The #FridayReads Review (10/2/20)

  

Welcome to The #FridayReads Review, a regular Friday segment where I share what I've been reading the past week, and what I'm planning to read next! Want to join the Friday fun? Post your own #FridayReads Review and leave the link in the Comments below, or just Comment with what you've been reading!

>> CURRENTLY READING <<

The Language of Ghosts by Heather Fawcett (ARC)

Decided I felt like a MG fantasy and finally started this September release. Only a few chapters in and it's a little odder than I expected, but it's certainly intriguing and I'm invested enough to continue.

A Library Miscellany by Claire Cock-Starkey (HBK)

I have a special fascination of libraries so I'm thoroughly enjoying this little book of factoids. So far I've learned about different types of libraries (including lost ones), classification systems, book thefts, fines, popular borrowed authors, Public Lending Right, the Future Library, and library philanthropist Carnegie.

>> JUST FINISHED <<

Death Marked by Leah Cypess (ARC)

2 Stars. While readable with an interesting premise, the vague setting, confused magic, forced plot, conflicted and cowardly main character, and anticlimactic end where nothing actually changed after two books of soul-searching left me very disappointed. Review to come.

>> [POSSIBLY] READING NEXT <<

(subject to change with my ever-shifting reading whims)

Waiting for Spring vol. 12 by Anashin (PBK)

Discovered I'm a few volumes behind in this series so I've acquired them from the library (not that I quite remember what the story is about...).

So what are you reading this week?

Waiting On Wednesday: The Language of Ghosts (Heather Fawcett)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blogging event in which one spotlights an upcoming release they are eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Title: The Language of Ghosts

Author: Heather Fawcett

Release Date: September 8, 2020
Publisher: Balzer & Bray (HarperCollins)

Summary:

The Penderwicks meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this thrilling middle grade fantasy adventure about a trio of royal siblings who unlock a long-forgotten magical language in their bid to reclaim their stolen throne—from Ember and the Ice Dragons author Heather Fawcett. Perfect for fans of Kelly Barnhill and Robert Beatty.

Forced into exile on an enchanted, moving island, ex-princess Noa Marchena has two missions: reclaim her family’s stolen throne and ensure that the dark powers her older brother, Julian, possesses don’t go to his head in the process. But between babysitting her annoying little sister, Mite, and keeping an eye on the cake-loving sea monster that guards the moving island, Noa has her hands full.

When the siblings learn that their enemies are searching for a weapon capable of defeating Julian—whose legendary spell weaving is feared throughout the kingdom—once and for all, they vow to get to it first. To everyone’s surprise, the key to victory turns out to be a long-lost magical language—and only Noa can speak it.

But what if by helping her brother, Noa ends up losing him?

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Why I'm Looking Forward To It: I was immediately snagged by the gorgeous cover, and after the fantastical summary with its cake-loving sea monster and long-lost magical language I am eager to lay eyes on this imaginative read!

So what book are you waiting on this week?

The #FridayReads Review (4/17/20)

Welcome to The #FridayReads Review, a regular Friday segment where I share what I've been reading the past week, and what I'm planning to read next! Want to join the Friday fun? Post your own #FridayReads Review and leave the link in the Comments below, or just Comment with what you've been reading!

>> CURRENTLY READING <<

What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter (HBK)

Re-reading the hardcover of this fun and flirty YA contemporary romance to finalize my blog tour review. Be on the lookout for my post April 29th!

>> ON HOLD <<

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (PBK)

I really want to re-read this for review but just wasn't feeling it at the moment. I've set it aside for a few other books and will hopefully return to it soon.

>> JUST FINISHED <<

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston (ARC)

4 Stars. A thrilling teen sci-fi of violence and romance that moved way too fast for me to truly connect with the characters or feel much of an emotional impact but definitely entertained. I look forward to finishing the duology with Soul of Stars when the paperback releases later this year. Review to come.

>> [POSSIBLY] READING NEXT <<

(subject to change with my ever-shifting reading whims)

Angel and Bavar by Amy Wilson (ARC)

I loved this book so much but was unable to write a coherent review. Desperate to sing it's praises, a re-read for review is naturally in order!

So what are you reading this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Twelve Books I Enjoyed but Don't Talk Enough About

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme formerly hosted by The Broke and the Bookish,
now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Top Twelve Books I Enjoyed 
but Don't Talk Enough About

1. Murder, Magic, & What We Wore (Kelly Jones) (review)
2. Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist (review)
3. Daughter of the Pirate King (Tricia Levenseller) (review)
4. The Accidental Highwayman (Ben Tripp) (review)
5. Arclight (Josin A. McQuein) (review)
6. Undertow (Michael Buckley) (review)
7. Avalon (Mindee Arnett) (review)
8. Rebel Mechanics (Shanna Swendson) (review)
9. The Leveller (Julia Durango) (review)
10. Indelible (Dawn Metcalf) (review)
11. Hold Me Like a Breath (Tiffany Schmidt) (review)
12. Relax, I'm a Ninja (Natalie Whipple) (review)

What favorite books do you rarely talk about?

Release Spotlight: Shadow & Flame (Mindee Arnett)

Today I spotlight the second and final book in the Rime Chronicles duology by Mindee Arnett: SHADOW & FLAME! Pitched as "Pitch Black meets Pony Express," I highly recommend it for fantasy and action lovers. If you haven't yet heard of this epic title, check it out below!

And be sure to check out the Blog Tour as well, where you can win signed copies of the duology + swag! Just head here.

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Title: Shadow & Flame
Author: Mindee Arnett
Publisher: Balzer & Bray (HarperCollins)
Release Date: 6/4/19

From acclaimed author Mindee Arnett comes the thrilling conclusion of the stunningly epic, action-packed, and romantic fantasy adventure about a powerful girl possessed of strange magic, the outcast prince she loves, and the kingdom that has torn them apart.

Kate and Corwin are on the run, desperate for allies in a new world of war among the kingdoms of Rime. As the book opens, Kate suffers a massive loss, one that will shape the struggle for freedom of all wilders and magic folk—that is, if Kate can learn to control her own power.

Add to Goodreads

PURCHASE:
Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | Book Depository

Check out the first book!

Book 1: Onyx & Ivory

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Indiebound

Release Spotlight: ONYX & IVORY (Mindee Arnett)

Today I spotlight the new fantasy from Mindee Arnett: ONYX & IVORY! Pitched as "Pitch Black meets Pony Express", it also has a Tegami Bachi feel that saw me signing up for the Street Team (the Relay Riders) at their inception! If you haven't yet heard of this epic title, check it out below!

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Title: Onyx & Ivory
Author: Mindee Arnett
Publisher: Balzer & Bray (HarperCollins)
Release Date: 5/15/18

They call her Traitor Kate. It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king years ago. Now Kate lives as an outcast, clinging to the fringes of society as a member of the Relay, the imperial courier service. Only those most skilled in riding and bow hunting ride for the Relay; and only the fastest survive, for when dark falls, the nightdrakes—deadly flightless dragons—come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: she is a wilder, born with magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals. But it’s this magic that she needs to keep hidden, as being a wilder is forbidden, punishable by death or exile. And it’s this magic that leads her to a caravan massacred by nightdrakes in broad daylight—the only survivor her childhood friend, her first love, the boy she swore to forget, the boy who broke her heart.

The high king’s second son, Corwin Tormane, never asked to lead. Even as he waits for the uror—the once-in-a-generation ritual to decide which of the king’s children will succeed him—he knows it’s always been his brother who will assume the throne. And that’s fine by him. He’d rather spend his days away from the palace, away from the sight of his father, broken with sickness from the attempt on his life. But the peacekeeping tour Corwin is on has given him too much time to reflect upon the night he saved his father’s life—the night he condemned the would-be killer to death and lost the girl he loved. Which is why he takes it on himself to investigate rumors of unrest in one of the remote city-states, only for his caravan to be attacked—and for him to be saved by Kate.

With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin have to put the past behind them. The threat of drakes who attack in the daylight is only the beginning of a darker menace stirring in the kingdom—one whose origins have dire implications for Kate’s father’s attack upon the king and will thrust them into the middle of a brewing civil war in the kingdom of Rime.

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PURCHASE:
Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | Book Depository

Release Spotlight: HEART OF IRON (Ashley Poston) | DAUGHTER OF THE SIREN QUEEN (Tricia Levenseller)

Today I spotlight an exciting sci-fi and sequel!

The first is YA sci-fi HEART OF IRON by Geekerella's Ashley Poston! With a young "scoundrel and outlaw" female lead and sentient android sidekick (my catnip), this Anastasia retelling has been my most anticipated winter release.

The second is sequel DAUGHTER OF THE SIREN QUEEN by Tricia Levenseller! Pirates aren't usually my thing but I thoroughly enjoyed Daughter of the Pirate King (you can read my review here) and have since been looking forward to continuing kick-ass Alosa's adventures.

If you haven't yet checked out these titles, see below for more info and order links!

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Title: Heart of Iron
Author: Ashley Poston
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Release Date: 2/27/18

Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him.

Ana’s desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But at the last moment, a spoiled Ironblood boy beats Ana to her prize. He has his own reasons for taking the coordinates, and he doesn’t care what he’ll sacrifice to keep them.

When everything goes wrong, she and the Ironblood end up as fugitives on the run. Now their entire kingdom is after them—and the coordinates—and not everyone wants them captured alive.

What they find in a lost corner of the universe will change all their lives—and unearth dangerous secrets. But when a darkness from Ana’s past returns, she must face an impossible choice: does she protect a kingdom that wants her dead or save the Metal boy she loves?

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PURCHASE:
Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | Book Depository

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Title: Daughter of the Siren Queen
Series: Daughter of the Pirate King #2
Author: Tricia Levenseller
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: 2/27/18

Alosa's mission is finally complete. Not only has she recovered all three pieces of the map to a legendary hidden treasure, but the pirates who originally took her captive are now prisoners on her ship. Still unfairly attractive and unexpectedly loyal, first mate Riden is a constant distraction, but now he's under her orders. And she takes great comfort in knowing that the villainous Vordan will soon be facing her father's justice.

When Vordan exposes a secret her father has kept for years, Alosa and her crew find themselves in a deadly race with the feared Pirate King. Despite the danger, Alosa knows they will recover the treasure first . . . after all, she is the daughter of the Siren Queen.

Add to Goodreads

PURCHASE:
Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | Book Depository

Check out the first book!

Book 1: Daughter of the Pirate King

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | Book Depository | My Review

2017 End of Year Book Survey

It's time for the 2017 End of Year Book Survey hosted by The Perpetual Page-Turner!

Number Of Books You Read: 170
Number of Re-Reads: 6 novels
Genre You Read The Most From: YA Fantasy

1. Best Book You Read In 2017?

SCIENCE FICTION: Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre
FANTASY: The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye (review)
CONTEMP/HISTOR: Murder, Magic, & What We Wore by Kelly Jones (review)
NON-FICTION: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
MANGA: The Ancient Magus' Bride vol. 6 by Kore Yamazaki

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Starfall by Melissa Landers (review)

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read? 

Good: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller (review)

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

Murder, Magic, and What We Wore by Kelly Jones (review)

5. Best series you started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017?

STARTED: The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye (review)
SEQUEL: A Poison Dark & Drowning by Jessica Cluess (review)
ENDER: Kamisama Kiss vol. 25 by Julietta Suzuki

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?

A. Lee Martinez (via The Last Adventure of Constance Verity)

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller (review)

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen

9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

Roar by Cora Carmack

11. Most memorable character of 2017?

Nadim from Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye (review)

13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book of 2017?

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read? 

Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?

I didn't mark any this year (I'm so bad about quotes)...

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017? 

SHORTEST: Explorer: The Mystery Boxes by Kazu Kibuishi
LONGEST: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (re-read)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most (Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

A Poison Dark & Drowning by Jessica Cluess (review)

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) (OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

Zadim from Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Zadim from Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray (review)

21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller (review)

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?

Abel from Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray (review)

23. Best 2017 debut you read?

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye (review)

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight vol. 1 by Rin Mikimoto

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?

Kamisama Kiss vol. 25 by Julietta Suzuki

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Murder, Magic, and What We Wore by Kelly Jones (review)

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

A Poison Dark & Drowning by Jessica Cluess (review)

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?

Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018?

Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston

3. 2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Ink, Iron, and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018?

Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading Life In 2018?

Read more backlog!

6. A 2018 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre

*          *          *

And that's it! Did you read any of these? What did you think of them? And if you filled out the survey as well, leave a link to your post in the comments below!

Top Ten Favorite Books of 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

Top Ten Favorite Books of 2017
(in no particular order)

1. Murder, Magic, & What We Wore (Kelly Jones) (review)
2. Tash Hearts Tolstoy (Kathryn Ormsbee)
3. Roar (Cora Carmack) (review)
4. Geekerella (Ashley Poston) (review)
5. Duels & Deception (Cindy Anstey) (review)
6. Daughter of the Pirate King (Tricia Levenseller) (review)
7. The Crown's Game (Evelyn Skye) (review)
8. Defy the Stars (Claudia Gray) (review)
9. A Poison Dark & Drowning (Jessica Cluess) (review)
10. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Marie Kondo)
11. The Ancient Magus' Bride vol. 6 (Kore Yamazaki)

What were your favorite books of 2017?