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What I Can’t Wait to Read in 2016

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It’s 2016!  Happy New Years!!  A new year means new books!  And we love new books even if they just add to our TBR pile.  So here a 10 books that I’m super excited to read in 2016!

  1. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater- The final book in the Raven Cycle and I couldn’t be more excited and dreading at the same time.  It is well documented about how much I love the series and Maggie as an author.  I can’t wait to see what will happen to Blue and the Boys but at the same time not ready to say goodbye.
  2. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan – The first book in Rick’s new series The Trials of Apollo is going to be good.  I just know it.  For one thing Percy is back!  That’s really all I need to know.  I also hope it means that Leo is also back and happy and in love with Calypso.  That would be the best.
  3. Untitled by Sarah J. Maas – So the next book in the Throne of Glass series doesn’t have a title but hasn’t dampened my excitement for it.  Aelin has all but declared her intentions and now heading for home.  The real fight for Erilea is abou to get real.
  4. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir –  An Ember in the Ashes was one of the books that I loved the most last year.  A mixture of historical fiction, dystopian and fantasy it was truly something refreshing.  I can’t wait to see what happens next.
  5. The Last Star by Rick Yancey – The final book in the 5th Wave series should be interesting.  The 5th Wave was full and real but the The Infinite Sea was a intriguing but not as entertaining.  Now that we know that who the aliens are and not things are really going to go down.  Not to mention the movie for the first book comes out soon and I’m quite interested to see how it transitions from page to screen.
  6. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard – The Red Queen was the other book by a new author in 2015 that I really loved.  The other was Ember in the Ashes.  It was quite a debut.  I can’t wait to see what Mare will do now.
  7. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare – It’s been over a year since Cassandra’s last series ended. She has filled the void with her novella series Tales from Shadowhunter Academy it hasn’t been the same.  Now we are moving from New York City to LA with Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorne five years after the end of The Mortal Instruments so of course the world is once again in peril and it’s mostly the Clave’s fault.  I do hope it’s better then the last 3.
  8. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – I’ll admit that I was only so so on the first book but I think this series has real potential and I’m willing to give it a go.
  9. The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan – Magnus and friends stopped Ragarnok from happening at least for now and now he’s going to have help from his cousin Annabeth.  (Annabeth is going to be very busy this year) We know from the last book that Thor lost his hammer and judging by the title that is going to be a major part of this book but he won’t be the only God as we also know that Loki has been pulling strings for a long time. Things should get interesting.
  10. The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon – Now I’m not sure if this book is really going to come out this year or not but according to Goodreads, it’s scheduled for 11/3 so *crosses fingers* Paige has taken over the syndicate only to be betrayed by her former boss.  It’s time to start a revolution against Scion but I have a feeling they won’t go down without a fight.

And so many more books I want to read and not to mention try to complete our reading challenges. It’s going to be a busy reading year.  How about you? What books are you looking forward to reading this year?

Books that Rocked My Face off in 2015

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This year it was hard to narrow it down to just 10 books as there were so many books I really loved this year.  So to narrow it down, I had to ask myself which ones was I still thinking about even after I started reading the next book?  Those are ones I choose for the list. (These are really in no particular order

  1. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray – This book I really wish I read when I was a teenager as so many of the messages I could have really used.  You would almost think that a book about teenage beauty queens stuck on a desert island would be caricatures but they weren’t.  They were very like girls I know or were me.  I could pretty much identify with all of their struggles.  Plus it was a lot of fun.
  2. Winter by Marissa Meyer -I am really going to miss this series so much.  Cinder, Scarlet, Cress and Winter made me laugh, cheer, angry ( on their behalf) and proud of all of them.  Winter was by far the longest book of the series and it was non-stop action.  There wasn’t any filler or time to relax.  It was the perfect ending.
  3. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell  – A little bit Harry Potter and a little bit of fanfiction.  It was a great final book to an imaginary series.  I was surprised by many of the twists and turns and touched by the romance.
  4. Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray – I loved the first book in the series and so I was nervous this one wasn’t going to be as good.  It was better.  Now my only complaint is that she doesn’t write fast enough.
  5. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – It was fun, tense and very interesting.  I thought I knew where things were going and then I didn’t.  I’m looking forward to what lays in store in the next book.
  6. Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow – This wasn’t anything like I thought it would be.  It was surprising.  It was fresh.  It had the sassiest A.I. in the history of A.I.’s.  For that reason alone, you all should read it.
  7. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – It was sorta historical fiction with a dystopian vibe and boy did it work.  It was brutal and it was tense but entertaining.
  8. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – This was very much an Ocean 11’s style caper with a little bit of a magic and darkness in only the way that Leigh Bardugo could do it.  It’s set in the same world but after the events of her last series but a completely different vibe.
  9. The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson – This is the third book in the series so the stakes are so much higher and it didn’t disappoint.  It’s full of humor, action and ghosts.  What else can I say.
  10. The Rose Society by Marie Lu – This is the second book in the series that tells the story from the villainess point of view (though I’m not convinced that Adelina is the real villain but whatever) It was intense and was surprising, maybe a little problematic but worth the read.

There was two books that I enjoyed so much that I read the other books in the that were out in the series this year too.  So I thought they would get their own category.

  1. Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas  – For those looking for a Game of Thrones fill in until George publishes the next book, I recommend this.  It  was has all the twists and turns and is not afraid to kill of a character or two.  I’m never really sure where it’s going to take us next but I know it will be well worth the ride.
  2. Talon series by Julie Kagawa – It has a little bit of everything.  A Romeo and Juliet Love, a love triangle, a betrayal and yeah dragons.  Who doesn’t love dragons?  Ok, the idea isn’t that original but I do love it anyway.

Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

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Featured imageQueen of Shadows is the fourth book in Throne of Glass series.  It has taken quite a few twists and turns in the four books. What I love about this series is that it keeps on surprising me.  I think I’m a pretty savvy reader but I totally didn’t see the big reveal at the end.  If you haven’t read, Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, or Heir of Fire, I highly recommend that you do.  I also recommend you read them before you read this review because SPOILERS!

(Editor’s Note:  Or lack of one.  Like the other reviews of this series, I didn’t have Kate look over it because I very much like her to read them without being spoiled.  Seriously, Kate you need to get on this!  Anyway, please forgive any mistake I might have made) Continue reading →

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

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Featured imageIn the second review of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast (Cruel Beauty, which I reviewed this week is another retelling) the beast is a Faerie. It’s a first book of a new series but I felt like I’ve read books one and two in this one.  I read this book before I read Sarah J. Maas’ other series, Throne of Glass and I guess it’s for the best.  I think I would have been more disappointed in this if I was more familiar with her work because I loved Throne of Glass books.  This I just liked.

Feyre is 19 years old and even though she is the youngest, she is the one taking care of her family.  Their family’s fortune is gone and her father and her two oldest sisters live in a small cottage. One day, while hunting, Feyre comes across a deer. Unfortunately a wolf has also spotted the deer.  Is the a real wolf or a faerie from the other side of the wall? In a split second decision, she decides to kill the wolf first and then the deer.  The next night a faerie named Tamlin comes to their cottage and tells Feyre she must uphold the treaty between humans and Faeries. She must either forfeit her life in the same manner she killed the wolf faerie or live the rest of her life as her guest.

The first part of the book is great. The cat and mouse game between Feyre and Tamlin is delightful. Feyre spends most of her time in his house trying to find ways out of the Treaty to go home to her family. Tamlin for his part tries to be polite and clearly his flirting skills are rusty. In the true vein of Beauty of the Beast they eventually start to understand each other and fall in love. Feyre doesn’t realize that Tamlin and his court are cursed and by the time she does it’s too late.

This would have been good place to end and where I felt the book should have ended but it went on.  Which is a shame because it would have been a better cliffhanger ending than the one we got. The tempo of the book slowed down as Feyre has to complete three tasks to save Tamlin.  It completely bogged down the narrative  I appreciate the whole, girl must save the guy thing but it was too much. Though the ending seemed like a happily ever after, there are still some loose ends to keep the series going.  They left  me a little wary of what the next book be like. Will it be more like the first half or the second.  I guess good news for Miss Maas, is that I can’t wait for Queen of Shadows, the next book in the Throne of Glass Series.

Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

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Featured imageThings are getting real for Calaena, Chaol, and Dorian and they have new friends too!  Just like my review of the previous book, Crown of Midnight this review will contain spoilers! Spoilers from this book as well as Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight. So if you haven’t read any of them and don’t want it spoiled for then don’t read any further. 

(P.S. Usually Kate and I edit each others posts before they go live but since I want her to read this series I didn’t ask her to take a look.  Please forgive any errors I might have made.)

Now that is out of the way, let’s get started.

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Review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

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Featured imageI just realized after my last post that I never posted my review for this book.  My bad.  As with my other reviews of mid-series books, there will be spoilers from the previous, so if you haven’t read Throne of Glass then don’t read after the cut. ‘m totally serious about those spoilers! I bolded (is that even a word?)  the text and everything.  I’m not going to hold anything back so you have been fully warned.  Unless of course, you don’t mind the ending of Throne of Glass being spoiled for you or the happenings and goings on of Crown of Midnight then by all means, read away.

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Reader Problems

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You know when you are reading a book.  You love it.  You love the characters.  You become invested in one or two of the characters. For this instance, you are involved with two.  You want them together.  You totally ship them.  They are finally realized they are in love with each other and finally, FINALLY, do something about it.  They are happy.  You are happy.  All is great and then realize that you haven’t even reached the half way point of the book and there are at least two more books to come.  You start to panic because you know the happiness your characters feel now is not going to last that much longer.  Something bad is about to happen.  You accidentally read the synopsis of the next book in the series, so you know there is a death is coming.  Now your even more frazzled because what if it’s one of your beloved!  NO!  It can’t be!  They are HAPPY!  Can’t they be happy?  You want to turn away and stop reading but you can’t.  It’s a like a car accident as much as you want to look the other direction, you can’t help yourself from looking straight ahead.  So you keep reading towards the inevitable.  Hoping for the best but bracing yourself for the worst.

That is exactly where I am right now in the The Crown of Midnight.  Something book is about to happen.  I just know it and I’m not prepared for it.  Nope, not at all.  Pray for me brothers and sisters readers.