https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-rr4nw-936360
Join us this week as we discuss Zoraida Cordova’s Bruja Born, the sequel to Labyrinth Lost. Eat your heart out Lula Mortiz, we’ve got some opinions.
This episode is the uncut episode for our patrons. Want to listen to the whole shebang AND a whole bunch of awesome interviews we have coming up? Visit patron.podbean.com/bookedallnight and support the podcast today for as low as $1 a month.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-ndpu4-93635b
Viruses… IN SPACE! War… IN SPACE! Psychotic AIs… IN SPACE! You know Jess loves this series and now we’re finally talking about The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
The uncut discussion of the Illuminae Files.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-xjaw4-919179
Viruses… IN SPACE! War… IN SPACE! Psychotic AIs… IN SPACE! You know Jess loves this series and now we’re finally talking about The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-ccupy-9259c1
Three sisters. One spell. Countless dead.
Lula Mortiz feels like an outsider. Her sister’s newfound Encantrix powers have wounded her in ways that Lula’s bruja healing powers can’t fix, and she longs for the comfort her family once brought her. Thank the Deos for Maks, her sweet, steady boyfriend who sees the beauty within her and brings light to her life.
Then a bus crash turns Lula’s world upside down. Her classmates are all dead, including Maks. But Lula was born to heal, to fix. She can bring Maks back, even if it means seeking help from her sisters and defying Death herself. But magic that defies the laws of the deos is dangerous. Unpredictable. And when the dust settles, Maks isn’t the only one who’s been brought back…
Join us this week as we discuss Zoraida Cordova’s Bruja Born, the sequel to Labyrinth Lost. Eat your heart out Lula Mortiz, we’ve got some opinions.
Hey there Book Nerds,
If you’re headed to BookCon this weekend (or any book convention this summer) we have a few helpful tips for you. These tips below are for BookCon 2018, held in NYC at the Javitz Center but can totally be applied to all sorts of cons.
Duh. You’d think that. But hey, on top of your hotel room are the bills for food, travel, and swag. You will be in NYC, nothing is cheap and food isn’t near the Javitz Center. Be prepared for a $300 weekend. Yes. $300. $20 for chicken tenders and $5 for a bottle of water will burn a hole in your funds quick, kiddos.
$300. Better to be prepared and fed, than starving and broke. Continue reading
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-bnzy8-918c90
Viruses… IN SPACE! War… IN SPACE! Psychotic AIs… IN SPACE! You know Jess loves this series and now we’re finally talking about The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. And we have some thoughts… IN SPACE!
. 
Subscribe to the podcast on Podbean
Follow Jessica
Twitter . Facebook
Follow Maggie
Twitter . Facebook
Follow Booked All Night
Twitter . Facebook
We’ve moved the podcast from WordPress to Podbean. Depending on how you subscribed you may have lost connection to our feed. Make sure to update it with the information at
Make sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review to let us know what you think of the show!
I’m always enamored by girls in stories that seem innocent and invisible but use that to their advantage to carve their own path — which is exactly what Faith Sunderly does in The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge. It’s impossible to put down this historical mystery, set just after the advent of Darwin’s On The Origin of Species, where young Faith takes the matter of her father’s murder into her own hands.
Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is reliable, dull, trustworthy—a proper young lady who knows her place as inferior to men. But inside, Faith is full of questions and curiosity, and she cannot resist mysteries: an unattended envelope, an unlocked door. She knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing. She knows that her family moved to the close-knit island of Vane because her famous scientist father was fleeing a reputation-destroying scandal. And she knows, when her father is discovered dead shortly thereafter, that he was murdered.
In pursuit of justice and revenge, Faith hunts through her father’s possessions and discovers a strange tree. The tree only bears fruit when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father’s murder—or it may lure the murderer directly to Faith herself.
Historical fiction has always been that tiny love of mine, the flame of a candle burning in the back of my mind while I busied myself with fantasy. It’s always forgotten while I adventure with dragons and goblins, but I’m reminded how brightly that candle burns when I read something like The Lie Tree.
When I opened Lie Tree up, I couldn’t close it until I was almost halfway through, and the only reason I did was because it was 3 in the morning and I had work in a few hours. Faith is an incredibly strong female character–and not in the ways most people expect when they hear those three words. She’s immensely flawed, selfish and brash, but she’s kind and brave and willfull too. She seeks the truth when everyone else is blind to it, and she puts herself in danger to get to the bottom of it.
Every detail comes full circle in every aspect; Hardinge is a talented writer who wastes no word.
My only gripe, if I really could call it that, is the huge cast of characters. Some are only mentioned in passing and others we physically see on the page, but they end up flowing into one another and often I find myself asking, “Wait, who is that?”
It’s not a good thing to have happen, especially in a murder mystery where everyone you meet is a potential suspect. You forget who wronged whom or when they were last seen, and it gets confusing.
But regardless of your favorite genre, whether it’s fantasy or historical fiction, you ought to pick up The Lie Tree as soon as you can.
POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS
SUPPORT THE BOOKED ALL NIGHT PODCAST BY PURCHASING YOUR NEXT BOOK OR MOVIE THROUGH OUR AFFILIATE LINKS.
When it comes to the broad sibling genre of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, I’ve always been more in the favor of Fantasy. But Beyond The Red by Ava Jae showed me a whole new world within the Sci-Fi realm, and I have fallen in love.
Alien queen Kora has a problem as vast as the endless crimson deserts. She’s the first female ruler of her territory in generations, but her people are rioting and call for her violent younger twin brother to take the throne. Despite assassination attempts, a mounting uprising of nomadic human rebels, and pressure to find a mate to help her rule, she’s determined to protect her people from her brother’s would-be tyrannical rule.
Eros is a rebel soldier hated by aliens and human alike for being a half-blood. Yet that doesn’t stop him from defending his people, at least until Kora’s soldiers raze his camp and take him captive. He’s given an ultimatum: be an enslaved bodyguard to Kora, or be executed for his true identity—a secret kept even from him.
When Kora and Eros are framed for the attempted assassination of her betrothed, they flee. Their only chance of survival is to turn themselves in to the high court, where revealing Eros’s secret could mean a swift public execution. But when they uncover a violent plot to end the human insurgency, they must find a way to work together to prevent genocide.
I finished Children of Blood and Bone the other night, and it was my most anticipated March release, so now I get to go through all the new March releases, and even work on some of my April release ARCs!
Title: Children of Blood and Bone
Author(s): Tomi Adeyemi
Pub Date: March 6, 2018
Publisher: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Buy Links: Amazon . B&N
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.
We like hosting giveaways here at Booked All Night and plan to host quarterly giveaways for our followers this year. We would love to host some more in between those.
The best way to get these giveaways to go live is to follow our blog, subscribe to the podcast (wherever you get your fix), comment on our posts and episodes, and leave reviews on iTunes and GooglePlay. Once we reach certain numbers, we’ll be giving away an ARC of an upcoming book or we’ll make your pre-order for you. FREE BOOKS! What is there to lose?
Other ways you can help out is to make your next purchase through our affiliate links. It comes at no extra cost to you and helps us out a little so we can afford to do more with each giveaway.
Unfortunately, we didn’t meet our goal to giveaway an ARC of Children of Blood and Bone. Make sure to tune in March 8th, 2018 for our discussion on Tomi Adeyemi’s debut novel. And make sure to get your pre-orders in so you can read before we spoil it.
Support the podcast by using our affiliate links to make your pre-order.
Amazon . B&N
. 
. 
or use our FeedBurner link to add it to a podcast service you prefer.
I keep making the mistake of requesting more and more ARCs even though I haven’t finished the ones on my list…
But with The Belles coming out in a few days and Reign of the Fallen out already, I can hopefully breeze through my February ARCs so I can get to the ones I’m most excited about, like… Continue reading
A few titles are back on my TBR after the holidays and with the semester starting. I’m trying to read more middle grade this semester since I feel like I haven’t touched a lot of it. And I have three ARCs on the list. If anyone has any good, recent, sci-fi bookrecs, please leave them in the comments! Continue reading
When the fate of the world is at stake
Loyalties will be tested
Game of Thrones meets Blade Runner in this commanding new YA fantasy inspired by Norse Mythology from New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hocking.
As one of Odin’s Valkyries, Malin’s greatest responsibility is to slay immortals and return them to the underworld. But when she unearths a secret that could unravel the balance of all she knows, Malin along with her best friend and her ex-girlfriend must decide where their loyalties lie. And if helping the blue-eyed boy Asher enact his revenge is worth the risk—to the world and her heart.
The air reeked of fermented fish and rotten fruit, thanks to the overflowing dumpster from the restaurant behind us. The polluted alley felt narrow and claustrophobic, sandwiched between skyscrapers.
In the city, it was never quiet or peaceful, even at three in the morning. There were more than thirty million humans and supernatural beings coexisting, living on top of each other. It was the only life I’d ever really known, but the noise of the congestion grated on me tonight.
My eyes were locked on the flickering neon lights of the gambling parlor across the street. The u in Shibuya had gone out, so the sign flashed SHIB YA at me.
The sword sheathed at my side felt heavy, and my body felt restless and electric. I couldn’t keep from fidgeting and cracked my knuckles.
“He’ll be here soon,” my mother, Marlow, assured me. She leaned back against the brick wall beside me, casually eating large jackfruit seeds from a brown paper sack. Always bring a snack on a stakeout was one of her first lessons, but I was far too nervous and excited to eat.
The thick cowl of her frayed black sweater had been pulled up like a hood, covering her cropped blond hair from the icy mist that fell on us. Her tall leather boots only went to her calf, thanks to her long legs. Her style tended to be monochromatic—black on black on black—aside from the shock of dark red lipstick.
My mother was only a few years shy of her fiftieth birthday, with almost thirty years of experience working as a Valkyrie, and she was still as strong and vital as ever. On her hip, her sword Mördare glowed a dull red through its sheath.
The sword of the Valkyries was one that appeared as if it had been broken in half—its blade only a foot long before stopping at a sharp angle. Mördare’s blade was several thousand years old, forged in fires to look like red glass that would glow when the time was nigh.
My sword was called Sigrún, a present on my eighteenth birthday from Marlow. It was a bit shorter than Mördare, with a thicker blade, so it appeared stubby and fat. The handle was black utilitarian, a replacement that my mom had had custom-made from an army supply store, to match her own.
The ancient blade appeared almost black, but as it grew closer to its target, it would glow a vibrant purple. For the past hour that we’d been waiting on our stakeout, Sigrún had been glowing dully on my hip.
The mist grew heavier, soaking my long black hair. I kept the left side of my head shaved, parting my hair over to the right, and my scalp should’ve been freezing from the cold, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel anything.
It had begun—the instinct of the Valkyrie, pushing aside my humanity to become a weapon. When the Valkyrie in me took over, I was little more than a scythe for the Grim Reaper of the gods.
“He’s coming,” Marlow said behind me, but I already knew.
The world fell into hyperfocus, and I could see every droplet of rain as it splashed toward the ground. Every sound echoed through me, from the bird flapping its wings a block away, to the club door as it groaned open.
Eleazar Bélanger stumbled out, his heavy feet clomping in the puddles. He was chubby and short, barely over four feet tall, and he would’ve appeared to be an average middle-aged man if it wasn’t for the two knobby horns that stuck out on either side of his forehead. Graying tufts of black hair stuck out from under a bright red cap, and as he walked ahead, he had a noticeable limp favoring his right leg.
He was a Trasgu, a troublemaking goblin, and his appearance belied the strength and cunning that lurked within him. He was over three hundred years old, and today would be the day he died.
I waited in the shadows of the alley for him to cross the street. A coughing fit caused him to double over, and he braced himself against the brick wall.
I approached him quietly—this all went easier when they didn’t have time to prepare. He took off his hat to use it to wipe the snot from his nose, and when he looked up at me, his green eyes flashed with understanding.
“It’s you,” Eleazar said in a weak, craggy voice. We’d never met, and I doubt he’d ever seen me before, but he recognized me, the way they all did when their time was up.
“Eleazar Bélanger, you have been chosen to die,” I said, reciting my script, the words automatic and cold on my lips. “It is my duty to return you to the darkness from whence you came.”
“No, wait!” He held up his pudgy hands at me. “I have money. I can pay you. We can work this out.”
“This is not my decision to make,” I said as I pulled the sword from my sheath.
His eyes widened as he realized I couldn’t be bargained with. For a moment I thought he might just accept his fate, but they rarely did. He bowed his head and ran at me like a goat. He was stronger than he looked and caused me to stumble back a step, but he didn’t have anywhere to go.
My mother stood blocking the mouth of the alley, in case I needed her. Eleazar tried to run toward the other end, but his leg slowed him, and I easily overtook him. Using the handle of my sword, I cracked him on the back of the skull, and he fell to the ground on his knees.
Sigrún glowed brightly, with light shining out from it and causing the air to glow purple around us. Eleazar mumbled a prayer to the Vanir gods. I held the sword with both hands, and I struck it across his neck, decapitating him.
And then, finally, the electricity that had filled my body, making my muscles quiver and my bones ache, left me, and I breathed in deeply. The corpse of an immortal goblin lay in a puddle at my feet, and I felt nothing but relief.
“It was a good return,” my mother said, and put her hand on my shoulder. “You did well, Malin.”
Amanda Hocking is the author of over twenty young adult novels, including the New York Times bestselling Trylle Trilogy and Kanin Chronicles. Her love of pop culture and all things paranormal influence her writing. She spends her time in Minnesota, taking care of her menagerie of pets and working on her next book.
Buy Links:
Amazon . Barnes & Noble . Books-a-Million . IndieBound . Powells
Social Links:
Author Website . Twitter . Facebook . Author Blog
Copyright © 2018 by Amanda Hocking in Between the Blade and the Heart and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Griffin.
Enter the giveaway for a finished paperback copy of Between the Blade and the Heart.
I have finally turned in my last packet of the semester. It might be crap but it’s done. Now on to my plans for winter break.
In all honesty though, I’m looking forward to putting some time into my WIP that doesn’t involve a deadline. I’m hoping a brief relaxing pace helps me to move the story forward.
The semesters are all coming to close, so what is everyone else planning to do over their breaks?
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Series: Legacy of Orïsha
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.
Author: V.E. Schwab
Series: Shades of Magic
Publication Date: February 24, 2015
Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
Author: Jo Treggeriari
Series: n/a
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Ari Sullivan is alive—for now.
She wakes at the bottom of a cistern, confused, injured and alone, with only the shadowy recollection of a low-pitched voice and a gloved hand. No one can hear her screams. And the person who put her there is coming back. The killer is planning a gruesome masterpiece, a fairytale tableau of innocence and blood, meticulously designed.
Until now, Ari was happy to spend her days pining for handsome, recent-arrival Stroud Bellows, fantasizing about their two-point-four-kids-future together. Safe in her small hometown of Dempsey Hollow. But now her community has turned very dangerous—and Ari may not be the only intended victim.
Author: Sage Blackwood
Series: n/a
Publication Date: March 21, 2017
Chantel would much rather focus on her magic than on curtsying, which is why she often finds herself in trouble at Miss Ellicott’s School for Magical Maidens. But when Miss Ellicott mysteriously disappears along with all the other sorceresses in the city, Chantel’s behavior becomes the least of her problems.
Without any magic protecting the city, it is up to Chantel and her friends to save the Kingdom. On a dangerous mission, Chantel will discover a crossbow-wielding boy, a dragon, and a new, fiery magic that burns inside her—but can she find the sorceresses and transform Lightning Pass into the city it was meant to be?
Merry Christmas Season BookNerds! The best way to support us this holiday season doesn’t cost you any money. Simply follow us and our little project and make sure to share you favorite posts and podcasts!
Follow Magdalyn Ann
Blog . Twitter . Facebook . Instagram
Follow Jessica M Tuckerman
Blog . Twitter . Facebook . Instagram
.
Sorry BookNerds! Our lives got real busy, real fast. This week Jess and Maggie are on vacation, living it up with the books–er–boys in their lives. Check back next week when we hopefully resume with our crazy-ass book talk.
Just a reminder that Jessica is getting married tomorrow! And since Maggie is also in the wedding, there will be no episode this week. We’ll be back next week with all sort of bookish fun though!
Make sure to enter your favorite titles for a Night Owl! We will (hopefully) be adding winning titles into our end of the year giveaway so make sure to get your favorites in every day!
Entries close midnight EST Halloween. Voting opens November 24th, 2017 and will close December 25th, 2017. Tune into the New Year’s Eve podcast to find out which titles won the Night Owl!
It’s time to start voting in your favorite books of the year for the coveted Night Owl. We will be taking nominees in a variety of categories for the duration of October. Polls will close on Halloween while we tabulate the entries and voting will re-open in December for final voting. Tune into the Booked All Night Podcast on New Year’s Eve to find out who won the Night Owl!
Entries close midnight EST Halloween. Voting opens November 24th, 2017 and will close December 25th, 2017. Tune into the New Year’s Eve podcast to find out which titles won the Night Owl!
I got approved for two new ARCs recently, Between the Blade and Heart and Tess of the Road. I’ve been meaning to get through The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding and Six of Crows too, so no better time than now!
The extraordinary sequel to the New York Times bestseller Shadowshaper is daring, dazzling, defiant.
Sierra and her friends love their new lives as shadowshapers, making art and creating change with the spirits of Brooklyn. Then Sierra receives a strange card depicting a beast called the Hound of Light — an image from the enigmatic, influential Deck of Worlds. The shadowshapers know their next battle has arrived.
Thrust into an ancient struggle with enemies old and new, Sierra and Shadowhouse are determined to win. Revolution is brewing in the real world as well, as the shadowshapers lead the fight against systems that oppress their community. To protect her family and friends in every sphere, Sierra must take down the Hound and master the Deck of Worlds… or risk losing them all.
Shadowshaper was one of my fave urban fantasies of last year. I’ve devoured every novella that DJ Older sent out over the past year since Shadowshaper hit shelves and I’m severely disappointed in myself that I ALMOST forgot that Shadowhouse Fall came out yesterday!
Good thing I went straight to B&N and bought a copy straight off the shelves!
Kiko Himura has always had a hard time saying exactly what she’s thinking. With a mother who makes her feel unremarkable and a half-Japanese heritage she doesn’t quite understand, Kiko prefers to keep her head down, certain that once she makes it into her dream art school, Prism, her real life will begin.
But then Kiko doesn’t get into Prism, at the same time her abusive uncle moves back in with her family. So when she receives an invitation from her childhood friend to leave her small town and tour art schools on the west coast, Kiko jumps at the opportunity in spite of the anxieties and fears that attempt to hold her back. And now that she is finally free to be her own person outside the constricting walls of her home life, Kiko learns life-changing truths about herself, her past, and how to be brave.
From debut author Akemi Dawn Bowman comes a luminous, heartbreaking story of identity, family, and the beauty that emerges when we embrace our true selves.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a big fan of contemporary books, but I’ve heard so much about this on Twitter and I really want to see for myself just how great this book is! Plus, look at that pretty cover!
I’m still reading a lot of the same ARCs; but I’ve been approved for Adam Silvera’s They Both Die At The End so expect that review up soon! I’m also finally starting Six of Crows and finishing up my all time fave The Savage Dawn, book 3 of Melissa Grey’s The Girl at Midnight series.
I won’t include the back copy for all top row, since you can see that in my August TBR post, but here’s all the new stuff:
Going to be a slow September apparently. I’m super excited that I was approved for the second Mice of the Round Table by Julie Leung. I’ve had This Darkness Mine for a little bit now and I really need to get it off my review list since it comes out this October. The Stolen Child is an old one but my teacher recommended it to me. Here’s all the back copy: Continue reading
The battle for the Crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?
With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.
In this enthralling sequel to Kendare Blake’s New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns, Fennbirn’s deadliest queens must face the one thing standing in their way of the crown: each other.
The first book, Three Dark Crowns, was super intriguing, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu—when a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths.
For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.
Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.
In this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest gamble of all.
I love love love love Marie Lu.
Have I mentioned that I love her? I love her writing so much so I’m extremely pumped for this video game inspired spy book from her?
I think I’ve smashed the pre-order button like twenty times.
Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger.
The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable, while the Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power. As Helene searches for a way to hold back the approaching darkness, her sister’s life and the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance.
Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer. But while hunting for a way to bring him down, Laia faces unexpected threats from those she hoped would aid her, and is drawn into a battle she never thought she’d have to fight.
And in the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as Soul Catcher. But in doing so, he has vowed himself to an ancient power that will stop at nothing to ensure Elias’s devotion—even at the cost of his humanity.
I’m gonna say it too: I’m not a fan of changing covers halfway through a series. I like my set to match. (Ignore the fact that my HP set doesn’t match. I was young and abroad when 4 and 7 were published, so I have UK covers)
But that is the only issue I have, my own perfectionism. That being said. I LOVE THE COVERS. I love that Laia and Elias and Helene are front and center, I love that these characters of color are presented on the covers now, especially because we need to keep pushing for diversity and representation.
Also if Ember and Torch tortured me, I can’t wait for Reaper at the Gates to flat out murder me.
I Needed to Win.
They Needed to Die.Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class—and the nobles who destroyed their home.
When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand—the Queen’s personal assassins, named after the rings she wears—Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge.
But the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. And as Sal succeeds in the competition, and wins the heart of Elise, an intriguing scribe at court, they start to dream of a new life and a different future, but one that Sal can have only if they survive.
Genderfluid assassin in a fight to the death to become a royal assassin? HECK YEAH. I got to review this book thanks to NetGalley, but I just can’t wait to hold this book in my hands!
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.
Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.
But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.
Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.
Witty, romantic, and intriguing at every turn, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is a sumptuous romp that explores the undeniably fine lines between friendship and love.
Historical fiction about a bi boy and his crush gallivanting across Europe? Sign me up! I’ve been hearing non-stop great things about this on Twitter, so I just can’t wait to get my hands on this one!
Starting this Thursday at 11pm, Booked All Night will be posting podcasts talking about YA (specifically the reading and writing there of). We will be talking about YA books at large, specific titles, our own work, and we’ll be doing it all with a healthy dose of adult language.
We will be adding the podcast to both iTunes and GooglePlay, but you can use these feeds to add the podcast to any player:
Our direct RSS: https://bookedallnight.blog/category/podcast/feed
Feedburner: http://feeds.feedburner.com/bookedallnight/jOjU
From critically acclaimed author Cindy Pon comes an edge-of-your-seat sci-fi thriller, set in a near-future Taipei plagued by pollution, about a group of teens who risk everything to save their city.
Jason Zhou survives in a divided society where the elite use their wealth to buy longer lives. The rich wear special suits, protecting them from the pollution and viruses that plague the city, while those without suffer illness and early deaths. Frustrated by his city’s corruption and still grieving the loss of his mother who died as a result of it, Zhou is determined to change things, no matter the cost.
With the help of his friends, Zhou infiltrates the lives of the wealthy in hopes of destroying the international Jin Corporation from within. Jin Corp not only manufactures the special suits the rich rely on, but they may also be manufacturing the pollution that makes them necessary.
Yet the deeper Zhou delves into this new world of excess and wealth, the more muddled his plans become. And against his better judgment, Zhou finds himself falling for Daiyu, the daughter of Jin Corp’s CEO. Can Zhou save his city without compromising who he is, or destroying his own heart?
I’ve been dipping my toes into sci-fi a bit more recently, and Want has everything I seem to like: dystopian, futuristic setting, teens struggling to make a difference, and set in a non-Western location? Heck yeah! Also, look how shiny that cover is!
Maggie and I went to BookCon this weekend. It was a lot of fun and, as always, a lot of strife. ARCs were really hard to come by this year. I didn’t see any that weren’t attached to a LONG autograph line-and on the note of autograph lines-can we talk about how PRH seemed grossly under-prepared to handled all of their in booth signings?
A line for tickets that security kept moving, a line after tickets that security kept moving, no idea where to wrap it–every time I passed their booth the inside was just a gaggle of people. It’s not their first rodeo so it’s very disconcerting to see things like that.
I made it to all of my autographing sessions but not the panels. Panels were another let down this year. The booktuber panel especially was just watching them do what they do on their channels. It was boring. And they didn’t know how to talk into a microphone or moderate themselves.
The Holly Black and Leigh Bardugo panel though-hands down-best panel I have seen at BookCon period. They were just fabulous. Fun fact: Leigh jumped out of a tree to meet Holly at SDCC.
One year, I really need ReedPop to step up their game and get organized. This year was such a pinnacle of no one knew where things were supposed to be. They turned lines around-like-completely around-made the front the back and the back the front, cut them in weird sections, told us we couldn’t go one way, then that we could only go that way. It’s unacceptable beyond the first year. These are lessons they should have learned from by now.
Happy Weekend Booknerds!
It’s time to play Bring Your Own Book! Here are the rules!
I have taken soooo long to get through A Court of Wings and Ruin that I barely made any progress on this list. I’m willing to bet it’s just my usual Summer slump, when I read slower because nothing is due and everything is done on my time.
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?
I actually have this one for review and I totally requested it for its cover. I mean look at that cover. That chair is sexy. I said it. That is a sexy chair.
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.
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?
Honestly, I really want it for the cover. I’m currently reviewing it, but I want this cover on my shelf.
Happy Weekend Booknerds!
It’s time to play Bring Your Own Book! Here are the rules!
After escaping a harsh school where punishment was the lesson of the day, seventeen-year-old Louisa Ditton is thrilled to find employment as a maid at a boarding house. But soon after her arrival at Coldthistle House, Louisa begins to realize that the house’s mysterious owner, Mr. Morningside, is providing much more than lodging for his guests. Far from a place of rest, the house is a place of judgment, and Mr. Morningside and his unusual staff are meant to execute their own justice on those who are past being saved.
Louisa begins to fear for a young man named Lee who is not like the other guests. He is charismatic and kind, and Louisa knows that it may be up to her to save him from an untimely judgment. But in this house of distortions and lies, how can Louisa be sure whom to trust?
Featuring stunning interior illustrations from artist Iris Compiet, plus photo-collages that bring Coldthistle House to chilling life, House of Furies invites readers to a world where the line between monsters and men is ghostly thin.
Happy Weekend Booknerds!
It’s time to play Bring Your Own Book! Here are the rules!
Not every bookworm is a social butterfly. As of yet, BookCon does not have social badges for their event. So I made some. Feel free to download these badges, print them, fold them in half, laminate them, and hang them from your lanyard to help make your con a little easier.
Green: I like making friends! Come talk to me!
Yellow: I’m a little shy. Please let me start the conversation.
Red: Do not talk to me unless I know you.
That’s mah teachah!!
I’m not going to lie, I’m mainly excited for The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora because Pablo Cartaya was my mentor last fall at Sierra Nevada College and he was the #Best. Pablo is ridiculously talented and I’m 100% psyched for everything he does. And since, technically, Epic Fail is already out, I’m just waiting for it to be delivered to my house!
Save the restaurant. Save the town. Get the girl. Make Abuela proud. Can thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora do it all or is he in for a BIG, EPIC FAIL?
For Arturo, summetime in Miami means playing basketball until dark, sipping mango smoothies, and keeping cool under banyan trees. And maybe a few shifts as junior lunchtime dishwasher at Abuela’s restaurant. Maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a cute poetry enthusiast who moves into Arturo’s apartment complex and turns his stomach into a deep fryer. He almost doesn’t notice the smarmy land developer who rolls into town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and community go down without a fight, and as he schemes with Carmen, Arturo discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of Jose Marti.
Funny and poignant, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is the vibrant story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and one boy’s quest to save both, perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia.
BookCon season is upon us! Badges are in the mail! Badges are in hands! And the official I-Really-Can’t Waiting Game has begun! If you’re on the BookCon App (and I highly recommend that you are) then you’ve probably seen all sort of questions about how things work at BookCon and questions about big important things-like autographing lines.
Some cons include social cards with your badges. Green for “I’m social! Please feel free to talk to me!” Yellow for “I’m a little shy. Please don’t talk to me unless I’ve instigated the conversation.” Red for “Do not talk to me.” This helps people who don’t do well with crowds (like myself). BookCon does not include these types of badges but I’ve made up a few that you can keep with you to put with your badges in case you need them.
So admittedly, I was drawn to this one 100% by its cover.
Just from the description, I was like-meh-time travel. But I want to see how the PTSD is approached and I’m even more curious about Kale stopping his own death in the future…past…
Plus I love the cover.
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.
It’s dark, it’s creepy, it’s coming out today… and I just don’t know how I feel about The Cresswell Plot. Continue reading
The Wolf in the Attic by Paul Kearney is the long winded tale of Anna, a Greek refugee living in London with her father in the early 20th century. There was exactly one exciting, plot driven scene in the first quarter of the book and everything else is countless pages of details, descriptions and character reflections on repeat. I had to mark Wolf in the Attic as a DNF, which I hate to do.
1920s Oxford: home to C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien… and Anna Francis, a young Greek refugee looking to escape the grim reality of her new life. The night they cross paths, none suspect the fantastic world at work around them.
Anna Francis lives in a tall old house with her father and her doll Penelope. She is a refugee, a piece of flotsam washed up in England by the tides of the Great War and the chaos that trailed in its wake. Once upon a time, she had a mother and a brother, and they all lived together in the most beau
tiful city in the world, by the shores of Homer’s wine-dark sea.But that is all gone now, and only to her doll does she ever speak of it, because her father cannot bear to hear. She sits in the shadows of the tall house and watches the rain on the windows, creating worlds for herself to fill out the loneliness. The house becomes her own little kingdom, an island full of dreams and half-forgotten memories. And then one winter day, she finds an interloper in the topmost, dustiest attic of the house. A boy named Luca with yellow eyes, who is as alone in the world as she is.
That day, she’ll lose everything in her life, and find the only real friend she may ever know.
-Goodreads
Anna’s journey is meant to be a magical one, full of mystery, strange creatures and the voices of some classic authors. But I found it dull and ended up forcing myself to get through the first quarter of it.
Anna has come to London with her father after Turks burn their hometown to the ground, and have since become refugees. She desperately wants to find a place of her own, but she is kept away from local children and her only source of companionship is Pie, a doll she’s had since she was very young, with whom she shares many conversations.
And for a long while, that’s the only person she speaks with. Most of the book is full of Anna’s reflections on what’s around her and pages of descriptions and details that never end. The only scene that actively held my interest was about fifteen percent of the way through the book; when Anna is in the meadow, watching a boy kill a man and then that boy following her all the way back to the city. After that, nothing of interest happens.
I really liked Anna’s character. She’s young, spunky and adventurous. I knew almost immediately that she not only had to be dealing with some form of PTSD, having lived through the trauma of her home being attack and losing her mother, but also some form of mental illness. As an eleven year-old still closely attached to her doll, not to mention her incredibly limited view of the world despite being at an age where she should be viewing things around her in a much more multi-dimensional fashion, she reads as someone on the autistic spectrum or as someone with a learning disability.
Since I began reviewing books, I’ve started to learn that sometimes, I won’t be able to finish every book. I’ve long since determined that I also won’t like every book I come across. I used to try and finish every book I get from NetGally, but it’s not always possible, especially if the book I’ve chosen to read that week isn’t a very good one or does not meet my expectations. Finishing books I don’t like just leads to headache, heartache and a long time spent moaning and groaning about how I couldn’t wait to be done.
I don’t particularly like marking books down as DNF; I used to find it unfair to the author, who put so much work and heart into the crafting of their story. But reading is meant to be a pleasure, something I do because I enjoy it and want to do. Reading bad books or books I don’t feel invested in for any reason is not pleasurable.
Finishing books is great, but sometimes, not finishing them is even better.
Getting panic attacks makes you special? Count me in! Continue reading
I was severely disappointed by the stereotypical romance and on and off strong female character in Luna’s Lions in the Garden. Continue reading
I always thought I loved portal fantasy stories; after all, I did spend ten years writing one, but Akarnae proved that I did not love portal fantasies as much as I thought I did.
Lackey gives us just another anti-social “no I don’t want to” heroine. Doesn’t anyone ever actually want to save the day? Continue reading
I was so pleasantly surprised by The One and Only Ivan, I just had to give it all five stars. This is what a middle grade novel should be. Continue reading
I’m always enamored by girls in stories that seem innocent and invisible but use that to their advantage to carve their own path — which is exactly what Faith Sunderly does in The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge. It’s impossible to put down this historical mystery, set just after the advent of Darwin’s On The Origin of Species, where young Faith takes the matter of her father’s murder into her own hands.
Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is reliable, dull, trustworthy—a proper young lady who knows her place as inferior to men.
In pursuit of justice and revenge, Faith hunts through her father’s possessions and discovers a strange tree. The tree only bears fruit when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father’s murder—or it may lure the murderer directly to Faith herself.
-Goodreads
Historical fiction has always been that tiny love of mine, the flame of a candle burning in the back of my mind while I busied myself with fantasy. It’s always forgotten while I adventure with dragons and goblins, but I’m reminded how brightly that candle burns when I read something like The Lie Tree.
When I opened Lie Tree up, I couldn’t close it until I was almost halfway through, and the only reason I did was because it was 3 in the morning and I had work in a few hours. Faith is an incredibly strong female character–and not in the ways most people expect when they hear those three words. She’s immensely flawed, selfish and brash, but she’s kind and brave and willfull too. She seeks the truth when everyone else is blind to it, and she puts herself in danger to get to the bottom of it.
Every detail comes full circle in every aspect; Hardinge is a talented writer who wastes no word.
My only gripe, if I really could call it that, is the huge cast of characters. Some are only mentioned in passing and others we physically see on the page, but they end up flowing into one another and often I find myself asking, “Wait, who is that?”
It’s not a good thing to have happen, especially in a murder mystery where everyone you meet is a potential suspect. You forget who wronged whom or when they were last seen, and it gets confusing.
But regardless of your favorite genre, whether it’s fantasy or historical fiction, you ought to pick up The Lie Tree as soon as you can.
Goodreads . Amazon . B&N . Indie . Author Page
The Lie Tree publishes on April 19th, 2016.
Question: What do a pair of newlywed woodchucks, a squirrel, a testy snake, a skunk, and a couple of bats have in common with a family of pudgy human beings named Hubble?Answer: Their lives are all turned topsy-turvey by a tyrannical toddler named Margaret.
Question: Will Margaret ever realize that there’s more to life than being mean? Answer: Read this touching comedy and find out.
-Goodreads
Fred, a neat, tidy, and prejudiced woodchuck, vehemently doesn’t want anything to mess up his life. But then he dreams about being married and begins to crave socialization. Continue reading
If you gave me the option to read a book with dragons, versus one without, I will pick the dragons over everything else. I love dragons that much. So, of course, being promised an asteroid made of dragons, I was pretty excited. And Asteroid Made of Dragons by G. Derek Adams was pretty exciting–at first.
My official verdict on Undertow is: Meh. Continue reading
I think this is the last episode of Shadowhunters that I’m forcing myself through.
Once again, we fly through story arcs and subplots. We are introduced to Magnus Bane’s old friend Ragnar Fell on the off-chance he might know how to awaken Clary’s mom from the weird potion induced coma that she is currently floating in. I think his total screen time takes up 5 minutes. His total arc follows Shadowhunters trademark, go find, finish formula: Clary and Co. find his home, make their ways through his wards, he drops “Book of the White” as a plot point and then gets killed.
Why even introduce him? The same information could have been given to us in a note. There was nothing special except to say there are other warlocks. Continue reading
When it comes to the broad sibling genre of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, I’ve always been more in the favor of Fantasy. But Beyond The Red by Ava Jae showed me a whole new world within the Sci-Fi realm, and I have fallen in love.
Alien queen Kora has a problem as vast as the endless crimson deserts. She’s the first female ruler of her territory in generations, but her people are rioting and call for her violent younger twin brother to take the throne. Despite assassination attempts, a mounting uprising of nomadic human rebels, and pressure to find a mate to help her rule, she’s determined to protect her people from her brother’s would-be tyrannical rule.
Eros is a rebel soldier hated by aliens and human alike for being a half-blood. Yet that doesn’t stop him from defending his people, at least until Kora’s soldiers raze his camp and take him captive. He’s given an ultimatum: be an enslaved bodyguard to Kora, or be executed for his true identity—a secret kept even from him.
When Kora and Eros are framed for the attempted assassination of her betrothed, they flee. Their only chance of survival is to turn themselves in to the high court, where revealing Eros’s secret could mean a swift public execution. But when they uncover a violent plot to end the human insurgency, they must find a way to work together to prevent genocide.
– Goodreads
I’ve been a long time follower of Ava Jae’s writing advice Writability (and you should be too!), and when I heard that their debut was coming, I was ecstatic. Surely, someone who gives such great and dependable writing advice should have written an amazing book, right? And Ava delivered, beyond all expectations.
Reading the book of someone who you hold in high regard due to their advice can feel like you’re walking on a fine line. On one hand, their book could not hold up to your expectations, and fall flat, thereby disillusioning you to their advice. It could be just plain bad and you’ll forever doubt any sort of advice they may try to give, because clearly their advice wasn’t good enough if they didn’t follow it. But, like in the case of Beyond the Red, it could be everything you could have ever hoped for and more.
I felt deeply connected to Ava’s characters, rooting for them from the start. Ava’s writing is rich and powerful, and their prose is almost lyrical when read. The book has a strong set of characters, all with their different agendas, and the story itself has the potential to become a classic and a staple in the sci-fi/fantasy community.
My one and only gripe comes from the sudden end of the book, which sets up for a sequel, and perhaps it comes from my deep need to know more and submerge myself in the world of Sefara. I want more world-building, more stories, a comprehensive guide to the Sephari language, a history of all things Sephari and how humans came to the world. I essentially want this to become as wide and detailed as Harry Potter or LoTR, where I can learn the language and read everything there ever is to read about this story.
Goodreads . Amazon . B&N . Indie . Author Page
Another week, another episode of Shadowhunters. Let’s try to get through this as best we can. Continue reading
I, admittedly, judged Every Day by its cover-which I’m not overly thrilled about-sorry. I was also turned off by “Every day in love with the same girl.”
Do I want to pick up another teen romance? I asked myself. Do I want to sit through another love at first site?
Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.
There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.
-Back Copy
Here we are. Episode 10 of FreeForm’s Shadowhunters, a show I can’t believe got a renewal for season 2. Not only because of its general terribleness but also because of the copyright suit against Cassandra Clare.
But let’s dive right in here because we’ve got three stories to follow:
If I could sum up my entire experience of Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard in a single gif, it would be this one:
Glass Sword? More like Glass Case of Emotions!
If you’ve spent any amount of time on this site, or listening to our Podcasts, you know how much of a fan Jess and I are of Victoria Aveyard. We fell in love with Red Queen last year, and Glass Sword delivered as many emotions as its predecessor. Maybe even more.
Let’s use all the words like we’ve been using them all along and this isn’t still a new experience. I feel nothing for Clary, she’s just one of the unfortunate stereotypes of today’s literature attempting to make a strong female character. Overly confident and incapable of thinking ahead she gets on my nerves something fierce. A pale imitation of a “natural born leader,” Clary finds herself in charge of a Seelie/Werewolf/Vampire alliance. And that happens in minutes. Continue reading
In a world where we’re constantly looking for diverse books, look for Who Do You Think I Am? by Dawn McClaughlin, Illustrated by Hannah Rowe. Continue reading
Planet Plenti is a most extraordinary place, a world of incredible edible delights; of confectionery minerals, fizzy pop springs, forests and jungles full of delectable plantlife …
And yet, for children in the land of Likrishka, life is less than ordinary, and mostly very grim – as the Likrish population lives under the watchful rule of Stannic, a tin-skinned tyrant, a Master Chef who commands an army of robot waiters.
Thus nine-year-old Lydia faces a future slaving away in a factory camp – but the girl was born with a mysterious power over metal (when she eats a special type of toffee) …
One eventful day, she meets a gang of other girls with strange sweetie powers: the deadly Bull’s-Eye, razor-toothed Jawbreaker, fire-breathing Peppermint, super-fast Hazel Whirl; there’s Marshmallow, Ice Lolly, Sugar Cube, Dolly Mixture, Cocoa and Marzipan … and together, they must travel across the robot-controlled Candi-Lands, on a treasure hunt for magic sweets that will help to defeat the villainous Chef … and return their world to its sweetest, once more.
-Goodreads
Perhaps I was hungry for more with Lydia’s Enchanted Toffee. The synopsis sounded so cute and, if I’m being honest, I love a good pun so the fact that the prologue is called the Appetizer made crack up.
But then it just stopped working. It felt almost juvenile. The dialogue didn’t seem real and after a few pages the amount of food descriptions was just too over the top.
Bakery became Baykari, which I ended up pronouncing Bay-CAR-ree because of its spelling. The Winelands are France and Italy is Nooga…
And the whimsical language is incredibly difficult to stay with. Every sound–I mean EVERY sound–has onomatopoeia, like the craa-craa cries of the gulls and the shug-a-shug-a-shug of the snakes (and I’m not even sure that’s the right sound for snakes to be making).
There are also illustrations but… well they aren’t that amazing… and since the world is made of candy, don’t you think I know what candy looks like?
Ultimately, I didn’t finish Lydia’s Enchanted Toffee. I couldn’t put myself through it. And I hate doing that, but it would take me too long to push myself through this book.
If you see it out in the world, leave it where it is.
This week on Shadowhunters, Clary Fray doesn’t check her phone messages. Evident with in the first few minutes of the episode.
“Oh Simon, I’ve got so much to tell you, so sorry I don’t seem to have the ability to listen to voicemail.”
I may have embellished the quote a little.
Oh but she does eventually actually listen to the voicemails, the many voicemails, that Simon left on her phone. And it’s what–days–weeks–later? Continue reading
The Vanishing Girl by Laura Thalassa promised to be exciting and thrilling, with adventure
and teleporting girls, but it ended up being creepy and
disappointing.
Okay, so FreeForm’s Shadowhunters started a few weeks ago, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. It feels like a well-budgeted b-film and–not surprisingly–I kind of like that charm about it. But that’s not why you’re reading this review.
So I didn’t read the books, that’s an important lead out here. I have only Tumblr based fandom knowledge. I know going in that there are angels, demons, vampires, etc. and that humans are called mundanes. Continue reading
I was intrigued right away by The Citadel of the Sky by Chrysoula Tzavelas.
A fierce warrior princess setting out to defeat a great evil with a flaming sword. Sounds awesome, right? I thought so too. But things never turn out how we hope they will, do they?
I got more than halfway through this book before the plot started. I’d like to stress: 50% of this book went by before the first plot point occured. Continue reading
I picked up Devil’s Daughter: Lucinda’s Pawnshop by 
Hope Schenk-de Michele, Paul Marquez with Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff from NetGalley earlier in the year and finished it back in August. It took me quite a long time to power through this one. There were many times when I wanted to just call it a DNF and go onto another book. But I was intrigued and curious enough to overpower my boredom. Continue reading
10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama’s high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.
10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.
10:03
The auditorium doors won’t open.
10:05
Someone starts shooting. Continue reading
The Wanderers by Kate Ormand is a tale of a circus full of animal shapeshifters; an urban fantasy that boasts a higher death rate than a Game of Thrones book. I think it did at least, but I wasn’t really counting.
I’m not really sure how to feel about R.L. Stine’s The Lost Girl. I grew up on Goosebumps books, my favorites being the choose your own adventure stories (like Return to Terror Tower).
I liked the plot:
Lizzy Palmer, the new girl, is the hot topic at Shadyside High. Michael and his girlfriend Pepper make friends with her, but as they get closer the stranger she is… and more attractive–at least for Michael.
After a snowmobile accident Michael’s friends start getting murdered. Pepper is convinced that Lizzy is the murderer but Michael doesn’t believe her.
Tragic Story.
Unthinkable betrayal.
Over 60 years ago.
Or 70 years ago. Because that’s kind of up in the air.
Continue reading
I just finished reading Kirsty Logan’s The Gracekeepers, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. A beautiful fantasy setting surrounding a system of once joined islands and archipelagos.
The world presented to us is one divided by those inhabiting the mainland, landlockers, and those who float on the sea, damplings. The vast loneliness of the sea creeps into everyone’s lives whether they are embraced by the ocean’s waves or separated by them. Continue reading
I was admittedly intrigued by a dark Disney tale. A Whole New World is the reimagined story of Aladdin from Liz Braswell, as part of Disney’s new Twisted Tales. Each book answers a big question: What is one key moment from the story was changed? In this edition of Aladdin, Jafar gets the lamp as soon as Aladdin exits the Cave of Wonders, leaving Aladdin in the cave without a magical way out.
Jafar still has the same wishes: become sultan, be all powerful sorcerer. At first, Jafar seems like a great alternative, the Street Rats are well fed, gold rains from the sky, but then Jafar’s insantiy comes out and Agrabah lives in fear.
My opinion? Great idea–poor execution. Continue reading
Serafina’s father always told her to never go into the deep parts of the forest, “for there are many dangers there, and they will ensnare your soul.” She never had a reason to disobey her father’s wishes for her to remain on the grounds of the Biltmore estate, exploring its many rooms, taking care to never, ever be seen by anyone (especially since the Vanderbilt’s don’t know she exists or that she and her pa have been living in their basement).
When children start to go missing, however, Serafina hunts down the culprit. Even though it means disobeying her father and going into the woods. Continue reading
A bit difficult to review since I didn’t read the first two in the series but I think I’ve read enough summaries and book reviews to get me up to speed.
Crystal Kingdom is the third book in the Kanin Chronicles, following Frostfire and Ice Kissed.
Bryn Aven, having been charged with murder and treason, is on the run. Konstantin Black is the only one who can help her, but he’s also her greatest enemy (since he tried to kill her father).
Bryn discovers the Kanin rulers’ darkest secrets as she tries to clear her name. Now the entire troll kingdom is on the precipice of war and it might tear her away from Ridley Dresden, the only man she’s ever loved.
Picking up where Ice Kissed leaves off, we find Brynn running from Doldastam and the bounty on her head, only to watch her get caught by Konstantin. She and Konstantin wind up working together to rally support for her in the other kingdoms, but it proves to be incredibly difficult.
From other reviews, I’ve gathered that the previous books had very sudden and fulfilling endings. Not the case here: this was built up cleanly to a colorful explosion of action.
Bryn doesn’t stand out as a female character for me. Probably the only real problem I had with the book. She is strong and thoughtful, just what I’d expect in a YA female lead, but I just don’t find her unique.
I was never really bored with this book–confused at times, but not bored. And my confusion was remedied by a quick internet search of the previous books–so no harm done.
I was very, VERY pleased with the LACK of triangular romance. Konstantin is never a romantic lead, which leaves Bryn and Ridley to their feelings.
If fantasy is your genre-drug of choice, I’d recommend the whole series to you. The first two books sound wonderful and I assure you that last book is worth it.
The Society of Seven isn’t a big secret at Singer, a boarding school for underprivileged children. Everyone knows, decades ago, the members of the secret society murdered the school’s founder and then perished in the sire they lit to cover the evidence.
Enter Talan Michaels, who doesn’t care about Singer’s past, or much else for that matter. He’s too focused on the fact that he’ll be homeless once he graduates since he never had the grades to go to college or do much else around town. Then he’s invited to join the resurrected Society of Seven to help the school and now he’s all tangled up in a mystery that someone will kill to keep hidden.
And yet, I just don’t care. About halfway through, the characters felt like undeveloped flat cardboard props just used the story of the Society of Sevens out into the world. I kept reading, hoping that it would get better. Continue reading
I picked up Morgan Rhodes‘ A Book of Spirits and Thieves on a whim. So far, most books I’ve picked up on a whim have been rather disappointing (I’m looking at you, Tiger’s Curse) but A Book of Spirits and Thieves was surprisingly enthralling and interesting. But the whole time, I felt like there was something missing, and I can’t quite put my finger on what. Continue reading
If I Stay by Gale Forman: kind of Young Adult, kind of New Adult, kind of lost my interest half way through.
Let’s talk about how awful that makes me feel by the way. Brief synopsis: Mia and her family get into a car accident, her parents are killed instantly her brother might have a chance, she is rushed to the ICU and has restricted visitation. She’s not dead yet but she is battling the only choice before her: move on and die, or stay.
Spoilers Below
Now, I think that’s beautiful. Really, truly I do. Because, honestly, I wouldn’t have batted an eye lash if Mia chose to die. A lot happened to her in the course of a day: she loses both of her parents instantly, she loses her little brother, chances are that she will never play the cello again. The only thing still good and present in her life are her friends, remaining family, and her boyfriend.
All of whom, I didn’t connect to.
First, Mia sticks out from her family. They don’t seem to care but she certainly does. She prefers classical music to their rock and jazz. In fact, she seems put off by music that isn’t classical or in some way orchestral. And her ability on the cello, while obviously she has to be some sort of musical genius, I wonder, truly–does she need to be so humble about it? In an effort to be humble she actually sounded full of herself. “Oh, no, I couldn’t do that,” and “I’m just not good enough” are constants in Mia’s mind, but I never really got a sense that she was confident in her musicianship, something she would definitely need if she were going to Julliard.
Second, there’s Adam, Mia’s rock-and-roll guitar playing boyfriend. He is upset by what happened to Mia, but not enough for me. He invites a rock star to her ICU, he makes a big scene just to sneak into her room, and I have to wonder why. Why not just talk to her family? Whom you know? Or continue talking to Kim, her best friend, who also knows the family? Why try to create a huge mob of people ultimately endangering the safety of your girlfriend and the other ICU patients? If I were a member of the family I would have made sure he couldn’t see her after that.
Then there’s Kim, her best friend, who doesn’t cry.
In fact, everyone puts on a brave face. That’s probably the biggest problem I have with these characters. They are obviously in shock and should be balling their eyes out every chance they get, but the only character openly displaying her distraught-ness was Kim’s mother and she was scolded by Kim for it.
I’m glad Mia chooses to live (I warned you about spoilers, don’t even try to get mad at me) and I think the ending is perfect. It happens where it needs to happen and ends where it needs to end.
But I would have enjoyed this so much more if I had just seen some realistic characters.
. 
. 
