Top 5 Most Anticipated Releases of Winter 2017-2018

Hey Everyone!

I don’t know about you guys, but I am SO excited for 2018 to begin! One of the main reasons for this is the fantastic collection of new releases that will be hitting shelves throughout the year. It was difficult narrowing down my most anticipated releases for these first few months, but I’ve finally managed to choose the ones I am dying to get my hands on! 🙂

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu (January 2^nd, 2018)

Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy. 

The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list. 

One by one, the city’s elites are being executed as their mansions’ security systems turn against them, trapping them like prey. Meanwhile, Bruce is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family’s fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises and all the tech gadgetry his heart could ever desire. But after a run-in with the police, he’s forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison that holds the city’s most brutal criminals.

Madeleine Wallace is a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce’s only hope.

In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers. What is she hiding? And why will she speak only to Bruce? Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce will walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer.

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (January 9^th, 2018)

Beneath the Sugar Sky returns to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. At this magical boarding school, children who have experienced fantasy adventures are reintroduced to the “real” world.

Sumi died years before her prophesied daughter Rini could be born. Rini was born anyway, and now she’s trying to bring her mother back from a world without magic.

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh (January 23^rd, 2018)

Odessa is one of Karthia’s master necromancers, catering to the kingdom’s ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it’s Odessa’s job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised–the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa’s necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead–and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer’s magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (February 8^th, 2018)

A brilliantly original high concept murder mystery from a fantastic new talent: Gosford Park meets Inception, by way of Agatha Christie

‘Somebody’s going to be murdered at the ball tonight. It won’t appear to be a murder and so the murderer won’t be caught. Rectify that injustice and I’ll show you the way out.’

It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.

But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot. 

The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath…

People Like Us by Dana Mele (February 27^th, 2018)

Kay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is past, and she’s reinvented herself entirely. Now she’s a star soccer player whose group of gorgeous friends run their private school with effortless popularity and acerbic wit. But when a girl’s body is found in the lake, Kay’s carefully constructed life begins to topple.

The dead girl has left Kay a computer-coded scavenger hunt, which, as it unravels, begins to implicate suspect after suspect, until Kay herself is in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. But if Kay’s finally backed into a corner, she’ll do what it takes to survive. Because at Bates Academy, the truth is something you make…not something that happened.

What new releases are you guys looking forward to this winter? Let me know in the comments!

 

Top 5 Most Anticipated Releases of Winter 2016-2017

Happy December, everyone!

Once again, I must apologize for my long absence! Though we are into one of my favorite seasons of the year, it is also never very kind to me in the illness department, and I’ve been in bed with a bad sinus infection for the past three weeks. But I’m back and finally feeling a bit more up to snuff, so it’s time to finish out 2016 and head into a new blogging year stronger than ever! And what better way to start out than looking ahead to some of my anticipated upcoming releases in the new year? 🙂

1. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (January 10^th, 2017)

A young woman’s family is threatened by forces both real and fantastical in this debut novel inspired by Russian fairy tales.

In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, a stranger with piercing blue eyes presents a new father with a gift – a precious jewel on a delicate chain, intended for his young daughter. Uncertain of its meaning, Pytor hides the gift away and Vasya grows up a wild, willful girl, to the chagrin of her family. But when mysterious forces threaten the happiness of their village, Vasya discovers that, armed only with the necklace, she may be the only one who can keep the darkness at bay.

2. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth (January 17^th, 2017)

On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not — their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world?

Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power — something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.

Akos is from the peace-loving nation of Thuve, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Though protected by his unusual currentgift, once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive — no matter what the cost. When Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. They must decide to help each other to survive — or to destroy one another.

3. Caraval by Stephanie Garber (January 31^st, 2017)

Welcome, welcome to Caraval―Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game.

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

4. Wires and Nerves by Marissa Meyer (January 31^st, 2017)

In her first graphic novel, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestseller Marissa Meyer follows Iko, the beloved android from the Lunar Chronicles, on a dangerous and romantic new adventure — with a little help from Cinder and the Lunar team.

In her first graphic novel, bestselling author Marissa Meyer extends the world of the Lunar Chronicles with a brand-new, action-packed story about Iko, the android with a heart of (mechanized) gold. When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers’ leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the bestselling series.

5. Traveler by L.E. DeLano (February 7^th, 2017)

Jessa has spent her life dreaming of other worlds and writing down stories more interesting than her own, until the day her favorite character, Finn, suddenly shows up and invites her out for coffee. After the requisite nervous breakdown, Jessa learns that she and Finn are Travelers, born with the ability to slide through reflections and dreams into alternate realities. But it’s not all steampunk pirates and fantasy lifestyles…Jessa is dying over and over again, in every reality, and Finn is determined that this time, he’s going to stop it… this Jessa is going to live.

What books are you guys most looking forward to this winter season? Let me know in the comments!

 

Top 5 Wednesday – January 27th, 2016

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at Gingerreadslainey. Every week, book reviewers all over the world are given a bookish topic and respond with their top 5 books (or elements of books) that relate to that topic. Click here for the Goodreads group if you would like to learn more about Top 5 Wednesday and join in!

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is the top five books that were disappointing eye candy—so basically, books that were more enjoyable to look at than to read. I have this tendency to walk into the library and randomly grab books that have eye-catching covers. This can be a good thing sometimes because I have found some fantastic underhyped novels with this method. However, that also gives you a higher probability of reading a lot of not so great novels as well. Here are a few books whose covers drew me in, but whose stories ended up being rather disappointing.

5. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

This has got to be one of my favorite covers of all time, and honestly, this was the best read of this entire list. I did not completely dislike this novel, I was just disappointed with it overall. The concept was incredibly interesting and the writing was absolutely fantastic, which in itself has made me want to continue on with this series. I had more issues with this first novel than I expected to have, but I do believe there is a good chance many of them may be resolved as the series progresses.

Click here to read my full review.

4. The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu

I will admit, I picked this one up almost solely on the beautiful cover. The concept for this novel was a very interesting one, but the actual execution of it left a lot to be desired. It began solidly, but about halfway through, the story just started to feel like it was going nowhere. I was never able to become fully invested in the lives of the characters, and the events of the plot did not have the intended emotional impact on me. It was a fast read, but this novel did not end up being my cup of tea.

3. Doll Bones by Holly Black

After all the wonderful things I had heard about her work, I had been meaning to read a novel by Holly Black for a long time. This was the one that had been on my radar the longest, so I chose it as my first one. While the story had a promising and—as the cover implied—creepy start, the feel of it quickly changed. It was far less of an eerie story than I was expecting, which was incredibly disappointing. That, coupled with a cast of characters I couldn’t bring myself to like and frustratingly unrealistic circumstances caused this to be an unsatisfactory read for me.

2. A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

This was one that I had heard a little bit about prior to reading it, and the cover really sealed the deal. In hindsight, I’m not overly shocked that I disliked this book; I typically never enjoy contemporary romance novels. However, the fact that it was to be told from fourteen different points of view really had me intrigued. That aspect of it was creative, and I did like a number of the voices quite a lot, but it was a bit excessive. I felt far too disconnected from the story, and I couldn’t get myself to care enough about the main characters. On top of that, the progression of the romance became extremely repetitive and frustrating, to the point where everything about it was completely implausible. I applaud the author’s creativity, but everything was just slightly too over the top.

1. The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin

I had heard next to nothing about this, but I loved the cover, so that was definitely the main reason I picked up this novel in the first place. The synopsis sounded fantastic and my hopes were very high for this book. However, it ended up being absolutely nothing like what I had expected, and what should have been an intensely intriguing story ended up feeling like reading a pile of paperwork. They story was very dry and the characters were all fairly dislikable. The visual aspect of this novel ended up being the only really positive thing about it.

Click here to read my full review.

What are some books that ended up being disappointing eye candy for you? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana

Top 10 Tuesday – January 26th, 2016

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday list. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is a freebie, so we can choose whatever topic we would like. I decided to return to a previous topic since I loved it so much: favorite book quotes. Whether they are inspiring, heart-wrenching, or hilarious, I completely adore quotes. I’ve always loved sharing ones I’ve enjoyed and hearing which ones have touched others. The last post was favorite quotes from recent reads, so this time around, I am going to choose some of my overall favorites from any point in time.

1. “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” – Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

2. “When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” – Arthur Conan Doyle, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

3. “I want to tear myself from this place, from this reality, rise up like a cloud and float away, melt into this humid summer night and dissolve somewhere far, over the hills. But I am here, my legs blocks of concrete, my lungs empty of air, my throat burning. There will be no floating away.” – Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

4. “I would always rather be happy than dignified.” – Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

5. “Death doesn’t exist. It never did, it never will. But we’ve drawn so many pictures of it, so many years, trying to pin it down, comprehend it, we’ve got to thinking of it as an entity, strangely alive and greedy. All it is, however, is a stopped watch, a loss, an end, a darkness. Nothing.” – Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes

6. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” – Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

7. “I have ceased concerning myself with how things look to others. I suggest you do the same. In my experience, others are generally wrong.” – William Ritter, Jackaby

8. “We know what we are, but not what we may be.” – William Shakespeare, Hamlet

9. “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

10. “Sometimes you look up and there just seems to be so many more stars that ever before. More. They burn brighter and they shine longer and they never vanish into your periphery when you turn your head. It’s as if they come out for us and to remind us that their light took so long to come to us, that if we never had the patience to wait, we never would have seen them here, tonight, like this. That as much as it hurts, sometimes it’s all you can do, wait, endure and keep shining, knowing that eventually, your light will reach where it is supposed to reach and shine for who it is supposed to shine for. It is never easy, but it is always worth it.” – Tyler Knott Gregson, Chasers of the Light

As I’ve said, I absolutely love hearing what other people’s favorite quotes are, so make sure to let me know what some of your favorites are down in the comments!

-Ariana

New Year’s Resolutions Book Tag

I was tagged by the lovely SSJTimeLord to do the New Year’s Resolution Book Tag. Thank you so much for the tag! 😀 She is a fantastic book blogger, so please make sure to take a moment to head over and check out her blog.

This tag was created by Emily over at Embuhlee liest and Shivii from Brown Eyed Musings.

Get in shape – name a book that doesn’t quite fit on your shelf correctly.

 

Surprisingly enough, I don’t actually have too many books that are oddly shaped or don’t match the size of a fair amount of other books. However, my leather bound editions of books, though they match each other, are taller and wider than all the other books I own. My editions of To Kill a Mockingbird and Grimm’s Fairy Tales in particular don’t quite fit with everything else and stick out among my book piles.

Eat healthily – name a book you feel was good for you to read.

 

It’s difficult to choose just one book for this question. I would have to go with either To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee or The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. These are beautiful novels—two of my favorites of all time, mainly because they are both very thought-provoking reads. Both deal with some extremely important topics in brilliant ways. I feel like they were also good reads for me because they are books that have truly inspired me in my own writing.

Read more – name a book you keep telling yourself to read but haven’t yet.

Now that I have read The Book Thief (yes, I finally did it!), there is one main book that I keep telling myself to read but haven’t yet—The Hobbit. It is pretty crazy that I have not read a single Tolkien book by this point in my life, and that is something that desperately needs to be fixed. I have been telling myself to read this for ages, and I am absolutely 100% determined to read this book before the end of the year!

Quit smoking – name a book you kept going back to even though you had finished it.

I’m going to have to say To Kill a Mockingbird again for this one, since it is by far the book that I have read the most times in my life. Growing up, I actually used to read this at least twice a year for a number of years. This is my go to read when I am in a slump or just want to read something I know that I will love. I will never get tired of reading this novel!

Save more money – name a book you got for a really good price.

I am totally someone who is very picky about the editions of books that I buy since they are becoming a part of my permanent collection, so I am happy to invest more in a copy that I really want. That being said, I am also someone who loves hunting for deals on everything, especially books. I’ve found some fantastic prices on books over the years, but a great deal I got recently was a copy of Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb for only two dollars!

Be more organized – how do you organize your bookshelf?

I’ve mentioned this a few times before but, embarrassingly enough, I don’t have any bookshelves at the moment. Right now, all of my books are sitting in storage boxes, and there is absolutely no order to them whatsoever. When I finally get some shelves, however, I will organize my books alphabetically by author.

Be punctual – shortest time and longest time it took you to read a book.

Shortest time – While I am not generally the fastest reader ever, there are tons of books I’ve read in a very short amount of time over the years, so I decided to choose from my more recent reads. A fairly recent quick read was A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, which took me about an hour and a half to two hours to complete. It was fast but utterly beautiful, and has become one of my favorite books of all time. If you have not read this yet, definitely give it a go!

Longest time – One of the longest reads for me was Insurgent by Veronica Roth, which took me about three months to complete. I absolutely adored Divergent when I read it a few years ago, and I was very eager to continue on with the series. Unfortunately, while I did not by any means hate it, I ended up being fairly disappointed by Insurgent and had a lot of trouble getting into it. Because of this, I didn’t have as much motivation to finish it and only read a tiny bit at a time.

Go out more – what book made you isolate yourself from the outside world?

  

Oh man, so many books to choose from! Any of the Harry Potter books or The Chronicles of Narnia would fit this question for sure. Divergent and Gone Girl were two more recent ones that caused me to do this. I also have to add in the entire Hunger Games trilogy. They were the first novels since finishing Harry Potter that I genuinely could not put down once I started reading them.

Be unique – what was your favorite book of 2015?

I read a lot of great books last year, but my favorite by far was Vicious by V.E. Schwab. I read this in December in a buddy read with Heather from The Sassy Book Geek and we had such a fantastic time. Vicious is an incredibly well-crafted story, with beautiful writing and vivid characterization. This novel is utterly epic and it was particularly fun to read and discuss with a fellow superhero/supervillain nerd! I cannot say enough good things about this book—in fact, I will (hopefully) be posting my review of it tomorrow.

Be more personal – what book are you waiting for most this year?

 

This is a difficult one because I have a ton of upcoming releases that I am excited for. If I had to choose, I would say that Heartless by Marissa Meyer is probably my most anticipated release of the year. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab is an extremely close second, however. I am just dying to get my hands on any novels written by these two wonderful ladies!

Really, resolutions? – what book do you promise to read this year?

There are a ton of books that I’ve promised to read this year (check here, here, and here!), but one in particular that I promise to read is The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. I’ve been wanting to read a Brandon Sanderson novel for a very long time and this is definitely going to be the year I finally do that. I am hoping that I can get through a few books in the Mistborn series before the end of the year, but I will be reading The Final Empire for sure!

I Tag:

Everyone! 😀 Since I’m running a bit late with this, I won’t tag anyone specific. However, if you do complete this or already have completed it, make sure to link me to your post down in the comments so I can check it out!

Top 10 Tuesday – January 19th, 2016

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday list. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is the top ten books you’ve recently added to your TBR. My pile of owned books is really starting to get quite insane, and my general Goodreads list of books I want to read is just outrageous. And yet, I keep adding new books to both! Since it’s the beginning of a new year, I have just recently added a bunch of books to my already way too large TBR, so this should be an easy topic. 🙂

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster

I have been a major Star Wars fan ever since I was a little kid, and yet somehow, I was completely unaware of the fact that there are novelizations of the films. My dad brought this to my attention the other day, so of course I had to pick one of them up. I figured I would go with The Force Awakens to start off since it’s the most recent film, but I definitely intend to read the others at some point as well!

2. Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney

I discovered this one thanks to Heather over at The Sassy Book Geek. She wrote up a great “if you liked that, try this” post, and recommended this one to fans of the Percy Jackson novels (which I am!). It definitely sounds like my kind of story, plus Heather and I have a very similar taste in books, so I think this will end up being an enjoyable read. I’m hoping to get to this one very soon.

3. Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

This was a random one that I added recently. A few friends of mine have read and loved this novel, and I have also heard some fantastic reviews of it while watching Booktube. It sounded pretty intriguing, so I figured I’d give it a go at some point. I’ve been interested to dive further into sci-fi, and I think this will prove to be an interesting one.

4. Five-Seven-Five by C.E. Wilson

This novel was brought to my attention by Ashleigh over at A Frolic Through Fiction, who recently read and reviewed it. I had not heard of this one before, but her review really made me intrigued. Judging by the synopsis, it sounds like it is going to be a very unique story, and I’m extremely interested to give it a try and see what it’s all about.

5. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

As I’ve mentioned, I am a big fan of the Percy Jackson books and Rick Riordan in general, so of course I had to add this to my TBR. I only just the other day discovered that this series was going to be a thing, and I am so excited for it! Along with this, I’ve also just added the other novels in the Magnus Chase series as well, but I figured I would just pick one of his books for this list.

6. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

This is one of the books that I purchased with a gift card from Christmas. I am planning on starting The Raven Cycle this year and I have been collecting the novels. I will probably marathon the series after the final book is released. I’ve also added the final two books in this series to my TBR, but again, I thought I would just keep it to one for the purpose of this list. I’ve always heard nothing but good things about these books, and I’m excited to see what the story is like!

7. Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard

Even though I did not love Red Queen as much as I had hoped I would, I do intend to continue on with these novels for now. I only just recently discovered that there were novellas to go along with the trilogy, so I would like to give these a try. I’m hoping to get to these sometime before I read Glass Sword.

8. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Though I have owned all of the books in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy for a while now, I’ve not actually read a Laini Taylor novel yet. I do intend to fix that this year, and this new novel of hers is one that I would like to get to as well. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about her work and the synopsis of this novel really caught my attention; I can’t wait until this comes out!

9. Saga, Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

I’ve talked about my love of the Saga series before, so this should come as no surprise; it’s definitely a given! I absolutely can’t wait to see where this series goes next. This is one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it appears that it will be coming out right around my birthday, which is extra awesome!

10. Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter

This one is another given. I started reading the Jackaby series last year and have been completely adoring it so far, so of course I am planning to continue on with the novels. I’m eager to get my hands on this one and get back into this world again.

What are some books that you guys have added to your TBRs recently? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana

Top 5 Wednesday – January 13th, 2016

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at Gingerreadslainey. Every week, book reviewers all over the world are given a bookish topic and respond with their top 5 books (or elements of books) that relate to that topic. Click here for the Goodreads group if you would like to learn more about Top 5 Wednesday and join in!

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is your top five favorite self-published books. Now, I’ve not actually read all that many self-published books over the years; my experience in that area is really lacking. I would like to start getting into the habit of reading more of these types of novels this year, and I already have a few picked out that I would like to read soon. So instead of making a list of my favorites, I’ve decided to make a list of the top five self-published books on my TBR that I am most looking forward to reading!

5. Angelfall by Susan Ee

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

4. Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie

Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey.

Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the ‘eighteen disease’ with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they’re forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably.

So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates.

But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can’t ever be acted upon because they’re both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B.

And, oh, how lovely Plan B’s can be. 

Well, except for the psycho from Harper’s past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there’s the little issue that neither of them knows they’re in love with the other.

Needless to say, Callum & Harper’s life just got a bit more complicated.

3. The Reluctant Sacrifice by Kerr-Ann Dempster

Centuries ago, sibling rivalry tore Aramith apart. As punishment, the losers were stripped of their immortal birthright and banished to Earth. There, they wasted away from old age and diseases. However, there is hope…

If a Shaw child, born on the 12th day of the 12th month offers her soul in a public sacrifice, then the exiles will be forgiven and welcomed home to Aramith.

Aubrey Shaw is that child, but dying for the exiles is not on her to-do list. Using her gift as a Jumper, Aubrey leaps between bodies to escape relentless shape-shifting hunters. Only, shedding her skin is not enough. Not when Joshua, her best-friend-turned-hunter, is hell-bent on dragging her to the altar.

Will Aubrey’s love for Joshua change his mind?

Or, will she have to trust the scarred stranger who shows up out of the blue cloaked in lies and secrets? Doing so means giving up on Joshua. But betting on Joshua’s love could do more than break her heart.

It could kill her.

2. The Inn by Deirdre Swinden

The Inn had stood for more than 200 years. No one who knew any better would live within its walls. No one who had heard its sordid past would venture within a mile. But Innkeepers Paula and Martin Kent had found the aging red brick charming and the house itself an alluring investment. After all, what more could a bed and breakfast need for success than to be “haunted”? Its history spoke of deadly winters, lusty rovers and immortal lovers. It called to them as it had sung to others, and at a time when ghost hunters achieved success on reality television, the Kents had found a profitable attraction.

When Samantha Brogan arrives to meet her estranged husband Chris in an attempt to repair their crumbling marriage, she is instantly unsettled by an image her failing sight struggles to comprehend. Trapped by a severe snowstorm, guests and caretakers seek out the Inn’s other inhabitants through ghost hunts and chilling tales of the site’s unnaturally violent history. As the storm gains power, Sam’s visions grow darker and more disturbing. As an unseen enemy draws closer, the guests experience nightmare realities of their deepest fears. One by one they succumb to an inescapable fate until there is only one course left for the remaining occupants – attempt to communicate or die trying.  

And death is waiting to take them all.

1. Dissonance by Mariella Hunt

Fifteen-year-old Allie Grant lives crippled by her illness. Though kept in isolation, she’s never alone: A spirit named Song lurks in the silence of her bedroom.

When Song reveals its dark nature on the night of her recital, the show ends in tragedy. Verging on death, Allie’s taken in by an uncle she’s never met. 

Julian claims to be a Muse with power over music and answers that’ll heal her. The cure she needs is rare, requiring of him a difficult sacrifice. Allie soon suspects her uncle has a secret that’ll turn her world around.

But with days left to live, she might fade without learning the truth…like the finishing chord of a song.

What are some self-published novels that you have read and enjoyed? I’m always looking for some more recommendations, so definitely let me know in the comments! 🙂

-Ariana

Top 10 Tuesday – January 12th, 2016

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday list. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is the top ten 2015 releases you meant to get to but didn’t. This is a great topic for me because I have an embarrassingly long list of books to choose from! I ended up not reading nearly as much as I originally intended to in 2015. On top of that, the majority of the books that I did read were releases from recent years that I was trying to catch up on. To narrow my list down, I primarily chose books that I own and that I hope to get around to reading this year. 2016 is definitely going to end up being another catch up year!

1. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

3. The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath by Ishbelle Bee

4. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

5. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

6. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

7. Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

8. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

9. The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

10. Rook by Sharon Cameron

What 2015 releases did you guys not have a chance to read? Do we have any in common? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana

Beautiful Blogger Award

I apologize for the lack of posts and slow comment replies over the last few days. I finally have a working laptop all set up, so things should be picking up and I’ll be getting back to everyone this week!

I was nominated by three lovely ladies for the Beautiful Blogger Award: Heather over at The Sassy Book Geek, Michelle over at Book Adventures, and Kimsiang over at The Spines Breaker. Thank you all so much for the nominations! They are all beautiful bloggers themselves, so please stop by and check out all of their blogs! 🙂

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The Rules:

-Link to the blogger who nominated you

-List seven random facts about you

-Nominate seven creative, beautiful bloggers, and notify them

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Random Facts About Me:

1. I am currently writing my first ever steampunk novel, which I worked on during this past NaNoWriMo. This is definitely turning out to be my favorite story I’ve worked on so far!

2. My next novel is going to be about superheroes and super villains (note everyone’s complete lack of surprise at this fact!) 🙂

3. If I had a superpower, I would want to be able to control objects with my mind. Either that, or I would want the ability to manipulate metals (ferrokinesis); I’ve always thought that was a cool power.

4. I want to get a husky one day and name it either Atticus, Sherlock, or Loki. I definitely also plan on generally having three pets with these names.

5. I am a major Star Wars nerd. I’ve just seen the new Star Wars film (definitely my second or third favorite ❤ ) and I now desperately want one of the actual remote controlled BB-8 droids.

6. I’m not usually a huge fan of pranks or pulling pranks on people, but I absolutely love watching public prank videos. Lately, I have been binge watching Just for Laugh Gags and The Scary Snowman on Youtube! 🙂

7. I may or may not be mildly obsessed with collecting Funko Pop figurines. I currently have a collection of about 18 (18 and a half if you count mini Thor!).

I Nominate:

Umbreen @ Read by Umbreen

Anna @ My Bookish Dream

Emma @ The Terror of Knowing

Cátia @ The Girl Who Read Too Much

Cleo @ Cuddle With Books

Amber @ Only True Magic

Victoria @ Addlepates and Book Nerds

January 2016 TBR

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic end of 2015 and are having a wonderful start to 2016. It’s time to create the first TBR of the new year, and I am excited to get going on a new reading challenge! This year, I have some standalones and series that I am particularly determined to read, so I’m creating some bookish resolutions lists for myself. I have already posted my series/trilogies TBR (click here to check it out!) and I’ll be posting my standalone list sometime in the next day or so.

I am going to try to read at least one or two books from each list every month, so with those lists in mind, I created my (somewhat tentative) TBR. I am attempting to pull myself out of a slight reading slump, so I don’t want to make a TBR that is too overly ambitious. Many of these are roll overs from other months, so I apologize for the repetitiveness! I probably won’t be able to get to all of these, but they all sound fantastic so I think any of these reads will be a great way to start off 2016!

January TBR

1. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

This is one of my most anticipated releases of 2016, and it’s coming out in three days! I am so eager to get my hands on this one, and I am definitely hoping to read it before this month is out. There’s no way I can possibly resist any book about time travel!

2. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

This one is rolling over from last month’s TBR. Cinder was one of my favorite reads last year, but I never managed to get around to continuing on with the series before the end of the year. Now that the main books are all out, and with Stars Above coming soon, I really need to finish the rest of these novels. I am completely adoring these stories and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

3. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I meant to read this back in October and never got a chance to. And now, with the movie coming out this year, it’s become a top priority on my reading list. In fact, I am hoping to read the entire trilogy this year, so I definitely want to get going on it.

4. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

This is another one rolling over from last month’s TBR. Once again, I must continue my quest to read every word ever written by Gillian Flynn. I am trying to pace myself, since there are only two novels left to read, but I can’t wait any longer. I have to read this one soon!

5. Alice by Christina Henry

I blame Heather for this one! She’s gotten me so excited to read this book that I had to include it in my TBR for the month. I have not heard too much about this one, but what I have heard has been spectacular. From what I gather, it’s a very dark reimagining of Alice in Wonderland with a morally ambiguous villain. I think this book was written for me! 🙂

I am also hoping to start reading a few stories out of The Return of Sherlock Holmes over the course of the month.

Read in December

I had a rather unexpectedly slow reading month and, embarrassingly enough, only actually fully completed one book. However, that one book was absolutely incredible; it was definitely my favorite read of the year! And the second book that I started this month is shaping up to be another new favorite of mine as well.

 

1. Vicious by V.E. Schwab – I read this in an incredibly fun buddy read with Heather from The Sassy Book Geek and absolutely fell in love with it. The writing, the plot, the characters, everything about this book was wonderful. As I said, this ended up being my favorite novel of the year, and having someone to read and discuss it with made it even more enjoyable. I’m so excited that I finally got a chance to read this book; I can’t believe it took me so long to get around to it! Click here to read my review!

2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – I started this toward the end of the month and I’m only just under halfway through it now, so this will technically be one of my first completed books of January. As expected, I am absolutely loving this novel so far, and I am incredibly eager to continue on and finish off the rest of it. This is another novel I’m so glad I’m finally reading, and I can’t believe I didn’t read this sooner!

December Book Haul

   

 

1. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin
2. Wool by Hugh Howey
3. Alice by Christina Henry
4. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
5. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
6. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken (Pre-order)

What books are you guys planning on reading to start off the year? Did you get any books or bookish gifts over the holidays? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana