Waiting on Wednesday (108)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I am excited for Royals by Rachel Hawkins! I actually just got an ARC of this, so hopefully I will be devouring it soon! I am always ready for some royal drama. It usually happens in high fantasy, but I am down for some modern day stuff too. In Royals, some English and Scottish history is different, which I'm also super excited for. I love alternate history (as shown with my love of Ryan Graudin's books). This just looks like it's going to be so much fun, and I can't wait to read it!!!! Also, the cover is so awesome!

Synopsis:

Meet Daisy Winters. She’s an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair; a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her to join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond.

While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.

Release: May 1st, 2018

Top Ten Books That Take Place in Another Country

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and The Artsy Reader Girl.

1. The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong - Canada!

2. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - England!

3. Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard - Egypt!

4. Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon - Ireland!

5. Just One Day/Just One Year by Gayle Forman - So many places!

6. Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier - England!

7. All That Glows by Ryan Graudin - More England!

8. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin - Germany, Russia, Japan, and more!

9. My Lady Jane by Jodi Meadows, Cynthia Hand, and Brodi Ashton - Ye olde England!

10. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson - England yet again!

Waiting on Wednesday (107)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I am super excited for Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young! I actually have an ARC of this from Teen Advisory Board I'm on, and by the time this publishes, I might have already read it. There are so many awesome looking YA high fantasies coming out this year, and I am down for it! All the reviews I've read talk about how amazing it is, and I cannot wait to devour it! Plus, look at that cover! See how gorgeous it is! A pretty cover isn't everything, but it sure drags me in!

Synopsis:

OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

Release: April 24, 2018

Top Ten Books on My Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and The Artsy Reader Girl.

1. Frat Girl by Kiley Roache

2. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

3. Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

4. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

5. Royals by Rachel Hawkins

6. Ship It by Britta Lundin

7. The Game Can't Love You Back by Karole Cozzo

8. War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

9. Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

10. The Art of French Kissing by Brianna R. Shrum

Cover Reveal: Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga

Let us know what you think of the cover for Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga, which releases July 3, 2018!

This cover reveal is brought to you by Entangled Teen.

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Title: Kiss of the Royal

Author: Lindsey Duga

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Release: July 3, 2018

Synopsis:

In the war against the Forces of Darkness, the Royals are losing. Princess Ivy is determined to end this centuries-long conflict once and for all, so her new battle partner must succeed where the others failed. Prince Zach’s unparalleled skill with a sword, enhanced by Ivy’s magic Kiss, should make them an unstoppable pair—but try convincing Zach of that.

Prince Zach has spent his life preparing for battle, but he would rather be branded a heretic than use his lips as nothing more than a way to transfer magic. A kiss is a symbol of love, and love is the most powerful weapon they have—but try convincing Ivy of that.

With the fate of their world on the line, the battlefield has become a testing ground, and only one of them can be right. Falling for each other wasn’t part of the plan—but try convincing their hearts of that.

Want to read more? Pre-order your copy of Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga today!

You Can Find it At:
Goodreads

Amazon

B&N

iBooks

Kobo

Entangled Publishing

Author Bio:

Lindsey Duga is a middle grade and young adult writer with a passion for fantasy, science fiction, and basically any genre that takes you away from the real world. She wrote her first novel in college while she was getting her bachelor’s in Mass Communication from Louisiana State University. Other than writing and cuddling with her morkie puppy, Delphi, Lindsey loves catching up on the latest superhero TV show and practicing yoga. 

You Can Find Her At:
Website

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Goodreads

Entangled Publishing

Waiting on Wednesday (106)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I am crazy pants excited for Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli! I loved Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and I can't wait for the sequel. Leah is such a cool character, and I can't wait to get in the head of this bisexual badass! I also in my senior year of high school, so I'm excited to see how that is portrayed.

Synopsis:

Leah Burke—girl-band drummer, master of deadpan, and Simon Spier’s best friend from the award-winning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda—takes center stage in this novel of first love and senior-year angst.

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended.

Release: April 24, 2018

Top Ten Books That Surprised Me (In a Good or Bad Way)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and The Artsy Reader Girl.

1. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi - I almost never switch ships, but Warner and Juliette forever!

2. The Inconceivable Life of Quinn by Marianna Baer - umm, no. That book was weird.

3. Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare - I didn't think it would end the way it did. It will greatly change what happens in Queen of Air and Darkness.

4. Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas - So many things happened!!!!

5. The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin - This series is all over the place. The ending surprised me and I honestly have no idea what'll happen next.

6. More of Me by Kathryn Evans - I wasn't sure how the main character was going to resolve her problems, but that sure wasn't it.

7. Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab - That ending. I protest that ending.

8. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas - Bryaxis forever!

9. Freedom's Slave by Heather Demetrios - So many explosions!

10. Drink Slay Love by Sarah Beth Durst - Unicorns and vampires galore!

My Plain Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows

Title: My Plain Jane
Authors: Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Brodi Ashton (The Lady Janies)
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release: June 26, 2018
Series: The Lady Janies
Pages: 464
Rating: 5 Stars

Synopsis:

You may think you know the story. After a miserable childhood, penniless orphan Jane Eyre embarks on a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall. There, she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester. Despite their significant age gap (!) and his uneven temper (!!), they fall in love—and, Reader, she marries him. (!!!)

Or does she?

Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Brontë, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights.

First Impressions

I was really excited to ready My Plain Jane, considering the fact that I LOVED the first book, My Lady Jane. I ended up getting my ARC only days after finishing Jane Eyre, on which this is largely based. The details of the story were still fresh in my mind, so I was excited to see how My Plain Jane would completely destroy them. There are so many amazing parts of this book, and I can't wait for everyone else to read it!

Characters

First, we have our title character, Jane Eyre. Her history is very similar to that in Jane Eyre. She is a penniless orphan who attends and then teaches at Lowood School. The big difference is that she sees ghosts. Jane has a bit more sense in My Plain Jane than in Jane Eyre, but she probably wouldn't get by without the help of her best friend, the ghost of Helen Burns. I loved reading Jane's character and seeing the similarities and differences to Jane Eyre.

Our next main character is Charlotte Bronte! AKA the author of Jane Eyre! She begins the story as a student of Jane's at Lowood, which is where Charlotte attended in real life as well (or at least a school like it). She loves storytelling and ghosts, but sadly she cannot see ghosts herself. Charlotte was probably my favorite character in My Plain Jane. She was stubborn, smart, and completely unstoppable. At the same time she was young and a bit naive. She was discovering the world for the first time, and I loved being on that journey.

There are two other main characters, Bran and Alexander. Bran is a lovable goofball and any scene he was in was ten times more fun. Alexander was Bran's serious, older mentor. He is a seasoned ghost hunter, and is determined to get Jane to help his cause. The four of them quickly form some tangled relationships, and the ghosts only make it more complicated! I definitely loved them all.

World Building

My Plain Jane takes place across England in the 19th century. There is a lot of roaming the countryside, as well as many scenes in London. I really felt that the distance between places was well illustrated. Characters had to go on multi-day journeys to get from point A to point B. Typically the main characters are all in different locations, so chapters will take place in different parts of England. This means that a sense of place was very important.

Thoughts While Reading

I happened to tweet along as I read My Plain Jane, so here are some of my thoughts from as I was reading.

Authors Bio:

We're the authors of the young adult novels, MY LADY JANE, and MY PLAIN JANE, which is coming in June 2018. Our group is made up of Brodi Ashton (New York Times bestselling author of the EVERNEATH series and DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY), Cynthia Hand (New York Times bestselling author of the UNEARTHLY series, THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE, THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE, and WHAT I WANT TO KNOW), and Jodi Meadows (New York Times bestselling author of the INCARNATE trilogy, the ORPHAN QUEEN duology, and the FALLEN ISLES trilogy). Between the three of us we've written nineteen novels, a bunch of novellas, a handful of short stories, and a couple of really bad poems, but we have the most fun working on our books together. We're friends. We're writers. We're fixing history by rewriting one sad story at a time.

You Can Find Them At:
Website
Website - Brodi Ashton
Twitter - Brodi Ashton
Website - Cynthia Hand
Twitter - Cynthia Hand
Website - Jodi Meadows
Twitter - Jodi Meadows

Waiting on Wednesday (105)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I'm excited for Dread Nation by Justina Ireland. It's an alternate history, where the dead begin to rise in the middle of the Civil War. In some ways, it seems similar to the book Something Strange and Deadly (which I loved), but with a different time period and premise beyond the zombie thing. It's getting a lot of advance praise, so I'm definitely thinking it's going to be good.

Synopsis:

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

Release: April 3, 2018

Top Ten Book Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and The Artsy Reader Girl.

1. "Shadowhunters: Looking better in black than the widows of our enemies since 1234." ~ Cassandra Clare, City of Bones

2. "Never trust a duck." ~ Cassandra Clare

3. “Remember, darkness does not always equate to evil. Just as light does not always bring good.” ~ P.C. and Kristin Cast

4. “The good suffer, the evil flourish, and all that is mortal passes away.” ~ Cassandra Clare

5. "I was alive when the Dead Sea was just a lake that was feeling a little poorly." ~ Cassandra Clare

6. “Books are easily destroyed. But words will live as long as people can remember them.”  ~ Tahereh Mafi

7. "Libraries are full of ideas - perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons." ~ Sarah J. Maas

8. “This was the boy I loved. A little bit messy. A little bit ruined. A beautiful disaster. Just like me.” ~ Michelle Hodkin

9. She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one." ~ Sarah J. Maas

10. "Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?" ~ Robin LaFevers