben discovers the mystical secret at the heart of Mira and Francesca’s world, and that some things are better left untouched…

The Valiant by Lesley Livingston

Release Date: February 14th, 2017

The youngest daughter of a proud Celtic king, Fallon has always lived in the shadow of her older sister Sorcha’s legendary reputation as a warrior. But when Fallon was a young child, the armies of Julius Caesar invaded the island of Britain and her beloved older sister was killed in battle…

Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas

Release Date: February 21st, 2017

Freya was never meant be queen. Twenty third in line to the throne, she never dreamed of a life in the palace, and would much rather research in her laboratory than participate in the intrigues of court. However, when an extravagant banquet turns deadly and the king and those closest to him are poisoned, Freya suddenly finds herself on the throne…

The Sand Castle Empire by Kayla Olson

Release Date: June 6th, 2017

Before the war, Eden’s life was easy—air conditioning, ice cream, long days at the beach. Then the revolution happened, and everything changed.

Now a powerful group called the Wolfpack controls the earth and its resources. Eden has lost everything to them. They killed her family and her friends, destroyed her home, and imprisoned her. But Eden refuses to die by their hands. She knows the coordinates to the only neutral ground left in the world, a place called Sanctuary Island, and she is desperate to escape to its shores…

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

Release Date: March 7th, 2017

Can a text message destroy your life?

Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, there could be a criminal investigation into the deaths…

The You I’ve Never Known by Ellen Hopkins

Release Date: January 24th, 2017

For as long as she can remember, it’s been just Ariel and Dad. Ariel’s mom disappeared when she was a baby. Dad says home is wherever the two of them are, but Ariel is now seventeen and after years of new apartments, new schools, and new faces, all she wants is to put down some roots. Complicating things are Monica and Gabe, both of whom have stirred a different kind of desire…

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Release Date: April 11th, 2017

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love. No matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. If Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back…

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Release Date: May 30th, 2017

Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app…

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

Release Date: April 4th, 2017

Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother’s death, she leaves letters at her grave. It’s the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn’t the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he’s trying to escape the demons of his past…

To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough

Release Date: February 7th, 2017

Erin Blake has one of those names. A name that, like Natalee Holloway or Elizabeth Smart, is inextricably linked to a grisly crime. As a toddler, Erin survived for three days alongside the corpse of her murdered mother, and the case—which remains unsolved—fascinated a nation. Her father’s identity unknown, Erin was taken in by her mother’s best friend and has become a relatively normal teen in spite of the looming questions about her past…

---

Well there you have it! My most anticipated stand alones for the first half of the year. Are you guys looking forward to any of these ones too? Stay tuned coming in the summer will be the second half of the year anticipations!

Until next time,

TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’

Top 16 Books of 2016 | Books at Dawn

Hey guys!

Welcome to a new year. How crazy has time flown by though; so insane. Well to start off the new year right, it only makes sense to list my favorite reads from 2016. The top 16 best books to be exact. Get it, 16 for 2016. I know, how original.

By doing this I hope to discuss some of the books that we both read together, or bring to your attention some books that you might have overlooked last year. So without further ado, here is my Top 16 Books of 2016:

---

16. Siren’s Song

Nym and Draewulf prepare to face off in a battle destined to destroy more lives than it saves.

With the loss of Tulla still fresh in mind, Rasha’s fate unknown, and Lord Myles taken over by the dark ability, Nym and the few Bron soldiers rush to warn Cashlin’s queen. Only to discover it may already be too late for the monarch and her eerie kingdom. As the Luminescents are sifting through Nym’s past memories and the queen is reading into her future, Nym is given a choice of how to defeat Draewulf, but the cost may be more than she can bear. And even then there are no guarantees.

With that reality burrowing into her bones—along with the guilt of the lives she will sacrifice—Nym returns to her homeland of Faelen to raise an army of peasants through promises of freedom. But when the few friends she has left, along with the world and citizens she loves, are staring down the face of a monster and his undead army, will Nym summon every element her blood is capable of controlling . . . or surrender to a different strength—one of sacrifice?

Because in the end, death may be more merciful for them all.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

Siren’s Song Review

15. Paper Princess

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone.

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 Stars

My Thoughts:

Paper Princess was a deliciously addictive contemporary romance with tons of drama, sex, and swoon worthy bad boys. I can’t wait to pick up the sequels in the near future!

14. Air Awakens

A library apprentice, a sorcerer prince, and an unbreakable magic bond…

The Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.

Vhalla has always been taught to fear the Tower of Sorcerers, a mysterious magic society, and has been happy in her quiet world of books. But after she unknowingly saves the life of one of the most powerful sorcerers of them all—the Crown Prince Aldrik—she finds herself enticed into his world. Now she must decide her future: Embrace her sorcery and leave the life she’s known, or eradicate her magic and remain as she’s always been. And with powerful forces lurking in the shadows, Vhalla’s indecision could cost her more than she ever imagined.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 Stars

My Thoughts: 

Air Awakens is the beginning of what I imagine is going to be a vast and intriguing fantasy about the last of her kind. This book sets up a lot with characters, world, and history. I look forward to some more action and adventure in the future installments!

13. The Swan Riders

Greta Stuart had always known her future: die young. She was her country’s crown princess, and also its hostage, destined to be the first casualty in an inevitable war. But when the war came it broke all the rules, and Greta forged a different path.

She is no longer princess. No longer hostage. No longer human. Greta Stuart has become an AI.

If she can survive the transition, Greta will earn a place alongside Talis, the AI who rules the world. Talis is a big believer in peace through superior firepower. But some problems are too personal to obliterate from orbit, and for those there are the Swan Riders: a small band of humans who serve the AIs as part army, part cult.

Now two of the Swan Riders are escorting Talis and Greta across post-apocalyptic Saskatchewan. But Greta’s fate has stirred her nation into open rebellion, and the dry grassland may hide insurgents who want to rescue her – or see her killed. Including Elian, the boy she saved—the boy who wants to change the world, with a knife if necessary. Even the infinitely loyal Swan Riders may not be everything they seem.

Greta’s fate—and the fate of her world—are balanced on the edge of a knife in this smart, sly, electrifying adventure.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

The Swan Riders Review

12. The Impostor Queen

Sixteen-year-old Elli was only a child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic in service of her people. The only life Elli has known has been in the temple, surrounded by luxury, tutored by magic-wielding priests, preparing for the day when the queen perishes—and the ice and fire find a new home in Elli, who is prophesied to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between her love for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must choose the right side before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

The Impostor Queen Review

11. Court of Fives

On the Fives court, everyone is equal.

And everyone is dangerous.

Jessamy’s life is a balance between acting like an upper-class Patron and dreaming of the freedom of the Commoners. But away from her family, she can be whomever she wants when she sneaks out to train for the Fives, an intricate, multilevel athletic competition that offers a chance for glory to the kingdom’s best competitors.

Then Jes meets Kalliarkos, and an improbable friendship between the two Fives competitors—one of mixed race and the other a Patron boy—causes heads to turn. When Kal’s powerful, scheming uncle tears Jes’s family apart, she’ll have to test her new friend’s loyalty and risk the vengeance of a royal clan to save her mother and sisters from certain death.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

Court of Fives Review

10. Empire of Dust

In Macedon, war rises like smoke, forbidden romance blooms and ancient magic tempered with rage threatens to turn an empire to dust.

After winning his first battle, Prince Alexander fights to become the ruler his kingdom demands—but the line between leader and tyrant blurs with each new threat.

Meanwhile, Hephaestion, cast aside by Alexander for killing the wrong man, must conceal the devastating secret of a divine prophecy from Katerina even as the two of them are thrust together on a dangerous mission to Egypt.

The warrior, Jacob, determined to forget his first love, vows to eradicate the ancient Blood Magics and believes that royal prisoner Cynane holds the key to Macedon’s undoing.

And in chains, the Persian princess Zofia still longs to find the Spirit Eaters, but first must grapple with the secrets of her handsome—and deadly—captor.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

Empire of Dust Review

9. Fate of Flames

Years ago, everything changed. Phantoms, massive beasts of nightmare, began terrorizing the world. At the same time four girls, the Effigies, appeared, each with the unique power to control a classical element. Since then, they have protected the world from the Phantoms. At the death of one Effigy, another is chosen, pulled from her normal life into the never-ending battle.

When Maia unexpectedly becomes the next Fire Effigy, she resists her new calling. A quiet girl with few friends and almost no family, she was much happier to admire the Effigies from afar. Never did she imagine having to master her ability to control fire, to protect innocent citizens from the Phantoms, or to try bringing together the other three Effigies.

But with the arrival of the mysterious Saul—a man who seems to be able to control the Phantoms using the same cosmic power previously only granted to four girls at a time—Maia and the other Effigies must learn to work together in a world where their celebrity is more important than their heroism.

But the secrets Saul has, and the power he possesses, might be more than even they can handle…

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

Fate of Flames Review

8. Boy Robot

Seventeen-year-old Isaak discovers the truth about his origin and the underground forces that must come together to fight against a secret government organization formed to eradicate those like him in this high-octane science fiction debut.

There once was a boy who was made, not created.

In a single night, Isaak’s life changed forever.

His adoptive parents were killed, a mysterious girl saved him from a team of soldiers, and he learned of his own dark and destructive origin.

An origin he doesn’t want to believe, but one he cannot deny.

Isaak is a Robot: a government-made synthetic human, produced as a weapon and now hunted, marked for termination.

He and the Robots can only find asylum with the Underground—a secret network of Robots and humans working together to ensure a coexistent future.

To be protected by the Underground, Isaak will have to make it there first. But with a deadly military force tasked to find him at any cost, his odds are less than favorable.

Now Isaak must decide whether to hold on to his humanity and face possible death…or to embrace his true nature in order to survive, at the risk of becoming the weapon he was made to be.

In his debut, recording artist Simon Curtis has written a fast-paced, high-stakes novel that explores humanity, the ultimate power of empathy, and the greatest battle of all: love vs. fear.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

Boy Robot Review

7. The Sun is Also a Star

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

The Sun is Also a Star Review

6. Tell Me Three Things

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

Tell Me Three Things Review

5. The Serpent King

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia. But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. Dill’s only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending one that will rock his life to the core.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

The Serpent King Review

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter is midway through both his training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream).

He wants to find out about the mysterious event that supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn’t happened for hundreds of years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. But unfortunately for Harry Potter, he’s not normal – even by wizarding standards.
And in his case, different can be deadly.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 Stars

My Thoughts:

Can you believe that I am almost 25 years old and I am finally reading Harry Potter for the first time? That’s insane right? Well I am LOVING it. HP and the Goblet of Fire is by far my favorite one in the series so far. Just like it was my favorite of the movies also. I love how much more character growth and insight we get from the books. I’m hoping I can finish the series by years end!

3. We Are the Ants

There are a few things Henry Denton knows, and a few things he doesn’t.

Henry knows that his mom is struggling to keep the family together, and coping by chain-smoking cigarettes. He knows that his older brother is a college dropout with a pregnant girlfriend. He knows that he is slowly losing his grandmother to Alzheimer’s. And he knows that his boyfriend committed suicide last year.

What Henry doesn’t know is why the aliens chose to abduct him when he was thirteen, and he doesn’t know why they continue to steal him from his bed and take him aboard their ship. He doesn’t know why the world is going to end or why the aliens have offered him the opportunity to avert the impending disaster by pressing a big red button.

But they have. And they’ve only given him 144 days to make up his mind.

The question is whether Henry thinks the world is worth saving. That is, until he meets Diego Vega, an artist with a secret past who forces Henry to question his beliefs, his place in the universe, and whether any of it really matters. But before Henry can save the world, he’s got to figure out how to save himself, and the aliens haven’t given him a button for that.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

We Are the Ants Review

2. Golden Son & Morning Star

Darrow is a rebel forged by tragedy. For years he and his fellow Reds worked the mines, toiling to make the surface of Mars inhabitable. They were, they believed, mankind’s last hope. Until Darrow discovered that it was all a lie, and that the Red were nothing more than unwitting slaves to an elitist ruling class, the Golds, who had been living on Mars in luxury for generations.

In RED RISING, Darrow infiltrated Gold society, to fight in secret for a better future for his people. Now fully embedded amongst the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his dangerous work to bring them down from within. It’s a journey that will take him further than he’s ever been before – but is Darrow truly willing to pay the price that rebellion demands?

Hic sunt leones.

A life-or-death tale of vengeance with an unforgettable hero at its heart, Golden Son guarantees Pierce Brown’s growing status as one of fiction’s most exciting new voices.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 Stars

Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within.

Finally, the time has come.

But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied—and too glorious to surrender.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 Stars

For my full thoughts, check out my review:

Golden Son Review & Morning Star Review

1. Frozen Tides & Crystal Storm

CLEO: Reeling after a bloody showdown in Limeros ending with Amara’s abduction of the water crystal, and a vacancy in the Mytican throne, Princess Cleo must cast aside her feelings and look toward her kingdom with the eyes of a Queen.

MAGNUS: With the kingdom in chaos, Princess Lucia still missing and quite possibly in danger, and a shocking realization about Cleo, the steely prince is once again torn between love and duty, leaving him wondering whether he’s strong enough to rule his people.

LUCIA: The young sorcercess has had her vengeance after the cruel death of her first and only love. Heartbroken and unable to trust anyone, she allies with the awoken Fire god, who also seeks revenge.

JONAS: After escaping death by the skin of his teeth, the defeated rebel—along with a mysterious stranger–leader reunites with Princess Cleo, only to find himself a mere pawn in a dangerous hunt for the elusive Kindred.

KING GAIUS: Abandoned by Melenia and betrayed by his own children, Gaius flees Mytica and sails to Kraeshia, where he attempts to ally with the famously brutal emperor across the Silver Sea.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

5 Stars

My Thoughts:

You all know that the Falling Kingdoms series is my all time favorite. Well book 4 does not disappoint at all! It’s fun, action packed, and a wild ride from beginning to end. So much is revealed in this installment that my brain and feels could not take it anymore! A ship finally gets together… and one of my favorite characters rises from the dead. Considering how many characters have died in this series, it’s not much of a spoiler to who it is!

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

My Thoughts:

OH-EM-GEE. What a freaking ending that was. How, why, what???? This series has now taken on a whole new level of awesomeness. My poor babies…. what is going to happen to my precious, precious characters?? I guess we will have to sit back and find out!

---

Well there you have it! My Top 16 Books of 2016. What did you think? What were some of your favorite books of 2016? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’

Recent Adds to my TBR | Top 10 Tuesday

Hey guys!

Welcome back to another Top 10 Tuesday weekly fun on my blog! Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. If you want to join in the fun, hop on over to their blog to see what it’s all about!

This week’s topic is Top 10 Recent Adds to My TBR.

As readers, or should I say avid readers, we are constantly on GoodReads and adding books to our TBRs. So it should come as no surprise that their are hundreds and hundreds of books on them. Well today I am here to show you the last 10 books that I added to my TBR. If you haven’t heard about them, then I hope you add them to your TBRs too!

---

Nettie Lonesome lives in a land of hard people and hard ground dusted with sand. She’s a half-breed who dresses like a boy, raised by folks who don’t call her a slave but use her like one. She knows of nothing else. That is, until the day a stranger attacks her. When nothing, not even a sickle to the eye can stop him, Nettie stabs him through the heart with a chunk of wood, and he turns into black sand.

And just like that, Nettie can see.

But her newfound sight is a blessing and a curse. Even if she doesn’t understand what’s under her own skin, she can sense what everyone else is hiding — at least physically. The world is full of evil, and now she knows the source of all the sand in the desert. Haunted by the spirits, Nettie has no choice but to set out on a quest that might lead to her true kin… if the monsters along the way don’t kill her first.

The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple award winning phenomenon from China’s most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.

Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.

It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.

The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.

Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.

The all-new ARCHIE adventure continues! Superstar writer Mark Waid teams up with the best and brightest artists in comics to bring a modern take to the legendary Riverdale cast of characters. The book will captures the bite and hilarious edge of Archie’s original tales in a modern, forward-looking manner, while still retaining the character’s all-ages appeal. If classic Archie is a Saturday morning cartoon, this new series is prime time!

Everyone on campus has a different version of what happened that night.

Haley saw Jenny return from the party, shell-shocked.

Richard heard Jordan brag about the cute freshman he hooked up with.

When Jenny accuses Jordan of rape, Haley and Richard are pushed to opposite sides of the school’s investigation. Now conflicting versions of the story may make bringing the truth to light nearly impossible—especially when reputations, relationships, and whole futures are riding on the verdict.

In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (“gleaned”) by professional reapers (“scythes”). Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected to be scythe’s apprentices, and—despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation—they must learn the art of killing and come to understand the necessity of what they do.

Only one of them will be chosen as a scythe’s apprentice. And when it becomes clear that the winning apprentice’s first task will be to glean the loser, Citra and Rowan are pitted against one another in a fight for their lives.

Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, there could be a criminal investigation into the deaths.

Then Blake’s grandmother asks Carver to remember her grandson with a ‘goodbye day’ together. Carver has his misgivings, but he starts to help the families of his lost friends grieve with their own memorial days, along with Eli’s bereaved girlfriend Jesmyn. But not everyone is willing to forgive. Carver’s own despair and guilt threatens to pull him under into panic and anxiety as he faces punishment for his terrible mistake. Can the goodbye days really help?

There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets.

Caden is a Nice: The boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: The brooding, dark-souled guy, and dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose a Nice or the Bad?

Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their games. They have to be – whoever the girl doesn’t choose will die.

What the boys don’t expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both.

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.

Cvareh would do anything to see his sister usurp the Dragon King and sit on the throne. His family’s house has endured the shame of being the lowest rung in the Dragons’ society for far too long. The Alchemist Guild, down on Loom, may just hold the key to putting his kin in power, if Cvareh can get to them before the Dragon King’s assassins.

When Ari stumbles upon a wounded Cvareh, she sees an opportunity to slaughter an enemy and make a profit off his corpse. But the Dragon sees an opportunity to navigate Loom with the best person to get him where he wants to go.

He offers her the one thing Ari can’t refuse: A wish of her greatest desire, if she brings him to the Alchemists of Loom.

A sweeping fantasy, by the bestselling author of The Testing, about two royal siblings forced to compete for the crown.

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.

As sister and brother, Carys and Andreus have always kept each other safe—from their secrets, from the court, and from the monsters lurking in the mountains beyond the kingdom’s wall. But the Trial of Succession will test the bonds of trust and family.

With their country and their hearts divided, Carys and Andreus will discover exactly what each will do to win the crown. How long before suspicion takes hold and the thirst for power leads to the ultimate betrayal?

---

Well there you have it! Top 10 Recent Adds to My TBR. What are some of your favorite villains?

Until next time,

 

TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’

Weekly Cover Reveal Recap | July 18 – July 24

Hey guys!

Here are the covers that were revealed during the week of July 18 – July 24. Click the author to hop on over to their GoodReads page to add it to you’re TBR!

CONTEMPORARY

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

Published by Crown Books for Young Readers

March 7th 2017

Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. But now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, a powerful judge is pressuring the district attorney to open up a criminal investigation.

Luckily, Carver has some unexpected allies: Eli’s girlfriend, the only person to stand by him at school; Dr. Mendez, his new therapist; and Blake’s grandmother, who asks Carver to spend a “goodbye day” together to share their memories and say a proper farewell.

Soon the other families are asking for their own goodbye day with Carver—but he’s unsure of their motives. Will they all be able to make peace with their losses, or will these Goodbye Days bring Carver one step closer to a complete breakdown or—even worse—prison?

Game On by Michelle Smith

Published by Bloomsbury Spark

August 16th 2016

As king of baseball in the small town of Lewis Creek, Eric Perry can have any girl he wants and win every game he plays. But when a fight lands him in jail, he’s only got one more strike before his baseball career is over for good. His only chance for redemption? The girl next door, Bri Johnson.

Bri hasn’t talked to Eric in months— for starters, she’s been too busy dealing with her jerk of an ex-boyfriend, not to mention the fact that Eric’s been preoccupied trying to drink every keg in the country dry. But when he needs a way to stay on the team, she proposes a plan: if he helps her out with community service, he can stay on the team. At first it’s a nightmare—Eric and Bri stopped being friends years ago, surely that was for a good reason, right? But as volunteering turns to bonding over old memories of first kisses under the stars, they start to have trouble remembering what pushed them apart.

In a town as small as Lewis Creek, nothing stays secret for long and their friendship and romance might mean bad news. But in this final, tumultuous spring before graduation, Eric and Bri are about to realize that nobody’s perfect alone, but they might just be perfect together.

 

Definitions of Indefinable Things by Whitney Taylor

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt BFYR

April 4th 2017

This heartbreaking, humorous novel is about three teens whose lives intersect in ways they never expected.

Reggie Mason is all too familiar with “the Three Stages of Depression.” She believes she’s unlocked the secret to keeping herself safe: Nobody can hurt you if you never let them in.

Reggie encounters an unexpected challenge to her misanthropy: a Twizzler-chomping, indie film-making narcissist named Snake. Snake’s presence, while reassuring, is not exactly stable—especially since his ex-girlfriend is seven months pregnant. As Reggie falls for Snake, she must decide whether it’s time to rewrite the rules that have defined her.

FANTASY / SCI-FI

Given to the Sea by Mindy McGinnis

Published by Putnam’s Childrens

April 11th 2017

Khosa is Given to the Sea, a girl born to be fed to the water, her flesh preventing a wave like the one that destroyed the Kingdom of Stille in days of old. But before she’s allowed to dance – an uncontrollable twitching of the limbs that will carry her to the shore in a frenzy – she must produce an heir. Yet the thought of human touch sends shudders down her spine that not even the sound of the tide can match.

Vincent is third in line to inherit his throne, royalty in a kingdom where the old linger and the young inherit only boredom. When Khosa arrives without an heir he knows his father will ensure she fulfills her duty, at whatever cost. Torn between protecting the throne he will someday fill, and the girl whose fate is tied to its very existence, Vincent’s loyalty is at odds with his heart.

Dara and Donil are the last of the Indiri, a native race whose dwindling magic grows weaker as the island country fades. Animals cease to bear young, creatures of the sea take to the land, and the Pietra – fierce fighters who destroyed the Indiri a generation before – are now marching from their stony shores for the twin’s adopted homeland, Stille.

Witt leads the Pietra, their army the only family he has ever known. The stone shores harbor a secret, a growing threat that will envelop the entire land – and he will conquer every speck of soil to ensure the survival of his people.

The tides are turning in Stille, where royals scheme, Pietrans march, and the rising sea calls for its Given.

Cold Summer by Gwen Cole

Published by Sky Pony Press

May 2017

Today, he’s a high school dropout with no future.
Tomorrow, he’s a soldier in World War II.

Kale Jackson has spent years trying to control his time-traveling ability but hasn’t had much luck. One day he lives in 1945, fighting in the war as a sharpshooter and helplessly watching soldiers—friends—die. Then the next day, he’s back in the present, where WWII has bled into his modern life in the form of PTSD, straining his relationship with his father and the few friends he has left. Every day it becomes harder to hide his battle wounds, both physical and mental, from the past.

When the ex-girl-next-door, Harper, moves back to town, thoughts of what could be if only he had a normal life begin to haunt him. Harper reminds him of the person he was before the PTSD, which helps anchor him to the present. With practice, maybe Kale could remain in the present permanently and never step foot on a battlefield again. Maybe he can have the normal life he craves.

But then Harper finds Kale’s name in a historical article—and he’s listed as a casualty of the war. Kale knows now that he must learn to control his time-traveling ability to save himself and his chance at a life with Harper. Otherwise, he’ll be killed in a time where he doesn’t belong by a bullet that was never meant for him.

MYSTERY

 

Lost Girls by Merrie DeStefano

Published by Entangled: Teen

January 3rd 2017

Yesterday, Rachel went to sleep listening to Taylor Swift, curled up in her grammy’s quilt, worrying about geometry. Today, she woke up in a ditch, bloodied, bruised, and missing a year of her life.

She doesn’t recognize the person she’s become: she’s popular. She wears nothing but black.

Black to cover the blood.

And she can fight.

Tell no one.

She’s not the only girl to go missing within the last year…but she’s the only girl to come back. She desperately wants to unravel what happened to her, to try and recover the rest of the Lost Girls.

But the more she discovers, the more her memories return. And as much as her new life scares her, it calls to her. Seductively. The good girl gone bad, sex, drugs, and raves, and something darker…something she still craves—the rush of the fight, the thrill of the win—something she can’t resist, that might still get her killed…

The only rule is: There are no rules.

---

Well that’s it for this week! 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,

TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’

Pokemon GO Book Tag

Hey guys!

I was tagged by the creator of the tag, Aentee from Read at Midnight to do the Pokemon GO Book Tag. Go check her blog. Awesome reviews, content, and graphics!

This craze that has swept the world by storm! Everyone is playing Pokemon GO now. Everywhere you look you will find Pokemon Trainers with their eyes glued to their phones trying to catch their next best Pokemon or battling gyms for the prestige! It’s the best addiction, next to books that you could have! Come and join in.

Rules:

• NIL. Link back to Aentee’s blog is appreciated but optional. Feel free to use her graphics. Tag people, don’t tag people, whatever. Just have fun!

---

I want to be cool and say Harry Potter or Percy Jackson… but that is not that case. I have been an on and off reader as a kid, but it wasn’t until Twilight came out that I started ravaging books like I do now. So Twilight is the book that I have to say started my love for reading. I mean, who didn’t love Twilight at the time? Don’t lie to yourselves, you’ve all read it at some point!

This is where Harry Potter comes in. I don’t care if it’s barely been 20 years since it has come out. I believe it deserves to be called a classic now. Sadly I have only read the first 4 books in this series… I know you’re judging me now. I was late getting my Hogwarts Letter, what can I say? My favorite so far is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! Such an EPIC book from beginning to end!

I don’t usually fall off the hype train, but with Red Queen it definitely happened. This book was marketed EVERYWHERE! I couldn’t escape it. So I went out and bought it. I read Red Queen and I enjoyed it. Then a year later Glass Sword came out… and that was the hardest book to get through. Horrible characterization and boring plot. That is the point I jumped off the hype train.

I don’t usually get annoyed with book tropes as other readers might. So with Legacy of Kings I didn’t mind it. Legacy of Kings has a love triangle somewhat, there is a war that threatens to destroy an empire, insta-love, the ending leaves you wanting more, strong and smart female protagonist, etc. But guess what? The book is still amazing and everyone should be giving it a chance! Because I said so.

-cough cough- The gargantuan series that is A Song of Ice and Fire. First off the shortest book in that series is 761 pages. I haven’t even read a book that large before. Second, George R.R. Martin is super old and he might not even finish the series before he bites the dust. Why start something that won’t get finished? I think I’ll wait and see. (Sorry is that is all morbid and insensitive)

So can interpret this category as a book that was so horrifying that I couldn’t sleep at night, or a book that was just so good that I stayed up all night to read it. I will go with the latter and say The Serpent King. Normally I don’t stay up late to read, my sleep is precious to me. BUT with The Serpent King I couldn’t wait, I had to finish it. It was so good!

My ultimate OTP comes from my favorite book series Falling Kingdoms, and it is none other then Magnus and Cleo. They were enemies, turned arranged marriage, turned enemies, turned blossoming love, turned torn apart etc. They have had so many ups and downs it’s hard to keep up, but I love it! My second favorite OTP I just want to add in there is also from Falling Kingdoms, and that is Nic and Ashur. Those boys make my heart flutter and I can’t wait to see how their relationship develops!

A recent read of mine was Court of Fives. Although the plot wasn’t quite clear and it felt more like a build up novel, I loved the character’s and their growth. There is so much potential with this series and I can’t wait to find out what happens next with Jess and Kal. I could not put this book done. It was super face paced with the whole book happening over a span of a week I believe. It was awesome!

I know you guys are probably sick of reading about my favorite series, Falling Kingdoms. BUT I can say that I will never get sick of seeing more sequels or spin offs for this series. It is already a 6 book series with a 3 book trilogy spin off. But I am hoping that is not where things end for my little world of Mytica. I NEED MORE! (And look at that German cover… so beautiful!)

I am quite surprised how good the Storm Siren Trilogy was. I really enjoyed the world and story building from this series. The characters were lively, strong willed, and badass. The powers were cool, and the villain was completely evil, not a good bone in his body. I definitely recommend this series to anyone who wants to start out in the fantasy genre!

No one can say they haven’t heard of the Throne of Glass series. It’s such a big deal in the YA book community. You either love it or hate, or hate to love it. The hype train is still going with this one as we await Empire of Storms to be released in September. With the way that the story is going, I am still very excited to read this series! I need more sexy angst!

Who doesn’t wish they owned more Harry Potter editions? I sure do! I’m totally going to steal this answer from Aentee because I didn’t even know I could get an exclusive Hogwarts House edition. All 7 books with your favorite Hogwarts House covers. Gimme gimme gimme the Ravenclaw Editions please!

I am super excited for Boy Robot to come out in November. I have been seeing a lot of good buzz around this book. And following the author of Twitter is pretty amazing and entertaining. For those of you who may not have heard of this book please go check it out and Good Reads!

Normally I would say Morgan Rhodes… but I want to flip the switch a little bit. I will hands done auto buy anything that Pierce Brown puts out there. I loved the Red Rising series and I am super excited for Iron Gold next year! I even went out and funded his Kickstarter for Red Rising merch. I got a House Mars T-shirt and 3 Red Rising pins and some cool maps. Pierce is going to make me broke!

So far I have only had to wait a year between book releases. So I don’t have to wait too long. But I can say that I am looking forward to Marie Lu’s new series coming out in 2017 titled Warcross. So far there is no cover yet, or a release date for that matter. So I can say that I am highly anticipating this book release!

---

Well there you have it. The Pokemon GO Book Tag. How obsessed with this game are you? I go out of my way to play daily. I even ride my bike around just to catch Pokemon! That is dedication I tell you! So come and join in on this fun Pokemon Go inspired Tag created by Aentee!

I TAG YOU

Maria | Joey | Jenna | Kirsty | Flo | Amanda | Laashan & Trang | Sara | Lois | JM | Sush | Aimal

AND EVERYONE ELSE!

Until next time,

TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’

I Need a Sequel! | Top 5 Wednesday [#29]

Hey guys!

Welcome back to another Top 5 Wednesday! This fun weekly meme was created by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. If you want to join in the fun and be apart of the #T5W … you can find all the details at the GoodReads page.

This week’s topic is Top 5 Books You Wish Had a Sequel.

I read a lot of books that are in the fantasy / sci-fi genre. Typically that means there is usually a sequel to them. So this week was a bit of a hard choice. I had to find the contemporaries that I loved enough to warrant a sequel. But I did it, and I would be forever a happy guy if they did get sequels! Some of you will notice some of these books, because I talk about them the most. So it should come as no surprise I chose them!

---

5. Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

I am aware of the upcoming spin-off The Upside of Unrequited, BUT it doesn’t follow my beloved Simon. I want to see the relationship blossom more with him and Blue. The ups and the downs! I need to see the cuteness overload!!

4. The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson

The ending was bitter sweet. I know there is more to Andrew’s story, so much so that I wish there was a sequel. He has a lot he needs to overcome still, and that would make for a great story!

3. The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

The gang is going off to college now. That’s a whole different ball game. Something Dill never thought he could achieve. I want to see more of them!

2. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

The ending broke me… I am very curious to see how Aaron will navigate his life after the events at the end. My curiosity levels are high with this one!

1. We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

I was left wanting more from the ending. Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing and there is nothing I would change. But there is more story to be told. Especially what happens after January 29, 2016. I feel like that is very pivotal to the story!!

---

I hope you enjoyed my Top 5 Wednesday this week. What books do you wish had a sequel?

Until next time,

TWITTER | GOOD READS | INSTAGRAM | BLOG LOVIN’