Wednesday, October 28, 2015

autumn book tags



Welcome to my very Autumnal-themed post!! Where I live, in the southern US, it has really only started feeling like fall over the last couple of weeks, so I feel totally justified in posting this now instead of when fall actually started. Also, especially with Halloween being this Saturday, I am more in the spirit of fall than ever! I love the end of fall into the beginning of winter, I just feel like it is the most magical time of year, and so here are some booktags that I have found to reflect my excitement and wonder!


The first tag is called just "The Autumn Book Tag" which I got from The Bookie Monsters. The original creator was a booktuber that I don't think is on youtube anymore. The second tag is called "The Fall Time Cosy Tag," which I got from Novels and Nonsense! I love both of these tags a lot, and I hope that they do whatever they need to to get you in the spirit of fall, crunching through leaves and sipping PSLs and whatnot!



                    The Autumn Book Tag

1. What is your favourite thing about Autumn? I hate being hot, so one of the best things about autumn is the fact that the weather starts cooling off. I also am *that girl* who gets OBSESSED with the leaves. I live right near the mountains too, and they are pretty spectacular.

2. What book reminds you of your school days? Hmm. I'm going to say elementary school because that's the type of nostalgia that I think this question is aiming for. I'd say A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, because I have vivid memories of sitting outside on my porch in the fall and reading those books.
 
3. What book cover reminds you of Autumn?  I'm going for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The color palette and the feeling it gives me is distinctly autumnal. 

4. What is your favorite Halloween or Horror Story? I'm not a huge fan of horror stories, but I do quite like The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, which is plenty creepy by my standards! If you have any suggestions of short stories that are creepy but not too creepy, let me know, I'd be willing to try them out! 

5. What is your favorite Halloween of Horror Film? Like I said, horror is not my thing. I've only ever really seen a couple of horror movies, and they're mostly classics, but I have to say I did like the Shining. I was completely creeped out by it, but like in a good way.

6. What Fall book release are you most looking forward to? What kind of a fan would I be if I didn't talk about the Lunar Chronicles in this autumn tag? This is one of my favorite series ever, and with this last book being pushed from earlier this year to November, we have been waiting so long for it to come out, it almost feels like it isn't real that it is finally almost here! I can't wait to get my hands on this one! 

7. What Fall movie release are you most looking forward to? I love love love going to the movies. One of my favorite things to do ever. I am really looking forward to The Good Dinosaur, which is a new Disney movie that I believe is being released at Thanksgiving! It looks so cute :) 

8. What three books do you plan to read this autumn? I plan to read a lot more than three haha but three books that are on my immediate TBR are (besides Winter) Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray First and Then by Emma Mills and Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown!

                          The Fall Time Cosy Tag

1. Crunching Leaves: The world is full of colour. Choose a book that has reds, oranges and yellows on the cover.
I chose Vicious by V.E. Schwab because not only does it have a very autumnal color palette about it, it is also one of my most favorite reads ever! I love everything having to do with superheroes, and Vicious kind of takes the idea of a superhero and turns it on its head, giving something scarier but also more interesting! I have a full review of it here if you are interested in hearing more about this one. I highly recommend it for this time of year, cozy up with a this and cup of something hot!
2. Cosy Sweater: It’s finally cold enough to don warm cosy clothing. What book gives you the warm fuzzies?

 For this one, my pick is The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord. I love both of her novels, but I chose this one for two reasons. One, it has a more fall vibe to me, because it is about starting a new school year with a plan to have things be different. The second reason is because the romance in this one is just about the sweetest thing that you will ever come across. I love the characters in this one so much, and the romance that blossoms between the main character and this guy is something that I would love to happen to me (HINT HINT UNIVERSE) another part of this that gives me the warm fuzzies is its portrayal of powerful and strong girl friendships, which I think is so important! I have a full review here if you want to read more! I also did a spotlight post about why I love Emery Lord, which is here.

3. Fall Storm: The wind is howling and the rain is pounding. Choose your favourite book OR genre that you like to read on a stormy day.

When its storming outside, sometimes the only thing you want is something that will give you comfort and make you feel like you're in a safe place. For me, the book equivalent of a safe place is anything by Rick Riordan, however, The Heroes of Olympus Series will forever have a special place in my heart. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the series that got me through middle school, but Heroes of Olympus just made me fall in love with the world over and over again. If you haven't read anything by Rick Riordan, I ask you: do you hate fun? These books are brilliantly genius, hilarious and heart-wrenching, all at the same time. Definitely would be my pick to hole up with while the world outside is consumed in a storm.

4. Cool Crisp Air: What’s the coolest character you’d want to trade places with?

Does a post on my blog even exist if I don't talk about how much I love Celaena Sardothien aka (spoiler) Aelin Ashryver Galthynius aka the badass to end all badasses aka savior of Erilea aka will kill you and not even blink?? If you've read the series, then you know that her life hasn't been the easiest or the most fun, and she's come through an incredible amount of pain, which would suck, but honestly, how can you read the Throne of Glass series and NOT want to be her? She is strong and capable and cool under pressure, a queen among women. Girls everywhere should look to her and be inspired by her complete inability to give up, even when the odds are stacked hella against her. THIS GIRL IS MY HERO.

5. Hot Apple Cider: What under hyped book do you want to see become the next biggest, hottest thing?

I saw this book around Twitter and the blogging sphere a couple of times around the time of its release, but not nearly enough for my taste. I think it is so important that books like Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond exist. It is the backstory of a Lois Lane, before she becomes the writer for the Daily Planet, before she meets Clark Kent, before he is Superman. Lois is just a normal girl with a military father, trying to fit in, all the while having a burning desire for finding out the truth and an incapability to be afraid or stand down to anyone. I love the idea of a Lois Lane prequel, and this book definitely didn't disappoint me. It is a series, and I would love to see more people talking about this one! 
6. Coat, Scarves and Mittens: The weather has turned cold and it’s time to cover up. What’s the most embarrassing book cover you own that you like to keep hidden in public?

I don't really read romance novels, so I don't have any truly embarrassing covers that I wouldn't want anyone to see, but the closest thing that I can get to that is the Vampire Academy covers by Richelle Mead. They're just SOOO cheesy, especially this one pictured, which is the fifth and penultimate book in the series. I love Vampire Academy as books, I think they're amazing and a lot better than most of the vampire genre that I've read, but honestly, I think the covers really hurt them. I know a ton of people have a sort of affectionate hate for these, and I definitely consider myself one in those ranks. Even the redesigned covers aren't any better than these, so I ask of the designers: please do better by this series! 

7. Pumpkin Spice: What’s your favourite fall time comfort food/foods? my favorite fall comfort food is always made on Halloween night in my house. It is my mother's pumpkin soup and it automatically makes me relax and feel at home. 

I hope y'all have enjoyed these tags! they were so fun to do! if you want to do one of these, consider yourselves tagged, and if you end up doing them, please leave me a comment to let me know, I'd love to see what y'all have to say about these!! 



HAPPY FALL!
xx
Sunny





waiting on wednesday: ten thousand skies above you

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted over at Breaking the Spine!

This week's pick: Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird #2) by Claudia Gray

goodreads

release date: November 3

synopsis: (spoilers!) Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions.

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamoring for the next book.

  
~~~~~
Okay, I have been looking forward to this one for almost an entire year now. I absolutely loved the first book in this series, it was one of my favorites of last year, and it contains one of my favorite fictional boys (aka Paul), so I've been waiting with bated breath to see what this second installment would bring. I love the idea of the multiverse, and if that concept interests you at all and you haven't read the first book in this trilogy (I believe) (its called A Thousand Pieces of You), then you definitely should!

What's everyone waiting on this week?  

xx
Sunny

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

top ten tuesday: halloween!




Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish! I have missed the last couple of weeks of TTT, which made me really sad, but I am excited to be back on top of things this week. This week's theme is: "October 27: Halloween themed freebie -- your choice (ie. 10 best ghost stories, 10 things that scare you in books, 10 literary Halloween costumes, 10 vampire novels, 10 books that WILL scare you, 10 non-scary books for Halloween, 10 scariest covers, etc.)" Since I've recently done a Halloween post that features books that remind me of my Halloween aesthetic (i.e. creepy, mysterious, on the dark side) (also I'll just link that here), today, I thought I would go another route, though still sticking to something Halloween themed.

What is the best part of Halloween? THE CANDY!!! So here are ten super sweet books that you can curl up with while stuffing fun sized butterfingers down your throat (like I am wont to do this time of year!)

1. A Little Something Different – Sandy Hall

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out.  But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....


Candy Counterpart:  This book is the sweetest of the sweet. You know the Cookies and Creme Hershey bars that are just like white chocolate and oreo? That's this book.


2. To All The Boys I've Loved Before – Jenny Han

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

Candy Counterpart: Something designer, with a little bit of a surprise. Like a Salted Caramel Ghirardelli Square.



3. Anna and the French Kiss – Stephanie Perkins

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?


Candy Counterpart: Its sweet, but you have to kind of work at it to get there! Once you do, however, its totally worth it. Butterfinger for sure!


4. Emmy & Oliver – Robin Benway

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.
She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.
Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.
He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.
Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?


Candy Counterpart: It tastes like nostalgia, something amazing from when you were little. Something like a Pixie Stix!
5. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour – Morgan Matson

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way. 

Candy Counterpart: A huge part of the appeal of this book, to me, is that it reads like a movie, one where you get totally sucked in and are rooting so hard for the characters. For this book, you totally need a box of theater candy, like Buncha Crunch or Cookie Dough Bites.

6. The Start of Me and You – Emery Lord

Following her pitch-perfect debut Open Road Summer, Emery Lord pens another gorgeous story of best friends, new love, & second chances.

Brimming with heartfelt relationships and authentic high-school dynamics The Start of Me and You proves that it’s never too late for second chances.

It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?


Candy Counterpart: You know what the smartest and dorkiest of all candiest is? Smarties, of course.

7. Steering the Stars – Autumn Doughton and Erica Cope

Be careful what you wish for…
Aspiring writer Hannah Vaughn worries that she is doomed to live out the rest of her existence in a sleepy Oklahoma town. For as long as she can remember, she’s dreamed of something more – adventure, excitement, intrigue. When her sister invites her to London and she’s accepted to a prestigious writing program at The Warriner School, she jumps at the chance. But will it be epic or an epic fail?

You’ll never know if you don’t try…
Nothing ever happens to straight-A student Caroline McKain and that’s exactly the way she likes it. With her best friend in London and junior year looming on the horizon, all she wants is to remain invisible. So when she is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, she must ask herself: Can an invisible girl really take center stage?

Follow Hannah and Caroline as they navigate the complexities of first love, family and growing up. As their bond is tested, the girls will learn that being apart can ultimately bring you together. Steering the Stars is a fresh, heartfelt young adult story about fate, discovery, and the magic of friendship.


Candy Counterpart:  Something British that you get from Waitrose for your best friend back home when you're in London on a trip, like Dairy Milk (or, my favorite, the Dairy Milk Oreo bar) 
  
8. Love Fortunes and Other Disasters – Kimberly Karalius

In the tradition of Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic, one girl chooses to change her fortune and her fate by falling in love.

Love is real in the town of Grimbaud, and Fallon Dupree has dreamed of attending high school there for years. After all, generations of Duprees have successfully followed the (100% accurate!) love fortunes from Zita’s famous Love Charms Shop to happily marry their high school sweethearts. It’s a tradition. So she is both stunned and devastated when her fortune states that she will NEVER find love.

Fortunately, Fallon isn’t the only student with a terrible love fortune, and a rebellion is brewing. Fallon is determined to take control of her own fate—even if it means working with a notorious heartbreaker like Sebastian.

Will Fallon and Sebastian be able to overthrow Zita’s tyranny and fall in love?


Candy Counterpart: A new twist on an old favorite, like a Midnight Milky Way.

9. On the Fence – Kasie West

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.


Candy Counterpart: The really good candy that you have to hide from your siblings/parents. In other words, all of the Reeses. The mini ones. The pumpkin shaped ones. The white chocolate ones, etc.

10. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Bejamin Alire Sáenz

A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.


Candy Counterpart: Its something that isn't necessarily the sweetest at first, but you grow to love it. Sour Patch Kids! 


That was actually really fun to do! Do y'all agree with the choices? What candies would you pick for your favorite books?

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope it's a great one :)    

xx
Sunny  

Sunday, October 25, 2015

look at her go: reviewin' reviewin': carry on

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
☆☆☆☆☆

goodreads/b&n/amazon

synopsis: Rainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries with Carry On, an epic fantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simon and Baz from her beloved bestseller Fangirl.

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.


full review under the cut!!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

look at her go: reviewin; reviewin': six of crows

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
☆☆☆☆☆

goodreads/b&n/amazon

synopsis: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first


full review under the cut! 

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

spotlight on: HALLOWEEN

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

spotlight on is a monthly feature hosted here at Stardust and Words, with a different theme each time, whether it be a series, genre, list of suggestions or author. You can see the previous entries in the spotlight series here! This month, what else can I do but talk about books that remind me of my favorite night of the year (besides christmas eve)? HALLOWEEN BOOKS!!! Not necessarily horror-themed or halloween-themed, but books that capture the ~essence~ of Halloween to me. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Sunday, October 11, 2015

september wrap up

I know, I know, it is past the first week of October, but it truly doesn't feel like I can start a new month of blogging without doing a wrap up post, just for the fact that I need to actually remember what I read the month before! September was a super hectic month for me, and I know that it reflected here in the blog. I had midterms and projects and things of that sort, and so I am sorry for the fact that there weren't that many posts last month. I managed 9 posts on here, with two reviews, and I actually read nine books as well. Overall, a pretty solid month! I've also upped my yearly challenge on Goodreads to 110, which I am really hoping to get to, so cross your fingers for me! Anyways, here we go with the wrap up!  

Queen of Shadows – Sarah J Maas
 ☆☆☆☆☆

(spoilers!) The queen has returned.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she’s at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past…

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return.

The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series contrinues Celaena’s epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

 
Queen Song (Red Queen Novella) – Victoria Aveyard 
☆☆1/2



Queen Coriane, first wife of King Tiberias, keeps a secret diary—how else can she ensure that no one at the palace will use her thoughts against her? Coriane recounts her heady courtship with the crown prince, the birth of a new prince, Cal, and the potentially deadly challenges that lay ahead for her in royal life.








Infinite In Between – Carolyn Mackler
☆☆☆

Printz Honor author Carolyn Mackler returns with this striking new novel that chronicles the lives of five teenagers through the thrills, heartbreaks, and joys of their four years in high school.

Zoe, Jake, Mia, Gregor, and Whitney meet at freshman orientation. At the end of that first day, they make a promise to reunite after graduation. So much can happen in those in-between years….

Zoe feels like she will live forever in her famous mother’s shadow. Jake struggles to find the right connections in friendship and in love. Mia keeps trying on new identities, looking for one that actually fits. Gregor thought he wanted to be more than just a band geek. And Whitney seems to have it all, until it’s all falling apart around her.

Echoing aspects of John Hughes’s The Breakfast Club, Carolyn Mackler skillfully brings the stories of these five disparate teens together to create a distinct and cohesive whole—a novel about how we can all affect one another’s lives in the most unexpected and amazing ways.


Everything, Everything – Nicola Yoon
 ☆☆☆☆1/2

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

  
Better off Friends – Elizabeth Eulberg

For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can’t be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan’s friends. They are platonic and happy that way.

Eventually they realize they’re best friends — which wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting in each other’s way. Guys won’t ask Macallan out because they think she’s with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can’t help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?

From romantic comedy superstar Elizabeth Eulberg comes a fresh, fun examination of a question for the ages: Can guys and girls ever really be just friends? Or are they always one fight away from not speaking again — and one kiss away from true love?


Fans of the Impossible Life – Kate Scelsa (2)
☆☆

Ten months after her recurring depression landed her in the hospital, Mira is starting over at Saint Francis Prep. She promised her parents she would at least try to pretend that she could act like a functioning human this time, not a girl who can’t get out of bed for days on end, who only feels awake when she’s with Sebby.

Jeremy is the painfully shy art nerd at Saint Francis who’s been in self-imposed isolation after an incident that ruined his last year of school. When he sees Sebby for the first time across the school lawn, it’s as if he’s been expecting him.

Sebby, Mira’s gay best friend, is a boy who seems to carry sunlight around with him like a backlit halo. Even as life in his foster home starts to take its toll, Sebby and Mira together craft a world of magic rituals and impromptu road trips, designed to fix the broken parts of their lives.

As Jeremy finds himself drawn into Sebby and Mira’s world, he begins to understand the secrets that they hide in order to protect themselves, to keep each other safe from those who don’t understand their quest to live for the impossible.

A captivating and profound debut novel, Fans of the Impossible Life is a story about complicated love and the friendships that change you forever.

 
Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo
 ☆☆☆☆

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.


Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.
 

Siege and Storm – Leigh Bardugo
☆☆☆☆☆

(spoilers!) Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm








Ruin and Rising – Leigh Bardugo
☆☆☆☆☆

(spoilers!) The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.



What did y'all read in September??

xx
Sunny 

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

look at her go: reviewin' reviewin': Vengeance Road

Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

goodreads/b&n/amazon

☆☆☆☆☆

synopsis: Revenge is worth its weight in gold.

When her father is murdered for a journal revealing the location of a hidden gold mine, eighteen-year-old Kate Thompson disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers—and justice. What she finds are untrustworthy strangers, endless dust and heat, and a surprising band of allies, among them a young Apache girl and a pair of stubborn brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, a startling truth becomes clear: some men will stop at nothing to get their hands on gold, and Kate’s quest for revenge may prove fatal.


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Full review under the cut!

waiting on wednesday: first & then

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted over at Breaking the Spine!

This week's pick: First & Then by Emma Mills
release date: October 13
goodreads

synopsis:Devon Tennyson wouldn't change a thing. She's happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon's cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn't want them first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.


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The minute I saw that this was "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE meets FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS" I wanted to cry from happiness for awhile. It sounds so incredibly adorable, something perfect to curl up with on a fall evening with a cup of something hot. I have been looking forward to this one for a long time now, and I am so excited that it is finally coming out!!! 

What are you waiting on this week?

xx
Sunny 

80% Read the Printed Word!